A review on water-saving agriculture in Europe

This paper aims to analyze the research on the current situation of water-saving agriculture development in Europe. Water-saving agriculture in Europe started early, governments and farmers in various countries have a strong awareness of water-saving in agriculture and have achieved certain results. Due to the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of up-to-date field research, the complexity of various agricultural disciplines and categories, and the lack of information sharing, the current cognition of recent progress in the development of water-saving agriculture in Europe is not comprehensive enough. This paper selects four representative European countries: Spain, Germany, Italy, and Denmark as the research objects. Based on the existing research of Chinese and Western scholars, this paper analyzes and studies the current situation of water-saving agriculture in Europe. It has far-reaching significance for other countries in the world to have further development in water-saving agriculture and to protect water resources.

High mortality among patients with severe COVID-19 and Do Not Intubate orders

INTRODUCTION. Moderate to severe respiratory distress among patients with COVID-19 is associated with a high mortality. This study evaluated ventilator support and mortality by Do Intubate (DI) or Do Not Intubate (DNI) orders. METHODS. This was a retrospective study of patients with COVID-19 and a supplemental oxygen requirement of 15 l/min. The patients were divided into two groups corresponding to the first and second wave of COVID-19 and were subsequently further divided according to DI and DNI orders and analysed regarding need of ventilator support and mortality. RESULTS. The study included 178 patients. The mortality was 24% for patients with DI orders (n = 115) and 81% for patients with DNI orders (n = 63) increasing to 98% (n = 46) for patients with DNI orders and very high flow oxygen requirements ( 30 l/min.). From the first to the second wave of COVID-19, the use of constant continuous positive airway pressure (cCPAP) increased from 71% to 91% (p < 0.001), whereas the use of mechanical ventilation decreased from 54% to 28% (odds ratio = 0.38 (95% confidence interval: 0.17-0.85)). CONCLUSION. The mortality was high for patients with DNI orders and respiratory distress with very high levels in supplemental oxygen in both the first and second wave of COVID-19 despite an increase in use of cCPAP and treatment with dexamethasone and remdesivir during the second wave. Hence, careful evaluation on transition to palliative care must be considered for these patients.

Low Adoption of Video Consultations in Post-COVID-19 General Practice in Northern Europe: Barriers to Use and Potential Action Points.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, video consultation was introduced in general practice in many countries around the world as a solution to provide remote health care to patients. It was assumed that video consultation would find widespread adoption in post-COVID-19 general practice. However, adoption rates remain low across countries in Northern Europe, suggesting that barriers to its use exist among general practitioners and other practice staff. In this viewpoint, we take a comparative approach, reflecting on similarities and differences in implementation conditions of video consultations in 5 Northern European countries' general practice settings that might have created barriers to its use within general practice. We convened at a cross-disciplinary seminar in May 2022 with researchers and clinicians from 5 Northern European countries with expertise in digital care in general practice, and this viewpoint emerged out of dialogues from that seminar. We have reflected on barriers across general practice settings in our countries, such as lacking technological and financial support for general practitioners, that we feel are critical for adoption of video consultation in the coming years. Furthermore, there is a need to further investigate the contribution of cultural elements, such as professional norms and values, to adoption. This viewpoint may inform policy work to ensure that a sustainable level of video consultation use can be reached in the future, one that reflects the reality of general practice settings rather than policy optimism.

Elite-level coaches' coping: stress appraisal and COVID-19

The current study investigated 97 Norwegian elite-level coaches' appraisal of working as a coach during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the predictive outcomes of these cognitive processes. The participants were part of a Norwegian coach education program carried out by the Norwegian Olympic Sport Center (NOSC). The results in the current study show that the coaches appraised their work during the pandemic as controllable-by-self, as a challenge, as controllable-by-others, and stressful. The regression analysis showed that challenge and controllable-by-self were unique and positive significant predictors of the coaches' subjective performance, and that controllable-by-self was the strongest predictor of the two. Appraising the situation as uncontrollable-by-anyone was also a significant positive predictor of coaches' subjective performance in the step 2 of the regression analysis, and not coaches' exhaustion level as hypothesized. Threat appraisals were found to significant predict coaches' exhaustion level at the first step of the regression analysis, whereas controllable-by-self was the strongest negative significant predictor for coaches' exhaustion. The results indicate that controllable-by-self appraisals play a particular role in preventing burnout and inducing performance in elite coaches when they face stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on movement behaviors of children under the age of five, a narrative review

Background: In March 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since then, our lives have changed significantly, particularly vulnerable groups, such as young children. A young child's movements throughout a typical day include sleeping, sitting, and physical activity (PA) of different intensities. In 2019 the WHO released the first global guideline for movement behavior of children under the age of five. Due to the distinct movement behavior recommendations for this age group and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these behaviors, the present review aims to appraise the literature from across the globe on the effect of COVID-19 on movement behaviors, including screen-time, PA, and sleep in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Methods: PubMed and Google scholar electronic database were searched, the titles and s of all articles retrieved from the search were screened and duplicates were removed. The full texts of potential articles to be included in the study were then reviewed based on the inclusion criteria, and data were extracted from the selected studies using a Microsoft Excel sheet. Results: This review included 11 studies. Four studies cross-sectional, six longitudinal, and one cohort study. The sample size ranged from 25 to 4,136 children. In all of the studies, the sedentary screen-time increased significantly. Sleep, on the other hand, did not change significantly in the majority of the studies, although sleep duration increased in some studies. There were large discrepancies between the device-measured and parent-reported outcomes regarding physical activity that decreased in all studies, except for the Hong Kong and Sweden studies it increased. Conclusion: As the world is still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and managing the uncertainty of other pandemics that may occur, our review can help to promote a healthy balanced pattern of movement behaviors by providing information to support parents of young children.

Advancing patient safety governance in the COVID-19 response

In the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the safety of health care services remains a serious, ongoing challenge. This once-in-a-century global health crisis exposed the vulnerability of healthcare delivery systems and the subsequent risks of patient harm. Given the scale of the occurrence and costs of preventable patient safety events, intervention and investment are still relatively modest. Good patient safety governance focuses on what leaders and policy makers can do to improve system performance and reduce the financial burden of avoidable care. Moreover, it is essential in driving progress in improving safety outcomes. This report examines how patient safety governance mechanisms in OECD countries have withstood the test of COVID-19 and provides recommendations for countries in further improving patient safety governance and strengthening health system resilience.

Prepared food on the trail: exploring sustainability in outdoor recreation food choices. (Special Issue: Covid-19 and outdoor recreation.)

Given the breadth and depth of environmental concerns such as biodiversity loss and climate change, sustainability is a topic for all sectors of contemporary society, inclusive of outdoor recreation. The guiding global framework focus for sustainability is the United Nations Agenda 2030;this framework is used to support a transition to a more sustainable society. Within outdoor recreation, sustainability can be explored and pursued from a multitude of perspectives, for example, participant behavior, outdoor recreation product production, or outdoor resource management. This paper will provide one small example of how an element of outdoor recreation, prepared backcountry food, can serve as a model for the numerous other questions that need to be addressed to pursue more sustainable outdoor recreation. The research will highlight the complexity of the details of sustainability and the opportunity for sustainable transitions. Outdoor recreation participants make extraordinary decisions as they plan and execute their participation;sustainability can be one of those critical decisions.

Recent Urban Issues Related to Particulate Matter in Ploiesti City, Romania

The present work aimed to assess the ambient levels of air pollution with particulate matter for both mass concentrations and number of particles for various fractions in Ploiesti city during the lockdown period determined by the COVID-19 pandemic (March–June 2020). The PM10 continuously monitored data was retrieved from four air quality automatic stations that are connected to the Romanian National Network for Monitoring Air Quality and located in the city. Because no other information was available for other more dangerous fractions, we used monitoring campaigns employing the Lighthouse 3016 IAQ particle counter near the locations of monitoring stations assessing size-segregated mass fraction concentrations (PM0.5, PM1, PM2.5, PM5, PM10, and TPM) and particle number concentration (differential Δ) range between 0.3 and 10 microns during the specified timeline between 8.00 and 11.00 a.m., which were considered the morning rush hours interval. Interpolation maps estimating the spatial distribution of the mass concentrations of various PM fractions and particle number concentration were drawn using the IDW algorithm in ArcGIS 10.8.2. Regarding the particle count of 0.5 microns during the lockdown, the smallest number was recorded when the restriction of citizens' movement was declared (24 March 2020), which was 5.8-times lower (17,301.3 particles/cm3) compared to a common day outside the lockdown period (100,047.3 particles/cm3). Similar results were observed for other particle sizes. Regarding the spatial distribution of the mass concentrations, the smaller fractions were higher in the middle of the city and west (PM0.5, PM1, and PM2.5) while the PM10 was more concentrated in the west. These are strongly related to traffic patterns. The analysis is useful to establish the impact of PM and the assessment of urban exposure and better air quality planning. Long-term exposure to PM in conjunction with other dangerous air pollutants in urban aerosols of Ploiesti can lead to potential adverse effects on the population, especially for residents located in the most impacted areas.

Improving the timeliness of health expenditure tracking in OECD and low-and middle-income countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that access to timely health spending data is crucial for informed policy-making. This Health Working Paper summarises and compares the methodologies applied in around half of OECD countries to estimate public and private health spending for the most recent year (i.e. t-1) as well as the approaches taken by the OECD Secretariat to fill existing data gaps for the remaining OECD countries. For the first time, the paper also explores the feasibility of nowcasting health spending for the current year (i.e. t) and examines data sources that could be potentially useful in such an exercise. While this review should help OECD countries that do not yet have experience in estimating health spending for year t-1 to improve the timeliness in their data reporting, a special focus in this paper lies on testing the applicability of the methods in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), using the WHO Western Pacific Region (WPRO) as an example. Generally, different data sources exist in many countries that would allow for a more timely estimation for health spending aggregates.

COVID-19 mortality attenuated during widespread Omicron transmission, Denmark, 2020 to 2022

Background: It sparked considerable attention from international media when Denmark lifted restrictions against COVID-19 in February 2022 amidst widespread transmission of the new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and a steep rise in reported COVID-19 mortality based on the 30-day COVID-19 death count. Aim: Our aim was to investigate how coincidental infections affected COVID-19 mortality estimates following the introduction of the Omicron variant in late 2021. Methods: We compared the 30-day COVID-19 death count with the observed mortality using three alternative mortality estimation methods;(i) a mathematical model to correct the 30-day COVID-19 death count for coincidental deaths, (ii) the Causes of Death Registry (CDR) and (iii) all-cause excess mortality. Results: There was a substantial peak in the 30-day COVID-19 death count following the emergence of the Omicron variant in late 2021. However, there was also a substantial change in the proportion of coincidental deaths, increasing from 10-20% to around 40% of the recorded COVID-19 deaths. The high number of 30-day COVID-19 deaths was not reflected in the number of COVID-19 deaths in the CDR and the all-cause excess mortality surveillance. Conclusion: Our analysis showed a distinct change in the mortality pattern following the introduction of Omicron in late 2021 with a markedly higher proportion of people estimated to have died with, rather than of, COVID-19 compared with mortality patterns observed earlier in the COVID19 pandemic. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating alternative mortality surveillance methods to more correctly estimate the burden of COVID-19 as the pandemic continues to evolve.

Patients' diets in Latvian psycho-neurological hospitals

The role of nutrition in the treatment of diseases is known, and it can be a contributing and hindering factor which can shorten or prolong the time of treatment. Studies on mental health have shown that the inclusion of certain nutrient in increased amounts in patients' diet can have a positive effect on the treatment of depression, anxiety etc. The COVID-19 pandemic increases the risk of depression in general population, which means an increased number of patients in need of professional help. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the patients' diets in Latvian psycho-neurological hospitals, emphasizing the provision of certain nutrients which are essential for mental health. There were analyzed a one-week menu at three Latvian psycho-neurological hospitals. Provision of nutrients (minerals, vitamins, fatty acids) in patients' diets was calculated using Finish food composition database. Basic conditions for provision of patients' diet are determined by the regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers, indicating the daily variety of energy value, minimum and maximum amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The obtained results regarding patients' diets were processed using MS Excel and SPSS Statistics 22. The required amount of nutrients per day can be achieved with a variety of foods which in turn can significantly affect the concentration of minerals and vitamins and profile of fatty acids in the diet. In general, the provision of minerals and vitamins in hospitals' diets was close to the recommendations of a healthy person, but it was not sufficient for psycho-neurological hospital patients. It would be desirable to raise their concentration by increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits in the diet. Analysis of fatty acid profile in patients' diets showed significant differences depending on whether fish or meat products were included. It would be advisable to increase the concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. In general, the nutrition provision for patients of psycho-neurological hospitals could be assessed as sufficient, but several aspects need to be improved. Vitamin D intake should be significantly increased as it didn't reach the generally recommended dose. Fruit should be included and the amount of vegetables should be increased to provide a recommendation of at least 400 g per day, which in turn will increase the intake of vitamins and minerals.

Lithuanian gastronomic tourism potential: opportunities and perspectives

Purpose - the aim of this paper is to analyze the gastronomic tourism trends in the world and in Lithuania, to determine the opportunities and the potential of gastronomic tourism in Lithuania and to provide recommendations for its development. Design - the theoretical part gives the understanding of gastronomic tourism in the world and its potential in Lithuania. The research gives an understanding of gastronomic tourism situation in Lithuania. Methodology - the research was done using analysis of scientific literature, secondary data analysis method of analysis and synthesis, quantitative research. The quantitative method used in this paper is a survey conducted among the local travelers. The results of the research were statistically processed using the Excel. Approach - gastronomic tourism is becoming an increasingly popular area of tourism, generating billions in revenue for businesses worldwide. According to the Global Report on Food Tourism, 79 percent travelers travel itinerary consists of a pre-analyzed calendar of gastronomic events and local cuisine, one in three travelers consider national cuisine to be a motivating travel choice and spends about 30 percent on food of total travel expenses. Findings - in Lithuania, gastronomic travel is still a relatively new niche in tourism. In recent years, this area of tourism has attracted considerable interest from foreign tourists and local travelers, however, the Covid 19 pandemic halted travel. Due to the tense situation in Europe, Lithuania still does not receive a larger number of tourists from foreign countries. Hospitality businesses use variety of means to engage, attract, and encourage local people to travel. Gastronomic tourism is one of such measures, as Lithuania can offer travelers quality local food, interesting national dishes with deep traditions, various food festivals and events. Originality of the research - the article analyzes results of research, discusses ways of attracting local tourists introducing more variety in gastronomic tourism. Practical implications are based on research findings and could be used by local travel agencies creating new gastronomic tourism products.

Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19

The severe impact of global crises, such as COVID-19 and climate change, is plausibly reshaping the way in which people perceive risks. In this paper, we examine and compare how global crises and local disasters influence public perceptions of multiple hazards in Italy and Sweden. To this end, we integrate information about the occurrence of hazardous events with the results of two nationwide surveys. These included more than 4000 participants and were conducted in two different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic corresponding to low (August 2020) and high (November 2020) levels of infection rates. We found that, in both countries, people are more worried about risks related to experienced events. This is in line with the cognitive process known as the availability heuristic: individuals assess the risk associated with a given hazard based on how easily it comes to their mind. Epidemics, for example, are perceived as less likely and more impactful in Italy compared to Sweden. This outcome can be explained by cross-country differences in the impact of, as well as governmental responses to, COVID-19. Notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic, people in both Italy and Sweden are highly concerned about climate change, and they rank it as the most likely threat.

Recovery rates and parosmia in olfactory loss during the COVID-19 era

INTRODUCTION. Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a common symptom of COVID-19. In some patients, OD persists for many months, fluctuates during recovery or parosmia may occur. Knowledge about the prognosis of these patients is insufficient. METHODS. Data on chemosensory function and possible prognostic factors were collected through a baseline questionnaire and six follow-up questionnaires answered at 2-3-month intervals. RESULTS. One year after onset of OD, 42.0% of the respondents reported sustained complete recovery, 41.7% reported partial recovery and 2.4% reported no improvement of olfaction. Follow-up was unavailable for 13.9%. Parosmia, high severity of OD and female sex were associated with lower rates of recovery. Subjects who reported that OD had a high impact on their quality of life were less likely to recover within one month. Smoking, alcohol habits, BMI and physical activity were not associated with persistence of OD. CONCLUSIONS. High recovery rates were reported within the first months. Recovery of sensory function after more than six months with no prior improvement was reported. After one year, 97.1% of participants with at least one year of follow-up had reported at least some recovery. Recurring OD after initial complete recovery was reported by 24.5% of participants. Parosmia and severity of OD were associated with prolonged recovery rates. FUNDING. AF received research funding from Velux Fonden. The sponsors had no say nor any responsibilities in relation to the study.

Sustainable value chain of industrial biocomposite consumption: influence of COVID-19 and consumer behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most unprecedented crises of recent decades with a global effect on society and the economy. It has triggered changes in the behavior and consumption patterns of both final consumer and industrial consumers. The consumption patterns of industrial consumers are also influenced by changes in consumer values, environmental regulations, and technological developments. One of the technological highlights of the last decade is biocomposite materials being increasingly used by the packaging industry. The pandemic has highlighted the problems and challenges of the development of biocomposites to adapt to new market conditions. This study aims to investigate the industrial consumption of biocomposite materials and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the main stages of the value chain of sustainable industrial consumption of biocomposites. The research results reveal there is a growing interest in the use of biocomposites. Suppliers and processors of raw materials are being encouraged to optimize and adapt cleaner production processes in the sustainable transition pathway. The study highlights the positive impact of COVID-19 on the feedstock production, raw material processing, and packaging manufacturing stages of the value chain as well as the neutral impact on the product manufacturing stage and negative impact on the retail stage. The companies willing to move toward the sustainable industrial chain have to incorporate economic, environmental, social, stakeholder, volunteer, resilience, and long-term directions within their strategies.

Food involvement, sustainable practices, and travel intent: moral tensions?

Considerable work has identified the characteristics and travel preferences of foodies. Many food tourists are seduced by high end indulgent activities, not necessarily aligned with sustainability objectives. In this article we ask: Are food tourists' involvement levels and travel choices in accordance with sustainability objectives? In so doing we explore moral tensions. Using Swedish survey data incorporating a food involvement scale we capture domestic sustainability sensibilities and infer food involvement and travel intention implications. Results show (a) strong linkages between domestic sustainability food practices and involvement and (b) that those seeking novel and new food experiences are likely to travel. On the other hand, foodies that practice sustainability in their domestic life are less inclined to travel. Inherent to these findings is an identity tension between the hedonic epicure and the sustainable food-wise foodie. Theoretically, this suggests sustainability, in parallel with hedonism, is a sensitizing driver of involvement. Practically, the implications are that destinations post-COVID-19 will have to work harder on image enhancement campaigns targeting sustainably sensitive food tourists.

Norwegian Public Health Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 27-29 October 2021

These proceedings contain articles that discuss social inequality, physical activity, and good practices, to health promotion in local community settings, digital health, quality of life, mental health, as well as living conditions that are conducive to health, schools and kindergartens that foster health, climate and mental health, food, health, and sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, mental Health, COVID-19 and a poster session on various topics. In order to better awareness of various approaches to the numerous themes within climate changes and public health, practitioners are also welcomed to these sessions to present their project experiences, meet with researchers, and engage in discussion.

SARS-CoV-2 infections in farmed minks (Neovision vision) - current data on the disease, epidemiology and emerging threat for humans and other animals

SARS-CoV-2, the betacoronavirus that causes COVID-19, has spread rapidly around the world since December 2019. It was suspected from the beginning that the primary outbreak in China, was of a zoonotic origin, but the SARS- CoV-2 animal reservoir(s) has not been definitively identified yet. So far, it has been confirmed that numerous animal species are susceptible to infection and that experimentally infected cats, shrews, hamsters and ferrets can also shed the virus. The SARS-CoV-2 was also detected in farmed mink (Neovison vison), in which it caused both, the clinical and subclinical disease, with respiratory symptoms and increased mortality. In April 2020, the first SARS-CoV-2 cases were detected in minks in the Netherlands, and to date (November 2020), further outbreaks have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United States, Greece, France and Poland. It has also been shown that the transmission of infection from humans to minks and from minks to humans may occur. The OIE is working on the inclusion of mink in the WAHIS database and encouraging the Members to provide appropriate data for this species to improve the monitoring of the epidemiological situation worldwide and prevent the establishment of a possible new reservoir for SARS-CoV-2.

Existence of severe acute respiratory syndrome causing Coronavirus-2 (COVID-19) on aquatic animals and aquatic products: a review

Many pandemic diseases have emerged in the history and millions of people affected from these diseases. Among the marked pandemics in history, the plague, known as the black death, was recorded to cause the death of 17-54% of the world population. Similar to previous pandemics, as the SARS CoV-2, which emerged in 2019 and belonged to the coronavirus family, caused an epidemic and turned into a pandemic infection, positive cases were detected in more than 483 million people, and more than 6.1 million people died. While this emerging epidemic is still continuing its effects, it has been determined that there are positive cases in pets such as dogs and cats, especially in mink (Neovison vison). Especially in Denmark, Netherlands and Finland, positive animals for COVID-19 were accepted. Unlike the pandemic until today, the COVID-19 has spread to broader geographies and affected many animal species. With the reports that the SARS-CoV-2 - was first transmitted from bats to humans, this viral agent has been accepted as zoonotic, but a complete transmission route has not been shown for its transmission from other animals to humans except bats. It is reported that there is no significant risk of transmission of the virus, which is transmitted primarily by the respiratory route, from both pets and edible foods to humans. Although there are many reports in terrestrial animals, studies on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 - in aquatic animals or aquatic environments and COVID-19 transmission in aquatic animals have doubts. Here we reviewed the viability of the SARS-CoV-2 - in the aquatic environment, transmission to the aquatic ecosystem and aquatic animals, and therefore the risks to humans through water or aquatic products.

Challenges for development of construction industry in conditions of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Latvia

The construction industry, like other industries, is being forced to change the working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, within the limits set by the EU and the government. Construction is an industry in which a large part of the construction process cannot be carried out remotely, regardless of the level of technological development. Manufacturing, construction, assembly, and other works require a great deal of human labour. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it is necessary to distance, these construction processes may be adversely affected. However, the use of technologies such as Construction Information Modelling (BIM) and the new Construction Information System (BIS) allows the design industry not to stop using the latest construction technology tools. Digital technologies increase production efficiency, complement other factors of production and stimulate innovation, significantly reduce costs and overcome information barriers. The interpretation of statistics and the interviews conducted confirmed the hypothesis that the virus has had negative and positive effects within the constructor sector of the economy. The research aims to investigate the problems and challenges faced by the construction industry in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying the main obstacles to the introduction of digital technologies in the Latvian construction sector, as well as other problems faced by the industry in the coronary virus COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia, analyze the construction sector and identify the COVID-19 pandemic effect on Latvia's construction sector. As part of the study, an electronic questionnaire was established and a survey was carried out to identify the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia's construction sector, the results were compiled and the conclusions were reached.