ABSTRACT
Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the constant transformation of the SARS-COV-2 virus form, exposure to substantial psychosocial stress, environmental change, and isolation have led to the inference that the overall population's mental health could be affected, resulting in an increase in cases of psychosis. Objective(s): We initiated a systematic review to determine the impact of the SARS-COV-2 virus and its long-term effects-in both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases-on people with or without psychosis. We envisioned that this would give us an insight into effective clinical intervention methods for patients with psychosis during and after the pandemic. Method(s): We selected fifteen papers that met our inclusion criteria, i.e., those that considered participants with or without psychiatric illness and exposed to SARS-COV-2 infection, for this review and were retrieved via Google, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, PubMed, and PsychINFO Database. Key Gap: There is a dearth of research in understanding how COVID-19 affects people with or without a prior personal history of psychosis. Result(s): The systematic review summary provides insight into the state of knowledge. Insights from the systematic review have also been reviewed from the salutogenesis model's perspec-tive. There is moderate evidence of new-onset psychosis during the COVID-19 pandemic in which some antipsychotics treated the psychotic symptoms of patients while treating for COVID-19. Suggestions and recommendations are made for preventive and promotive public health strategies. Conclusion(s): The Salutogenesis model and Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI) provide another preventive and promotive public health management approach.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Background: Effective anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) drugs are not only the next defense after vaccines but also the key part of establishing a multi-tiered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention and control system. Previous studies had indicated that Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW) capsules could be an efficacious Chinese patent drug for treating mild to moderate COVID-19. However, pharmacoeconomic evaluations are lacking, and few trials have been conducted in other countries or regions to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LHQW treatment. So, this study aims to explore the clinical efficacy, safety, and economy of LHQW for treating adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Methods: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international multicenter clinical trial protocol. A total of 860 eligible subjects are randomized at a 1:1 ratio into the LHQW or placebo group to receive two-week treatment and follow-up visits on days 0, 3, 7, 10, and 14. Clinical symptoms, patient compliance, adverse effects, cost scale, and other indicators are recorded. The primary outcomes will be the measured median time to sustained improvement or resolution of the nine major symptoms during the 14-day observation period. Secondary outcomes regarding clinical efficacy will be evaluated in detail on the basis of clinical symptoms (especially body temperature, gastrointestinal symptoms, smell loss, and taste loss), viral nucleic acid, imaging (CT/chest X-ray), the incidence of severe/critical illness, mortality, and inflammatory factors. Moreover, we will assess health care cost, health utility, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for economic evaluation. Discussion: This is the first international multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Chinese patent medicine for the treatment of early COVID-19 in accordance with WHO guidelines on COVID-19 management. This study will help clarify the potential efficacy and cost-effectiveness of LHQW in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19, facilitating decision-making by healthcare workers. Registration: This study is registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, with registration number: ChiCTR2200056727 (date of first registration: 11/02/2022).
ABSTRACT
The literature has long established the association between aging and frailty, with emerging evidence pointing to a relationship between frailty and SARS-CoV-2 contagion. The possible neurological consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, associated with physical and cognitive frailty, could lead to a worsening of Parkinson's disease (PD) in infected patients or-more rarely-to an increase in the Parkinsonian symptomatology. A possible link between those clinical pictures could be identified in vitamin D deficiency, while the whole process would appear to be associated with alterations in the microbiota-intestine-brain axis that fall within the α-Synuclein Origin site and Connectome (SOC) model, and allow for the identification of a body-first PD and a brain-first PD. The model of care for this condition must consider intrinsic and extrinsic variables so that care by a multidisciplinary team can be successfully predicted. A multidimensional screening protocol specifically designed to identify people at risk or in the early stages of the disease should begin with the investigation of indices of frailty and microbiota-intestine-brain axis alterations, with a new focus on cases of hypovitaminosis D.
ABSTRACT
The air pollution in China currently is characterized by high fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) concentrations. Compared with single high pollution events, such double high pollution (DHP) events (both PM2.5 and O3 are above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)) pose a greater threat to public health and environment. In 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 provided a special time window to further understand the cross-correlation between PM2.5 and O3. Based on this background, a novel detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) based on maximum time series of variable time scales (VM-DCCA) method is established in this paper to compare the cross-correlation between high PM2.5 and O3 in Beijing-Tianjin-Heibei (BTH) and Pearl River Delta (PRD). At first, the results show that PM2.5 decreased while O3 increased in most cities due to the effect of COVID-19, and the increase in O3 is more significant in PRD than in BTH. Secondly, through DCCA, the results show that the PM2.5-O3 DCCA exponents α decrease by an average of 4.40% and 2.35% in BTH and PRD respectively during COVID-19 period compared with non-COVID-19 period. Further, through VM-DCCA, the results show that the PM2.5-O3 VM-DCCA exponents [Formula: see text] in PRD weaken rapidly with the increase of time scales, with decline range of about 23.53% and 22.90% during the non-COVID-19 period and COVID-19 period respectively at 28-h time scale. BTH is completely different. Without significant tendency, its [Formula: see text] is always higher than that in PRD at different time scales. Finally, we explain the above results with the self-organized criticality (SOC) theory. The impact of meteorological conditions and atmospheric oxidation capacity (AOC) variation during the COVID-19 period on SOC state are further discussed. The results show that the characteristics of cross-correlation between high PM2.5 and O3 are the manifestation of the SOC theory of atmospheric system. Relevant conclusions are important for the establishment of regionally targeted PM2.5-O3 DHP coordinated control strategies.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants , Air Pollution , COVID-19 , Humans , Beijing , Air Pollutants/analysis , Rivers , Environmental Monitoring/methods , COVID-19/epidemiology , Air Pollution/analysis , Particulate Matter/analysis , China/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The changes in teaching due to COVID-19-related restraints generated distress among teachers, putting their job-related efficacy and satisfaction at risk. This study deepens the community-related protective and risk factors in teachers' experience. An online questionnaire detecting social distancing burnout, job-related distress experience, efficacy and satisfaction, and Sense of Community (SoC) was administered to 307 Italian teachers. A multiple mediation model was tested with Structural Equation Modeling. Evidence showed that social distancing burnout could increase teachers' distress rates and, through them, impact their job-related efficacy and satisfaction; however, its effects on the latter depended on the kind of distress mediating. Conversely, SoC could support their job-related efficacy and satisfaction, yet no association with their distress rates emerged. The role of social distancing and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)-related distress as the main threats for teachers stems, along with the one of job distress and the community of belonging as assets on which teachers relied.
ABSTRACT
The main research objective was to assess the range of threats related to poverty or social exclusion in EU countries among people with disabilities as compared to people without disabilities. The research used the available poverty determinants, including the percentage of low work intensity, the percentage of low income, the percentage of material deprivation, the poverty risk rate, the percentage of severe disability, living conditions and population income, and the overall risk of household poverty or exclusion, which are available in Eurostat databases. The data used in the research relates to 2018 and was published in 2021. The research used cluster analysis, more specifically one of the agglomeration clustering methods, i.e., Ward's method. Separate cluster analysis using Ward's method was carried out for people with disabilities and for people without disabilities. The analysis identifies two clusters among people with disabilities and two clusters among people without disabilities. In the group of people with disabilities, cluster 2 includes 19 countries with a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion, while cluster 1 includes eight countries with a lower risk of poverty or social exclusion. In turn, in the group of people without disabilities, cluster 2 includes nine countries with a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion, while cluster 1 includes 18 countries with a lower risk of poverty or social exclusion.
ABSTRACT
The high turnover of Security Operations Centre analysts, (SOC analysts), is a current issue being discussed globally, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent global widespread of cybersecurity breaches. The gaps in security operations, due to inconsistency in the availability of cyber security workforce exposes the organisation to the possibility of costly security breaches. Although there are diverse views on the factors responsible for the high turnover of SOC analysts, whatever the reasons, high turnover of SOC analysts, in many ways, constitute a serious risk to organisations. Employers have used financial incentives to address this problem, however, the problem still persists. This research therefore explores a multidisciplinary approach to finding comprehensive and sustainable solutions to this problem, through seeking the views of the stakeholders;the SOC analysts and cybersecurity leaders, including the views of experts from the fields of Human Resources (HR) and psychology. This research was conducted as a case study of the two types of Security Operations Centres (SOCs): in-house and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP), between the months of March and May 2022. Semi-structured interview was used as the qualitative method of gathering the necessary data. The key findings from this research suggest that most SOC analysts consider other factors than money in deciding whether to leave or stay in an organisation. These factors are mainly informed by the characteristic needs and motivations of the young generation of SOC analysts;hence, cybersecurity leaders should be tactical in finding ways to engage and retain their critical workforce. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
As more people use social media as a source of news and information, it is important to understand its impact on individual health decisions. This article compares the sentiment expressed in COVID-19 related tweets with national rates for first dose vaccinations as recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To conduct the study, the text from over 570,000 COVID-related tweets from January 2021 to December 2021 was captured. The tweets were segregated by month and Google Cloud's Natural Language API was used determine the sentiment in each tweet, with each post labeled as having positive, negative, or neutral sentiment. Overall, there was greater prevalence of negative sentiment as compared with positive sentiment during the period of review, with 45% of tweets negative, 33% positive and 22% neutral. The number of positive and negative tweets was more balanced in the early months of 2021 (when the vaccine was first available) and became decidedly more negative in the later part of the year, as misinformation about the vaccines spread prolifically on social media. This comparison of the tweet sentiment to first-time vaccine doses in the US shows that misinformation about vaccines on social media appears to have had an impact on behavior. Vaccine adoption declined significantly in the latter half of 2021, even as vaccines and information from public health officials regarding their efficacy became more available to the general public. These findings are validated by subsequent analysis of word usage by month, with positive comments about vaccines and vaccination in January through May coinciding with high vaccination rates, and a negative conversational shift to variants, increased deaths and suspicion about vaccine safety and effectiveness later in the year during a stagnation period in vaccinations. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: A frequently discussed topic today, stigma and/or discrimination are social phenomena that, in the broader context of medical discourse and especially in the current epidemiological situation, Covid-19 pandemic, appear and need a detailed examination Objectives: This study aims are to examine the literature and to present the aforementioned phenomena, comparing them with the Link & Phelan stigma model and offering pros and cons for their congruence with the model. Method(s): Literature analysis with searching words: stigma, discrimination, Covid-19, medical and especially psychiatric pathology, in Pubmed and Google scholar engine. Result(s): The studied 32 articles provided 4 stigmatized subgroups in the social context of the pandemic: that of patients and medical staff, that of comorbidities sufferers, that of stigmatized ethnic groups, and that of stigmatized races. These groups, stigmatized directly or by overlapping with the actual group, were studied in the most relevant PubMed articles, and evidence for the congruence of their stigma with the model was presented in this review. Conclusion(s): This work could also serve as a starting point for further study on combating stigma, improving the lives of our patients, colleagues affected by occupational exposure, and, finally, society at large.
ABSTRACT
The use of social media such as Twitter has gained popularity in education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 22 high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles for the meta-analysis. The authors reveal that there are no significant differences in teaching effectiveness between the Twitter and non-Twitter-assisted learning approaches. Twitter-assisted learning outcomes are significantly higher than the non-Twitter-assisted whether Twitter is used as a supplementary or an integrated tool. Twitter-assisted learning can lead to significantly higher learning outcomes than non-Twitter-assisted learning in the USA, Greece, and Sweden, but no significant difference is revealed in Spain. Swedish users hold significantly positive attitudes towards the use of Twitter in education, but no significant difference is found in the USA. Twitter-assisted learning can cause significantly more engagement than non-Twitter-assisted in the USA, and male learners have significantly higher learning outcomes than females in both the USA and Spain. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Plenty of research has focused on major immigrant destination metropolitan areas (Singer, Hardwick, & Brettell, 2008);however, little work has focused on small to mid-sized urban areas and re-emerging immigrant gateways (Singer, 2015). The greater Reno metropolitan area in Nevada, which in the early 21st-century is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, has re-emerged as an immigrant destination, yet it has been largely overlooked in scholarship. With this work, I fill the gap in the literature by exploring the lived experiences of an understudied, BIPOC transnational group (Punjabi-Sikhs) in a small to mid-sized and previously overlooked re-emerging immigrant gateway (the greater Reno area). This study investigated the socio-spatialities of Punjabi-Sikhs and their experiences with geographies of inclusion/exclusion during the early twenty-twenties, a period broadly characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic, a contentious political election, Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, and a surge in neo-nationalism and anti-Asian sentiment. I argue that the national and international public issues that became ever more apparent in the early twenty-twenties uniquely affected BIPOC and migratory groups in re-emerging immigrant gateways and small to mid-sized urban areas and resulted in new and unexpected socio-spatialities and geographies of inclusion and exclusion. Specifically, this work focuses on how Punjabi-Sikhs experience and navigate these new and complex geographies in the greater Reno area of Northern Nevada. To better understand these complex geographies, this research focused on three topics: (1) how the lived experiences and socio-spatialities of Punjabi- Sikhs have been impacted and navigated, (2) the implications of losing transnational gathering spaces during the pandemic, and (3) how the Punjabi-Sikh body has been Othered in everyday spaces during this tumultuous period. The qualitative phenomenological analysis presented in this dissertation relied on participant observation, semistructured interviews, and focus groups with fifteen Punjabi-Sikh men and women who resided in the greater Reno area. Fieldwork was conducted during the 2020-2021 global pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and the final year of Donald J. Trump's presidency, a presidency widely described as embracing a neonationalistic agenda. When considering the current ever-changing social and political atmosphere, some general trends are evident: a consistent rise in anti-Muslim, anti-minority, and anti-immigrant discourse;increased xenophobic political rhetoric that translates into socio-spatial exclusion;and a lack of worldly knowledge among members of the general public that results in increased negative stereotyping and discrimination against Punjabi-Sikhs and other BIPOC and migratory communities. However, the findings of this research also show that Punjabi-Sikhs are incredibly resilient and have developed sophisticated strategies for navigating adverse social and political landscapes. Thus, this research highlights the strength acquired through resiliency by these communities into creative and effective solutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Background: In trials conducted in India, recombinant granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) improved survival in alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH). The aim of this trial was to determine the safety and efficacy of pegfilgrastim, a long-acting recombinant GCSF, in patients with AH in the United States. Methods: This prospective, randomized, open label trial conducted between March 2017 and March 2020 randomized patients with a clinical diagnosis of AH and a Maddrey discriminant function score ≥32 to standard of care (SOC) or SOC+pegfilgrastim (0.6 mg subcutaneously) on Day 1 and Day 8 (clinicaltrials.gov NCT02776059). SOC was 28 days of either pentoxifylline or prednisolone, as determined by the patient's primary physician. The second injection of pegfilgrastim was not administered if the white blood cell count exceeded 30,000/mm3 on Day 8. Primary outcome was survival at Day 90. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), hepatic encephalopathy, or infections. Findings: The study was terminated early due to COVID19 pandemic. Eighteen patients were randomized to SOC and 16 to SOC+pegfilgrastim. All patients received prednisolone as SOC. Nine patients failed to receive a second dose of pegfilgrastin due to WBC > 30,000/mm3 on Day 8. Survival at 90 days was similar in both groups (SOC: 0.83 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57-0.94] vs. pegfilgrastim: 0.73 [95% CI: 0.44-0.89]; p > 0.05; CI for difference: -0.18-0.38). The incidences of AKI, HRS, hepatic encephalopathy, and infections were similar in both treatment arms and there were no serious adverse events attributed to pegfilgrastim. Interpretation: This phase II trial found no survival benefit at 90 days among subjects with AH who received pegfilgrastim+prednisolone compared with subjects receiving prednisolone alone. Funding: was provided by the United States National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism U01-AA021886 and U01-AA021884.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the clinical and immunological benefits of passive immunization using convalescent plasma therapy (CPT). Materials and Methods: A series of subclass analyses were performed on the previously published outcome data and accompanying clinical metadata from a completed randomized controlled trial (RCT) (Clinical Trial Registry of India, number CTRI/2020/05/025209). The subclass analyses were performed on the outcome data and accompanying clinical metadata from a completed RCT (patient recruitment between May 15, 2020 and October 31, 2020). Data on the plasma abundance of a large panel of cytokines from the same cohort of patients were also used to characterize the heterogeneity of the putative anti-inflammatory function of convalescent plasma (CP) in addition to passively providing neutralizing antibodies. Results: Although the primary clinical outcomes were not significantly different in the RCT across all age groups, significant immediate mitigation of hypoxia, reduction in hospital stay, and significant survival benefit were registered in younger (<67 years in our cohort) patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 and acute respiratory distress syndrome on receiving CPT. In addition to neutralizing the antibody content of CP, its anti-inflammatory proteome, by attenuation of the systemic cytokine deluge, significantly contributed to the clinical benefits of CPT. Conclusion: Subgroup analyses revealed that clinical benefits of CPT in severe coronavirus disease 2019 are linked to the anti-inflammatory protein content of CP apart from the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 neutralizing antibody content.
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, streaming applications have been in great demand, especially due to covid-19 (teleworking, online teaching, virtual reality, etc.). In addition, artificial intelligence has become widely used especially in video processing domains, so a video with high quality improves the accuracy rate of this application. To meet these needs, the Versatile Video Coding standard (VVC) has appeared to give a high compression efficiency compared to high-efficiency video coding. This norm consists of a high complexity algorithm that offers an improvement in processing time and decreases the bit rate by 50 % thanks to several new compression techniques. In this context, we propose the implementation of an intra prediction decoding chain of this standard on a system on chip. In this work, we highlight the VVC feature enhancements, we present the suitable method for VVC intra-prediction decoder implementation on the PYNQ-Z2, and we provide profiling in terms of decoding time and power consumption. As a future work, this study is helpful to distinguish the block that will be a candidate for a Hardware acceleration. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 outbreak has seen people in many countries asked to radically modify their way of life in compliance with sweeping safety measures. During the current crisis, technology is turning out to be key, in that it allows practitioners to deliver psychological services to people who would otherwise be unreachable. However, professionals cannot solely rely on their traditional modes of practice, in that different methods are required to bring to light the needs of those affected by the emergency. People are being overwhelmed by a cascade of unusual and unexpected events that are putting a strain on their everyday routines and usual meaning-making systems; ongoing challenges to their employment and financial status will likely divert personal resources away from psychological well-being. We therefore argue that psychologists should also consider the needs of the general population. Among those who may require help-aside from the main targets of psychological intervention, such as healthcare personnel and COVID-19 patients and their relatives-specific attention should be paid to those who are not at the center of the crisis. We suggest that this large segment of potential users may benefit from a non-medical approach focused on the promotion of meaning-making processes. Indeed, the disruptive nature of the current situation hinders sense-making and threatens to undermine psychological balance and well-being, at an individual as well as at a societal level. The present article proposes a methodological perspective based on the reconstruction of meaning-making processes (sense of coherence, predictability, metaphors, narratives). Specifically, psychological interventions should promote personal and collective resources with a view to: "normalizing" current distressful experiences (i.e., acknowledging that such reactions are normal in light of the present situation); widening the observational field, taking relational contexts into account, and promoting an understanding of distressful experiences as coping strategies; fostering meaning-making/reconstruction processes through the use of appropriate metaphors and narratives; promoting a sense of coherence. We present two clinical vignettes to illustrate how these principles might be applied in practice. In conclusion, the exceptional psychological challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic require practitioners to adopt a broad and flexible perspective on clinical intervention.
ABSTRACT
Background An outbreak of 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in urban centre, China, has unfolded quickly nationwide. There is a scarcity of human resource for observance of the symptoms of COVID-19 in patients or suspected person. Additionally, humans in the market for the monitorization of the symptoms are vulnerable because the COVID-19 will have an effect on those too. Methods Presently, there are many smartwatches/ smart bands available in the market which monitor the health parameters, but do not alert the user for any symptomatic changes in those parameters. And, the currently available watches/bands do not locate the person. Result This paper consists of an idea of inventing a smart healthcare device named as "Corona Warrior Smart Band" which measures the temperature, pulse rate and blood oxygen levels of a person without any human intervention and alerts the user and nearby COVID care centre (CCC) if any of the health parameters shows unusual observations in accordance with the COVID-19 conditions. This band also helps the COVID care centre's team to detect the live location of the suspected person. Conclusion This band is the best example of preventing the spreading and affection of COVID-19 virus in the society.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of IL-6 inhibitors compared to standard of care (SOC) in COVID-19 patients. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of the MEDLINE and Scopus databases (last search: October 8th, 2021) was performed according to the PRISMA statement. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized control trials (RCTs) comparing IL-6 inhibitors to SOC in hospitalized COVID-19 patients were deemed eligible. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Individual patient data were extracted from the Kaplan-Meier curves or were obtained from authors of included studies. Additionally, the reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed study quality of each eligible report. RESULTS: Eleven studies were identified, incorporating 7467 patients (IL-6 inhibitors: 4103, SOC: 3364). IL-6 inhibitors were associated with decreased risk for death compared to SOC at the one-stage meta-analysis (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 0.75, 95% Confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-0.82, p<0.0001) and the two-stage meta-analysis (HR: 0.85, 95%CI: 0.77-0.93, p<0.001, I2 = 0.0%). Meta-regression analysis revealed that the difference in OS between the two groups was not influenced by the mean age of patients. At secondary meta-analyses, IL-6 inhibitors were associated with decreased odds for intubation OR:0.74, 95%CI:0.65-0.85, p<0.001, I2=0.0%). IL-6 inhibitors were associated with increased odds for discharge compared to SOC (OR:1.28, 95% CI:1.15-1.42, p<0.001, I2=0.0%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized trials shows that IL-6 inhibitors significantly reduce the risk of death compared to SOC. IL-6 inhibitors are also associated with better outcomes in terms of intubation and discharge rates compared to SOC.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Coronavirus , Humans , Interleukin Inhibitors , Interleukin-6 , Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicABSTRACT
COVID is a deadly virus whose rate of infection is severely varying day by day. It affects larger crowd by changing its structure rapidly. To safeguard people, government announced many restrictions to the public access. During this pandemic, people are advised to be in non- contact mode so as to avoid the spread of deadly virus. But getting money in ATM machines are mandatory to buy necessary things and medicines. The access to ATM with ATM cards may cause the spread of deadly disease. Thus a better replacement is required these days. The proposed paper work, explains on the new projected algorithm with the help of Raspberry pi and Soc board to develop a non-contact based recognition system. Also the paper compares the projected system with the existing finger print access to ATM machines. The proposed system is developed with Raspberry pi and Soc board. A non-contact based recognition system is projected so as to reduce the spread of deadly virus. The person who wants to withdraw money from ATM has to stand before the machine. The face will be recognized by the machine in comparison with the database stored. After face been recognized, then the list of banks in which the person has accounts will be projected on the screen. The person can choose the bank from which he/she can withdraw money through voice control access. This method provides a non-contact based access to ATM machines and also supports for single centralized access to multiple banks. This reduces the effort of access to banks during pandemic. The main benefit of the projected system is to reduce the theft happens in the ATM machines. Also a guardian access with the customer approval is proposed in the system for easy access to the banks. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Background: Medical photography is used extensively in dermatology to record disease progression, measure treatment response, and help teach patients about skin disease;such photos are also commonly utilized in teledermatology, medical education, research, and medical reference websites. Understanding patient perceptions of medical photographs obtained during dermatologic care in the clinic or hospital setting is critical to enable the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered medical care. Objective: The aims of this study were to elucidate patient perceptions of skin photos in dermatology and to explore possible next steps in improving the patient experience with medical photography in the hospital or clinic setting. Methods: A scoping review of the literature was performed using the PubMed database, with clinic- or hospital-based full-text publications in English spanning the last 10 years considered for inclusion. Results: The majority of included studies (10/11, 91%) found positive patient attitudes toward medical photographs. The majority of patients (1197/1511, 79.2%) felt that medical photographs could improve medical care in the clinic setting. Written consent detailing all photo uses, including secondary uses (such as research or teaching), was preferred, apart from in 1 study. Patients preferred or found it acceptable for the photographer of their medical photos to be a physician (1301/1444, 90.1%). Clinic-owned cameras with departmental record storage were the preferred modality. Latinx and African American patients expressed less trust in the utility of medical photographs to improve care, compared with Asian and White patients. The minimal number of available publications on this topic and the inclusion of articles older than 5 years are limitations, since patient perceptions of medical photography may have rapidly changed during this time span, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increase in teledermatology visits. Conclusions: Patients reported positive perceptions of dermatologic photography for improving their medical care. Ethnic disparities in patient perceptions require further exploration to better elucidate nuances and develop interventions to improve the experience of marginalized patients. Building patient trust in nonphysician photographers may enhance clinic efficiency. Although clinic-owned cameras are well-accepted by patients, improved patient education surrounding the safety of electronic medical record phone applications is needed.
ABSTRACT
Employing the salutogenic approach, this longitudinal study explored the effects of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, as it evolved from an acute to a chronic stress situation, during the first year. We examined the role of individual [sense of coherence (SOC)], social (perceived social support), and national [sense of national coherence (SONC)] coping resources, as well as situational and demographic factors, in predicting mental health and anxiety. Data was collected in five phases between March 2020 and February 2021 via a repeated panel sample and included 198 Jewish Israelis (52% males) age 18-64 (M = 43.5). The results confirmed the expected pattern of moving from acute to chronic stressful situation: levels of general anxiety were higher in the first phase of the pandemic outbreak as compared to the other phases. Levels of social and national coping resources significantly decreased over time. However, as expected, the salutogenic resource of the individual sense of coherence remained stable and was also found as the main predictor of both anxiety and mental health in the 5 phases of the study. Beyond the explanatory factor of SOC, mental health was better explained by the social and national coping resources, while anxiety was explained by situational factors (level of financial risk and gender). The discussion delineates the longitudinal effects of individual, social, and national coping resources on mental health and anxiety during the dynamic process of the long period of 1 year of the pandemic, evolving from acute to chronic phases of the complicated health, economic, social, and political crisis.