Analysis of approaches to sterility testing of COVID-19 prevention vaccines.

Preventive vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection is currently receiving close attention in the Russian Federation. Improving public confidence in immunisation with new vaccines largely depends on a guarantee of the absence of side effects caused by contamination. A high risk of contamination is inherent to biological products, including coronavirus prevention vaccines, due to their properties and the nature of raw materials used. This risk adds to the need for using effective contaminant detection approaches. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility to improve sterility testing of preventive vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection. This article presents an analysis of the procedures proposed by pharmaceutical developers for sterility testing of ten Russian vaccines approved in the country for COVID-19 prevention. The authors considered specific characteristics of these vaccines, including their physical and chemical properties, the presence of antimicrobial components, and other critical factors affecting the correctness of the experimental setup. The results suggest that it is possible to improve sterility testing. According to the authors, the main directions for its improvement are the proposal to develop an alternative procedure based on compendial method 2 (OFS.1.2.4.0003.15, Ph. Rus. XIV), as well as the use of a universal culture medium. If used for refining the established procedures and developing new ones, the authors' recommendations will improve the reliability and applicability of sterility testing during both manufacturing and pre-approval regulatory assessment of updated coronavirus vaccines for subsequent release to the market. The proposed approaches can be applied to testing other medicinal products for sterility.Copyright © 2023 National Electronic-Information Consortium (NEICON). All rights reserved.

Advantages of Total Bilirubin for Predicting Malignant Obstructive Jaundice, A Combination of the Pandemic Era and Limited Resources Settings

BACKGROUND: Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancer incidence and mortality are increasing worldwide. An initial diagnostic predictor is needed for recommending further diagnostic modalities, referral, and curative or palliative decisions. There were no studies conducted in area with limited accessibility setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with limited human resources and facilities. AIM: We aimed to investigate the advantages of total bilirubin for predicting malignant obstructive jaundice, a combination of the pandemic era and limited resources settings. METHOD(S): Data from all cholestasis jaundice patients at M. Djamil Hospital in Pandemic COVID-19 period from July 2020 to May 2022 were retrospectively collected. The data included demographics, bilirubin fraction results, and final diagnosis. Bivariate analysis for obtain demographic risk factor, and Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis for getting bilirubin value. RESULT(S): Of a total 132 patients included, 35.6% were malignant obstructive jaundice, and Pancreatic adeno ca was the most malignant etiology (34.4%). Bivariate analysis showed a significant correlation between age and malignant etiology (p = 0,024). Direct and total Bilirubin reach the same level of Area Under Curve (AUC). Total bilirubin at the cutoff point level of 10.7 mg/dl had the most optimal results on all elements of ROC output, AUC 0.88, sensitivity 76.6%, specificity 90.1%, +LR 8.14, and-LR 0.26. CONCLUSION(S): The bilirubin fraction is a good initial indicator for differentiating benign and malignant etiology (AUC 0.8-0.9) in pandemic era and resource-limited areas to improve diagnostic effectiveness and reduce referral duration.Copyright © 2023 Avit Suchitra, M. Iqbal Rivai, Juni Mitra, Irwan Abdul Rachman, Rini Suswita, Rizqy Tansa.

Direct bilirubin and the neutrophil-to-monocyte ratio timely predict intensive care unit admission in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection (COVID-19)

Objective: Intensive care units (ICUs) collapsed under the global wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Thus, we designed a clinical decision-making model that can help predict at hospital admission what patients with COVID-19 are at higher risk of requiring critical care. Method(s): This was a cross-sectional study in 119 patients that met hospitalization criteria for COVID-19 including less than 30 breaths per minute, peripheral oxygen saturation < 93%, and/or >= 50% lung involvement on imaging. Depending on the need for critical care, patients were retrospectively assigned to ICU and non-ICU groups. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters were collected at admission and analyzed by classification and regression tree (CRT). Result(s): Forty-five patients were admitted to ICU and 80% of them were men older than 57.13 +/- 12.80 years on average. The leading comorbidity in ICU patients was hypertension. The CRT revealed that direct bilirubin (DB) > 0.315 mg/dl together with the neutrophil-to-monocyte ratio (NMR) > 15.90 predicted up to correctly in 92% of the patients the requirement of intensive care management, with sensitivity of 93.2%. Preexisting comorbidities did not influence on the tree growing. Conclusion(s): At hospital admission, DB and NMR can help identify nine in 10 patients with COVID-19 at higher risk of ICU admission.Copyright © 2022 Sociedad Medica del Hospital General de Mexico.

Direct selling: tackling the challenge of women's inclusion within the base of the pyramid (BOP) labour market during COVID era

The exclusion of women from the labour market continues to be one of the leading causes of poverty within the base of pyramid (BOP) labour market. Using Kabeer's women empowerment framework, this research aggregates some support that direct selling may be a pathway to increase the inclusion of women within the BOP labour market and alleviate poverty;the complexities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic provide a unique context to test this proposition. Drawing on the social constructivist approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with women engaged in direct selling in the BOP market in a Middle Eastern country. The study revealed four key themes throughout the participants' narratives of their experience working in direct selling businesses within the context of COVID-19. These themes are agency, resources, achievement, and precarious work. Our study also explored how the pandemic facilitated the female labour force's inclusion within the direct selling business in the BOP labour market. We concluded that engaging in direct selling has promoted the inclusion of women in labour markets;however, direct selling is still not considered a secure employment option, and direct sellers are exposed to poor pay, employment insecurity, and lack of employment benefits.

Planning cities for pandemics: A review of urban and transport planning lessons from COVID-19

For the past years, the world has been facing one of the worst pandemics of modern times. The COVID-19 outbreak joined a long list of infectious diseases that turned pandemic, and it will most likely leave scars and change how we live, plan, and manage the urban space and its infrastructures. Many fields of science were called into action to mitigate the impacts of this pandemic, including spatial and transport planning. Given the large number of articles recently published in these research areas, it is time to carry out an overview of the knowledge produced, synthesising, systematising, and critically analysing it. This article aims to review how the urban layout, accessibility and mobility influence the spread of a virus in an urban environment and what solutions exist or have been proposed to create a more effective and less intrusive response to pandemics. This review is split into two avenues of research: spatial planning and transport planning, including the direct and indirect impact on the environment and sustainability. © 2023 ICE Publishing: All rights reserved.

Optimization of train formation plan based on technical station under railcar demand fluctuation

Train formation planning (TFP) is essential for rail freight logistics services. The fluctuation of railcar flows dramatically compared with before the outbreak of COVID-19. This paper studies train formation planning, considering three types of train services provided for railcar flow between pairs of technical stations (TS), including direct trains, district trains, and pickup trains. This paper introduces an optimization model with average railcars flow data (OMAD) and an optimization model with dynamic railcars flow data (OMDD) for the train formation planning based on TS under railcar demand fluctuation while minimizing railcar-hour consumption. The OMAD is a deterministic model, and the OMDD is a probability constraint model. To solve the OMDD, an approach for transforming probability constraints into deterministic constraints is presented. Various groups of scenarios are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed models. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Industrial & Production Engineering is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Impact of Renewable Energy on the Economy of Saudi Arabia

The objective of the study was to identify the impact of renewable energy on Saudi economy during 2000-2021. Analytical techniques were used to conduct this study. An analysis of the study used a set of variables, in which Renewable energy perceives as independent variable and the dependent variables are GDP per capita, net foreign direct investment, unemployment, fixed capital formation, and net foreign trade. The data of the study were analyzed using the E-views program. According to the study, renewable energy has an impact on certain economic variables and does not have an impact on others. A partial validity is found for the study's central hypothesis. According to our findings, renewable energy contributes significantly to net foreign direct investment, unemployment, and fixed capital formation, but not to GDP per capita, net foreign trade, or fixed capital formation.

The Impact of COVID-19 Routine Life - A Survey

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus, has had a significant impact on daily life, education, business, and trade. The virus spreads quickly through direct contact with droplets, fecal-oral transmission, and water contamination. The consequences of the pandemic can be classified into three categories: health, economic, and social. The physical, mental, and psychological behaviors of individuals have also changed due to the pandemic. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the general population. A survey questionnaire with ten questions was distributed through an online portal, and the responses were analyzed using SPSS software. The results showed that healthcare workers were among the most affected, with the primary impact on their social and psychological well-being. Although previous research suggested that all fields were equally affected, this study found that healthcare workers were the most impacted group. The study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the social and psychological well-being of the general population, with healthcare workers being the most affected. © 2023 IEEE.

Analysis of the Characteristics of the Medical Industry and the Determinants of Investment: Focusing on South Korea–U.S. FDI

Purpose – This study analyzes the current status, background, and factors that affect the maintenance and success of the South Korea–U.S. medical foreign direct investment (FDI), which has been rapidly increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study was conducted from the perspective of the United States (U.S.), the host country of investment. A panel analysis was conducted with the 10-year data of economic and logistics factors of 30 major U.S. states. The independent variables were Gross domestic product (GDP), payroll, and employment rate, and logistics factors were the number of logistics bases and amount of investment. The dependent variable was the amount of South Korea–U.S. medical FDI. Findings – The empirical analysis revealed that GDP, payroll, and number of airports had significant positive effects on FDI. The medical industry is a typical high value-added process industry, and the economic power of the host region and payroll to employ excellent workers were key variables. Air transport infrastructure was also a prominent factor due to the nature of pharmaceutical drugs. Research Implications – The analysis results show the typical characteristics of the medical industry. Theresults and implications can guide future medical FDI in a more effective direction. © 2023 International Academy of Global Business and Trade. All rights reserved.

Neurological complications encountered in imaging studies in association with COVID-19 - a single center analysis

Introduction and aim. COVID-19 is a viral infectious disease, which was first reported in patients with unusual pneumonia in December 2019. However, as the pandemic progressed, extrapulmonary manifestations including various neurologic complications have been started to be increasingly reported. In this retrospective study, we tried to search the neurological complications seen in our patients with positive rRT-PCR test for COVID-19 and examine the underlying associated risk factors. Material and methods. We have retrospectively analyzed the neuroimaging studies performed in our patients with positive rRT-PCR test for COVID-19 between April, 2020 and August, 2021. Both computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imagings (MRI) of brain, head & neck region and the spine were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of any complications in patients with positive rRT-PCR test for COVID-19. Results. There were 147 patients having neuroradiological imaging studies performed for various neurological symptoms. Among these patients we detected 10 acute neurologicalcomplications.The most common was acute ischemic stroke in 5 patients and intracranial hemorrhage in 3 patients, two of which were intraventricular hemorrhage. The other complications included a preasumed cytotoxic lesion of corpus callosum in a 18 year old girl and lumbar spondylodiscitis complicated with psoas abcess in a 47 year-old man. Conclusion. In COVID-19 patients severe neurological complications can occur even as a presenting manifestation. Early cytotoxic endothelial injury can be the underlying cause in these patients and should be further studied in larger series in terms of what the susceptibility factors in these patients. © 2022 Publishing Office of the University of Rzeszow. All Rights Reserved.

Pandemics and the Individual Life Insurance Market: Evidence of the Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 has led to significant loss of life and has adversely impacted the worldwide economy. While anecdotal evidence indicates a growing interest in life insurance among U.S. consumers during the pandemic, little is known about how the pandemic may have affected the life insurance market. We utilize insurer-state data to create a measure that captures an insurer's exposure to COVID in each state in which it conducts business. Using this measure to examine the impact of the pandemic on the market for individual life insurance, we find that greater insurer-state COVID exposure is associated with smaller changes in issuances and surrenders in the U.S. We also find that observations with the greatest COVID exposure are more likely to experience declines in issuance and surrender activity. These results indicate that insurers were deliberate with respect to their policy issuance decisions while policyholders kept their policies in force during a period of significant uncertainty. [Key words: COVID-19;life insurance;pandemics;policy issuances;policy surrenders.] JEL Classifications: D12, D22, G22

An Approach of Skill-Based Education for Industry-Ready Electrical Engineers: Power Electronics Course as A Case Study

Recently, and particularly after the Covid19 pandemic period and during teaching different courses, it has been noticed that most of the undergraduate engineering students have rising the type of questions such as ''Why we are learning this particular course?'' and ''What are the main benefits and direct impacts of such course on our future carrier? Also as a direct impact of the new available job requirements, it becomes most importance to prepare future engineers to thrive in recent dynamic changing in employment landscape. Hence for students who want to compete and involved in promising working opportunities, it is important to bridging the gap between teaching courses and the industry requirements by focusing on the concept of ''Industry Ready Engineers Since most of recent jobs concentrate on specific required competencies, the author believes that it is important now to give more focusing on the skill-based learning methodology. This paper introduces an approach focusing on group categorization for the recent specific required skills of electrical engineers;then how to involve these skills in specific teaching courses. The main objectives of such approach is to intentionally improve such group skills (one by one) throughout the all program courses in order to introduce a final graduated engineer with great working readiness skills. The approach is validated and evaluated on teaching the power electronics course 1 as a case study. © 2023 IEEE.

Broad-Spectrum Antivirals Derived from Natural Products.

Scientific advances have led to the development and production of numerous vaccines and antiviral drugs, but viruses, including re-emerging and emerging viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, remain a major threat to human health. Many antiviral agents are rarely used in clinical treatment, however, because of their inefficacy and resistance. The toxicity of natural products may be lower, and some natural products have multiple targets, which means less resistance. Therefore, natural products may be an effective means to solve virus infection in the future. New techniques and ideas are currently being developed for the design and screening of antiviral drugs thanks to recent revelations about virus replication mechanisms and the advancement of molecular docking technology. This review will summarize recently discovered antiviral drugs, mechanisms of action, and screening and design strategies for novel antiviral agents.

The Direct Support Workforce: An Examination of Direct Support Professionals and Frontline Supervisors During COVID-19.

Direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors (FLSs) have critical roles in home and community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Low wages and high levels of responsibility created a long-term crisis in recruitment and retention and are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A national sample of DSPs and FLSs were compared on demographics and work-related circumstances using data from the third Direct Support Workforce COVID-19 Survey. Significant differences were found in demographics, hours worked, wages, wage augmentations, and quality of work-life. Policy recommendations to address the worsening workforce crisis are provided.

Promoting Resilience in Direct Support Professionals of Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

The direct support professional (DSP) workforce shortage crisis has reached untenable levels during the COVID-19 pandemic as DSPs rapidly exit the workforce. To gain a better understanding of factors that contribute to DSP resilience during stressful and challenging times, we interviewed 10 DSPs identified by colleagues as resilient to elicit strategies to promote DSP resilience. Our content analysis revealed nine distinct strategies: (a) communication; (b) self-worth and recognition; (c) authentic, equitable relationships; (d) embracing change and learning; (e) establishing and maintaining boundaries; (f) cultivating an intentional mindset; (g) self-care; (h) spirituality/"the bigger picture"; and (i) a daily practice of humor and fun.

A digital divide in direct market farmers' online sales and marketing: Early pandemic evidence from California

The use of the internet for sales and marketing has been on an upward trend in the past decade. The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an increase in direct market farmers' use of online sales and marketing. This paper analyzes California direct market farmers' use of online sales and marketing technologies during the first ten months of the pandemic to understand (1) how their use interacted with farmers' sales and profitability and (2) which direct market farmers were more likely to use them. Research on farmers' access to online sales and marketing technologies is important since consumers increasingly use the internet to buy or find information about products. The findings are based on 364 responses to an online survey administered in January–April 2021 and 13 follow-up interviews conducted in September 2021–August 2022. We used quantitative and qualitative analyses to answer the following questions: (1) How did the use of online sales and marketing technologies interact with direct market farmers' gross income and profitability between March–December 2020? (2) What barriers did direct market farmers face in accessing online sales and marketing technologies? And (3) What farm and farmer characteristics were most associated with using online sales and marketing technologies in 2020? Our findings show that, between March–December 2020, direct market farmers who had an online presence or added online sales after March 2020 were more likely to increase their sales and profitability than farmers who did not use online sales and marketing at all. However, farmers who used online sales at the start of 2020 and continued using it as a market channel were likely to increase their sales but not profitability. We argue that (1) using online sales and marketing technologies likely helped direct market farmers access markets during the pandemic, (2) there are barriers to accessing these technologies, and online sales may not be the right fit for all direct market farms, (3) many farmers need training and reliable internet to be able to navigate online technologies, and (4) more research is needed to understand how direct market farmers experience and navigate the trend toward market digitalization, and how this is related to already-existing inequalities among direct market farmers.

COVID-19 SIR model: Bifurcation analysis and optimal control

This paper proposes a SIR epidemic model with vital dynamics to control or eliminate the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic considering the constant population, saturated treatment, and direct-indirect transmission rate of the model. We demonstrate positivity, boundness and calculate the disease-free equilibrium point and basic reproduction number from the model. We use the Jacobian matrix and the Lyapunov function to analyze the local and global stability, respectively. It is observed that indirect infection increases the basic reproduction number and gives rise to multiple endemic diseases. We perform transcritical, forward, backward, and Hopf bifurcation analyses. We propose two control parameters (Use of face mask, hand sanitizer, social distancing, and vaccination) to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. We use Pontryagin's maximum principle to solve the optimal control problem and demonstrate the results numerically.

Efficient Direct and Limited Environmental Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.22 in Domestic Cats.

The susceptibility of domestic cats to infection with SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated by several experimental studies and field observations. We performed an extensive study to further characterize the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between cats, through both direct and indirect contact. To that end, we estimated the transmission rate parameter and the decay parameter for infectivity in the environment. Using four groups of pair-transmission experiment, all donor (inoculated) cats became infected, shed virus, and seroconverted, while three out of four direct contact cats got infected, shed virus, and two of those seroconverted. One out of eight cats exposed to a SARS-CoV-2-contaminated environment became infected but did not seroconvert. Statistical analysis of the transmission data gives a reproduction number R0 of 2.18 (95% CI = 0.92 to 4.08), a transmission rate parameter ß of 0.23 day-1 (95% CI = 0.06 to 0.54), and a virus decay rate parameter µ of 2.73 day-1 (95% CI = 0.77 to 15.82). These data indicate that transmission between cats is efficient and can be sustained (R0 > 1), however, the infectiousness of a contaminated environment decays rapidly (mean duration of infectiousness 1/2.73 days). Despite this, infections of cats via exposure to a SARS-CoV-2-contaminated environment cannot be discounted if cats are exposed shortly after contamination. IMPORTANCE This article provides additional insight into the risk of infection that could arise from cats infected with SARS-CoV-2 by using epidemiological models to determine transmission parameters. Considering that transmission parameters are not always provided in the literature describing transmission experiments in animals, we demonstrate that mathematical analysis of experimental data is crucial to estimate the likelihood of transmission. This article is also relevant to animal health professionals and authorities involved in risk assessments for zoonotic spill-overs of SARS-CoV-2. Last but not least, the mathematical models to calculate transmission parameters are applicable to analyze the experimental transmission of other pathogens between animals.

Mechanistic investigation of direct photodegradation of chloroquine phosphate under simulated sunlight.

Chloroquine phosphate (CQ) is an antiviral drug for Coronavirus Disease 2019 and an old drug for treatment of malaria, which has been detected in natural waters. Despite its prevalence, the environmental fate of CQ remains unclear. In this study, the direct photodegradation of CQ under simulated sunlight was investigated. The effect of various parameters such as pH, initial concentration and environmental matrix were examined. The photodegradation quantum yield of CQ (4.5 × 10-5-0.025) increased with the increasing pH value in the range of 6.0-10.0. The electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry and quenching experiments verified that the direct photodegradation of CQ was primarily associated with excited triplet states of CQ (3CQ*). The common ions had negligible effect and humic substances exhibited a negative effect on CQ photodegradation. The photoproducts were identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry and the photodegradation pathway of CQ was proposed. The direct photodegradation of CQ involved the cleavage of the C-Cl bond and substitution of the hydroxyl group, followed by further oxidation to yield carboxylic products. The photodegradation processes were further confirmed by the density functional theory (DFT) computation for the energy barrier of CQ dichlorination. The findings contribute to the assessment of the ecological risk associated with the overuse of Coronavirus drugs during global public health emergencies.