Changes in Tropospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Vertical Column Densities over Japan and Korea during the COVID-19 Using Pandora and MAX-DOAS

We investigated the impact of human activity during COVID-19 on the tropospheric nitrogen dioxide vertical column density (NO2 TropVCD) at three urban sites (Gwangju and Busan in Korea and Yokosuka in Japan) and one remote site (Cape Hedo in Japan) from Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) and Pandora. Compared to the monthly mean NO2 TropVCD from 2015 to 2018 and in 2019, the values were lower in 2020 due to social distancing in Korea and Japan. High negative relative changes were observed from May to September (-30% to -18%) at the three urban sites;Cape Hedo, a remote site, did not show a significant difference in relative changes between previous years and 2020, suggesting that only anthropogenic emission sources decreased dramatically. In the case of Yokosuka, the 15-day moving average of the NO2 TropVCD exhibited a good relationship with transportation (R = 0.48) and industry (R = 0.54) mobility data. In contrast, the NO2 TropVCD at the Korean sites showed a moderate to low correlation with the industrial sector and insignificant correlations with transportation. The differences in correlations might be caused by the different social distancing policies in Korea (voluntary) and Japan (mandatory). By applying generalized boosted models to exclude meteorological and seasonal effects associated with NO2 TropVCD variations, we revealed that the decreasing trend from 2019 to 2020 was much steeper than that from 2015 to 2020 (a factor of two), and a significant change was identified in January 2020, when the first cases of COVID-19 were observed in both Korea and Japan. This result confirmed that the reduction in NO2 can be largely explained by the NOx emission reduction resulting from social distancing for COVID-19 rather than annual meteorological differences;however, in December 2020, NO2 recovered suddenly to its previous level due to an increase in human activities.

Working With AI to Persuade: Examining a Large Language Model's Ability to Generate Pro-Vaccination Messages

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transformative force in communication and messaging strategy, with potential to disrupt traditional approaches. Large language models (LLMs), a form of AI, are capable of generating high-quality, humanlike text. We investigate the persuasive quality of AI-generated messages to understand how AI could impact public health messaging. Specifically, through a series of studies designed to characterize and evaluate generative AI in developing public health messages, we analyze COVID-19 pro-vaccination messages generated by GPT-3, a state-of-the-art instantiation of a large language model. Study 1 is a systematic evaluation of GPT-3's ability to generate pro-vaccination messages. Study 2 then observed peoples' perceptions of curated GPT-3-generated messages compared to human-authored messages released by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), finding that GPT-3 messages were perceived as more effective, stronger arguments, and evoked more positive attitudes than CDC messages. Finally, Study 3 assessed the role of source labels on perceived quality, finding that while participants preferred AI-generated messages, they expressed dispreference for messages that were labeled as AI-generated. The results suggest that, with human supervision, AI can be used to create effective public health messages, but that individuals prefer their public health messages to come from human institutions rather than AI sources. We propose best practices for assessing generative outputs of large language models in future social science research and ways health professionals can use AI systems to augment public health messaging. © 2023 ACM.

Social Capital—Can It Weaken the Influence of Abusive Supervision on Employee Behavior?

The travel industry has been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The operating pressure on enterprises has sharply increased, leading to the prominent phenomenon of abusive supervision. Managers employ this management method so that employees perceive work pressure as motivation to work harder and improve their performance. Employees may adopt the behavior of defensive silence to protect themselves from abusive supervision, which can subsequently affect employee behavior. However, social capital and relationships may lessen this effect. This study analyzed survey data on 475 workers from the Chinese tourism service industry to examine the mediating role of workers' defensive silence under abusive supervision, employee behavior, and the moderating role of social capital. The results showed that abusive supervision does not promote employee performance but hinders employee growth. Employees' defensive silence also affects employee behavior and has a partially mediating role in the relationship between abusive supervision and employee behavior. Social capital can mitigate the negative impact of abusive supervision on employee behavior. This study theoretically expands the applicable scope of employee silence as a mediating variable and social capital as a moderating variable. It is helpful for managers to change their negative leadership style, follow the suggestions of employees, pay attention to the organizational atmosphere, and enhance their team cohesion. © 2023 by the authors.

Nitric-oxide enriched plasma-activated water inactivates 229E coronavirus and alters antiviral response genes in human lung host cells

The ongoing pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is influencing global health. Moreover, there is a major threat of future coronaviruses affecting the entire world in a similar, or even more dreadful, manner. Therefore, effective and biocompatible therapeutic options against coronaviruses are urgently needed. To address this challenge, medical specialists require a well-informed and safe approach to treating human coronaviruses (HCoVs). Herein, an environmental friendly approach for viral inactivation, based on plasma technology, was considered. A microwave plasma system was employed for the generation of the high amount of gaseous nitric oxide to prepare nitric oxide enriched plasma-activated water (NO-PAW), the effects of which on coronaviruses, have not been reported to date. To determine these effects, alpha-HCoV-229E was used in an experimental model. We found that NO-PAW treatment effectively inhibited coronavirus infection in host lung cells, visualized by evaluating the cytopathic effect and expression level of spike proteins. Interestingly, NO-PAW showed minimal toxicity towards lung host cells, suggesting its potential for therapeutic application. Moreover, this new approach resulted in viral inactivation and greatly improved the gene levels involved in host antiviral responses. Together, our findings provide evidence of an initiation point for further progress toward the clinical development of antiviral treatments, including such coronaviruses. © 2022 The Authors

The Use of Telehealth in Australia during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic for Medical Practitioners: A Retrospective Epidemiological Analysis

INTRODUCTION: New Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth item codes were added in 2020 to allow Australians to gain access to medical services during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Previous studies have been conducted on the utilisation of specific MBS item codes however none have been conducted on all medical practitioner telehealth item codes. OBJECTIVE: This retrospective epidemiological analysis aims to determine the utilisation rate of newly introduced medical practitioner telehealth MBS item codes and compare them with the usage of existing in-person item codes METHODS: The utilisation of 319 MBS item codes were extracted from the Medicare Statistics Database between March 2020 to March 2021. Using count and population statistics a population adjusted rate was generated and a linear regression analysis undertaken. RESULTS: A total of 199,059,309 in-person and telehealth services (Male, n=84,007,935;42.2%, Female, n=115,051,374;57.8%) were utilised during the study period. 147,697,104 were in-person compared to 51,191,898 telehealth services. In-person usage decreased by 27.5% while telehealth increased by 358.8%. In-person utilisation increased by 32.4% as the year continued while the telehealth utilisation decreased by 40.7%. There was a non-significant increase in total in-person item code utilisation (p=0.76) and a non-significant decrease (p=0.32) in the total telehealth item codes used CONCLUSION: There was initially increased usage of telehealth especially during lockdown restrictions. However, when lockdowns eased, usage of telehealth decreased while in-person increased. Regardless, telehealth item codes continued to be used despite changes to eligibility criteria and lockdown restrictions easing. Hence, it appears that patients are accepting of telehealth as a healthcare delivery method.

Assessing the Utilisation of TELedentistry from Perspectives of Early Career Dental Practitioners - Development of the UTEL Questionnaire

Introduction: Teledentistry has allowed for the provision of dental care remotely. It has benefitted people living in regional, rural and remote communities. The use of teledentistry rapidly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimise transmission risk while still allowing for the provision of care, especially during mandated lockdowns. Aim: This study aims to pilot and assess the validity of a questionnaire developed to understand early career dental practitioners’ opinions regarding teledentistry in Australia. Method: Registered early career dental practitioners currently working in Australia were invited to participate. Participants were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding teledentistry on themes containing diagnosis, accessibility, patient care, technology and finances. In addition, participants were asked for feedback upon the conclusion of the questionnaire. Results: A total of 23 dental practitioners (60% female, age range 20–34) participated in this study. Work experiences ranged from 0–10 years. A total of 18 participants worked in metropolitan areas, while five worked in regional areas. All participants used teledentistry for approximately 1–9 hours per week. Over 82% of participants believed that telehealth was effective for consultations, and over 90% believed it was more convenient than face-to-face consultations. However, over 78% believed teledentistry was ineffective for diagnosing complex dental cases. Over 95% of participants believed that teledentistry improved patient healthcare access and was beneficial during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. All participants believed that teledentistry was a useful tool for post-operative care, and over 86% of participants felt that patients accepted teledentistry. Conclusion: This questionnaire effectively determines the utilisation of teledentistry during a global pandemic from the perspective of early career dental practitioners. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Impact of COVID-19 on Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major psychological distress, mental health problems, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. Among them, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known as a comorbidity of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, obesity, high blood pressure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and these are poor prognostic factors for COVID-19 morbidity. Therefore, it is important to properly diagnose and treat sleep apnea during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic of COVID-19, in-lab sleep studies such as polysomnography (PSG) tend to slightly decrease, and alternative methods such as home sleep apnea tests (HSAT) and telemedicine tend to emerge relatively. In the post-COVID-19 era, HSAT with a technically adequate device and telemedicine may become an important modality for the diagnosis and treatment of OSA. In addition, the protection of PSG technicians and the disinfection of equipment and the environment of in-lab sleep studies are emphasized. If COVID-19 is ruled out, the use of positive airway pressure devices for therapeutic purposes is not restricted, but efforts should be made to minimize the risk of aerosol generation. Infection and quality control in PSG are important and inevitable issues, and regulation within each institution will be required during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 Korean Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Effects of Open Board Lecture Videos on Anatomy

COVID-19 has forced anatomists to perform non-face-to-face education using lecture videos. A Korean anatomist has given (white and black) board lectures and distributed lecture videos to the public for many years. This study was to verify the effects of open board lecture videos in the anatomy field. A questionnaire survey was carried out with the help of medical students who were exposed to the board lecture videos. The video provider uploaded the lecture videos on YouTube, where the viewing numbers were counted. At a medical school where the video provider belonged, the students mainly watched the lecture videos before the anatomy class. The watching hours of the lecture videos were related to the written examination scores. Students gave positive and negative comments on the board lectures. At the other two medical schools, students partly watched the lecture videos regardless of the teacher who delivered the lectures. The results suggested that students understood the board lectures themselves. On YouTube, the lecture videos were viewed by approximately 1,000 students. This paper introduces the desirable aspects of open board lecture videos on anatomy. The videos could enhance the quality of both students and teacher.

Phase 2, randomized, double-blind trial of EC-18 versus placebo to mitigate the development and time course of oral mucositis from concomitant chemoradiation for head and neck cancer

Background: Oral mucositis (OM) is a debilitating side effect of concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC). EC-18 may effectively mitigate OM by minimizing the CRT-induced innate immune response. This Phase II, 2-stage trial evaluated safety, tolerability, and efficacy of EC- 18 in reducing the duration, incidence, and trajectory of severe OM (SOM) in HNC patients. Methods: Patients (n = 105) with pathologically confirmed oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or nasopharynx squamous cell cancers who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT;with ≥ 55 Gy on ≥ 2 oral sites) and weekly or tri-weekly cisplatin were studied. In Stage 1, 24 patients were randomized (n = 6 per arm) to receive 500, 1000, or 2000 mg of EC-18, or placebo. Following independent Data Safety Monitoring Board review, 81 patients in Stage 2 received EC-18 2000 mg (n = 41) or placebo (n = 40) throughout CRT. WHO OM grade was assessed twice weekly during IMRT and then once weekly for up to 6 weeks post-IMRT. The primary efficacy endpoint was duration of SOM during the active and short-term follow-up (STFU) periods in the compliant per-protocol population (PP). Much of Stage 2 was conducted during peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic which measurably impacted patient compliance relative to test medication dosing and planned radiation. Consequently, to assess efficacy most accurately, the PP population was analyzed (with at least 4 weeks of study drug dosing, minimum cumulative radiation of 55 Gy, 80% study drug compliance in the first 28 days of dosing, and without using not-allowed-therapy). Results: Patient demographics and baseline characteristics were balanced between groups. Adverse events (AEs) were comparable amongst cohorts without drug-related severe AEs. In the PP, the median duration of SOM from baseline through STFU was 0 day in the EC-18 group (n = 22) v 13.5 days in the placebo group (n = 20). SOM incidence through STFU (45.5% v 70%) and opioid use (time to onset: 32.3 v 26.0 days;and duration: 32.8 v 37.5 days) favored EC-18 v placebo. Results of the covariates analyses suggested that EC-18 favorably impacted SOM incidence in patients who experienced SOM treated with weekly low-dose cisplatin (n = 26;37.5% v placebo 70.0%) and HPV+ tumors (n = 29;35.3% v placebo 66.7%;Table). One-year long-term follow-up for tumor outcomes is ongoing. Conclusions: EC-18 safely mitigated the development and the time course of SOM in CRT-treated HNC patients. In addition, EC-18 may provide substantial benefits to subpopulations of HPV+ HNC patients treated with low dose cisplatin.

Nitric-oxide enriched plasma-activated water inactivates 229E coronavirus and alters antiviral response genes in human lung host cells

The ongoing pandemic caused by the novel comnavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is influencing global health. Moreover, there is a major threat of future coronaviruses affecting the entire world in a similar, or even more dreadful, manner. Therefore, effective and biocompatible therapeutic options against comnaviruses are urgently needed. To address this challenge, medical specialists require a well-informed and safe approach to treating human coronaviruses (HCoVs). Herein, an environmental friendly approach for viral inactivation, based on plasma technology, was considered. A microwave plasma system was employed for the generation of the high amount of gaseous nitric oxide to prepare nitric oxide enriched plasma-activated water (NO-PAW), the effects of which on coronaviruses, have not been reported to date. To determine these effects, alpha-HCoV-229E was used in an experimental model. We found that NO-PAW treatment effectively inhibited comnavirus infection in host lung cells, visualized by evaluating the cytopathic effect and expression level of spike proteins. Interestingly, NO-PAW showed minimal toxicity towards lung host cells, suggesting its potential for therapeutic application. Moreover, this new approach resulted in viral inactivation and greatly improved the gene levels involved in host antiviral responses. Together, our findings provide evidence of an initiation point for further progress toward the clinical development of antiviral treatments, including such comnaviruses.

Early Triage of COVID-19 patients exploiting Data-Driven Strategies and Machine Learning Techniques

Since the first advent of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still affecting the world. In the pandemic situation of the novel infectious disease, early detection of COVID-19 infection and severity for febrile respiratory patients is critical for efficient management of the medical system delivery system with limited medical personnel and facilities. Thus, we propose early triage exploiting data-driven strategical methods and machine learning techniques using the data of 5,628 admitted patients provided by Korea Central Disease Control Headquarters and 50 confirmed cases in Korea University Ansan Hospital. We proved validity of our data-driven strategies with machine learning models accuracy by doing 200 experiments and find out the features that affect COVID-19 through various feature selection in each medical inspection step. As a result, Stage 5 shows the results of blood test could affect to classify critical and severe cases obtaining precision of 0.2, 0.03 higher than without blood test results. But Stage 3 without blood test results achieved the highest accuracy of 0.88 showing possibility of early triage system without blood test. In conclusion, our triage system, based on data-driven strategies and machine learning techniques, can help in early detection and triage of COVID-19 patients. © 2022 IEEE.

The use of telehealth during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in oral and maxillofacial surgery - A qualitative analysis

Introduction: Telehealth usage increased especially in the coronavirus pandemic. Objective: To determine whether oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) believe that telehealth is an adequate substitute for in-person consultations. Methods: OMS were interviewed. These were transcribed and themes and subthemes coded. Quotes were selected to create narratives about themes and subthemes and a frequency table generated. Results: 20 OMS were interviewed. There were 200 positive, 215 negative, 9 neutral and 256 unstated comments. Major themes were diagnosis, accessibility, patient-centred care, technology and finances. 34 sub-themes were identified. OMS were most satisfied with accessibility and most dissatisfied with diagnosis. Conclusion: OMS had mixed opinions regarding telehealth. While it can improve access, the technology, interventional capacity and diagnostic ability are limited. Face-to-face was preferred. Further studies are required to improve telehealth.

Mixed Abilities and Varied Experiences: A group autoethnography of a virtual summer internship

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to convert their daily work lives to a "virtual"format where everyone connected remotely from their home. In this new, virtual environment, accessibility barriers changed, in some respects for the better (e.g., more flexibility) and in other aspects, for the worse (e.g., problems including American Sign Language interpreters over video calls). Microsoft Research held its first cohort of all virtual interns in 2020. We the authors, full time and intern members and affiliates of the Ability Team, a research team focused on accessibility, reflect on our virtual work experiences as a team consisting of members with a variety of abilities, positions, and seniority during the summer intern season. Through our autoethnographic method, we provide a nuanced view into the experiences of a mixed-ability, virtual team, and how the virtual setting affected the team's accessibility. We then reflect on these experiences, noting the successful strategies we used to promote access and the areas in which we could have further improved access. Finally, we present guidelines for future virtual mixed-ability teams looking to improve access. © 2021 ACM.

Building IoT-based Zero-Contact Experimental Environment for Studying Picture Preference under Various Illumination Conditions

We propose a zero contact experiment environment like a living room at home using 'Internet of Things'-based light devices, display and smart-phone or tablet. For our experimental environment, we constructed a large room that has specific lighting systems on the ceiling. For providing a general look-and-feel of living room condition, we also prepared the room with neutral-colored wallpaper and placed the display in the room. Subjects and Experimenters can tap on buttons on the smart-phones or tablets for adjusting the illumination conditions and picture options of the display. Under various illumination conditions, subjects are asked to choose the best preferred picture mode set while watching ten kinds of test images. All these series of our experiments are conducted under no-contact experimental environment thanks to the wireless applications loaded onto the smart-phone, tablet and display. These applications: (i) collect the data;(ii) automatically build a dataset;(iii) analyze the data by using machine learning techniques. By employing our system, large datasets that contain participants' preferences for the given display under various illumination conditions are collected safely and easily without risking COVID-19 spread. As a result, after finishing our experiment, most participants, specifically color scientists, praised our zero-contact experimental solution which can be used for other perceptual experimental processes by providing an easy way to build and analyze databases. © 2021 IEEE.

Long-term Respiratory Complication in Patients with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: 1-year Follow-up After the 2015 Outbreak in South Korea

Background: There are few data about long-term respiratory complications following Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. This study aimed to evaluate respiratory functions and radiologic sequelae according to the severity of infection one year after the patients experienced MERS-CoV infection. Methods: A total of 73 patients undergoing MERS-CoV infection during the 2015 MERS outbreak in South Korea were enrolled in this prospective multicenter study. Pulmonary function tests and 6-minute walking tests were performed 1 year after infection. Radiologic sequelae was defined as fibrosis or atelectasis on chest computer tomography and severe pneumonia was defined as that requiring oxygen therapy. Multivariate linear regression tests were used to evaluate the effect of infection severity on respiratory function. Results: At the time of MERS-CoV infection, 18 patients had no pneumonia, 35 experienced mild pneumonia, and 20 did severe pneumonia. The median age was not different between groups (P = 0.942). Forced vital capacity (FVC) was 102.6%, 94.9%, and 88.7% in the no, mild, and severe pneumonia group, respectively (P = 0.010) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second was 105.3%, 95.7%, and 91.7% (P = 0.057). Diffusing capacity (DLCO) was significantly lower in the severe pneumonia group than in the no or mild pneumonia group (78.3% vs. 89.4% or 88.6%, P = 0.035). In multivariate analyses, FVC and DLCO were significantly correlated with infection severity after adjustment with age, sex, underlying lung disease, and smoking. There was no difference in the walking distance of 6 minute tests between groups. Radiologic sequelae were shown in 18.8%, 65.6%, and 100% in the no, mild, and severe pneumonia group, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The patients with more severe pneumonia by MERS-CoV had more impaired respiratory function in one year follow-up, which was compatible with radiologic sequelae. Disclosures: All authors: No reported disclosures. FAU - Il Jun, Kang

Effects of Open Board Lecture Videos on Anatomy

COVID-19 has forced anatomists to perform non-face-to-face education using lecture videos. A Korean anatomist has given (white and black) board lectures and distributed lecture videos to the public for many years. This study was to verify the effects of open board lecture videos in the anatomy field. A questionnaire survey was carried out with the help of medical students who were exposed to the board lecture videos. The video provider uploaded the lecture videos on YouTube, where the viewing numbers were counted. At a medical school where the video provider belonged, the students mainly watched the lecture videos before the anatomy class. The watching hours of the lecture videos were related to the written examination scores. Students gave positive and negative comments on the board lectures. At the other two medical schools, students partly watched the lecture videos regardless of the teacher who delivered the lectures. The results suggested that students understood the board lectures themselves. On YouTube, the lecture videos were viewed by approximately 1,000 students. This paper introduces the desirable aspects of open board lecture videos on anatomy. The videos could enhance the quality of both students and teacher. Copyright © 2022, Universidad de la Frontera. All rights reserved.