Nearly five-year continuous atmospheric measurements of black carbon over a suburban area in central France

Atmospheric black carbon (BC) concentration over a nearly 5 year period (mid-2017–2021) was continuously monitored over a suburban area of Orléans city (France). Annual mean atmospheric BC concentration were 0.75 ± 0.65, 0.58 ± 0.44, 0.54 ± 0.64, 0.48 ± 0.46 and 0.50 ± 0.72 μg m−3, respectively, for the year of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Seasonal pattern was also observed with maximum concentration (0.70 ± 0.18 μg m−3) in winter and minimum concentration (0.38 ± 0.04 μg m−3) in summer. We found a different diurnal pattern between cold (winter and fall) and warm (spring and summer) seasons. Further, fossil fuel burning contributed >90 % of atmospheric BC in the summer and biomass burning had a contribution equivalent to that of the fossil fuel in the winter. Significant week days effect on BC concentrations was observed, indicating the important role of local emissions such as car exhaust in BC level at this site. The behavior of atmospheric BC level with COVID-19 lockdown was also analyzed. We found that during the lockdown in warm season (first lockdown: 27 March–10 May 2020 and third lockdown 17 March–3 May 2021) BC concentration were lower than in cold season (second lockdown: 29 October–15 December 2020), which could be mainly related to the BC emission from biomass burning for heating. This study provides a long-term BC measurement database input for air quality and climate models. The analysis of especially weekend and lockdown effect showed implications on future policymaking toward improving local and regional air quality as well. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

On the improvement of family services in public health events：a qualitative case study based on COVID-19 responses

Objective To understand the status of family services and residents’demands for services in Shanghai in order to construct and improve the key elements of family services in public health events. Methods We used a combining method of individual in-depth interviews and focused group interviews. The informants were domestic and foreign experts in public health, health services, education, safety, etc., community workers and residents. The interview questions were as follow：problems in family services, residents’demands and suggestions for family services, etc. Results We found 7 major family services problems in Shanghai’s response to public health events：The boundary of authorities and responsibilities were not clearly defined between the upper and lower departments. The team construction of public health professions at the community level was flawed. There were miscommunications between upper and lower medical institutions during the epidemic outbreaks. Residents were not aware of the available family services provided by their communities. Unnoticed insanitary spots still existed in public spaces, and the maintenance of residential emergence equipment needs to be strengthened. The public opinion guidance required further strengthening, and the elderly people lack an effective medium for information acquisition. The emergency plan of closed management to solve practical problems after Shanghai’s COVID lockdown was insufficient. The residents’demands included the following 6 aspects：comprehensive family services, supply and guarantee of basic living materials and special materials, professionals providing family services as a means of support, emergency medical services, receiving psychological intervention and understanding knowledge of mental health, security of food and food supply chain security. Conclusion ‘Government led’‘cross-border cooperation’‘clear executive body’and ‘based on the needs of residents’were key factors. Therefore, we suggest family services are included in the normalizing construction of government. © 2022 Fudan University. All rights reserved.

COVID19 infections in patients with Multiple Sclerosis(MS) on Various treatments at Kaiser Permanent Mid-Atlantic States(KPMAS)

Objective: To assess how many of our patients compliant on MS medicines developed COVID19 infection during the early pandemic. Background: MS is a debilitating progressive disease, and a variety of treatments are available including B cell depleting (BDT), interferons (IFN), glatiramer acetate (GA), adhesion inhibitors (NAT), S1P modulators (S1P), dimethyl fumarate (DM), and teriflunomide (TF). These treatments modulate the immune response and can predispose patients to infections like COVID19. It is postulated that patients on BDT group are at higher risk of COVID19 infection and may have poor outcomes. Design/Methods: In our neurology clinics at KPMAS, we followed 684 patients with MS compliant on treatment during the pandemic. As part of quality measures, we evaluated how many MS patients in various treatment groups developed COVID19 infection and their outcomes from January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020. Results: The mean age of the 684 patients was 49.4 years;360 blacks and 283 whites;519 females and 165 males. 240 patients were on BDT, 222 on GA, 115 on IFN, 59 on DM, 29 on NAT, 11 on TF and 8 on S1P. 18 (2.6%) patients tested positive for COVID19. 6 patients (2.5%) were in BDT group, 6 (2.7%) in GA, 5 (4.3%) in IFN group, and 1 (9%) in the TF group tested positive for COVID19. 2 in the BDT group, and 1 in the GA group died. Those who died had significant comorbidities (including excessive smoking, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and aspiration pneumonia), prior to the infection. Conclusions: We found that the rates of COVID19 infection in patients with MS in the BDT group were not out of proportion when compared to those on other treatments for MS. The poor outcomes were more likely to be related to underlying comorbidities.

An Augmented Reality Update of a Classic Game: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”, Case Study

37 years after its original launch, it is proposed a study comparing the Augmented Reality (AR) prototype of the game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” with this classic edutainment game. The main goal of the experiment is to determine if there is a significant difference between the 13th mission (last level) of the game, and it was done with a sample of 20 individuals aged between 5 and 7 years. The results could be a promising future for both, gaming and education areas. The author used 3 investigation tools to reach the answer: Perceived Understanding, Perceived Usability and a version of the PSSUQ (Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire). A big constraint for this study was the COVID-19 pandemic that the world is living at the time it was completed, however, the use of technology played a big role to make it possible. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Development of Exhaled Breath Diagnosis Sensors for Rapid Identification of COVID-19 Patients

The novel coronavirus pneumonia, a global pandemic disease named as coronavirus disease 2019, has caused enormous losses on the health and economies of people all over the world, while there is still a lack of quick and sensitive diagnostic method and effective therapy. Developing rapid diagnostic method for coronavirus disease 2019 has become exceptional urgent. Herein we report a rapid diagnostic method for the novel coronavirus through monitoring the volatile biomarkers in human exhaled breath. The breath volatile biomarkers are derived from the metabolism of novel coronavirus, including acetoin, 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine, 3-methyl tridecane, tetradecane, isooctyl alcohol, pentadecane, hexadecane, 1-methylene-1H-indene. By comparing the types and concentrations of the volatile biomarkers in human exhaled breath combined with SERS sensor, we could distinguish between the healthy person and the patients with coronavirus disease 2019. This work confirms that various volatile organic compounds metabolized by novel coronavirus can be employed for rapidly screening of patients with coronavirus disease 2019, and has broad application prospects in the prevention and control of the epidemic.

Evaluation of Achievement Effect on Visual Tools for Online Teaching-Learning Program in China During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Online education has been promoted and applicated since the covid-19 pandemic spread world widely, meanwhile, big data and the vigorous development of online education brought the explosion of education data, unlike traditional offline education, online education has higher flexibility and universality, but at the same time, the way that teachers and learners how to deal with massive amounts of data of learning and visual interactive display needs to be analyzed and solved in the field of learning problems. Through the investigation and analysis of learners and teachers of the higher education platform, this paper finds out the pain points of the low interaction efficiency and incomplete information understanding of the existing online education APPs and puts forward some optimization strategies for the information visualization of online education APPs. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Research progress on of infection status evaluation of organ transplant donors

In early 2020, the outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia broke out globally, and the assessment criteria for organ transplant donor infections also brought new changes. Under the situation of the new crown epidemic, it is necessary to update the infection assessment criteria for organ transplantation with regard to donor quality. The infectious pathogen spectrum of the absolute contraindications of donor organ donation has been updated, and the procedures for evaluating donor quality infections have changed accordingly. This review analyzes the infections from the donors by classification, and summarizes the treatment measures taken by the donors infected by different pathogens, and summarizes the evaluation standards and evaluation procedures of the donors' infection quality. © 2021, Editorial Board of Medical Journal of Wuhan University. All right reserved.

Intern's guide to the geriatrics rotation

Background: Historically, geriatrics practice has been grounded in face-to-face visits conducted in an office, long-term care or assisted living facility, or home-based setting. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the landscape has shifted with a stronger emphasis on telehealth. We present a resident-written guide for interns rotating in geriatrics including adaptations from in-person evaluation to remote use of pre-existing health assessments and management tools. Methods: A pre-rotation needs assessment was conducted with first-year residents at the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States Internal Medicine Residency Program to assess familiarity with in-person versus remote use of standard geriatrics tools. This survey assessment was completed by all current interns within the program and helped guide the development of a handbook featuring commonly used tools for in-person geriatrics health visits, and how to adapt them for use by phone or video. After implementation of this guide within the residency's educational program, a post-rotation assessment will be conducted to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the guide. Results: The results of the pre-rotation assessment showed overall lack of familiarity with critical parts of a geriatrics assessment, including the use of standard cognitive assessment tools. This unfamiliarity was even more pronounced regarding adaptation of said tools to phone visits. Major topics covered in the resulting Intern's Guide include: obtaining a geriatric history, geriatric syndromes, geriatric cognitive disorders, validated tools, preventive health, and substance abuse considerations. This contains proposed adaptations for telemedicine, specifically regarding the mini-cognitive assessment, MOCA, and MMSE. Conclusion: The guide resulting from this assessment focuses not only on core geriatric competencies, but also on telemedicine adaptations for residents to efficiently conduct remote visits with geriatrics patients. Evaluation of its utility, ease of use, and efficacy is ongoing. While there are obvious limitations to the geriatric telemedicine assessment, more validated adaptations are necessary. Having a guide to geriatrics that includes adapting cognitive assessments to telemedicine can help improve the value and experience of the visit for both the resident physician and patient.

Design of a Web-based Personalized E-learning Platform

It is important to carry out the distant learning especially in the COVID-19 period when most of schools have to close down. Therefore, a Web-based personalized e-learning platform is presented to satisfy the requests of the middle school student. Firstly, the features of the learner's needs for e-learning are analysed as the base of the platform. Secondly a novel architecture is proposed that describes the components necessary for the distribution of courses and knowledge in Internet. Thirdly the design of the platform is enabled by the real time collaboration system, multimedia transmission and knowledge repository to help the middle school student study in their own natural ways such as gaming and blogging with friends from interests. The experiment results show that the designed e-learning platform can improve the performance of network throughput and the learner's satisfactory level. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Special issue on the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 outbreak. (Special issue on the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 outbreak.)

This special issue contains 5 articles that discuss the prevalence and epidemiology of COVID-19 outbreak.