Stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak and global spread of COVID-19 was accompanied by an increase in reports of stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people. The behavioral immune system provides a framework for stigmatization in response to infectious disease threats. Specifically, stigmatization might increase with rising levels of infectious disease threat. The present study aimed to examine this hypothesis during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: As part of the "EUCLID" project ( https://euclid.dbvis.de ), a total of 5011 persons from Germany were surveyed via an online-questionnaire between February 2nd and April 3rd, 2020, covering the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic over three time periods which were defined by critical events. RESULTS: There was no evidence for an increase in the stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people across three topics, that is personal proximity, air travel, and medical measures upon arrival from China. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings provide good news in that participants showed an adaptive response to the infectious disease threat rather than displaying increased stigmatization. Further research is necessary to specify the conditions that increase the risk of stigmatization in response to infectious disease threats.

The Relation of Threat Level and Age With Protective Behavior Intentions During Covid-19 in Germany.

To contain the spread of Covid-19, engagement in protective behaviors across the population is of great importance. The present study investigated protective behavior intentions during the early phases of Covid-19 in Germany (February 2-April 3, 2020) as a function of threat level and age using data from 4,940 participants in the EUCLID project. Results indicated that the intention to engage in social distancing increased sharply with threat level. Intentions for personal hygiene also increased, although to a lesser extent. While age only had a small overall effect on behavioral intentions, differential patterns emerged. After the lockdown was introduced, the impact of age decreased for social distancing and hygiene behavior intentions but increased for seeing a doctor. Since containing the Covid-19 pandemic depends on high adoption rates of protective behaviors, future research should track sustained phases of the pandemic, including the easing of restrictions and possible new waves of infections.

Epithelial skin cancers after kidney transplantation: a retrospective single-centre study of 376 recipients.

Post-transplant non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the most common malignancies in kidney transplant recipients. To analyse risk factors associated with the occurrence of basal cell carcinomas (BBC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) in kidney transplant recipients. Statistical analysis was performed on 376 kidney transplant recipients screened for NMSC in 2002-2009 and followed until 2013. NMSC developed in 23.67% of individuals with an SCC/BCC ratio of 2.15:1 and an age-standardised incidence ratio (IR) of 2.71 cases (95% CI: 1.97-3.46) per 100 patients/year. Based on multivariable analysis, NMSC occurrence significantly correlated with higher age (p<0.001), fair skin type (p = 0.01), and particularly SCCs with male gender (p = 0.001). Patients with >10 actinic keratoses were at higher risk of developing NMSCs (IRR = 2.95; 95% CI: 1.97-4.42; p<0.001) and more prone to SCCs, compared to BCCs (p = 0.04). Also, more SCC carriers had high counts of warty lesions (p = 0.006). Calcineurin inhibitors were associated with higher NMSC incidence (IRR = 2.81; 95% CI: 1.1-7.01; p = 0.03), while no difference was seen with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors. Our results confirm an influence of the individual immunosuppressive regimen, in addition to the duration of immunosuppression, and suggest that older patients, males, fair skinned recipients or those affected with high counts of actinic keratoses (field cancerisation) are particularly prone to development of NMSC.

Delayed diagnosis of isolated alar ligament rupture: A case report.

Ligament disruptions at the craniovertebral junction are typically associated with atlantoaxial rotatory dislocation during upper cervical spine injuries and require external orthoses or surgical stabilization. Only in few patients isolated ruptures of the alar ligament have been reported. Here we present a further case, in which the diagnosis was initially obscured by a misleading clinical symptomatology but finally established six month following the trauma, demonstrating the value of contrast-enhanced high resolution 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging in identifying this particular lesion.