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Internal and external company information users (owners, managers, partners, credit institutions and organizations, investors, employees, etc.) use many tools to make the right decisions about the company. One of the tools in question is the DuPont Analysis technique, which is included in ratio analysis among financial analysis techniques. DuPont Analysis is an important analysis technique in evaluating the financial performance of companies. Because DuPont analysis offers companies the reasons why return on equity is low or high. As a result of literature research, there are many studies examining the financial performances of companies and sectors with DuPont analysis. It has been determined that the studies in question were carried out on the transportation, health, cement, food, beverage and tobacco, technology, manufacturing, finance, stationery, agriculture, tourism and real estate investment partnership sectors. However, during the literature review, the fact that no study was found that comprehensively examined BIST annual data regarding the transportation and storage sector and that it fills the gap in this field reveals the importance of the study. In this context, the purpose of this study is to examine the financial performances of companies operating in the BIST transportation and storage sector with DuPont Analysis and to contribute to the companies on the measures and improvement policies that should be taken for the future by evaluating the results obtained for the sector. It also helps both internal and external information users make accurate decisions about companies. For this purpose, data of 9 companies operating in the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) Transportation and Storage Sector between 2018 and 2022 were examined. Company-specific data was obtained from the Public Disclosure Platform and the reports on the companies' websites. The data obtained in the study were evaluated using the DuPont Analysis method. In this context, it has been determined that 2022 is the best year in terms of financial performance for the transportation and storage sector. Return on equity is one of the measures of how much profit the company's partners make in return for the capital they put in, that is, how many units of profit are created for each unit of capital. Therefore, it shows that the company earns more profit with less capital. However, with the measures and restrictions taken as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, which occurred in 2020 and was declared a pandemic all over the world, it was found that the equity profitability of companies, especially those engaged in air transportation, was negative, in other words, they made a loss that year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 epidemic has required countries to implement different containment strategies to limit its spread, like strict or weakened national lockdown rules and the application of age-stratified vaccine prioritization strategies. These interventions have in turn modified the age-dependent patterns of social contacts. In our recent paper, starting from the available age-structured real data at the national level, we identified, for the Italian case, specific virulence parameters for a two-age-structured COVID-19 epidemic compartmental model (under 60, and 60 years and over) in six different diseases transmission scenarios under concurrently adopted feedback interventions. An interpretation of how each external scenario modifies the age-dependent patterns of social contacts and the spread of COVID-19 disease has been accordingly provided. In this paper, which can be viewed as a sequel to the previous one, we mainly apply the same general methodology therein (involving the same dynamic model) to new data covering the three subsequent additional scenarios: (i) a mitigated coordinated intermittent regional action in conjunction with the II vaccination phase; (ii) a super-attenuated coordinated intermittent regional action in conjunction with the II vaccination phase; and (iii) a last step towards normality in conjunction with the start of the III vaccination phase. As a new contribution, we show how meaningful updated information can be drawn out, once the identification of virulence parameters, characterizing the two age groups within the latest three different phases, is successfully carried out. Nevertheless, differently from our previous paper, the global optimization procedure is carried out here with the number of susceptible individuals in each scenario being left free to change, to account for reinfection and immunity due to vaccination. Not only do the slightly different estimates we obtain for the previous scenarios not impact any of the previous considerations (and thus illustrate the robustness of the procedure), but also, and mainly, the new results provide a meaningful picture of the evolution of social behaviors, along with the goodness of strategic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of 2019. the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic brought great challenges to the world. and China's tourism industry suffered an unprecedented heavy blow. Exploring the impact of the epidemic bn tourism consumption structure has become a research focus in the post-epidemic era. In this All.4 y. based on Shandong Tourism Statistics Handbook from 2018 to 2020. taking Shandong Province as an example, the changes of total tourism revenue and tourism consumption structure in Shandong Province before and after the COVID-19 epidemic were compared to predict the development of tourism in Shandong Province in the post-epidemic era and find out existing problems. and optimization paths were put forward for the development of tourism in Shandong Province in the post-epidemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the mediating effect of different organizational climate on volunteer service motivation and work engagement among volunteers during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods The Volunteer Service Motivation Scale, Organizational Climate Scale, and Work Input Scale were used to investigate relevant contents among volunteers from Shaanxi, Hubei and Henan provinces who participated in prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic by convenient sampling method. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to explore the correlation among volunteer service motivation, organizational climate and work engagement. The Bootstrap method was used to analyze the mediating role of organizational climate between volunteer service motivation and work engagement. Results The scores of volunteer service motivation, organizational climate, and work engagement of the 834 volunteers were 72.45±13.66, 24.03±4.65, and 51.59±10.04, respectively. Volunteer service motivation was positively correlated with work engagement(r=0.556, P<0.001)and organizational climate(r=0.604, P<0.001). Organizational climate was positively correlated with work engagement(r=0.632, P<0.001). Organizational climate played a mediating role between volunteer service motivation and work engagement(effect value=0.278, accounting for 47.0% of the total effect). Conclusion Volunteer service motivation indirectly affects work engagement through organizational climate, indicating that volunteer team managers can improve their work engagement level by improving the organizational climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have investigated the effects of the pandemic on quality of life; both economical and psychosocial effects were explored. Some studies also mentioned mediating factors as mechanisms in this relationship; however, the mediating role of anxiety has not been examined. The present study examined the mediating effects of anxiety on the relationship between socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 and quality of life. An online survey of 280 Vietnamese residents was conducted in the context of the pandemic outbreak. Anxiety was found to be a completely mediating variable in the association between the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic and quality of life during the lockdown period. This finding contributes to a better understanding of how the pandemic affects people's quality of life and serves as the foundation for lessening the negative effects of the epidemic on people's lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a mathematical model of the COVID-19 transmission mechanism, considering therapeutic interventions like immunization and recovery or treatment. The model shows that the disease-free and endemic equilibriums are globally asymptotically stable when effective reproduction numbers are less than or larger than unity. The critical vaccination threshold depends on the vaccine’s ability to prevent or cure the illness. The model predicts the effectiveness of vaccination based on factors like vaccination efficiency, scheduling, and relaxation of social measures. The subsiding of the epidemic as vaccination is implemented depends on the scale of relaxation of social measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new responsive-green-cold vaccine supply chain network during the COVID-19 pandemic is developed for the first time. According to the proposed network, a new multi-objective, multi-period, multi-echelon mathematical model for the distribution-allocation-location problem is designed. Another important novelty in this paper is that it considers an Internet-of-Things application in the COVID-19 condition in the suggested model to enhance the accuracy, speed, and justice of vaccine injection with existing priorities. Waste management, environmental effects, coverage demand, and delivery time of COVID-19 vaccine simultaneously are therefore considered for the first time. The LP-metric method and meta-heuristic algorithms called Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO), and Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) algorithms are then used to solve the developed model. The other significant contribution, based on two presented meta-heuristic algorithms, is a new heuristic method called modified GWO (MGWO), and is developed for the first time to solve the model. Therefore, a set of test problems in different sizes is provided. Hence, to evaluate the proposed algorithms, assessment metrics including (1) percentage of domination, (2) the number of Pareto solutions, (3) data envelopment analysis, and (4) diversification metrics and the performance of the convergence are considered. Moreover, the Taguchi method is used to tune the algorithm's parameters. Accordingly, to illustrate the efficiency of the model developed, a real case study in Iran is suggested. Finally, the results of this research show MGO offers higher quality and better performance than other proposed algorithms based on assessment metrics, computational time, and convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective • To investigate the occurrence of new onset anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 epidemic, and analyze the influencing factors. Methods • Based on Chengdu Positive Child Development (CPCD) cohort, a total of 5 566 children and adolescents from five primary and secondary schools in Chengdu were enrolled. Two longitudinal study cohorts of new anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents were established, and two rounds of survey were conducted. The first round of survey (baseline survey) was conducted from December 2019 to January 2020, and the general demographic characteristics of the cohort members were collected through the Student Questionnaire for the Study on Promoting Positive Growth of Children and Adolescents. The second round of survey (follow-up survey) was conducted from February to July 2020 to collect additional information on the cohorts' infection history of COVID-19, and whether their eating, learning, and social and recreational activities were affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) was used to evaluate the new onset anxiety symptoms of all subjects. The multivariate Logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of new onset anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. Results • The results of SCARED assessment showed that the incidence of new onset anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents in Chengdu during the COVID-19 epidemic was 13.47%. In the longitudinal study cohort of new onset anxiety in children, the incidence was 11.91%, and in the longitudinal study cohort of new onset anxiety in adolescents, the incidence was 14.25%. The results of chi square test showed that there were statistically significant differences in the incidence of new onset anxiety symptoms among children in terms of age, whether they or their family members were infected with COVID-19, and whether their eating, learning and social activities were affected (all P<0.05); there were also statistically significant differences in the incidence of new onset anxiety symptoms among adolescents in gender, grade, age, residential area, and whether their eating, learning, and social and recreational activities were affected (all F<0.05). The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that, for children, 6 - 8 years old was the protective factor for their new onset anxiety symptoms, while they or their family members infected with COVID-19 and the impact of their learning activities were the risk factors (all F<0.05); for adolescents, males, residing in urban areas, and grades W 6 were the protective factors for their new onset anxiety symptoms, while the impact of their learning activities was the risk factor (all P<0.05). Conclusion For children and adolescents, the factors that affect their new onset anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 epidemic are not completely the same. For children, age, whether they or their family members are infected with COVID-19, and whether their learning is affected are independent influencing factors; but for adolescents, gender, grade, residential area, and whether their learning is affected are independent influencing factors. Therefore, in the process of dynamically paying attention to the mental health status of children and adolescents and continuously doing a good job of mental health intervention, it is necessary to follow the law of growth, fully consider the developmental characteristics of children and adolescents, and adopt different strategies and measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2020, COVID-19 has repeatedly arisen around the world, which has had a significant impact on the global economy and culture. The prediction of the COVID-19 epidemic will help to deal with the current epidemic and similar risks that may arise in the future. So, this paper proposes a hybrid prediction model based on particle swarm optimization variational mode decomposition (PSO-VMD), Long Short-Term Memory Network (LSTM) and AdaBoost algorithm. To address the issue of determining the optimal number of modes K and the penalty factor (α) in the variational mode decomposition (VMD), an adaptive value for particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed. Specifically, the weighted average sample entropy of the relevant coefficients is utilized to determine the adaptive value. First, the epidemic data are decomposed into multiple modal components, known as intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), using PSO-VMD. These components, along with policy-based factors, are integrated to form a multivariate forecast dataset. Next, each IMF is predicted using AdaBoost-LSTM. Finally, the prediction results of all the IMF components are reconstructed to obtain the final prediction result. Our proposed method is validated by the cumulative confirmed data of Hubei and Hebei provinces. Specifically, in the case of cumulative confirmation data, the coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) of the mixed model is increased compared to the control model, and the average mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) decreased. The experimental results demonstrate that the VMD–AdaBoost–LSTM model achieves the highest prediction accuracy, thereby offering a new approach to COVID-19 epidemic prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metapopulation models have been a popular tool for the study of epidemic spread over a network of highly populated nodes (cities, provinces, countries) and have been extensively used in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the present work, we revisit such a model, bearing a particular case example in mind, namely that of the region of Andalusia in Spain during the period of the summer-fall of 2020 (i.e., between the first and second pandemic waves). Our aim is to consider the possibility of incorporation of mobility across the province nodes focusing on mobile-phone time-dependent data, but also discussing the comparison for our case example with a gravity model, as well as with the dynamics in the absence of mobility. Our main finding is that mobility is key toward a quantitative understanding of the emergence of the second wave of the pandemic and that the most accurate way to capture it involves dynamic (rather than static) inclusion of time-dependent mobility matrices based on cell-phone data. Alternatives bearing no mobility are unable to capture the trends revealed by the data in the context of the metapopulation model considered herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first symptomatic infected individuals of coronavirus (Covid‐19) was confirmed in December 2020 in the city of Wuhan, China. In India, the first reported case of Covid‐19 was confirmed on 30 January 2020. Today, coronavirus has been spread out all over the world. In this manuscript, we studied the coronavirus epidemic model with a true data of India by using Predictor‐Corrector scheme. For the proposed model of Covid‐19, the numerical and graphical simulations are performed in a framework of the new generalised Caputo sense non‐integer order derivative. We analysed the existence and uniqueness of solution of the given fractional model by the definition of Chebyshev norm, Banach space, Schauder's second fixed point theorem, Arzel's‐Ascoli theorem, uniform boundedness, equicontinuity and Weissinger's fixed point theorem. A new analysis of the given model with the true data is given to analyse the dynamics of the model in fractional sense. Graphical simulations show the structure of the given classes of the non‐linear model with respect to the time variable. We investigated that the mentioned method is copiously strong and smooth to implement on the systems of non‐linear fractional differential equation systems. The stability results for the projected algorithm is also performed with the applications of some important lemmas. The present study gives the applicability of this new generalised version of Caputo type non‐integer operator in mathematical epidemiology. We compared that the fractional order results are more credible to the integer order results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel coronavirus (COVID‐19), a global threat whose source is not correctly yet known, was firstly recognised in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Now, this disease has been spread out to many countries in all over the world. In this paper, we solved a time delay fractional COVID‐19 SEIR epidemic model via Caputo fractional derivatives using a predictor–corrector method. We provided numerical simulations to show the nature of the diseases for different classes. We derived existence of unique global solutions to the given time delay fractional differential equations (DFDEs) under a mild Lipschitz condition using properties of a weighted norm, Mittag–Leffler functions and the Banach fixed point theorem. For the graphical simulations, we used real numerical data based on a case study of Wuhan, China, to show the nature of the projected model with respect to time variable. We performed various plots for different values of time delay and fractional order. We observed that the proposed scheme is highly emphatic and easy to implementation for the system of DFDEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulgaria has the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the European Union and the second-highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world. That is why we think it is important better to understand the reason for this situation and to analyse the development of the disease over time. In this paper, an extended time-dependent SEIRS model SEIRS-VB is used to investigate the long-term behaviour of the COVID-19 epidemic. This model includes vaccination and vital dynamics. To apply the SEIRS-VB model some numerical simulation tools have been developed and for this reason a family of time-discrete variants are introduced. Suitable inverse problems for the identification of parameters in discrete models are solved. A methodology is proposed for selecting a discrete model from the constructed family, which has the closest parameter values to these in the differential SEIRS-VB model. To validate the studied models, Bulgarian COVID-19 data are used. To obtain all these results for the discrete models a mathematical analysis is carried out to illustrate some biological properties of the differential model SEIRS-VB, such as the non-negativity, boundedness, existence, and uniqueness. Using the next-generation method, the basic reproduction number associated with the model in the autonomous case is defined. The local stability of the disease-free equilibrium point is studied. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of the basic reproduction number is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We incorporate the disease state and testing state into the formulation of a COVID-19 epidemic model. For this model, the basic reproduction number is identified and its dependence on model parameters related to the testing process and isolation efficacy is discussed. The relations between the basic reproduction number, the final epidemic and peak sizes, and the model parameters are further explored numerically. We find that fast test reporting does not always benefit the control of the COVID-19 epidemic if good quarantine while awaiting test results is implemented. Moreover, the final epidemic and peak sizes do not always increase along with the basic reproduction number. Under some circumstances, lowering the basic reproduction number increases the final epidemic and peak sizes. Our findings suggest that properly implementing isolation for individuals who are waiting for their testing results would lower the basic reproduction number as well as the final epidemic and peak sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livelihood resilience is the ability of individuals, families or communities to withstand external shocks based on existing resources. It is an important research paradigm in sustainable development studies. The outbreak of COVID-19 and strict epidemic prevention policies have greatly impacted the production and life of rural farmers in China. The resilience of farmers' livelihoods during the epidemic is crucial to the sustainable development of their livelihoods and regional stability. This study uses classic buffer capacity, self-organization ability, and the capacity for learning a three-dimension livelihood resilience framework using the comprehensive index, OLS, and geographical detector methods based on Hubei province and neighboring Anhui and Chongqing. Rural household survey data investigate the background of epidemic hit the livelihood of farmers resilience and its spatial distribution pattern and identify the key influencing factors. The results show that the livelihood shock faced by farmers was higher than the risk of disease, and the overall level of livelihood resilience was low after the pandemic. Financial capital and social capital can effectively help farmers to eliminate livelihood difficulties. In contrast, natural capital has a limited driving force, and physical and human capital have no obvious impact. The spatial agglomeration differentiation is obvious, indicating that the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods was closely related to the degree of local socio-economic development and geographical location. The results of this study provide targeted recommendations for the development of epidemic prevention and livelihood resilience policies tailored to local conditions, emphasizing the importance of boosting livelihood recovery at both the government and household levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To figure out the solutions of how to improve services for the patients from regular outpatient visit and internet visit upon the COVID measurements. Methods During the COVID-19 epidemic in Shanghai in May 2022,a questionnaire survey was investigated in the parents of outpatients in Children's Hospital,Fudan University during the recent COVID-19 epidemic in Shanghai,644 patients’ parents received the questionnaire survey, including their social demography, medical needs, satisfaction to the medical service, awareness of internet hospitals and willingness to use, etc. Results Being affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the hospital visit outpatient numbers decreased substantially, and the patient’s behavior for medical care changed accordingly. Since waiting time on average was less than that before the epidemic (12.82 min vs. 23.21 min), doctors spent more time in treating each child. In this study, the difference in respondents' satisfaction with the waiting order and waiting time before and during the epidemic was statistically significant (P<0.05), and the patients had a better experience in the medical service. Additionally, the younger parents (<39 year) intended to use the internal hospital (P<0.05).Conclusion The management, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of hospital capacity faced a huge challenge during the epidemic. The changes of traditional medical service pattern, including integration of internet service with current hospital conventional management and service mode, accessibility of medical resources, will be critical for improvement of medical service at post-epidemic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the normalization of the prevention of the new crown epidemic, the cultural tourism industry has been severely impacted, causing the entire tourism industry to press the pause button and unable to develop normally. The vision is to better adjust the existing problems, collect and summarize information from various places through the second-hand data collection method, make comparisons, and then combine the local characteristics of Fujian Province with the situation to help the sustainable development of the local tourism industry in Fujian Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (C/HC) received considerable international media attention due to anticipated treatment effect in COVID-19. This led to increased prescriptions threatening to generate product shortages for patients prescribed within approved indications. We evaluated effects of a temporary regulation mandating pharmacies to only dispense C/HC prescribed by physicians with defined specialties. Methods: Data from Region Stockholm, which include 2.4 out of 10 million Sweden's population, were used. Weekly time trends of prescriptions and requisitions of C/HC by prescriber's workplace during January to April 2020 were followed. Results: Numbers of unique individuals with filled prescriptions of chloroquine increased tenfold and of hydroxychloroquine more than threefold from January to March. In the first week of April, filled prescriptions of C/HC dropped. In the later weeks of April, the number of filled prescriptions was back at similar levels as before the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. During January and February, specialists in rheumatology accounted for 686 out of all 979 prescriptions dispensed (70.1%) of C/HC. In March, a large proportion of prescriptions dispensed were from specialists not usually prescribing C/HC, and rheumatology accounted for 628 out of all 1,639 prescriptions (38.3%). In April, specialists in rheumatology accounted for 386 out of all 641 prescriptions dispensed (60.0%). Conclusion: After an observed increase in prescriptions of C/HC, a temporary regulation was introduced on 2nd April 2020 to reduce prescriptions from specialists not usually prescribing C/HC to avoid shortages for patients within approved indications. Subsequently, dispensed prescriptions decreased from April and remained at pre-COVID-19 levels thereafter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its epidemic nature, the spread of the Covid-19 virus has caused many changes in human behaviors and biosocial patterns, which can be observed in the lifestyle of society. This research was conducted with the aim of analyzing the lifestyle changes resulting from the Covid-19 epidemic and extracting themes of post-Covid-19 lifestyle. To achieve this goal, a systematic review method based on the approach of Wright et al. (2009) was utilized. The sample consisted of 22 Persian and English articles on post-Covid-19 lifestyle. After collecting the research, they were analyzed and evaluated from three perspectives: first, structurally; then, the content of the results was conceptualized; and finally, their methodological evaluation and critique were conducted. Based on the analysis, the postCovid-19 lifestyle encompasses five main themes: virtualization of everyday life, health-oriented life, socialization of governance, social distancing, and articulated panic. The post-Covid-19 lifestyle has become virtual and media-driven, influenced by global changes including virtualization and the Covid19 epidemic. Health-oriented and medical discourse has dominated this lifestyle, with social distancing becoming its essence, and articulated fear taking root in the mentality of citizens and dominating their lifestyle. Ultimately, in the post-Covid-19 lifestyle, we will witness increased attention from citizens and governance systems towards cultural, social, and environmental dimensions of various issues. In general, the post-Covid-19 lifestyle will be a distinct phenomenon compared to the pre-Covid-19 lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triggered by COVID-19, one of the most dramatic crashes in the stock market in history occurred in March 2020. The sharp reductions in NASDAQ insurance stock indexes were observed after the occurrence of COVID-19 and in March 2020. In this study, the NASDAQ insurance stock markets (including NASDAQ Insurance Index, Developed Markets Insurance Index, and Emerging Markets Insurance Index) and NASDAQ Composite Index are utilized. The "scissors difference" between the NASDAQ Insurance Index and NASDAQ Composite Index is observed. The dynamic effects of the COVID-19 epidemic and the March 2020 crash on the multifractality of four series are explored. Firstly, the apparent and intrinsic multifractality, the components of multifractality, and the dynamic effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on these indexes are analyzed. Secondly, the multifractal cross-correlation between the NASDAQ Insurance Index and NASDAQ Composite Index is investigated. The dynamic influence of the COVID-19 epidemic on the cross-correlation is examined. The multifractal analysis results reveal that four series both before and after the occurrence of COVID-19 have multifractal characteristics. The stronger multifractal characteristics and the greater multifractal degree are obtained after the occurrence of COVID-19. The intrinsic multifractality of the three indexes ascends largely after the occurrence of COVID-19. The multifractal cross-correlation analysis illustrates that the cross-correlation between two indexes before and after the occurrence of COVID-19 is multifractal. The stronger multifractal cross-correlations and greater multifractal degrees are shown. The contribution of the intrinsic multifractal cross-correlation increased after the occurrence of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restrictions due to the COVID-19 epidemic affected all companies, raising the possibility and necessity of using and providing digital consulting services. In our study, we examine whether management consultants and their clients are open to providing and using the consulting service in digital form. Our in-depth interview research conducted in 2020-21 in North-Eastern Hungary was preceded by questionnaire surveys of management consultants in 2001 and 2005-06, and in-depth interview research in 2011- 12 and 2015-16, the change in the openness of consultants to information technology is compared to our surveys. Based on the results, a significant proportion of consultants provide consulting services in digital form and are happy to use new types of knowledge acquisition and organization methods. Clients are much less open to using the management consulting service in digital form than consultants. They consider personal contact to be very important, they find physical contact and nonverbal communication necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore and summarize the construction strategies of COVID-19 medical care and epidemic prevention system abroad by case studies. Methods We selected Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) as research cases, and used a combining method of in-depth interviews with data analysis. Interviewees included a variety of medical professionals like government officials from the Department of Health, epidemiologists, and general practitioners. The interview questions were built around the setting condition and design logic of the medical care and epidemic prevention system in the interviewees’ countries. Results Hierarchical diagnosis and treatment is the important strategy for both countries. Singapore used Hot Clinic to guide patient flows, and the UK used telemedicine. The reconstruction of outpatient and emergency facilities in both countries was mainly based on existing facilities. The basic configuration of general practice was relatively simple. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, general practice included expanding the number of medical personnel by deploying medical professionals from the entire hospital, re-designing overall arrangements, and extending working hours appropriately. Both countries actively applied information technology in constructing the medical epidemic prevention system, and the epidemic data collection and information disclosure were timelier. Both countries adhered to the “peace-war combined” mode and flexibly adjusted the epidemic prevention policy and resource allocation plan in the process of gradual resuming. Conclusion The study provided reference for constructing China’s medical care and epidemic prevention system. It delivered suggestions from several aspects which included implementing a graded epidemic prevention system, standardizing the treatment process, refining the infrastructure, improving medical personnel staffing, promoting information technology, implementing the strategy of “peace-war combined” mode, and practicing the transformation plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: This report summarizes recent advances of flexible humidity sensors and their integrated systems. Typical examples of noncontact detections based on flexible and wearable humidity sensors are highlighted. Research opportunities and challenges of pushing flexible humidity sensors towards practical contactless measurements are discussed.In the past decade, the global industry and research attentions on intelligent skin-like electronics have boosted their applications in diverse fields including human healthcare, Internet of Things, human–machine interfaces, artificial intelligence and soft robotics. Among them, flexible humidity sensors play a vital role in noncontact measurements relying on the unique property of rapid response to humidity change. This work presents an overview of recent advances in flexible humidity sensors using various active functional materials for contactless monitoring. Four categories of humidity sensors are highlighted based on resistive, capacitive, impedance-type and voltage-type working mechanisms. Furthermore, typical strategies including chemical doping, structural design and Joule heating are introduced to enhance the performance of humidity sensors. Drawing on the noncontact perception capability, human/plant healthcare management, human–machine interactions as well as integrated humidity sensor-based feedback systems are presented. The burgeoning innovations in this research field will benefit human society, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic, where cross-infection should be averted and contactless sensation is highly desired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the management of epidemics, like COVID‐19, trade‐offs have to be made between reducing mortality and morbidity and minimizing socioeconomic and political consequences. Traditionally, epidemic management (EM) has been guided and executed attentively by experts and policymakers. It can, however, still be controversial in the public sphere. In the last decades, public engagement (PE) has been successfully applied in various aspects of healthcare. This leads to the question if PE could be implemented in EM decision‐making. Methods: From June to October 2020, seven deliberative discussion focus groups were executed with 35 Dutch citizens between 19 and 84 years old. Their views on PE in COVID‐19 management were explored. The deliberative approach allows for the education of participants on the topic before the discussion. The benefits, barriers, timing and possible forms of PE in EM were discussed. Results: Almost all participants supported PE in EM, as they thought that integrating their experiences and ideas would benefit the quality of EM, and increase awareness and acceptance of measures. A fitting mode for PE was consultation, as it was deemed important to provide the public with possibilities to share ideas and feedback; however, final authority remained with experts. The publics could particularly provide input about communication campaigns and control measures. PE could be executed after the first acute phase of the epidemic and during evaluations. Conclusions: This paper describes the construction of an empirically informed framework about the values and conditions for PE in EM from the perspective of the public. Participants expressed support to engage certain population groups and considered it valuable for the quality and effectiveness of EM; however, they expressed doubts about the feasibility of PE and the capabilities of citizens. In future studies, these results should be confirmed by a broader audience. Patient or Public Contribution: No patients or members of the public were involved in the construction and execution of this study. This study was very exploratory, to gain a first insight into the views of the public in the Netherlands, and will be used to develop engagement practices accordingly. At this stage, the involvement of the public was not yet appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public health recommendations and governmental restrictions during the COVID-19 epidemic have affect everyday life. This study aimed to examine temporal changes in health-related lifestyle and the accumulation of positive and negative changes in the key lifestyle factors (vegetable consumption, leisure-time physical activity, sleeping, alcohol consumption, smoking) in the same individuals among Finnish adults during the epidemic.Methods: This study was based on a series of cross-sectional surveys conducted between April 2020 and June 2021 to investigate antibody levels for the new coronavirus in the population. In each survey, a random sample of adults (18 to 69 years) from five university hospital regions were invited. A total of 5655 (response rate 32%) responded to the questionnaire including questions on lifestyle changes during epidemic.Results: On average one-sixth of respondents (17%) reported at least two negative changes in the key lifestyle factors during the study period. An increase in snacking and sleep problems and decrease in leisure-time physical activity and active commuting to work were the most common of individual negative changes. The proportion of negative changes in physical activity increased as the epidemic drags on. In contrast, on average every seventh of the respondents (14%) reported at least two positive lifestyle changes in the key lifestyle factors. The most common individual positive changes were increased consumption of fruit, berries and vegetables and decreased consumption of alcohol. More negative changes were reported on average, when both negative and positive changes in the key lifestyle factors were summed. The most negative changes were reported in the late 2020.Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that the lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 epidemic have been diverse being on average more commonly unfavorable than favorable for health. The deteriorated epidemic situation in the late 2020 and, on the other hand, prolonged epidemic predisposed to negative lifestyle changes. Further studies are important to examine whether these changes are maintained over time and to identify the factors that contribute to changes and their accumulation in the same individuals. Health promotion actions are needed to prevent the long-term effects of the epidemic on health and welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was conducted of 7,111 primary and secondary school teachers nationwide using an online questionnaire during the COVID-19 epidemic. The results show that national and provincial online education resources and platforms have played a leading role during the COVID-19 epidemic, but it is difficult for existing resources to meet actual needs. Online teaching modes are diverse, but the participation of primary and secondary school teachers in online educational research is seriously inadequate. There have been evaluations of online teaching, but the evaluation method and teacher participation rate do not give cause for optimism. Online teaching has achieved clear results, but the problems and difficulties that it faces should not be ignored. Given this, this article proposes some countermeasures, such as building up online education resources, adopting multiple online teaching evaluation methods, and establishing online teaching incentives and compensation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To find out the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic in the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder and differences in sociodemographic factors. Study Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Nishtar Hospital Multan. Period: January to March 2022. Material & Methods: The sample consisted of 50 OCD patients (Male=34, Females=16). Convenient sampling method was used to approach participants. Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive scale was used along with Sociodemographic variables. Results were analyzed by using SPSS-21. Results: Findings of the study showed that Obsession with ideas of contamination and compulsion related to cleaning and washing rituals were more prevalent during Epidemic. It was also explored that there was significant increase in Incidence and prevalence of OCD during and after epidemic. Male population were more affected by OCD during Epidemic as compared to females. Residents of urban areas were more vulnerable for developing OCD. The incidents of developing OCD during the epidemic was higher in young population especially students. Conclusion: It is concluded that prevalence and incidents of OCD increased due to epidemic of COVID-19 Furthermore, it was further observed certain obsessions (obsession of contamination) and specific compulsions (cleaning and washing) was significantly higher than other types of OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 epidemics exhibited multiple waves regionally and globally since 2020. It is important to understand the insight and underlying mechanisms of the multiple waves of COVID-19 epidemics in order to design more efficient non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and vaccination strategies to prevent future waves. We propose a multi-scale model by linking the behaviour change dynamics to the disease transmission dynamics to investigate the effect of behaviour dynamics on COVID-19 epidemics using game theory. The proposed multi-scale models are calibrated and key parameters related to disease transmission dynamics and behavioural dynamics with/without vaccination are estimated based on COVID-19 epidemic data (daily reported cases and cumulative deaths) and vaccination data. Our modeling results demonstrate that the feedback loop between behaviour changes and COVID-19 transmission dynamics plays an essential role in inducing multiple epidemic waves. We find that the long period of high-prevalence or persistent deterioration of COVID-19 epidemics could drive almost all of the population to change their behaviours and maintain the altered behaviours. However, the effect of behaviour changes fades out gradually along the progress of epidemics. This suggests that it is essential to have not only persistent, but also effective behaviour changes in order to avoid subsequent epidemic waves. In addition, our model also suggests the importance to maintain the effective altered behaviours during the initial stage of vaccination, and to counteract relaxation of NPIs, it requires quick and massive vaccination to avoid future epidemic waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: The global epidemic of the disease caused by the coronavirus, a severe acute respiratory syndrome that emerged in December 2019, was not only considered a threat to the health and lives of millions of people around the world. In many countries, including our country, various solutions were presented so that the education of students is not interrupted during the period of social distancing and that the curriculum continues according to the pre-determined schedule. In fact, with the beginning of the closure of schools to help eliminate this virus, the concern of developing and implementing educational programs to continue education at home and in the conditions of home quarantine is one of the biggest challenges of educational systems, including education. In such a way that international institutions and organizations, such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization, were forced to work hard to develop curricula, instructions, and educational guides for these conditions. Although Covid-19 could have negative effects on educational activities, social distancing has stimulated the growth of online educational activities so that there is no disruption in education. The electronic learning system has created educational environments that are not dependent on any specific location or time and allows teachers to teach a course simultaneously or asynchronously or use a combination of these two modes. In this way, electronic education or education through virtual space was chosen as one of the important and serious programs in education. Electronic education and learning are one of the achievements that have transformed our world. E-learning is a new method in education that deals with providing and managing learning opportunities to improve knowledge and skills through the Internet and computer technology. Meanwhile, online electronic learning is described as a learning experience using various electronic devices (tablets, laptops, smartphones, etc.) with access to the Internet in simultaneous or asynchronous environmental conditions. Online e-learning can be a platform that makes the education process inclusive, creative, and flexible. Electronic learning as an educational medium in the classroom is a new experience for the teacher and students, which can be an effective step towards stabilizing and accelerating students' learning. On the other hand, the most important characteristics of secondary school learners that teachers should pay attention to can be classified into three types: cognitive, emotional, and social. The elementary course is one of the most important and sensitive academic courses, and it is very important for teachers and trainers to pay attention to the different characteristics of students' growth, and to know that electronic learning requires a series of hardware tools and its extensive use may affect the level of health. Mental Health Mental health is an issue beyond the absence or absence of mental illness. The positive dimension of mental health, which the World Health Organization relies on, is included in the definition of health: "Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being, not just the absence of disease or disability". Therefore, mental health is a state of well-being in which a person recognizes his abilities and can adapt to the normal stresses of life and be useful and productive in terms of work. Since there are no social interactions (compared to the common and usual form in the real environment) in the context of electronic learning, learners must be able to maintain their mental health level. As a result, students who have more mental health and the necessary abilities to deal with common academic challenges can be more self-regulated and self-efficient than other students, and as a result, they are more successful. They achieve more success in subjects in which they are more interested and motivated, and more success provides more motivation for learning, academic progress, academic performance, and continuing education. According to research findings, there is little information on the relationship between electronic learning and students' mental health. Therefore, the current research was conducted to investigate the relationship between electronic learning and the mental health of secondary school students, and it will seek to answer the question of whether there is a significant relationship between electronic learning and the mental health of secondary school students. Methods: The present study is descriptive and correlational, and the statistical population of this study included all male students in the second year of high school in Isfahan, who were studying in the academic year 2001-2001. The statistical population according to the inquiry from the statistics unit of the Isfahan city education department was equal to 850 people. According to the table of Karjesi and Morgan, 265 people were selected through a simple random sampling method. Research tools included two electronic learning questionnaires by Watkin et al. (2004) and Goldberg's mental health questionnaire (1972). Pearson's statistical method was used for data analysis. Results: The research results showed that there is a relationship between e-learning and students' mental health. Conclusion: In general, all these topics indicate that there is a significant relationship between e-learning and mental health during the epidemic, or that the increase in e)learning increases the level of mental health. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between e-learning and mental health. The Department of Education is one of the most basic and important organizations in the world today, and students have a direct relationship with this organization, and this shows the key and vital role of this department in their complex lives. Knowledge of electronic learning and its better use can facilitate and predict the quality and continuity of mental health and lead to the implementation of programs scientifically and avoiding unwise actions. Mental health refers to the possession of understanding and decision-making and positive psychological characteristics that facilitate the growth and development of a person and enable the achievement of goals. While students are thinking about their survival, they should take a step beyond this view and pay attention to the consequences and effects on society. E)learning is considered an important issue for education and the factor of its survival, in this, paying attention to the mental health of students and using an effective solution for it is discussed. An office like the education department should pay attention to all educational levels (in-person and out-of-person) properly. One of the most important concerns of the producers and presenters of online learning courses is the integration of traditional and non-attendance educational strategies in these courses to retain learners and improve their learning, which can affect the mental states of learners. Be effective for this reason, school officials and workers have made a lot of efforts to develop and promote this learning style in their students, and they are trying to make this type of learning along with reducing its disadvantages. Students who are deprived of being in the space must have a level of self-efficacy to be able to use this technology, and if they are not taught, they will get confused and reduce the quality of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined with the relevant policies promulgated by the state, the paper elaborates three basic modes of prescription refill management for chronic diseases: community model, pharmacy model, and distribution model. Then from multiple perspectives including the internal strengths and weaknesses of chronic disease management reform, as well as external opportunities and threats, the paper uses the SWOT analysis method to analyze the feasibility of establishing and popularizing the management of refilled prescriptions for chronic diseases during the COVID-19 epidemic and the advantages and disadvantages of carrying out this management mode. At the same time, medical institutions, doctors and patients are required to change the concept of chronic disease management mode in the context of COVID-19 prevention and control. On the premise of ensuring the safety of patients’ medication and the safety of national medical insurance funds during this period, we should promote the implementation of prescription refills for chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In parametric estimates, the maximum likelihood estimation method is the most popular method widely used in the social sciences and psychology, although it is biased in situations where sample sizes are small or the data are heavily censored. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to improve this estimation method using the Runge–Kutta technique. The improved method was applied to derive the estimators of the shape scale family parameters and compare them with Bayesian estimators based on the informative and kernel priors, via Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation results showed that the improved maximum likelihood estimation method is highly efficient and outperforms the Bayesian method for different sample sizes. Finally, from a future perspective, the proposed model could be important for analyzing real data sets including data on COVID-19 deaths in Egypt, for potential comparative studies with other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The existing body of research mostly discusses inequality in physical activity (PA) based on the difference in the level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Evidence is lacking on the quantified inequality measures (e.g., how big the inequality is, and the distribution) in order to identify the most vulnerable groups of a population. This study measured PA inequality among Thai adults by using three parameters to construct an inequality index: (1) Proportion of the population with sufficient MVPA; (2) Cumulative minutes of MVPA; and (3) The Gini coefficient. Methods: This study employed three rounds of data from Thailand's Surveillance on Physical Activity (SPA) 2019–2021. In each round, over 6,000 individuals age 18–64 years were selected as nationally-representative samples, and were included in the analysis. PA inequality was constructed by using three parameters, with a combination of the three as the final measure, to identify the sub-groups of the Thai adults who are most vulnerable: groups with the least MVPA, highest insufficiency, and highest inequality index (Gini). Results: Covid-19 containment measures have widened the gap in PA inequality, as shown by a declining proportion of the population meeting the recommended guidelines, from 74.3% in 2019 to 56.7% in 2020 and 65.5% in 2021. PA inequality existed in all sub-populations. However, by combining three parameters, the most vulnerable groups during the Covid-19 epidemic were identified as follows: (1) Those with no income; (2) The unemployed; (3) Those who have no access to PA facilities; (4) Older adults aged 60 + years; and (5) Those earning < 3,500 baht per month. Further, residents of Bangkok, young adults aged 18–24, individuals who attained primary level education or less, those who had no exposure to a PA awareness campaign and those who have a debilitating chronic disease also had elevated risk of PA insufficiency. Conclusion: A concerning level of PA inequality existed in all sub-populations. The use of combined indicators in measuring PA inequality should aid in determining the most vulnerable groups of the population with a refined procedure. This method can be applied in many settings since the baseline data used to measure inequality (i.e., percent sufficient and cumulative minutes of MVPA) are widely available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data in the 2021 “China Health Statistical Yearbook”，this article compared and analyzed the economic operation of private hospitals before and after the outbreak of COVID⁃19，in order to provide reference and guidance for stable economic operation and high⁃quality hospital development under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control. In 2020，the volume of outpatient and inpatient services in private hospitals decreased by 6.9% and 4.8%，respectively，and the medical income only increased by 4.4%. The service volume and the medical income were sharply reduced. The asset⁃liability ratio and net asset⁃liability ratio increased to 63.9% and 177.2%，respectively，while the scale of liabilities was further expanded，and the pressure on economic operation increased sharply. Financial allocations increased by 59.2% ， personnel expenditure decreased by 16.6%，while the balance ratio of revenue and expenditure reached the highest value in recent years at 7.8%，with significant growth in the balance of income and expenditure. Based on this，in the stage of normalized prevention and control of the epidemic，it is recommended that the government further clarify the service function positioning of private hospitals，and support the development of private hospitals by increasing financial，investment，implementing preferential policies，and optimizing financing policies. It is also recommended that private hospitals gradually integrate into the prevention and control of major infectious diseases，form scale effects，and achieve sustainable and healthy development through the chain operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 epidemic-led lockdown (LD) from March 25 to May 31, 2020, had a different level of impact on air quality in the ecologically sensitive region of northeast India, even though the restriction on main anthropogenic activities was expected to reduce particulate matter concentration. The daily average black carbon concentration measured at 880 nm (BC880) was 1.5–15.6 μg m−3 (mean: 5.75±4.24 μg m−3) during the measurement period. It was 9.29±4.11 μg m−3 during pre-LD (February 12–March 21), 4.70±0.95 μg m−3 during LD1 (March 25–April 14), 3.41±0.56 μg m−3 during LD2 (April 15–May 3), 3.69±1.50 μg m−3 during LD3 (May 4–17), 2.94±0.93 μg m−3 during LD4 (May 18–31), and 6.56±5.35 μg m−3 during the Post-LD (June 6–July 3) of 2020. It decreased up to 68% during the lockdowns. The source apportionment based on an improved method showed a significant improvement in the contribution of BC880 sources. The radiation effect determined by Angstrom Absorption Exponent showed that brown carbon accounted for 25% of the aerosol light absorption at 370 nm during the lockdown period. Relative humidity correlates substantially with BC880, while rainfall, temperature, and solar radiation were negatively correlated. The bivariate analysis showed the dominance of local emissions in the BC880 concentrations. Research highlights: Black carbon concentration decreased up to 68% during the different phases of lockdown. BC associated with fossil fuel was 51–78%, and biomass burning was 22–49%. The fraction of fossil fuel and biomass burning in whole BC fallen to 0.73 and 0.65 during the lockdowns. Air quality improved by about 47–58% on the 4th and 7th day of lockdown. Brown carbon and meteorological parameters significantly impacted aerosol light absorption in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As COVID-19 continues to threaten public health around the world, research on specific vaccines has been underway. In this paper, we establish an SVIR model on booster vaccination with two time delays. The time delays represent the time of booster vaccination and the time of booster vaccine invalidation, respectively. Second, we investigate the impact of delay on the stability of non-negative equilibria for the model by considering the duration of the vaccine, and the system undergoes Hopf bifurcation when the duration of the vaccine passes through some critical values. We obtain the normal form of Hopf bifurcation by applying the multiple time scales method. Then, we study the model with two delays and show the conditions under which the nontrivial equilibria are locally asymptotically stable. Finally, through analysis of official data, we select two groups of parameters to simulate the actual epidemic situation of countries with low vaccination rates and countries with high vaccination rates. On this basis, we select the third group of parameters to simulate the ideal situation in which the epidemic can be well controlled. Through comparative analysis of the numerical simulations, we concluded that the most appropriate time for vaccination is to vaccinate with the booster shot 6 months after the basic vaccine. The priority for countries with low vaccination rates is to increase vaccination rates; otherwise, outbreaks will continue. Countries with high vaccination rates need to develop more effective vaccines while maintaining their coverage rates. When the vaccine lasts longer and the failure rate is lower, the epidemic can be well controlled within 20 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national lockdown policies have drastically disrupted socioeconomic activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, which provides a unique opportunity to investigate the air quality response to such anthropogenic disruptions. And it is meaningful to evaluate the potential health impacts of air quality changes during the lockdown, especially for PM 2.5 with adverse health effects. In this study, by using PM 2.5 observations from 1388 monitoring stations nationwide in China, we examine the PM 2.5 variations between the COVID-19 lockdown (February and March in 2020) and the same period in 2015–2019, and find that the national average of PM 2.5 decreases by 18 μg/m3, and mean PM 2.5 for most sites (about 75%) decrease by 30%–60%. The anthropogenic and meteorological contributions to these PM 2.5 variations are also determined by using a stepwise multiple linear regression (MLR) model combined with the Kolmogorov–Zurbenko filter. Our results show that the change of anthropogenic emissions is a leading contributor to those widespread PM 2.5 reductions, and meteorological conditions have the negative influence on PM 2.5 reductions for some regions, such as Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH). Additionally, the avoided premature death due to PM 2.5 reduction is estimated as a predicted number based on a log-linear concentration-response function. The total avoided premature death is 9952 in China, with dominant contribution (94%) from anthropogenic emission changes. For BTH, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Hubei regions, the reductions of PM 2.5 are 24.1, 24.3, 13.5 and 29.5 μg/m3, with the avoided premature deaths of 1066, 1963, 454 and 583, respectively. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem motivating this study is the fact that almost 19.70 million university students in China have been required to engage in e-learning under the government's initiative of "Classes are Suspended, yet Learning is still Ongoing" during the COVID-19 epidemic, coupled with varied responses, uneven adoption of e-learning platforms and varying degrees of satisfaction toward them. Using the online database adoption and satisfaction (ODAS) model, this study examines the determinants which impact university students' adoption of and satisfaction with e-learning platforms at this particular time in China. The ODAS model was also cross-validated using gender as a moderating variable. A purposive sampling procedure was used to survey a total of 1,136 students from six universities in five provinces or municipalities of China. The data for this survey were estimated using the Rasch model and structural equation modeling. Results exhibit that students' adoption of and satisfaction with e-learning platforms were significantly measured by their computer self-efficacy, their intention to use e-learning platforms, and their perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of these platforms, while the relationships among these components were moderated by gender differences. This empirically-based cross-validation of the ODAS provides recommendations for future studies, including practical implications for e-learning. This current study contributes to the body of knowledge in evaluating e-learning platforms during the COVID-19 epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Primary health care is a holistic approach that aims to maximize people's health and well-being as quickly as possible in their immediate living environment. The primary health care system is the first point of contact of the people with the health system. Therefore, increasing its resilience will play a significant role in controlling and managing pandemics. This research aimed to identify strategies to strengthen the resilience of the primary health care system in the Covid-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using the scoping review method. Using appropriate keywords search was done on the subject of the study in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SID, Iranmedex and Magiran databases and Google and Google Scholar search engines. Finally, after screening and reviewing the titles, abstracts and texts of the retrieved documents, 36 articles were selected and strategies to strengthen the resilience of the primary health care system in the Covid-19 pandemic were extracted from them. Results: A total of 48 strategies/solutions were extracted to strengthen the resilience of the primary health care system, categorized into 6 groups, namely, governance and leadership, financing, human resources, medicines and equipment, health information systems, and health service delivery. Among the most frequently solutions mentioned were the following: Dynamic and accountable leadership, using valid research evidence in policy-making, contingency planning, increasing inter-sectoral cooperation, advocacy for health policies, community involvement, sustainable financing, recruiting additional staff and training and supporting them, providing sufficient stocks of medicines and diagnostic kits, developing and modernizing public health information systems, facilitating people's access to health centers, continuing to provide health services, and increasing the community’s health literacy. Conclusion: The structural and process components of the primary health care system including "governance and leadership", "financing", "staff", "equipment, vaccines and medicines", "information" and "health care delivery" should be strengthened in a coordinated manner in the primary health care system to be prepared for future epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of working stress to medical workers and has a certain impact on their mental health. Working stress is closely related to the increase in anxiety, but few studies have explored whether their relationship will be affected by positive psychological factors in the special situation.Methods: 798 medical workers were investigated online after the outbreak of the COVID-19 (10 February to 1 March 2020) in China. The relevant questionnaires were used to evaluate working stress, anxiety, sense of control, and psychological capital. The moderated mediation model test was performed using the SPSS software and PROCESS macro program.Results: Working stress could directly affect anxiety, and indirectly affect anxiety through sense of control. In addition, psychological capital moderated the direct effect of working stress on anxiety, which is more effective at high level of psychological capital. Psychological capital also moderated the second half of the indirect effect of working stress on anxiety, at low level of psychological capital, sense of control was more effective in predicting anxiety.Limitations: All the data in this study was collected through online questionnaire. The anxiety response measured in this study cannot be specific to the viral epidemic.Conclusions: Under the COVID-19 epidemic situation, for medical workers, low sense of control and low level of psychological capital may be important risk factors of anxiety caused by working stress. Thus, strengthening the sense of control and psychological capital of medical workers would be helpful to reduce their anxiety and maintain their mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The goal of this research aims to explain how a university library handled the epidemic -19 that began in March 2020. This research examines the library's state throughout the dilemma and shows how the epidemic has posed unexpected hurdles to digital services. It also clarifies why the beginning of 23 March 2020, the library has converted some existing services to an electronic format and investigates various programmes and practices to assist with all aspects of the university's online learning and teaching. Design/methodology/approach - During the COVID-19 epidemic, Many of the libraries' digital resources were employed to address the needs of their patrons. The methodologies employed were the author's own experiences working in an academic library, monitoring of the library's responses to the library's digital services and comments on what can be reviewed for development now and in the future. It stresses the establishment of plans and better practices for electronic library resources and services in the event of a public health emergency Findings/Purpose -The purpose of this study is to enlighten the efforts of libraries of various universities to provide online services to their students and faculty during the epidemic. This article also revealed the issues faced by the library personnel and professionals during the provision of services while operating from home or distantly. Originality/value -This report is highly helpful in giving insight with better practical suggestions for other libraries dealing with similar challenges and providing electronic library materials and services in the aftermath of an international health catastrophe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: COVID-19 has become a global concern because it has extensive damage to health, social and economic systems worldwide. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop tools to understand, analyze, monitor and control further outbreaks of the disease. Methodology: The Susceptible Infected Recovered-Particle SwarmOptimization model and the feed-forward artificial neural network model were separately developed to model COVID-19 dynamics based on daily time-series data reported by the Saudi authorities from March 2, 2020 to February 21, 2021. The collected data were divided into training and validation datasets. The effectiveness of the investigated models was evaluated by using various performance metrics. The Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Particle-Swarm-Optimization model was found to well predict the cumulative infected and recovered cases and to optimally tune the contact rate and the characteristic duration of the illness. The feed-forward artificial neural network model was found to be efficient in modeling daily new and cumulative infections, recoveries and deaths. Results: The forecasts provided by the investigated models had high coefficient of determination values of more than 0.97 and low mean absolute percentage errors (around 7% on average). Conclusions: Both the Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Particle-Swarm-Optimization and feed-forward artificial neural network models were efficient in modeling COVID-19 dynamics in Saudi Arabia. The results produced by the models can help the Saudi health authorities to analyze the virus dynamics and prepare efficient measures to control any future occurrence of the epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the influence of COVID-19 epidemic on the recruitment of sperm donors, and to provide suggestion for sperm bank recruitment in the post-epidemic period. Methods The sperm donors for preliminary screening in Hunan Sperm Bank were statistically analyzed, and the changes in the recruitment and the qualified rate of sperm donors before and after the epidemic were analyzed, as well as the changes in the qualified rate of sperm donors of different populations in the post-epidemic period. Results The qualified rate, semen concentration and sperm motility of sperm donors decreased significantly after the epidemic, the qualified rate of sperm donors in age group 20~24, 25~29, 30 ~34 was significantly different before and after the epidemic. In the post-epidemic period, the qualified rate of sperm donors was not significantly affected by the donor's occupation, age and education background, but was significantly affected in different seasons. Conclusion The COVID-19 epidemic has a great impact on the recruitment of sperm donors. It is suggested that the donor recruitment of sperm bank in the post-epidemic period should be mainly comprised of college students, people aged 20-30, and people with college degree or above. In the season with suitable temperature, we should increase the publicity of sperm supply and pay attention to the mental health of sperm donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on HIV suppression rates in people living with HIV (PLWH) attending a large Italian HIV clinic. Setting: The HIV outpatient clinic of the Infectious Diseases Department of Luigi Sacco Hospital, Milan, Italy, which serves more than 5000 PLWH per year. Methods: A before and after quasi -experimental study design was used to make a retrospective assessment of the monthly trend of HIV-RNA determinations of ≥50 among the PLWH attending our clinic, with "before" being the period from January 1, 2016 to February 20, 2020, and "after" being the period from February 21, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (the COVID-19 period). Interrupted time series analysis was used to evaluate any changes in the trend. Results: During the study period, 70,349 HIV-RNA viral load determinations were made, and the percentage of HIV-RNA viral load determinations of <50 copies/mL increased from 88.4% in 2016 to 93.2% in 2020 (P < 0.0001). There was a significant monthly trend toward a decrease in the number of HIV-RNA determinations of ≥50 copies/mL before the pandemic (β −0.084; standard error 0.015; P < 0.001), and this did not significantly change after it started (β −0.039, standard error 0.161; P = 0.811). Conclusions: A high prevalence of viral suppression was maintained among the PLWH referring to our clinic, despite the structural barriers raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of simplified methods of delivering care (such as teleconsultations and multiple antiretroviral treatment prescriptions) may have contributed to preserving this continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the existing researches on public health events focus on the number and duration of events in a year or month, which are carried out by regression equation. COVID-19 epidemic, which was discovered in Wuhan, Hubei Province, quickly spread to the whole country, and then appeared as a global public health event. During the epidemic period, Chinese netizens inquired about the dynamics of COVID-19 epidemic through Baidu search platform, and learned about relevant epidemic prevention information. These groups' search behavior data not only reflect people's attention to COVID-19 epidemic, but also contain the stage characteristics and evolution trend of COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, the time, space and attribute laws of propagation of COVID-19 epidemic can be discovered by deeply mining more information in the time series data of search behavior. In this study, it is found that transforming time series data into visibility network through the principle of visibility algorithm can dig more hidden information in time series data, which may help us fully understand the attention to COVID-19 epidemic in Chinese provinces and cities, and evaluate the deficiencies of early warning and prevention of major epidemics. What's more, it will improve the ability to cope with public health crisis and social decision-making level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to reveal the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on the precious metals and diamonds market for the period 17.03.2020-05.02.2021. In this context, firstly in the study, it has been investigated that the existence of long-run relationship between Turkey’s daily deaths and Covid-19 daily cases caused by Covid-19 and daily gold, silver, platinum and palladium prices by Maki cointegration test, it has been determined that there is a long-term relationship between silver, platinum and palladium prices and the numbers of cases, and between silver and platinum prices and the numbers of deaths. However, it could not be determined that there are significant relationship between gold prices and the number of cases and deaths and between palladium prices and the number of deaths. Finally, in the study, the magnitude of the relationship between series which have been determined long term relationship has been investigated through the FMOLS estimator by taking into account structural breaks, it has been determined that there is a negative-way relationship between silver prices and the numbers of cases and deaths in the long run. Furthermore, it has been concluded that there are not statistically significant relationship between platinum prices and the numbers of cases and deaths and palladium prices and the numbers of cases and the effect of structural breaks on the prices of the relevant metals varies depending on time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been observed that the world economies have been significantly affected by the Covid-19 epidemic process, which has caused increasing concerns about human health and life. During the epidemic period, many economies, including the most developed economies of the world, have entered the biggest recession in recent years. This situation has created great curiosity about effects of the Covid-19 epidemic on the economies of the country and how long the recovery will take. Basically, the measures taken to contain the Covid-19 epidemic have deeply affected the labor markets by causing production to come to a halt in most sectors. During the epidemic period, there was a record increase in unemployment in the world. However, in some sectors that are qualitatively suitable, it has been observed that working from home has come to the fore in the direction of digitalization. In this context, survey questions were prepared to determine the trends in the labor markets during the Covid-19 epidemic. The results obtained were that the supply shock caused by the epidemic affected the demand and supply of labor as well as the functioning of the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 epidemic spread globally at the start of 2020, resulting in a wide range of diffusion of infectious diseases. At present, SARS-CoV-2 is still prevalent worldwide, and it is of great practical significance to strengthen the study on the COVID-19 epidemic. Based on the COVID-19 confirmed cases and incidence, this article explored both the temporal and spatial distribution pattern of COVID-19 in Hunan Province and its influencing variables between January 21 and February 28, 2020 by using ArcGIS 10.3 and GeoDetector. The results show that: 1) The epidemic evolved with temporal phasing. The epidemic in Hunan Province can be divided into four basic stages: the diffusion period, peak period, decay period, and the stagnant period. The first COVID-19 confirmed case of 84.47% affected counties was imported from Wuhan;2) The epidemic spread as a result of transportation convenience. The confirmed COVID-19 cases were concentrated near major railway lines, which were also high-incidence areas. The epidemic occurred "early in prefecture-level cities and frequently in urban areas"; 3) the extent of the epidemic has distance attenuation. The COVID-19 cases and high-incidence areas were mainly distributed in the middle, north, and northeast of Hunan, in regions in proximity to Wuhan; 4) the epidemic was distributed with spatial aggregation. The agglomeration level of cases and incidences increased first and then remained high. The hot spots identified are in Changzhutan and Yueyang City, while the cold spots are in Xiangxi Prefecture; 5) the epidemic prevalence was of variable interaction. Wind-free, cold and dry weather was more conducive to the spread of the epidemic; population density, road network density and GDP were the main factors affecting the epidemic spatial differentiation; and the strongest variable interaction happened between natural and social factors. 6) the influencing variables of the COVID-19 epidemic have spatial heterogeneity. The impacts of spatial distance and population density have spatial heterogeneity on both the reported cases the total infections rates of COVID-19, spatial distance has the greatest impact in northeast Hunan, and population density has the greatest impact in northwest and northern Hunan; but the mobility of population and the number of health technicians only have spatial heterogeneity of impacts on the reported cases of COVID- 19, the impact of population mobility is diminishing from north to south in Hunan, and the influence of the number of health technicians decreases gradually with the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city agglomeration as the core to the outer circle. The paper's conclusions are consistent with other scholars' studies in other regions, confirming that the epidemic not only spreads significantly in neighboring areas, but there are also "jump spreads" to distant cities that rely on the transportation network in Hunan. It is evident that restricting the entry of residents of affected areas plays a key role in COVID-19 prevention and control, and moreover, allocating plentiful health technicians, executing rigorous transport quarantine, and adopting compatible preventing measures with local and temporal conditions, are the top priorities in effectively responding to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 epidemic, online teaching was widely used at Nanjing Medical University. Based on the practice, student evaluation surveys were used as the main assessment to analyze the effect of online teaching. Eventually, 826 undergraduates at Nanjing Medical University participated in the questionnaire survey. This study described the present situation of online studying among medical students, and some suggestions were put forward. The survey showed that online education could not replace face-to-face learning, but it presented great potential for application in teaching fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a nonlinear robust control policy is designed together with a state observer in order to manage the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak having an uncertain epidemiological model with unmeasurable variables. This nonlinear model for the COVID-19 epidemic includes eight state variables (susceptible, exposed, infected, quarantined, hospitalized, recovered, deceased, and insusceptible populations). Two plausible scenarios are put forward in this article to control this epidemic before and after its vaccine invention. In the first scenario, the social distancing and hospitalization rates are employed as two applicable control inputs to diminish the exposed and infected groups. However, in the second scenario after the vaccine development, the vaccination rate is taken into account as the third control input to reduce the susceptible populations, in addition to the two objectives of the first scenario. The proposed feedback control measures are defined in terms of the hospitalized and deceased populations due to the available statistical data, while other unmeasurable compartmental variables are estimated by an extended Kalman filter (EKF). In other words, the susceptible, exposed, infected, quarantined, recovered, and insusceptible individuals cannot be identified precisely because of the asymptomatic infection of COVID-19 in some cases, its incubation period, and the lack of an adequate community screening. Utilizing the Lyapunov theorem, the stability and bounded tracking convergence of the closed-loop epidemiological system are investigated in the presence of modeling uncertainties. Finally, a comprehensive simulation study is conducted based on Canada's reported cases for two defined timing plans (with different treatment rates). Obtained results demonstrate that the developed EKF-based control scheme can achieve desired epidemic goals (exponential decrease of infected, exposed, and susceptible people). • A hypothetical robust control policy to manage the COVID-19 outbreak. • Two scenarios for the epidemic control before and after the vaccine development. • Hospitalized and deceased populations are the only available feedback data. • EKF is used to estimate other unmeasurable compartments' populations. • Lyapunov theorem is employed to ensure the controlled epidemic's stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020 has a great impact on public health security at home and abroad. Community is the basic unit of urban epidemic prevention, and improving community resilience is of great significance for reducing the spread of the epidemic and maintaining the normal life of residents during the epidemic. Based on the concept of resilience, 10 indicators were selected from four dimensions of urban space, including facilities, space, nature and society, to construct a community resilience evaluation indicator system for epidemic prevention, and 56 housing estates in Congtai District, Handan City, were selected for scientifi c evaluation. The results showed that the overall resilience of this region was relatively low and the resilience index decreased from southwest to northeast with the degree of urban development. The accessibility of urban open space, the proportion of redundant space area and the area of public space per capita had the lowest resilience index. Finally, policy suggestions were put forward to improve the resilience of housing estates in the region, so as to promote the steady progress of the city towards the agenda for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]