Search

Previous research indicates that personality is associated with interpersonal attraction. The present research aims to extend the current literature on personality and interpersonal attraction by using objective behavioral measures recorded in real social interactions. In the current study, 468 participants (M age = 31.2, SD age = 14.0) interacted in same-sex dyads at zero acquaintance. At the end of the session, participants were asked to take a seat on a sofa. Analyses revealed that physical distance (defined for each person as how far they sat from their end of the sofa) was significantly associated with perceptions of interpersonal attraction to the interaction partner. Using Actor-Partner-Interdependence Models, we then analyzed the effects of self- and other-reported Big Five traits on physical proximity. Results showed that self-reports of agreeableness and other-judged agreeableness, extraversion, and openness were significantly associated with physical proximity. The present findings highlight the influence of personality on behavioral outcomes of interpersonal attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how physical and psychological distance from one's surroundings may influence one's perception of connectedness with the servicescape and, ultimately, perception of value. It also examines the effect of consumers' techno-psychological differences and interaction modes on this distance-closeness relationship. The researchers develop and test a conceptual framework of how personal cognitive traits and technological intervention may alter consumers' perceived connectedness to the servicescape and influence their perceived value in different service settings. Via a quasi-experiment design in three service scenarios, this research shows a synthetical effect of contactless technology in the distancing setting that may work more effectively on high self-efficiency customers to change their perceived closeness to the servicescape and further change their evaluation of the service. The findings reveal the practical implications of social distancing for different types of consumers in service encounters during or after the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Leading health authorities have suggested short-range airborne transmission as a major route of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there is no simple method to assess the short-range airborne infection risk or identify its governing parameters. We proposed a short-range airborne infection risk assessment model based on the continuum model and two-stage jet model. The effects of ventilation, physical distance and activity intensity on the short-range airborne exposure were studied systematically. The results suggested that increasing physical distance and ventilation reduced short-range airborne exposure and infection risk. However, a diminishing return phenomenon was observed when the ventilation rate or physical distance was beyond a certain threshold. When the infectious quantum concentration was less than 1 quantum/L at the mouth, our newly defined threshold distance and threshold ventilation rate were independent of quantum concentration. We estimated threshold distances of 0.59, 1.1, 1.7 and 2.6 m for sedentary/passive, light, moderate and intense activities, respectively. At these distances, the threshold ventilation was estimated to be 8, 20, 43, and 83 L/s per person, respectively. The findings show that both physical distancing and adequate ventilation are essential for minimising infection risk, especially in high-intensity activity or densely populated spaces. [Display omitted] • A dilution factor was derived from a two-stage jet model. • Physical distancing reduces short-range airborne exposure and infection risk. • High ventilation also reduces short-range airborne exposure and infection risk. • High ventilation does not reduce infection risk at very close distances. • Threshold distance for short-range airborne infection control can be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study includes results based on four versions of the ultimatum game, with parallel questions directed to money proposals and time proposals. The four versions were designed to manipulate the study main variable, the interpersonal distance of the economic agents, in two variants: (1) physical distance, and (2) psychological distance. The results revealed a stable pattern of proposals for the physical distance condition and the psychological distance condition. The tests on the object of the game revealed differences between the money format and the time format. The study conclusions and the stability found in the proposals independently of the physical and psychological distance can be applied to economic decisions in no-negotiation settings as online or website based e-business. Applications to the travel and tourism industry are online commerce and reservations as e-ticketing for airlines, hotel internet reservations, travel packages, tours, travel activities, events, travel insurance and other online business services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the emergence of several technologies for infectious disease management. Although much focus has been placed on contact-tracing apps, another promising new tactic is proximity tracing, which focuses on health-related behavior and can be used for primary prevention. Underpinned by theories on behavioral design, a proximity-detection system can be devised that provides a user with immediate nudges to maintain physical distance from others. However, the practical feasibility of proximity detection during an infectious disease outbreak has not been sufficiently investigated., Objective: We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using a wearable device to nudge for distance and to gather important insights about how functionality and interaction are experienced by users. The results of this study can guide future research and design efforts in this emerging technology., Methods: In this retrospective case study, a wearable proximity-detection technology was used in a workplace for 6 weeks during the production of a music competition. The purpose of the technology was to nudge users to maintain their physical distance using auditory feedback. We used a mixed methods sequential approach, including interviews (n=8) and a survey (n=30), to compile the experiences of using wearable technology in a real-life setting., Results: We generated themes from qualitative analysis based on data from interviews and open-text survey responses. The quantitative data were subsequently integrated into these themes: feasibility (implementation and acceptance-establishing a shared problem; distance tags in context-strategy, environment, and activities; understanding and learning; and accomplishing the purpose) and design aspects (a purposefully annoying device; timing, tone, and proximity; and additional functions)., Conclusions: This empirical study reports on the feasibility of using wearable technology based on proximity detection to nudge individuals to maintain physical distance in the workplace. The technology supports attention to distance, but the usability of this approach is dependent on the context and situation. In certain situations, the audio signal is frustrating, but most users agree that it needs to be annoying to ensure sufficient behavioral adaption. We proposed a dual nudge that involves vibration followed by sound. There are indications that the technology also facilitates learning how to maintain a greater distance from others, and that this behavior can persist beyond the context of technology use. This study demonstrates that the key value of this technology is that it places the user in control and enables immediate action when the distance to others is not maintained. This study provides insights into the emerging field of personal and wearable technologies used for primary prevention during infectious disease outbreaks. Future research is needed to evaluate the preventive effect on transmission and investigate behavioral changes in detail and in relation to different forms of feedback., (©My Villius Zetterholm, Lina Nilsson, Päivi Jokela. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 12.12.2022.)

For millions of people, the COVID-19 pandemic situation and its accompanying restrictions have been a source of threat and confrontation with negative emotions. The pandemic's universal and long-term character, as well as the ensuing drastic limitation of control over one's life, have made it necessary to work out adaptive strategies that would reduce negative experiences and eventually lead to the restoration of well-being. The aim of this research was to identify strategies that people use in response to a long-term threat that restore affective balance and a subjective sense of security. We registered selected manifestations of affective reactions to the pandemic situation. The researchers focused on the dynamics of changes in the areas of (1) experienced negative emotions (asked in an indirect way) and (2) a subjective feeling of threat regarding the pandemic (in three different contexts: Poland, Europe, and worldwide) during the first phase of the pandemic in Poland. It was expected that both the negative emotions and the sense of threat would decrease with time. In addition, it was anticipated that the physical distance would modify the assessment of the situation as threatening depending on the geographical proximity: in Poland, Europe, and worldwide. We used the mixed quasi-experimental design in the series of four studies conducted by Internet in March, May, June, and July 2020. The intensity of negative emotions and the sense of threat caused by the pandemic situation in Poland, Europe, and worldwide were measured. Despite the objective number of confirmed COVID-19 cases during each of the stages of the study, both the intensity of emotions attributed by participants as well as the feeling of threat were found to have decreased. In addition, surprisingly, a reversed effect of the distance was revealed: namely, a sense of threat experienced towards distant locations (Europe and the world) was found to be more acute when compared with the threat experienced in Poland. The obtained results are interpreted as a manifestation of adaptive perception of the threat that lies beyond one's control, which takes the form of unconscious, biased distortions: unrealistic optimism. The decrease in the intensity of negative emotions explains unrealistic absolute optimism, while the perception of the situation in Poland as less threatening than in Europe and around the world is predicted by unrealistic comparative optimism.

Since the year 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as the dominant topic of discussion in the public and research domains. Intensive research has been carried out on several aspects of COVID-19, including vaccines, its transmission mechanism, detection of COVID-19 infection, and its infection rate and factors. The awareness of the public related to the COVID-19 infection factors enables the public to adhere to the standard operating procedures, while a full elucidation on the correlation of different factors to the infection rate facilitates effective measures to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection by policy makers and enforcers. Hence, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive and analytical review of different factors affecting the COVID-19 infection rate. Furthermore, this review analyses factors which directly and indirectly affect the COVID-19 infection risk, such as physical distance, ventilation, face masks, meteorological factor, socioeconomic factor, vaccination, host factor, SARS-CoV-2 variants, and the availability of COVID-19 testing. Critical analysis was performed for the different factors by providing quantitative and qualitative studies. Lastly, the challenges of correlating each infection risk factor to the predicted risk of COVID-19 infection are discussed, and recommendations for further research works and interventions are outlined.

The demand for 'local food' by U.S. consumers has grown markedly over the last several decades, accompanied by confusion over how to define local food. Is 'local' food defined by the location of the farm, food processing factory, distribution warehouse, or all three? Is 'local' food defined by geographic, political, or biophysical boundaries? Is 'local' solely farm-to-table or can it include factories? This study evaluates food commodity flow 'localness' using jurisdictional boundaries and physical distance to investigate the potential for food system transformation and the tradeoffs inherent to 'localizing' food production. We take a supply chain approach by making data-driven distinctions between farm-based flows of food and industrial, energy and nonfood (IENF) crops, and manufacturing/distribution flows of food and agriculturally-derived industrial inputs. We analyze the diversity, distance (a proxy for environmental impact), political boundaries, population, weight, and price (net selling value) of food commodity flows. The diversity of a community's food supply has an optimal range of zero to four-hundred miles. We find tradeoffs between food system diversity and local food sourcing, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. As communities look to improve food system resilience, they will need to balance food-miles and the other values associated with local food. [Display omitted] • Most U.S. counties do not source their food locally (<10%) within their boundary. • We find that most U.S. communities have relatively resilient food supply chains. • Commodity crops travel the least distance followed by table crops than manufactured. • Urban counties produce manufactured food, but rural grow table and commodity crops. • An inclusive local food definition must comprise manufactured foods and their network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the political, demographic and market centralities of the world through distance-type models. The concept of world centralities to be used is based on the theory of central places. The explanatory variables of the political model are the physical distances between countries. The explanatory variables of the demographic model are the physical distances between countries and the population. The explanatory variables of the market model are the physical distances between countries, their incomes, and an indicator of closeness. The empirical findings have been quite expressive in each case. Interestingly, the world political centre is located between Rome and Athens, the world demographic centre is in the Middle East (mainly its eastern part), and the world market centre is still in the USA, although big emergent countries seem to be closing the gap. The paper shows the potential of the analytical instruments of spatial theory when applied to the world level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008 a young man committed suicide while his webcam was running. 1,500 people apparently watched as the young man lay dying: when people finally made an effort to call the police, it was too late. This closely resembles the case of Kitty Genovese in 1964, where 39 neighbours supposedly watched an attacker assault and did not call until it was too late. This paper examines the role of internet mediation in cases where people may or may not have been good Samaritans and what their responsibilities were. The method is an intuitive one: intuitions on the various potentially morally relevant differences when it comes to responsibility between offline and online situations are examined. The number of onlookers, their physical nearness and their anonymity have no moral relevance when it comes to holding them responsible. Their perceived reality of the situation and ability to act do have an effect on whether we can hold people responsible, but this doesn't seem to be unique to internet mediation. However the way in which those factors are intrinsically connected to internet mediation does seem to have a diminishing effect on responsibility in online situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identified eight S-haplotype-specific F-box genes ( SFB alleles) and one S-haplotype-specific F-box-like gene ( SFB-like gene) from genomic DNA by PCR combined with cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence markers in Prunus pseudocerasus and Prunus speciosa. The unknown sequences of C-termini were obtained by thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR. The whole nucleotide sequences of these genes were submitted to the EMBL/GenBank database. The SFBs shared typical structural features with SFBs from other Prunus species exhibiting gametophytic self-incompatibility. The deduced amino acid identity ranged from 77.1% to 82.4% among the four PpsSFBs and from 70.4% to 80.2% among the four PspeSFBs. The typical structural features were also detected in the PpsFB, but the sequence polymorphism was lower. The nucleotide identities ranged from 71.3% to 90.3% among the eight introns of the SFBs, the length of these introns varied from 95 to 121 bp and showed few polymorphisms. The distance between these SFBs and the corresponding S-RNases (S-ribonucleases) varied from 33 to 956 bp. Moreover, sequence analysis showed that interspecific amino acid identities in comparison with some other Prunus species were often higher than intraspecific identities, similar to S-RNase alleles. In addition, a similarity comparison found that the deduced amino acid identities among SFB alleles were higher than among S-RNase alleles, and the similarity data showed that the relationships among SFB alleles differed among S-RNase alleles, suggesting that the S-RNase and SFB alleles were separated but correlated during the coevolutionary process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duplogs, or intraspecies paralogs, constitute the important portion of eukaryote genomes and serve as a major source of functional innovation. We conducted detailed analyses of recently emerged animal duplogs. Genome data of three vertebrate species (Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, and Danio rerio), Caenorhabditis elegans, and two Drosophila species (Drosophila melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura) were used. Duplication events were divided into six age-groups according to the synonymous distance (dS) up to 0.6. Duplogs were classified into four equal-sized classes on physical distances and into three classes on relative orientations. We observed the following shared characteristics among intrachromosomal multiexon duplogs: 1) inverted duplogs account for 20–50%, and about a half of the physically most distant 25%; 2) except for C. elegans, the composition of physical distances, that of relative orientations, and the proportion of inverted duplogs in each physical distance category are more or less uniform; 3) except for C. elegans, the characteristics of the youngest (dS < 0.01) duplogs are similar to the overall characteristics of the entire set. These results suggest that intrachromosomal duplogs with fairly long physical distances were generated at once, rather than resulting from tandem duplications and subsequent genomic rearrangements. This is different from the three well-known modes of gene duplication: tandem duplication, retrotransposition, and genome duplication. We termed this new mode as ‘‘drift’’ duplication. The drift duplication has been producing duplicate copies at paces comparable with tandem duplications since the common ancestor of vertebrates, and it may have already operated in the common ancestor of bilateral animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - We apply theories of physical distance to better understand behavior and judgment in intragroup and intergroup negotiations. Approach - By applying theories of physical distance to the domain of intragroup and intergroup negotiations we develop predictions about how large magnitudes of physical distance from in-group and out-group members should affect individuals' trust, interpretation of behavior, and willingness to use negotiation to resolve conflict. Findings - Based on the current application of physical distance theories, several predictions are made for how increased distance should differentially impact the negotiation process when negotiating with in-group versus out-group members. Notably, it is predicted that because of increased schema-reliance associated with increased physical distance, negotiations with out-groups should have increased challenges. Implications - The current chapter yields several interesting avenues for future empirical research. Moreover, we propose specific strategies that may be of use in reducing the potential harmful impact of increased physical distance in intergroup negotiations. Value of the paper - We integrate several theories of physical distance to generate novel predictions for group negotiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency and accountability in governance, an area receiving much attention among the policy makers, governance leaders and researchers as the new mechanism 'Good Governance', devised by the donor agencies for development, drives the societies to talk about it and act on it. The tone and tenor of the argument explicitly demands reduction of corruption and bring in efficiency in governance and administration with the ultimate aim of delivering the services to the people more effectively and efficiently. To push this dictum, the existing governance and administrative arrangements have to be changed and a new mindset and culture have to be created among the stakeholders. The existing governance and administrative arrangements have complicated and mystified the process and they are to be simplified and demystified. This article focuses on the important aspects namely, information distance and information seeking culture in the process of governance and administration and argues in favour of reforming governance and administration at grassroots with an objective of reducing corruption and enhancing the quality of governance and administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As remote work arrangements have gained in popularity, workforce dispersion has become increasingly widespread. Little research to date has examined how physical distance influences leader–follower communication effectiveness or leader performance. Building on top of transformational leadership theory, this paper explores how perceived leader performance is influenced by leadership style, physical distance, and communication effectiveness between leaders and followers. A survey of 138 followers, reporting to a total of 41 leaders, was conducted and data were analyzed at the individual follower-level using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. Our model explained 45% of the variance in communication effectiveness and 67% of the variance in perceived leader performance. Consistent with past empirical findings, transformational leadership was associated more strongly with perceived leader performance than transactional contingent reward leadership. Communication effectiveness was also a strong predictor of leader performance, and furthermore acted as a mediator of leadership behavior on performance. Surprisingly, distance had no influence on either communication effectiveness or perceived leader performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examined the consequences of physical distance on beliefs about common goals, which have been implicated in judgments of entitativeness ("groupness") of social entities. A central feature of task groups is the degree to which its members are driven by common goals. According to construal level theory, as stimuli are removed psychologically (e.g., physically), people construe stimuli in more abstract terms, focusing more on central features of stimuli. Adopting this framework, four studies demonstrated that people are more likely to assume the behavior of task group members is driven by common goals for physically distant rather than near groups. This effect occurred when perceived identification and similarity to others were held constant. Implications for intergroup relations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article it is shown that a new space-time metric can be derived from the hypothesis of locality, the assumption of local space isotropy, and the assumption of minimum energy stored in the gravitational field. The new coordinate space-time metric and the corresponding Christoffel symbols and Riemann, Ricci, and Einstein tensors are derived as functions of the physical rather than the coordinate distance, with different metric line elements defined for the physical and coordinate metrics. This leads to an extension of the coordinate space-time metric beyond the classical black-hole event horizon without any coordinate pathology at the Schwarzschild radius. The derived coordinate space-time metric is then used to obtain the formulas for the well-known four tests of general relativity theory: the perihelion advance, the gravitational redshift, the deflection of light by the Sun, and the Shapiro delay. The new formulas and the results they provide are then compared with the standard versions and it is found that excellent agreement with the most recent data and observations is obtained. Subtle differences from the standard formulas and observations are also discussed in detail. Finally, from the new metric it is also possible to derive Newton's law of gravitation and draw several other interesting conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cnr (Colourless non-ripening) is a dominant pleiotropic ripening mutation of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) which has previously been mapped to the proximal region of tomato chromosome 2. We describe the fine mapping of the Cnr locus using both linkage analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-, amplified restriction fragment polymorphism (AFLP)-, and cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS)-based markers, linked to the Cnr locus were mapped onto the long arm of chromosome 2. Detailed linkage analysis indicated that the Cnr locus was likely to lie further away from the top of the long arm than previously thought. This was confirmed by FISH, which was applied to tomato pachytene chromosomes in order to gain an insight into the organisation of hetero- and euchromatin and its relationship to the physical and genetic distances in the Cnr region. Three molecular markers linked to Cnr were unambiguously located by FISH to the long arm of chromosome 2 using individual BAC probes containing these single-copy sequences. The physical order of the markers coincided with that established by genetic analysis. The two AFLP markers most-closely linked to the Cnr locus were located in the euchromatic region 2.7-cM apart. The physical distance between these markers was measured on the pachytene spreads and estimated to be approximately 900 kb, suggesting a bp:cM relationship in this region of chromosome 2 of about 330 kb/cM. This is less than half the average value of 750 kb/cM for the tomato genome. The relationship between genetic and physical distances on chromosome 2 is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical distance regulation in interpersonal communications is a key component of the quality of close relationships. This distance is regulated differently in various individuals and psychological states. Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have been reported to prefer a larger distance. The present study aimed to compare the Healthy Controls (HC) (n = 40) and patients with BPD (n = 36) in terms of the comfortable interpersonal distance when facing different protagonists (including mother, love partner, close friend, childhood self-image and current self-image as significant others, as well as salesperson and thief). All participants in both groups completed modified computerized version of the comfortable interpersonal distance (CID) task in both the passive mode (when protagonists approached them) and the active mode (when they approached protagonists). We asked participants to determine the point at which they felt uncomfortable. The BPD group preferred a significantly larger interpersonal distance than the HC group with all protagonists except the salesperson. We discuss these results in the context of attachment theory. • Preferred comfortable interpersonal distance in individuals with BPD is large. • Individuals with BPD show the largest interpersonal distance with self-image. • Larger interpersonal distance in BPD patients indicate their insecure attachment. • Individuals with BPD have negative working models of self and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The usefulness of genomic prediction (GP) has been widely proofed by breeding analysis in livestock, plants and aquatic populations. It is well known that 'marker density' is a critical factor that affects the accuracy of GP, however, how to properly measure 'marker density' in GP is yet to be determined. With population-level whole-genome sequence data or high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data available, this question seems to be answered more convincingly. In this study, we investigated and discussed the impact of four 'marker density' measures that reflect genetic or physical distances between SNPs on the accuracy of GP in a Germany Holstein dairy cattle population. Our results showed that the degree of variation of physical distance between adjacent SNPs had significant effects on the accuracy of GP, while the genetic distance between SNPs had no relationship with the accuracy of GP. Therefore, for studies based on high-density SNP data, the default strategy of pruning SNPs based on genetic distance is detrimental to heritability estimation and genomic prediction. The results extended the communities knowledge of 'marker density' and provided useful suggestions for the application and research on genome prediction. With the availability of high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and the development of genotype imputation methods, high-density panel-based genomic prediction (GP) has become possible in livestock breeding. It is generally considered that the genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) accuracy increases with the marker density, while studies have shown that the GEBV accuracy does not increase or even decrease when high-density panels were used. Therefore, in addition to the SNP number, other measurements of 'marker density' seem to have impacts on the GEBV accuracy, and exploring the relationship between the GEBV accuracy and the measurements of 'marker density' based on high-density SNP or whole-genome sequence data is important for the field of GP. In this study, we constructed different SNP panels with certain SNP numbers (e.g., 1 k) by using the physical distance (PhyD), genetic distance (GenD) and random distance (RanD) between SNPs respectively based on the high-density SNP data of a Germany Holstein dairy cattle population. Therefore, there are three different panels at a certain SNP number level. These panels were used to construct GP models to predict fat percentage, milk yield and somatic cell score. Meanwhile, the mean ( d ¯ ) and variance ( σ d 2 ) of the physical distance between SNPs and the mean ( r 2 ¯ ) and variance ( σ r 2 2 ) of the genetic distance between SNPs in each panel were used as marker density-related measurements and their influence on the GEBV accuracy was investigated. At the same SNP number level, the d ¯ of all panels is basically the same, but the σ d 2 , r 2 ¯ and σ r 2 2 are different. Therefore, we only investigated the effects of σ d 2 , r 2 ¯ and σ r 2 2 on the GEBV accuracy. The results showed that at a certain SNP number level, the GEBV accuracy was negatively correlated with σ d 2 , but not with r 2 ¯ and σ r 2 2 . Compared with GenD and RanD, the σ d 2 of panels constructed by PhyD is smaller. The low and moderate-density panels (< 50 k) constructed by RanD or GenD have large σ d 2 , which is not conducive to genomic prediction. The GEBV accuracy of the low and moderate-density panels constructed by PhyD is 3.8~34.8% higher than that of the low and moderate-density panels constructed by RanD and GenD. Panels with 20–30 k SNPs constructed by PhyD can achieve the same or slightly higher GEBV accuracy than that of high-density SNP panels for all three traits. In summary, the smaller the variation degree of physical distance between adjacent SNPs, the higher the GEBV accuracy. The low and moderate-density panels construct by physical distance are beneficial to genomic prediction, while pruning high-density SNP data based on genetic distance is detrimental to genomic prediction. The results provide suggestions for the development of SNP panels and the research of genome prediction based on whole-genome sequence data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene responsible for Werner syndrome (WS) is considered to be located between D8S131 and D8S87 in the 8p11.2-12 region that includes the closest marker D8S339 (Goto et al. (1992) Nature 355: 735-738). In this experiment, the order of major markers in this region was determined and the physical distances between them were estimated by dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using P1, PAC and cosmid clone DNAs as probes. The fine overall order of telomere-D8S131-D8S339-GSR-PP2Aβ-D8S283-D8S87-centromere was determined for the first time. The distance from D8S131 to D8S87 was estimated to be 1,634 kb. To our surprise, the distance between D8S131 and D8S87 is much shorter than previously estimated by recombination analysis, 8.3 cM equivalent to 8.3 Mb in physical distance. These information provide the basis for the positional cloning of WS gene and the identification of its mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing a major health crisis. Spanish legislation establishes the mandatory use of masks and the implementation of hygienic measures such as hand washing and physical distancing. The aim of this study is to describe access to information and the level of community knowledge/adoption about the preventive measures proposed by the Spanish health authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze the influence of socio-demographic factors in compliance among people over 18 years of age resident in Spain. An observational, descriptive and transversal study was conducted. Data was collected on sociodemographic variables, access to information and the degree of knowledge/adoption about the preventive measures: use of masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing. A total of 1811 people participated. The average age was 45.1 ± 15.1 years, predominantly female (69.3%), from an urban geographical area (74%), with a higher education level of 53.2%. Most of the respondents (57.5%) are or live with people at risk. The main access to information on preventive measures was from secondary sources (49.2%), with television being the main medium; 72.3% think that there are some difficulties in accessing information, while 8.7% of the participants do not consider the use of masks to be useful. As regards the choice of type of mask, the majority of people (44.8%) opt for the surgical variety; 88.5% of respondents believe that the physical distancing established is at least 1.5 m. This study confirmed that socio-demographic factors influence compliance with or the degree of knowledge/adoption of the preventive measures proposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and has made it possible to ascertain the sectors of the population with the greatest deficiencies in this respect. It shows the importance of implementing health information and education systems in the community, and it is advisable to promote specific programs aimed at men, people living in rural areas and people with a low level of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WHO has recommended various measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including mask-wearing and physical distancing. However, these changes impair communication for individuals with hearing loss. We investigated the changes in auditory communication associated with COVID-19 measures in 269 patients (male: 45.7%, female: 54.3%, median age: 54 y.o.). Most patients with hearing loss had difficulty engaging in auditory communication with people wearing masks, especially in noisy surroundings or with physical distanc-ing. These difficulties were noticeable in patients with severe hearing loss. Developing communication support strategies for people with hearing loss is an urgent need while COVID-19 measures are in place., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Objectives: This study explored changes in individuals' behavior in response to social distancing (SD) levels and the "no gatherings of more than 5 people" (NGM5) rule in Korea during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic., Methods: Using survey data from the COVID-19 Behavior Tracker, exploratory factor analysis extracted 3 preventive factors: maintenance of personal hygiene, avoiding going out, and avoiding meeting people. Each factor was used as a dependent variable. The chi-square test was used to compare differences in distributions between categorical variables, while binary logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with high compliance with measures to prevent transmission., Results: In men, all 3 factors were significantly associated with lower compliance. Younger age groups were associated with lower compliance with maintenance of personal hygiene and avoiding meeting people. Employment status was significantly associated with avoiding going out and avoiding meeting people. Residence in the capital area was significantly associated with higher compliance with personal hygiene and avoiding venturing out. Increasing SD levels were associated with personal hygiene, avoiding going out, and avoiding meeting people. The NGM5 policy was not significantly associated with compliance., Conclusions: SD levels, gender, age, employment status, and region had explanatory power for compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Strengthening social campaigns to inspire voluntary compliance with NPIs, especially focused on men, younger people, full-time workers, and residents of the capital area is recommended. Simultaneously, efforts need to be made to segment SD measures into substrategies with detailed guidance at each level.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the temporary closure of physical activity and sports facilities, and the generalized cancellation or postponement of sports events have a massive impact on social and economic development. In this study, we explored the feasibility of using tracking data from a football match to assess interpersonal contact between individuals by calculating two measures of respiratory exposure. The dynamic tracking positioning of all players and referees during one international football match was analyzed. For each individual, two measures of respiratory exposure were calculated, based on the 2 m interpersonal distance recommendations for contact tracing for COVID-19 control. Overall, individuals spent a median of 0:12 mm:ss (IQR = 0:45 mm:ss) exposed to interpersonal contact of fewer than 2 m from others. The highest value of exposure was observed between two players of opposing teams (6:35 mm:ss). The results suggest that tracking data can be used to assess respiratory exposure to interpersonal contact in team sports, such as football. The measures of exposure calculated can be used to the prompt identification of high-risk contacts of COVID-19 cases during a match or a training session, but also the risk stratification of different sports and physical activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio frequency communication technology has not only greatly improved public network service, but also developed a new technological route for indoor navigation service. However, there is a gap between the precision and accuracy of indoor navigation services provided by indoor navigation service and the expectation of the public. This study proposed a method for constructing a hybrid dual frequency received signal strength indicator (HDRF-RSSI) fingerprint library, which is different from the traditional RSSI fingerprint library constructing method in indoor space using 2.4G radio frequency (RF) under the same Wi-Fi infrastructure condition. The proposed method combined 2.4G RF and 5G RF on the same access point (AP) device to construct a HDRF-RSSI fingerprint library, thereby doubling the fingerprint dimension of each reference point (RP). Experimental results show that the feature discriminability of HDRF-RSSI fingerprinting is 18.1% higher than 2.4G RF RSSI fingerprinting. Moreover, the hybrid radio frequency fingerprinting model, training loss function, and location evaluation algorithm based on the machine learning method were designed, so as to avoid limitation that transmission point (TP) and AP must be visible in the positioning method. In order to verify the effect of the proposed HDRF-RSSI fingerprint library construction method and the location evaluation algorithm, dual RF RSSI fingerprint data was collected to construct a fingerprint library in the experimental scene, which was trained using the proposed method. Several comparative experiments were designed to compare the positioning performance indicators such as precision and accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate that compared with the existing machine learning method based on Wi-Fi 2.4G RF RSSI fingerprint, the machine learning method combining Wi-Fi 5G RF RSSI vector and the original 2.4G RF RSSI vector can effectively improve the precision and accuracy of indoor positioning of the smart phone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the effects of location information of patients has significant theoretical and practical implications for public crisis management and health communication. Based on fear appeal theories, this research proposed a chain reaction model that links physical distance to the nearest patients, which is informed by the location information of patients, citizens' anxiety, attention to information and preventive behaviors. To test the hypothesized model, we conducted a study during the COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China in March 2020. The survey of 2061 people from 244 cities across 30 provinces showed that physical distance to confirmed cases has a significant influence on citizens' anxiety, which in turn can improve their preventive behaviors through the mediating factor of attention to information. In addition, this research also revealed the twofold effects of vertical collectivism as a personality trait on anxiety. These findings will provide support to help governments take actions to reduce citizens' anxiety and promote preventive behaviors., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interestnone., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021.)

COVID-19 pandemic challenged both public health specialists and authorities to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions aimed at limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The concept of social distancing is about limiting contacts between people, which breaks virus transmission chains, delays the increase in the number of infected people in the population and prevents overloading of health care systems. Many countries, including Poland, implemented a number of interventions aimed at limiting the number of infections and slowing down the tempo of the pandemic's spread. These are, among others, mass-scale testing, isolation of infected individuals, hand hygiene, breath etiquette and wearing mascs. Apart from these, a number of restrictions were enforced to ensure social distancing, such as closing down schools and universities, forbidding organising large parties and mass gatherings, limiting travels and use of public transport, increasing awareness of the public opinion on the necessity to stay at home, up to even introducing full lockdown with only the right to go out to buy food and medication or use the health care system. These interventions were gradually introduced in particular countries, in different ways, to a greater or lesser extent. Their effectiveness is largely influenced by the socio-economic and cultural factors, the nature of political and healthcare systems as well as the operating procedures used during their implementation. The implemented social distancing strategies prove to be effective, especially when combined with such actions as mass-scale testing, tracking contact chains, isolation and quarantine. The current work aims at making an overview of selected social distancing strategies and assessing their effectiveness in slowing down COVID-19 epidemic., (© 2021 MEDPRESS.)