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This study precisely examines the short-term impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on CO2 emissions through a sharp regression discontinuity design based on daily emissions data of 31 provinces in China. I find that the COVID-19 outbreak leads to an 18.4% CO2 emissions reduction in China. The total reduction effects are mainly attributed to the power, domestic aviation, ground transport and industry sectors. Additionally, the reduction effects across different provinces are almost uniform and it takes approximately 9 weeks for China to alleviate it. Furthermore, the positive spillover effects of CO2 emissions weakened after the COVID-19 outbreak due to the strict lockdown policies in China. Overall, these findings offer novel insights into the impacts of major public health emergencies on CO2 emissions and inform future CO2 emissions reduction goal settings in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines the experience of Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (UASB-E), a traditionally face-to-face institution in Ecuador, as it transitioned to online learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on data from interviews, surveys, and document analysis, the study explores the challenges and opportunities associated with this rapid shift, offering insights for rethinking and redesigning higher education in the post-pandemic world. Prior to the pandemic, UASB-E primarily relied on face-to-face teaching with limited use of its virtual learning environment. In response to the crisis, the university quickly mobilized to migrate its entire educational offering online, initially adopting an emergency remote teaching approach focused on synchronous videoconferencing. However, student preferences and the need for a sustainable solution prompted UASB-E to rethink its online learning model. The study identifies six key dimensions of UASB-E's improvement in its capacity to deliver online education: (1) Technological Infrastructure and Digital Processes: Enhanced technological infrastructure and streamlined digital processes in management, administration, and academics, laying the foundation for a robust online learning environment. (2) Pedagogical Innovation: Recognizing the limitations of replicating face-to-face teaching online, UASB-E embraced activity-based instructional design, asynchronous online education, and collaborative learning strategies, promoting deeper engagement and personalized learning experiences. (3) Accessibility and Inclusivity: By leveraging the flexibility of online learning, UASB-E expanded its reach beyond its physical campus, reaching students across Ecuador who might not have otherwise accessed higher education, demonstrating the potential of online learning to democratize access to quality education. (4) Programme Diversification: Beyond emergency measures, UASB-E is strategically diversifying its academic offerings, developing new face-to-face, blended, and fully online programmes, allowing for flexibility and catering to diverse student needs and learning preferences. (5) Faculty Training and Development: Implemented a comprehensive training programme focusing on both the instrumental skills of managing online platforms and the pedagogical aspects of designing engaging and effective online learning experiences. (6) Assessment and Feedback: The study highlights the need for a more reflective and analytical approach to assessment and feedback in online environments, with efforts to improve feedback timeliness, individual support, and communication providing valuable lessons for other institutions. Beyond UASB-E's specific experience, the study emphasizes the importance of collaboration and cross-sectoral strategies in building resilient and comprehensive education systems for the future. It also underscores the need for new approaches to learning ecologies that leverage technology effectively while ensuring equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education for all. This case study offers valuable insights for higher education institutions navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of online learning. By understanding the challenges and opportunities that emerged from UASBE's experience, other institutions can make informed decisions about their own online learning strategies and contribute to shaping a more resilient and flexible future for higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximations to noisy data are constructed to obtain unimodality of successively updated data. Precisely, a method is developed that calculates least squares monotonic increasing - decreasing approximations to n data, for successive values of n. Having fixed n, the statement of the increasing-–decreasing constraints in terms of first differences of the data subject to one sign change gives rise to a discrete search calculation, because the position of the sign change is also an unknown of the optimization problem. Although this problem may have many local minima for each value of n, the method is made quite efficient by taking advantage of two properties of the optimization calculation. The first property, for fixed n, provides necessary and sufficient conditions that reduce the optimal selection of the position to solving two sequences of monotonic approximation problems to subranges of data in the least complexity $ \mathcal {O}(n) $ O (n). The sufficiency conditions is a new result. The second property shows that the optimal position increases as n increases. Hence, if this position of a fit to the first n−1 data is available, then in order to calculate the required position of a fit to the first n data there is no need to consider data that are before the current position. A Fortran program has been written and some timings of numerical results are given for up to $ n=30{,}000 $ n = 30,000 data and various levels of noise. They seem to be proportional to n. The method is applied to data of daily Covid-19 deaths of the United Kingdom for a period that exhibits a major outbreak, and obtains insights of the evolution of the process as new data enter the calculation. The results reveal certain features of the calculation that may be helpful to supporting policy making, when used in modelling epidemic processes. Further, a procedure is proposed where our method initializes the nonlinear least squares calculation of Richards epidemiological model, and the numerical results confirm some useful advantages over the plain use of this model. One benefit of our method for unimodal smoothing of successive data and estimation of the associated turning points is that it provides a property that appears in a wide range of processes from biology, economics, finance and social sciences, for instance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work endeavours to explore the experiences of university-level students from Pakistan and Nepal after the COVID-19 outbreak. A comprehensive electronic survey was carried out utilising a meticulous cluster sampling technique encompassing two distinct populations, i.e. Pakistan and Nepal, during the period extending from September 2022 to January 2023. A total of 2496 participants completed the questionnaire (Pakistani population: 55.45% and Nepalese population: 44.55%). We utilised the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC-SF), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), feeling of loneliness (UCLA), interdependent happy scale (IHS), and fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S). Notably, a significant intercultural disparity was observed, particularly concerning the level of COVID-19 fear which was higher among the Nepalese population. However, this particular variable did not demonstrate any significant associations with other variables, except for the social dimension of MHC-SF. There was a negative correlation observed between this variable and IHS within the Pakistani population. Irrespective of the varying degrees of apprehension towards COVID-19 within the two distinct cultural contexts, there exists a significant positive correlation between the assessed psychological assets and individual well-being, as well as the resumption of regular activities after the outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the occurrence of extreme events and nonnormality of returns, we examine the spillovers among the conditional volatility, skewness and (excess) kurtosis of European Union allowances (EUA), Brent oil, natural gas, coal, electricity and clean energy markets. The jointly estimated spillover index in the system of the three higher‐order moments is notably high, exceeding the spillover index estimated for each individual moment separately. This suggests that spillovers across moments in the carbon‐energy system are important for the sake of completeness of the spillover analysis, and should not be ignored. The performance of the portfolio improves after considering higher‐order moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The profound impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to an increased demand for sustainable pandemic governance practices. This study explored emerging hybrid governance practices that provide robust evidence on how to address the complex challenges of pandemics effectively. South Korea, which was severely affected by COVID-19, has implemented a novel governance approach using a whole-of-nation (WoN) model. This hybrid pandemic governance approach, which integrates both whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, has enabled synergistic and cohesive multi-sectoral coordination among all stakeholders (public authorities, private enterprises, and civil society) to address multifaceted challenges collectively and strengthen their resilience capacity. This study investigated South Korea’s WoN practices and their embedded context and identified key governance enablers facilitating this approach. Methods This study employed a case study design based on an extensive analysis of policy and program documents, drawing on South Korea’s publicly available data from January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2023. It assessed six system-level collaborative pandemic governance practices and key enablers, all of which were intended to fortify the country’s pandemic response. Results The primary areas of the country’s WoN governance practices for COVID-19 control were (i) whole-of-government policy-making and response, (ii) COVID-19 testing system, (iii) digital surveillance of COVID-19, (iv) COVID-19 triage and treatment system, (v) domestic vaccine production, and (vi) community engagement. Key governance enablers for implementing the WoN model were establishing a legal foundation, ensuring decisive and strong governance and leadership, increasing public investment, applying a whole-of-health approach with augmented investment in public health, enhancing crisis communication, and mobilizing local leaders and civil society organizations in the national public health response. Conclusions In exploring innovative approaches to pandemic governance for increased efficacy, responsiveness, and impact, the WoN approach emerged as highly relevant. This example of emerging practice allows policy-makers to re-evaluate their governance strategies and initiatives to improve multi-agency partnerships across the country in their pandemic-preparedness planning.

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The profound impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to an increased demand for sustainable pandemic governance practices. This study explored emerging hybrid governance practices that provide robust evidence on how to address the complex challenges of pandemics effectively. South Korea, which was severely affected by COVID-19, has implemented a novel governance approach using a whole-of-nation (WoN) model. This hybrid pandemic governance approach, which integrates both whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, has enabled synergistic and cohesive multi-sectoral coordination among all stakeholders (public authorities, private enterprises, and civil society) to address multifaceted challenges collectively and strengthen their resilience capacity. This study investigated South Korea's WoN practices and their embedded context and identified key governance enablers facilitating this approach. Methods: This study employed a case study design based on an extensive analysis of policy and program documents, drawing on South Korea's publicly available data from January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2023. It assessed six system-level collaborative pandemic governance practices and key enablers, all of which were intended to fortify the country's pandemic response. Results: The primary areas of the country's WoN governance practices for COVID-19 control were (i) whole-of-government policy-making and response, (ii) COVID-19 testing system, (iii) digital surveillance of COVID-19, (iv) COVID-19 triage and treatment system, (v) domestic vaccine production, and (vi) community engagement. Key governance enablers for implementing the WoN model were establishing a legal foundation, ensuring decisive and strong governance and leadership, increasing public investment, applying a whole-of-health approach with augmented investment in public health, enhancing crisis communication, and mobilizing local leaders and civil society organizations in the national public health response. Conclusions: In exploring innovative approaches to pandemic governance for increased efficacy, responsiveness, and impact, the WoN approach emerged as highly relevant. This example of emerging practice allows policy-makers to re-evaluate their governance strategies and initiatives to improve multi-agency partnerships across the country in their pandemic-preparedness planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analytically develops a new recovery planning optimisation model for managing the impacts of the recent COVID-19 outbreak for online business operations. Firstly, a mathematical model for the ideal plan is designed and then extended to generate a recovery plan in a finite planning horizon that maximises total profit. Recovery plans are generated considering two scenarios, namely the dynamic and uncertain situations. For the dynamic situation, a realistic system with timedependent and dynamic demand, supply, and warehouse capacity for investigating the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak is developed using several measures, such as collaborating with emergency suppliers, increasing warehouse capacity, and considering back-orders and lost sales to form recovery strategies. For the uncertain situation, demand, supply, and warehouse capacities are considered as uncertain variables. Further, an innovative solution approach using an adapted differential evolution technique, which is capable of (i) generating long-term recovery plans and (ii) solving both small- and large-scale problems, is developed. The results are illustrated using numerical analyses and simulation experiments. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted. In practice, the proposed optimisation model will assist the decision-makers of online business operations facing the COVID-19 outbreak to decide the optimal recovery plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately estimating the number of infections that actually occur in the earliest phases of an outbreak and predicting the number of new cases per day in various countries is crucial for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 transmission. Numerous studies have used mathematical models to predict the progression of infection rates in several countries following the appearance of epidemiological outbreaks. In this study, we analyze the data reported and then study several logistical-type phenomenological models and their application in practice for forecasting infection evolution. When several epidemic waves follow one another, it is important to stress that a traditional logistic model cannot necessarily be fully adapted to the data made available. New models are being introduced to simultaneously take account of human behavior, measures taken by the government, and epidemiological conditions. This research used a generalized logistic model based on parameters that vary over time to describe trends in COVID-19-infected cases in countries that have undergone several waves. In two-wave scenarios, the parameters of the model evolve dynamically over time following a logistic function, where the first and second waves are characterized by two extreme values for the early period and the late one, respectively.

Objective: Distress during SARS‐CoV‐2 outbreak affected also cancer patients' well‐being. Aim of this study was to investigate patient' reactions and behavior (flexible‐adaptive vs. inflexible‐maladaptive) during the SARS‐CoV‐2 outbreak. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was designed with a self‐report questionnaire, "the ImpACT questionnaire," developed for the study. Regression analysis was performed on data. Results: Four hundred and forty five cancer patients from 17 Italian regions participated in the study. 79.8% of participants were female (mean age of 58 years). 92.6% of participants reported feeling vulnerable to COVID‐19 contagion; 75.6% reported helpless, 62.7% sad, 60.4% anxious, and 52.0% anger. Avoidance of thinking about coronavirus is the principal maladaptive behavior that emerged. Participants who reported feeling anxious were more likely to have fear of staff being infected with COVID‐19 (OR = 3.01; 95% CI = 1.49–6.30) and to have disrupted sleep due to worry (OR = 2.42; 95% CI = 1.23–4.83). Younger participants reported more anxiety (OR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.94–1.00); men reported feeling calm more than women (OR = 2.60; 95% CI = 1.27–5.43). Conclusions: Majority of cancer patients reported serious concerns regarding SARS‐CoV‐2 infection; reliable information and psychological support must be offers to respond to these needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately estimating the number of infections that actually occur in the earliest phases of an outbreak and predicting the number of new cases per day in various countries is crucial for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 transmission. Numerous studies have used mathematical models to predict the progression of infection rates in several countries following the appearance of epidemiological outbreaks. In this study, we analyze the data reported and then study several logistical-type phenomenological models and their application in practice for forecasting infection evolution. When several epidemic waves follow one another, it is important to stress that a traditional logistic model cannot necessarily be fully adapted to the data made available. New models are being introduced to simultaneously take account of human behavior, measures taken by the government, and epidemiological conditions. This research used a generalized logistic model based on parameters that vary over time to describe trends in COVID-19-infected cases in countries that have undergone several waves. In two-wave scenarios, the parameters of the model evolve dynamically over time following a logistic function, where the first and second waves are characterized by two extreme values for the early period and the late one, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the COVID-19 effect in the global scale on the global retail markets with the Event Study methodology. The sample used in the study consists of data from 10 developed and developing countries in six continents, which are obtained from Reuters DataStream. The top large-cap, blue-chip companies in the stock market for each economies were included in the study, which is totaled of 91 active retail sector shares and major indices. Based on our findings; the cumulative average of abnormal returns (CAAR) of the retailers in three Event Studies in question showed a distortion in the efficiency of the formation of the retail prices at the 0.01, 0.01, and 0.05 significance levels and the global retail stock prices overreacted more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During and after the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the use of personal care products and disinfectants increased in universities worldwide. Among these, quaternary ammonium-based products stand out; these compounds and their intermediates caused substantial changes in the chemical composition of the wastewater produced by these institutions. For this reason, improvements and environmentally sustainable biological alternatives were introduced in the existing treatment systems so that these institutions could continue their research and teaching activities. For this reason, the objective of this study was to develop an improved culture medium to cultivate ammonium oxidising bacteria (AOB) to increase the biomass and use them in the treatment of wastewater produced in a faculty of sciences in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. A Plackett Burman Experimental Design (PBED) and growth curves served for oligotrophic culture medium, and production conditions improved for the AOB. Finally, these bacteria were used with total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) for wastewater treatment in a pilot plant. Modification of base ammonium broth and culture conditions (6607 mg L−1 of (NH4)2SO4, 84 mg L−1 CaCO3, 40 mg L−1 MgSO4·7H2O, 40 mg L−1 CaCl2·2H2O and 200 mg L−1 KH2PO4, 10% (w/v) inoculum, no copper addition, pH 7.0 ± 0.2, 200 r.p.m., 30 days) favoured the growth of Nitrosomonas europea, Nitrosococcus oceani, and Nitrosospira multiformis with values of 8.23 ± 1.9, 7.56 ± 0.7 and 4.2 ± 0.4 Log10 CFU mL−1, respectively. NO2− production was 0.396 ± 0.0264, 0.247 ± 0.013 and 0.185 ± 0.003 mg L−1 for Nitrosomonas europea, Nitrosococcus oceani and Nitrosospira multiformis. After the 5-day wastewater treatment (WW) by co-inoculating the three studied bacteria in the wastewater (with their self-microorganisms), the concentrations of AOB and THB were 5.92 and 9.3 Log10 CFU mL−1, respectively. These values were related to the oxidative decrease of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), (39.5 mg L−1), Ammonium ion (NH4+), (6.5 mg L−1) Nitrite (NO2−), (2.0 mg L−1) and Nitrate (NO3−), (1.5 mg L−1), respectively in the five days of treatment. It was concluded, with the improvement of a culture medium and production conditions for three AOB through biotechnological strategies at the laboratory scale, being a promising alternative to bio-augment of the biomass of the studied bacteria under controlled conditions that allow the aerobic removal of COD and nitrogen cycle intermediates present in the studied wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed weaknesses in the supply chains (SCs) and how easily it can be influenced by these disruptions. Food supply chains (FSCs) is one of the most affected SCs, and it needs to be more resilient against SC disruptions because their vulnerable structure such as having perishable products. Therefore, this article aims to uncover the need for resilience in FSCs during the COVID-19 outbreak. For this purpose, the enablers of resilience on FSCs are determined after a detailed examination of the current literature. Then, the graph theory matrix approach has been used to reveal the relationships between these enablers and investigate importance of enablers of resilience in FSCs during COVID-19 outbreak. It is significant to determine preference of enablers and rank of importance to take actions effectively. Depending on the results, the rank orders of the enablers are classified as readiness, collaboration with stakeholders, IT alignment, risk aware, responsiveness, flexibility, appearance and sustainability, respectively. Suggested implications can be provided benefits for policymakers and managers in FSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adjustments to COVID-19 prevention and control strategies were closely linked to individuals and elicited psychological and behavioral responses within the public. To investigate public emotions in Shijiazhuang from November 13 to November 23, 2022, we utilized web crawler technology, Ekman's six basic emotion model, and the fine-tuned BERT deep learning model for sentiment analysis on Weibo, China's largest social media platform. The results indicated that: (i) spatially, the adjustment of the epidemic prevention strategy, despite its significance as a major public event, did not produce a significant emotional ripple effect; (ii) temporally, public emotions displayed substantial fluctuations as the event unfolded, marked by swift reaction times, demonstrating a typical temporal pattern; (iii) when comparing trends in the six emotion indices, a consistent pattern of public emotional expression on social media emerged. The deep learning BERT technology utilized in this study achieved an emotion recognition accuracy rate of 88.50% when applied to a large dataset of social media text. This study provides theoretical foundations and novel insights for conducting sentiment analysis of significant public events through the analysis of social media data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the number of patients admitted to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Atatürk University Faculty of Dentistry in 2020 due to dental trauma with the previous year, and to determine the causes and forms of trauma during the pandemic). Methods: In this retrospective study, dental trauma records were evaluated. The number of patients admitted, their age, sex, type of trauma, location of the trauma, and the affected teeth were analyzed. The distribution of trauma cases over the years in terms of sex, dentition, jaw, and location was evaluated using Chi-square analysis. Results: The incidence of dental trauma among the patients who visited our clinic in 2019 and 2020 was 0.35% and 0.83%, respectively. Enamel-dentin fractures from dental hard tissue injuries were the most common type of trauma in both years. No statistically significant differences were found in the distribution of trauma cases by year in terms of sex, dentition, jaw, and location (p>0.05). Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak led to a reduction in dental trauma cases. However, it is noteworthy that dental traumas occurred more frequently in outdoor environments, despite restrictions on children going out due to the pandemic. Since no significant reduction in the frequency of dental traumas was observed during the COVID-19 outbreak in children, it is important to inform parents and children about avoiding certain risky behaviors and protection methods.. Keywords: COVID-19 outbreak, Pediatric dentistry, Dental trauma Pediatrik Diş Travması Hastalarının COVİD-19 Salgını Öncesi ve Sırasında Retrospektif Olarak Değerlendirilmesi ÖZ Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı Atatürk Üniversitesi Diş Hekimliği Fakültesi Çocuk Diş Hekimliği Anabilim Dalı'na 2020 yılında diş travması nedeniyle başvuran hasta sayısını bir önceki yılla karşılaştırmak ve pandemi döneminde travmanın nedenlerini ve şekillerini belirlemektir. Yöntemler: Bu retrospektif çalışmada diş travma kayıtları değerlendirildi. Başvuru yapan hasta sayısı, yaşı, cinsiyeti, travma tipi, travmanın yeri ve etkilenen dişler analiz edildi. Travma olgularının yıllara göre cinsiyet, diş, çene ve lokasyona göre dağılımı Ki-kare analizi kullanılarak değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Kliniğimize 2019 ve 2020 yıllarında başvuran hastalarda diş travması görülme sıklığı sırasıyla %0,35 ve %0,83 idi. Diş sert doku yaralanmalarına bağlı mine-dentin kırıkları her iki yılda da en sık görülen travma tipiydi. Travma olgularının yıllara göre cinsiyet, diş yapısı, çene ve lokasyona göre dağılımında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık saptanmadı (p>0,05). Sonuç: COVİD-19 salgını diş travması vakalarında azalmaya neden olmuştur. Ancak pandemi nedeniyle çocukların dışarı çıkması kısıtlanmasına rağmen diş travmalarının dış ortamlarda daha sık meydana geldiği dikkat çekiyor. Çocuklarda COVİD-19 salgını sırasında diş travmalarının sıklığında anlamlı bir azalma görülmediğinden, ebeveynlerin ve çocukların bazı riskli davranışlardan kaçınma ve korunma yöntemleri konusunda bilgilendirilmesi önemlidir. Anahtar Kelimeler : COVID-19 salgını, Çocuk diş hekimliği, Diş travması

Abstract Background Periodic bioinformatics-based screening of wastewater for assessing the diversity of potential human viral pathogens circulating in a given community may help to identify novel or potentially emerging infectious diseases. Any identified contigs related to novel or emerging viruses should be confirmed with targeted wastewater and clinical testing. Results During the COVID-19 pandemic, untreated wastewater samples were collected for a 1-year period from the Great Lakes Water Authority Wastewater Treatment Facility in Detroit, MI, USA, and viral population diversity from both centralized interceptor sites and localized neighborhood sewersheds was investigated. Clinical cases of the diseases caused by human viruses were tabulated and compared with data from viral wastewater monitoring. In addition to Betacoronavirus, comparison using assembled contigs against a custom Swiss-Prot human virus database indicated the potential prevalence of other pathogenic virus genera, including: Orthopoxvirus, Rhadinovirus, Parapoxvirus, Varicellovirus, Hepatovirus, Simplexvirus, Bocaparvovirus, Molluscipoxvirus, Parechovirus, Roseolovirus, Lymphocryptovirus, Alphavirus, Spumavirus, Lentivirus, Deltaretrovirus, Enterovirus, Kobuvirus, Gammaretrovirus, Cardiovirus, Erythroparvovirus, Salivirus, Rubivirus, Orthohepevirus, Cytomegalovirus, Norovirus, and Mamastrovirus. Four nearly complete genomes were recovered from the Astrovirus, Enterovirus, Norovirus and Betapolyomavirus genera and viral species were identified. Conclusions The presented findings in wastewater samples are primarily at the genus level and can serve as a preliminary “screening” tool that may serve as indication to initiate further testing for the confirmation of the presence of species that may be associated with human disease. Integrating innovative environmental microbiology technologies like metagenomic sequencing with viral epidemiology offers a significant opportunity to improve the monitoring of, and predictive intelligence for, pathogenic viruses, using wastewater.

Cyber-attacks have become increasingly prevalent with the widespread integration of technology into various aspects of our lives. The surge in social media platform usage has prompted users to share their firsthand experiences with cyber-attacks. Despite this, previous literature has not extensively investigated individuals' experiences with these attacks. This study aims to comprehensively explore and analyze the content shared by cyber-attack victims in Saudi Arabia, encompassing text, video, and audio formats. The primary objective is to investigate the factors influencing victims' perceptions of the security risks associated with these attacks. Following data collection, preparation, and cleaning, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) is employed for topic modeling, shedding light on potential factors impacting victims. Sentiment analysis is then utilized to examine the nuanced negative and positive perceptions of individuals. NVivo is deployed for data inspection, facilitating the presentation of insightful inferences. Hierarchical clustering is implemented to explore distinct clusters within the textual dataset. The study's results underscore the critical importance of spreading awareness among individuals regarding the various tactics employed by cyber attackers. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-01-010 Full Text: PDF

This study was conducted to investigate COVID-19 outbreak in Calabar Metropolis. This really analyzed the challenges encountered in carrying out educational research in the time of Covid-19 pandemic, and then, offered solution to strengthen research activities at all times. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional mix methods design involving both qualitative (exploratory) and quantitative (explanatory) approaches. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the quantitative part of the study while the qualitative part was guided by the a key informant interview with responses grouped in themes and subthemes – reflecting the direct quotes of the participants. The population of this study included all university lecturers (3,860) and postgraduate students (2,383) from public and private tertiary institutions in Calabar Metropolies who were researching at the time of this study. A total of 600 male and female researchers constituted the sample for the quantitative study while 24 key informants constituted the participants for the qualitative part of the study. Participants were sampled through purposive sampling technique to recruit only respondents that have rich information for the study. As inclusion criteria, only researchers who were researching at the time of data collection in the period of the pandemic were recruited in this study. The researchers’ questionnaire and key informant interview guide were the instruments validated and used for data collection. The estimates of Cronbach alpha reliability of the instruments ranged between 0.82 and 0.87. Data were analyzed through descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (independent t-test and analysis of variance- ANOVA). Data from the qualitative part was transcribed and thematically reported verbatim. Ethical clearance was obtained from Cross River State Research Ethics Committee. One of the major experiences of researchers during the pandemic is the inability to interface with respondents, 61.5% of respondents could not participate in the studies because of fear of contracting the virus. Majority of the respondents (91.5%) admitted that the outbreak did help to facilitate the use and mastery of the media in research especially in data collection via calls (50.2%), emails (38.5%), zoom (14.8%). The study found out that researchers encountered both negative and positive impact of COVID-19 in the course of researching during the pandemic and this was found to be more among female lecturers and students than their male counterparts. In conclusion, there was high attrition rate and inability to conduct face-to-face investigation and this led to greater need for utilization of media, ICT, and technology in research during the pandemic. This has significant policy implication for increasing technology use and greater capacity building in these areas for enhanced performance in research activities of lecturers and graduate students especially in critical times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Points: Nasal tight junction module score correlates negatively to allergy module score in COVID‐19.Omicron variant may slow‐down tight junction restoration in patients with AR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analysed the influence of lockdown and interruption of competitions due to COVID-19 on different ball possession-related variables. Also, match location and the differences between divisions were considering between the pre- and post-lockdown. A total of 144,689 records from 842 soccer matches during the 2019/20 season of the First (n = 380) and Second Spanish Division (n = 462) were collected. Match data were collected using the ChryonHego video-tracking system. Pre-lockdown (1st–27th matchday in First Division and 1st–31st matchday in Second Spanish Division) and post-lockdown periods (28th–38th matchday in First Division and 32nd–42nd matchday in Second Spanish Division) were compared. The match location contextual-related variable was also considered for the analysis. Linear mixed models showed that the number of outplayed players by ball possession (3.1%), successful passes (17.5%) and total passes (18.9%) increased during the post-lockdown period (p <.001). In addition, match location and league significantly influenced the successful and total passes in all situations (p <.001), increasing in the post-lockdown period. In conclusion, the lockdown period has led changes in the ball possession of the soccer teams. These results help to understand the impact that a particular and unusual situation as the interruption of the league due to COVID-19 lockdown had on the performance of professional soccer teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Social Research / Turkiye Sosyal Arastirmalar Dergisi is the property of Turkish Journal of Social Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic has posed a tremendous threat to the public and health authorities. Wuhan, as one of the cities experiencing the earliest COVID‐19 outbreak, has successfully tackled the epidemic finally. The main reason is the implementing of Fangcang shelter hospitals, which rapidly and massively scale the health system's capacity to treat COVID‐19 confirmed cases with mild symptoms. To give insights on what degree Fangcang shelter hospitals have contained COVID‐19 in Wuhan, we proposed a piecewise smooth model regarding the patient triage scheme and the bed capacities of Fangcang shelter hospitals and designated hospitals. We used data on the cumulative number of confirmed cases, recovered cases, deaths, and data on the number of hospitalized individuals in Fangcang shelter hospitals and designated hospitals in Wuhan to parameterize the targeted model. Our results showed that diminishing the bed capacity or delaying the opening time of Fangcang shelter hospitals, both would result in worsening the epidemic by increasing the total number of infectives and hospitalized individuals and the effective reproduction number Re(t)$$ {R}_e(t) $$. The findings demonstrated that Fangcang shelter hospitals avoided 17,013 critical infections and 17,823 total infections while it saved 7 days during the process of controlling the effective reproduction number Re(t)<1$$ {R}_e(t)<1 $$. Our study highlighted the critical role of Fangcang shelter hospitals in curbing and eventually stopping COVID‐19 outbreak in Wuhan, China. These findings may provide a valuable reference for decision‐makers in regarding ramping up the health system capacity to isolate groups of people with mild symptoms in areas of widespread infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 epidemic has expanded globally and remains a significant issue in every country. Vaccines continue to attract attention from countries worldwide, whether for preventing the spread of COVID-19 or mitigating the severity of the disease. This study has been classified as a correlation study aimed at investigating the COVID-19 vaccine landscape, particularly focusing on the relationship between the number of vaccine recipients and the incidence of COVID-19 cases. Secondary data were obtained by the researchers from departments and organizations affiliated with the Ministry of Public Health. The survey encompassed six primary tourist cities situated in major urban areas of Thailand. The researchers utilized data pertaining to the fifth wave of outbreaks (occurring within a 14-day cycle) across six provinces, alongside data on the number of individuals who received COVID-19 vaccinations. To analyze the data in this study, statistical methods including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation, and Geographic Information System (GIS) were employed. The findings revealed that receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was significantly correlated with the prevalence rate of COVID-19 per 100,000 individuals at a significance level of 0.05 (R2 = 0.82). Furthermore, at a significance level of 0.05, full vaccination against COVID-19 was significantly associated with the prevalence rate of COVID-19 per 100,000 individuals, showing a correlation coefficient of 0.829 in the same direction. Additionally, at a significance level of 0.01, the number of COVID-19 cases within a 14-day period exhibited a strong correlation with the trend of COVID-19 incidence, which decreased over approximately 14 days, indicating an inverse relationship (R2 = -0.928). Lastly, at a significance level of 0.05, the prevalence rate of COVID-19 per 100,000 individuals was significantly correlated with the trend of COVID-19 incidence, which decreased over approximately 14 days, again demonstrating an inverse relationship (R2 = -0.812). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the entire world, has caused changes in many areas of life worldwide. These changes have also influenced and continue to influence consumer behaviors. During the restrictions, people staying at home and only going out for essential needs such as grocery shopping has caused changes in their shopping and consumption habits. The changing consumer behaviors related to the process have brought about many studies. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, it has caused significant changes in the attitudes and behaviors of individuals in the world and in Türkiye. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand these changes. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the pandemic on the food demand and nutritional habits of individuals residing in Tekirdağ province. To achieve this, a survey was conducted with consumers living in Tekirdağ. According to the research's predicted 10% margin of error and 99% significance level, the sample size was calculated to be 166 people. Factor analysis was applied during the statistical analysis of the findings. Based on the results of the factor analysis, it was found that the desire of individuals to consume organic products and their awareness of healthy nutrition were high. The negative conditions that occurred during the pandemic increased the desire of individuals to eat. It has shown that consumers are more sensitive about healthy eating during the Covid-19 pandemic process. An increase in the consumption of food products that form the basis of a healthy diet, such as fruits, vegetables and eggs, and a corresponding decrease in the consumption of carbonated drinks and prepackaged food also support this finding. However, the high increase in the consumption of pastries and nuts can be given as examples of the negative effects of the need to stay at home and the restriction of physical activities due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In addition, their buying behavior changed, and the number of people who procure food products through online shopping increased. The aim of this study is to inform consumers and researchers working on this subject about how food consumption of consumers has changed after Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Periodic bioinformatics-based screening of wastewater for assessing the diversity of potential human viral pathogens circulating in a given community may help to identify novel or potentially emerging infectious diseases. Any identified contigs related to novel or emerging viruses should be confirmed with targeted wastewater and clinical testing. Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, untreated wastewater samples were collected for a 1-year period from the Great Lakes Water Authority Wastewater Treatment Facility in Detroit, MI, USA, and viral population diversity from both centralized interceptor sites and localized neighborhood sewersheds was investigated. Clinical cases of the diseases caused by human viruses were tabulated and compared with data from viral wastewater monitoring. In addition to Betacoronavirus, comparison using assembled contigs against a custom Swiss-Prot human virus database indicated the potential prevalence of other pathogenic virus genera, including: Orthopoxvirus, Rhadinovirus, Parapoxvirus, Varicellovirus, Hepatovirus, Simplexvirus, Bocaparvovirus, Molluscipoxvirus, Parechovirus, Roseolovirus, Lymphocryptovirus, Alphavirus, Spumavirus, Lentivirus, Deltaretrovirus, Enterovirus, Kobuvirus, Gammaretrovirus, Cardiovirus, Erythroparvovirus, Salivirus, Rubivirus, Orthohepevirus, Cytomegalovirus, Norovirus, and Mamastrovirus. Four nearly complete genomes were recovered from the Astrovirus, Enterovirus, Norovirus and Betapolyomavirus genera and viral species were identified. Conclusions: The presented findings in wastewater samples are primarily at the genus level and can serve as a preliminary "screening" tool that may serve as indication to initiate further testing for the confirmation of the presence of species that may be associated with human disease. Integrating innovative environmental microbiology technologies like metagenomic sequencing with viral epidemiology offers a significant opportunity to improve the monitoring of, and predictive intelligence for, pathogenic viruses, using wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions to minimize transmission of the virus affected the population worldwide. As a result of prolonged home confinement in Greece, changes in work schedules, disruptions of the educational process, the challenge of online learning, the constant need for self-protection, and the restrictions on social interaction, the family life was dramatically altered. In this study, sleep patterns of preschool children were recorded, and effects of screen time and diet were investigated in relation to quarantine due to COVID-19. Parents of 146 children provided data on their children's night-time sleep habits, dietary habits, and screen time exposure. Children's sleep problems were measured with the Children's Sleep Questionnaire. Descriptive and qualitative analyses showed that most parents (54.1%) reported that children's sleep habits changed during the imposed home confinement. Children with more sleep problems were more likely to have increased screen exposure. The present study provides evidence on the negative impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the sleep behavior of Greek preschoolers. Focused action is needed to safeguard and promote preschoolers' physical and mental health during the lockdown and the recovery period. Highlights: Preschoolers' sleep behavior has been highly influenced by the imposed lockdowns Prolonged screen exposure is associated with increased sleep difficulties Reasons for screen exposure were mainly related to education, entertainment, communication, familiarity with technology, and gaming [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government of Bangladesh has implemented the “Stay Home” policy following the WHO recommendation to resist the community transmission of Covid-19. As a result, the routine activities of all government, semi-government establishments, including educational institutions, are severely affected, and the country's economic growth becomes slowed down. To overcome such a situation, the relevant authorities have introduced the “Work from Home” policy for the employees and “Remote Education” for students. However, due to the persistence of multi-dimensional socio-economic problems, many employees and students face big challenges in performing their regular jobs while adopting such a policy. Consequently, enormous psychological anxiety has been developed for all people, including students, parents, employees, etc., and concurrently created severe changes in their behavior. This study aims to analyze the reasons for the behavioral changes of the employees, students, academic staff, and family members of different ages due to psychological anxiety, stress, or physical issues. A comprehensive online-based survey has been carried out on people working in various sectors in Bangladesh. A modified Apriori Algorithm has been used to sort out the associations between the causes and types of behavioral changes. Analyzed data revealed a massive human behavioral change in most participants. This finding indicates that the negligence of those significant human behavioral changes may cause a higher risk of creating psychological imbalance. Therefore, there is a need to have a solid understanding of the reasons for the behavioral changes and set up standard guidelines to maintain “Work from Home” in this Covid-19 situation to avoid psychological imbalance. Based on this study, some suggestions have been given for implementation by the government on an urgent basis.

The authors examine the role of analysts’ prior experience of forecasting for firms exposed to epidemics on analysts’ forecast accuracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors examine the impact of analysts’ prior epidemic experience on forecast accuracy by comparing the changes from the pre-COVID-19 period (calendar year 2019) to the post-COVID period extending up to March 2023 across HRE versus non-HRE analysts. The authors consider a full sample (194,980) and a sub-sample (136,836) approach to distinguish “Recent” forecasts from “All” forecasts (including revisions). The study's findings reveal that forecast accuracy for HRE analysts is significantly higher than that for non-HRE analysts during COVID-19. Specifically, forecast errors significantly decrease by 0.6% and 0.15% for the “Recent” and “All” forecast samples, respectively. This finding suggests that analysts’ prior epidemic experience leads to an enhanced ability to assess the uncertainty around the epidemic, thereby translating to higher forecast accuracy. The finding that the expertise developed through an experience of following high-risk firms in the past enhances analysts’ performance during the pandemic sheds light on a key differentiator that partially explains the systematic difference in performance across analysts. The authors also show that industry experience alone is not useful in improving forecast accuracy during a pandemic – prior experience of tracking firms during epidemics adds incremental accuracy to analysts’ forecasts during pandemics such as COVID-19. The study findings should prompt macroeconomic policymakers at the national level, such as the central banks of countries, to include past epidemic experiences as a key determinant when forecasting the economic outlook and making policy-related decisions. Moreover, practitioners and advisory firms can improve the earning prediction models by placing more weight on pandemic-adjusted forecasts made by analysts with past epidemic experience. The uncertainty induced by the COVID-19 pandemic increases uncertainty in global financial markets. Under such circumstances, the importance of analysts’ role as information intermediaries gains even more importance. This raises the question of what determines analysts’ forecast accuracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building upon prior literature on the role of analyst experience in shaping analysts’ forecasts, the authors examine whether experience in tracking firms exposed to prior epidemics allows analysts to forecast more accurately during COVID-19. The authors find that analysts who have experience in forecasting for firms with high exposure to epidemics (H1N1, Zika, Ebola, and SARS) exhibit higher accuracy than analysts who lack such experience. Further, this effect of experience on forecast accuracy is more pronounced while forecasting for firms with higher exposure to the risk of COVID-19 and for firms with a poor ex-ante informational environment.

Abstract The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is a threat to adolescents’ mental health and livelihoods, and lowers their subjective well-being (SWB). Expanding on previous literatures, this study examined whether internet use time was related to SWB and whether this relationship was mediated by problematic internet use (PIU) and self-esteem during the COVID-19 outbreak. In Taiwan, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in February, 2020. During March 2 to 27, this study recruited a total of 1,060 adolescents from junior high schools by both stratified and cluster sampling, and administered a comprehensive investigation. The results displayed that SWB was significantly and negatively predicted by internet use time. PIU fully mediated the relationship. Moreover, PIU predicted a decrease of self-esteem, which played a full mediation role between PIU and SWB. The results provide evidence in explaining how increased internet use time is associated with a greater level of PIU, which relates to lower self-esteem, correlating with lower SWB in adolescents. This study can provide reference to mental health organizations and educational agencies to design appropriate SWB promotion programs for the junior high school population in terms of epidemic prevention.

Background and objectives: Social distancing and quarantine implanted during the COVID-19 outbreak could have delayed the accession of oncologic patients to hospitals and treatments. This study analysed the management of sarcoma patients during this period in five Spanish hospitals. Design and methods: Clinical data from adult sarcoma patients, soft tissue and bone sarcomas, managed during the COVID-19 outbreak, from 15 March to 14 September 2020 (Covid cohort), were retrospectively collected and time for diagnosis, surgery and active treatments were compared with sarcoma patients managed during the same pre-pandemic period in 2018 (Control cohort). Results: A total of 126 and 182 new sarcoma patients were enrolled in the Covid and Control cohorts, respectively, who were mainly diagnosed as soft tissue sarcomas (81.0% and 80.8%) and at localized stage (80.2% and 79.1%). A diagnostic delay was observed in the Covid cohort with a median time for the diagnosis of 102.5 days (range 6–355) versus 83 days (range 5–328) in the Control cohort (p = 0.034). Moreover, a delay in surgery was observed in cases with localized disease from the Covid cohort with a median time of 96.0 days (range 11–265) versus 54.5 days (range 2–331) in the Control cohort (p = 0.034). However, a lower delay for neoadjuvant radiotherapy was observed in the Covid cohort with a median time from the diagnosis to the neoadjuvant radiotherapy of 47 days (range 27–105) versus 91 days (range 27–294) in the Control cohort (p = 0.039). No significant differences for adjuvant radiotherapy, neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy and neoadjuvant/adjuvant palliative chemotherapy were observed between both cohorts. Neither progression-free survival (PFS) nor overall survival (OS) was significantly different. Conclusion: Delays in diagnosis and surgery were retrospectively observed in sarcoma patients during the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain, while the time for neoadjuvant radiotherapy was reduced. However, no impact on the PFS and OS was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 epidemic, which entered the world agenda in 2019 and affected the whole world, on the corporate sustainability of businesses. The mediating effect of sustainable supply on this effect and the regulatory effect of environmental performance were investigated. The research was conducted among 235 businesses operating in Turkey. The data obtained using the survey method were analyzed in SPSS and AMOS analysis programs. As a result of the analyses obtained, it was determined that the COVID-19 epidemic significantly affected the corporate sustainability of the enterprises and that the environmental performance of the enterprises was a regulatory effect, together with the mediation of sustainable supply. It is understood day by day that COVID-19 negatively affects the economies of the countries. However, despite these negative effects; It is expected that the results of this research will contribute to the literature with a significant effect on the institutional sustainability of the COVID-19 epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study, developments following the COVID-19 outbreak are discussed in terms of the evolution of technology, competition, new rules in regulation, and responses to the risks posed by COVID-19 and its impact on the financial services provided. The practices made towards these developments are explained in the context of ING, one of the multinational banks, and the banking sector in Türkiye. Non-performing loans (NPLs) as riskiness measurement and loans to assets ratio (LTA) as asset quality are examined based on bank types in the Turkish banking sector by comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Three explanatory variables, namely, capital adequacy ratio, size, and liquidity ratio which are the most important bank-specific determinants of risk and asset quality, are included in the study. The results imply that banks are also affected by the pandemic with companies and individuals. Nevertheless, in the face of this extraordinary situation, supervising institutions and policymakers tried to reduce the effects of the crisis with special policies and regulations, and thus banking sector relatively preserved its prepandemic situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the transmission of volatility across markets is essential for managing risk and financial stability, especially under crisis periods during which an extreme event occurring in one market is easily transmitted to another market. To gain such an understanding and enrich the related literature, we examine in this article the system of volatility spillovers across various equity markets and asset classes using a quantile‐based approach, allowing us to capture spillovers under normal and high volatility states. The sample period is 16 March 2011–10 November 2020 and the employed dataset comprises 12 implied volatility indices representing a forward‐looking measure of uncertainty of global equities, strategic commodities and the US Treasury bond market. The results show that the identity of transmitters and receivers of volatility shocks differ between normal and high volatility states. The US stock market is at the centre of volatility spillovers in the normal volatility state. European and Chinese stock markets and strategic commodities (e.g. crude oil and gold) become major volatility transmitters in the high volatility state, after acting as volatility receivers during normal periods. Furthermore, we study the drivers of implied volatility spillovers using regression models and find that US Default spread contributes to the total volatility spillover index in both volatility states, whereas TED spread plays a significant role in the normal volatility state. As for the role of short rate and risk aversion, it is significant in the high volatility state. These findings matter to the decision‐making process of risk managers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is a threat to adolescents' mental health and livelihoods, and lowers their subjective well-being (SWB). Expanding on previous literatures, this study examined whether internet use time was related to SWB and whether this relationship was mediated by problematic internet use (PIU) and self-esteem during the COVID-19 outbreak. In Taiwan, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in February, 2020. During March 2 to 27, this study recruited a total of 1,060 adolescents from junior high schools by both stratified and cluster sampling, and administered a comprehensive investigation. The results displayed that SWB was significantly and negatively predicted by internet use time. PIU fully mediated the relationship. Moreover, PIU predicted a decrease of self-esteem, which played a full mediation role between PIU and SWB. The results provide evidence in explaining how increased internet use time is associated with a greater level of PIU, which relates to lower self-esteem, correlating with lower SWB in adolescents. This study can provide reference to mental health organizations and educational agencies to design appropriate SWB promotion programs for the junior high school population in terms of epidemic prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been the first country to be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic resulted in significant disruption of Health Care Services worldwide, and this effect on treatments for urinary stones is currently unclear. This is the first retrospective study involving three tertiary referral centers for urolithiasis across China. We evaluated surgical volumes and peri-operative outcomes of procedures delivered for upper urinary tract stones. We compared trimester prior to restrictions for COVID-19 (October 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2019, period A), during restrictions (February 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2020, period B), and afterword (April 1st, 2020 to June 31st, 2020, period C). A total of 2,543 procedures have been carried out. We observed a loss of 743 cases during period B (−29.2%) and 201 during period C (−7.9%). Percutaneous surgery showed the worst reduction, with 507 mini-PCNLs delivered in period A, 168 in period B (−60.8%), and 389 (−18.3%) in period C (p = 0.001). A worst trend was shown for standard PCNLs with 84 procedures carried out in period A, 5 in period B (−95.2%), and 9 (−89.2%) in period C (p = 0.001). Retrograde surgery also decreased, from 420 cases in period A to 190 cases in period B (−54.8%). An increment was however seen in period C when 468 cases have been carried out (+ 11.4%, p = 0.008). In term of SFRs, a difference was noticed for RIRSs, being 69.2%, 80.5%, and 69.3% during three periods (p = 0.045) and semirigid ureteroscopies (90.3%, 97.1%, and 84.8%, p = 0.013). Charlson's Comorbidity Score could not show any difference between groups as well as no differences in term of post-operative complications have been noticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the long-term effect of the pandemic on mental health and self-care parameters in patients with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. After 18 months of pandemic, 118 participants remained in the study (mean age of 56.6 ± 13.4 years, 66.7% were women). We observed no change in the scores for mental health disorders screening. Regarding self-care, patients with type 1 diabetes showed an improvement in the adherence score compared to those found at the beginning of the pandemic (variation + 3.5 (−6.0 to +15.8) points, p = 0.02), and also compared to those with type 2 diabetes. Although the pandemic have negatively affected many people's mental health, especially in those with chronic diseases, our results show that patients with diabetes may have developed good coping and adaptive strategies to maintain diabetes control and symptom pattern of mental health disorders over the course of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite having an effective COVID-19 vaccine, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and the delta variant continues to cause havoc across several continents. The present study was conducted to analyze and describe the occurrence of COVID-19 cases among completely vaccinated individuals. In an educational institute in Western Maharashtra, we analyzed a cluster of RTPCR positive COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated students which occurred in 12 days. The cases were linked to a series of curricular and co-curricular events in the institute. A detailed epidemiological investigation and genome sequencing of cases were conducted. IgG antibodies against S1 protein of novel SARS-CoV-2 were estimated for cases and age, sex, and vaccination status matched controls. All 37 identified cases were mild COVID. 188 high risk (HR) contacts of the cases were identified. The overall secondary attack was 9.5%. Out of 31 cases and 50 controls, 09 (29%) cases and 08 (16%) controls were found to have IgG antibodies against S1 protein of novel SARS-CoV-2 titer of more than 60 U/ml. Whole-genome sequencing of 15 samples of the cluster showed the presence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. No correlation was observed between Ct value and IgG S1 antibody titers. The study provides significant evidence that only vaccination alone does not completely protect against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant infection. An all-encompassing multicomponent strategy involving implementation of NPIs, robust contact tracing, early identification and isolation of cases, and high vaccination coverage is the way forward for the prevention of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government of Bangladesh has implemented the "Stay Home" policy following the WHO recommendation to resist the community transmission of Covid-19. As a result, the routine activities of all government, semi-government establishments, including educational institutions, are severely affected, and the country's economic growth becomes slowed down. To overcome such a situation, the relevant authorities have introduced the "Work from Home" policy for the employees and "Remote Education" for students. However, due to the persistence of multi-dimensional socio-economic problems, many employees and students face big challenges in performing their regular jobs while adopting such a policy. Consequently, enormous psychological anxiety has been developed for all people, including students, parents, employees, etc., and concurrently created severe changes in their behavior. This study aims to analyze the reasons for the behavioral changes of the employees, students, academic staff, and family members of different ages due to psychological anxiety, stress, or physical issues. A comprehensive online-based survey has been carried out on people working in various sectors in Bangladesh. A modified Apriori Algorithm has been used to sort out the associations between the causes and types of behavioral changes. Analyzed data revealed a massive human behavioral change in most participants. This finding indicates that the negligence of those significant human behavioral changes may cause a higher risk of creating psychological imbalance. Therefore, there is a need to have a solid understanding of the reasons for the behavioral changes and set up standard guidelines to maintain "Work from Home" in this Covid- 19 situation to avoid psychological imbalance. Based on this study, some suggestions have been given for implementation by the government on an urgent basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]