关键词： Education   Human capital   Online learning   Telework   COVID-19   LIFE-CYCLE   INVESTMENT   HOME   FIELD  

摘要： We study how large shocks impact individuals' skilling decisions using data from a large, government- sponsored, online learning platform in Saudi Arabia. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a massive increase in online skilling, and demand shifted towards courses that offered skills, such as telework, likely to be immediately valuable during the pandemic. Consistent with a model where individuals trade off reskilling costs with their expectations of future labor market conditions and their duration of work, we find that shifts into telework courses were largest for older workers. In contrast, younger workers increased enrollments in courses related to new skills, such as general, occupation-specific, and computer-related skills. Using national administrative employment data, we provide descriptive evidence that these investments in skills in early 2020 helped users maintain employment over the course of the pandemic.

关键词： COVID-19   Cancer   Diagnosis   Incidence   Registry   MORTALITY   DELAYS   TIME   UK  

摘要： Background: The French healthcare system has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, including cancer care. Methods: In order to evaluate the impact of this pandemic on cancer incidence, the Isere Departmental Cancer Registry compared the actual 2020 incidence of melanoma, breast, colorectal, prostate and lung cancers with the expected 2020 incidence based on data collected by the Registry between 2015 and 2019, taking into account periods of lockdown and reopening. When available, cancer stages and/or prognostic scores were recorded. Results: During the period of initial confinement, a 54%, 50% and 36,8% drop in incidence was observed for breast, prostate and colorectal cancer respectively. Although their annual incidence remained stable, a worsening trend emerged as a decline in the number of low stages/scores at diagnosis in favour of higher stages/ scores towards the end of 2020. In contrast, a significant 17,8% drop was observed in annual incidence of melanoma, particularly for Breslow scores < 1 (-27,4%). However, this trend was noticeable before the lockdown, as well as the 14% reduction in the incidence of lung cancer in women, but not in men. Conclusion: The incidence of certain cancers was caught up over the year but the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be associated with a change in their severity at diagnosis throughout 2020. The downward trends in female lung cancer and melanoma incidence point to complex underlying phenomena. Further analysis is still needed to assess the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer incidence.

关键词： Crisis   Covid-19   Lockdown   SME   Adaptation   FINANCIAL CRISIS   FIRM PERFORMANCE   SHOCKS   CRUNCH  

摘要： In this paper we estimate the effects of the pandemic on Tunisian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and examine their adaptation processes during the first lockdown. Three simultaneous shocks are examined employing a Difference -in -Differences (DID) framework applied to the national firm census: the labor input shock, the demand shock and the intermediate input shock. We show that SME performance in the first year of the crisis was heavily affected by a combination of labor input, demand and intermediate input shocks, but only the effects of the demand and intermediate input shocks persisted in the following year. Using our own firm survey, we examine three kinds of adaptation strategies: workplace and process adaptation, and trade credit. We find that firms in non -essential sectors were less able to adapt during the first lockdown, suggesting that firm adaptation seems to be more driven by capability than by necessity.

关键词： energy efficiency   COVID-19   science mapping   energy policies   energy consumption   COCITATION   CITATION  

摘要： The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has deferred global progress in energy efficiency to a decade-long low, posing a threat to the achievement of international climate goals, and also profoundly affected the development of economics. To gain insight into the research frontiers and hotspots in energy efficiency and COVID-19, a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis on economic effects are performed with the help of the bibliometric tools VOSviewer and Bibliometrix. This paper selects all the publications retrieved based on the subject terms in the Web of Science core collection. Firstly, this article performs a performance analysis of related publications to present the development and distribution of energy efficiency and COVID-19 from research areas, relevant sources, and influential articles. Afterward, a visual analysis of the literature called science mapping analysis is implemented to display the structural and dynamic organization of knowledge in energy efficiency and COVID-19 research. In the end, detailed discussions of two research hotspots and some theoretical and practical implications are concluded in the systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis findings, which may contribute to further development for researchers in the field of energy efficiency and eventually propel the progress of society and economy in an all-round way.

关键词： Chronic opioid therapy   Opioid use disorder   COVID-19   Health services   Risk prevention   RISK   OUTCOMES  

摘要： Objective: Chronic opioid use can lead to detrimental effects on the immune and various organ systems that put individuals prescribed chronic opioid therapy (COT) for pain and those with an opioid use disorder (OUD) at risk for severe COVID-19 disease. We assessed the association of COT and OUD with COVID-19-related hospitalization and death to inform targeted interventions to improve clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients who use opioids. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults ages >= 18 with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020 and 2021 from three US health systems. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the 30-day risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death associated with two opioid exposures (COT and OUD) following an infection. Results: The study cohort included 53,123 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and a mean (SD) age of 45.1 (16.5), of whom 1,059 (2.0 %) were exposed to COT and 269 (0.5 %) had an OUD diagnosis in the year prior to infection. There were 2,270 observed COVID-19-related hospitalizations or deaths (1.6 per 1,000 person-days, 95 % CI 1.5-1.7). In the fully adjusted model, COT was not associated with increased risk (HR 1.19; 95 % CI, 0.98-1.43), while past-year OUD was independently associated with severe COVID-19 disease (HR 1.82; 95 % CI, 1.18-2.80). Past-year OUD remained associated with increased risk in post-hoc analysis with COVID-19-related hospitalization alone as the outcome (HR 2.00; 95 % CI, 1.30-3.08). Conclusions: Past-year OUD is a potential independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease that warrants monitoring to improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

关键词： Respiratory pathogens   Direct-to-consumer testing   Surveillance   Epidemiological trend  

摘要： Objectives: In the fall-winter of 2023, China experienced its first epidemic season of respiratory diseases since the COVID-19 pandemic. Gathering timely data about pathogenetic characteristics of respiratory infections is crucial to complement current respiratory surveillance mechanisms in China. Data from direct-to-consumer (DTC) multi-respiratory pathogen (MRP) testing could serve as a novel source of multi-pathogen data for community-based surveillance. Methods: A pioneering initiative was launched to detect multiple respiratory pathogens in Beijing and Guangzhou, China. DTC MRP tests were used to provide proactive surveillance ahead of medical services. Results: A total of 28,018 participants were enrolled between 22 August and 10 December 2023. Positive findings for at least one respiratory pathogen were observed in 26,202 (93.5%) participants. Influenza virus A, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and human adenovirus are the three leading viral pathogens detected with proportions of 18.0%, 10.6%, and 8.8%. Viral-bacterial pathogens were co-detected in 9736 (34.7%) of participants, which reduced to 22.2% for bacterial-bacterial co-detection, and 22.0% for bacterial mono-detection. The epidemiological ecology of respiratory pathogens within both viral clusters and specific pathogens varied among cities. The peak of RSV epidemics in Guangzhou occurred in the fall of 2023, earlier than in Beijing. Conclusion: The innovative program offered enhanced surveillance capabilities beyond traditional methods, enabling prompt feedback about test results and mitigating the risk of cross-infection caused by waits in healthcare facilities. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://***/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

关键词： COVID-19   Pandemic   Startup   Verification system   Empirical study   COMPANIES   SURVIVAL   SUCCESS  

摘要： The COVID-19 virus has caused a global pandemic that has heavily impacted daily life. Rapid advances in testing and vaccinating led to an additional use case besides the well-known contact-tracing apps: certificateverification systems. Verification systems are often commissioned by local authorities to enable more public life, and are often developed by smaller organizations or startups. So, the development of verification systems differs from other software projects, featuring interesting and unique properties. In this article, we present an experience report on the development of one verification system by a German startup, focusing on three properties: working in a pandemic, developing a product for handling a pandemic, and the startup context. To this end, we surveyed nine startup developers and analyzed the results with two experts from the startup. We found that the developers focused on fast delivery to cope with the time pressure of releasing the verification system, which is why some phases of typical development processes were hardly carried out. As a result, while the verification system is successful, we also identified negative effects of the properties (e.g., programming mistakes, well-being). We discuss our findings to guide researchers and practitioners in preparing for software engineering in future emergencies. Editor's note: Open Science material was validated by the Journal of Systems and Software Open Science Board.

关键词： COVID-19 pandemic   Posttraumatic growth   Openness to experience   Psychological distress   Trauma   Psychological wellbeing   PREDICTORS   INVENTORY  

摘要： The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique context to explore how people engage with traumatic experiences. The current quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study investigated how personality traits impact the relationship between psychological distress and posttraumatic growth (PTG) arising from COVID-19 experience in the U.S.A. It was hypothesised that (1) trait openness would moderate the relationship between psychological distress and PTG, such that it would be stronger at high openness; and (2) trait neuroticism would moderate the relationship between psychological distress and PTG, such that it would be weaker at high neuroticism. Using CloudResearch, 294 adults (59.5% women) aged between 18 and 74 ( M = 39.4; SD = 15.8) completed a survey comprising the Big Five Inventory 2 - Short Form (BFI -2-S), Impact of Events Scale - Revised (IES-R), and PostTraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) scales. Moderated multiple regressions indicated significant interactive relationships between psychological distress, personality, and posttraumatic growth, whilst accounting for age, gender, and ethnicity. At low distress, those with high openness showed higher growth ( b = 0.86, p < .001), whilst at high traumatic impact, highly open participants reported lower growth. Higher growth was noted at lower neuroticism ( b = 1.02, p < .001), although the level of growth differed depending on distress intensity. The present findings differ from previous literature, providing insight into the complex structure of PTG as influenced by personality and COVID-19-related distress. Whilst it is possible the current study reflects peritraumatic growth, given the ongoing COVID-19 experience, the findings offer potential avenues for improving psychological wellbeing for the wider population.

关键词： Epidemiology   Disparities   Peripheral arterial occlusive disease   Embolism   Thrombosis   COVID-19   CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY   RACIAL DISPARITIES   DISEASE  

摘要： The Sars coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in increased morbidity and mortality; however, there is limited understanding of how excess mortality is distributed among different racial and ethnic subgroups and vascular diseases. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study design using data from the United States (US) Center for Disease Control (CDC) Wide Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (Wonder) database. The database contains death certificate information for all US residents by cause of death as ascertained by the treating physician. We examined the trends of excess death by vascular disease specific mortality among different racial and ethnicity subgroups. Excess deaths were defined as the difference between observed numbers of deaths in specific time periods and the expected numbers of deaths in the same time periods. We compared mortality rates during the reference period of 2018-2019 (pre-pandemic) with the study period of 2020-2021 (pandemic years). We also compared excess mortality rates among racial and ethnic subgroups (Non-Hispanic white, Non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic individuals). Vascular disease was categorized by administrative diagnostic codes (ICD10): Vascular disease (I26, I82, I70-73, I74) and its subtypes Arterial thrombosis (I74), venous thromboembolism (I26, I82) and atherosclerotic disease (I70-73). Results: Compared to 2018-2019, there was a 1.3 % excess mortality associated with vascular disease, a 12.2 % excess mortality due to arterial thrombosis mortality, and an 8.0 % excess mortality due to thromboembolism in 2020-2021. Black individuals demonstrated higher excess vascular mortality (6.9 %) compared to white individuals (-0.3 %) P < .001, higher excess venous thromboembolism mortality (14.1 % vs 5.1 % P = 0.002) and higher atherosclerosis mortality (2.1 % vs -2.6 % P = 0.002). Hispanics compared to white individuals had higher excess vascular mortality (5.1 % vs -0.3 % P = 0.03) and excess

关键词： COVID-19   Organisational resilience   Crisis management   Higher education institutions   Chronicle Workshops   Socio-technical approach   Academic and non-academic staff  

摘要： The COVID-19 pandemic prompted authorities to enforce social restrictions and business closures, severely affecting the education sector and disrupting academic continuity. While existing studies have primarily focused on the evolution of learning environments, student and academic resilience, and educational policy responses, limited attention has been given to organisational resilience in higher education institutions. This paper addresses this gap by examining the impacts of the pandemic and organisational resilience components within a university of applied sciences. Using Chronicle Workshops and semi-structured interviews, this case study spans from the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 to June 2022, scrutinising the effects on various professions, including top and middle management, teachers, scientific, administrative, and technical staff. Key events included the initial lockdown and the subsequent shift to telework. Social tension during the implementation of COVID-19 certificates emerged as a noteworthy factor. The paper identifies best practices, including anticipative exchanges, investments in occupational health and safety, top-down crisis management, collegial decision-making, technology integration into work processes, creative pedagogical and assessment methods, leadership based on trust and autonomy, self-management, and a strong sense of solidarity. Recommendations for improvement encompass addressing siloed functioning, enhancing crisis communication, prioritising health and safety under normal circumstances, reflecting on technology's limits in teaching, recognising commitment and skills, ensuring decision transparency, and providing post-crisis support. These findings underscore the significance of considering both social and technical aspects in organisational responses to crises like the pandemic. Strengthening managerial capacity to support staff is crucial for enhancing resilience against future threats.