关键词： COVID-19   COVID stress syndrome   Alcohol misuse   Drug misuse   Pandemic   Profile analysis with multidimensional scaling   OUTCOMES   SYSTEM  

摘要： The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to significant societal challenges, including increased substance misuse. The COVID stress syndrome is a constellation of interrelated processes that occur in response to pandemics, including danger/contamination fears, fears concerning economic consequences, xenophobia, compulsive checking/reassurance-seeking, and pandemic-related traumatic stress symptoms. In the present study, using a sample of 812 adults collected during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, we examined the relations between identified profiles of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) and behavioral and cognitive aspects of substance misuse. Using profile analysis via multidimensional scaling (PAMS), we identified two core profiles of the CSS, which explained 60 % of the variance in participant responding: 1) High compulsive checking & Low xenophobia and 2) High xenophobia & Low danger/contamination. . The first profile is consistent with the COVID stress syndrome, while the second profile aligns with the COVID disregard syndrome, which is a constellation of interrelated processes distinguished by a denial or downplaying of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of perceived vulnerability to disease. Both profiles demonstrated significant positive correlations with drug and alcohol misuse, respectively. However, only the High xenophobia & Low danger/contamination profile demonstrated relations with cognitive aspects of substance misuse via positive and negative correlations with positive and negative expectancies of alcohol use, respectively. These findings provide further support for the relationship between the COVID stress syndrome and substance misuse and offer insight into how unique profiles of this syndrome may impact pandemic-related mental and public health interventions.

摘要： This report analyzes traumatic anterior skull base CSF leaks following nasopharyngeal swab testing for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the largest case series to date, combined with a systematic literature review. Retrospective multi-institutional case-series of traumatic anterior skull base CSF leak with clear antecedent history of COVID-19 swab was completed. A comprehensive search of databases was performed for the systematic literature review. Thirty-four patients with traumatic CSF leak after COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab testing were identified. Women were more than twice as likely to experience a CSF leak, as compared to men. The majority of patients (58.8%) had no reported predisposing factor in their clinical history. Common defect sites included the cribriform plate (52.9%), sphenoid sinus (29.4%), and ethmoid roof (17.6%). Four patients (11.8%) presented with meningitis. The median time between the traumatic COVID swab and the detection of CSF leak was 4 weeks (IQR 1–9). Patients with meningitis had a median leak duration of 12 weeks (IQR 8–18). The average leak duration was significantly longer in patients with meningitis compared to without meningitis (p = 0.029), with a moderate effect size (r = − 0.68). Most cases (92.9%) managed with endoscopic endonasal surgical repair were successful. This report clarifies the presentation, risk factors, and management of CSF leaks attributable to diagnostic nasopharynx swabbing procedures in the COVID-19 era. Timely surgical repair is the recommended management option for such leaks.

关键词： COVID-19 lockdowns   Single scattering albedo   Aerosol optical depth   OMI observations   MERRA-2 and CAMS simulations   Regional and global changes   OPTICAL-PROPERTIES   ABSORPTION   EMISSIONS   IMPACT   REANALYSIS  

摘要： A comprehensive global investigation on the impact of reduction (changes) in aerosol emissions due to Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns on aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) utilizing satellite observations and model simulations is conducted for the first time. The absolute change in Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) retrieved, and two highly-spatially resolved models (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications-2 (MERRA-2) and Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)) simulated SSA is <4% (<0.04-0.05) globally during COVID (2020) compared to normal (2015-2019) period. Change in SSA during COVID is not significantly different from long-term and year-to-year variability in SSA. A small change in SSA indicates that significant reduction in anthropogenic aerosol emissions during COVID-19 induced lockdowns has a negligible effect in changing the net contribution of aerosol scattering and/or absorption to total aerosol extinction. The changes in species-wise aerosol optical depth (AOD) are examined in detail to explain the observed changes in SSA. Model simulations show that total AOD decreased during COVID-19 lockdowns, consistent with satellite observations. The respective contributions of sulfate and black carbon (BC) to total AOD increased, which resulted in a negligible change in SSA during the spring and summer seasons of COVID over South Asia. Europe and North America experience a small increase in SSA (<2%) during the summer season of COVID due to a decrease in BC contribution. The change in SSA (2%) is the same for a small change in BC AOD contribution (3%), and for a significant change in sulfate AOD contribution (20%) to total AOD. Since, BC SSA is 5-times lower (higher absorption) than that of sulfate SSA, the change in SSA remains the same. For a significant change in SSA to occur, the BC AOD contribution needs to be changed significantly (4-5 times) compared to other aerosol species. A sensitivity analysis reveals

关键词： Energy Transition   COVID-19 pandemic   Educational facility   Non-face to face Education   Energy Consumption Percentage Change   Academic Achievement   BUILDINGS  

摘要： Changes in the energy sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided insight into the future energy transition accompanied by technological advancements and social changes. Building sectors also analyzed the impact of schemes such as non-face to face education on building energy consumption, yet the effectiveness of the schemes themselves was omitted. Therefore, this study aims to determine the impact of non-face to face education, i.e. scheme, on building energy consumption and education in educational facilities. In this regard, non-face to face education ratio, energy consumption percentage change, and academic achievement were presented as indicators. Six years of information on non-face to face education and energy consumption for 30 high schools in Seoul, South Korea, as well as national test results of students nationwide are collected, respectively. Partial correlation analysis between scheme and energy consumption, scheme and academic achievement confirmed that scheme significantly reduced energy consumption and partially maintained academic achievement. Conversely, it is possible that energy consumption actually increased after scheme ended. Procedures and results contribute to the analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of energy transition that can be expected from future technological progress and social change, and probable measures for the success of energy transition can be considered.

关键词： Epidemiology   Influenza virus   Respiratory syncytial virus   Adenovirus   Mycoplasma pneumonia   Children   Post-COVID-19   INFLUENZA  

摘要： Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological trend of respiratory pathogens infections among children after the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This study enrolled 575,373 children who came to our hospital for relevant respiratory pathogen antigen/antibody testing due to respiratory symptoms such as fever and cough. The demographic and laboratory data, including age, gender, testing time, and influenza A virus (IAV), influenza B virus (IBV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (ADV), and Mycoplasma pneumonia (MP) results, were collected from electronic medical records. SPSS (version 21.0) and GraphPad Prism 9 software were used for statistical analysis and figure creation. Results: 79,746 children tested positive for IAV IgM, and 3196 children tested positive for IBV IgM, with an overall positive rate of 28.5 % for IAV and 1.1 % for IBV. IAV infections peaked at 21,502 cases in March 2023. 80,699 children underwent RSV IgM testing from April to October 2023, with 5726 (7.1 %) testing positive. The apex of RSV infections occurred in May 2023, with 2140 cases. Regarding ADV, 100,460 children underwent testing from April to October 2023, with 1981 (11.9 %) testing positive. The pinnacle of ADV infections reached 4546 cases in November 2023. Concerning MP, 474,913 children underwent MP testing, with 73,833 (15.5 %) testing positive. The zenith of MP infections occurred in November 2023, with 25,291 cases. Further analysis revealed that the outbreaks of these pathogens are occurring earlier than in previous years. Additionally, our data showed that children aged >3 years accounted for 79.6 %, 87.8 %, 88.6 %, and 77.8 % of the total IAV-positive, IBV-positive, ADV-positive, and MP-positive children, respectively. Conversely, RSV primarily infected children <6 years. Conclusion: Various respiratory pathogens showed an epidemic trend in children among children post-COVID-19. These results indicated that we should p

关键词： Infectious diseases hospital   Medical staff   Hospital   Survey   Inpatient hospital   Health   PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT  

摘要： Emotional burnout among physicians is a serious problem that can affect their health and the quality of medical care. This condition occurs when physicians experience excessive stress and pressure at work, often due to high demands and expectations imposed on them by patients. This study aims to assess the experience and factors associated with emotional burnout among health workers who deal with COVID-19-positive patients. The study population includes employees at the infectious diseases hospital and the inpatient clinical hospital examined using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The prevalence of high emotional exhaustion among infectious diseases specialists and inpatient physicians was 51.2 f 3.4 % and 43.3 f 8.1 %, respectively. The prevalence of high depersonalization was 39.4 f 7.9 % and 40.5 f 8.1 %, respectively. Finally, the prevalence of reduced professional efficacy was 26.3 f 7.1 % and 41.3 f 8.3 %, respectively. The main burnout contributors were a heavy workload, a high risk of infection, the lack of protective equipment, insufficient social support, constant interaction with suffering patients, and work-life imbalance. To prevent burnout among health workers who deal with COVID-19-positive patients, it is best to create a working environment that is conducive to good physical and mental health, implement stress management courses, and provide employees with enough time for rest and recovery. These preventive measures will help to improve the quality of health care. The findings of the study can be utilized for the development of support programs for healthcare professionals, improvement of working conditions, and reduction of the risk of emotional burnout.

关键词： COVID-19   Well-being   Mental health   Work impairment   Disability   Health assessment   WORK PRODUCTIVITY   VALIDITY  

摘要： As is now well-known, COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease, which for some can cause symptoms that last long after initial infection. In 2021, a clinical set of symptoms referred to as long-COVID was identified. For many patients, long-COVID is a confusing and frightening multisystem disease, with the potential for myriad negative psychosocial effects, including significant impacts on employment and mental health, and requiring ongoing care. Research and treatment of long-COVID will be facilitated by a sound measure that addresses aspects of wellbeing, symptom experiences, and psychosocial impacts among long-COVID patients. The present work addresses this need by presenting the results of the development and preliminary psychometrics for the Long-COVID WellBeing Scale (LCOVID-WBS). In an exploratory factor analysis with a panel of 236 participants, researchers identified four factors: Emotional Strain, Physical Ability Strain, Control of Life, and Overall Evaluation of Health. The nascent measure represents the first step to measuring the impacts of long-COVID.

摘要： Prior research has shown that attitudes possess an implicit dimension that is crucial for understanding behavioral decisions. Personality traits, such as high need for cognition (NFC) and high need for affect (NFA), contribute to the formation of explicit and implicit attitudes through distinct routes, influencing the consistency between implicit and explicit attitudes. We employ Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to examine how personality differences affect implicit attitudes and the efficacy of personalized matching in the context of COVID-19 vaccination. Phase 1 of the study explores whether participants with high need for cognition or high need for affect display varying levels of consistency between their implicit and explicit attitudes. After controlling for pre-existing positive explicit attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine, we discovered that participants with high NFC exhibit a more consistent attitude system, while those with high NFA do not. Phase 2 of the study reveals that personalized matching does not ensure a corresponding enhancement in persuasion, as it can influence people’s attitudes via different psychological processes based on their level of elaboration. These findings offer new insights into the factors driving COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the effectiveness of personalized persuasion strategies at the individual implicit cognitive level. Such understanding can assist in devising communication strategies for future vaccination promotion efforts.

摘要： Understanding the technical efficiency of health facilities is essential for an optimal allocation of scarce resources to primary health sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic may have further undermined levels of efficiency in low-resource settings. This study takes advantage of 2019 and 2020 data on characteristics of health facilities, health services inputs and output to examine the levels and changes in efficiency of Ghanaian health facilities. The current study by using a panel dataset contributes to existing evidence, which is mostly based on pre-COVID-19 and single-period data. The analysis is based on a panel dataset including 151 Ghanaian health facilities. Data Envelopement Analysis (DEA) technique was used to estimate the level and changes in efficiency of health facilities across two years.. The results show a net increase of 26% in inputs, influenced mostly by increases in temporary non-clinical staff (131%) and attrition of temporary clinical staff and permanent non-clinical staff, 40% and 54% respectively. There was also a net reduction in output of 34%, driven by a reduction in in-patient days (37%), immunization (11%), outpatients visits and laboratory test of 9%. Nowithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, the results indicate that 59 (39%) of sampled health facilities in 2020 were efficient, compared to 48 (32%) in 2019. The results also indicate that smaller-sized health facilities were less likely to be efficient compared to relatively bigger health facilities. Based on the findings, it will be essential to examine factors that accounted for efficiency improvements in some health facilities, to enable health facilities lagging behind to learn from those on the efficiency frontier. In addition, the findings emphasise the need for CHAG to work with health facility managers to optimise inputs allocation through a redistribution of staff. Most importantly, the findings are suggestive of the resilience of CHAG health facilities in responding to a health shock suc