关键词： SARS-CoV-2   Airborne transmission   Infection risk assessment   Maximum occupancy   Ventilation   Computational fluid dynamics   TRANSMISSION   SARS-COV-2   OUTBREAK  

摘要： Following the recognition of the role of airborne transmission in the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the role of building ventilation in minimising indoor respiratory events has become of significant interest, with numerous risk assessment tools developed to understand infection risk in different indoor environments. To date there has been limited retrospective analysis of how such tools were applied to assess indoor infection risk and inform building occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper we document case studies from Australia and New Zealand using one such risk assessment tool, the Airborne Infection Risk Calculator (AIRC), and describe how the AIRC was used to assess COVID-19 risk in different indoor settings and how users customized the tool for their own purposes. While inherent uncertainties mean the AIRC model could not calculate the exact risk in any of the case studies, the model's framework enabled objective discussion about the role of ventilation in infection risk reduction and public health. Future use of tools such as the AIRC would be improved with development of policies or regulations that promote or require a standardized approach for this assessment, translation of improvement in ventilation in a room or building scale into overall public health benefits, and endorsement of such tools by Global and/or National health authorities.

关键词： COVID-19   Favipiravir   Wastewater treatment plants   Ecotoxicity   Microbial population change   TRANSFORMATION PRODUCTS   DRUGS   PHARMACEUTICALS   DEGRADATION  

摘要： In recent years especially during COVID-19, the increased usage of antiviral drugs has led to increased interest in monitoring their presence in wastewater worldwide. In this study, it was examined the occurrence, fate and environmental risks of favipiravir which is used for COVID-19 treatment in two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with different treatment processes in Istanbul, Turkey. Favipiravir was measured in WWTPs influent samples, effluent samples and sludge samples with maximum concentrations of 97 mu g/L, 64.11 mu g/L and 182.47 mu g/g, respectively. Favipiravir had removal efficiency below 55 % for both WWTPs. Mass balance analysis showed that favipiravir removal in WWTPs mainly attributed to biodegradation/biotransformation. Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between favipiravir concentration and COVID-19 incidence in Istanbul. The microbial distribution analysis indicated that comparison of collected COVID-19 pandemic sludge and postpandemic period sludge samples, a noteworthy reduction in the Chloroflexi and Actinobacteriota phyla at the phylum level was observed. Environmental risk assessment using risk quotients ranged from 168 to 704, indicating that the presence of this antiviral drug posed significant ecological risks to aquatic organisms. The study concluded that WWTPs were releasing antiviral drugs into the environment, thereby posing risks to both the

关键词： Particulate metals   COVID-19 lockdown   Environmental justice   Source apportionment   Wildfires   REACTIVE OXYGEN   DUST  

摘要： In this study, we evaluated trends in the composition and source contributions of ambient particulate metals, many of which are toxic air contaminants, in Paramount, California. Paramount is an environmental justice community disproportionately impacted by air pollution from multiple emission sources near sensitive receptors. Concentrations of ambient metals bound to total suspended particulates (TSP) were measured hourly using a Xact 625 ambient metal monitor between 2017 and 2020. The Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model identified traffic, industry, and soil dust as major contributors. Results showed that contributions of traffic and soil dust noticeably declined during the COVID-19 lockdown period (March-April 2020) due to reduced human activities but reverted to normal levels within a few months. Industry-related factors, however, dropped significantly during this period and remained low throughout the year. Contributions from industry-related sources in Paramount began declining even before 2020, despite no similar trend in regional levels, implying local emission reductions. These reductions resulted from tariffs, decreased demand, regulatory actions by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and voluntary controls by local facilities. Consequently, Paramount is experiencing drastically lower levels of metals (up to 80%, depending on the metal and source) from metal-processing facilities and related sources. Moreover, we observed markedly elevated concentrations of several metals (e.g., Ba, Ca, Mn, K, etc.) during the unprecedented September 2020 wildfires that engulfed much of the western US, adding to the limited body of studies on this phenomenon and emphasizing the considerable impact of massive wildfires on ambient levels of particulate metals.

关键词： COVID-19 Pandemic   Economic empowerment   Economic development   Gender equality   Women entrepreneurs  

摘要： This paper aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on women's economic empowerment in Bangladesh. Based on the available literature, this paper develops a holistic framework for economic empowerment and measures how COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to changes in the framework. The study adopts a quantitative research method to address the research question; of whether and to what extent women entrepreneurs were economically empowered by their businesses during COVID-19 pandemic. The empirical data was collected from 52 Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs via telephone interviews and online surveys using a structured questionnaire in February–March 2022, and respondents were chosen randomly from various online social groups and pages. The findings suggest that women entrepreneurs have contributed to family spending, resource allocation, and decision-making. However, their role has diminished significantly in asset ownership during the pandemic. In addition, women's attitudes toward violence, social stigma, and education have shifted dramatically. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs face several challenges, including a lack of government support, limited availability of credit, a lack of entrepreneurial education, and an increased responsibility in the family. Although numerous research studies have demonstrated how COVID-19 pandemic affected women during the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on economic empowerment through gender lenses has frequently been disregarded in Bangladesh context. This study bridges that gap, particularly in developing economies context and the framework constructed in this study is instrumental for understanding the dynamics of economic empowerment that can be applied in future research.

关键词： Environmental emission   Dietary choice   Food equity   LCA   CARBON FOOTPRINT   ENERGY DEMAND   INDICATOR   WASTE   LCA  

摘要： The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced household food shopping, food consumption, and food waste generation. However, the dietary environmental impacts for different income groups during COVID-19 remain unknown. To analyze dietary environmental impacts for various income groups, a process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted based on two electronic food access surveys implemented in the New York State's Capital Region during the COVID-19 pandemic and public and proprietary databases. We found that life cycle global warming potential, cumulative energy demand, acidification potential, and water resource depletion of per capital food consumption in the studied area tended to be lower during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19. In contrast, life cycle eutrophication during COVID-19 was slightly higher than pre-COVID-19. The environmental impacts occurring at the food production stage were higher than those at the local transportation and waste disposal stages. The lowest income group had the lowest dietary environmental impacts due to their lowest food consumption of all the food categories. The second-highest income group had the highest dietary environmental impacts, since they consumed the most red meat which has a high impact intensity. This is the first study to our knowledge to investigate the differences in dietary environmental impacts among income groups during COVID19.

摘要： During COVID-19 ( Co rona Vi rus D isease - 20 19 ), pharmaceuticals such as hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, azithromycin, dexamethasone, heparin, molnupiravir etc., have been rampantly used in the treatment drive. The pharmacokinetics data of these pharmaceuticals revealed that they are not entirely absorbed by the body and can be released in primary form into wastewater. These compounds have a very high tendency to persist, bio-accumulate, and transmit into living beings in nondegradable toxic forms. Consequently, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are rising swiftly in wastewater. Due to pandemic, the detected concentrations of these pharmaceuticals in aqueous medium are beyond the acceptable limits. Hence, they are emerging as the “newest concern” for water contamination. Accordingly, it demands urgent attention worldwide to develop newer and better processes for fast and efficient degradation of growing pharmaceutical contaminants (PC). Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) appear to be the supremely effective wastewater treatment technology with almost 100 % removal efficiency and greater mineralization of micropollutant compared to that with other processes. Therefore, this review attempts to elucidate the most significant information on the recent progresses associated with AOP-based degradation technologies applicable precisely for the elimination and mineralization of pharmaceuticals used during COVID-19.

关键词： COVID-19   Coronavirus   SARS-CoV-2   Pharmacology   Treatment  

摘要： The COVID-19 epidemic has become a major international health emergency. Millions of people have died as a result of this phenomenon since it began. Has there been any successful pharmacological treatment for COVID-19 since the initial report on the virus? How many searches are undertaken to address the impact of the infection? What is the number of drugs that have undergone investigation? What are the mechanisms of action and adverse effects associated with the investigated pharmaceuticals used to treat COVID-19? Has the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved any medication to treat COVID-19? To date, our understanding is based on a restricted corpus of published investigations into the treatment of COVID-19. It is important to note that no single study comprehensively encompasses all pharmacological interventions for COVID-19. This paper provides an introductory summary of a bibliometric analysis conducted on the data about COVID-19, sourced explicitly from two platforms, namely PubMed and ScienceDirect. The analysis encompasses the period spanning from 2019 to 2022. Furthermore, this study examines the published literature about the pharmacological interventions for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), explicitly focusing on the safety and effectiveness of different medications such as Remdesivir (marketed as Veklury®), Lopinavir/Ritonavir (commercially known as Kaletra® or Aluvia®), Ribavirin, Favipiravir (marketed as Avigan®), Ivermectin, Casirivimab and Imdevimab (branded as Ronapreve®), Sotrovimab (marketed as Xevudy®), Anakinra, Molnupiravir, Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (marketed as Paxlovid®), and Galidesivir. Findings indicate that while Remdesivir and Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir show significant efficacy in reducing hospitalization and severe outcomes, drugs like Lopinavir/Ritonavir and Ivermectin have inconsistent results. Our insights suggest a multifaceted approach incorporating these therapies can significantly improve patient outcomes. Repurposi

摘要： In the post-pandemic era, there has been a renewed examination of the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, aiming to discern potential patterns within this intricate phenomenon. This study categorizes the spread of COVID-19 into five distinct phases, as delineated by Huang et al. (2023) , utilizing data from 115 nations within the Global Innovation Index. We analyzed the impact of the spread rate of COVID-19 on national innovation and the moderating role of collectivist culture during the period between 2020 and 2022. The results showed that collectivist culture positively moderated the correlation between the spread rate of COVID-19 and knowledge as well as technological output in the Entry and Takeoff phases. In the Proliferation phase, individualistic culture positively moderated the correlation between the spread rate of COVID-19 and national innovation, and in-group collectivist culture positively moderated the correlation between the spread rate of COVID-19 and the input and output of national innovation.

关键词： Subjective wellbeing   Working-from-home (WFH)   COVID-19   Flourishing   Mixed-methods research   Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)   Post-pandemic intervention  

摘要： This study examines how individual differences in employees' demographics, physical workspace, job satisfaction, workplace support, and pandemic-induced changes affected subjective well-being, productivity, and overall flourishing (Flourishing Index, FI) while working from home (WFH). A cohort of 602 employees in Bangkok, Thailand, was surveyed. Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) revealed underlying interactions between variables that reflected differences in FI scores and work-related perceptions. In-person focus group interviews were conducted with 30 participants following their return to work to deepen understanding of aggregate survey responses. We found that the flourishing domains and short-term positive and negative affects are significantly influenced by satisfaction with the physical environment, demographics (e.g., age, marital status, and employment tier), and perceived changes in emotions, job demand, and resources. Individuals who enjoyed higher well-being ratings while WFH tended to be male, above 35 years old, in more senior employment positions, and married or living with a partner. Qualitative results confirmed how individual differences provided resilience and well-being under WFH while revealing more nuanced aspects of employer-employee support relevant to future personnel interventions. The variable groups also interact with each other, suggesting potential scenarios where individuals and organizations can implement more targeted interventions, such as physical environmental comfort, work-life balance, and social system support in future WFH situations to sustain employees’ well-being. It also shows that flourishing can be used as an indicator of worker well-being that reflects many nuanced life aspects, offering a new management tool for workplace transitions to WFH and hybrid models. © 2024 The Authors

关键词： COVID-19   Gaussian Markov random field   Similarity-based Gaussian Markov random fields   Adaptive modelling   Forecasting  

摘要： Understanding spatial and temporal risk dependencies and correlation is crucial when studying infectious diseases which spread out in consecutive waves. By analysing weekly COVID-19 case data collected from the disease’s first reported case on March 3, 2020, to April 22, 2021, in 278 municipalities in Mainland Portugal, we demonstrate that the complexity of infection risks varies based on the outbreak’s severity, suggesting that a single model definition is insufficient to explain the multifaceted underlying phenomena. This study employs a dynamic, conditionally specified Gaussian Markov random field model with a novel approach to characterise COVID-19 infection risk dependencies through the similarity of areal-level covariates within a Bayesian hierarchical model framework that accounts for each identifiable wave. The results indicate that the neighbourhood-based conditional autoregressive model, which is static and based on an adjacency-based neighbourhood matrix, do not necessarily captures the disease’s complex spatial–temporal nature. Furthermore, the best-fitting dynamic model may not necessarily be the best predicting model in certain situations, which can lead to inadequate resource allocation in epidemic situations. Accurate forecasting can help inform decisions regarding difficult-to-measure impacts, potentially saving lives. Implementing the proposed novel approach would have produced information that would have been overwhelmingly critical to the respective authorities in protecting those in more unfavourable economic or other conditions.