Background Of COVID-19 Pandemic Research Articles

(Invited) COVID-19 As a Technology Accelerator for High-Speed Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Limit of detection (LOD), speed and cost for some of the most important diagnostics tools for COVID-19 i.e., lateral flow assays (LFA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) all benefitted from both the financial and regulatory support brought about by the pandemic. Before COVID-19, LFA was the fastest and least expensive but came with the poorest limit of detection (LOD). The slowest, most expensive but with the best (lowest) LOD was PCR. In between those two extremes, in terms of cost, LOD and speed, was an ELISA . Today, through the “COVID-19 accelerator effect” there are point of care (POC) reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (ie., RT-qPCR) COVID-19 tests on the market that provide sample to answer in under 20 minutes, while retaining the same very low LOD but at a lower cost [1]. There are even POC PCR tests under development that come in at less than 10 minutes: beating both LFA and ELISAs in terms of time and LOD [2]. Although RT-qPCR has gained the most in overall performance, signal-amplified POC LFAs are possible now with an LOD that rivals that of an ELISA.However, implementing the next generation PCR equipment in point-of-care settings, remains very challenging because of difficulties in reaching a 10 minute or below sample to answer time , instrument complexity and cost. In this work, we discuss the engineering challenges involved in the development of high-speed microfluidic PCR equipment. To guide this review/comparison of PCR advances we introduce three parameters. The first one is the overall sample to answer time (t), the second is called lambda (λ) and is a measure of the degree to which stochastic effects interfere with obtaining analytical results and thereby setting the minimal number of copies required per volume. The third parameter gamma (γ), introduced first by Dong et al [3], is the ratio of thermal cycling time (in min) to the heat cycled sample volume (in mL). It describes the trade-off between the speed of the PCR system and the desired level of sensitivity. It can be interpreted as a system efficiency: the most efficient system heat cycles the largest amount of sample in the smallest amount of time.With these three criteria in mind we set out to suggest designs for an optimized POC reverse transcriptase (RT) quantitative qPCR or RT-qPCR system. Applications of RT-qPCR include quantifying gene expression levels, validating RNA interference (RNAi), and detecting pathogens such as viruses. The aim of this specific POC RT-qPCR system is to provide sample to answer in ten minutes or less for a respiratory pathogens panel, with an LOD of 500 copies/mL and the capability to multiplex (8 chambers) while remaining portable and low cost.Finally we introduce two of the most daunting, remaining, microfluidics challenges that both need to be tackled to implement an ideal microfluidic platform like the POC RT-qPCR system described above. One is liquid storage and the other is proportional valves on a disposable microfluidic platform. Liquid storage is essential when the assay requires repeated washes, if these washes can come from one and the same reservoir via a proportional valve, real estate is gained and system complexity is reduced. The storage issue is further complicated when the design also calls for storing lyophilized or dried reagents on the same disposable. We compare some of the most recent approaches to liquid storage and proportional valving that we believe will enable the fast POC diagnostic platforms of the future. 1. Tsang, Hin Fung, Wai Ming Stanley Leung, Lawrence Wing Chi Chan, William Chi Shing Cho, and Sze Chuen Cesar Wong. “Performance Comparison of the Cobas® Liat® and Cepheid® GeneXpert® Systems on SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Nasopharyngeal Swab and Posterior Oropharyngeal Saliva.” Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics 21, no. 5 (May 4, 2021): 515–18. 2. BUCKLAND, Justin, Tom JELLICOE, Alex STOKOE, and Amaru ARAYA-WILLIAMS. “VARIABLE TEMPERATURE REACTOR, HEATER AND CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR THE SAME.” Patent Application, January 30, 2020. 3. Dong, Xiaobin, Luyao Liu, Yunping Tu, Jing Zhang, Guijun Miao, Lulu Zhang, Shengxiang Ge, Ningshao Xia, Duli Yu, and Xianbo Qiu. “Rapid PCR Powered by Microfluidics: A Quick Review under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic.” Trends in Analytical Chemistry 143 (October 2021): 116377.

Is tuberculosis epidemic riding upon the waves of COVID-19 pandemic? A time-trend study from South India.

National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) activities have decelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Doubt is raising globally on emerging tuberculosis (TB) epidemic related to COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we aim to identify the trends in incidence and patterns of TB during the pandemic (2020-2022). A single-institution retrospective study was conducted. All data including demography, site of involvement, and the time trends of TB cases registered under NTEP between January 2019 and June 2022 at our hospital were retrieved from the prospective register. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0. Total 381 cases were registered. The mean age was 43 years (±17). The male: female ratio was 1.2:1. Majority of females (40%) and males (37%) were in the age of 11-30 years and 31-50 years, respectively. The TB cases' frequency in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (till June) were 38.3% (146), 11.8% (45), 29.4% (112), and 20.5% (78), respectively. The most common site involved was pulmonary (50%) followed by cervical lymph node (19.9%). A significant reduction in TB cases was noted in 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19. The estimated total TB cases in 2022 are similar to pre-COVID-19 year 2019. The ratio of pulmonary versus extrapulmonary TB was 1:1 during 2020. We found a significant reduction of TB cases during the first wave of COVID-19, but cases have started to rise again and yet to reach pre-COVID-19 status in 2022. No definite evidence of TB epidemic in the background of COVID-19 pandemic was found. Young females within 11-30 years were found to be more affected and need to be the main focus of TB preventive efforts. COVID-19 pandemic has affected the ratio between extrapulmonary and pulmonary TB significantly.

THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE FORMATION OF THE ATTITUDE OF THE POPULATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE PREVENTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

The special anonymous on-line questionnaire was developed and placed on popular social platforms in open access. The questionnaire included two parts and contained 27 closed alternative questions with only one alternative to answer. The respondents included persons older than 18 years agreed to participate in survey. The data gathering provided for three subsequent stages. The final sampling consisted of 1350 respondents, out of them 1230 were citizen of the Russian Federation and 120 representatives of the near abroad. More than 65% of respondents confirmed positive changes of one's attitude to sanitary hygienic activities to better sense. Among them, 63.3% began to wash hands more regularly and 62.2% began to apply hand antiseptic more often. The comparing of study results by individual characteristics revealed a significant effect of primary hygienic status of respondents on magnitude of fixed changes. It is established that during 5 months the population readiness to be vaccinated by one of the registered national vaccines was increasing and level of uncertainty was decreasing. Among respondents 73.5% marked increasing of individual responsibility of citizens for hygienic practices. The study demonstrated significant improvement of population attitude to sanitary hygienic practices after onset of pandemic. The greatest changes are observed in individuals with initially sufficient levels of hygienic commitment. On the basis of study results, the conclusion can be made about significant increasing of civil liability of the population of the Russian Federation for hygienic practices, especially against the background of COVID-19 pandemic.

A Review of Strategies for Resilience and Healthy Urban Living Environment under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the COVID-19 pandemic strikes the global world, our cities are facing severe damage that affects all sectors of human life and their living environment, and it brings severe harm to humans physical and damaging impact on the urban economy and the operation of the urban system. With higher population density, dense space, and polluted urban areas as the main battlefield for pandemics and becoming the epidemic epicenter, a greater risk of virus transmission is more significant, especially person-to-person infection. A living environment is an essential place for people to devour and change nature and entails the physical attributes and the reconciliation of human exercise, which has essential roles in preventing and controlling pandemics. Thus, this study proposes pandemic resilience and a healthy urban living environment as the suitable future urban living environment concept. Reviewing available published literature related to resilient and healthy urban living environment studies during COVID-19 pandemic becomes the only method applied in this study. Starts by reviewing the concept of the healthy and resilient urban living environment, presenting the experience of Chinese cities facing the pandemic, and providing the urban living environment's potential strategies reflecting healthy and resilience comprehensively through evaluating recent ideas and trends. It aims to answer the research question to find the potential strategies to create pandemic resilience and a healthy urban living environment.

Factors Affecting the PeduliLindungi User Experience Based on UX Honeycomb

With background of Covid-19 pandemic, Indonesian state trying to make various efforts, so people comply health protocols. One of them is through PeduliLindungi application. PeduliLindungi has 3 main functions, namely tracing, tracking, warning and fencing. However, PeduliLindungi is deemed unable to meet user needs in terms of appearance and experience provided. This study aims to find factors that affect user experience in PeduliLindungi app based on UX Honeycomb. UX Honeycomb is a tool that can explain various aspects of user experience design in 7 indicators and grouped into 3 variables. The 3 variables are Think (useful, valuable, credible), Feel (desirable, credible), and Use (findable, accessible, usable). This study uses primary data by distributing online questionnaires to 404 respondents contains 15 statements that represent all UX Honeycomb variables, with 5 scales of answer choices namely strongly disagree/disagree/neutral/agree/strongly agree. From the calculation results, it is found that all variables and indicators significantly affect user experience with greatest level of influence being on the Think variable at 0,418, the second Use at 0,219, and the last is Feel at 0,151. Further research is expected can measure the level of influence on user experience by making direct comparisons with similar health apps.

Opinion dynamics on prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections against the background of COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: analysis of opinion dynamics in young people on prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) against the background of COVID-19 pandemic vs. the pre-pandemic period. Materials and Methods. Our research was based on a comparison of data from a sociological survey of 400 respondents 16-21 years of age in 2021 and an analysis of 838 questionnaires from participants of the same age in a similar study in 2017. The research employed the methodology of sociological questionnaire. The original questionnaire was used, consisting of 46 questions, combined into five thematic blocks: assessment of the STI problem relevance, likelihood of infection risk, readiness to undergo preventive screening examinations, preferred directions for seeking medical help in the event of STI, and consent to examination and treatment in conjunction with a sexual partner. By gender, the distribution of study subjects was as follows: 51% of women (n=427) in 2017 vs. 52% (n=208) in 2021; 49% of men (n=411) in 2017 vs. 48% (n=192) in 2021. In processing and presenting the data, extensive indicators were used, compared with the assessment of the significance of differences sensu Student’s t-test. Results. In 2021, we observed an increase in the interest of young people in undergoing screening examinations (79.5% vs. 63% in 2017, p=0.006) and seeking medical help (93.5% vs. 89.5%, p=0.007); on the other hand, in 2021, young people were more likely to conceal their health status from a partner (32.2% vs. 8.3%, p=0.003). Conclusion. The study revealed a change in the opinions of respondents regarding STIs during the pandemic, specifically, an increase in understanding the need for regular examinations and seeking medical help in the event of STI symptoms, but at the same time, there was a reduced responsibility for the sexual health of their partner.

The global economic policy uncertainty spillover analysis: In the background of COVID-19 pandemic

Combining the spillover index approach and LASSO-VAR method, we construct the spillover network of 19 specific countries’ economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Then we deconstruct the constructed network into four blocks by the block models, the impacts of COVID-19 on EPU spillover effects between each country and blocks is analyzed gradually. The results reveal that: (1) The transnational contagion of EPU is significant, and the spillover network of policy uncertainty is time-varying. (2) EPU networks can be divided into four different blocks by block models. The role of blocks and the spatial spillover transmission path between blocks are different in different periods. (3) The new infection cases and deaths of COVID-19 have a significant effect on reception and transmission directional EPU spillovers, while there is no significant impact on net spillovers. The international movement restrictions during the period of COVID-19 significantly increase the directional and net EPU spillovers. Our findings have some implications for policy-makers and market regulators in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Restrictive Factors and Practical Path of Sports-Medical Integration Under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper explored the restrictive factors of realizing the integration of sports and medicine in China under the background of “COVID-19 pandemic” and analyzed the path of realizing the integration of sports and medicine by combining it with “Healthy China” strategy and “National Fitness Program”. We used document and expert interview method. In the new era, people’s desire for a better life has become the most extensive demand, and the sudden outbreak of epidemic makes people’s demand for health become the first demand. The importance of people’s health raises “Healthy China” as the national development strategy, which has become the opportunities to realize the “integration of sports and medicine”. At present, China has formed three “sports-medical integration” models: the combination of the government and the market, the fitness guidance center of the hospital and the physique monitoring center of the community. Among them, the model of community physique monitoring center is in line with China's national conditions, but the development of this model still needs policy and financial support. At present, China’s “integration of sports and medicine” is still facing a few challenges: a) The conceptual understanding remains weak while the belief to medical treatment and negligence of sports is strong; b) There is lack of standards of sports knowledge and skills, so it is difficult to reach a consensus; c) The sports and medicine industry has a low level of integration and lacks an integrated environment. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a challenge but also an opportunity to realize the integration of sports and medicine. At present, with the support of national strategy, “integration of sports and medicine” is in the best historical development opportunity. At the same time, however, it also faces a series of contradictions. In this regard, it is necessary to deepen the essence of the two to carry out conceptual innovation and enhance the national recognition of the functional value of “sports-medicine integration”. Strategies include cooperating with sports medicine institutions to build a service platform, strengthening the integration of sports and medicine disciplines while building a qualification certification system and cultivating comprehensive talents, and improving the environment of “integration of sports and medicine” with building the foundation of harmonious symbiosis.

The alteration of the structure of mortality of endocrine system diseases, nutrition disorders and metabolic disturbances in individuals of able-bodied age and older in conditions of pandemic

The elderly age and endocrine diseases are among death risk factors at contamination with new coronavirus infection. To reply the question of how the influence of these risk factors is summing up, differences were determined concerning patterns of changes in structure of mortality of endocrine system diseases, nutrition disorders and metabolic disturbances in individuals of able-bodied age and older against the background of COVID-19 pandemic. on the basis of information from the Moscow database of deaths of endocrine system diseases, nutrition disorders and metabolic disturbances, the changes in contribution of individual diseases to the death causes structure in 2019-2021 were analyzed. The groups of individuals of able-bodied age and older were compared. It was established that in both groups rate of indicating SARS-CoV-2 virus infection as concomitant disease decreased while rate of indicating concomitant diseases at death of COVID-19 increased. The group differences in changes of structure of death causes were established in 2021. The percentage of undetermined forms of diabetes and obesity in structure of death causes increased in the elderly, while in individuals of able-bodied age increased. The percentage of obesity as concomitant disease of death of COVID-19 in individuals of able-bodied age increased and did no change were detected in the elderly group. The input of poly-glandular dysfunction as consequence of old infection into mortality is five times higher among individuals of able-bodied age. On the basis of received results, assumption was made SARS-CoV-2 virus contamination ruinously affects development of pathological process under endocrine diseases regardless of age, while age affects spreading of endocrine diseases and degree of resistance to development of infectious process directly. The differences in patterns of changes of structure of death causes of population of able-bodied age and older are associated with low quality of diagnostics of death causes in individuals of elder age groups.

Engaging in a newspaper cartoon thematic analysis to understand the socioeconomic, health, political, and environmental impact of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Newspaper cartoons are viewed as an effective means of communicating important social concerns. 
 Method:An exploratory content analysis of newspaper cartoons was done during the COVID-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka . Cartoons from eight daily online newspapers published from 15th of March to 15th of April 2020 were included. “corona”, “COVID-19”, or “Sri Lanka” were used as keywords. Thematic analysis was used to identify the different perspectives of cartoons.
 Results: Background of COVID-19 pandemic, health, social, economic, political, and environmental aspects emerged within a sample of 87 cartoons. Thirteen common themes were identified as COVID-19 as a pandemic, COVID-19 has become a crisis for Sri Lanka, prevention is the priority, knowledge deficit leads to breaking health advice, efforts to control virus outbreak, shifting socio-cultural practices, effects of lockdown, rich man’s virus – poor suffer the most bringing the global economy to its knee, coronavirus is driving the black market for essential stuff, seeking strategies to hold the election, applying health precautions in election activities and other political involvements.
 Conclusion: Cartoons were effectively used to give broad health and other messages to the public during the COVID-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka. Newspaper cartoons can be used as an effective mode of disseminating information during a crisis.

The mental reactions of psychiatrists and narcologists against the background of COVID-19 pandemic

The article considers various mental reactions of psychiatrists and narcologists against the background of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, based on a brief scientific analysis of publications and experimental psychological research methods. The purpose of study was to identify impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of psychiatrists and psychiatrists-narcologists. The results of survey of psychiatrists and narcologists are presented. The study was carried out using such test techniques as life quality scale SF-36 (Health Status Survey), Lazarus questionnaire "Coping Behaviors" adjusted to conditions of Russia and Hamilton scales to assess depression and anxiety (HDRS, HARS). The results.The low level of psychological well-being, moderate degree of preference for all coping strategies were established. The anxiety was determine in 34.8% of respondents and depression in 8.7%. It was established that actually, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical workers is conditioned by complex of mental reactions (from anosognosia to expressed anxiety and depressive disorders) and is accompanied by increasing general anxiety.

A Prediction Model Based on Machine Learning for Diagnosing the Early COVID-19 Patients

Objective: To improve the timeliness for the early COVID-19 infection diagnosis, it is essential to develop a decision- making tool to assist early diagnosis of COVID-19 patients in fever clinics. Materials and methods: This paper aims at extracting risk factors from clinical data of 912 early COVID-19 infected patients and utilizing four types of traditional machine learning approaches including Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF) and a deep learning-based method for diagnosis of early COVID-19. Results: The results show that the LR predictive model presents a higher specificity rate of 0.95, an Area Under the receiver operating Curve (AUC) of 0.971 and an improved sensitivity rate of 0.82, which makes it optimal for the screening of early COVID-19 infection. We also perform the verification for generality of the best model (LR predictive model) among Zhejiang population, and analyse the contribution of the factors to the predictive models. Discussions: Under the background of COVID-19 pandemic, the early diagnosis of COVID-19 still face severe challenges, a decision-making tool assisting early diagnosis of COVID-19 patients is vital for fever clinics. Conclusions: Our manuscript describes and highlights the ability of machine learning methods for improving the accuracy and timeliness of early COVID-19 infection diagnosis. The higher AUC of our LR-base predictive model makes it a more conducive method for assisting COVID-19 diagnosis. The optimal model has been encapsulated as a mobile application (APP) and implemented in some hospitals in Zhejiang Province.

Human immune response: A review study in the background of COVID-19 pandemic

Human immune response: A review study in the background of COVID-19 pandemic

Epidemic Prevention and Teaching Measures in Chinese Elementary and Middle Schools under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge impact on education worldwide. Many countries have therefore suspended classes for pandemic prevention. As the situation of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in China has gradually improved, elementary and middle schools have started to resume classes. To guarantee the resumption of classes and pandemic prevention and control at the same time, and to ensure the safety and health of teachers and students, schools carefully planned various tasks after school resumption. The creative work carried out in various places and time ensured that the school resumed in a timely, orderly, and scientific manner. This paper took some elementary and middle schools in China as examples, and introduced in detail the preparatory work before the class resumption and the pandemic prevention and teaching measures under the pandemic after the class resumption.

Epidemic Prevention and Teaching Measures in Chinese Elementary and Middle Schools under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge impact on education worldwide. Many countries have therefore suspended classes for pandemic prevention. As the situation of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in China has gradually improved, elementary and middle schools have started to resume classes. To guarantee the resumption of classes and pandemic prevention and control at the same time, and to ensure the safety and health of teachers and students, schools carefully planned various tasks after school resumption. The creative work carried out in various places and time ensured that the school resumed in a timely, orderly, and scientific manner. This paper took some elementary and middle schools in China as examples, and introduced in detail the preparatory work before the class resumption and the pandemic prevention and teaching measures under the pandemic after the class resumption.

疫情下学前儿童情绪与教养方式的相关研究

疫情下学前儿童情绪与教养方式的相关研究

A survey of physicians' appreciation and knowledge about airway safety measures in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Background and Aims:The implementation of safety measures during airway management is a major concern to prevent COVID-19 transmission during pandemic. Various guidelines and advisories are in vogue to ensure safe practices. However, their success depends on the caregivers’ knowledge and understanding. This survey was conducted to assess the knowledge and safety concerns amongst physicians towards airway management in the background of COVID-19 pandemic.Material and Methods:A survey instrument of thirty questions covering three timelines of airway management viz. ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ airway intervention was created. The questionnaire was electronically mailed to the eligible physicians over a period of one month via a web-based platform and the responses were analyzed. The responses were depicted numerically as percentage. A multiple discriminant analysis was used to test the accuracy of responses after adjusting for common variables.Results:Out of 407 responses, 300 were eligible for analysis. The respondents with correct answers to questions with single correct response were 46%, 69% and 57.3%, along the three timelines and the respondents with more than 75% correct responses in questions with multiple correct responses were 49%, 58% and 31% along the same timelines. About 75% of the participants became aware of transmission through aerosols aftermath pandemic. About two-third of the participants had knowledge about the safety guidelines and recommendations. Majority of the respondents were aware of the safety measures ‘during airway intervention’.Conclusion:Our study found satisfactory knowledge and appreciable concern among the practicing physicians regarding airway safety measures in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. However, more physicians were aware about the measures required to be adopted ‘during’ airway intervention. The survey highlights the need for a more focused training of the caregivers about safety measures ‘before’ and ‘after’ airway intervention.