Emergence Of COVID-19 Pandemic Research Articles

When does China go to war? Explaining China’s Covid19-driven perceived vulnerability in 2020

ABSTRACT This paper argues that China intruded at multiple points along the LAC in May 2020 to showcase strength amidst the COVID-19 pandemic which is believed to have originated in Wuhan. COVID-19 led to large scale deaths and a global economic meltdown with Beijing severely criticized for the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, poor regulation of the animal markets, suppressing information and failure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 beyond China’s borders. This caused immense damage to China’s international reputation and status, its economy, and relations with other countries. Border incursions by China in May 2020 were a guise to highlight China’s strength lest India consider China in a weakened state and gain leverage over Beijing in the bilateral relationship. Through border incursions, Beijing wanted to mask its vulnerability created by COVID-19 and showcase its willingness to not compromise over its security interests. China is both powerful and insecure about its status. This combination makes it undertake a particularly pessimistic security-centric outlook and more likely to engage in risky behavior. Like in the previous instances, the use of military force against India in the year 2020 stemmed from a sense of vulnerability caused by loss of status due to Covid19.

Health literacy and COVID-19 pandemic impacts among adults in rural northern Arizona.

Limited health literacy - the ability to access, process, and use health information and services - contributes to persistent health inequities. Yet little is known about associations of limited health literacy with impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for US adults in rural areas. This study sought to determine associations of limited health literacy with impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic among a diverse sample of adults in rural Northern Arizona. A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey was conducted with 119 adults from June 2020 to August 2021. Participants were recruited from two federally qualified health centers and by word of mouth. The Newest Vital Sign was used to measure health literacy, and the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory was used to measure the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on various aspects of personal and family life (eg spent more time on screens and devices, had family celebrations canceled or restricted). Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable linear regression statistics were computed. Nineteen percent of participants had limited health literacy, and participants had an average of 22 individual impacts and 2 household impacts of the 92 COVID-19 impacts assessed. Multivariable regression model results showed that being male versus female or having public only versus any private insurance was significantly associated with fewer individual COVID-19 impacts on average. Being black, Indigenous, people of color versus White or being Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish versus not were each associated with significantly more individual COVID-19 impacts on average. Limited versus adequate health literacy was significantly associated with more household COVID-19 impacts on average. Sensitivity analysis results further showed that limited versus adequate health literacy was associated with significantly higher adjusted rates of household social, emotional, and infection COVID-19 impacts. This study's findings highlight the importance of assessing and accounting for health literacy in clinical practice and health services research addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergency events.

Strategic hospital resilience capability response to adversity: fusing government regulation and COVID-19 pandemic.

Strategic leadership plays an important role in achieving organizational success in surviving and growing in a challenging business environment. This study aims to examine the role of strategic leadership in responding to a rare moment in the health industry, which is the combination of government regulations that tend to continue to change and the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 358 respondents from 141 type C and D hospitals in Indonesia participated in this research. This study used six latent variables and 27 dimensions, processed using structural equation modeling. The results of this study confirmed that resilient leaders will not seek new partners by developing network capabilities; but rather choose to save the hospital first, by resources reconfiguration as response to the unanticipated adversity caused by fusing the government regulation and emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study makes an important contribution that enables hospital management to develop action plans in response to national health-care regulations coupled with the emergence and extension of the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as the results of the investigation into organizational resources, and to implement strategic resilience capability more effectively.

From Tweets to Streets: Observational Study on the Association Between Twitter Sentiment and Anti-Asian Hate Crimes in New York City from 2019 to 2022.

Anti-Asian hate crimes escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, limited research has explored the association between social media sentiment and hate crimes toward Asian communities. This study aims to investigate the relationship between Twitter (rebranded as X) sentiment data and the occurrence of anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City from 2019 to 2022, a period encompassing both before and during COVID-19 pandemic conditions. We used a hate crime dataset from the New York City Police Department. This dataset included detailed information on the occurrence of anti-Asian hate crimes at the police precinct level from 2019 to 2022. We used Twitter's application programming interface for Academic Research to collect a random 1% sample of publicly available Twitter data in New York State, including New York City, that included 1 or more of the selected Asian-related keywords and applied support vector machine to classify sentiment. We measured sentiment toward the Asian community using the rates of negative and positive sentiment expressed in tweets at the monthly level (N=48). We used negative binomial models to explore the associations between sentiment levels and the number of anti-Asian hate crimes in the same month. We further adjusted our models for confounders such as the unemployment rate and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. As sensitivity analyses, we used distributed lag models to capture 1- to 2-month lag times. A point increase of 1% in negative sentiment rate toward the Asian community in the same month was associated with a 24% increase (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.24; 95% CI 1.07-1.44; P=.005) in the number of anti-Asian hate crimes. The association was slightly attenuated after adjusting for unemployment and COVID-19 emergence (ie, after March 2020; P=.008). The positive sentiment toward Asian tweets with a 0-month lag was associated with a 12% decrease (IRR 0.88; 95% CI 0.79-0.97; P=.002) in expected anti-Asian hate crimes in the same month, but the relationship was no longer significant after adjusting for the unemployment rate and the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic (P=.11). A higher negative sentiment level was associated with more hate crimes specifically targeting the Asian community in the same month. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring public sentiment to predict and potentially mitigate hate crimes against Asian individuals.

Data-driven program adaptation and continuous improvement: A case study of the Adolescents 360 (A360) project in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania

Interventions benefit from ongoing continuous quality improvement during implementation to refine and strengthen them in response to changing contexts and emerging opportunities. This article reflects on the experience from the Adolescents 360 (A360) project in implementing user-centered, adaptive programming across Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria from 2018 to 2020. During this implementation period, A360 progressed through three distinct phases: an ‘optimization’ of project interventions in pursuit of efficiency and preparation for scale; a re-focusing on user-centered programming to go beyond efficiency and pursue greater impact; and a rapid course correction in response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. A360’s approach to data-informed adaptation evolved throughout these phases. From a hyper focus on cost-efficiency during optimization to a more expansive use of mixed methods data for adaptation during its second phase and finally iteration in response to an extremely restrictive service delivery environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article we reflect on how these periods of adaptation and course correction contributed to the evolution of the project’s interventions and provided significant lessons which the project has taken into its new investment phase. Balance is key – utilizing a range of mixed methods data instead of a singular focus on cost-efficiency, streamlining interventions while not compromising long-term impact, and retaining a user-focus even while considering sustainability.

Technology Competence, Self-Efficacy, and Attitude Towards Online Distance Learning by Nurse Educators during Disruptive Times: A Concurrent Triangulation

The unprecedented emergence of COVID-19 pandemic affected the world in a multi- dimensional impact on society. The abrupt imposition of online learning was realized accompanied by sudden changes from classroom attendance to home study using online technology. Several studies found out that attitudes towards online distance learning, technological competence, and self-efficacy are significant factors to be considered in an online distance learning by nurse educators teaching in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Moreover, authorities firmly suggested that these variables are believed to be influential to nurse educators in relation to their performances in the new educational system. This study aimed to analyze the path relationships of nurse educators’ technology competency, self- efficacy, and attitude towards online distance learning during disruptive times. Concurrent triangulation method was used particularly path analysis and Hermeneutical inquiry. A total of 97 nurse educators from the three Colleges of Nursing were included and 8 participants for the qualitative inquiry. Results showed that nurse educators have favourable attitude, high technology competence, and have a reasonable amount of self-efficacy. Structural Model Equation (SEM) reveals that technology competence significantly mediates the relationship between attitude towards online distance learning and self-efficacy. Furthermore, seven major metaphoric themes were identified – A chief complaint of Doubt and Uncertainty, Coding for Triage, Stat Mydriatics for Opening the Lens of Eyesight in Viewing the Reality, Heightened Alert of Activation Response for Brain Stimulation, and Precising an Insertion Guided with Confidence Through a Stylet, A Dose of Potentiating Meds for Synergistic Effect, and lastly Activating 9-1-1 for Cyber Rescue. Conclusively, technological competence has a mediating role in relation to self-efficacy and attitude towards online distance learning. This result implies that nurse educators must prioritize technology competence prior to their performance in an online distance learning environment.

Factors Influencing the Use of E-Assessment in Engineering Education During Emergency Remote Teaching: A Qualitative Approach

The study aims to investigate engineering education instructors' observations and experiences with e-assessment challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic's Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) period. The study employed a focus group discussion method with a criterion sample of seven instructors from engineering education in a higher education institution. The data gathered was transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis, which revealed four major themes: benefits, challenges, different types of remote assessment, and recommendations and guidelines for future better practice. The study's findings offer insights into the challenges faced by engineering education instructors during the ERT period, as well as recommendations for future better e-assessment practices.

Staff Opinions on the Most Positive and Negative Changes in Mental Health Services During the 2 Years of the Pandemic Emergency in Italy

AbstractThis mixed-methods study investigated healthcare staff members’ opinions on the most positive and negative changes in mental health services (MHSs) during the 2-year COVID-19 pandemic emergency in Italy, and whether those changes differed by professional role and type of service. At the end of the national health emergency (March–April 2022), staff members from 17 MHSs completed the MHS Transformations Questionnaire, which includes a quantitative section with 30 multiple-choice items addressing positive changes and a qualitative section with two open-ended items on the most positive and negative changes. The 714 participants who responded to at least one open-ended item in the qualitative section formed the sample. Qualitative responses were categorised according to the textual content of the response and the themes of the quantitative section. Flexibility and Ability to Reinvent the Service was the subscale with the highest mean score. The most positive and negative changes fell into the following categories: practices (49.1 and 39%), organisation (34.5 and 36.9%), teamwork values (45.0 and 34.5%), and relationships with users and their families (31.9 and 40.6%). The most positive changes differed by type of service (i.e. in the relationship with users and their families category) and by professional role (i.e. in the practices and relationship with users and their families categories), whereas the most negative changes differed by type of service (i.e. in the practices category). The results may elucidate the complex experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic in MHSs and reveal lessons to be considered in post-pandemic service planning.

Caring for a child with cancer during COVID-19 pandemic: an assessment of the parents' perception and stress level.

The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has led to heightened fear and uncertainty among parents of children with cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate the parental perceptions toward effects of COVID-19 infection to children with cancer, determine their stress level and factors contributing to high stress level during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted in three paediatric oncology centres in Malaysia from September 2020 until December 2022. A total of 167 parents were recruited. Parents completed a set of questionnaires to assess their perception on effect of COVID-19 infection to children with cancer and COVID Stress Scale (CSS) to assess the parents' stress level. Patients' mean age at study entry was 8.75 years (SD 4.38). Ninety-one (54.5%) patients were still on active treatment. More than 80% of the parents obtained information regarding COVID-19 infection from mass media and social networking. Fear of their children contracting COVID-19 infection was high especially among patients who were still on treatment. Forty-nine (29.3%) parents were significantly affected by the pandemic leading to loss of job or monthly income. Twenty-nine (17.4%) patients required treatment modification during the pandemic. The median total score for CSS was 78.0 (IQR 25th 64.0; 75th 95.0). Ninety-one (54.5%) respondents were very/extremely stressed based on the CSS scores. Components with high scores were xenophobia (median score 18.0; IQR 25th 13.0, 75th 22.0), fear of danger (median score 17.0; IQR 25th 14.0, 75th 20.0) and contamination fears (median score 16.0; IQR 25th 12.0, 75th 19.0). Lower household income was associated with higher stress level (p = 0.006). Our study demonstrated high awareness regarding risk of COVID-19 infection among parents of oncology children. Half of the parents had high stress level, with low household income identified as a factor associated with high stress level.

Federal Retail Pharmacy Program Contributions to Bivalent mRNA COVID-19 Vaccinations Across Sociodemographic Characteristics - United States, September 1, 2022-September 30, 2023.

The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP) facilitated integration of pharmacies as partners in national efforts to scale up vaccination capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency response. To evaluate FRPP's contribution to vaccination efforts across various sociodemographic groups, data on COVID-19 bivalent mRNA vaccine doses administered during September 1, 2022-September 30, 2023, were evaluated from two sources: 1) FRPP data reported directly to CDC and 2) jurisdictional immunization information systems data reported to CDC from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and freely associated states. Among 59.8 million COVID-19 bivalent vaccine doses administered in the United States during this period, 40.5 million (67.7%) were administered by FRPP partners. The proportion of COVID-19 bivalent doses administered by FRPP partners ranged from 5.9% among children aged 6 months-4 years to 70.6% among adults aged 18-49 years. Among some racial and ethnic minority groups (e.g., Hispanic or Latino, non-Hispanic Black or African American, non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and non-Hispanic Asian persons), ≥45% of COVID-19 bivalent vaccine doses were administered by FRPP partners. Further, in urban and rural areas, FRPP partners administered 81.6% and 60.0% of bivalent vaccine doses, respectively. The FRPP partnership administered approximately two thirds of all bivalent COVID-19 vaccine doses in the United States and provided vaccine access for persons across a wide range of sociodemographic groups, demonstrating that this program could serve as a model to address vaccination services needs for routine vaccines and to provide health services in other public health emergencies.

Analisis Social Influence, Perceived Ease of Use terhadap Behavioural Intention dengan Mediasi Perceived Usefulness

The emergence of Covid-19 pandemic has spread widely to various countries, which of one includes Indonesia. Where in 2020, Indonesia also impact on this pandemic, so the government took action on PPKM policy regulations by recommending all activities carried outside such as work, carried out at home to reduce circulation wider spread of the virus. After going through a situation where people must comply with health protocols and maintain cleanliness. Where at the end of 2022, the Ministry of Health announced that active cases of Covid-19 had decreased consistently and gave optimism to the current efforts to deal with Covid-19, of course it has made people accumulate an extraordinary willingness to travel. Due to the emergence of people's behavioral intentions to travel by ordering their travel activities on online booking service provider applications, where these applications can provide convenience and useful for them so that does not require excessive effort also can be used easily and efficiently. Indirectly it can also make the tourism industry continue to experience the most significant growth in searching for online travel agents because people's behavioral intentions are influenced by social influences that can provide convenience and benefits when using online booking service provider applications.

A mini-review of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 potency of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids

BackgroundNature has perennially served as an infinite reservoir of diverse chemicals with numerous applications benefiting humankind. In recent years, due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in studies on repurposing natural products as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents, including plant-derived substances. Among all types of natural products, alkaloids remain one of the most important groups with various known medicinal values. The current investigation focuses on Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AAs) since AAs have drawn significant scientific attention as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents over the past few years. Purpose and study designThis study serves as a mini-review, summarizing recent advances in studying the anti-SARS-CoV-2 potency of AAs, covering two aspects: structure-activity relationship and mechanism of action (MOA). MethodsThe study covers the period from 2019 to 2023. The information in this review were retrieved from common databases including Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Google scholar. Reported anti-SARS-CoV-2 potency, cytotoxicity and possible biological targets of AAs were summarized and classified into different skeletal subclasses. Then, the structure-activity relationship (SAR) was explored, pinpointing the key pharmacophore-related structural moieties. To study the mechanism of action of anti-SARS-CoV-2 AAs, possible biological targets were discussed. ResultsIn total, fourteen research articles about anti-SARS-CoV-2 was selected. From the SAR point of view, four skeletal subclasses of AAs (lycorine-, galanthamine-, crinine- and homolycorine-types) appear to be promising for further investigation as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents despite experimental inconsistencies in determining in vitro half maximal inhibitory effective concentration (EC50). Narciclasine, haemanthamine- and montanine-type skeletons were cytotoxic and devoid of anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The lycorine-type scaffold was the most structurally diverse in this study and preliminary structure-activity relationships revealed the crucial role of ring C and substituents on rings A, C and D in its anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. It also appears that two enantiomeric skeletons (haemanthamine- and crinine-types) displayed opposite activity/toxicity profiles regarding anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Pharmacophore-related moieties of the haemanthamine/crinine-type skeletons were the substituents on rings B, C and the dioxymethylene moiety. All galanthamine-type alkaloids in this study were devoid of cytotoxicity and it appears that varying substituents on rings C and D could enhance the anti-SARS-CoV-2 potency. Regarding MOAs, initial experimental results suggested Mpro and RdRp as possible viral targets. Dual functionality between anti-inflammatory activity on host cells and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity on the SARS-CoV-2 virus of isoquinoline alkaloids, including AAs, were suggested as the possible MOAs to alleviate severe complications in COVID-19 patients. This dual functionality was proposed to be related to the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. ConclusionOverall, Amaryllidaceae alkaloids appear to be promising for further investigation as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. The skeletal subclasses holding the premise for further investigation are lycorine-, crinine-, galanthamine- and homolycorine-types.

Attitudes of School Administrations Towards Physical EducationLesson in Light of the Emerging Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Consequences

The current study sheds light on knowing the trends of primary school administrations towards activating the physical education lesson within the curriculum approved by the Education Committee according to the decisions regarding canceling some unnecessary school curricula from the point of view of the crisis cell and the Ministry of Education, as the problem emerged through follow-up and observation until the cancellation Physical education study causes some problems and disturbances for the physical education teacher as a functional aspect, considering that he is entrusted with an educational curriculum on the one hand, and the problem of students complaining about not practicing sports during their time in the school and boredom from scientific lessons on the other hand, and as much as the matter related to the school administration by stating its opinion about the importance of studying physical education And the possibility of placing it within the daily schedule, even for one lesson and for each stage, and it does not affect the time of the remaining subjects or the health of the students. The researchers used the descriptive approach for its suitability and the nature of the research, and the research community consisted of the primary schools administrations of the Baghdad Education Directorate, Rusafa Al Thani / Municipalities Sector, whose number is (54) schools. As for the research sample, it included (50) departments, as the sample was randomly selected with a percentage of (93) %). Then the results are presented, analyzed and discussed by using appropriate statistical means. The two researchers reached some conclusions from the most important trends of school administrations that were positive towards studying physical education, and the researcher recommended the need to pay attention to the study of physical education as it develops and develops the health, psychological and social factor of schoolchildren

Reduction in birth rates and preterm births following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan

Reduction in birth rates and preterm births following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan

AUTHORITY OF NURSES TO INSTALL INFUSATIONS DURING THE PANDEMIC OUTSIDE OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

During the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, one of the medical measures that nurses can use in certain limited conditions is installing infusion outside of healthcare institutions. The author's study methodology, which employs three approaches—legislation (statement approach), comparative approach (comparative approach), and conceptual approach (conceptual approach)—uses a normative legal research type to address these issues. Furthermore, primary, secondary, and tertiary legal documents are the sources of the legal materials used. The study's findings clarify the role and authority of nurses for infusions outside of healthcare facilities during the pandemic. Specifically, a nurse who is ill or in a state of restricted mobility during the COVID-19 emergency period is authorised to administer first aid in the form of medical action, such as infusions, in accordance with the law and her expertise in assessing the patient's condition. Although the nurse is personally accountable for the infusion because it is an autonomous duty, meaning that the nurse in question will take full responsibility if a mistake is made.

Fluorometric and colorimetric platforms for rapid and sensitive hydroxychloroquine detection in aqueous samples

The detection of pharmaceuticals has been an active area of research with numerous application areas ranging from therapeutic and environmental monitoring to pharmaceutical manufacturing and diagnostics. And, the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for detection of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients such as Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) mainly due to their increased manufacturing and usage. In this study, we present two optical, fluorometric and colorimetric, detection platforms for the rapid and sensitive detection of HCQ. These platforms take advantage of the interactions between the highly fluorescent dye Thioflavin T (ThT) and Tel24 G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structure, as well as the salt-induced aggregation behavior of negatively charged citrate-capped silver nanoparticles (Cit-AgNPs) in the presence of HCQ. In the fluorometric method, the addition of HCQ led to a significant and rapid decrease in the fluorescence signal of the ThT + Tel24 probe. In the colorimetric method, HCQ induced the aggregation of Cit-AgNPs in the presence of NaCl, resulting in a noticeable color change from yellowish-gray to colorless. Under the optimized conditions, the colorimetric platform exhibited a linear range of 18.0–240.0 nM and a detection limit of 9.2 nM, while the fluorometric platform showed a linear range of 0.24–5.17 μM and a detection limit of 120 nM. The selectivity of the proposed optical methods towards the target analyte was demonstrated by evaluating the response to other structurally similar small molecules. Finally, the practical applicability of both detection systems was confirmed by analyzing HCQ-spiked human urine samples that yielded average recoveries ranging from 75.4 to 110.2 % for the fluorometric platform and 86.9–98.2 % for the colorimetric platform. These results indicate the potential of the developed methods for HCQ detection in complex matrices.

Integrating Medical Domain Knowledge for Early Diagnosis of Fever of Unknown Origin: An Interpretable Hierarchical Multimodal Neural Network Approach.

Accurate and interpretable differential diagnostic technologies are crucial for supporting clinicians in decision-making and treatment-planning for patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO). Existing solutions commonly address the diagnosis of FUO by transforming it into a multi-classification task. However, after the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians have recognized the heightened significance of early diagnosis in patients with FUO, particularly for practical needs such as early triage. This has resulted in increased demands for identifying a wider range of etiologies, shorter observation windows, and better model interpretability. In this paper, we propose an interpretable hierarchical multimodal neural network framework (iHMNNF) to facilitate early diagnosis of FUO by incorporating medical domain knowledge and leveraging multimodal clinical data. The iHMNNF comprises a top-down hierarchical reasoning framework (Td-HRF) built on the class hierarchy of FUO etiologies, five local attention-based multimodal neural networks (La-MNNs) trained for each parent node of the class hierarchy, and an interpretable module based on layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP) and attention mechanism. Experimental datasets were collected from electronic health records (EHRs) at a large-scale tertiary grade-A hospital in China, comprising 34,051 hospital admissions of 30,794 FUO patients from January 2011 to October 2020. Our proposed La-MNNs achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) values ranging from 0.7809 to 0.9035 across all five decomposed tasks, surpassing competing machine learning (ML) and single-modality deep learning (DL) methods while also providing enhanced interpretability. Furthermore, we explored the feasibility of identifying FUO etiologies using only the first N-hour time series data obtained after admission.

Assessing the Impact of Energy and Fuel Poverty on Health: A European Scoping Review

Abstract Background The burden of energy and fuel poverty (EFP) in Europe is increasing in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, Russian invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic, and climate emergency. While the health impacts of EFP are often the driving reason for addressing it, EFP's association with health is poorly delineated. This review aims to scope the evidence of EFP's association with health in Europe. Methods A scoping review based on Arksey and O'Malley's framework was conducted using search terms relevant to EFP, health, and Europe. Five databases were searched, in addition to hand searching. Review selection was performed by two independent reviewers and articles were thematically analysed. Results Thirty-five articles published between January 2000 and March 2022 were included. The literature varied in definitions and measurements of EFP, and in the health indicators examined. The review revealed a negative association between EFP and health, specifically, general unspecified poor health (9 articles), excess winter mortality (3 articles), communicable disease (3 articles), non-communicable diseases (11 articles), mental health (15 articles), and wellbeing (11 articles). While women were reported to be at higher risk of EFP than men, children and older adults were identified as particularly vulnerable to EFP's adverse health repercussions. Conclusions This scoping review illustrates a significant and complex association between EFP and various domains of health. Though heterogeneity across research makes it difficult to compare findings, our review supports the use of health as a justification to address EFP and urges public health to be more involved in EFP mitigation. Key messages • This scoping review revealed a clear association between EFP and various domains of health, including mental (e.g., anxiety and depression) and physical health (e.g., cardiovascular disease and flu). • We recommend health systems, health professionals, and public health broadly as a field be more involved in working to confront EFP.

Design and Implementation of a Non-Contact Temperature Based Attendance System

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the necessity to monitor body temperature without touching it and swiftly led to the adoption of infrared thermometers, thermal imaging cameras, and thermal scanners as an alternative to the existing contact clinical thermometers. However, non-contact temperature monitoring equipment are not widely used, and technical–scientific literature sometimes offers contradictory reference values for healthy people' body and skin temperatures. To reduce the possibility of the virus spreading, national authorities have mandated that workers' body temperatures be taken at the entry to the workplace. In this project, we'll look at non-contact body temperature measuring difficulties from a clinical and meteorological standpoint, as well as a security-based attendance system, with the goal of (i) increasing body temperature measurement accuracy and (ii) collecting staff attendance as they arrive at work. This project's methodology takes into account both the manual technique of temperature measuring and the manual way of recording attendance. In order to appropriately pick the threshold temperature value and measurement technique to access important areas during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, a thorough screening process for attendance taking and body temperature measurement that considers the role of uncertainty is required.

CHANGE IN THE TRAINING MODE OF EXCELLENT ENGINEERS

This paper presents the training process for engineers with the possibility of the prospective engineergraduating from one training institution and moving to another to acquire better skills. Engineers are categorized into researchers and general engineers. Different institutional models for the training of engineers in some countries are highlighted and compared, also different training modes (both passive and active) are indicated and their effectiveness discussed. The paper notes that there is need to change the training mode to active learning mode typically project-based learning and problem-based learning that engage students and make them to be innovative and creative. Both project-based learning and problem-based learning are based on self direction, collaboration and multidisciplinary orientation. The paper emphasizes that changing the training mode is not sufficient to produce excellent engineers but other components of knowledge acquisition resources (human and non-human) are required to be adequate. For example, it is important to reworkthe curriculum to include substantial humanities that equip graduate with soft skills to complement the hard skills provided by engineering discipline. The teachers also must have relevant competence and skills to effectively impart knowledge to the learners and the learners must have the capacity to acquire knowledge. The new normal arising from the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated the need to migrate to innovative online training mode as an alternative to face-to-face or in-place training even for courses with laboratory components without facilities for digital and remote laboratories. Proactive funding mechanism must be put in place to make available digital and remote laboratories that will replace laboratories so that the undergraduate will have access to acquisition of knowledge in the relevant practicals. The government must also provides enabling environment for learning. When all these ingredients are adequately provided, change in the training mode will produce excellent engineers.