Epidemic Conditions Research Articles

Biochemical defence reactions of black pepper varieties against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides incitant of anthracnose disease

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in Black pepper is a severe disease that causes even up to 100 percent crop losses under epidemic conditions. Most of the cultivated varieties of black pepper are highly susceptible to the disease, especially Panniyur 1, the most predominant variety grown in the country. Our study tested 11 black pepper genotypes for their biochemical defense reaction to anthracnose disease. Field observations were initially recorded for two consecutive years in alternate germplasm sites, and the disease incidence ranged between 4.00 and 21.33. The disease incidence under glasshouse conditions upon challenge inoculation was minimal for the variety IISR Girimunda. Upon inoculation with C. gloeosporioides, resistant cultivars exhibited significantly higher activity levels of antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, catalase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, and superoxide dismutase compared to local check and uninoculated control plants. This suggests that the variety IISR Girimunda’s resistance to anthracnose may be attributed to its possession of robust biochemical defense molecules.

Study of innovation capacity of fisheries companies in the covid-19 pandemic crisis.

Many countries have encountered coronavirus pandemic crisis around the world. Through the outbreak of this disease in Iran, preventive plans have been implemented to break the chain of the disease infection. These measures in the economic sector have affected supply, production and demand, and to some extent have led to the partial or complete closure of some businesses and occupations. In the context, it seems that innovative an "innovation capacity" infrastructure measures and turning to innovation in this crisis can be a strategy to moderate and optimize the situation. This study tries to design concepts of the fisheries firms' innovation capacity model in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. After collecting data, they were analyzed using SPSS and PLS SMART software, which were performed in two parts: descriptive statistics and analytical or inferential statistics. A novel research model is presented to examine the impact of factors such as innovation management, social, cultural, human and organizational capital, crisis strategies, government actions in crisis situations, and marketing strategies in crisis situations, as well as, recognition and application of marketing advantages in crisis situations, which offers a re-analysis of innovation capacity. According to the results, among the variables played a significant role on the level of innovation capacity in epidemic conditions, innovation management (p> 0.000; β = 0.593), and recognition and application of marketing advantages (p> 0.049; β = 0.209) were the most significant, independent variables affecting the innovation capacity, which explained its variations.

Correlates of verbal and physical violence experienced and perpetrated among cisgender college women: serial cross-sections during one year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Violence against women is a prevalent, preventable public health crisis. COVID-19 stressors and pandemic countermeasures may have exacerbated violence against women. Cisgender college women are particularly vulnerable to violence. Thus, we examined the prevalence and correlates of verbal/physical violence experienced and perpetrated among cisgender women enrolled at a New York City college over one year during the COVID-19 pandemic. From a prospective cohort study, we analyzed data self-reported quarterly (T1, T2, T3, T4) between December 2020 and December 2021. Using generalized estimated equations (GEE) and logistic regression, we identified correlates of experienced and perpetrated violence among respondents who were partnered or cohabitating longitudinally and at each quarter, respectively. Multivariable models included all variables with unadjusted parameters X 2 p-value ≤0.05. The prevalence of experienced violence was 52% (T1: N = 513), 30% (T2: N = 305), 33% (T3: N = 238), and 17% (T4: N = 180); prevalence of perpetrated violence was 38%, 17%, 21%, and 9%. Baseline correlates of experienced violence averaged over time (GEE) included race, living situation, loneliness, and condom use; correlates of perpetrated violence were school year, living situation, and perceived social support. Quarter-specific associations corroborated population averages: living with family members and low social support were associated with experienced violence at all timepoints except T4. Low social support was associated with higher odds of perpetrated violence at T1/T3. Other/Multiracial identity was associated with higher odds of violence experience at T3. Living situation was associated with experienced and perpetrated violence in all analyses, necessitating further exploration of household conditions, family dynamics, and interpersonal factors. The protective association of social support with experienced and perpetrated violence also warrants investigation into forms of social engagement and cohesion. Racial differences in violence also require examination. Our findings can inform university policy development on violence and future violence research. Within or beyond epidemic conditions, universities should assess and strengthen violence prevention and support systems for young women by developing programming to promote social cohesion.

The Application of Genomics and Bioinformatics to Recognize Soybean Pathogen Interaction in a Changing Climate

The changing climate and continuously increasing global population has posed immense pressure on plant scientists to ensure per capita availability of food under scarcity of natural resources. The present circumstances also enforce to understand how rising CO2 level caused greenhouse effect in the environment which causes rise in the temperature and consequently influence the development of plant disease epidemic, to predict the genomic-based models under changing environmental conditions and to ensure continued food production. The application of genomics and bioinformatics tools are the innovative approaches to understand plant pathogen interaction and prediction that offers unique opportunities to enhance plant yield, stability in quality and production, boost the resilience of soybean to integrate resistance genes in present cultivars to sustain yield under epidemic disease conditions in abruptly changing climate. However, genomics data can be used for genomic based selections and advanced bioinformatics tools can be used to make predictions for genotype by pathogen interaction whereas it had ever been remained a great challenge to homogenize the diverse genomic data to which advanced skills and expertise are required in handling bioinformatics tools. Bioinformatics and genomics have the potential to sustain yield for food security by selection of tolerant or resistant genetic combination for disease sensitive environments as well as to facilitate for maintaining food security and mitigate the effect of inversely changing climatic conditions.

Impacts of planktonic components on the dynamics of cholera epidemic: Implications from a mathematical model

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of plankton populations in the aquatic reservoir on the transmission dynamics of acute cholera within the human communities. To this, we develop a nonlinear six dimensional mathematical model that combines the plankton populations with the epidemiological SIR-type human subpopulations and the V. cholerae bacterial population in the aquatic reservoir. It is assumed that the susceptible humans become infected either by ingesting zooplankton, which serves as a reservoir for the cholera pathogen, by free-living V. cholerae in the water, or by cholera-infected individuals. We explore the existence and stability of all biologically plausible equilibria of the system. Also, we determine basic reproduction number (R0) and introduced an additional threshold, named planktonic factor (E0), that is found to significantly affect the cholera transmission. Furthermore, cholera-free equilibrium encounters transcritical bifurcation at R0=1 within the planktonic factor’s unitary range. We perform some sensitivity tests to determine how the epidemic thresholds R0 and E0 will respond to change in the parametric values. The existence of saddle–node bifurcation is shown numerically. Our findings reveal that there are strong connections between the planktonic blooms and the cholera epidemic. We observe that even while eliminating cholera from the human population is very difficult, we may nevertheless lessen the epidemic condition by enhancing immunization, treatment and other preventive measures.

Emergence of Lumpy Pox Virus and Their Preventive Measures: A Global Livestock Threat

In the last few years viral disease not only affect the human but also the other life on this planet and result epidemic condition at global level. The highly transmissible viral disease called Lumpy skin disease (LSD) spread in sequential manner at worldwide level affecting the cattle or dairy animals of caprine, ovine and bovine family. The highly mutational efficiency of this viral strains affects the large-scale population and still no effective cure for it. Different vaccines designed at national and international level as a preventive measure to overcome the reoccurrence of this virus e.g., Bovivax-LSD™, Lumpivax™, Poxvac™, Lumpi-ProVacInd. However, still the mortality of LSD are low, not affect humans but emergence of the mutational variants demands novel vaccines.

Bazı Ekmeklik ve Makarnalık Buğday Çeşitlerinde Sarı Pas Hastalığının Fenolojik Dönemlere göre Hastalık-Verim İlişkisinin Çok Bantlı (Hiperspektral) Veriler Kullanılarak Araştırılması

The aim of this study was to evaluate the severity of yellow rust in different phenological periods by 
 subjecting bread (Bayraktar 2000, Demir 2000, Eser and Kenanbey) and durum (Çeşit-1252, Eminbey, Kızıltan 91 and Mirzabey 2000) wheat varieties to different spore doses (0%, 25%, 50% and 100%) under controlled epidemic conditions. The research was conducted in Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey during the 2018-2019 growing season. In the study, the morphological changes in yellow rust severity were determined at different phenological developmental stages of the test materials with the reflectance values obtained by using handheld spectroradiometer in different spore dose applications during the period from tillering to stalk emergence. These reflectance values were converted into vegetation index values expressed by mathematical formulae and used in determining yield estimates. Considering the results obtained, it was determined that the spectral indices calculated especially in the early flowering period (25 May 2019, Feekes 10.5.1) were effective in yield estimation for all bread varieties except Kenanbey variety (15 June 2019, Feekes 10.5.4). It was determined that the spectral band region of 25 May 2019 (Feekes 10.5.1), which includes all indices determined to predict yield in all bread and durum varieties and which is the beginning of flowering, was effective. In grain yield estimation, it was determined that there was a decrease in the correlation values of the spectral indices starting from the early flowering period (Feekes 10.5.1) towards the grain setting period (Feekes 10.5.3) and milk maturity period 
 (Feekes 10.5.4). When the correlations between these index values and yield values were examined, it was 
 determined that prominent phenological periods and high correlation indices could be calculated for these periods. Nowadays, with the use of optical sensor technology instead of traditional disease surveillance methods, the way has paved the way for the development of new approaches for early, fast and accurate yield estimation as a result of the verification of images taken by unmanned aerial vehicles on which multispectral and hyperspectral cameras are located with ground data using artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques.

Пріоритетні проблеми гігієни та безпеки праці медичних працівників в умовах надзвичайних ситуацій (з досвіду подолання пандемії Covid-19)

Introduction. The working conditions of medical personnel during emergencies significantly differ from those in regular circumstances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of biological and psychophysiological factors in the working environment increased substantially, leading to the emergence of additional harmful and dangerous factors, resulting in disruptions to the living and working conditions of the staff. Since the regular work routine of healthcare facilities changes in such situations, there is a pressing need for clear action plans and guidelines to provide quality medical care and safeguard the lives and health of medical workers. The aim of this study is to examine the experience of medical facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, investigate the impact of working conditions during quarantine and the resolution of dangerous situations, substantiate safety measures, and establish guidelines for the behavior of medical personnel and patients during other potential emergencies. Materials and Methods. The research was conducted using questionnaire, survey, hygienic, bibliographic and statistical methods. Results. Peculiarities of the labor activity of medical workers in health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was recognized as a particularly dangerous disease, and the working conditions of personnel in these conditions were studied. An analysis of the perception of medical workers during the pandemic and the evaluation of working conditions were conducted. The main negative effects on the working conditions of healthcare staff compared to the pre-pandemic period were identified: increased workload and demands on workers, growing emotional stress, insufficient organizational support, financial, and psychological assistance. Additionally, positive influences that eased the tasks of the medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to stabilizing the situation and personal and professional development were highlighted: competence, cooperation, and team cohesion (teamwork). Respondents stated that the acquired experience would prevent them from making numerous mistakes and shortcomings in their work in the future, and they are ready to work under epidemic conditions and other emergencies. To ensure the safety of medical personnel, it is necessary to implement comprehensive measures to prevent occupational diseases, care for human resources, and develop reward and motivation systems. To improve the quality of medical services during emergencies, reduce risks among patients, and safeguard the lives and health of medical workers, mandatory targeted training programs and educational materials are required for preparing healthcare personnel for work in different emergency situations. Conclusions. The working conditions of medical personnel during the fight against the coronavirus infection are hazardous, posing threats to their lives and carrying a high risk of acute occupational diseases and severe forms of illnesses, including death. The main negative influences on the working conditions of healthcare staff include workload, emotional stress, and inadequate organizational support and assistance. Positive effects that facilitated the work of medical during the COVID-19 pandemic were also highlighted: competence, cooperation and cohesion (teamwork), which contributed to the stabilization of the situation in health care facilities, individual and professional development of medical workers. Therefore, it is crucial to create mandatory targeted training programs and educational materials for healthcare personnel to prepare them to work in different emergency situations effectively.

How public hospitals manage epidemic crises? Lessons from Iranian public hospitals

BACKGROUND: The public hospital preparedness is essential for epidemic disaster like COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted to present a hospital management preparedness model of Iran's public hospitals for the epidemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The method of this study was an exploratory sequential mix method study (qualitative–quantitative). In this study, qualitative and quantitative methods were used in four stages. (1) Interviews with hospital managers to identify hospital management experiences during the COVID-19 epidemic and categorize the results in themes and subthemes, (2) assessing the performance of public hospitals in managing the coronavirus epidemic in a quantitative method, (3) present the initial hospital management model for a public hospital in epidemic conditions using an expert panel, and (4) validation of the model using the Delphi method. RESULTS: Experiences of hospital managers and specialists were categorized into eight themes: information gathering and environmental analysis, general and operational planning, provision of equipment and physical and financial resources, training and empowerment of human resources, a compilation of instructions and job descriptions, review and ensuring maximum readiness, monitoring and follow-up of service provision and existing problems, evaluation and feedback of performance problems and level of preparation and 51 sub-themes. The quantitative study indicated that all the investigated indicators had a significant decrease in the first month and an increase in the epidemic's continuation. The results were categorized in nine themes and 59 sub-themes, and finally, the model was validated in one round by the Delphi method. CONCLUSION: In Iran, managers have valuable experiences in COVID-19 epidemy management, but these experiences are scattered and not organized. In this study, by a qualitative–quantitative, a model was presented that contains essential points obtained from the experience of hospital managers and experts in actual disaster conditions and is appropriate and fits hospital structure and infrastructure of the health system in Iran.

Predictions from standard epidemiological models of consequences of segregating and isolating vulnerable people into care facilities.

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have imposed policies to reduce contacts between people who are presumed to be particularly vulnerable to dying from respiratory illnesses and the rest of the population. These policies typically address vulnerable individuals concentrated in centralized care facilities and entail limiting social contacts with visitors, staff members, and other care home residents. We use a standard epidemiological model to investigate the impact of such circumstances on the predicted infectious disease attack rates, for interacting robust and vulnerable populations. We implement a general susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) compartmental model with two populations: robust and vulnerable. The key model parameters are the per-individual frequencies of within-group (robust-robust and vulnerable-vulnerable) and between-group (robust-vulnerable and vulnerable-robust) infectious-susceptible contacts and the recovery times of individuals in the two groups, which can be significantly longer for vulnerable people. Across a large range of possible model parameters including degrees of segregation versus intermingling of vulnerable and robust individuals, we find that concentrating the most vulnerable into centralized care facilities virtually always increases the infectious disease attack rate in the vulnerable group, without significant benefit to the robust group. Isolated care homes of vulnerable residents are predicted to be the worst possible mixing circumstances for reducing harm in epidemic or pandemic conditions.

Management of sunflower charcoal-rot and maize late-wilt diseases using the aqueous extract of vermicompost (vermitea) and environmental-safe biochar derivative (wood vinegar)

In Egypt, sunflower charcoal-rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina and maize late-wilt caused by Magnaporthiopsis maydis are the most prevalent, and can lead to huge yield losses of both crops under epidemic conditions. In this study, the potential use of vermitea and wood vinegar for management of both diseases was investigated. Data revealed that, among the 17 bacterial strains obtained from vermitea, three strains named VCB-2, VCB-7 and VCB-11 were chosen for having the greatest in vitro inhibitory effect against M. phaseolina and M. maydis, with fungal inhibition values of 54.2; 61.7, 65.2; 74.0 and 57.1; 87.0% against both pathogens, respectively. These strains were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus velezensis, respectively. Wood vinegar significantly reduced the colony diameter of M. phaseolina and M. maydis in in vitro trials conducted on potato dextrose agar medium amended with the desired concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5%. The efficiency increased with increasing wood vinegar concentration, and 2.0% was the most effective (100% suppression). Data from greenhouse experiments showed that the application of vermitea or wood vinegar tended to decrease the incidence (% dead plants) of sunflower charcoal-rot (by 61.1 and 66.7%) and maize late-wilt (by 70.6%). These treatments had positive impacts on the plant growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments and antioxidative enzymes of sunflower and maize plants. Data from field experiments showed that the application of vermitea or wood vinegar decreased the incidence of charcoal-rot (by 72.8 and 72.0%) and late-wilt (by 88.7 and 87.0%) as well as increased the production sunflower and maize plants.

Explaining the Experiences of Health Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Background: Healthcare providers in different countries have different experiences during epidemic conditions based on their nursing resources and healthcare systems and the cultural norms of the community. The present study aimed to explore the experiences of healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted on 36 medical personnel from eastern Guilan in the north of Iran. The participants were selected via purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interviews continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed using conventional content analysis, simultaneous with data collection. Results: Data analysis revealed three main categories and 10 subcategories: peaceful coexistence (scientific-professional development, enhanced emotional proximity, and resilience in critical situations), the outburst of despair (exhaustion in clinical settings, annoying obsessions, ambivalent decision making, and excessive fear), and in the shadow of sorrow (the shadow of depression, painful public rejection, and in financial distress). Conclusion: An analysis of the participants’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed three main themes: peaceful coexistence, the outburst of despair, and in the shadow of sorrow. Paying attention to the physical, psycho-social, emotional, and financial challenges and needs of healthcare providers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is an undeniable necessity and requires the full attention and support of the authorities and the community.

A Delta-Omicron Bivalent Subunit Vaccine Elicited Antibody Responses in Mice against Both Ancestral and Variant Strains of SARS-CoV-2.

Continued mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 genome has led to multiple waves of COVID-19 infections, and new variants have continued to emerge and dominate. The emergence of Omicron and its subvariants has substantially increased the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2. RBD genes of the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strain and the Delta, Omicron BA.1 and Omicron BA.2 variants were used to construct plasmids and express the proteins in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris. A stable 4 L-scale yeast fermentation and purification process was established to obtain high-purity RBD proteins with a complex glycoform N-glycosyl structure that was fucose-free. The RBD glycoproteins were combined with two adjuvants, Al(OH)3 and CpG, which mitigated the typical disadvantage of low immunogenicity associated with recombinant subunit vaccines. To improve the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of the candidate vaccine, Delta RBD proteins were mixed with BA.2 RBD proteins at a ratio of 1:1 and then combined with two adjuvants-Al(OH)3 and CpG-to prepare a bivalent vaccine. The bivalent vaccine effectively induced mice to produce pseudovirus-neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants, Delta, Beta, and Omicron sublineages BA.1, BA.2, BA.5. The bivalent vaccine could neutralize the authentic wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strain, Delta, BA.1.1, BA.2.2, BA2.3, and BA.2.12.1 viruses, providing a new approach for improving population immunity and delivering broad-spectrum protection under the current epidemic conditions.

Best Practices of Hospitals in Management of Epidemic Conditions: A Scoping Review.

Many hospitals globally have valuable experiences in preparing for management and responding to infectious epidemics. Identifying and analyzing these experiences can provide comprehensive and practical data for decision-making and effective performance. This study aimed to conduct a scoping review and content analysis of the best practices of hospital (private or public) management in epidemic conditions. This research is a scoping review and content analysis, conducted in 2021. Data was collected by searching different databases, including Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, ProQuest, websites, search engines, and public reports without time limits. Content analysis was performed for data analysis. We retrieved 8842 records from databases and other sources. Finally, 24 studies from 12 countries were selected for analysis. Most studies belonged to the United States (9 cases), and most subjects were on Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) (19 studies). We classified the results into two major categories of in-hospital executive readiness and logistic readiness. Executive readiness included 11 main categories (physical structure, resource management, exposure reduction, patients and caregivers' management, corpse management, disinfection, staff support, patient admission, instructions and guidelines, tele- communication, and education) and 26 sub-categories. Logistic readiness consisted of three major categories (leadership/team making, communication, and using capabilities) and five sub-categories. Healthcare managers can use the identified categories and dimensions of managerial readiness and responsiveness as an action plan during an infectious disease epidemic.

Evaluation of different management practices against yellow Sigatoka disease of banana (Musa spp.) caused by Mycosphaerella musicola Leach

Leaf spot or yellow sigatoka disease (caused by Mycosphaerella musicola) of banana causes significant yield loss as well as in quality of fruits in every year and reported up to 65% or even more under favorable epidemic conditions. In this perspective, an experiment was conducted at ZBNF project Research field, college of horticulture, Sirsi (Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka) for consecutive two seasons (2020-21 & 2021-22). Experiment accompanied with RBD statistical design with five replications and four treatments. Four different management practices involving viz. Propiconazole 25EC @ 0.1% (Recommended package of practices-UHS, Bagalkot), Trichoderma harzianum 10g/lit. (Organic farming), sour butter milk 5 lit. per 200 liter of water (Natural farming) and Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25% WG @0.5gm/lit. (Chemical farming) were evaluated against sigatoka leaf spot disease. Among the management practices, chemical farming comprises tebuconazole 50%+ trifloxystrobin 25%WG@1gm/lit was found effective in managing the disease (12.38% PDI) followed by recommended package of practice comprises propiconazole 25%EC @1ml/l (16.33% PDI), organic farming comprises of talk-based Trichoderma harzianum 10g/lit (17.33% PDI). Natural farming showed least effective to combat disease recorded maximum disease severity (19.66% PDI) after 210 days after planting. Although chemical farming can effectively control the disease but results in the serious risk on human health and environmental hazards. Therefore, organic and natural farming are an alternative approach that are eco-friendly and economically viable against sigatoka leaf spot disease management.

Anti-inference ability of CNN mainstream models based on face mask detection

Face Mask detection is important under epidemic condition, it influences prevention and controlling of epidemic. Picture recognition is mature technology with the development of convolution neural network (CNN). Camera with this function can be easily established for face mask detection, providing unmanned detection for safety concern. Picture noise occurs for long-term using of detection equipment. This research paper aims to explore behaviors of CNN mainstream models under face mask detection, observing their capability of resisting noise interference. AlexNet, visual geometry group (VGG), residual network (ResNet), EfficienNet and Vision Transformer (Vit) are selected as mainstream model. Gaussian (White) noise and Impulse (Salt and Pepper) noise are select to implement noise interference in pictures. Training methods and comparison of testing results are presented in this paper. Result of comparison shows Vit gives best performance for anti-interference ability.

Correlation between COVID-19-related health anxiety and coping styles among frontline nurses

BackgroundThe long-term epidemic of COVID-19 and its recurrence has exposed frontline nurses to mental disorders such as stress and health anxiety. High levels of health anxiety associated with COVID-19 may lead to maladaptive behaviors. There is no agreement on which coping styles are most effective against stress. Therefore, more evidence is required to find better adaptive behaviors. The present study was conducted to investigate the correlation between the level of health anxiety and the type of coping strategies used by frontline nurses fighting COVID-19.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study that was performed on a convenience sample of 386 nurses who are working in the COVID department from October to December 2020, coinciding with the outbreak of the third COVID-19 peak in Iran. Data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the short version of the health anxiety questionnaire, and coping inventory for stressful situations. Data were analyzed using independent T-test, U-Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests with SPSS version 23 software.ResultsThe mean score of nurses’ health anxiety was 17.61 ± 9.26 which was more than the cut-off point for health anxiety and 59.1% of nurses had COVID-19-related health anxiety. The mean score of problem coping style (26.85 ± 5.19), was higher than emotion (18.48 ± 5.63) and avoidance (19.64 ± 5.88) coping styles and nurses mostly used problem-coping strategies to deal with anxiety caused by COVID-19. There was a positive significant correlation between the scores of health anxiety and emotion coping style (r = 0.54; P < 0.001).ConclusionBased on the findings of this study, COVID-19-related health anxiety was high in front-line nurses and those with high health anxiety were more likely to use emotion-based coping strategies, which are ineffective. Therefore, considering strategies to reduce nurses’ health anxiety and holding training programs on effective coping methods in epidemic conditions are recommended.

A Study on the Soundscape Preferences of the Elderly in the Urban Forest Parks of Underdeveloped Cities in China

Against the backdrop of the global aging trend, the proportion of the elderly population is severely increasing in the urban areas of underdeveloped regions. Despite evidence that urban forest parks are effective at enhancing the physical and mental well-being of the elderly, little has been done to investigate the connection between urban forest parks and the elderly in underdeveloped regions, and landscape studies in particular are lacking. This study attempted to address this gap, using a subjective evaluation method in which 725 elderly respondents were engaged in a questionnaire survey on their soundscape preferences in the urban forest parks of an underdeveloped city in China. The results revealed the elderly people’s preferences for soundscapes, and a further analysis demonstrated the relationships between these preferences and landscape features. The effects of personal traits and living situations on soundscape preferences were determined by analyzing the impacts of living conditions, occupation, and education on soundscape preferences. By building a model with regression coefficients, the most powerful factors influencing soundscape choice were investigated. It was found that (1) the types of sound sources preferred by the elderly, in descending order, were natural sound, livestock sound, bird song, musical sound, other sounds. (2) The differences among education, occupation, and age all affected the participants’ soundscape preferences, i.e., the mean values of the soundscape preferences among older adults varied with education, occupation, and age. The mean value of soundscape preference was higher among older adults who had received higher education, were government officials and business managers, and belonged to higher age groups. (3) Among the various factors influencing the soundscape preference of the elderly, the most influential factors were the length of time spent in the waterfront environment, the time spent in the forest park, and the importance of road signs. (4) The preference for soundscapes was strongly connected with happiness in life. (5) Wearing a mask significantly reduced soundscape perception scores under epidemic conditions, while vaccinated individuals were more tolerant of various noises. Recommendations for landscape design to improve the soundscape perception of elderly people are accordingly provided.

Psychological Coping and Resilience to COVID-19 in Mexico, Evidence From a National Sample.

Objective: We report the effect of COVID-19 confinement on some psychological variables associated with mental health: Stress perception, types of coping strategies during crises, and some components related to resilience. Method: A national sample of the Mexican population was considered in a total of 2775 people whose ages ranged from 15years and older. Questionnaires that met the psychometric criteria (reliability and validity) to be used in Latino samples were used. Results: The results showed that older people experienced less stress and displayed more efficient coping behaviors. Discussion: Regarding the exploration of some components associated with resilience, it was found that family constitutes an important interpersonal resource for coping with the crisis related to confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the future, it is proposed to make comparisons of the psychological factors evaluated to detect and analyze possible fluctuations due to the prevalence of epidemic conditions.

Learning from Previous Epidemics; Overcoming COVID-19 Using E-Health

Considering the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to use electronic health (e-health) to prevent, diagnose, and treat this disease. According to reports on the use of e-health technology in past and present crises, this technology can have the potential to improve the quality and the quantity of provided services and control and manage diseases in epidemic conditions. The important issue is how to implement this technology fairly and facilitate the use of this technology by health care providers and the general public. Moreover, the concerns about the physician-patient relationship, patient privacy and health costs should be addressed. Therefore, it is necessary for health policymakers and planners to develop laws and guidelines to address legal and ethical barriers to the use of this technology, focusing on vulnerable populations, to manage the crisis and also determine the role of insurers in this area.