High-risk Workers Research Articles

Thinking on your feet: Beauty and auto small businesses maneuver the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic, and governments and health institutions enacted various public health measures to decrease its transmission rate. The COVID-19 pandemic made occupational health disparities for small businesses more visible and created an unprecedented financial burden, particularly for those located in communities of color. In part, communities of color experienced disproportionate mortality and morbidity rates from COVID-19 due to their increased exposure. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the public to reflect on risks daily. Risk perception is a critical factor influencing how risk gets communicated and perceived by individuals, groups, and communities. This study explores competing risk perceptions regarding COVID-19, economic impacts, vaccination, and disinfectant exposures of workers at beauty salons and auto shops in Tucson, Arizona, using a perceived risk score measured on a scale of 1–10, with higher scores indicating more perceived risk. The primary differences between respondents at beauty salons and auto shops regarding their perceived risks of COVID-19 vaccination were between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. For every group except the unvaccinated, the perceived risk score of getting the COVID-19 vaccine was low, and the score of not getting the COVID-19 vaccine was high. Study participants in different demographic groups ranked economic risk the highest compared to the other five categories: getting the COVID-19 vaccine, not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19, disinfection, and general. A meaningful increase of four points in the perceived risk score of not getting the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with a 227% (95% CI: 27%, 740%) increase in the odds of being vaccinated. Analyzing these data collected during the coronavirus pandemic may provide insight into how to promote the health-protective behavior of high-risk workers and employers in the service sector during times of new novel threats (such as a future pandemic or crisis) and how they process competing risks.

Psychotherapy and Follow-Up in Health Care Workers After the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Single Center's Experience.

ObjectiveThe present study aims to analysis the mental health of high-risk health care workers (HHCWs) and low-risk HCWs (LHCWs) who were respectively exposed to COVID-19 wards and non-COVID-19 wards by following up on mental disorders in HCWs in China for 6 months.MethodsA multi-psychological assessment questionnaire was used to follow up on the psychological status of HCWs in the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University in Xuzhou City (a non-core epidemic area) at 6 months after the first evaluation conducted during the COVID-19 epidemic. Based on the risk of exposure to COVID-19 patients, the HCWs were divided into two groups: high-risk HCWs, who worked in COVID-19 wards, and low-risk HCWs, who worked in non-COVID-19 wards.ResultsA total of 198 HCWs participated in the study, and 168 questionnaires were selected for evaluation. Among them, 93 (55.4%) were in the HHCW group and 75 (44.5%) were in the LHCW group. Significant differences were observed in salary, profession, and altruistic behavior between the two groups (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the anxiety, depression, insomnia, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores between the two groups. Logistic regression revealed that work stress was a major joint risk factor for mental disorders in HCWs. Among all the HCWs, a total of 58 voluntarily participated in psychotherapy; the analysis showed a significant decrease in anxiety, depression, PTSD, work stress, and work risk after attending psychotherapy. There were also significant differences in positive and negative coping styles before and after psychotherapy.ConclusionIn the present follow-up, work stress was the major contributing factor to mental disorders in HCWs. Psychotherapy is helpful in terms of stress management and should be provided to first-line COVID-19 HCWs.

Top Management Team Incentives and Business Model Innovation

Firms are forced to adapt to an increasingly changing business environment that often requires not only product and process innovation, but also business model innovation (BMI) activities. Whether or not a firm reconfigures its business model is typically decided by the top management team (TMT). However, as previous BMI research has neglected the role of the TMT in BMI, we know little about when and why a TMT engages in BMI activities. In this study, we focus on the compensation schemes of TMT members as a motivating factor to take risks and facilitate BMI. Adopting a behavioral agency model (BAM) perspective, we develop a research model that examines the relationship between TMT long-term incentives and a firm’s BMI intensity. Here, we consider the moderating roles of termination protection and long-term incentive dispersion in the TMT. In addition, we take into account the general pay dispersion in the total compensation among the top management as a trigger of tournaments. To test the proposed model, we use a unique panel dataset comprising 6,428 observations of publicly listed U.S. firms between 2006 and 2018. Our study contributes to a better understanding of how and when top management incentives trigger BMI activities and adds to both the compensation and BAM literature by providing further insights on how compensation schemes affect a group of agents in an high-risk and interdependent work context such as BMI.

Etiological Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Eye Lid Laceration: A Hospital Based Prospective Study

Introduction: Lid laceration is a very common peri-ocular trauma. Regarding the etiology and treatment, it lacks studies in developing nations including Nepal.&#x0D; Aims: To assess the etiological characteristics and treatment outcomes of eyelid laceration.&#x0D; Methods: In this study, 47 cases of traumatic eyelid laceration were consecutively studied and its epidemiology, etiology and treatment outcome were evaluated.&#x0D; Results: The 47 patients were included in the study. The mean age of study population was 26.14 ± 18.02 years. Male: female ratio was 1.6:1. The trauma occurred on road in 34 (72.3%) cases, followed by at home (14.9%), at work place (8.5%) and at entertainment areas (4.2%). The most common mode of injury was road traffic accident (72.3%) followed by fall injury (17%), Physical assault (6.4%) and animal bite (4.3%). The 68.1% of had isolated lid laceration, 12.7% had other adnexal injuries and 10.6% had globe injuries, 8.5% had other facial injuries and only 4.1% had systemic trauma. The partial thickness laceration was observed on 42(89.4%) cases and full thickness laceration on 5 (10.6%) cases. The length of lid laceration ranged from 4- 45 mm (mean ±SD was 14.7±8.3 mm). The 14.9% cases had canalicular laceration. The 85% of the laceration healed without visible scar. Only 4 patients (8.5%) had thick hypertrophic scar. The visual function was intact in 44 patients whereas impaired in 3 patients with accompanying open globe injury. The complications noted were hypertrophic scar (8.6%), wound infection (2.1%), ectropion (2.1%), corneal opacity (2.1%) and phthisis bulbi (2.1%).&#x0D; Conclusion: This study highlights the high-risk people and work place for eyelid laceration and the safety precautions in dangerous settings, including daily and routine work places. Only accompanying open globe injury can damage visual function.

A comparative study of management safety justice in Sub-Sahara Africa

A ‘just culture’ in a high-risk work environment empowers workers to report unsafe acts because it always seeks to balance safety and accountability. It is a culture of trust and learning that guides management responses to accidents. The advantage of a just culture that is herein called management safety justice (MSJ) is a motivation to deploy it on construction sites. The purpose of the reported study was to measure MSJ in construction to explore ideas about restorative justice that limit unsafe acts. The data were collected from 276 construction professionals from Nigeria and South Africa in an explanatory-sequential mixed methods research. Both countries account for a major size of the gross domestic product (GDP) and construction activities in the region. MSJ was measured using the NOSACQ-50 instrument. With Cronbach Alpha of 0.85, the findings reveal that both countries scored low when assessed on the NOSACQ-50 with grand means of 2.73 (Nigeria) and 2.83 (South Africa). Further, the participants stated that workers who engage in safety deviance were outrightly removed from site suggesting that management may favour penalties as opposed to a just approach. In essence, the results show that the application of MSJ is limited on constructions sites in both countries. The limited MSJ may suggest poor job satisfaction levels and encourage workers to cover accidents and near misses. The study also identified a dearth in the MSJ literature, especially in construction-related studies and recommends a deliberate conversation among scholars until a model, which motivates error reporting in construction is realized.

Evaluating the efficacy and safety of a novel prophylactic nasal spray in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection: A multi-centre, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate communities all over the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the test agent as a prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population of high-risk healthcare workers.Methods The study was a multi-centre, prospective, double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Key eligibility criteria included absence of significant co-morbidity and no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. Participants were randomised to either the active agent nasal spray or placebo using computer generated random number tables. The nasal spray was administered 3 times daily over a 45 day course. The primary end point was the percentage of subjects who tested positive for IgGS (anti-spike, immunoglobulin G specific to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2) at day 45.Results Between 16th April 2021 and 26th July 2021, 556 participants were analysed for the primary endpoint (275 Test; 281 Placebo). The test agent significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to placebo [36 cases (13.1%) Vs 97 cases (34.5%); OR 0.29 (95% CI; 0.18–0.45), p < 0.0001]. Fewer clinical symptoms were also seen in the test group [57 cases (17.6%) vs 112 cases (34.6%); OR 0.40, (95% CI; 0.27–0.59), p < 0.0001]. No harmful effects were associated with taking the test agent.Conclusion The test agent significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers, with 62% fewer infections when compared to placebo. It was found to be safe and well tolerated and offers a novel treatment option for prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Night Shift Work Is Associated with Reduced Rate of Humoral Response Following Vaccination for HBV.

Night shift work has been associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disease, endocrine and immunological disorders. Published studies have reported that a reduced total sleep time with sleep-wake cycle alterations were associated with a reduced rate of humoral response following vaccination. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between night shift work and serological status for HBV among workers employed in a university hospital in Rome. We evaluated medical records of 986 HCWs working at Tor Vergata Policlinic of Rome. We screened all study subjects for anti-HBs IgG, anti-HBc IgG and HBsAg. Serological protection for HBV was evaluated in relation to sex, age group, job task, risk setting and night shift work status. Protective titer was found in 856 (86.8%) study participants and the mean titer was significantly high in females, in subjects aged less than 40 years, in night shift workers and in high-risk setting workers. After adjustment for study covariates, night shift work was no longer associated with an HBV-protective titer. This finding suggests that a vaccination strategy for dampening HBV transmission should be carefully addressed in health care workers (HCWs) doing night shift.

Surveillance testing using salivary RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 in managed quarantine facilities in Australia: A laboratory validation and implementation study

SummaryBackgroundRegular repeat surveillance testing is a strategy to identify asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infections in high-risk work settings to prevent onward community transmission. Saliva sampling is less invasive compared to nasal/oropharyngeal sampling, thus making it suitable for regular testing. In this multi-centre evaluation, we aimed to validate RT-PCR using salivary swab testing of SARS-CoV-2 for large-scale surveillance testing and assess implementation amongst staff working in the hotel quarantine system in Victoria, Australia.MethodsA multi-centre laboratory evaluation study was conducted to systematically validate the in vitro and clinical performance of salivary swab RT-PCR for implementation of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance testing. Analytical sensitivity for multiple RT-PCR platforms was assessed using a dilution series of known SARS-CoV-2 viral loads, and assay specificity was examined using a panel of viral pathogens other than SARS-CoV-2. In addition, we tested capacity for large-scale saliva testing using a four-sample pooling approach, where positive pools were subsequently decoupled and retested. Regular, frequent self-collected saliva swab RT-PCR testing was implemented for staff across fourteen quarantine hotels. Samples were tested at three diagnostic laboratories validated in this study, and results were provided back to staff in real-time.FindingsThe agreement of self-collected saliva swabs for RT-PCR was 84.5% (95% CI 68.6 to 93.8) compared to RT-PCR using nasal/oropharyngeal swab samples collected by a healthcare practitioner, when saliva samples were collected within seven days of symptom onset. Between 7th December 2020 and 17th December 2021, almost 500,000 RT-PCR tests were performed on saliva swabs self-collected by 102 staff working in quarantine hotels in Melbourne. Of these, 20 positive saliva swabs were produced by 13 staff (0.004%). The majority of staff that tested positive occurred during periods of community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.InterpretationSalivary RT-PCR had an acceptable level of agreement compared to standard nasal/oropharyngeal swab RT-PCR within early symptom onset. The scalability, tolerability and ease of self-collection highlights utility for frequent or repeated testing in high-risk settings, such as quarantine or healthcare environments where regular monitoring of staff is critical for public health, and protection of vulnerable populations.FundingThis work was funded by the Victorian Department of Health.

Assessing Safety Risk Management Performance in Chinese Subway Construction Projects: A Multistakeholder Perspective

The rapid development of subway projects in China presents significant safety risks to those involved. Building on the previous empirical research that identified and classified the safety risks of these projects, the aim of this paper is to assess the safety risk management performance in Chinese subway construction projects from a multistakeholder perspective. Questionnaire surveys and semistructured interviews were conducted with three hundred and ninety-nine and eight construction professionals, respectively, who worked on subway construction projects in southeast China. The results indicate that the top five areas of safety risk management performance are related to construction plan development, management of high-risk construction works, hazard identification and communication, government-related factors, and client-related factors. In contrast, the bottom five areas of safety risk management performance are related to engineering consultant-related factors, the site’s natural environment and weather conditions, regular tests, machine calibration and maintenance, site construction schedule, and construction preparedness. The relationship between this safety risk management performance and the perceived importance of each risk factor is also reported, identifying priority areas for improvements on these projects. These findings contribute new conceptual insights to the paucity of research on the safety risk management performance of Chinese subway construction projects from a multistakeholder perspective. The results also provide new practical insights for policymakers and project managers to help them develop more effective and focused strategies to further improve the safety performance of these major projects.

Differences in determination of terms and safety requirements in regulatory documents of gas supply

The article studies the terms and requirements of the current regulatory documents that are used in the gasification of various facilities and in their maintenance and repair. The problem is solved by comparing normative documents. The paper analyzes the current regulatory documents and analyzes the terms and concepts inherent in the gas supply industry, such as natural gas, gas quality, gas metering, gas supply system, gas hazardous work, technical lanes, pressure, tank, cylinder, etc. The differences in the interpretations of some and the same terms in the current regulatory documents, different requirements, additions to some of them by others. The article may also be useful to employees who investigate accidents, people who are preparing to pass exams in labor protection and their further work. Human life and health are a very important factor in the production process. the employer is obliged to create working conditions at each workplace, in each structural unit in accordance with regulations, as well as to ensure compliance with the requirements of the legislation on workers' rights in accordance with applicable regulations. However, analyzing the current regulations, we can see that in different existing documents the issue is treated differently. Instead of supplementing documents with each other, specifying requirements, creating a holistic and unambiguous picture in general, there is inaccuracy, ambiguity of understanding, complexity and sometimes inability to meet existing requirements. This situation does not improve the situation as a whole The analysis shows some discrepancies between existing regulations, some of their mutual inaccuracy, which complicates the use of these documents in practice, in the operation of certain facilities, in writing instructions on labor protection, in investigating accidents at work, especially in high-risk work, including gas-hazardous. This forces to improve, bring in line the regulatory framework to ensure the implementation of the "Law of Ukraine on Labor Protection" and create safe and harmless conditions for working and others.

METHODOLOGY OF REDUCING THE LEVEL OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN THE FIELD OF ELECTRIC POWER ENGINEERING OF UKRAINE

Statistics from the International Labor Organization show that at this time the level of both occupational and domestic injuries is equivalent to an epidemic. At the same time, studies by the World Health Organization show that today the death rate from accidents ranks third after deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer. It is important to note that this situation is typical of both developing and economically developed countries. It is obvious that such a situation leads to both significant social losses and significant economic losses. In our country the level of industrial injuries and electric injuries at electric power enterprises is especially high. At the same time, in recent years the level of occupational injuries in the electricity sector of Ukraine has increased and is characterized by an increase in the number of fatal injuries. Based on this, the development of a methodology to reduce the level of this indicator of production activity of enterprises is an urgent task. The main causes of mortality of men of working age in Ukraine are: - industrial accidents; - industrial poisoning; - industrial injuries. Such cases account for about 30… 35% of all deaths under the age of 40. The study revealed the features of the work performed at the enterprises of the industry, which differ in the organization of the workplace and a significant number of high-risk work. Further analysis of reports on labor protection, acts of investigation of accidents at enterprises revealed a number of frequent specific cases of violation of important provisions of legislation, regulations on labor protection, labor protection and electrical safety. The results of researches of the reasons of injuries in industrial conditions in the field of electric power are systematized. This made it possible to identify the main directions for improving the state of labor protection. Structural and systematic implementation of the identified areas is the basis of the developed methodology for improving the state of occupational injuries at electric power companies of Ukraine.

Natural Immunity against HIV-1: Progression of Understanding after Association Studies.

Natural immunity against HIV has been observed in many individuals in the world. Among them, a group of female sex workers enrolled in the Pumwani sex worker cohort remained HIV uninfected for more than 30 years despite high-risk sex work. Many studies have been carried out to understand this natural immunity to HIV in the hope to develop effective vaccines and preventions. This review focuses on two such examples. These studies started from identifying immunogenetic or genetic associations with resistance to HIV acquisition, and followed up with an in-depth investigation to understand the biological relevance of the correlations of protection, and to develop and test novel vaccines and preventions.

Serological and molecular characteristics of pathogenic Leptospira in rodent populations in Fujian Province, China, 2018–2020

BackgroundLeptospirosis is a significant emerging infectious disease worldwide. Rodents are considered to be the most critical hosts of Leptospira spp. Fujian Province is a region highly endemic for leptospirosis in China. However, the genetic diversity of leptospires circulating among rodents in Fujian is limited.ResultsThe carrier status of rodents for Leptospira spp. was investigated by culture and serological detection in Fujian during 2018–2020. A total of 710 rodents, including 11 species, were trapped, with Rattus losea being the dominant trapped species (50.56%). Fourteen pathogenic Leptospira strains were obtained. Seven L. borgpetersenii serogroup Javanica strains belonging to ST143, 4 L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae strains belonging to ST1 and ST17, 2 L. interrogans serogroup Bataviae strains belonging to ST96 and ST333, and 1 L. interrogans serogroup Pyrogenes strains belonging to ST332 were identified using 16S rDNA gene sequencing, microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and Multilocus sequence typing (MLST). L. borgpetersenii serogroup Javanica belonging to ST143 was the dominant type (50.00%). A total of 387 rodent serum samples were tested by MAT. Serum were considered positive for seroreactivity at a titer ≥ 1:160 against at least one serovar. A total of 90 (23.26%) serum samples tested positive, and four serogroups were identified, with Javanica being the dominant serogroup (87.78%), which was similar to the dominant serogroup isolated from rodents. This study demonstrates a high prevalence of leptospirosis in rodents and public health education among high-risk workers is highly recommended.ConclusionsR. losea was the dominant trapped rodent, and L. borgpetersenii serogroup Javanica ST143 was widely distributed among rodents in Fujian from 2018 to 2020. Despite the low number of isolates obtained from rodents, this study suggests that continuous epidemiological surveillance of the aetiological characteristics of pathogenic Leptospira in wild animal reservoirs may help reduce the possible risk of disease transmission.

Perioperative Care Structures and Non-Routine Events: Network Analysis.

Non-routine events (NREs) are any aspect of care perceived by clinicians as a deviation from optimal care. The reporting of NREs to peers (or care teams) may help healthcare organizations improve patient safety in high-risk work environments (e.g., surgery). While various factors, including care structure and organizational factors may influence a clinician’s NRE reporting behavior, their role has not been systematically studied. We conducted a retrospective study relying on NREs and electronic health records to determine if perioperative interaction structures among clinicians are associated with the frequency of NRE reporting in a large academic medical center. The data covers November 1, 2016, to January 31, 2019 and includes 295 perioperative clinicians, 225 neonatal surgical cases, and 543 NREs. Using network analysis, we measured a clinician’s status in interaction structures according to the sociometric factors of degree, betweenness, and eigenvector centrality. We applied a proportional odds model to measure the relationship between each sociometric factor and NRE reporting frequency. Our findings indicate that the centrality of clinicians is directly associated with the quantity of NREs per surgical case.

Can the Borg CR-10 scale for neck and low back discomfort predict future neck and low back pain among high-risk office workers?

PurposePerceived discomfort could indicate an early sign of pain, for example, as a result of a biomechanical load on the musculoskeletal system. Assessing discomfort can, therefore, help to identify workers at increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders for targeted intervention development. We aimed: (1) to identify the optimal cut-off value of neck and low back discomfort among office workers and (2) to evaluate its predictive validity with future neck and low back pain, respectively.MethodsAt baseline healthy participants (n = 100) completed questionnaires, including the Borg CR-10 discomfort scale (on a 0–10 scale), and were followed for six months, during which musculoskeletal pain was assessed monthly. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the associations of baseline discomfort with the onset of future neck or low back pain. Sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve were estimated to identify the optimal discomfort cut-off value predicting future pain.ResultsBorg CR-10 scores ≥ 3.5 for perceived neck and low back discomfort had acceptable sensitivity and specificity to predict future neck and low back pain, respectively. Perceived discomfort at baseline as a dichotomous measure (using the ≥ 3.5 cut-off) was a statistically significant predictor of future neck pain (OR = 10.33) and low back pain (OR = 11.81).ConclusionWe identified the optimal cut-off value of the Borg CR-10 discomfort scale to identify office workers at increased risk of developing neck and low back pain. These findings might benefit ergonomists, primary health care providers, and occupational health researchers in developing targeted interventions.

Radial basis network estimator of oxygen content in the flue gas of debutanizer reboiler

&lt;span&gt;The energy efficiency in the debutanizer reboiler combustion can be monitored from the oxygen content of the flue gas of the reboiler. The measurement of the oxygen content can be conducted in situ using an oxygen sensor. However, soot that may appear around the sensor due to the combustion process in the debutanizer reboiler can obstruct the sensor’s function. In-situ redundancy sensors’ unavailability is a significant problem when the sensor is damaged, so measures must be made directly by workers using portable devices. On the other hand, worker safety is a primary concern when working in high-risk work areas. In this paper, we propose a software-based measurement or soft sensor to overcome the problems. The radial basis function network model makes soft sensors adapt to data updates because of their advantage as a universal approximator. The estimation of oxygen content with a soft sensor has been successfully carried out. The soft sensor generates an estimated mean square error of 0.216% with a standard deviation of 0.0242%. Stochastics gradient descent algorithm with momentum acceleration and dimension reduction using principal component analysis successfully improves the soft sensors’ performance.&lt;/span&gt;

Studi Analisis Penggunaan Alat Berat (Crane) Sebagai Alat Angkat Untuk Instalasi Vessel LP Dan HP Separator Proyek PLTP Rantau Dedap.

Lifting works are included in the group of high-risk work where there are many potential risks of work accidents that may occur. This is the background for conducting research on the use of cranes in lifting work for intstallation of vessel LP (Low Pressure) and HP (High Pressure) Separator for PLTP Rantau Dedap project. The research on the analysis of lifting work carried out is the comparison of construction methods using crawler cranes and mobile cranes to achieve a lifting operation plan that can take place properly and safely at a cost that is within the budget because it meets the criteria of applicable regulations and standards. This research aims to determine the right type of crane for lifting works. It is hoped that in the future it can prevent work accidents on lifting works so that it can increase work productivity, on time according to work schedules and company profits. The results show that the lifting work at the Rantau Dedap PLTP project is more appropriate when using a crawler crane.

User acceptability of saliva and gargle samples for identifying COVID-19 positive high-risk workers and household contacts

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic nasopharyngeal or nose and/or throat swabs (NTS) have been the primary approach for collecting patient samples for the subsequent detection of viral RNA. However, this procedure, if undertaken correctly, can be unpleasant and therefore deters individuals from providing high quality samples. To overcome these limitations other modes of sample collection have been explored. In a cohort of frontline health care workers we have compared saliva and gargle samples to gold-standard NTS. 93% of individuals preferred providing saliva or gargle samples, with little sex-dependent variation. Viral titers collected in samples were analyzed using standard methods and showed that gargle and saliva were similarly comparable for identifying COVID-19 positive individuals compared to NTS (92% sensitivity; 98% specificity). We suggest that gargle and saliva collection are viable alternatives to NTS swabs and may encourage testing to provide better disease diagnosis and population surveillance.

Mission, Organization, and Future Direction of the Serological Sciences Network for COVID-19 (SeroNet) Epidemiologic Cohort Studies.

BackgroundGlobal efforts are needed to elucidate the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the underlying cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including seroprevalence, risk factors, and long-term sequelae, as well as immune responses after vaccination across populations and the social dimensions of prevention and treatment strategies. MethodsIn the United States, the National Cancer Institute in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, established the SARS-CoV-2 Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet) as the nation’s largest coordinated effort to study coronavirus disease 2019. The network comprises multidisciplinary researchers bridging gaps and fostering collaborations among immunologists, epidemiologists, virologists, clinicians and clinical laboratories, social and behavioral scientists, policymakers, data scientists, and community members. In total, 49 institutions form the SeroNet consortium to study individuals with cancer, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, cardiovascular diseases, human immunodeficiency virus, transplant recipients, as well as otherwise healthy pregnant women, children, college students, and high-risk occupational workers (including healthcare workers and first responders). ResultsSeveral studies focus on underrepresented populations, including ethnic minorities and rural communities. To support integrative data analyses across SeroNet studies, efforts are underway to define common data elements for standardized serology measurements, cellular and molecular assays, self-reported data, treatment, and clinical outcomes. ConclusionsIn this paper, we discuss the overarching framework for SeroNet epidemiology studies, critical research questions under investigation, and data accessibility for the worldwide scientific community. Lessons learned will help inform preparedness and responsiveness to future emerging diseases.

Design of Behavior-Based Reactive System for Autonomous Stuff-Collecting Mobile Robot

Recently, autonomous robots play an important role in many aspects. Autonomous robots help improve efficiency and productivity, further reduce errors, and risk rates. Employee safety in high-risk work environments is also becoming one of the benefits of autonomous robots. When designing an autonomous robot, two paradigms can be implemented, i.e., planning and reactive paradigm. A distinct feature of the reactive paradigm is that all activities are carried out through behavior. The benefits of the reactive paradigm include can be applied in limited inexpensive hardware resources, low complexity, goal convergence, easy adaptation to changing situations, and a completely unfamiliar environment with unpredictable mobile obstacles. In this paper, the behavior-based reactive system of an autonomous mobile robot is designed to collect stuff objects. Negotiators have been proposed to combine several behaviors into a system that can be implemented in a variety of situations and cases. The results show that a negotiator can be implemented to realize a fully autonomous mobile robot based on the behavior of the reactive system.