Late January Research Articles

364 Comparison of Semi-Confined and Pasture-Based Fall Calving Beef cow Systems

Abstract Conversion of perennial grasslands to crop land in U.S. Northern Plains has resulted in a need to evaluate alternative management strategies for cow-calf production. A 3-yr study was conducted to compare beef cow/calf performance in two different August-calving cow systems. Multiparous beef cows (n = 318) were allocated to 8 replicates, and replicate was randomly assigned to drylot (DL) or pasture (PAST) treatments. From mid-gestation (March/April) until breeding (October), DL cows were limit-fed to meet requirements and PAST cow grazed perennial pasture. Feed resource during the 47-d breeding period (November/December) varied by year and treatment. However, pregnancy rates did not differ (P=0.72) between treatments within year. Both treatments went to corn residue at the time of weaning (late January) and grazed for 37 d. A treatment × year × time interaction (P<0.01) was observed for cow BW, BCS, and calf BW. In Year 1, cow BCS at pre-calving, breeding, and weaning was less (P<0.01) for DL (5.3) than PAST (6.2; 1 to 9 scale). Weaning weights in Year 1 were less (P<0.05) for DL (178 kg) than PAST (183 kg) calves. In Year 2, cow BCS was less (P<0.01) in DL (6.1) than PAST (6.7) at pre-calving and breeding, but did not differ (P=0.12) at weaning. At weaning in Year 2, calf BW of DL (212 kg) was greater (P<0.01) than PAST (201 kg). Like Year 2, DL cows in Year 3 had decreased (P<0.01) BCS at pre-calving compared with PAST (7.3 vs. 7.7). However, breeding BCS (6.8) did not differ (P=0.98). In Year 3, cow BCS at weaning was greater (P<0.01) for DL (7.1) than PAST (5.9) but calf BW at weaning did not differ (P=0.17). Cow and calf performance are not sacrificed in semi-confined cow-calf systems and are a reasonable alternative to traditional pasture systems.

SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity: Its impact on vaccine efficacy

SARS CoV 2 S-glycoproteins play a crucial role in the entry steps of viral particles. Due to their surface location, they are the main target for host immune responses and the focus of most vaccine strategies. The D614G mutation identified in late January became dominant during March 2020, rendering SARS-CoV-2 more infectious. In April 2020, the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants emerged simultaneously in Asia, South Africa, and South America, respectively. They were 1.6 to 2 times more transmissible than the ancestral strain.The currently dominant Omicron variant (BA.2) is not a direct descendant from the D614G lineage, but rather emerged from the BA.1 variant (as did BA.4 and BA.5). It is substantially different from all the other variants. It presents significantly reduced susceptibility to antibody neutralization: after 2 doses of mRNA-vaccine, neutralizing titers to Omicron are 41 to 84 times lower than neutralization titers to D614G. That said, a booster dose of mRNA-vaccine increases Omicron neutralization titers and reduces the risk of severe infection.

Breeding Phenology and Nestling Morphology of Bald Eagles in the Upper Midwestern United States1

Abstract We report on egg-laying and hatching dates (n = 656), and morphological characteristics (n = 642) of nestling Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from six study areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA, from 2006 to 2011, 2014, and 2015. Nestling age was estimated from length of the eighth primary feather using sex-specific equations from the literature. Egg-laying advanced from south to north beginning in late January and continuing through mid-April; hatching began in late February and ended in mid-May. Mean annual hatching dates were correlated with the average dates of ice break-up each spring at two ice-monitoring sites (n = 8 yr, r2 = 0.90). We found no significant long-term trend or shift in hatching dates over the 10 yr. Male and female nestlings overlapped in weight, footpad length, bill depth, and culmen and hallux claw chord length; however, by 35 d these features had diverged sufficiently to allow estimation of the sex of nestlings due to the larger size of females (P < 0.05 all contrasts). Our models suggest that most of the nestling traits we measured continued to grow beyond the 70 d for which we had measurements, except for footpad, which reached predicted full size by about 46 d after hatching. Footpad length and bill depth were important traits for determining the sex of nestlings ≥35 d old. We provide a classification tree that uses footpad length and bill depth to estimate the sex of nestlings. Overall accuracy of this classification tree was 91%. Individuals with footpad length ≥132 mm and bill depth ≥29 mm (46% of our sample) had a 0.95 probability of being female and individuals with footpad length <132 mm and bill depth <30 mm (41% of our sample) had a 0.92 probability of being male, making our classification tree unbiased and robust for assigning sex for most nestlings ≥35 d old.

Salary disclosure and individual effort: Evidence from the National Hockey League

In late January, 1990, the salary of every National Hockey League (NHL) player was suddenly disclosed, ending a decades-long culture of pay secrecy. I find that underpaid players respond to this new information by reallocating effort from defense to offense, which is more highly compensated within the league. Underpaid players begin scoring more, but allow their teams to get scored on by even more than the additional goals they provide. Asymmetrically, overpaid players do not become more defensive-minded. Consistent with reference-dependent utility theory, I find suggestive evidence that this shift is more pronounced for underpaid players who play for teams with higher overall payrolls, as these players likely have a larger discrepancy between their actual salary and their reference point.

Response to Global Warming of Eichwald's Toad,Bufo eichwaldiLitvinchuk, Borkin, Skorinov and Rosanov, 2008 (Anura; Amphibia) in Iran and Azerbaijan

Global warming is considered to be a major threat to biodiversity and to have an erosive effect on the survival of endangered species. Amphibians are known as a vulnerable group of vertebrates that live and reproduce in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The subtropical regions of the world are among the land areas where amphibians will suffer the most from climate change. In the present study, the effect of climate change onBufo eichwaldiinhabiting Hyrcanian forests was investigated. According to our results, the lowest temperature in the coldest season is the most important variable for the presence of this species. Due to the beginning of reproductive activity and mating taking place in late January until the end of February, this variable will have a direct effect on the rate of breeding and thus on the conservation of this species, because the species can find a new suitable area outside of high humanisation and increase its chance of successful breeding. Of course, climate change will cause the average annual temperature to rise by 2070, and this will favour the early onset of reproduction. Therefore, according to the analysis and scenarios considered in this study, global warming cannot have a negative effect on the toad species. However, a careful assessment of the status of other competing species in conjunction with the Talysh toad could provide a better explanation of the impact of climate change.

Partisan polarization, historical heritage, and public health: Exploring COVID-19 outcomes.

When the COVID‐19 virus first arrived in the United States in early 2020, many epidemiologists and public health officers counseled for shutdowns and advised policymakers to prepare for a major pandemic. In 2020, though, US society was rife with major political and cultural divides. Some elected leaders promoted policies at odds with the experts, and many people refused to heed the public health‐based communications about the coming pandemic. Additionally, the capacity to respond to a pandemic was distributed in the country in a highly unequal fashion. This paper analyzes the noteworthy geopolitical patterns of COVID‐19 illnesses, subsequent demands on hospitals, and resulting deaths. This description is based on a snapshot of archival data gathered in the midst of the pandemic during late January and early February of 2021. Demographic data, indicators of political party support, indicators of citizen attitudes, and public health compliance behaviors are combined in a multivariate analysis to explain COVID‐19 outcomes at the local government (county) level. The analysis suggests strongly that regional political culture and local demographics played a substantial role in determining the severity of the public health impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

EP-364 The new normal in the post-pandemic world: Our experience of organising a three-part webinar series for the CST 2022 Applicants

IntroductionIn the time of COVID-19, the influx in the use of the online platform has been paramount. The surgical world is no exception with the first virtual selection process for Core Surgical Training (CST) 2021 applicants. We, the current core trainees from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) deanery organised this three-part webinar series for CST 2022 applicants to aid our future colleagues.Materials and MethodsThe event poster was circulated among the surgical tutors, medical education department across the KSS region, all the foundation schools and to Foundation Trainees Surgical Societies (FTSS) across the UK. It was advertised on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Eventbrite. Google Workspace was used to manage registered participants and Microsoft Teams were used for the webinars.DiscussionA total of 526 participants registered. 69.9% of them registered through social media whereas 16.4% and 9.8% through the medical education department and word of mouth respectively. The first part covering the CST program overview and self-assessment guidance was attended by 96 of them on 16 November 2021. The second part covering interview stations was attended by 29 participants on 14 December 2021. We received positive feedback from 42 and 8 participants following each webinar respectively. We currently have 88 participants registered for our mock interview sessions planned for late January 2022.ConclusionsThe virtual selection process is here to stay. Well-organised events like this will help the candidates prepare well for their interview as well as helping the current trainees with their teamwork, leadership and organisation skills.

Neutralization Titers in Vaccinated Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Delta Breakthrough Infections.

ABSTRACTThe continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with increased transmission and immune evasion has caused breakthrough infections in the vaccinated population. It is important to determine the threshold of neutralizing antibody titers (NT50) that permit breakthrough infections in humans. Here, we tested the neutralization titers of vaccinated patients who contracted Delta variant. All 64 patients with Delta breakthrough infections exhibited NT50 of less than 70. When the breakthrough sera were tested against USA-WA1/2020 (a strain isolated in late January 2020), 82.8%, 15.6%, and 1.6% of them had the NT50 ranges of <20, 20 to 50, and 50 to 69, respectively. When the same breakthrough sera were tested against Delta-spike SARS-CoV-2, 68.7%, 26.6%, and 4.7% of them had the NT50 ranges of <20, 20 to 50, and 50 to 69, respectively. Overall, the results suggest NT50 of 70 as a potential neutralizing threshold required to prevent Delta breakthrough infections. These clinical laboratory results have implications in vaccine strategy and public health policy.

Ecology and Distribution of Red King Crab Larvae in the Barents Sea: A Review

The red king crab (RKC) is a large invasive species inhabiting bottom communities in the Barents Sea. Larval stages of RKC play an important role in determining the spread and recruitment of the population in the coastal waters. We present a review of studies concerned with the ecology of RKC larvae in the Barents Sea focusing on their dynamics and role in the trophic food webs as well as on the role of environmental factors in driving RKC zoeae. Zoeal stages are larger, and their development time is shorter in the Barents Sea compared to the North Pacific. RKC larvae appear in late January–February and can be found in the coastal plankton until mid-July. Mass hatching of RKC larvae in the Barents Sea starts in late March-early April. The highest densities of RKC larvae are located in small semi-enclosed bays and inlets with weak water exchange or local eddies as well as in inner parts of fjords. Size structures of the zoeal populations are similar in the inshore waters to the west of Kola Bay but slightly differ from those in more eastern regions. RKC larvae perform daily vertical migrations and move to deeper depths during bright daylight hours and tend to rise during night hours. RKC larvae are plankton feeders that ingest both phyto- and zooplankton. A set of environmental variables including food conditions, water temperature, and advective influence are the most important factors driving the spatial distribution, phenology, survival rates, development, growth, and interannual fluctuations of RKC larvae. Recent climatic changes in the Arctic may have both negative and positive consequences for RKC larvae.

Behavior of the ITCZ second band near the Peruvian coast during the 2017 coastal El Niño

The behavior of the second band of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) near the Peruvian coast during early 2017 is studied, using precipitation, surface winds, sea surface temperature (SST) and atmospheric variables in different isobaric levels. The proposal of a daily index (Ia) to identify opportunely the formation of this band and the Lorenz energy terms in the region is also considered. This band was present from late January to early April 2017, associated with an anomalous dipole of sea level pressure between the east and west eastern Equatorial Pacific that configured anomalously northerly surface winds and the release of southeasterly trade winds near Peru. In medium levels, a zonally oriented positive mixing ratio anomaly was observed in early March over the ITCZ second band, associated with heavy rain systems over the northern Peruvian coastal region. In the same period, positive anomalies of divergence in high tropospheric levels were observed. The daily Ia index allowed an effective detection of the ITCZ second band 11 days before the maximum coastal precipitation, and the Lorenz energy terms showed eddy kinetic energy (KE) peaks in January and February and a contribution of barotropic instability in equatorial regions.

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Author Response

Investigation of a Methemoglobinemia Outbreak Caused by Eating Sausages with High Concentrations of Nitrates and Nitrites in Trang Province, Thailand, January 2022

In late January 2022, a cluster of methemoglobinemia cases across five provinces of Thailand was notified to the regional public health authorities. A joint investigation was conducted aiming to describe characteristics of the outbreak in one of the provinces, traceback the suspected food, and recommend prevention and control measures. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study, interviewing the cases, reviewing their medical records, and interviewing their parents and treating physicians. An active case finding was conducted. A probable case was defined as a person who presented with acute central cyanosis with oxygen saturation less than 92% by pulse oximetry. Suspected food samples were collected for nitrates and nitrites testing. Three cases (2 males, 1 female) were identified and there was no death. Their ages ranged from 8–12 years. The sausages came from the same source and were found to have high concentrations of nitrates (1,270.8–1,690.0 mg/kg) and nitrites (3,554.5–3,776.2 mg/kg). The sausages were identified as a likely cause of the outbreak. Government regulation, product liability laws, and food safety concerns among food retailers and customers are important to reduce the impact of consuming unsafe foods.

A library of Charles the Great and her lot

In article has іnterdisciplinary character and is written at the interface of the branches, such as a history of the Middle Ages, a history of the book as well as a history of the librarianship. An aim of article is to sum up the study of development of the royal libraries and their lot by the case of library of emperor Charles the Great, which is considered as first united court library in the Frankish state. In the article traces an author a chronology of development of the certain theories and hypotheses about the structure of the royal library and her lot, which were propounded and developed in the course of the last twelve centuries until early 2014, as it was all over the world celebrated 1200 years since the death of her founder. In consequence of study of the numerous German-language publications, which were published over the last 70 years, was it established, that a substance of collection in the royal library of Charles the Great consists of the publications about the religion, the philosophy, the history and other humanities, which the promіnet persons could use in those days, and also the separate editions about the natural sciences, the manuscripts, few teaching aids and reference books too. Аn author came to the conclusion, that some aspects of activity of the contoversial politician such Charles the Great were studied extremely insufficient. Among their number is a question of the concern of Charles to the librarianship, because a king had found a state library. But he hadn't given at the same time an attention to the problems of conservation of the collections for the posterity, such as to the problems of collecting and filling of the gaps by means of rewriting of the rare works, which were kept in the other institutions, specifically in the monasteries. It is appears in consequence of study of the modern publications about the Early Middle Ages such as about the government of Charles the Great, that the library collections were turned over religious institutions of all sorts after his death in late january 814.

Investigation on the Control of COVID-19 in Wuhan: Number of Infections Outside Hospitals and the Reproduction Number.

COVID-19 is erupting globally, and Wuhan successfully controlled it within a month. Infections arose from infectious persons outside hospitals. After data revision, data-based and model-based analyses were implemented, and the conclusions are as follows. The incubation period of most infected people may be 6-7 days. The number of infectious persons outside hospitals in Wuhan on January 20, 2020 was about 10000 and reached more than 20000 on the day of Lockdown; it exceeded 72000 on February 4. Both data-based and model-based analyses gave out the evolution of the reproduction number, which was over 2.5 in early January, went down to 1.62 in late January and 1.20 in early February, with a sudden drop to less than 0.5 due to the strict Stay-at-home management after February 11. Strategies of Stay-at-home, Safe-protective measures, and Ark hospitals were the main contributions to control COVID-19 in Wuhan. In Wuhan, 2 inflection points of COVID-19, exactly correspond to February 5 and February 15, the 2 days when Ark hospitals were introduced, and the complete implementation of Stay-at-home. Based on the expression of the reproduction number, group immunity is also discussed. It shows that only when the group immunization rate is over 75% can COVID-19 be under control; group immunity would be full infection and the total deaths will be 220000 for a city as big as Wuhan. Sensitivity analysis suggests that 30% of people staying at home in combination with better behavior changes, such as social-distancing and frequent handwashing, can effectively contain COVID-19. However, only when this proportion is over 60% can the controlled effect and efficiency like Wuhan be obtained.

Behold a Pale Horse: Horrors and Heritages of Famine

Behold a Pale Horse: Horrors and Heritages of Famine1 Cormac Ó Gráda (bio) In late January 1849, a woman in her sixties was bludgeoned to death in her own home in Rooskagh, not far from Athlone in the Irish midlands.2 Margaret Kelly, née Doran, was by all accounts an unpleasant woman. She was ‘known to be “snug”, miserly, and, as all misers are, avaricious’. It was not the land that made her ‘snug’; she and her husband, who were childless and who seemingly did not get along, held a modest four acres from an absentee clergyman-middleman, enough to graze two cows. She made her money from what was known in ‘indigenous parlance’ as gombeening, charging eight shillings a year for every twenty shillings she lent, ‘and that on solid security’. Margaret’s murderers were her husband’s brother and his sixteen-year-old son, Pat and Michael Kelly. Pat, who was destitute, had often sought her help, which she had refused, against her husband’s wishes. After Pat had lost his home and ‘the workhouse stared him in the face … he was heard say that he would murder her (the deceased) rather than suffer more want’. The Kellys’ servant girl, related to Margaret but seemingly intimate with her husband, and also a moneylender, was out with the cows when she saw young Michael Kelly watching from a hillock near the house in the pouring rain. Suspecting that he was stealing cabbage, she returned home, only to discover a lifeless and battered Margaret stretched on the floor. Pat and Michael absconded as soon as they realised that they were under suspicion, leaving no traces, but in possession of £12 belonging to Margaret and £30 belonging to the servant girl; ‘and it is to be supposed that with the sum of money they have thus murderously acquired, they are now on their way to America’3. The story of Margaret Kelly, murdered in broad daylight, has both a local and a universal resonance for students of famine. Historians of the Irish Famine will note the timing of this tragedy – nearly a year and a half after the Famine had been declared over in London.4 They will also note how the perpetrators had used emigration, which they could not have afforded [End Page 134] otherwise, as an escape route from the law and from famine. This is a reminder too that the Irish economy at the time of the Famine, though backward, was monetised: the murdered woman was a moneylender. In those years, there were both those who lent money exclusively, like Margaret Kelly, and those, like Darby Skinadre, William Carleton’s fictional ‘miser’ in The Black Prophet, who sold oats and oatmeal on credit. Like Kelly and Skinadre, gombeenmen were unloved, even though their rapacity may have saved some lives in a way that disciples of Adam Smith would have approved of. They were no help, however, to those ‘walking skeletons’ on the public works in Mayo in August 1846, just as famine was beginning to bite, who had not been paid for three weeks, and on whom ‘the gombeen people had stopped their supplies’5. Scholars of famines more generally will see the story of Margaret Kelly as another illustration of what Breandán Mac Suibhne, following Holocaust survivor Primo Levi, has characterised as the Grey Zone inhabited by those who live through or succumb to famines. For Levi, the Grey Zone is the moral space inhabited by victims and persecutors. One must not forget, naturally, who or what forced them into that space. Given the risks involved, in order for her business to survive Margaret Kelly may have been forced (perhaps this is being charitable) to charge high interest rates and to reject the business of those who had no prospect of repaying. But, surely, she could have made an exception for her own brother-in-law? Unfortunately, tales of intra-familial tension and the sundering of family ties are not uncommon during famines. Fast forward to the Leningrad blockade of the Second World War. From an analysis of a large number of diaries kept in the city during the blockade – an unrivalled and unique...

Phenology, Density and Parasitism of Asian Chestnut Gall Wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in Recently Invaded Chestnut (Castanea spp.) Orchards in Michigan.

Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW) (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu), an invasive pest native to China, was detected in Michigan, the largest chestnut producer in North America, in 2015. Along with quantifying gall densities, we tracked dates and cumulative growing degree days corresponding to ACGW life stages in five, seven, and nine orchards in 2017-2019, respectively. Gall formation, triggered by the onset of feeding by overwintered larvae, began soon after bud break. Most adult wasps emerged in mid summer, after pollen production peaked. Density of ACGW in all sites dropped sharply in 2019, probably as a result of larval mortality caused by severely cold temperatures in late January. Gall density was generally lower on Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollisima Blume) trees and C. mollisima hybrids, which share some coevolutionary history with ACGW, than on cultivars of European chestnut (C. sativa Miller) and Japanese-European (C. crenata Sieb. & Zucc. x C. sativa) trees, including the popular Colossal cultivar. Torymus sinensis Kamijo (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), a larval parasitoid previously introduced into the U.S. and several countries in Asia and Europe for ACGW biocontrol, appears to be spreading with ACGW in Michigan. Parasitoid larvae were recorded in four, six, and eight of the infested sites we sampled in 2017-2019, respectively, and parasitism rates ranged from 5 to70% of galls.

Developing a Framework Addressing the Sexual Health Needs of Patients Treated with Head and Neck Radiation Treatment

Aim: Head and neck (H&N) cancer patients do not receive treatment to their sexual organs, but these patients undergo a multimodality approach to treatment and its effects may still negatively affect their sexual health (SH). Radiation therapists (RTs) have a unique opportunity to develop a strong rapport with patients and to discuss sensitive issues related to relationship, body image and intimacy (RBI). This project aimed to address the SH needs of our H&N patients by providing RTs at our institution with the knowledge and skills to provide SH information to our patients. We also addressed increasing our accessibility to SH information by creating a specific SH document tailored to help our patients who are receiving H&N radiation treatment. Process: This Quality Innovation involved a multidisciplinary collaborative effort. We surveyed our staff to identify the perceived barriers in preventing RTs from having a SH conversation with their H&N patients. This needs assessment allowed us to identify how we can best help our staff. Working with our institution's patient education and patient partners groups, we created a patient education document on SH concerns for patients receiving H&N radiation treatment. We also created education sessions for our RTs to improve their knowledge about SH concerns. The workshops covered the impact of sexual dysfunction in oncology; clinical approaches to optimizing sexual healthcare in oncology; and provided future direction on how to access resources for our patients. Finally, we standardized the procedures and improved RT practical skills by creating documentation processes and conversational scripts for staff to help them initiate conversations about these sensitive topics. Benefits/Challenges: A challenge we experienced during our project included inconsistent staffing due to COVID19 interruptions. This project experienced a 7 month pause due to clinical demands at our institution. In addition, our team lost a team champion as they had left the institution. This challenge was rectified by recruiting extra team champions to help facilitate this project. The benefits of our quality initiative interventions included increasing our staff knowledge and comfort levels in having SH conversations with our H&N patients through educational staff workshops. For consistent staff delivery, we standardized the procedure and provided staff with conversational scripts so that staff could start a SH conversation with their patients. Impact/Outcomes: This quality initiative is midway through completion. Four team champions of this project were able to receive SH training in oncology, and other team members have various experience in sexual health care in oncology. So far, we have conducted one educational SH workshop for staff. Based on participant feedback, staff were motivated and eager to increase their knowledge and skill levels. Another education session will be organized for early 2022, focused on H&N sexual health. Prior to clinical implementation, the champions piloted the process with patients. From participant interviews, patients were very appreciative and accepting of SH information from RTs. This initiative will be fully implemented in late January.

Cross-neutralization of Omicron BA.1 against BA.2 and BA.3 SARS-CoV-2

The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 has several distinct sublineages, among which sublineage BA.1 is responsible for the initial Omicron surge and is now being replaced by BA.2 worldwide, whereas BA.3 is currently at a low frequency. The ongoing BA.1-to-BA.2 replacement underscores the importance to understand the cross-neutralization among the three Omicron sublineages. Here we test the neutralization of BA.1-infected human sera against BA.2, BA.3, and USA/WA1-2020 (a strain isolated in late January 2020). The BA.1-infected sera neutralize BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, and USA/WA1-2020 SARS-CoV-2s with geometric mean titers (GMTs) of 445, 107, 102, and 16, respectively. Thus, the neutralizing GMTs against heterologous BA.2, BA.3, and USA/WA1-2020 are 4.2-, 4.4-, and 28.4-fold lower than the GMT against homologous BA.1, respectively. These findings have implications in COVID-19 vaccine strategy.

Protective effect conferred by prior infection and vaccination on COVID-19 in a healthcare worker cohort in South India.

The emergence of newer variants with the immune escape potential raises concerns about breakthroughs and re-infections resulting in future waves of infection. We examined the protective effect of prior COVID-19 disease and vaccination on infection rates among a cohort of healthcare workers (HCW) in South India during the second wave driven mainly by the delta variant. Symptomatic HCWs were routinely tested by RT-PCR as per institutional policy. Vaccination was offered to all HCWs in late January, and the details were documented. We set up a non-concurrent cohort to document infection rates and estimated protective efficacy of prior infection and vaccination between 16th Apr to 31st May 2021, using a Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates adjusting for daily incidence. Between June 2020 and May 2021, 2735 (23.9%) of 11,405 HCWs were infected, with 1412, including 32 re-infections, reported during the second wave. 6863 HCWs received two doses of vaccine and 1905 one dose. The protective efficacy of prior infection against symptomatic infection was 86.0% (95% CI 76.7%-91.6%). Vaccination combined with prior infection provided 91.1% (95% CI 84.1%-94.9%) efficacy. In the absence of prior infection, vaccine efficacy against symptomatic infection during the second wave was 31.8% (95% CI 23.5%- 39.1%). Prior infection provided substantial protection against symptomatic re-infection and severe disease during a delta variant driven second wave in a cohort of health care workers.

The Effect of Touch Less Spiritual Therapy and Yin Yoga Toward Student’s Perceived Stress During Covid-19 Pandemic

Aims : The COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive changes in our lives. This change is also experienced by health students. Movement limitation, changes in social interactions, decrease in learning performance, and learning methods changes are just some of the stressors they tackled nowadays. Prolonged stressors will lead to psychological disorders, especially for health students. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of touchless spiritual therapy and yin yoga on student perceived stress during the Covid 19 pandemic. Design : This research was quantitative study using a quasi experimental post-test design. Methods : The population of this study were all students at STIKes Panti Waluya Malang, a total of 143 people. Based on Slovin formula, 60 samples were obtained which were taken using a simple random sampling technique. Respondents were divided into two groups, namely treatment and control, each group consisted of 30 respondents. The treatment group did modified touchless spiritual therapy and yin yoga five days a week for 6 weeks, while the control group didn’t. After 6 weeks, respondents of the two groups were asked to filled Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire. Data collection was carried out in the range of early November 2021 to late January 2022. The data was then processed with SPSS 26. Results : Mann-Whitney U Test showed a p value &lt;0.05 (0.03). This means that there was an effect of touchless spiritual therapy and yin yoga toward student’s perceived stress. Conclusions : This study showed that during the pandemic, students experienced stress. Both spiritual approach and physical exercise provided through touchless spiritual healing and yin yoga could help students reduced their perceived stress. Further treatment was needed in order to develop our students psychological health so they become a resillient person which prevent them suffered from mental illness during the pandemic.