Massive Exposure Research Articles

Can Mammalian Reproductive Health Withstand Massive Exposure to Polystyrene Micro- and Nanoplastic Derivatives? A Systematic Review.

The widespread use of plastics has increased environmental pollution by micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), especially polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics (PS-MNPs). These particles are persistent, bioaccumulative, and linked to endocrine-disrupting toxicity, posing risks to reproductive health. This review examines the effects of PS-MNPs on mammalian reproductive systems, focusing on oxidative stress, inflammation, and hormonal imbalances. A comprehensive search in the Web of Science Core Collection, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, identified studies on the impact of PS-MNPs on mammalian fertility, including oogenesis, spermatogenesis, and folliculogenesis. An analysis of 194 publications revealed significant reproductive harm, such as reduced ovarian size, depleted follicular reserves, increased apoptosis in somatic cells, and disrupted estrous cycles in females, along with impaired sperm quality and hormonal imbalances in males. These effects were linked to endocrine disruption, oxidative stress, and inflammation, leading to cellular and molecular damage. Further research is urgently needed to understand PS-MNPs toxicity mechanisms, develop interventions, and assess long-term reproductive health impacts across generations, highlighting the need to address these challenges given the growing environmental exposure.

Hierarchical multiphase heterointerfaces Ni2P–CoP/MoO2 catalyst for efficient and stable hydrogen evolution reaction over the entire pH range

The development of pH-versatile, high-performing, and durable catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial to satisfy the complex environment of water electrolysis industry. Herein, we present the synthesis of a hierarchical multiphase heterointerfaces Ni2P–CoP/MoO2 nanocatalyst with exceptionally high HER activity in the entire pH range through a facile three-step process involved hydrothermal, electrodeposition, and in situ phosphating treatment. Experiments and characterization revealed the strong electronic interactions among the phases of Ni2P, CoP, and MoO2, which endowed the Ni2P–CoP/MoO2 with high hydrogen evolution activity in different pH ranges. Meanwhile, the layered structure of our as-prepared catalyst makes the massive exposure of active sites. As a result, the Ni2P–CoP/MoO2 catalyst shows remarkable performance, requiring mere overpotentials of 33, 41, and 23 mV to drive 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH, 1 M phosphate buffer solution, 0.5 M H2SO4, respectively. Moreover, the catalyst exhibits excellent stability in the chronopotentialmetry test under different pH electrolyte. Impressively, the Ni2P–CoP/MoO2 catalyst coupled with Ni–Fe LDH to form an overall water splitting system only require 1.50 V to drive 10 mA cm−2. Furthermore, this system actuated by wind and solar energy can stably undergo a continuous production of hydrogen and oxygen.

Accounting Students’ Perspectives on the Factors that Determine Their Career as Government Auditors

Data shows that the need for government auditors continues to increase from year to year. This article examines the internal factors that influence the intention of accounting students to become government auditors in Indonesia. This article uses Social Cognitive Career Theory as a research framework. The internal factors included in this article are self-efficacy and outcome expectation. The population in this study consists of Accounting students in Yogyakarta. The sampling technique employed is purposive sampling, and a total of 170 active Accounting students are used as the sample for the study. The study employs a quantitative research approach, utilizing Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis as the chosen analytical method.The results show that there is a significant influence of self-efficacy and outcome expectation on the intention of accounting students to become government auditors. The results of this study can contribute to the education providers to give more massive exposure to their students to encourage them to choose and contribute linearly with their main discipline, especially to become government auditors.

High doses of hydroxyapatite nanoparticle (nHAP) impairs microcirculation in vivo

Nanoparticles has surrounded the population by their use in electronics, medicine and cosmetics. The exposure to nanoparticles coming from different sources is uncountable as the amount of nanoparticles in which a person is exposed daily. In this direction and considering that microcirculation is the main and most affected system by nanoparticles in the first moment, responsible to transport and deal with nanoparticles internally, we evaluated a massive exposure (1 g/Kg) of a well-known nanoparticle (hydroxyapatite) and the impact on the microvessels. The results showed a massive destruction of venules, arterioles, and capillaries when nHAPs were administered topically. However, systemic administration of high doses of nHAP did not affect microcirculation but altered biochemical parameters of blood samples from treated animals. The data demonstrated that even well documented nanoparticles at high doses might affect the whole-body homeostasis. Finally, the results raise the necessity for further investigation of the effect of nanoparticles in microcirculation and the impact in the whole-body homeostasis.

Poultry house as point source of intense bioaerosol emission.

Intensive poultry farming is usually associated with massive exposure to organic dust, which is largely composed of microbiological origin particulates. The aim of the study is to assess occupational and environmental exposures to airborne bacteria, fungi, and Marek's disease virus emitted by a poultry house. The concentrations of airborne microorganisms in a poultry house and its vicinity (250-500m) at 3 different stages of the production cycle (i.e. empty poultry house, with 7-day-old and 42-day-old chickens) were stationary measured using Andersen and MAS impactors, as well as Coriolis and BioSampler impingers. The collected microbiota was taxonomically identified using molecular and biochemical techniques to characterize occupational exposure and its spatial dissemination. Although Marek's disease virus was not present in the tested air samples, the appearance of reared chickens in the poultry house resulted in an increase in airborne bacterial and fungal concentrations up to levels of 1.26 × 108 CFU/m3 and 3.77 × 104 CFU/m3, respectively. These pollutants spread around through the ventilation system, but their concentrations significantly decreased at a distance of 500m from the chicken coop. A part of the identified microbiota was pathogens that were successfully isolated from the air by all 4 tested samplers. The poultry house employees were exposed to high concentrations of airborne microorganisms, including pathogens that may lead to adverse health outcomes. To protect them, highly efficient hygienic and technical measures regarding the poultry house interior and its ventilation, respectively, should be introduced to prevent both unwanted pollution and subsequent emission of microbial contaminants during intensive chicken breeding.

Deeper insights into the effects of low dietary levels of polychlorinated biphenyls on pig metabolism using gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry metabolomics

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of contaminants of great concern, linked to the development of many chronic diseases. Adverse effects of PCBs have been documented in humans after accidental and massive exposure. However, little is known about the effect of chronic exposure to low-dose PCB mixtures, and studies regarding scattered lifetime exposures to non-dioxin-like (NDL)-PCBs are especially missing. In this work, serum samples from pigs chronically exposed through their diet during 22 days to Aroclor 1260 (i.e. a commercially available mixture of NDL-PCBs) underwent a metabolomics analysis using gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS), with the objective to investigate the effect of exposure to low doses of NDL-PCBs (few ng/kg body weight (b.w.) per day). The study showed that the serum profiles of 84 metabolites are significantly altered by the administration of Aroclor 1260, of which 40 could be identified at level 1. The aggregate interpretation of the results of this study, together with the outcome of a previous one involving LC-HRMS profiling, provided a substantial and concise overview of the effect of low dose exposure to NDL-PCBs, reflecting the hepatotoxic and neurotoxic effects already reported in literature at higher and longer exposures. These results are intended to contribute to the debate on the current toxicological reference values for these substances.

Single-atom molybdenum array bound to distorted 1 T′ ReS2 quantum dots triggers highly intrinsic piezoelectricity for hierarchical porous electret piezo-catalysis

Piezoelectricity in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has gathered significant interest due to their massive exposure of unsaturated edge sites and high piezoelectric modulus. Nevertheless, the piezoelectricity in 1 T′ phase TMDs is inhibited by its center symmetry of space group. Herein, to break the shackles of piezoelectric polarization, we synthesize a piezoelectric material composed of an atomic molybdenum array bound to distorted 1 T′ ReS2 (MDR). The phase transition from 1 T′ to distorted 1 T′ (D-1 T′) removes the special Peierl's distortion of ReS2, breaking its center symmetry and allowing for piezoelectric generation. Remarkably, MDR exhibits a large piezoelectric coefficient (d33) value of 15.45 pm/V, which is an order of magnitude higher than those reported in other TMDs. Combining with excellent piezocatalytic activity, a 0D/3D di-piezoelectric porous electret featuring an enhanced quantum confinement piezoelectric effect based on the MDR quantum dots (QDs) and inverse opal g-C3N4 (IOCN) is demonstrated for high-efficiency piezoelectric catalysis.

Exposure to occupational risk factors is associated with the severity and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results from a complex interaction between genes and the environment, and occupational exposures are an underappreciated risk factor. Until now, little research attention has been paid to the potential impact of occupational risk factor exposure on the COPD in China. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the role of occupational risk factor exposure on the severity and progression of COPD for exploring new prevention strategies for this disease. This study adopted a random cluster-sampling method. Five grade-A tertiary hospitals that met the inclusion criteria were selected as the survey sites, and patients with COPD hospitalized in these hospitals from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019, were selected as the research subjects. Data of the patients diagnosed with COPD met the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (2019) criteria and were collected from the computerized medical record databases. Among 4082 investigated COPD patients, 1063 (26%) were found to have occupational risk factor exposure history. The top 3 industries with a large COPD case number and a history of occupational risk factor exposure ranked in the order of agriculture (including farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery), manufacturing, and mining. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that when setting a low exposure level as a reference, medium and high exposure levels were correlated with the severity of COPD (odds ratio values were 2.837 and 6.201, respectively, P < .05). Linear regression analysis showed that cumulative exposure to occupational risk factors was negatively correlated with the forced expiratory volume in 1-second percentage of COPD patients, with a correlation coefficient of 0.68. Our results indicated that occupational risk factor exposure levels were related to the severity of COPD significantly. The incubation period of COPD in the exposure group was significantly shorter than that in the non-exposure group. To prevent worked-related COPD, special attention and control efforts should be taken to reduce the level of occupational risk factors such as organic dust, irritating chemicals, etc in the work environments, especially in the industries of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, manufacturing, and mining.

A complete, evidence-based review on novichok poisoning based on epidemiological aspects and clinical management.

Background: The whole world has learned about the existence of a highly toxic neuro-paralytic substance called Novichok. A wide range of neuro-paralytic toxins were used during the wars of decades ago, which also had harmful and irreversible effects. Fortunately, the establishment of conventions prohibiting the use of these weapons prevented the adverse clinical consequences of these compounds. What we did in the present study was to evaluate the clinical features of Novichok, how to manage exposure to it, and to evaluate the prognostic aspects associated with this poisoning agent. Methods: The manuscript especial databases including Medline, Web of knowledge, Google scholar, and Scopus were deeply searched by the two blinded investigators for all eligible studies based on the considered keywords. Initially 98 articles were initially collected by database searching that considering eligibility criteria, 83 articles were finally eligible for the final assessment. There is a lack of clinical trials and case-cohort studies on general population about treatment and side effects when it comes to human nerve agents and most of the data in our search is based on animal studies. Results: In evaluating various clinical, auto physiological and prognostic aspects of exposure to these substances, special attention was necessary to the following points. First, Novichok agents are considered more potent than other toxic agents. Pathophysiologically, these agents irreversibly bind acetylcholinesterase and produce a rapid cholinergic toxidrome which is responsible for the clinical manifestations as well as the potential dangerous and life threatening side effects caused by these agents. Uniquely, these agents are thought to also target every neuron in the central and peripheral nervous system. As a managerial and therapeutic approach, early and timely treatment of its related complication along with prevents massive exposure and decontamination in addition to rapid resuscitation can prohibit debilitating neuropathy and death due to facing it. Conclusion: The present review highlights the importance of recognizing the potential acute toxic effects of Novichok agents, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches (life-saving antidotal therapy) to complications and ultimately the application of guidelines to improve the prognosis of exposure to these agents for both victims and medical community.

INTERPRETASI SEPUTAR MITOS MEMPENGARUHI MENTALITAS MASYARAKAT KOTA PALU DI AWAL MASA PANDEMI COVID 19

Myths about how to protect yourself from COVID-19 affected the mentality of the people of Palu City at the start of the pandemic. When the first case of COVID-19 appeared in Palu City on March 26, 2020, various myths about how to protect yourself from COVID-19 emerged. How do the myths about this pandemic quickly affect the mentality of the people of Palu City in facing the COVID-19 pandemic? The results of this study reveal that the myths surrounding COVID-19 in Palu City influence people's mentality, to do what is informed by these myths. Erroneous interpretations in the representative mode of messages in myths make the information that reaches the recipient of the message biased. This information bias is exacerbated by the rapid distribution of this message on social media. Massive exposure to social media affects society mentally, without making in-depth interpretations of the messages in the myths conveyed. It is hoped that the results of this research can serve as input for the Palu City Government to seriously educate the public regarding matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as input for educational institutions to conduct further research, as learning for the community, and as input for health institutions, to maximize the potential for health promotion, especially in order to combat myths around COVID-19.

Effect of toxic air pollutants on the cytokine release by leukocytes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic inflammation in obstructive pulmonary disease develops in genetically predisposed individuals with prolonged or massive exposure to allergens or toxic air pollutants. This effect leads to hyperactivation of immune system and development of uncontrolled inflammatory response. The aim of the study was to determine the level of cytokines in the supernatant of leukocytes from the patients with COPD and asthma following incubation with air toxicants, i.e., a solution of cigarette smoke, an extract of cigarette tobacco, or a solution of exhaust combustion gases. The cytokines were determined by ELISA in the supernatants following exposure of peripheral venous blood leukocytes to the toxicants. To perform the assays, 10-mL samples of peripheral venous blood from the patients were taken into the test tubes with heparin (20 U/mL) in the morning time, not earlier than 2 days after therapeutic infusions of glucocorticosteroids. After gravity sedimentation, the leukocyte-rich was removed, centrifuged at 1500 rpm, then the liquid was discarded, and the leukocyte pellets were diluted with buffered saline (2 106 cells/mL). Individual leukocyte suspensions were divided into 4 wells of an immunological plate, 100 μL each. Equal volumes of test solutions simulating the effect of toxicants were added to three wells. The fourth well contained sterile isotonic sodium chloride solution (negative control). The mixtures in plates were exposed for 45 min at 37 °C followed by centrifugation for 10 min at 1500 rpm. From each well, 50 μL of the supernatant was taken and transferred to the plate for ELISA assays (under the same number). As a result, we have found that the solutions of cigarette smoke and exhaust gases caused release of IL-1β by leukocytes in the patients with asthma and COPD, but not in the samples from control group of healthy volunteers. Spontaneous increase in the IL-1β level was registered in the patients with asthma. The cigarette extracts caused an increased release of TNFα in the supernatant fluid of the patients with COPD. Upon exposure to a solution of exhaust gases, an increased level of TGF-β was revealed in patients with asthma compared to spontaneous cell activation (p &lt; 0.05), as well as an increase in IFNγ contents in the patients with COPD as compared with control group (p &lt; 0.05). No statistically significant changes were revealed for the levels of IL-6, IL-2, IL-4, IL-12, IFNα upon exposure of air toxicants on the leukocytes of patients with COPD, asthma or healthy volunteers.

Pulmonary storage.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are not just a matter of scarring or inflammation in the lung tissue. The lungs can also serve as a repository for products that can be produced in excessive amounts in the human body as a result of disease. Geneticaly based dysfunctions of lysosomal enzymes, which leads to an unefficient degradation and transport of various macromolecules from lysosomes, are considered to be storage diseases sensu stricto. ILDs were described in patients with Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick disease and Fabry disease. In a broader context, however, the accumulation of various substances in the lung tissue is also encountered in cases of pediatric pulmonary interstitial glycogenosis (PIG), alveolar lipoproteinosis or pulmonary amyloidosis. The cause of PIG is not clear. The disease was first described in 2002 and a lung tissue sample is required to establish this diagnosis. Even though PIG usually goes well in childhood and the patients difficulties spontaneously subside over time, the long-term prognosis of the patients is unknown. Alveolar lipoproteinoses can be acquired (e.g. after massive exposure to silica dust), autoimmune, but also genetically determined. Unlike lysosomal storage diseases, in the case of pulmonary alveolar lipoproteinosis, accumulation of abnormal macromolecules occurs only in the lungs of affected individuals. Similarly, amyloidosis is not a single disease, but a group of diseases with different etiopathogenesis, as a result of which amyloid - a group of different proteins with a distinctvive conformation, which can be deposited in various organs, including the lungs - is formed. The diagnosis of pulmonary alveolarlipoproteinosis is based on the typical appearance and biochemical composition of the fluid obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage, the diagnosis of amyloidosis is histological.

An Optimized Solution to Long‐Distance Flight Routes Under Extreme Cosmic Radiation

AbstractDuring extraordinary space weather, cosmic radiation can be significant enough to pose a threat to aircrew health. Traditional methods of reducing massive cosmic radiation exposure include flight cancellation, lowering flying altitudes, and flight rerouting. However, flight cancellation can result in additional financial expenditures, while lowering flight altitudes and rerouting can consequently cause more fuel consumption or even violation of airspace rights. As a result, we use a multi‐objective optimization model to assign optimal flight altitude and speed to reduce the overall weighted sum of cosmic radiation and fuel consumption. The simulation scenario is based on a space weather event with dramatically increased cosmic radiation that occurs during a routine international flight from Tokyo to London. Our results show that the proposed model can reduce fuel consumption while satisfying cosmic radiation limits recommended by the Council of the European Union if the forecasts of cosmic radiation are sufficiently accurate. In addition, a Pareto frontier is provided as a tactical air traffic management guideline. Our study provides insight into future policymaking for air transportation during harsh space weather conditions.

Prevention is a Neglected Aspect in the Eradication Policies Against Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains unapparent in about 80% of the infected cases. It turns symptomatic in cases of stress, undernourishment, i.e., weakening of the immune defenses, hygiene deficits, or massive exposure of fragile and/or stressed populations, including overworked health agents, to the pathogen. It is, thus, mostly a disease of the stressed, the poor, and the indigents. Prevention demands a detection of unapparent infections at risk of turning symptomatic. Diagnostic tests based on the detection of the antigen in sputum and occasionally in other organs have their use but need to be completed with the detection of asymptomatic cases. It is possible by the monitoring of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies during the early process of infection, before the bacillus has reached a mass able to vigorously suppress the immune capacities of the patient. Some drugs are immune depressive and impair the recovery of successfully treated patients. At consultation, the patient is often already fully immune depressed; a monitoring of his IgG-specific antibodies shows that the level of antibodies is very low and will rise if the treatment is successful. The monitoring of the immune status of the patients and the application of immunostimulating products to those patients who show a need therefore will complete the chemotherapy. Nothing of this is currently applied and the serodiagnostic, so useful in rural areas, has been banned, to be replaced by an expensive and inaccurate antigen-test. In addition, the continuing use of an iatrogenic vaccine defeats the purpose.

Severe cresol poisoning caused by massive dermal exposure.

Severe cresol poisoning caused by massive dermal exposure.

Metabolomics and lipidomics to identify biomarkers of effect related to exposure to non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in pigs

Recent epidemiological studies show that current levels of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) remain of great concern, as there is still a link between such exposures and the development of chronic environmental diseases. In this sense, most studies have focused on the health effects caused by exposure to dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs), although chemical exposure to non-dioxin-like PCB (NDL-PCB) congeners is more significant. In addition, adverse effects of PCBs have been documented in humans after accidental and massive exposure, but little is known about the effect of chronic exposure to low-dose PCB mixtures. In this work, exposure to Aroclor 1260 (i.e. a commercially available mixture of PCBs consisting primarily of NDL-PCB congeners) in pigs is investigated as new evidence in the risk assessment of NDL-PCBs. This animal model has been selected due to the similarities with human metabolism and to support previous toxicological studies carried out with more frequently used animal models. Dietary exposure doses in the order of few ng/kg body weight (b.w.) per day were applied. As expected, exposure to Aroclor 1260 led to the bioaccumulation of NDL-PCBs in perirenal fat of pigs. Metabolomics and lipidomics have been applied to reveal biomarkers of effect related to Aroclor 1260 exposure, and by extension to NDL-PCB exposure, for 21 days. In the metabolomics analysis, 33 metabolites have been identified (level 1 and 2) as significantly altered by the Aroclor 1260 administration, while in the lipidomics analysis, 39 metabolites were putatively annotated (level 3) and associated with NDL-PCB exposure. These biomarkers are mainly related to the alteration of fatty acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and tryptophan-kynurenine pathway.

Evolution of fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli in the gut after ciprofloxacin treatment

BackgroundThree healthy volunteers carried similar quinolone-resistant E. coli (QREC) (pulsed field gel electrophoresis profiles) in their gut before and after 14 days ciprofloxacin treatment. Given the intensity of the selective pressure and the mutagenic properties of quinolones, we determined whether these strains had evolved at the phenotypic and/or genomic levels. Material and methodsCommensal QREC from before day-0 (D0), and a month after 14 days of ciprofloxacin (D42) were compared in 3 volunteers. Growth experiments were performed; acetate levels, mutation frequencies, quinolone MICs and antibiotic tolerance were measured at D0 and D42. Genomes were sequenced and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between D0 and D42 were analyzed using DiscoSNP and breseq methods. Cytoplasmic proteins were extracted, HPLC performed and proteins identified using X!tandem software; abundances were measured by mass spectrometry using the Spectral Counting (SC) and eXtraction Ion Chromatograms (XIC) integration methods. ResultsNo difference was found in MICs, growth characteristics, acetate concentrations, mutation frequencies, tolerance profiles, phylogroups, O-and H-types, fimH alleles and sequence types between D0 and D42. No SNP variation was evidenced between D0 and D42 isolates for 2/3 subjects; 2 SNP variations were evidenced in one. At the protein level, very few significant protein abundance differences were identified between D0 and D42. ConclusionNo fitness, tolerance, metabolic or genomic evolution of commensal QREC was observed overtime, despite massive exposure to ciprofloxacin in the gut. The three strains behaved as if they had been unaffected by ciprofloxacin, suggesting that gut may act as a sanctuary where bacteria would be protected from the effect of antibiotics and survive without any detrimental effect of stress.

Genetic Predisposition Between COVID-19 and Four Mental Illnesses: A Bidirectional, Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Background: The outbreak of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. Although it has long been suspected that COVID-19 could contribute to the development of mental illness, and individuals with a pre-existing mental illness may have a higher risk of and poorer outcomes from COVID-19 infection, no evidence has established a causal association between them thus far.Methods: To investigate associations in support of a causal association between the severity of COVID-19 and mental illnesses, we leveraged large-scale genetic summary data from genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary datasets, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 55,374), schizophrenia (n = 77,096), bipolar disorder (n = 51,710), and depression (n = 173,005), based on a previous observational study. The random-effects inverse-variance weighted method was conducted for the main analyses, with a complementary analysis of the weighted median and MR-Egger approaches and multiple sensitivity analyses assessing horizontal pleiotropy and removing outliers in two different COVID-19 databases.Results: The Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis indicated that ADHD [odds ratio (OR) = 1.297; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.029–1.634; p = 0.028] increased the risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19. A similar association was obtained in MR sensitivity analyses of the weighted median. In addition, genetically predicted COVID-19 was significantly associated with schizophrenia (OR = 1.043; 95% CI, 1.005–1.082; p = 0.027).Conclusions: Although many studies have reported a causal relationship between COVID-19 and mental illness, our study shows that this increased risk is modest. However, considering the characteristics of ADHD that might further increase the individuals' vulnerability to being infected by COVID-19, the ongoing massive worldwide exposure to COVID-19, and the high burden of schizophrenia, we believe that it is necessary to offer preventative measures to these populations and to provide more evidence in understanding the neurological impact of COVID-19.

An investigation of the association between religious coping, fatigue, anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco: a web-based cross-sectional survey

BackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered fear and distress among the public, thus potentiating the incidence rate of anxiety and depression. This study aims to investigate the psychological effect of quarantine on persons living in Morocco when the first COVID-19 cases were identified. The associations between anxiety, depression symptoms, and their predictors (sociodemographics, fatigue, and religious coping) were examined.MethodsA web-based cross-sectional survey, with a total of 1435 participants (≥18 years) recruited anonymously, was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 3 to 30 April 2020). A structured questionnaire was used to assess psychosocial factors, COVID-19 epidemic-related factors, and religious coping. Religious coping, fatigue, and depression, and anxiety were measured by Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE), Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), respectively. A generalized linear model (logistic regression) was used to determine the predictive factors of depression and anxiety.ResultsThe prevalence of anxiety and depression was 43.0% (n = 621) and 53.0% (n = 766), respectively. Both were associated with female gender, household income decline, tracking COVID-19 news, and fear to contract COVID-19 (aOR = 1.36 to 2.85). Additionally, 32.0% (n = 453) and 26.0% (n = 372) reported severe physical fatigue, and mental fatigue, respectively. Both latter factors were significantly and positively associated with depression as well as with anxiety. Depressive and anxious patients used more negative religious coping, while positive religious coping was slightly associated with depression.ConclusionIn this online survey of the general population in Morocco, anxiety and depressive symptoms are prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic and psychosocial factors, such as female gender, income decline, infection fears, massive COVID-19 news exposure, negative religious coping, and fatigue were associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms. Psychosocial and financial support should be provided to the quarantined population.

In Situ Assessment of 5G NR Massive MIMO Base Station Exposure in a Commercial Network in Bern, Switzerland

This paper describes the assessment of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure from fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) base stations in a commercial NR network in Bern, Switzerland. During the measurement campaign, four base station sites were investigated and the exposure induced by the NR massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MaMIMO) antennas was assessed at 22 positions, at distances from the base station between 30 m and 410 m. The NR base stations operated at 3.6 GHz and used codebook-based beamforming. While the actual field levels without inducing downlink traffic were very low (&lt;0.05 V/m) due to a low traffic load and low antenna input powers of up to 8 W, setting up a maximum downlink traffic stream towards user equipment resulted in a time-averaged exposure level of up to 0.4 V/m, whereas the maximum extrapolated exposure level reached 0.6 V/m. Extrapolated to an antenna input power of 200 W, values of 4.3 V/m and 4.9 V/m, respectively, were obtained, which amount to 0.5–0.6% of the reference level recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In Bern, it was found that the impact of the NR network on the total environmental RF exposure was very limited; with maximum downlink, it contributed 2% on average. Finally, it was also concluded that extrapolation to the maximum exposure level can be done without prior knowledge of the radiation patterns, directly based on the measurement of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) resource elements.