Third Week Of April Research Articles

Stars and Spikes: Analyzing Fan Attraction to Star Players in the Philippine Professional Volleyball League

The study sought to describe fan consumption patterns in volleyball, identify factors influencing fan engagement, pinpoint attractive attributes of volleyball players, and compare influences on fanhood across demographic groups. The research was conducted in Pasig City, focusing on a geographically delimited non-probability sample. Data was collected through in situ surveys using questionnaires to obtain participants’ demographic profile and their motivations, preferences, and consumption patterns as league fans during match days, specifically during the last preliminary round of the league’s conference in the third week of April, with particular emphasis on the timing of visits across different days of the week. Two hundred fifty respondents participated in the survey, comprising both genders ranging in age from 10 to 78 years. Results reveal that participants identify as avid league fans and consider having a favorite league player as “definitely important” in connection with their fanhood. As to the traits of star players that attract them, 11 attributes are figured highly: passionate, professional, respectful, fair, approachable, humble, exciting, entertaining, winnable, articulate, and humble. The results provide contemporary insights into sports consumption motivations and attitudes of league fans, which can be instrumental in developing effective marketing strategies, enhancing spectator experience, and deepening the understanding of sports fandom among the Filipino audience.

Some Observations on the Nest Site Selection, Nesting and Other Breeding Behaviors of Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubios) in the Flood Plains of Kosi River in District Bhagalpur, Bihar, India

Greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubios) is the largest and rarest stork belonging to the order Ciconiformes. It is one of the threatened bird species of the world and widely considered to be endangered. The present investigation was carried out to study the nest site selection, nest tree and other breeding behaviours of Greater adjutant stork on the flood plains of Kosi river in district Bhagalpur, Bihar, India in three breeding seasons from 2019 to 2021. Total 12 breeding colonies of Greater adjutant stork were recorded in 2019, 10 in 2020 and 2021 respectively. During these periods, 277 chicks were reared in 123 nests in 2019, 282 chicks in 126 nests in 2020 and 236 chicks in 105 nests in 2021 respectively. Most of the nest trees were located on the road side in and around the villages. Storks mainly selected Kadamb, Peepal, Pakar, Gamhar and Semel trees for the nest building but the Kadamb was the most preffered tree species. Nesting materials used by the GAS were mainly sticks, twigs and fresh leaves of Pigeon wood, Jalebia, Dhaincha, Jamun, Peepal, Gulmohar, Kadamb, and Semal tree. Nests were large spherical structure made of plant sticks mostly on the top of the tree and on the tip of large horizontal branches. Both the sexes alternately shared incubation and protection of the chicks after hatching. The parent birds also collected green leaves from nearby trees for cushioning the nest . The breeding season of Greater adjutant stork was recorded between September to April in Bihar. The incubation period was ranging between 37 to 39 days. Two to three chicks on one nest were common. The adult and juveniles finally vacated the nest before third week of April.

Spatial and Temporal Monitoring of North African Turtle Doves Streptopelia turtur arenicola (Hartert, EJO, 1894): First Migrants Arrive Early and Select Nesting Trees next to Foraging Resources while Second Breeders’ Wave Breed around Earlier Nests

This study aimed to evaluate the spatial microdistribution and temporal microdistribution of the North African subspecies of the globally threatened Turtle Doves in Morocco. From the end of February to early September, we monitored the migration dates, counting arrival and departure dates, and breeding chronology, to clarify if the breeding season is divided into sub-breeding phases or not. Equally, the spatial distribution of nests following potential breeding phases was surveyed weekly in Beni Mellal province following a map of a selected orange orchard. Doves arrived in Beni Mellal in the third week of March and left in mid-October, according to the results. The first nests occurred in the second week of April, followed by the first eggs in the third week of April and the first chicks in the first week of May. PCA analysis showed that the nesting and laying stages were achieved principally during the last two weeks of April and the first three weeks of May, the hatching stage between the fourth week of May and the second week of July, and fledging between the fourth week of July and the first week of September. Further, the breeding season was divided into two phases: the first breeding phase, from the first week of April to the first week of June, and the second phase, between the second week of June and the second week of August. The DCA analysis and orchard-created map indicated that the first wave of breeders colonized the marginal trees located on the orchard sides, surrounded by foraging cereals and legumes, and the second breeding-phase nests were constructed in flocks next to the nests of the first breeding phase. According to this strategy, the first breeders prospect the orchard and select nesting trees near foraging resources, while the second breeders’ wave colonizes trees near successfully used prospector sites. These findings are of great importance for comparative investigations and habitat-scale conservation management.

Efficacy of Some Predators and Lecanicillium lecanii Fungus in Controlling of Aphis gossypii (Glover) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) in Potato Crop

Lokma, N., A.A.A. Saleh, S.A.M. Amer and M F.M. Zawrah. 2023. Efficacy of Some Predators and Lecanicillium lecanii Fungus in Controlling of Aphis gossypii (Glover) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) in Potato Crop. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 41(2): 152-160. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-041.2.152160 This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of predators and Lecanicillium lecanii suspension as bicontrol agents against Myzus persicae and Aphis gossypii in potato crop, whereas Aphis gossypii had two peaks in the third week of March and April in 2020 and 2021 seasons. In addition, M. persicae had two peaks for both seasons in the fourth week of March and third week of April in 2020 and in the third week of March during 2021. The common predators observed in potato fields were: Coccinella undecimpunctata L., Chrysoperla carnea Steph., Coccinella septumpunctata, Metasyrphus corollae F. and Cydonia vicina isis (Muls.). Regarding potato predators, one peak was found in the second week of March (60 predators/25 leaves) during the 2020 season, and two peaks were found in the third week of March and second week of April (53 and 38 predators/25 leaves, respectively), in 2021 season. On the 8th day after treatment, the entomopathogenic fungus L. Lecanii produced maximum aphid mortality at highest concentration of 108 conidia/ml and 50% concentration of fungal metabolites for both M. persicae and A. gossypii. Meanwhile, L. lecanii 50% metabolites solution had more latent effect by decreasing the longevity and the number of nymphs than when using the spore suspension of 108 conidial/ml. Keywords: A. gossypii, M. persicae, aphid predators, Lecanicillium lecanii, potato.

Seasonal incidence and effect of abiotic factors on population dynamics of major insect pests on Brinjal crop

Experiment was carried out on Seasonal incidence and effect of abiotic factors on population dynamics of major insect pests on Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) at College Farm, N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari during summer-2020. The results revealed that incidence of shoot borer infestation on shoot was commenced from second week of March (11th SMW) to third week of May (21st SMW) while, infestation of fruit damage was noticed at first picking of the brinjal fruit in the first week of April (14th SMW) with maximum in fourth week of May (21st SMW). Shoot and fruit borer infestation exhibited significant and positive correlation with maximum temperature (r= 0.8129) and minimum temperature (r= 0.8444) and wind velocity (r= 0.5871), respectively. Whitefly population was started from second week of February (9th SMW) with 0.93 whitefly per leaf, increased gradually to reach its peak in the last week of April, i.e.17th SMW (15.95 whiteflies/leaf) and positively and significantly correlated with and maximum temperature (r= 0.8062). The jassid infestation started from first week of March, i.e. 10th SMW (0.34 jassids/ leaf), initially increased slowly and reached to its peak level (11.89 jassids/leaf) at last week of April (17th SMW) and positively and significantly correlated with maximum (r= 0.7202) and minimum (r= 0.5712) temperatures. Aphid population started from the first week of March (10th SMW) with a minimum level of 0.60 aphids/leaf, increased slowly and reached to its peak level (5.04 aphids/leaf) at third week of April (16th SMW) and exhibited positive and significant correlation with maximum temperature (r= 0.7849).

An Initial Spatiotemporal Assessment of COVID-19 Clusters in Nepal

Nepal has been strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling to contain it with multiple interventions. We assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of COVID-19 in the context of various restrictions imposed to contain the disease transmission by employing prospective spatiotemporal analysis with SaTScan statistics. We explored active and emerging disease clusters using the prospective space-time scanning with the Discrete Poisson model for two time periods using COVID-19 cases reported to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Government of Nepal during 23 January – 21 July, and 23 January – 29 November 2020 taking the cutoff date of 21 July (end date of nationwide lockdown). The results revealed that COVID-19 dynamics in the early transmission stage were slower and confined to a few districts. However, since the third week of April, transmission spread rapidly across the districts of Madhesh and Sudurpaschim Provinces. Despite nationwide lockdown, nine statistically significant active and emerging clusters were detected between 23 January and 21 July 2020, whereas seven emerging clusters were observed for an extended period to 29 November. After lifting the nationwide lockdown, COVID-19 clusters developed had a many-fold higher relative risk than during the lockdown period. The most likely cluster was located in the capital city, the Kathmandu valley, making it the highest-risk active cluster since August. Movement restriction appears to be the most effective non-pharmaceutical intervention against the COVID-19 in countries with limited health care facilities. Our findings could be valuable to the health authorities within Nepal and beyond to better allocate resources and improve interventions on the pandemic for containing it efficiently.

Vaccination Rates of Hospitalized Patients at High Risk of Severe COVID-19: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study.

We investigated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rate in patients admitted to chronic pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and cancer wards in the third week of April 2022 to determine the immunity level of these vulnerable groups. Compared to the general population, our study subjects had lower vaccination rates, except for higher percentages of boosted individuals in patients with chronic pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease. This tendency was most pronounced in cancer patients, less than half of whom were boosted. Patients with cancer should be encouraged to complete their COVID-19 vaccination.

Seasonal fluctuations in the population of Tetranychus urticae Koch on French marigold under screen house conditions

The study carried out during summer, rainy and winter seasons showed prevalence of spider mite, Tetranychus urticae on marigold plants in the screen house throughout the year, the maximum population observed during third week of April (144.95 mites leaf-1) and fourth week of November (130.59 mites leaf-1). Grown up leaf of middle canopy harbored maximum population with an average of 85.86 mites leaf-1 followed by tender (60.78 mites leaf-1) and older leaves (28.60 mites leaf-1). During summer, an average number of 86.46 mites leaf-1 followed by 52.60 mites leaf-1 in winter and 36.18 mites leaf-1 during rainy season was recorded.

Forecasted Rainfall and Temperature: Basis for one-year Planting Calendar for Upland Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya

The study aimed to determine a planting calendar for upland rice (Oryza Sativa L.) in Bayombong and its nearby municipalities based on temperature and rainfall data of the said localities together with the temperature and water requirements of the upland rice. Ten years of data on Temperature and Rainfall in Bayombong were used to forecast 12 months of data on temperature and rainfall using three forecasting methods of the SPSS, NCSS, and MS Excel. Upland rice crop can be grown successfully where the average temperature is 21 0C or more for the 5 to 6 months; it has 10 stages starting from the germination stage to the ripening stage; the temperature and water requirements in its stages must be maintained within what the plant required to sustain plant growth and development. The forecasted data on temperature and rainfall were then matched to the temperature and water requirements of the upland rice starting from germination to ripening which will be ready for harvesting. The study was able to determine the best timing for the plant the upland rice; it is on the third week of April up to the last week of August. Upland rice planted at this time interval has a high forecasted percentage of survival as the temperature and water requirements of the plant in its stages were all sustained.

Human contact: do we need it in medical practice?

Have rapid advances in IT, and the necessary coronavirus restrictions, rendered traditional face-to-face medical consultations largely redundant? Here are the views of three doctors: one younger, publicly on television; two older, more privately. In the third week of April 2020, already deep into our long COVID-19 maelstrom, a young female GP, Dr YW, was briefly interviewed for BBC2’s Newsnight . She was fresh, direct, and warmly personable, and was introduced as, also, a newspaper journalist and thus (presumably) a part-time, ‘portfolio’ GP — a new and increasing breed of doctor better able to survive the otherwise unsustainable burdens of contemporary primary care. Portfolios may be rich in opportunities; they rarely commit, longer-term, to any community. Dr YW was asked how, in her experience, was general practice coping with the current crisis? Her response was remarkably positive and optimistic: in her neck of the woods, she said, there was no crisis, in fact — paradoxically — the current challenges had improved many essential services in primary care. How could this be so? Dr YW readily fired off her upbeat explanations: GPs had rapidly learned to increase their use of digital and IT devices to almost entirely replace the need for personal or physical contact with either patients or staff: ‘In a couple of weeks we have learned, changed and thus advanced more than in the previous decade.’ Almost all traditional face-to-face appointments could be replaced by emails, texts, and audio-visual phone calls. Consequently, at a stroke, much of the infrastructure and adjunctive services could be drastically reduced, if not eliminated: the large, costly premises with waiting areas, the numerous consulting rooms, and the reception staff. This unencumbered service has consequently become more manoeuvrable and (virtually) accessible. Teleworking professional staff can opt in to staggered work rotas providing vastly increased (virtual) consultation …

COVID-19 vaccinations are associated with reduced fatality rates: Evidence from cross-country quasi-experiments.

BackgroundScientists have demonstrated the efficacy of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in randomized controlled trials. However, the extent to which reductions in COVID-19 case fatality ratio (CFR) are attributable to mass vaccination in the real world remains unclear. This study evaluated the association of COVID-19 vaccine coverage with CFR on a global scale.MethodsThe sample was a longitudinal data set of 90 countries over 25 weeks, from the first week of November 2020 to the third week of April 2021. CFR was measured in deaths per 100 COVID-19 confirmed cases; vaccine coverage was defined as the number of people who received at least one vaccine dose per 10 people in the total population. Data were retrieved from open-access databases, including Our World in Data and the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. A country-level random effects model was used; a comprehensive set of variables for country characteristics and nonpharmaceutical interventions were included.ResultsA 10% increase in vaccine coverage was associated with a 7.6% reduction in the CFR (95% confidence interval (CI = -12.6 to -2.7%, P = 0.002). This association was stronger in countries with more effective governments (-8.3%; 95% CI = -13.6 to -3.1%, P = 0.002) and higher transport infrastructure quality (-8.1%; 95% CI = -13.3 to -2.9%, P = 0.002). Moreover, the vaccine coverage was associated with a reduced CFR in a dose-dependent manner. When vaccine coverage achieved 0.8 to 1.6, 1.6 to 3.2 and ≥3.2 per 10 people, the CFR reduced by 12.7% (95 CI = -21.8 to -3.6%, P = 0.006), 21.2% (95 CI = -33.9 to -8.5%, P = 0.001) and 31.3% (95 CI = -51.5 to -11.0%, P = 0.002), respectively as compared with no vaccination.ConclusionsOur results provide supporting evidence that vaccination is critical to preventing deaths among infected people. Vaccination programmes have yielded significant health benefits in certain countries. However, globally, a large gap remains between observed and achievable fatality reductions. Continuous improvement in vaccine coverage will be critical to transforming efficacious vaccines into desired health outcomes.

ENGLISH COMPOUND WORDS USED IN THE JAKARTA POST HEALTH COLUMN ON THIRD WEEK OF APRIL 2020

This study aims to describe the formation and the meaning of compound words that related to COVID-19 pandemics used in The Jakarta Post’s Health Column Article on Third Week of April 2020. There are two research question in this study: (1) What are the type of COVID-19 compound words and their lexical categories found in The Jakarta Post’s Health Column Article on Third Week of April 2020, and (2) How does those related COVID-19 compound words create meaning. To answer the research question, the writer uses the theory of morphology and semantics. The findings showed that there are 26 compound words in The Jakarta Post’s Health Column on the third week of April 2020. Based on the type of compound words, there are 86.4% compound noun, 11.5% compound adjective, and 3.9% compound verb. The most dominant lexical category is from compound nouns which are Noun+Noun and Adjective + Noun. Based on the meaning of compound words, there are are 80.76% endocentric compounds and 19.24% exocentric compounds.Keywords: Compound words, COVID-19, Morphology, Semantics

Unequal consequences of Covid 19: representative evidence from six countries

Covid-19 and the measures taken to contain it have led to unprecedented constraints on work and leisure activities, across the world. This paper uses nationally representative surveys to document how people of different ages and incomes have been affected in the early phase of the pandemic. The data was collected in six countries (China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, UK, and US) in the third week of April 2020. First, we document changes in job circumstances and social activities. Second, we document self-reported negative and positive consequences of the crisis on well-being. We find that young people have experienced more drastic changes to their life and have been most affected economically and psychologically. There is less of a systematic pattern across income groups. While lower income groups have been more affected economically, higher income groups have experienced more changes in their social life and spending. A large fraction of people of low and high income groups report negative effects on well-being.

562 Burn Bed Availability in the Northeast Region During the COVID-19 Pandemic

IntroductionThe coronavirus disease pandemic has placed enormous strain on all medical services with ICU capabilities throughout the Northeast region. The surge in ICU beds might severely limit burn centers to accept burn patients in a regional mass casualty incident.MethodsBurn bed data was collected by a regional burn disaster consortium. Open burn bed census was collected via telephone from each burn center in the consortium on April 15th, May 7th, May 21st, June 4th and June 18th of 2020. This data was compared to published data from 2009 to 2016.ResultsThe results are listed in Table 1. Lowest available burn bed was 35 beds on April 15th, 2020.ConclusionsAlthough a disaster may impact surrounding local and state hospitals, it does not always impact a burn center’s ability to transfer patients from a local trauma center or nearby burn center. A pandemic however affects a larger region and impacts all hospitals within that region.Peak ICU utilization in the Northeast was between the second and third week of April. During the peak utilization time, burn bed census was about 50% of the historical average. Burn bed census did not return to historical average until May 7, 2020. If a mass casualty event occurred in the pandemic region, the Northeast region would have to reach out to other ABA designated regions for assistance.Historically, burn mass casualty plans are based on the capacity to move burn patients to other burn centers in order to relieve surge capacity at the affected center. This data illustrates that, in a pandemic, burn beds are being utilized for non-burn patients. The ability to follow these plans will be greatly impacted.

Peculiarities of tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) field production in Ukraine with the use of different elements of technology

Tomatillo is a fairly common plant in South America but is rare for the conditions of the European continent. Therefore, in Ukraine there are no recommendations for its cultivation in specialized vegetable farms. Such recommendations should take into account the biological characteristics of the plant and the application of new elements of technology for plant productivity. The article is devoted to the study of the influence of the main elements of the technology of growing tomatillo for open ground conditions. The aim of the research was to find and optimize such elements in the open ground. To achieve this goal, the tasks solved were selection of high-yielding varieties, identification of the most effective factors for pre-sowing seed treatment and the term of planting seedlings is substantiated. This research was conducted during 2016 to 2018 on the research fields of Vinnytsia National Agrarian University (Central part of Ukraine) on gray-podzolic soils. The experimental varieties of tomatillo were divided into two groups (short and tall) according to plant height. Three varieties viz., Ananasovyi, Jemovyi and Kondyter were in the first group with a height of 80.1 to 81.4 cm and the second group included two varieties viz., Marmeladnyi and Korolyok. The varieties of foreign selection including Ananasovyi and Korolyok and, a domestic variety Likhtaryk were characterized by higher yields (30.6 to 32.0 t/ha). By studying the effect of pre-sowing seed treatment with heating the seeds at 40°C for 4 hrs or seed treatment with a magnetic field of 50 E for 12 hrs or Baikal EM-1 solution at a dose of 1.0 l/tonne provides an increase in total yield of tomatillo to 33.0 t/ha. When studying the impact of seedlings planting in the open ground, it was found that planting of seedlings was done in the third week of April or first week of May with a seedling age of 60 days under temporary film shelters. The varieties Likhtaryk and Ananasovyi were characterized by early budding in 47-48 days, flowering in 56-57 days, fruit tying in 69-70 days and fruiting in 101days. These varieties form a higher fruit yield of 33.4 t/ha. The biochemical composition determined a higher content of dry matter, protein and ash in the fruits of the variety Korolyok, with an index of 10.7, 1.6 and 1.0 %, respectively. These studies did not research the impact of tillage, pest control to obtain quality and environmentally friendly products and methods of harvesting, therefore, there is a need to further improve the technology of growing tomatillo in the open ground of Ukraine.

Decline in Receipt of Vaccines by Medicare Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, 2020.

On March 13, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak (1). In response, many state and local governments issued shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, restricting nonessential activities outside residents' homes (2). CDC initially issued guidance recommending postponing routine adult vaccinations, which was later revised to recommend continuing to administer routine adult vaccines (3). In addition, factors such as disrupted operations of health care facilities and safety concerns regarding exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, resulted in delay or avoidance of routine medical care (4), likely further affecting delivery of routine adult vaccinations. Medicare enrollment and claims data of Parts A (hospital insurance), B (medical insurance), and D (prescription drug insurance) were examined to assess the change in receipt of routine adult vaccines during the pandemic. Weekly receipt of four vaccines (13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine [PCV13], 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine [PPSV23], tetanus-diphtheria or tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine [Td/Tdap], and recombinant zoster vaccine [RZV]) by Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years during January 5-July 18, 2020, was compared with that during January 6-July 20, 2019, for the total study sample and by race and ethnicity. Overall, weekly administration rates of the four examined vaccines declined by up to 89% after the national emergency declaration in mid-March (1) compared with those during the corresponding period in 2019. During the first week following the national emergency declaration, the weekly vaccination rates were 25%-62% lower than those during the corresponding week in 2019. After reaching their nadirs of 70%-89% below 2019 rates in the second to third week of April 2020, weekly vaccination rates gradually began to recover through mid-July, but by the last study week were still lower than were those during the corresponding period in 2019, with the exception of PPSV23. Vaccination declined sharply for all vaccines studied, overall and across all racial and ethnic groups. While the pandemic continues, vaccination providers should emphasize to patients the importance of continuing to receive routine vaccinations and provide reassurance by explaining the procedures in place to ensure patient safety (3).

COVID-19 and Oral Surgery: A narrative review of preoperative mouth rinses.

ObjectiveTo provide a narrative review of the preprocedural mouth rinse protocols suggested for oral surgery in order to contrast the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosol.Sources and MethodsElectronic searches were performed in medical databases PubMed, Medline, CINAHN and Scopus to identify relevant studies published up until the third week of April 2020. This research was supplemented by exploration through a web-based search engine as well as a manual search for international and national guidelines. Studies and protocols which suggested preoperative mouth rinsing as a recommended measure during the COVID-19 outbreak were included. Given the small number of studies, a narrative literature review was conducted. In total, 15 references (11 articles and 4 guidelines) were considered relevant and were critically analysed.ConclusionThe findings show a high heterogeneity in the protocols suggested. Further research is required to better understand the viral features and epidemiologic characteristics of this new virus and to test the efficacy of commonly used antiseptics against SARS-CoV-2 in future clinical trials. However, the use of chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, PVP-I and cetylpyridinium chloride in contrasting the spread of Covid-19 is described as advisable and substantial in different publications.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial airlines in the United States and implications for the kidney transplant community.

Many deceased-donor and living-donor kidney transplants (KTs) rely on commercial airlines for transport. However, the coronavirus-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the commercial airline industry. To understand potential pandemic-related disruptions in the transportation network of kidneys across the United States, we used national flight data to compare scheduled flights during the pandemic vs 1-year earlier, focusing on Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) pairs between which kidneys historically most likely traveled by direct flight (High Volume by direct Air transport OPO Pairs, HVA-OPs). Across the United States, there were 39% fewer flights in April 2020 vs April 2019. Specific to the kidney transportation network, there were 65.1% fewer flights between HVA-OPs, with considerable OPO-level variation (interquartile range [IQR] 54.7%-75.3%; range 0%-100%). This translated to a drop in median number of flights between HVA-OPs from 112 flights/wk in April 2019 to 34 in April 2020 (P<.001), and a rise in wait time between scheduled flights from 1.5hours in April 2019 (IQR 0.76-3.3) to 4.9hours in April 2020 (IQR 2.6-11.2; P<.001). Fewer flights and longer wait times can impact logistics as well as cold ischemia time; our findings motivate an exploration of creative approaches to KT transport as the impact of this pandemic on the airline industry evolves.

Government Response to COVID-19 Using Stringency Index Among 151 Countries and Six Regions

Background: Amidst a global COVID-19 pandemic situation, government adequate preparation and response plays an important role. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the trend of government response to COVID-19 in six regions, by country, and to identify the national variables affecting the government’s response. Method: This study was designed using data from a panel survey in 151 countries across six regions between January 1, 2020 and May 18, 2020, using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker Stringency Index and the World Bank Open DATA. This study used linear regression, nonlinear regression model, heat diagrams, and bubble chart to analyze the COVID-19 trends. In addition, between-within model was used to compare the Stringency Index’s determinants by country. Findings: The stringency index in six regions increased continuously until the third week of April, and then it began to decline. Four countries - Burkina Faso, Madagascar, New Zealand, South Korea - had relaxed the government response. As a result of analyzing the government response according to the trend of COVID-19 as of April 1st, AFRO is a cautionary stage, EURO is a stable stage, PAHO is an Appropriate response, and WPRO is an overreaction. Among national indicators education was identified as the greatest national indicator with the greatest effect on governments response to COVID-19. Interpretation: The government response to COVID-19 in six regions has been relaxing. However, a total of 42 countries, with AFRO(14), PAHO(8), EURO(6), EMRO(6), WPRO(4), and SEARO(2) are still at the cautionary stage, confirming the high risk of a 2nd wave of COVID-19. In particular, AFRO region being at a high risk of COVID-19 spreading, And also 14 countries in AFRO are still in cautionary stage, thus they need to prepare for the spread of COVID-19. Though other regions’ countries are now in relaxing level, they need to prepare for the second wave of covid-19. Finally, active participation of citizen is important to control the COVID-19 while easing the government response. And education at the national level could effectively led the participation of citizens. Funding Statement: This work is supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency under the title “The National Campaign for Promoting Knowledge, Attitude and Behavioral Change in Population and Development in Ethiopia” from 2019–2023 (No. P2019-00160-1). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Space-Based Observations on The Impact of COVID-19-Induced Lockdown on Aerosols over India

The lockdown period in India due to COVID-19 came into effect from 25 March 2020 onwards. The present study analyses the changes and trends in aerosol optical depth (AOD) levels during the last few months and particularly during lockdown period. MODIS observations showed an average reduction of 20-37% in aerosol loading during the lockdown period (25 March-3 May 2020), compared to 2017-2019 across India. A clear-cut and drastic reduction in AOD (which includes both PM2.5 and PM10) was observed at many places across India, in particular over North India (46%), eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (42%) and peninsular India (30%). Maximum decrease in AOD was seen during 25 March to 5 April 2020 with values as low as 0.18-0.22, which are 72-87% lower than the February-March 2020 level. AOD then slightly increased in the third week of April due to stubble burning and a few cloudy days, and then fell subsequently. Ground measurements on air pollutants at selected Indian cities revealed reduction of 40-50% in surface concentration prior to the lockdown period. Thus, study shows a clear-cut improvement in air quality leading to significant improvement in visibility and more blue skies.