COVID-19 Pandemic: A Surgical Perspective from Japan
Japan reported its first COVID-19 case after a returnee from Wuhan, China tested positive for the virus on 16 January, 2020. On April 8, the Japanese government declared emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures of the country; a nationwide emergency was declared on April 16. The total reported cases were 15,477 and total deaths 755 as of May 7, 2020. Japan Surgical Society (JSS) and Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery (JSGS) have published recommendations for surgery and appropriate measures of safety. Patients are triaged based on the severity of their disease and level of outbreak. The Elective Surgery Acuity Scale (ESAS) by American College of Surgeons is recommended to triage the patients. The guidelines consider the risk of infection during the interventions that generate aerosol such as tracheal intubation, extubation, tracheostomy, mask ventilation, bronchoscopy, chest drainage, gastrointestinal endoscopy etc.
Pramod Nepal, Saseem Poudel, Narendra Maharjan
Assessment of Health Workers’ Knowledge, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Use of Personal Protective Equipment for Prevention of COVID-19 Infection in Low-Resource Settings
Background. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly infectious disease with a potential for healthcare workers (HCWs) getting infected due to inadequate protection while attending to patients. Effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is key to mitigating the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare settings. Hence, there is a need to understand HCWs’ use of PPE in resource-limited settings and how closely the currently recommended guidelines for PPE are followed. This study assessed the HCWs’ knowledge about, attitudes towards, beliefs on, and use of PPE to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in a resource-limited setting. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2020 in Southwest and Northwest Nigeria. The selection of participants was performed via the snowball sampling technique using a 33-item, web-based, self-administered questionnaire via a social media network. We obtained relevant sociodemographic data and information on participants’ occupations and knowledge about, attitudes towards, beliefs on, and use of PPE. We analysed the data using SPSS version 23.0 for Windows (IBM, Armonk, New York, USA). A p values
M. A. Alao, A. O. Durodola, O. R. Ibrahim, O. A. Asinobi
Social isolation and psychological wellbeing: lessons from Covid-19
Pandemic, Social isolation, gender, emotional intelligence, psychological well-being
This study explores the effect of social isolation (SI) on the psychological wellbeing (PWB) of employees due to the imposed distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Drawing on individual psychological resources to improve wellbeing, researchers examine emotional intelligence (EI) as a possible mediator that reduces the effect of social isolation. In this quantitative study, questionnaires were administered to measure SI, EI, and PWB among academic and non-academic staff in Iraqi public universities during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak. The results suggest that EI and SI were strong predictors of PWB. While SI was negatively and significantly related to EI, the presence of emotional intelligence as a mediator reduced the negative effect of isolation on wellbeing. Gender was not found to moderate the mediating effect of EI on the SI-PWB association. These findings support the validity of incorporating EI interventions during pandemic outbreaks that produce distinct effects on the isolation and thus potentially result in improving the wellbeing of employees. Although employees high on EI are viewed less socially isolated and high on wellbeing within literature there is a relative dearth of supporting research that has not examined these interrelationships during a genuinely imposed lockdown such as the one during the Covid-19 pandemic which provided standardization as to the social isolation context understudied. Another theoretical gap included the psychometric revision of the social isolation scale.
Hussein-Elhakim Al Issa, Eman Mahir Jaleel
Basic epidemiological parameter values from data of real-world in mega-cities: the characteristics of COVID-19 in Beijing, China
epidemiology, covid-19, transmissibility, secondary attack rate
Abstract Background With the spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, understanding the basic epidemiological parameter values of COVID-19 from real-world data in mega-cities is essential for disease prevention and control. Methods To investigate the epidemiological parameters in SARS-CoV-2 infected cases in Beijing, we studied all confirmed cases and close contacts in Beijing from Jan 1st to Apr 3rd 2020. The epidemiological and virological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. Results A total of 602 cases were positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 585 confirmed patients and 17 asymptomatic infections. The imported cases were mainly from Wuhan initially and then from abroad. Among 585 confirmed case-patients, the median age was 39 years old. The mean incubation period was 6.3 days. The secondary attack rate among households was higher than social contacts (15.6 vs 4.6%). The secondary attack rate of healthcare workers (HCWs) was higher than non-HCWs’ (7.3 vs 4.2%). The basic reproduction number was 2.0, and the average serial interval was 7.6 days. No significant genetic variant was identified. Conclusions The transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 was relatively high, especially among households and from HCWs, which draws specific public health attention. So far, no evidence of widespread circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in communities in Beijing was found.
Xiaoli Wang, Yang Pan, Daitao Zhang, Lijuan Chen, Lei Jia, Xinyu Li, Peng Yang, Quanyi Wang, C. Raina Macintyre
Crozza senza Fratelli: la lingua della comicità ai tempi del Covid-19
linguistica italiana, Lingua comicità televisiva, Crozza
Se la lingua di tutti i generi televisivi, dall’informazione all’intrattenimento, è stata ampiamente analizzata, mimore attenzione è stata rivolta alla lingua della comicità televisiva In questo contributo si è partiti da un’analisi del palinsesto televisivo del periodo 2016/2017, con un aggiornamento relativo al 2020 per esaminare eventuali cambiamenti. Il covid-19 ha senz’altro modificato i palinsesti della televisione italiana. Il distanziamento sociale ha costretto anche chi lavora nel mondo dello spettacolo ad adeguarsi: molte trasmissioni sono state sospese, di altre sono state mandate in onda le repliche, per altre ancora si è scelto di farle continuare senza la presenza del pubblico. L’analisi risulta dunque influenzata dal particolare periodo storico; ad esempio, di Fratelli di Crozza, una delle trasmissioni analizzate, sono andate in onda due puntate senza pubblico, prima che la trasmissione venisse sospesa. Si intende qui fornire un’analisi generale della lingua dei comici televisivi con un’attenzione particolare all’aspetto della regionalità: l’italiano regionale, oltre ad essere la varietà che tutti noi usiamo quotidianamente, può anche diventare un mezzo per veicolare maggiore espressività o per imitare al meglio un personaggio. While language of all television genres, from information to entertainment, has been widely examined, less attention has received language of television comedy. In this text, we started with an analysis of the 2016/2017 television schedule with an update for 2020 to examine any changes. The covid-19 has certainly changed the schedules of Italian television. Social distancing has also forced those who work in the world of entertainment to adapt: ​​many broadcasts have been suspended, others have been broadcast on the air, for still others it has been chosen to continue them without the presence of the public. The analysis is therefore influenced by the particular historical period; for example, by Fratelli di Crozza, one of the broadcasts analyzed, two episodes were broadcast without audience, before the broadcast was suspended. In this text, we intend to provide a general analysis of the language of the television comedians with particular attention to the aspect of regionality: regional Italian is not only variety we all use daily, but can also become a means of convey greater expressiveness or to better imitate a character.
Countries of former yugoslavia: Periphery vs. super-periphery in the great recession and beyond
investments, indebtedness, capital flows, bank lending, credit supply and demand
The paper deals with the performance of former Yugoslav countries during the Great Recession. It compares the performance of peripheral countries (Slovenia and Croatia) with those of superperipheral countries (Bosnia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia). The focus of the analysis is the four channels of crisis transmission and amplification: the capital surge as the external channel on the one hand, and the financial accelerator, the banking credit extension, and liquidity as internal channels on the other. While the external channel drove the dynamics of the crisis, the internal channels amplified, broadened, and prolonged its drastic economic consequences. The paper depicts the trajectory of the consequences of the Great Recession for both peripheral and super-peripheral countries. It shows that, regarding financial stability, peripheral countries outperformed superperipheral countries in the boom phase, but not in the bust and recovery phases. The crucial factor influencing such a deterioration of peripheral countries’ financial stability was the policy measures enforced by the European Commission and ECB, calibrated to the needs of the largest and strongest economies of the euro area, while neglecting the asymmetric dynamics of European economies in the bust and recovery phases. The paper concludes with a warning that something similar could happen in the present crisis triggered by the Covid-19 virus.
Bole Velimir, Dominko Miha, Guštin-Habuš Ada, Prašnikar Janez
Introducing Telepsychiatry to Medical Students with Simulated Patients: An Innovation by Necessity
telemedicine, Telepsychiatry, Medical education, e-learning, Clinical skills, remote education
Introduction: The abrupt discontinuation of medical student-patient contact due to the covid-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid change to virtual teaching. Student education was restructured to include online cases, small group discussions, synchronous and asynchronous lectures, and modified problem-based learning and team-based learning sessions. However, the key focus of the clerkship experience, contact with patients, was missing.Process: The Psychiatry Clerkship directors have previously provided complex simulated encounters to students using video-taped encounters of physician-simulated patient interactions to teach and assess student note writing skills. This concept was adapted to a live encounter for individual students on the psychiatry clerkship. Students reviewed the patient chart, performed the encounter, provided an oral patient presentation to faculty, and wrote a patient note. Individualized feedback was provided for each step of the process.Outcomes: The process was well received by students and faculty and provided an opportunity to directly observe student skills despite distancing from direct patient care. The simulated patients had a very positive experience and appreciated the opportunity to advance their own skills while contributing to student's education.Discussion: Removing students from clinical sites stimulated the rapid development of a process to observe learners involved in patient encounters. These educational sessions allowed direct observation of skills required in the initial evaluation of a patient presenting to psychiatry for care.
Michael Miller, Dawnelle Schatte, Karen Szauter
Epidemiology characteristics of human coronaviruses in patients with respiratory infection symptoms and phylogenetic analysis of HCoV-OC43 during 2010-2015 in Guangzhou.
Human coronavirus (HCoV) is one of the most common causes of respiratory tract infection throughout the world. To investigate the epidemiological and genetic variation of HCoV in Guangzhou, south China, we collected totally 13048 throat and nasal swab specimens from adults and children with fever and acute upper respiratory infection symptoms in Gunazhou, south China between July 2010 and June 2015, and the epidemiological features of HCoV and its species were studied. Specimens were screened for HCoV by real-time RT-PCR, and 7 other common respiratory viruses were tested simultaneously by PCR or real-time PCR. HCoV was detected in 294 cases (2.25%) of the 13048 samples, with most of them inpatients (251 cases, 85.4% of HCoV positive cases) and young children not in nursery (53.06%, 156 out of 294 HCoV positive cases). Four HCoVs, as OC43, 229E, NL63 and HKU1 were detected prevalent during 2010-2015 in Guangzhou, and among the HCoV positive cases, 60.20% were OC43, 16.67% were 229E, 14.97% were NL63 and 7.82% were HKU1. The month distribution showed that totally HCoV was prevalent in winter, but differences existed in different species. The 5 year distribution of HCoV showed a peak-valley distribution trend, with the detection rate higher in 2011 and 2013 whereas lower in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The age distribution revealed that children (especially those 50 years) were both high risk groups to be infected by HCoV. Of the 294 HCoV positive patients, 34.69% (101 cases) were co-infected by other common respiratory viruses, and influenza virus was the most common co-infecting virus (30/101, 29.70%). Fifteen HCoV-OC43 positive samples of 2013-2014 were selected for S gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, and the results showed that the 15 strains could be divided into 2 clusters in the phylogenetic tree, 12 strains of which formed a separate cluster that was closer to genotype G found in Malaysia. It was revealed for the first time that genotype B and genotype G of HCoV-OC43 co-circulated and the newly defined genotype G was epidemic as a dominant genotype during 2013-2014 in Guanzhou, south China.
Su-Fen Zhang, Jiu-Ling Tuo, Xu-Bin Huang, Xun Zhu, Ding-Mei Zhang, Kai Zhou, Lei Yuan, Hong-Jiao Luo, Bo-Jian Zheng, Kwok-Yung Yuen, Meng-Feng Li, Kai-Yuan Cao, Lin Xu
Two global events took place in the transition from 2019 to 2020: the pandemic of COVID-19 and a profusion of texts about it. This article is part of the current effort to understand the pandemic, but it enquires likewise how one may address its unique event among us. In Brazil, more than in any other country, the pandemic was subordinated to politics. This text follows another path that can be summarized in two questions addressed to its possible readers: does the possibility of mourning our dead depend on something as unexpected as written texts? Could it be that in order to honor them, the distance yielded by poetry would be more meaningful than the immediacy of politics?
Philosophy (General), Speculative philosophy
Unemployment and Psychological Distress among Young People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Psychological Resources and Risk Factors
covid-19, psychological distress, Risk factors, unemployment, psychological resources
In the wake of COVID-19, unemployment and its potential deleterious consequences have attracted renewed interest. We examined (1) the association between unemployment, occurring upon the coronavirus outbreak, and psychological distress among Israeli young people (20–35-years-old); (2) the associations between various psychological resources/risk factors and psychological distress; and (3) whether these resources and risk factors were moderators in the unemployment-psychological distress link. A real-time survey based on snowball sampling was conducted during the month of April 2020 (N = 390). We employed hierarchical linear models to explore associations between unemployment, psychological resources, risk factors, and psychological distress. Unemployment was independently associated with greater psychological distress. Perceived trust, optimism, and sense of mastery decreased psychological distress, whereas financial strain and loneliness during the crisis increased this distress. The effect of unemployment on psychological distress did not depend on participants’ resource and risk factor levels. Policymakers must develop and extend health initiatives aimed at alleviating the mental health consequences of COVID-19-related unemployment and promote labor market interventions to help young job seekers integrate into employment. These measures, which are in line with the UN sustainable development goals, should be seen as an important route to promote public health.