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Malaria Journal, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Abstract Background In Nigeria, declining responsiveness to artemether–lumefantrine (AL), the artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) of choice since 2005, has been reported. Pyronaridine–artesunate (PA) is a newer fixed-dose ACT recently prequalified by the WHO for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria. However, PA data from the Nigerian pediatric population is scarce. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of PA and AL using the WHO 28-day anti-malarial therapeutic efficacy study protocol in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, were compared. Methods In an open-labelled, randomized, controlled clinical trial, 172 children aged 3–144 months with a history of fever and microscopically confirmed uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria were enrolled in southwest Nigeria. Enrollees were randomly assigned to receive PA or AL at standard dosages according to body weight for 3 days. Venous blood was obtained for hematology, blood chemistry, and liver function tests on days 0, 3, 7, and 28 as part of the safety evaluation. Results 165 (95.9%) of the enrolled individuals completed the study. About half (52.3%; 90/172) of enrollees were male. Eighty-seven (50.6%) received AL, while 85 (49.4%) received PA. Day 28, adequate clinical and parasitological response for PA was 92.7% [(76/82) 95% CI 83.1, 95.9] and 71.1% [(59/83) 95% CI 60.4, 79.9] for AL (0.001). Fever and parasite clearance were similar in both groups. Two of six and eight of 24 parasite recurrences were observed among PA- and AL-treated children, respectively. PCR-corrected Day-28 cure rates for PA were 97.4% (76/78) and 88.1% (59/67) for AL (= 0.04) in the per-protocol population after new infections were censored. Hematological recovery at day 28 was significantly better among PA-treated patients (34.9% 2.8) compared to those treated with AL (33.1% 3.0) (0.002). Adverse events in both treatment arms were mild and similar to the symptoms of malaria infection. Blood chemistry and liver function tests were mostly within normal limits, with an occasional marginal rise. Conclusion PA and AL were well-tolerated. PA was significantly more efficacious than AL in both the PCR-uncorrected and PCR-corrected per-protocol populations during this study. The results of this study support the inclusion of PA in the anti-malarial treatment guidelines in Nigeria. Retrospective trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05192265.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedLiangqi Chen, Quan Zhang, Hongyi Li, Ke Ma
Journal of Medical Virology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Dilek Yildiz Sevgi, Nazife Duygu Demirbas, Irem Genc Yaman, Okan Derin, Ahsen Oncul, Ceren Atasoy Tahtasakal, Ozlem Gul, Husrev Diktas, Ilyas Dokmetas
Journal of Medical Virology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Shizheng Qiu, Keyang Zheng, Yang Hu, Guiyou Liu
Journal of Medical Virology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Yuko Sakai‐Tagawa, Seiya Yamayoshi, Peter J. Halfmann, Nancy Wilson, Max Bobholz, William C. Vuyk, Wanting Wei, Hunter Ries, David H. O'Connor, Thomas C. Friedrich, Emilia M. Sordillo, Harm Bakel, Viviana Simon, Yoshihiro Kawaoka
Journal of Medical Virology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Siew‐Wai Fong, Yun Shan Goh, Anthony Torres‐Ruesta, Zi Wei Chang, Yi‐Hao Chan, Vanessa Kexin Neo, Bernett Lee, Kaibo Duan, Siti Naqiah Amrun, Nicholas Kim‐Wah Yeo, Hsiuyi V. Chen, Matthew Zirui Tay, Guillaume Carissimo, COVID‐19 Study Group, NCID Study Group, Seow Yen Tan, Yee‐Sin Leo, David C. Lye, Laurent Renia, Barnaby Edward Young, Lisa F. P. Ng
Journal of Medical Virology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Hanlin Liu, Zifeng Pang, Quan Liu, Hailiang Sun, Ming Liao
Journal of Medical Virology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Soo, Cindy Leung; Bhatnagar, Sahir; Bartlett, Susan J.; Esmail, Aliasgar; Dheda, Keertan; Pai, Nitika Pant
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Background: Low risk perception is an important barrier to the utilisation of HIV services. In this context, offering an online platform for people to assess their risk of HIV and inform their decision to test can be impactful in increasing testing uptake. Using secondary data from the HIVSmart! quasi-randomised trial, we aimed to identify predictors of HIV, develop a risk staging model for South African township populations, and validate it in combination with the HIVSmart! digital self-testing program. Setting: Townships in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods: Using Bayesian predictive projection, we identified predictors of HIV and constructed a risk assessment model that we validated in external data. Results: Our analyses included 3095 participants from the HIVSmart! trial. We identified a model of five predictors (being unmarried, HIV testing history, having had sex with a partner living with HIV, dwelling situation, and education) that performed best during external validation (AUC-ROC, 89% CrI: 0.71, 0.68 – 0.72). The sensitivity of our HIV risk staging model was 91.0% (89.1% – 92.7%) and the specificity was 13.2% (8.5% – 19.8%); but increased when combined with a digital HIV self-testing program, the specificity was 91.6% (95.9% – 96.4%) and sensitivity remained similar at 90.9% (89.1% – 92.6%). Conclusion: This is the first validated digital HIV risk assessment tool developed for South African township populations and the first study to evaluate the added value of a risk assessment tool with an App-based HIV self-testing program. Study findings are relevant for application of digital programs to improve utilization of HIV testing services. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedSoo, Cindy Leung; Bhatnagar, Sahir; Bartlett, Susan J.; Esmail, Aliasgar; Dheda, Keertan; Pai, Nitika Pant
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Background: Low risk perception is an important barrier to the utilisation of HIV services. In this context, offering an online platform for people to assess their risk of HIV and inform their decision to test can be impactful in increasing testing uptake. Using secondary data from the HIVSmart! quasi-randomised trial, we aimed to identify predictors of HIV, develop a risk staging model for South African township populations, and validate it in combination with the HIVSmart! digital self-testing program. Setting: Townships in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods: Using Bayesian predictive projection, we identified predictors of HIV and constructed a risk assessment model that we validated in external data. Results: Our analyses included 3095 participants from the HIVSmart! trial. We identified a model of five predictors (being unmarried, HIV testing history, having had sex with a partner living with HIV, dwelling situation, and education) that performed best during external validation (AUC-ROC, 89% CrI: 0.71, 0.68 – 0.72). The sensitivity of our HIV risk staging model was 91.0% (89.1% – 92.7%) and the specificity was 13.2% (8.5% – 19.8%); but increased when combined with a digital HIV self-testing program, the specificity was 91.6% (95.9% – 96.4%) and sensitivity remained similar at 90.9% (89.1% – 92.6%). Conclusion: This is the first validated digital HIV risk assessment tool developed for South African township populations and the first study to evaluate the added value of a risk assessment tool with an App-based HIV self-testing program. Study findings are relevant for application of digital programs to improve utilization of HIV testing services. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedTuddenham, Susan; Shafiq, Mehr; Mathad, Jyoti S.; Alexander, Mallika; Naik, Shilpa; Kulkarni, Vandana; Deshpande, Prasad; Humphrys, Mike S.; Holm, Johanna B.; Khan, Nawshaba; Yadana, Su; Cheedalla, Aneesha; Bhosale, Ramesh; Ghanem, Khalil G.; Wang, Tian; Wang, Shuang; Ma, Bing; Ravel, Jacques; Gupta, Amita; Shivakoti, Rupak
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a highly prevalent disorder of the cervicovaginal microbiota. Molecular-BV may put women at increased risk for adverse reproductive and obstetric outcomes. We investigated the association of HIV and pregnancy on the vaginal microbiota and associations with molecular-BV in women of reproductive age from Pune, India. Setting: We studied vaginal samples from N=170 women including N=44 non-pregnant HIV seronegative (SN), N=56 pregnant SN, N=47 non-pregnant women with HIV (WWH), and N=23 pregnant WWH, and collected data on clinical, behavioral, and demographic factors. Methods: We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the composition of the vaginal microbiota. We classified the vaginal microbiota of these women into community state types (CSTs) based on bacterial composition and relative abundance, and further categorized them into molecular-BV versus Lactobacillus-dominated states. To determine associations between pregnancy and HIV status with outcome of molecular-BV, logistic regression models were used. Results: There was a high prevalence of molecular-BV (30%) in this cohort. We found that pregnancy was associated with decreased odds of molecular-BV (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.35, 95% CI: 0.14–0.87), while HIV was associated with increased odds of molecular-BV (aOR=2.76, 95% CI: 1.33–5.73), even when controlling for multiple relevant factors such as age, number of partners, condom use and douching. Conclusion: Larger and longitudinal studies are needed to further characterize molecular-BV and the vaginal microbiota in pregnant women and WWH, and relate these factors to infectious, reproductive, and obstetric outcomes. In the long term, these studies may lead to novel microbiota-based therapeutics to improve women’s reproductive and obstetric health. Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedTuddenham, Susan; Shafiq, Mehr; Mathad, Jyoti S.; Alexander, Mallika; Naik, Shilpa; Kulkarni, Vandana; Deshpande, Prasad; Humphrys, Mike S.; Holm, Johanna B.; Khan, Nawshaba; Yadana, Su; Cheedalla, Aneesha; Bhosale, Ramesh; Ghanem, Khalil G.; Wang, Tian; Wang, Shuang; Ma, Bing; Ravel, Jacques; Gupta, Amita; Shivakoti, Rupak
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a highly prevalent disorder of the cervicovaginal microbiota. Molecular-BV may put women at increased risk for adverse reproductive and obstetric outcomes. We investigated the association of HIV and pregnancy on the vaginal microbiota and associations with molecular-BV in women of reproductive age from Pune, India. Setting: We studied vaginal samples from N=170 women including N=44 non-pregnant HIV seronegative (SN), N=56 pregnant SN, N=47 non-pregnant women with HIV (WWH), and N=23 pregnant WWH, and collected data on clinical, behavioral, and demographic factors. Methods: We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the composition of the vaginal microbiota. We classified the vaginal microbiota of these women into community state types (CSTs) based on bacterial composition and relative abundance, and further categorized them into molecular-BV versus Lactobacillus-dominated states. To determine associations between pregnancy and HIV status with outcome of molecular-BV, logistic regression models were used. Results: There was a high prevalence of molecular-BV (30%) in this cohort. We found that pregnancy was associated with decreased odds of molecular-BV (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.35, 95% CI: 0.14–0.87), while HIV was associated with increased odds of molecular-BV (aOR=2.76, 95% CI: 1.33–5.73), even when controlling for multiple relevant factors such as age, number of partners, condom use and douching. Conclusion: Larger and longitudinal studies are needed to further characterize molecular-BV and the vaginal microbiota in pregnant women and WWH, and relate these factors to infectious, reproductive, and obstetric outcomes. In the long term, these studies may lead to novel microbiota-based therapeutics to improve women’s reproductive and obstetric health. Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedRaiford, Jerris L; Yuan, Xin; Carree, Tamara; Beer, Linda
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Background: Racial and ethnic disparities in antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and sustained viral suppression (SVS) have been documented among women with HIV. We examined factors that may account for these racial/ethnic differences among women to inform interventions that increase health equity. Methods: We used data from the 2015-2019 cycles of the Medical Monitoring Project, a probability sample of U.S. adults with diagnosed HIV. Using logistic regression with predicted marginal means, we calculated weighted prevalence differences (PDs) of ART adherence and SVS among Black, Hispanic/Latina, and White women taking ART. Using modeling with forward stepwise selection, we adjusted PDs for selected variables, including social determinants of health (SDOH) factors, to examine whether magnitude of PDs was attenuated by their inclusion. We assessed relative changes between unadjusted and adjusted PDs. Results: After adjusting for poverty, transportation needs, health literacy, and gap in health insurance/coverage, the Black-White PD in adherence decreased by 11% (-16.0% to -14.2%). After adjusting for adherence, poverty, type of health insurance, and gap in health insurance/coverage, the Black-White PD in SVS reduced 37% (-7.9% to -5.0%) and was no longer statistically different. The Hispanic/Latina-White PD in adherence reduced 24% (-12.7% to -9.6%) after adjusting for poverty, health literacy and transportation needs. The unadjusted Hispanic/Latina-White PD in SVS was not significantly different. Conclusion: Racial/ethnic disparities in HIV outcomes among women taking ART were substantially reduced after accounting for SDOH and other factors, although differences remained. Structural interventions to improve SDOH are needed to improve health equity for women with HIV. Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedRaiford, Jerris L; Yuan, Xin; Carree, Tamara; Beer, Linda
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Background: Racial and ethnic disparities in antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and sustained viral suppression (SVS) have been documented among women with HIV. We examined factors that may account for these racial/ethnic differences among women to inform interventions that increase health equity. Methods: We used data from the 2015-2019 cycles of the Medical Monitoring Project, a probability sample of U.S. adults with diagnosed HIV. Using logistic regression with predicted marginal means, we calculated weighted prevalence differences (PDs) of ART adherence and SVS among Black, Hispanic/Latina, and White women taking ART. Using modeling with forward stepwise selection, we adjusted PDs for selected variables, including social determinants of health (SDOH) factors, to examine whether magnitude of PDs was attenuated by their inclusion. We assessed relative changes between unadjusted and adjusted PDs. Results: After adjusting for poverty, transportation needs, health literacy, and gap in health insurance/coverage, the Black-White PD in adherence decreased by 11% (-16.0% to -14.2%). After adjusting for adherence, poverty, type of health insurance, and gap in health insurance/coverage, the Black-White PD in SVS reduced 37% (-7.9% to -5.0%) and was no longer statistically different. The Hispanic/Latina-White PD in adherence reduced 24% (-12.7% to -9.6%) after adjusting for poverty, health literacy and transportation needs. The unadjusted Hispanic/Latina-White PD in SVS was not significantly different. Conclusion: Racial/ethnic disparities in HIV outcomes among women taking ART were substantially reduced after accounting for SDOH and other factors, although differences remained. Structural interventions to improve SDOH are needed to improve health equity for women with HIV. Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedAshley Bastin, Ioannis Eleftherianos
Trends in Parasitology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora is an insect parasite that first gained popularity as a means of agricultural pest control, but has also become a model for nematode parasitism. As an entomopathogenic nematode, H. bacteriophora serves as an obligate host for the Gram-negative bacteria Photorhabdus spp.; together, these symbiotic partners infect numerous insect species. When in contact with a potential host, the parasitic nematode enters through natural openings or pierces the cuticle of the insect to gain entry to the hemocoel, releasing the Photorhabdus spp.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedMekala Sundaram, Antoine Filion, Benedicta E. Akaribo, Patrick R. Stephens
Trends in Parasitology, 14.05.2023
Tilføjet 14.05.2023
A corrected version of Supplementary Table S1 has been supplied by the authors which includes corrections to the data information within the table and correction to the reference for data collection. The correct reference for the supplementary material is ‘GIDEON Guide to Outbreaks (Berger 2017)’.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedMalaria Journal, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
Abstract Background Post malarial neurological syndrome (PMNS) occurs as a sequel of cerebral malaria which is the most deadly form of severe malaria. In holo-endemic regions (areas of high malarial transmission) all forms of severe malaria as well as cerebral malaria usually occur in children and those who are semi or non-immune like pregnant women, migrants as well as tourists. It also occurs in hypo-endemic regions (areas of limited malarial transmission with low immunity) and malaria- free zones. Survivors however may have neurologic complications after recovery. PMNS has been reported in many parts of the world. Being a sequel to cerebral malaria, it is uncommon in adults who were born and reside in a holo-endemic region all their lives. Case report This is the case of an 18 year old Gambian who has lived in The Gambia all his life that had PMNS five days after recovery from cerebral malaria. Methods This was a predominantly web based literature search. The search comprise all case reports, original articles and reviews on PMNS or neurological deficits associated with malaria or noted after malaria infection. The search engines used were Google, Yahoo and Google scholar. Results A total of 62 papers were found. These were used for this review of the literature. Conclusion Cerebral malaria also occurs in adults in holo-endemic areas though rare and some of the survivors may develop PMNS. It is commoner in the youth age group. There is need for further studies since the youth may be a possible new ‘vulnerable group’ in holoendemic areas. This may lead to the widening the targeted group for malaria control in the regions of high malarial transmission.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedInfection, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
Miriam Alisa Knoll, Stephan Steixner, Cornelia Lass-Flörl
Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
Invasive fungal infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in a broad range of patients. Adequate and early diagnosis is a challenge, and of importance for improved survival. New molecular-based diagnostic methods are trend-setting yet with the drawback that conventional tests receive less attention, in the lab as well as in the clinical setting.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedDaniel D. Sprockett, Jeffrey D. Price, Anthony F. Juritsch, Robert J. Schmaltz, Madalena V. F. Real, Samantha L. Goldman, Michael Sheehan, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Andrew H. Moeller
Science Advances, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
Slobodan Tepic, Daniel Arens, Tim Buchholz, Dirk Nehrbass, Olivera Cvetkovic, Martin J. Stoddart, R. G. Richards, Stephan Zeiter
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Slobodan Tepic, Daniel Arens, Tim Buchholz, Dirk Nehrbass, Olivera Cvetkovic, Martin J. Stoddart, R. G. Richards, Stephan Zeiter Pneumonia, always a major malady, became the main public health and economic disaster of historical proportions with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was based on a premise that pathology of lung metabolism in inflammation may have features invariant to the nature of the underlying cause. Amino acid uptake by the lungs was measured from plasma samples collected pre-terminally from a carotid artery and vena cava in mice with bleomycin-induced lung inflammation (N = 10) and compared to controls treated with saline instillation (N = 6). In the control group, the difference in concentrations between the arterial and venous blood of the 19 amino acids measured reached the level of statistical significance only for arginine (-10.7%, p = 0.0372) and phenylalanine (+5.5%, p = 0.0266). In the bleomycin group, 11 amino acids had significantly lower concentrations in the arterial blood. Arginine concentration was decreased by 21.1% (p
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedEllen Weiss Wiewel, Yaoyu Zhong, Qiang Xia, Christopher M. Beattie, Paul A. Brown, Pam X. Farquhar, John F. Rojas
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Ellen Weiss Wiewel, Yaoyu Zhong, Qiang Xia, Christopher M. Beattie, Paul A. Brown, Pam X. Farquhar, John F. Rojas Objectives To measure housing assistance and homelessness among persons living with HIV (PLWH) and their association with health. Methods Exposure categories were: experiencing homelessness (per emergency shelter use or self-report), receiving housing assistance (per housing subsidy) without homelessness, or neither homelessness nor receiving housing assistance. Outcomes were: engagement (≥1 visit) and retention (≥2 visits ≥90 days apart) in HIV-related medical care and one-time (latest viral load) and durable (≥1 viral load test, all suppressed) HIV viral suppression (
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedAnna Neumann, Susanne M. Ulrich, Frank Sinß, Digo Chakraverty, Maria Hänelt, Ulrike Lux, Sarah Ghezih, Johanna Löchner, Ilona Renner
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Anna Neumann, Susanne M. Ulrich, Frank Sinß, Digo Chakraverty, Maria Hänelt, Ulrike Lux, Sarah Ghezih, Johanna Löchner, Ilona Renner Background In order for Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) to be effective, data-based information on families’ resources, burden and current use of support services for families with young children, as well as on children’s health and development is needed. The study Kinder in Deutschland [Children in Germany]–KiD 0–3 2022 aims at providing these data to help us understand families’ situation and needs in Germany now, including families’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method The study will recruit up to 300 pediatricians who will invite parents of children aged up to 48 months to participate in the study during a well-child visit. Parents (goal N = 8,000) will complete an online-questionnaire with their own web-enabled device. Pediatricians will complete a short questionnaire about each participating family. The questionnaires cover family psychosocial burden and resources, child health and development, use of family support services, as well as the families’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data will be analyzed to assess patterns of families´ psychosocial burdens and resources, use of support services for families with young children, and children´s health and development. Concordance between parent and pediatrician report will be assessed and comparisons with the predecessor study of 2015 will be drawn. Dissemination Findings will be disseminated through scientific conferences, open access peer-reviewed journals, and dissemination channels of the National Centre for Early Prevention. Discussion The present study will provide parent and pediatrician reports on how families with young children are doing in Germany. These data will be used to inform Germany’s early childhood intervention (ECI) program (“Frühe Hilfen”) on current needs of families with young children.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedMansoor Davoodi, Abhishek Senapati, Adam Mertel, Weronika Schlechte-Welnicz, Justin M. Calabrese
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Mansoor Davoodi, Abhishek Senapati, Adam Mertel, Weronika Schlechte-Welnicz, Justin M. Calabrese During pandemics like COVID-19, both the quality and quantity of services offered by businesses and organizations have been severely impacted. They often have applied a hybrid home office setup to overcome this problem, although in some situations, working from home lowers employee productivity. So, increasing the rate of presence in the office is frequently desired from the manager’s standpoint. On the other hand, as the virus spreads through interpersonal contact, the risk of infection increases when workplace occupancy rises. Motivated by this trade-off, in this paper, we model this problem as a bi-objective optimization problem and propose a practical approach to find the trade-off solutions. We present a new probabilistic framework to compute the expected number of infected employees for a setting of the influential parameters, such as the incidence level in the neighborhood of the company, transmission rate of the virus, number of employees, rate of vaccination, testing frequency, and rate of contacts among the employees. The results show a wide range of trade-offs between the expected number of infections and productivity, for example, from 1 to 6 weekly infections in 100 employees and a productivity level of 65% to 85%. This depends on the configuration of influential parameters and the occupancy level. We implement the model and the algorithm and perform several experiments with different settings of the parameters. Moreover, we developed an online application based on the result in this paper which can be used as a recommender for the optimal rate of occupancy in companies/workplaces.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedLizette Pizza, Samuel Ronfard, John D. Coley, Deborah Kelemen
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Lizette Pizza, Samuel Ronfard, John D. Coley, Deborah Kelemen Health behaviors that do not effectively prevent disease can negatively impact psychological wellbeing and potentially drain motivations to engage in more effective behavior, potentially creating higher health risk. Despite this, studies linking “moral foundations” (i.e., concerns about harm, fairness, purity, authority, ingroup, and/or liberty) to health behaviors have generally been limited to a narrow range of behaviors, specifically effective ones. We therefore explored the degree to which moral foundations predicted a wider range of not only effective but ineffective (overreactive) preventative behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, participants from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States reported their engagement in these preventative behaviors and completed a COVID-specific adaptation of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire during the pandemic peak. While differences occurred across countries, authority considerations consistently predicted increased engagement in both effective preventative behaviors but also ineffective overreactions, even when controlling for political ideology. By contrast, purity and liberty considerations reduced intentions to engage in effective behaviors like vaccination but had no effect on ineffective behaviors. Study 2 revealed that the influence of moral foundations on U.S participants’ behavior remained stable 5-months later, after the pandemic peak. These findings demonstrate that the impact of moral foundations on preventative behaviors is similar across a range of western democracies, and that recommendations by authorities can have unexpected consequences in terms of promoting ineffective—and potentially damaging—overreactive behaviors. The findings underscore the importance of moral concerns for the design of health interventions that selectively promote effective preventative behavior.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedWan Imanul Aisyah Wan Mohamad Nawi, Abdul Aziz K. Abdul Hamid, Muhamad Safiih Lola, Syerrina Zakaria, Elayaraja Aruchunan, R. U. Gobithaasan, Nurul Hila Zainuddin, Wan Azani Mustafa, Mohd Lazim Abdullah, Nor Aieni Mokhtar, Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Wan Imanul Aisyah Wan Mohamad Nawi, Abdul Aziz K. Abdul Hamid, Muhamad Safiih Lola, Syerrina Zakaria, Elayaraja Aruchunan, R. U. Gobithaasan, Nurul Hila Zainuddin, Wan Azani Mustafa, Mohd Lazim Abdullah, Nor Aieni Mokhtar, Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah Improving forecasting particularly time series forecasting accuracy, efficiency and precisely become crucial for the authorities to forecast, monitor, and prevent the COVID-19 cases so that its spread can be controlled more effectively. However, the results obtained from prediction models are inaccurate, imprecise as well as inefficient due to linear and non-linear patterns exist in the data set, respectively. Therefore, to produce more accurate and efficient COVID-19 prediction value that is closer to the true COVID-19 value, a hybrid approach has been implemented. Thus, aims of this study is (1) to propose a hybrid ARIMA-SVM model to produce better forecasting results. (2) to investigate in terms of the performance of the proposed models and percentage improvement against ARIMA and SVM models. statistical measurements such as MSE, RMSE, MAE, and MAPE then conducted to verify that the proposed models are better than ARIMA and SVM models. Empirical results with three real datasets of well-known cases of COVID-19 in Malaysia show that, compared to the ARIMA and SVM models, the proposed model generates the smallest MSE, RMSE, MAE and MAPE values for the training and testing datasets, means that the predicted value from the proposed model is closer to the actual value. These results prove that the proposed model can generate estimated values more accurately and efficiently. As compared to ARIMA and SVM, our proposed models perform much better in terms of error reduction percentages for all datasets. This is demonstrated by the maximum scores of 73.12%, 74.6%, 90.38%, and 68.99% in the MAE, MAPE, MSE, and RMSE, respectively. Therefore, the proposed model can be the best and effective way to improve prediction performance with a higher level of accuracy and efficiency in predicting cases of COVID-19.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedMarco Antonio Catussi Paschoalotto, Eduardo Polena Pacheco Araújo Costa, Sara Valente de Almeida, Joana Cima, Joana Gomes da Costa, João Vasco Santos, Claudia Souza Passador, João Luiz Passador, Pedro Pita Barros
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Marco Antonio Catussi Paschoalotto, Eduardo Polena Pacheco Araújo Costa, Sara Valente de Almeida, Joana Cima, Joana Gomes da Costa, João Vasco Santos, Claudia Souza Passador, João Luiz Passador, Pedro Pita Barros Trust in institutions is a key driver to shape population attitudes and behavior, such as compliance of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI). During the COVID-19 pandemic, this was fundamental and its compliance was supported by governmental and non-governmental institutions. Nevertheless, the situation of political polarization in some countries with decentralized health systems increased the difficulty of such interventions. This study analyzes the association between non-pharmaceutical interventions’ compliance and individual perception regarding institutions’ performance during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. A web survey was conducted in Brazil between November 2020 and February 2021. Bivariate analysis and ordered logit regressions were performed to assess the association between NPIs compliance and perceived institutions’ performance. Results suggest a negative association between NPIs’ compliance and Federal Government and Ministry of health perceived performance, which may reflect the political positioning of the respondents. Moreover, we find a positive association between NPI compliance and the perceived performance of the remaining institutions (state government, federal supreme court, national congress, WHO, media and SUS). Our contribution goes beyond the study of a relationship between non-pharmaceutical interventions’ compliance and institutions’ performance, by pointing out the importance of subnational and local governmental spheres in a decentralized health system, as well as highlighting the importance of social communication based on health organizations’ information and scientific institutions.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedTajana Guberina, Ai Min Wang, Bojan Obrenovic
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Tajana Guberina, Ai Min Wang, Bojan Obrenovic The empirical study proposes a model for investigating the effect of entrepreneurial leadership on job insecurity and employee psychological wellbeing during COVID-19 based on the combined theoretical grounds of The Conservation of Resources Theory and Social Learning. To explore the job insecurity relationship with psychological wellbeing, and measure the impact of Fear of COVID-19, an empirical study was conducted on a sample of 408 employees in Croatia. The data of the cross-sectional study was collected in November and December 2020. A strong influence of job insecurity on the psychological wellbeing of employees has been identified. Furthermore, fear of COVID-19 was found to have adverse psychological effects on wellbeing. The theorized positive impact of entrepreneurial leadership on job insecurity was not supported by the evidence. The strong point of our contribution lies in the finding that the entrepreneurial leadership style alone does not buffer against job insecurity, thus pointing that the more comprehensive inquiry into other organizational factors, such as coping, learning abilities, developmental opportunities, personal disposition, and pressure bearing. The research is the first step toward enhancing our understanding of the entrepreneurial dimension of transactional psychology. The observations we recorded have implications for research into the study of the mental processes and their impact on organizational proactive behavior.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedCyrelle J. Tenhagen, Engin Topan, Karin C. G. M. Groothuis-Oudshoorn
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Cyrelle J. Tenhagen, Engin Topan, Karin C. G. M. Groothuis-Oudshoorn In this paper, we investigate the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of government measures at the early stage of the pandemic (before the introduction of the vaccines) in the Netherlands. We build a multiple linear regression model to predict the effective reproduction rate using key factors and measures and integrate it with a system dynamics model to predict the spread and the impact of measures against COVID-19. Data from February to November 2020 is used to train the model and data until December 2020 is used to validate the model. We use data about the key factors, e.g., disease specific such as basic reproduction rate and incubation period, weather related factors such as temperature, and controllable factors such as testing capacity. We consider particularly the following measures taken by the government: wearing facemasks, event allowance, school closure, catering services closure, and self-quarantine. Studying the strategy of the Dutch government, we control these measures by following four main policies: doing nothing, mitigation, curbing, elimination. We develop a systems dynamic model to simulate the effect of policies. Based on our numerical experiments, we develop the following main insights: It is more effective to implement strict, sharp measures earlier but for a shorter duration than to introduce measures gradually for a longer duration. This way, we can prevent a quick rise in the number of infected cases but also to reduce the number of days under measures. Combining the measures with a high testing capacity and with effective self-quarantine can significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedBrian C. Zanoni, Cecilia Milford, Kedibone Sithole, Nzwakie Mosery, Michael Wilson, Shannon Bosman, Jennifer Smit
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Brian C. Zanoni, Cecilia Milford, Kedibone Sithole, Nzwakie Mosery, Michael Wilson, Shannon Bosman, Jennifer Smit We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand current drug use practices and access to healthcare services for people who use injection drugs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We used respondent-driven sampling to recruit 45 people who used injection drugs within the past 6 months from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We found high rates of practices that increase HIV/viral hepatitis risk including the use of shared needles (43%) and direct blood injections (bluetoothing) (18%). Despite 35% living with HIV, only 40% accessed antiretroviral therapy within the past year, and one accessed PrEP. None of the participants ever tested for Hepatitis C.
Læs mere Tjek på PubMedMd. Mohsan Khudri, Kang Keun Rhee, Mohammad Shabbir Hasan, Karar Zunaid Ahsan
PLoS One Infectious Diseases, 13.05.2023
Tilføjet 13.05.2023
by Md. Mohsan Khudri, Kang Keun Rhee, Mohammad Shabbir Hasan, Karar Zunaid Ahsan Background Malnutrition imposes enormous costs resulting from lost investments in human capital and increased healthcare expenditures. There is a dearth of research focusing on the prediction of women’s body mass index (BMI) and malnutrition outcomes (underweight, overweight, and obesity) in developing countries. This paper attempts to fill out this knowledge gap by predicting the BMI and the risks of malnutrition outcomes for Bangladeshi women of childbearing age from their economic, health, and demographic features. Methods Data from the 2017–18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey and a series of supervised machine learning (SML) techniques are used. Additionally, this study circumvents the imbalanced distribution problem in obesity classification by utilizing an oversampling approach. Results Study findings demonstrate that the support vector machine and k-nearest neighbor are the two best-performing methods in BMI prediction based on the coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). The combined predictor algorithms consistently yield top specificity, Cohen’s kappa, F1-score, and AUC in classifying the malnutrition status, and their performance is robust to alternative standards. The feature importance ranking based on several nonparametric and combined predictors indicates that socioeconomic status, women’s age, and breastfeeding status are the most important features in predicting women’s nutritional outcomes. Furthermore, the conditional inference trees corroborate that those three features, along with the partner’s educational attainment and employment status, significantly predict malnutrition risks. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that predicts BMI and one of the pioneer studies to classify all three malnutrition outcomes for women of childbearing age in Bangladesh, let alone in any lower-middle income country, using SML techniques. Moreover, in the context of Bangladesh, this paper is the first to identify and rank features that are critical in predicting nutritional outcomes using several feature selection algorithms. The estimators from this study predict the outcomes of interest most accurately and efficiently compared to other existing studies in the relevant literature. Therefore, study findings can aid policymakers in designing policy and programmatic approaches to address the double burden of malnutrition among Bangladeshi women, thereby reducing the country’s economic burden.
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