scholarly journals The role of airborne transmission in a large single source outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in a Belgian nursing home in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bea Vuylsteke ◽  
Lize Cuypers ◽  
Guy Baele ◽  
Marianne Stranger ◽  
Sarah Lima Paralovo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Index Case ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Tracer Gas ◽  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
High Background ◽  
Cultural Event ◽  
Co2 Level

Abstract Objectives: To better understand the conditions which have led to one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in Belgian nursing homes in 2020. Setting: A nursing home in Flanders, Belgium, which experienced a massive outbreak of COVID-19 after a cultural event. An external volunteer who dressed as a legendary figure visited consecutively the 4 living units and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 the next day. Within days, residents started to display symptoms and the outbreak spread rapidly within the nursing home. Methods: We interviewed key informants and collected standardized data from all residents retrospectively. A batch of 115 positive samples with a Ct value of <37 by qRT-PCR were analysed using whole-genome sequencing. Six months after the outbreak, ventilation assessment of gathering rooms in the nursing home was done using a tracer gas test with calibrated CO2 sensors. Results: Timeline of diagnoses and symptom onsets clearly pointed to the cultural event as the start of the outbreak, with the volunteer as index case. The genotyping of positive samples depicted the presence of one large cluster, suggesting a single source outbreak. The global attack rate among residents was 77% with a significant association between infection and presence at the event. Known risk factors such as short distance to or physical contact with the volunteer, and wearing of a mask during the event were not associated with early infection. The ventilation assessment showed a high background average CO2 level in four main rooms varying from 657 ppm to 846 ppm. Conclusions: Our investigation shows a rapid and widespread single source outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in a nursing home, in which airborne transmission was the most plausible explanation for the massive intra-facility spread. Our results underscore the importance of ventilation and air quality for the prevention of future outbreaks in closed facilities.

Healing Touch: Clothed Images of the Virgin in Early Modern Portugal

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-78
Author(s):  
Diana Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Religious Art ◽  
Healing Touch ◽  
Devotional Art ◽  
Healing Power ◽  
The Many ◽  
Santa Maria

Over the last decades there was a growing interest in religious materiality, miraculous images, votive practices, and how the faithful engaged with devotional art, as well as a renewed impetus to discuss the long-recognized association between sculpture and touch, after the predominance of the visuality approach. Additionally, the neglected phenomenon of clothing statues has also been increasingly explored. Based on the reading of Santuario Mariano (1707–1723), written by Friar Agostinho de Santa Maria (1642–1728), this paper will closely examine those topics. Besides producing a monumental catalogue of Marian shrines and pilgrimage sites, this source offers a unique insight into the religious experience and the reciprocal relationship between image and devotee in Early Modern Portugal, and is a particularly rich source when describing the believers’ pursuit of physical contact with sculptures. This yearning for proximity is partly explained by the belief in the healing power of Marian sculptures, which in turn seemed to be conveniently transferred to a myriad of objects. When contact with the images themselves was not possible, devotees sought out their clothes, crowns, rosary beads, metric relics, and so forth. Items of clothing such as mantles and veils were particularly used and so it seems obvious they were not mere adornments or donations, but also mediums and extensions of the sculptures’ presence and power. By focusing on the thaumaturgic role of the statues’ clothes and jewels, I will argue how the practice of dressing sculptures was due to much more than stylistic desires or processional needs and draw attention to the many ways believers engaged with religious art in Early Modern Portugal.

scholarly journals The possible role of the Surface Active Substances (SAS) in the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2

2021 ◽  
pp. 111215
Author(s):  
Irena Ciglenečki ◽  
Palma Orlović-Leko ◽  
Kristijan Vidović ◽  
Viša Tasić
Keyword(s):  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
Surface Active ◽  
Active Substances

scholarly journals The process of transprofessional collaboration: how caregivers integrated the perspectives of rehabilitation through working with a physical therapist

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. e000378
Author(s):  
Ryohei Goto ◽  
Junji Haruta
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Action Research Approach ◽  
Informal Interview ◽  
Trial Basis ◽  
Field Notes

ObjectivesTo clarify the process of how caregivers in a nursing home integrate the perspectives of rehabilitation into their responsibilities through working with a physical therapist.DesignThis study was conducted under an action research approach.SettingThe target facility was a nursing home located in Japan. The researcher, a physical therapist, worked at the nursing home once a week from April 2016 to March 2017. During the study period, he created field notes focused on the dialogue and action of caregivers regarding care, responses of caregivers to the physical therapist and reflections as a physical therapist. Caregivers were also given a short informal interview about their relationship with the nursing home residents. For data analysis, two researchers discussed the content based on the field notes, consolidating the findings.ParticipantsThe participants were caregivers who worked at the target facility. Thirty-eight caregivers agreed to participate. Average age was 39.6±11.1 years, 14 (37%) were male and average caregiver experience was 9.8 years.ResultsTwo cycles of action research were conducted during the study period. There were four stages in the process of how caregivers in the nursing home integrated the perspectives of rehabilitation through their work with the physical therapist. First, caregivers resisted having the rehabilitation programme carried out in the unit because they perceived that rehabilitation performed by a physical therapist was a special process and not under their responsibility. However, the caregivers were given a shared perspective on rehabilitation by the physical therapist, which helped them to understand the meaning of care to adapt the residents’ abilities to their daily life. They practised resident-centred care on a trial basis, although with a sense of conflict between their new and previous role, which emphasised the safety of residents’ lives and personhood. The caregivers increased their self-efficacy as their knowledge and skills were supplemented by the physical therapist and his approval of their attempted care. They were then able to commit to their newly conceived specialty of care as a means of supporting the lives of residents.ConclusionsThe process of working with a physical therapist led to a change in caregivers’ perception and behaviours, which occurred in four stages: resistance to incorporation, recapture of other perspectives, conflicts and trials in the role of caregiver and transformation to a resident-centred perspective.

scholarly journals In search of a Goldilocks zone for credible AI

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Allan ◽  
Nir Oren ◽  
Jacqui Hutchison ◽  
Douglas Martin
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Multiple Tests ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Global Problems ◽  
Scene Content ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Source Accuracy

AbstractIf artificial intelligence (AI) is to help solve individual, societal and global problems, humans should neither underestimate nor overestimate its trustworthiness. Situated in-between these two extremes is an ideal ‘Goldilocks’ zone of credibility. But what will keep trust in this zone? We hypothesise that this role ultimately falls to the social cognition mechanisms which adaptively regulate conformity between humans. This novel hypothesis predicts that human-like functional biases in conformity should occur during interactions with AI. We examined multiple tests of this prediction using a collaborative remembering paradigm, where participants viewed household scenes for 30 s vs. 2 min, then saw 2-alternative forced-choice decisions about scene content originating either from AI- or human-sources. We manipulated the credibility of different sources (Experiment 1) and, from a single source, the estimated-likelihood (Experiment 2) and objective accuracy (Experiment 3) of specific decisions. As predicted, each manipulation produced functional biases for AI-sources mirroring those found for human-sources. Participants conformed more to higher credibility sources, and higher-likelihood or more objectively accurate decisions, becoming increasingly sensitive to source accuracy when their own capability was reduced. These findings support the hypothesised role of social cognition in regulating AI’s influence, raising important implications and new directions for research on human–AI interaction.

scholarly journals Satisfied as professionals, but also exhausted and worried!!: The role of job demands, resources and emotional experiences of Spanish nursing home workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Manuel Blanco‐Donoso ◽  
Jennifer Moreno‐Jiménez ◽  
Laura Gallego‐Alberto ◽  
Alberto Amutio ◽  
Bernardo Moreno‐Jiménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Home Workers

scholarly journals Role of airborne transmission in staphylococcal infections.

BMJ ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 1 (5483) ◽  
pp. 319-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Mortimer ◽  
E. Wolinsky ◽  
A. J. Gonzaga ◽  
C. H. Rammelkamp
Keyword(s):  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
Staphylococcal Infections

Advocacy for The Mentally Impaired Elderly: A Case Study Analysis

1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanie Kayser-Jones ◽  
Marshall B. Kapp
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Mentally Impaired ◽  
And Training

The authors present a case study to illustrate how a mentally impaired but socially intact nursing home resident, who had no one to act as an advocate for her, was denied appropriate treatment for an acute illness which ultimately resulted in her death. The case raises important questions about advocacy for the mentally-impaired, acutely-ill institutionalized patient. This Article explores the role of the advocate, how advocates are selected, what qualities and talents they should possess, and what responsibilities should be assigned to them. The authors suggest that nursing home residents should be encouraged to engage in self-advocacy to the greatest extent possible. The competent elderly should be urged to name their preferred advocates. Individuals who serve in advocacy roles should be advised to seek information regarding the patient's wishes from those who know the patient well. Furthermore, there is a need for quality education and training of those who serve in advocacy roles on behalf of nursing home residents, and state laws need to specify the responsibilities of persons who serve as advocates.

The Potential for Transmission of Coronaviruses via Sports Equipment; A Cricket Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory England ◽  
Nicholas Peirce ◽  
Joseph Torresi ◽  
Sean Mitchell ◽  
Andy Harland
Keyword(s):  
Viral Load ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Infected Person ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Transmission Pathways ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

AbstractA review of literature on the role of fomites in transmission of coronaviruses informed the development of a framework which was used to qualitatively analyse a cricket case study, where equipment is shared and passed around, and identify potential mitigation strategies. A range of pathways were identified that might in theory allow coronavirus transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person via communal or personal equipment fomites or both. Eighteen percent of potential fomite based interactions were found to be non-essential to play including all contact with another persons equipment. Six opportunities to interrupt the transmission pathway were identified, including the recommendation to screen participants for symptoms prior to play. Social distancing between participants and avoiding unnecessary surface contact provides two opportunities; firstly to avoid equipment exposure to infected respiratory droplets and secondly to avoid uninfected participants touching potential fomites. Hand sanitisation and equipment sanitisation provide two further opportunities by directly inactivating coronavirus. Preventing players from touching their mucosal membranes with their hands represents the sixth potential interruption. Whilst potential fomite transmission pathways were identified, evidence suggests that viral load will be substantially reduced during surface transfer. Mitigation strategies could further reduce potential fomites, suggesting that by comparison, direct airborne transmission presents the greater risk in cricket.

Sex Education of the Visually Impaired Child: The Role of Parents

1986 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-680
Author(s):  
Clara Shaw Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Ego Identity ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Major Mode ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
Impaired Children

Sexuality is an integral part of one's self-concept. As such it effects mental health and social behaviors. Visually impaired children are deprived of the major mode of learning about gender differences and appropriate sexual conduct within our culture. Consequently, the primary caretaker or parents, who play a major role in the formation of a child's ego-identity, must reevaluate current social taboos against physical contact and generate naturalistic experiences to aid the child in the identification of gender differences, anatomical functioning, and interpersonal skills associated with expressing one's sexuality. Specific, age-appropriate intervention strategies for use within the family context are offered.

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