scholarly journals Bioinformatic Modelling of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic With a Focus on Country-Specific Dynamics

Author(s):  
Jakub Liu ◽  
Tomasz Suchocki ◽  
Joanna Szyda

Abstract One of the seminal events since 2019 has been the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Countries have adopted various policies to deal with it, but they also differ in their socio-geographical characteristics and in the public health care facilities. The aim of our study was to investigate differences between epidemiological parameters across countries. The analysed data represents SARS-CoV-2 repository provided by the Johns Hopkins University. Separately for each country we estimated recovery and mortality rates using the SIRD model applied to the first 30, 60, 150 and 300 days of the pandemic. Moreover, a mixture of normal distributions was fitted to the number of confirmed cases and deaths during the first 300 days. The estimates of peaks’ means and variances were used to identify countries with outlying parameters. For the period of 300 days Belgium, Cyprus, France, the Netherlands, Serbia and the UK were classified as outliers by all three outlier detection methods. Yemen was classified as an outlier for each of the four considered timeframes, due to high mortality rates. During the first 300 days of the pandemic the majority of countries underwent three peaks in the number of confirmed cases, except Australia and Kazakhstan with two peaks.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Liu ◽  
Tomasz Suchocki ◽  
Joanna Szyda

Abstract Background: One of the seminal events since 2019 has been the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Countries have adopted various policies to deal with it, but they also differ in their socio-geographical characteristics and the public health care facilities. Our study aimed to investigate differences between epidemiological parameters across countries.Method: The analysed data represents SARS-CoV-2 repository provided by the Johns Hopkins University. Separately for each country, we estimated recovery and mortality rates using the SIRD model applied to the first 30, 60, 150, and 300 days of the pandemic. Moreover, a mixture of normal distributions was fitted to the number of confirmed cases and deaths during the first 300 days. The estimates of peaks’ means and variances were used to identify countries with outlying parameters.Results: For 300 days Belgium, Cyprus, France, the Netherlands, Serbia, and the UK were classified as outliers by all three outlier detection methods. Yemen was classified as an outlier for each of the four considered timeframes, due to high mortality rates. During the first 300 days of the pandemic, the majority of countries underwent three peaks in the number of confirmed cases, except Australia and Kazakhstan with two peaks.Conclusions: Considering recovery and mortality rates we observed heterogeneity between countries. Liechtenstein was the “positive” outlier with low mortality rates and high recovery rates, at the opposite, Yemen represented a “negative” outlier with high mortality for all four considered periods and low recovery for 30 and 60 days.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngoako Solomon Marutha ◽  
Olefhile Mosweu

Purpose This study sought to investigate a framework for ensuring the confidentiality and security of information at the public health-care facilities to curb HIV/AIDS trauma among patients in Africa. In most instances, trauma to HIV/AIDS patients accelerate because of their personal information relating to the state of illness leaks to public people. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used literature to study confidentiality and security of information at the public health-care facilities to curb HIV/AIDS trauma among patients in Africa. Findings The study revealed that confidentiality and security of information has been neglected, in most instances, at the health-care facilities, and this has, to some extent, affected HIV/AIDS patients negatively, leading to trauma, stigma and skipping of treatment by patients resulting in accelerated mortality among chronic patients. The study recommends that patients’ information be always strictly controlled and kept confidential and secured at all the times, especially that of HIV/AIDS patients. Practical implications The proposed framework can be used by health-care facilities to guide the management and promotion of the confidentiality and security of information in the public health-care facilities to curb additional trauma to HIV/AIDS patients in the context of Africa, and even beyond. Originality/value The study provides a framework to ensure the confidentiality and security of information at the public health-care facilities to curb additional trauma to HIV/AIDS patients.


2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-214373
Author(s):  
Gerry McCartney ◽  
Alastair Leyland ◽  
David Walsh ◽  
Dundas Ruth

BackgroundThe mortality impact of COVID-19 has thus far been described in terms of crude death counts. We aimed to calibrate the scale of the modelled mortality impact of COVID-19 using age-standardised mortality rates and life expectancy contribution against other, socially determined, causes of death in order to inform governments and the public.MethodsWe compared mortality attributable to suicide, drug poisoning and socioeconomic inequality with estimates of mortality from an infectious disease model of COVID-19. We calculated age-standardised mortality rates and life expectancy contributions for the UK and its constituent nations.ResultsMortality from a fully unmitigated COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to be responsible for a negative life expectancy contribution of −5.96 years for the UK. This is reduced to −0.33 years in the fully mitigated scenario. The equivalent annual life expectancy contributions of suicide, drug poisoning and socioeconomic inequality-related deaths are −0.25, −0.20 and −3.51 years, respectively. The negative impact of fully unmitigated COVID-19 on life expectancy is therefore equivalent to 24 years of suicide deaths, 30 years of drug poisoning deaths and 1.7 years of inequality-related deaths for the UK.ConclusionFully mitigating COVID-19 is estimated to prevent a loss of 5.63 years of life expectancy for the UK. Over 10 years, there is a greater negative life expectancy contribution from inequality than around six unmitigated COVID-19 pandemics. To achieve long-term population health improvements it is therefore important to take this opportunity to introduce post-pandemic economic policies to ‘build back better’.


Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 398-406
Author(s):  
Amanda Marchant ◽  
Menna Brown ◽  
Jonathan Scourfield ◽  
Keith Hawton ◽  
Louise Cleobury ◽  
...  

Abstract. Background: During 2007–2008, media attention focused on a cluster of youth suicides in the UK. There were two peaks (P1, P2) in the volume of newspaper reporting of the deaths. The number of possible suicides was greater than expected at the time of the first peak but not at the time of the second. Aims: To explore any differences in the content of the reporting peaks and to consider implications for imitation and prevention. Method: A content analysis of two peaks of newspaper reporting was conducted. Results: There were 204 articles in P1 (December 27, 2007 to February 19, 2008) and 157 in P2 (February 20, 2008 to March 15, 2008). Four main themes were identified: individual stories; possible causes; features of reporting of the cluster; and educating and informing the public. P1 articles more frequently contained: explicit details of method; photographs of the deceased, and contained more characterization of individuals. Limitations: The focus was on print media, future studies should incorporate online and social media content. Conclusion: The findings provide some support for the hypothesis of a process of suggestion initiated by sensationalist reporting in P1. This contributes to the evidence base of the role of the press in suicide imitation and prevention, highlighting the importance of care when reporting suicides.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 446-456
Author(s):  
V. V. Yusupov

The issue of development of forensic institutions of Ukraine in the ХХ century was studied. Until 1917, forensic medical examinations were conducted in the medical compartments of the provincial administrations, at the departments of forensic medicine of universities and in hospitals - by police doctors. The chairs of forensic medicine existed in the St. Vladimir Kyiv University, Kharkiv, Novorosiisk and Lviv Universities. Real organization of Ukrainian forensic medical institutions began in 1919 with the creation of the Medical Examination Department at the People’s Commissariat of Health. In 1923, the Main forensic medical inspection, headed by M. S. Bokarius, was founded. In the provinces the positions of forensic medical inspectors were created. In 1927 the sections of biological research were established in the Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa institutes of scientific andforensic expertise,where separate forensic examinations were conducted. In 1949 the institutions of forensic medical examination of the USSR were merged into the Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, in Ukraine it was held in 1951. It was proved that forensic medical institutions developed at the following chronological stages: 1) until 1917 - forensic medical service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs; 2) 1917-1941 - prewar formation of forensic medical institutions; 3) 1941-1949 -forensic medical institutions during the war and in the first post-war years; 4) 1949-1990s - period of development of the bureau of forensic medical examinations of the countries of the USSR; 5) since the 1990s - development of expert institutions in the public health care system in independent postSoviet states. It’s stressed that formation of the forensic institutions in Ukraine is closely related with the development of forensic medicine departments of higher educational establishments. Forensic medicine departments were the basisfor practicalforensic medicine, professors provided daily assistance to forensic medical experts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Klaff

I am pleased to publish an open-access online preprint of two articles and a research note that will appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism 3, no. 2 (Fall 2020). This preprint is a new and exciting development for the Journal. It has been made possible by the generous donations from sponsors, including BICOM's co-chairman, David Cohen, whose support for the work of the Journal allows for timely scholarly analysis to be put into the public sphere.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Barbett ◽  
Edward Stupple ◽  
Michael Sweet ◽  
Miles Richardson

The planet is facing an anthropogenic mass extinction of wildlife, which will have a grave impact on the environment and humans. Widespread human action is needed to minimize the negative impact of humans on biodiversity and support the restoration of wildlife. In order to find effective ways to promote pro-nature conservation behaviours to the general population, there is a need to provide a list of behaviours which will have worthwhile ecological impact and are worth encouraging. In a novel collaboration between psychologists and ecologists, 70 experts from practical and academic conservation backgrounds were asked to review and rate 48 conservation related behaviours. According to their judgement, this short paper presents a ranked list of pro-nature conservation behaviours for the public in the UK and similar landscapes. This includes behaviours people can engage in in their homes, their gardens, on their land, and in their roles as citizens.


This volume addresses the relationship between archaeologists and the dead, through the many dimensions of their relationships: in the field (through practical and legal issues), in the lab (through their analysis and interpretation), and in their written, visual and exhibitionary practice--disseminated to a variety of academic and public audiences. Written from a variety of perspectives, its authors address the experience, effect, ethical considerations, and cultural politics of working with mortuary archaeology. Whilst some papers reflect institutional or organizational approaches, others are more personal in their view: creating exciting and frank insights into contemporary issues that have hitherto often remained "unspoken" among the discipline. Reframing funerary archaeologists as "death-workers" of a kind, the contributors reflect on their own experience to provide both guidance and inspiration to future practitioners, arguing strongly that we have a central role to play in engaging the public with themes of mortality and commemoration, through the lens of the past. Spurred by the recent debates in the UK, papers from Scandinavia, Austria, Italy, the US, and the mid-Atlantic, frame these issues within a much wider international context that highlights the importance of cultural and historical context in which this work takes place.


Author(s):  
Pierre Pestieau ◽  
Mathieu Lefebvre

This chapter reviews the public health care systems as well as their challenges. It first shows how expenditure on health care has evolved in previous decades and deals with the reasons for the growth observed in almost every European country. It emphasizes the role of technological progress as a main explanatory factor of the increase in medical expenditure but also points to the challenges facing cost-containment policies. Especially, the main common features of health care systems in Europe, such as third-party payment, single provider approach and cost-based reimbursement are discussed. Finally the chapter shows that although inequalities in health exist in the population, health care systems are redistributive. Reforms are thus needed but the trade-off between budgetary efficiency and equity is difficult.


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