scholarly journals An Epidemiological Study on the Prevalence of the Clinical Features of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Romanian People

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 5082
Author(s):  
Constantin Ciucurel ◽  
Elena Ioana Iconaru
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Features ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Cluster Solution ◽  
Distinct Factor ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Categorical Principal Component Analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the clinical features of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in Romanian population through a novel online survey. The survey included categorical socio-demographic and health-related variables. A total of 1830 participants were selected for statistical data processing (a response rate of 90.9%). We determined reasonable reliability of the survey section for clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Cronbach’s Alpha 0.671). Two meaningful dimensions were identified through CATPCA (Categorical Principal Component Analysis) for the survey’s items. We separated two significant clusters of items, each measuring a distinct factor: the sociodemographic characteristics linked to social distancing and the relevant clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Next, a two-step cluster analysis helped to classify the sample group taking into consideration the similarity of subjects. The clustering revealed a three-cluster solution, with significant differences between clusters and allowed the cluster detection of a group of individuals, possibly more affected by the infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Through binomial logistic regression analysis, we identified a statistically significant prediction model for the presumptive diagnostic of some relevant clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our study validated a cost-effective model for rapid assessment of the health status of subjects, adapted to the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

scholarly journals Beloved Whiskers: Management Type, Care Practices and Connections to Welfare in Domestic Cats

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2308
Author(s):  
Daiana de Souza Machado ◽  
Luana da Silva Gonçalves ◽  
Rogério Ribeiro Vicentini ◽  
Maria Camila Ceballos ◽  
Aline Cristina Sant’Anna
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Categorical Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Care Practices

The quality of cat care practices depends in part on the type of management applied, which either positively or negatively impacts cat welfare. This study investigated whether the type of cat management (indoor vs. outdoor) was related to other cat care practices adopted by cat owners, associated with the quality of human-cat relationships and cat welfare. An online survey was distributed via social networks. Descriptive statistics, categorical Principal Component Analysis, Fisher’s Exact test and Chi-square test in contingency table were applied. A total of 16,302 cat owners returned the survey. Most Brazilian owners reported indoor management of their cats; this was related to owners living in apartments, more frequent use of cat care practices, and more interactions with their pets. Outdoor management was related to cats living in houses or farms, sleeping outdoors or around the neighborhood, and owners had fewer interaction with their pets. In conclusion, owners practicing indoor management seemed to be closer to their cats than owners reporting outdoor management. However, obesity and owner-reported behavioral problems were associated with indoor management.

scholarly journals Vibrational Spectroscopy of Peritoneal Dialysis Effluent for Rapid Assessment of Patient Characteristics

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 965
Author(s):  
Tom Grunert ◽  
Rebecca Herzog ◽  
Florian M. Wiesenhofer ◽  
Andreas Vychytil ◽  
Monika Ehling-Schulz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peritoneal Dialysis ◽  
Ftir Spectroscopy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Molecular Fingerprinting ◽  
Transport Parameters

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) offers specific advantages over hemodialysis, enabling increased autonomy of patients with end-stage renal disease, but PD-related complications need to be detected in a timely manner. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy could provide rapid and essential insights into the patients’ risk profiles via molecular fingerprinting of PD effluent, an abundant waste material that is rich in biological information. In this study, we measured FTIR spectroscopic profiles in PD effluent from patients taking part in a randomized controlled trial of alanyl-glutamine addition to the PD-fluid. Principal component analysis of FTIR spectra enabled us to differentiate between effluent samples from patients immediately after completion of instillation of the PD-fluid into the patients’ cavity and 4 h later as well as between patients receiving PD-fluid supplemented with 8 mM alanyl-glutamine compared with control. Moreover, feasibility of FTIR spectroscopy coupled to supervised classification algorithms to predict patient-, PD-, as well as immune-associated parameters were investigated. PD modality (manual continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) vs. cycler-assisted automated PD (APD)), residual urine output, ultrafiltration, transport parameters, and cytokine concentrations showed high predictive potential. This study provides proof-of-principle that molecular signatures determined by FTIR spectroscopy of PD effluent, combined with machine learning, are suitable for cost-effective, high-throughput diagnostic purposes in PD.

Monitoring effluent quality in hypertrophic wastewater reservoirs using remote sensing

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Dor ◽  
N. Ben-Yosef
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Optical Images ◽  
Routine Monitoring ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
Wastewater Quality

About one hundred and fifty wastewater reservoirs store effluents for irrigation in Israel. Effluent qualities differ according to the inflowing wastewater quality, the degree of pretreatment and the operational parameters. Certain aspects of water quality like concentration of organic matter, suspended solids and chlorophyll are significantly correlated with the water column transparency and colour. Accordingly optical images of the reservoirs obtained from the SPOT satellite demonstrate pronounced differences correlated with the water quality. The analysis of satellite multispectral images is based on a theoretical model. The model calculates, using the radiation transfer equation, the volume reflectance of the water body. Satellite images of 99 reservoirs were analyzed in the chromacity space in order to classify them according to water quality. Principal Component Analysis backed by the theoretical model increases the method sensitivity. Further elaboration of this approach will lead to the establishment of a time and cost effective method for the routine monitoring of these hypertrophic wastewater reservoirs.

scholarly journals Measurement Invariance of the Drivers of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale: Comparison between Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese-Speaking Populations

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Ya-Chin Yeh ◽  
I-Hua Chen ◽  
Daniel K. Ahorsu ◽  
Nai-Ying Ko ◽  
Kuan-Lin Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Vaccination Acceptance ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Acceptance Scale ◽  
Chinese University Students

The impacts of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) on human life continue to be serious. To control the spread of COVID-19, the production of effective vaccines is likely to be one of the best solutions. However, vaccination hesitancy may decrease individuals’ willingness to get vaccinated. The Drivers of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale (DrVac-COVID19S) was recently developed to help healthcare professionals and researchers better understand vaccination acceptance. The present study examined whether DrVac-COVID19S is measurement invariant across different subgroups (Taiwanese vs. mainland Chinese university students; males vs. females; and health-related program majors vs. non-health-related program majors). Taiwanese (n = 761; mean age = 25.51 years; standard deviation (SD) = 6.42; 63.5% females) and mainland Chinese university students (n = 3145; mean age = 20.72 years; SD = 2.06; 50.2% females) were recruited using an online survey between 5 January and 21 February 2021. Factor structure and measurement invariance of the two DrVac-COVID19S scales (nine-item and 12-item) were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The findings indicated that the DrVac-COVID19S had a four-factor structure and was measurement invariant across the subgroups. The DrVac-COVID19S’s four-factor structure was supported by the CFA results is a practical and valid instrument to quickly capture university students’ willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, the DrVac-COVID19S can be used to compare university students’ underlying reasons to get COVID-19 vaccination among different subgroups.

scholarly journals Real Time Breath Analysis Using Portable Gas Chromatography for Adult Asthma Phenotypes

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Ruchi Sharma ◽  
Wenzhe Zang ◽  
Menglian Zhou ◽  
Nicole Schafer ◽  
Lesa A. Begley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Corticosteroid Treatment ◽  
Breath Analysis ◽  
Blood Eosinophil ◽  
Exhaled Breath ◽  
Respiratory Illnesses ◽  
Linear Discriminant

Asthma is heterogeneous but accessible biomarkers to distinguish relevant phenotypes remain lacking, particularly in non-Type 2 (T2)-high asthma. Moreover, common clinical characteristics in both T2-high and T2-low asthma (e.g., atopy, obesity, inhaled steroid use) may confound interpretation of putative biomarkers and of underlying biology. This study aimed to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath that distinguish not only asthmatic and non-asthmatic subjects, but also atopic non-asthmatic controls and also by variables that reflect clinical differences among asthmatic adults. A total of 73 participants (30 asthma, eight atopic non-asthma, and 35 non-asthma/non-atopic subjects) were recruited for this pilot study. A total of 79 breath samples were analyzed in real-time using an automated portable gas chromatography (GC) device developed in-house. GC-mass spectrometry was also used to identify the VOCs in breath. Machine learning, linear discriminant analysis, and principal component analysis were used to identify the biomarkers. Our results show that the portable GC was able to complete breath analysis in 30 min. A set of nine biomarkers distinguished asthma and non-asthma/non-atopic subjects, while sets of two and of four biomarkers, respectively, further distinguished asthmatic from atopic controls, and between atopic and non-atopic controls. Additional unique biomarkers were identified that discriminate subjects by blood eosinophil levels, obese status, inhaled corticosteroid treatment, and also acute upper respiratory illnesses within asthmatic groups. Our work demonstrates that breath VOC profiling can be a clinically accessible tool for asthma diagnosis and phenotyping. A portable GC system is a viable option for rapid assessment in asthma.

scholarly journals Avoidance of Healthcare Utilization in South Korea during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4363
Author(s):  
Minjung Lee ◽  
Myoungsoon You
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Healthcare Utilization ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Sociodemographic Characteristics ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
First Case ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Health Related

Avoidance of healthcare utilization among the general population during pandemic outbreaks has been observed and it can lead to a negative impact on population health. The object of this study is to examine the influence of socio-demographic and health-related factors on the avoidance of healthcare utilization during the global outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020. Data were collected through an online survey four weeks after the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) confirmed the first case in South Korea; 1000 subjects were included in the analysis. The logit model for regression was used to analyze the associations between sociodemographic and health-related factors regarding the avoidance of healthcare utilization. Among the participants, 73.2% avoided healthcare utilization, and there was no significant difference in the prevalence of healthcare avoidance between groups with (72.0%) and without (74.9%) an underlying disease. Sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income level, and residential area) were related to healthcare avoidance. Among the investigated influencing factors, residential areas highly affected by COVID-19 (i.e., Daegu/Gyeoungbuk region) had the most significant effect on healthcare avoidance. This study found a high prevalence of healthcare avoidance among the general population who under-utilized healthcare resources during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the results reveal that not all societal groups share the burden of healthcare avoidance equally, with it disproportionately affecting those with certain sociodemographic characteristics. This study can inform healthcare under-utilization patterns during emerging infectious disease outbreaks and provide information to public health emergency management for implementing strategies necessary to improve the preparedness of the healthcare system.

scholarly journals Organic Beekeeping Practices in Romania: Status and Perspectives towards a Sustainable Development

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 281
Author(s):  
Cristina Bianca Pocol ◽  
Peter Šedík ◽  
Ioan Sebastian Brumă ◽  
Antonio Amuza ◽  
Aurica Chirsanova
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Environmental Aspect ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Social Components ◽  
Demand For Health ◽  
Organic Principles

Romanian beekeeping faces a lot of challenges nowadays due to the problems related to climate change, the use of pesticides in agriculture, but also to the pandemic crisis. In this context, organic beekeeping represents an important alternative to traditional apicultural practices. The purpose of the study was to present the current situation of organic beekeeping in Romania, but also to identify some aspects related to sustainability. The research methodology was based on secondary and primary data. An online survey was conducted in 2020 on a sample of 433 Romanian beekeepers. The main findings showed that the majority of participants were aware of organic principles and were familiar with the concept of sustainability in beekeeping. However, only a small percentage of beekeepers were certified in the organic system. The evaluation of the concept of sustainability showed that the most important factor for the surveyed beekeepers was the environmental aspect, followed by the economic and social components. The pandemic crisis has negatively impacted the beekeepers’ activities due to travel restrictions and the limited access to the apiaries. If, in economic terms, they were affected by the sales drop in the first months of the crisis, there were also some positive effects such as the increase in demand for health-related products.

scholarly journals Semi-automated regional classification of the style of activity of slow rock-slope deformations using PS InSAR and SqueeSAR velocity data

Landslides ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Crippa ◽  
Elena Valbuzzi ◽  
Paolo Frattini ◽  
Giovanni B. Crosta ◽  
Margherita C. Spreafico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rock Slope ◽  
Progressive Failure ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Displacement Rate ◽  
Machine Learning Classification ◽  
Management Perspective ◽  
Alpine Environments

AbstractLarge slow rock-slope deformations, including deep-seated gravitational slope deformations and large landslides, are widespread in alpine environments. They develop over thousands of years by progressive failure, resulting in slow movements that impact infrastructures and can eventually evolve into catastrophic rockslides. A robust characterization of their style of activity is thus required in a risk management perspective. We combine an original inventory of slow rock-slope deformations with different PS-InSAR and SqueeSAR datasets to develop a novel, semi-automated approach to characterize and classify 208 slow rock-slope deformations in Lombardia (Italian Central Alps) based on their displacement rate, kinematics, heterogeneity and morphometric expression. Through a peak analysis of displacement rate distributions, we characterize the segmentation of mapped landslides and highlight the occurrence of nested sectors with differential activity and displacement rates. Combining 2D decomposition of InSAR velocity vectors and machine learning classification, we develop an automatic approach to characterize the kinematics of each landslide. Then, we sequentially combine principal component and K-medoids cluster analyses to identify groups of slow rock-slope deformations with consistent styles of activity. Our methodology is readily applicable to different landslide datasets and provides an objective and cost-effective support to land planning and the prioritization of local-scale studies aimed at granting safety and infrastructure integrity.

scholarly journals The Perceived Impact of The First UK Covid-19 Lockdown on Companion Animal Welfare and Behaviour: A Mixed-Method Study of Associations with Owner Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6171
Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Luciana Santos de Assis ◽  
Lion Shahab ◽  
Elena Ratschen ◽  
Paul Toner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Human Animal

Background: Companion animals may be a positive presence for their owners during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the welfare of a companion animal is strongly influenced by the behaviour of their owners, as well as their physical and social environment. We aimed to investigate the reported changes in companion animal welfare and behaviour and to examine the association between these changes and companion animal owners’ mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020 (n = 5926). The questionnaire included validated, bespoke items measuring outcomes related to mental health, human-animal bonds and reported changes in animal welfare and behaviour. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe experiences associated with human-animal relationships during the first UK lockdown phase. Results: Animal owners made up 89.8% of the sample (n = 5323), of whom 67.3% reported changes in their animal’s welfare and behaviour during the first lockdown phase (n = 3583). These reported changes were reduced to a positive (0–7) and negative (0–5) welfare scale, following principal component analysis (PCA) of 17 items. Participants reported more positive changes for cats, whereas more negative changes were reported for dogs. Thematic analysis identified three main themes relating to the positive and negative impact on companion animals of the Covid-19 pandemic. Generalised linear models indicated that companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores pre-lockdown reported fewer negative changes in animal welfare and behaviour. However, companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores since lockdown reported more changes, both positive and negative, in animal welfare and behaviour. Conclusion: Our findings extend previous insights into perceived welfare and behaviour changes on a very limited range of species to a wider a range of companion animals. Owner mental health status has a clear, albeit small, effect on companion animal welfare and behaviour.

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