scholarly journals The Effect of Containment Measures on the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (159) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragyan Deb ◽  
Davide Furceri ◽  
Jonathan Ostry ◽  
Nour Tawk
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Total Population ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Absolute Value ◽  
Daily Data ◽  
Containment Measures

Countries have implemented several containment measures to halt the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease, but it remains unclear the extent to which these unprecedented measures have been successful. We examine this question using daily data on the number of coronavirus disease cases as well as on real-time containment measures implemented by countries. Results suggest that these measures have been very effective in flattening the “pandemic curve”, but there is significant heterogeneity across countries. Effectiveness is enhanced when measures are implemented quickly, where de facto mobility is curtailed, in countries with lower temperatures and population density, as well as in countries with a larger share of the elderly in total population and stronger health systems. We also find that easing of containment measures has resulted in an increase in the number of cases, but the effect has been lower (in absolute value) than that from a tightening of measures.

Effects of phytoseiid predators on the sex ratio of the spider mite Panonychus ulmi

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 208-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan L. Johnson ◽  
Heather C. Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Spider Mite ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Panonychus Ulmi ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Male Mortality ◽  
Adult Sex Ratio ◽  
Biased Sex Ratio ◽  
Male Activity

The effect of predator presence on the adult sex ratio of a spider mite (Panonychus ulmi) was examined in a field experiment. Phytoseiid predators (chiefly Typhlodromus occidentalis) were removed from 32 trees harboring P. ulmi populations, and allowed to remain at natural levels on 32 other trees. Both total population density and proportion of males in the prey population were significantly higher in predator-free trees. Mechanisms that could explain the increase in the proportion of males are examined. The most probable is that greater male activity results in a higher encounter rate between predator and prey, and that subsequent higher male mortality when predators are present exaggerates the female-biased sex ratio. The theoretical effects of sex-biased predation on diplo-diploid and haplo-diploid organisms are discussed.

scholarly journals Comparison between Online and Offline Price of Tobacco Products Using Novel Datasets

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Opazo Breton ◽  
John Britton ◽  
Yue Huang ◽  
Ilze Bogdanovica
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Tobacco Products ◽  
Product Range ◽  
Daily Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Commercial Sources ◽  
Price Differences

Price of tobacco products has traditionally been relevant both for the industry, to respond to policy changes, and for governments, as an effective tobacco control measure. However, monitoring prices across a wide range of brands and brand variants requires access to expensive commercial sales databases. This study aims to investigate the comparability of average tobacco prices from two commercial sources and an in-house monitoring database which provides daily data in real time at minimal cost. We used descriptive and regression analysis to compare the monthly average numbers of brands, brand variants, products and prices of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco using commercial data from Nielsen Scantrack and Kantar Worldpanel, and an online price database (OPD) created in Nottingham, for the period from May 2013 to February 2017. There were marked differences in the number of products tracked in the three data sources. Nielsen was the most comprehensive and Kantar Worldpanel the least. Though average prices were very similar between the three datasets, Nottingham OPD prices were the highest and Kantar Worldpanel the lowest. However, regression analysis demonstrated that after adjustment for differences in product range, price differences between the datasets were very small. After allowing for differences in product range these data sources offer representative prices for application in price research. Online price tracking offers an inexpensive and near real-time alternative to the commercial datasets.

scholarly journals Stability and bifurcation in a two-patch model with additive Allee effect

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 536-551
Author(s):  
Lijuan Chen ◽  
◽  
Tingting Liu ◽  
Fengde Chen
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Asymptotic Stability ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Mathematical Analysis ◽  
Allee Effect ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Population Abundance ◽  
Dispersal Rate ◽  
Saddle Node Bifurcation ◽  
Patch Model

<abstract><p>A two-patch model with additive Allee effect is proposed and studied in this paper. Our objective is to investigate how dispersal and additive Allee effect have an impact on the above model's dynamical behaviours. We discuss the local and global asymptotic stability of equilibria and the existence of the saddle-node bifurcation. Complete qualitative analysis on the model demonstrates that dispersal and Allee effect may lead to persistence or extinction in both patches. Also, combining mathematical analysis with numerical simulation, we verify that the total population abundance will increase when the Allee effect constant $ a $ increases or $ m $ decreases. And the total population density increases when the dispersal rate $ D_{1} $ increases or the dispersal rate $ D_{2} $ decreases.</p></abstract>

Suicide and Aging in Japan: An Examination of Treated Elderly Suicide Attempters

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitomo Takahashi ◽  
Hideto Hirasawa ◽  
Keiko Koyama ◽  
Osamu Asakawa ◽  
Matazo Kido ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Public ◽  
Geriatric Hospital ◽  
Elderly Japanese ◽  
Elderly Suicide

Although individuals aged 65 and over accounted for 12% of the total population of Japan in 1990, suicides in this age group consisted of 29% of all suicides. The elderly population of Japan is expected to grow rapidly to 24% of the total population by the year 2020, and suicide prevention for the elderly is an urgent mental health problem. Among a total of 1,216 elderly patients who were admitted to the Department of Psychiatry at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital between April 1980 and March 1990, 50 were hospitalized immediately after suicide attempts in order to study their psychosociomedical problems. Because early diagnosis of depression and initiation of proper treatment are indispensable—even if patients do not show obvious depressive symptoms—those who develop persistent somatization and/or delirium should be considered highly suicidal and given special attention. With the cooperation of mental health professionals, it is necessary to educate general practitioners, the public, and the elderly themselves about characteristics of psychiatric disorders and various problems associated with aging. Further research on other elderly Japanese populations, as well as research that examines suicide completion, is needed to confirm the findings of the present study.

scholarly journals Kinect-Based Virtual Game for the Elderly that Detects Incorrect Body Postures in Real Time

Sensors ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zelai Saenz-de-Urturi ◽  
Begonya Garcia-Zapirain Soto
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Body Postures ◽  
Virtual Game

Enhancing data-driven elderly appointment services in domestic care communities under COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.Y. Lam ◽  
G.T.S. Ho ◽  
Daniel Y. Mo ◽  
Valerie Tang
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Care Service ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Care Centre ◽  
Service Matching ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Domestic Care

PurposeUnder the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this paper contributes in the deployment of the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)-based system, namely AIoT-based Domestic Care Service Matching System (AIDCS), to the existing electronic health (eHealth) system so as to enhance the delivery of elderly-oriented domestic care services.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed AIDCS integrates IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to (1) capture real-time health data of the elderly at home and (2) provide the knowledge support for decision making in the domestic care appointment service in the community.FindingsA case study was conducted in a local domestic care centre which provided elderly oriented healthcare services to the elderly. By integrating IoT and AI into the service matching process of the mobile apps platform provided by the local domestic care centre, the results proved that customer satisfaction and the quality of the service delivery were improved by observing the key performance indicators of the transactions after the implementation of the AIDCS.Originality/valueFollowing the outbreak of COVID-19, this is a new attempt to overcome the limited research done on the integration of IoT and AI techniques in the domestic care service. This study not only inherits the ability of the existing eHealth system to automatically capture and monitor the health status of the elderly in real-time but also improves the overall quality of domestic care services in term of responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency.

Using a Smartphone as a Track and Fall Detector

2015 ◽  
pp. 272-295
Author(s):  
Chia-Yin Ko ◽  
Fang-Yie Leu ◽  
I-Tsen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Fall Detection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Individual ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
People With Dementia

This chapter proposes a smartphone-based system for both indoor and outdoor monitoring of people with dementia. The whole system comprises wandering detection, safety-zone monitoring, fall detection, communication services, alert notifications, and emergency medical services. To effectively track the elderly, the proposed system uses a smartphone camera to take real-time pictures along the user's path as he or she moves about. Those photos, accompanied with time and GPS signals, are delivered to and stored on the Cloud system. When necessary, family caregivers can download those data to quickly find a way to help the elderly individual. Additionally, this study uses tri-axial accelerometers to examine falls. To assure individuals' data is safeguarded appropriately, an RSA method has been adopted by the system to encrypt stored data. This reliable and minimally intrusive system provides people with dementia with an opportunity to maintain their social networks and to improve their quality of lives.

scholarly journals Differentiation of Patients with Balance Insufficiency (Vestibular Hypofunction) versus Normal Subjects Using a Low-Cost Small Wireless Wearable Gait Sensor

Biosensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tam Nguyen ◽  
Jonathan Young ◽  
Amanda Rodriguez ◽  
Steven Zupancic ◽  
Donald Lie
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Balance Disorders ◽  
Remote Sensor ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Gait Index ◽  
Dynamic Gait

Balance disorders present a significant healthcare burden due to the potential for hospitalization or complications for the patient, especially among the elderly population when considering intangible losses such as quality of life, morbidities, and mortalities. This work is a continuation of our earlier works where we now examine feature extraction methodology on Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) tests and machine learning classifiers to differentiate patients with balance problems versus normal subjects on an expanded cohort of 60 patients. All data was obtained using our custom designed low-cost wireless gait analysis sensor (WGAS) containing a basic inertial measurement unit (IMU) worn by each subject during the DGI tests. The raw gait data is wirelessly transmitted from the WGAS for real-time gait data collection and analysis. Here we demonstrate predictive classifiers that achieve high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in distinguishing abnormal from normal gaits. These results show that gait data collected from our very low-cost wearable wireless gait sensor can effectively differentiate patients with balance disorders from normal subjects in real-time using various classifiers. Our ultimate goal is to be able to use a remote sensor such as the WGAS to accurately stratify an individual’s risk for falls.

scholarly journals Associations between COVID-19 Incidence Rates and the Exposure to PM2.5 and NO2: A Nationwide Observational Study in Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9318
Author(s):  
Fabiana Fiasca ◽  
Mauro Minelli ◽  
Dominga Maio ◽  
Martina Minelli ◽  
Ilaria Vergallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Epidemic Period ◽  
Nationwide Observational Study

The COVID-19 outbreak disproportionately affected the elderly and areas with higher population density. Among the multiple factors possibly involved, a role for air pollution has also been hypothesized. This nationwide observational study demonstrated the significant positive relationship between COVID-19 incidence rates and PM2.5 and NO2 levels in Italy, both considering the period 2016–2020 and the months of the epidemic, through univariate regression models, after logarithmic transformation of the variables, as the data were not normally distributed. That relationship was confirmed by a multivariate analysis showing the combined effect of the two pollutants, adjusted for the old-age index and population density. An increase in PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations by one unit (1 µg/m3) corresponded to an increase in incidence rates of 1.56 and 1.24 × 104 people, respectively, taking into account the average levels of air pollutants in the period 2016–2020, and 2.79 and 1.24 × 104 people during March–May 2020. Considering the entire epidemic period (March–October 2020), these increases were 1.05 and 1.01 × 104 people, respectively, and could explain 59% of the variance in COVID-19 incidence rates (R2 = 0.59). This evidence could support the implementation of targeted responses by focusing on areas with low air quality to mitigate the spread of the disease.

Development of a group of robotic tools that comprehensively support healthy independent walking of the elderly

Impact ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (10) ◽  
pp. 64-66
Author(s):  
Tomotaka Ito
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Total Population ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Robotic Tools

It is well documented that in Japan, the population is ageing rapidly. Indeed, people aged 65 and older already make up one-quarter of the country's total population, and this is expected to reach one-third by the year 2036. The health and wellbeing of the elderly is at risk, with a burden of chronic illness in the older population, as well as issues associated with decreased mobility and increased likelihood of falls. Tomotaka Ito, based at Shizuoka University, Japan is working to develop a group of robotic tools to support the elderly to walk independently and live full and healthy lives. Ito's research involves exploring innovative ways to assist the elderly in living independent and fully functional lives. He is doing this through robotic tools that can help with day-to-day activities such as walking and help to prevent falls.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document