Infant Pneumococcal Carriage in Belgium Not Affected by COVID-19 Containment Measures

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important and frequently carried respiratory pathogen that has the potential to cause serious invasive diseases, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. Young children and older adults are among the most vulnerable to developing serious disease. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and the concomitant restrictive measures, invasive disease cases caused by respiratory bacterial species, including pneumococci, decreased substantially. Notably, the stringency of the containment measures as well as the visible reduction in the movement of people appeared to coincide with the drop in invasive disease cases. One could argue that wearing protective masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines to halt the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, also led to a reduction in the person-to-person transmission of respiratory bacterial species. Although plausible, this conjecture is challenged by novel data obtained from our nasopharyngeal carriage study which is performed yearly in healthy daycare center attending children. A sustained and high pneumococcal carriage rate was observed amid periods of stringent restrictive measures. This finding prompts us to revisit the connection between nasopharyngeal colonization and invasion and invites us to look closer at the nasopharyngeal microbiome as a whole.

Positive health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey among community-dwelling older individuals in the Netherlands

Background Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) reached the Netherlands in February 2020. To minimize the spread of the virus, the Dutch government announced an “intelligent lockdown”. Older individuals were urged to socially isolate completely, because they are at risk of a severe disease course. Although isolation reduces the medical impact of the virus, the non-medical impact should also be considered. Aim To investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures on the six dimensions of Positive Health in community-dwelling older individuals living in the Netherlands, and to identify differences within subgroups. Methods In May/June 2020, community-dwelling older individuals aged ≥ 65 years completed an online survey based on Huber’s model of Positive Health. Positive Health was measured regarding the appreciation of the six dimensions (categorized as poor/satisfactory/excellent) and a comparison with a year before (categorized as decreased/unchanged/increased) using frequencies (%) and a chi-square test. Results 834 older individuals participated (51% women, 38% aged ≥ 76 years, 35% living alone, 16% self-rated poor health). Most respondents assessed their bodily functions, mental well-being and daily functioning as satisfactory, their meaningfulness and quality of life (QoL) as excellent, and their social participation as poor. 12% of the respondents reported a deterioration of 4–6 dimensions and 73% in 1–3 dimensions, compared to the past year. Deterioration was most frequently experienced in the dimension social participation (73%), the dimension mental well-being was most frequently improved (37%) and quality of life was in 71% rated as unchanged. Women more often observed a deterioration of 4–6 dimensions than men (15% vs. 8%, p = 0.001), and individuals with self-rated poor health more often than individuals with self-rated good health (22% vs. 10%, p < 0.001). Older individuals living alone experienced more frequently a decrease in meaningfulness compared to older individuals living together. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures had a substantial impact on all six dimensions of Positive Health in community-dwelling older individuals, especially in women, respondents living alone and respondents with self-rated poor general health.

COVID-19 Spread Forecasting, Mathematical Methods vs. Machine Learning, Moscow Case

To predict the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, the critical values of spread indicators have been determined for deciding on the introduction of restrictive measures using the city of Moscow as an example. A model was developed using classical methods of mathematical modeling based on exponential regression, the accuracy of the forecast was estimated, and the shortcomings of mathematical methods for predicting the spread of infection for more than two weeks. As a solution to the problem of the accuracy of long-term forecasts for more than two weeks, two models based on machine learning methods are proposed: a recurrent neural network with two layers of long short-term memory (LSTM) blocks and a 1-D convolutional neural network with a description of the choice of an optimization algorithm. The forecast accuracy of ML models was evaluated in comparison with the exponential regression model and one another using the example of data on the number of COVID-19 cases in the city of Moscow.

Russia’s high-tech export during the coronavirus infection spread

Based on data from the Russian Export Centre, Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) the article analyses the state of hightech exports of the Russian Federation under restrictive measures related to the spread of coronavirus infection. High-tech exports for the period January 2013 to August 2021 and the number of coronavirus infections for the period March 2020 to August 2021 were used as baseline data. The dynamics and volumes of high-tech exports have been considered, the leading and trailing regions in terms of this indicator have been highlighted. A correlation between the number of coronavirus infection cases and the volume of high-tech exports of the regions of the Russian Federation has been revealed, from which it can be concluded that high-tech exporters have so far managed to adapt to the current coronavirus environment.

Социальная изоляция как один из рисков пожилых: новая реальность и новые смыслы

This article is devoted to the study of the consequences of social isolation of elderly Muscovites during the spread of coronavirus infection. The author draws attention to the fact that the informal isolation of the older generation has existed for a long time, but only in the new conditions associated with the pandemic, the «home mode» of life in old age was fixed by law. Social isolation is considered as a risk to the life and health of the older generation. It is shown how unprecedented restrictive measures of the Government affec­ted the psycho-emotional and physical health of elderly people, and the tasks of the state to reduce the vulnerability, ensure the safety and resilience of the elderly were not solved.

The Impact of the Spread of COVID-19 on Globalization

The text analyzes the changes in the process of globalization which have occurred in connection with the spread of COVID-19 and determines the possibilities for further development. It is based on the definition of globalization according to the OECD. Several years before the pandemic came, and globalization entered a phase of slowdown. It was called deglobalization. The main facts that caused this process were financial recession in 2008 and changes in USA and China economic relationship. The pandemic has weakened economic growth in many countries, reduced trade and travel, and introduced restrictive measures. The effects of a pandemic for individual states depend on the extent to which the states are connected in global production and trade networks. Three scenarios and their impact on globalization, trade, and the world economy are introduced.

Peculiarities of diet, physical activity and body weight of medical university students during COVID-19 restrictive measures

BACKGROUND: Pandemics of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) introduced additional corrections in the style of life of students. Introduction of restrictive measures, transfer to distance learning produce an ambiguous effect on the vital activity of a human including his physical health and diet. AIM: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 restrictive measures on nutrition, physical activity and body mass of medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sociological, analytical, statistical methods were used. According to the results of a questionnaire survey of 167 third-year students of the medical faculty of Smolensk State Medical University, a comparative assessment of nutrition, physical activity and body weight before the introduction of COVID-19 restrictive measures and in 3 4 months after self-isolation is presented. The reliability of differences in the shares of the characteristic was assessed by the value of Fishers angular transformation coefficient (φ). RESULTS: Diets of medical students were unbalanced both before and during COVID-19 restrictive measures. Changes in the diet during the period of self-isolation took place in 54.2% of the respondents. The number of students with 4 meals a day increased 1.6 times, and with 5 meals 12.9 times. The share of respondents with 2 meals a day decreased 6.3 times. Daytime food intake decreased 1.7 times, and 2.8 times more often the respondents did not have a fixed time of food intake. All medical students refused a full breakfast both before and during the period of self-isolation. The predomination of evening meals decreased 2.4 times. Home-made dishes were consumed 1.2 times more often, semi-finished products 2.4 times less often, and consumption of fast food decreased by 4.2%. Physical activity during the period of self-isolation significantly decreased in every fifth student. Every fourth respondent noticed increase in the body weight. CONCLUSION: Restrictive measures did not change the preferences in the choice of food products by medical students and the habits of not eating breakfast, and imbalanced diets. The positive impact of restrictive measures for COVID-19: increase in use of freshly prepared meals, the frequency of meals, and limitation of the possibility to eat in fast food restaurants. The negative effect of self-isolation: frequent infringement of the diet, increased daily amount of fast food consumed, decrease in physical activity, increase in body weight.

Conceptualization of Restrictive Measures Policy in the Context of European Security Issues: New Approaches

The changing international situation and growing external challenges have given a new impetus to the further development of the Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. Promoting European interests and values on the world stage and enhancing the EU's ability to act autonomously are among the significant directions of the new strategic agenda of the European Union for 2019‒2024. One of the important foreign policy instruments in the EU's arsenal are restrictive measures against states, individuals and organizations (in the broadest sense). The aim of the study is the processes of conceptualization of the European policy of the application of restrictive measures: the formation of the regulatory framework and the implementation mechanism, taking into account the modern realities of the international and European legal order, in combination with the accumulated doctrinal resources and elements of the progressive development of the law of international responsibility. It is noted that it is in the EU space that the doctrinal potential is being formed, catalyzing the process of diversifying the formats of normative regulation in the sphere of implementing international responsibility. As a result of the study, the authors test the hypothesis that the following substantive components of the noted conceptualization processes correspond to the tasks of “autonomization” of the EU foreign and security policy and “a stronger Europe in the world”: countermeasures of third states; jurisdictional countermeasures; shared responsibility.

Principles of care for adolescent girls with eating disorders and body disturbances disorders: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has contributed to an increase in problems related to eating behavior and body image in the population. Various risk factors that have become relevant due to changes in the usual lifestyle have significantly affected the frequency of eating disorders in the adolescent population. This necessitated the adapting of new strategies for providing medical care in conditions of limited personal contact.The aim of the work is the methodological substantiation and systematization of modern approaches to the prevention and treatment of eating disorders, body image disorders and risk factors associated with them in adolescents in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the work is a comprehensive analysis of modern medical and social approaches and recommendations on the organization of assistance to adolescents with eating disorders and body image disorders, with a description of personal experience of using various interventions on an outpatient basis during the pandemic.Results: Prevention and treatment of eating disorders and body image disorders in adolescents during the pandemic should be aimed at specific risk factors those have proved to be the most relevant in connection with restrictive measures: involvement in body image-related social media content and active use of the media; reduction of physical activity with simultaneous increase in access to food; social isolation and reduction of social support; restriction of access to qualified care. The most reasonable approaches during the pandemic are the approaches focused on the family of a teenager using, if possible, remote forms of assistance.Conclusions: Currently, there are no norms and standards in the organization of assistance to adolescents with eating disorders and body image disorders in the pandemic context. However, the analysis of the implemented approaches aimed at various risk factors of these disorders will allow the use of the most effective preventive and therapeutic practices in the future.