The Persian Language Version of the Obsession With the COVID-19 Scale for Adolescents

Objective: The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused significant public health burdens and psychological dysfunctions. In this challenging time, adolescents require special care. The Persian version of the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) for adolescents was developed to screen for dysfunctional obsession associated with the coronavirus during the global pandemic. The structure and internal consistency of the OCS were established.Design and Measures: Although there are different language versions of the OCS, this is the first study to validate the psychometric properties of the OCS in Iranian adolescents. Seven hundred and nine students (369 girls) participated in the study. Demographic questions and the OCS were administered.Results: The findings provided support for the existence of a unidimensional structure that met the criteria for configural, metric, and full scalar invariance across gender (girls and boys), inhabitancy (urban and rural), and infection experience (infected and non-infected). The OCS is short and highly reliable measurement. However, further research is necessary to establish the validity of the scale in Iranian population.Conclusions: The development of such valid scales is an essential part of both research and practice during times of crisis, like a global pandemic. Diagnosis of pandemic related to obsessive thoughts in adolescents is needed as the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and as experts point out, it can be expected that the effects of the pandemic will be observed in the coming years. The Persian version makes it possible to conduct international comparative research on the anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Market Vendor’s Poor Adherence to Sops for COVID-19: A Potential Source for Transmission of the Virus to the Local Communities. A Case Study of Sironko District

Introduction: COVID-19 is one of the huge health burdens on the earth in the recent times. Massive campaigns on the adherence to standard operation procedures (SOPs) have been emphasized by the Government of Uganda and even the county has been put in two lockdowns to curtail the spread of this disease. Despite all these efforts, market vendors in Sironko district have seemingly not complied with these SOPs and this makes them potential hotspot for disease transmission, but no qualitative study has so far been documented. Therefore, the current study investigated the adherence of SOPs for COVID-19 amongst market vendors in this area. Methodology: A qualitative survey research design was adopted and a total of 53 participants, selected by both purposeful and simple random were involved. Interview, focus group discussion and observations techniques were used in data collection. The date was analyzed by the statistical software called MedCalc, version 20.0008 Results: The result showed that 65 % were females, most were aged between 29 females aged between 31-40 year took part in the study contributing 55% to the total subjects and married and of which 37 (70 %) were married. The market experienced challenges of inadequate & inappropriate facilities for SOPs but water was abundant (45, 85 %). All the SOPs for COVID-19 were flouted in these markets. Conclusions: Market vendor rarely adhered to SOPs for COVID-19 and this makes them a potential source for transmission of COVID-19 to the local communities in the entire sub-regions. Therefore, there is need for department of production in Sironko district to re-enforce observance to SOPs guidelines for COVID-19 in this area.

Respiratory Viruses Among Ethnic Nicobarese During COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) are public health burdens globally. The percentage of non-SARS CoV-2 respiratory viruses among patients having ARI and SARI who visit Car Nicobar's hospital settings is undocumented. Changes in the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses during COVID19 pandemic is being reported worldwide.Methods: Inpatient and outpatient settings at BJR hospital, Car Nicobar Island, India, were used to conduct prospective monitoring for ARI and SARI among Nicobarese tribal members. The patients with ARI and SARI were enlisted in BJR hospital from June 2019 to May 2021. At the ICMR-NIV in Pune, duplex qRTPCR assays were used to test the presence of respiratory viruses. The prevalence of non- SARS CoV-2 respiratory viruses was measured by comparing here between pandemic and pre-pandemic periods.Results: During the COVID19 pandemic, Influenza A (H3N2) (55.7%), and rhinovirus (12.5%) were predominantly reported non-SARS CoV-2 respiratory viruses while Human metapneumovirus (48.1%) and influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (18.5%) were most commonly reported in the prepandemic period. This result indicates the altered circulation of non-SARS CoV-2 during pandemic.Conclusions: A considerable proportion of respiratory infection was correlated with respiratory viruses. Prevalence of non-SARS CoV-2 respiratory viruses was high at the time of infection when compared with pre-pandemic period, at Car Nicobar Island. This study enlightened the change in circulation of other respiratory viruses among the indigenous Nicobarese tribes. Clinicians and allied medical staff should be more prudent of these respiratory infections.

Surveillance of Brucella in Red Meat Sold at Retail Outlets

Brucellosis in the Middle East is endemic and is associated with health burdens and economic losses for animals and humans. Transmission of Brucella from animal hosts to humans is prevalent in endemic areas, especially developing countries. This study aimed at screening for the brucellae in different fresh red meat sold in retail markets in Erbil city, Iraq. A total of 410 samples were collected between July and December 2019 and analyzed by serological and bacteriological tests for Brucella spp. by Rose Bengal Test (RBT), ELISA, and traditional bacterial culture. The prevalence of Brucella was 9.3, 7.8 and 7.1 % by RBT, ELISA, and bacteriological analysis, respectively. Both B. abortus and B. melitensis were detected in 3.17 % and 3.90 % of collected samples, respectively. In terms of seasonal variation, autumn was found to be associated with a decrease in seroprevalence. RBT was found to be suitable for ruling out the disease, but its positive results should be confirmed. The overall prevalence of Brucella in meat or the source livestock is alarming and requires considerable actions to prevent the transmission of brucellae to humans. HIGHLIGHTS The prevalence of Brucella in meat samples sold in Erbil is ~ 7 - 10 % Rose Bengal Test is convenient ruling out the disease in animals but its positive results should be confirmed The seasonality of Brucella in livestock of Erbil showed slight decrease during the autumn season GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Early-Life Origins of Metabolic Syndrome: Mechanisms and Preventive Aspects

One of the leading global public-health burdens is metabolic syndrome (MetS), despite the many advances in pharmacotherapies. MetS, now known as “developmental origins of health and disease” (DOHaD), can have its origins in early life. Offspring MetS can be programmed by various adverse early-life conditions, such as nutrition imbalance, maternal conditions or diseases, maternal chemical exposure, and medication use. Conversely, early interventions have shown potential to revoke programming processes to prevent MetS of developmental origins, namely reprogramming. In this review, we summarize what is currently known about adverse environmental insults implicated in MetS of developmental origins, including the fundamental underlying mechanisms. We also describe animal models that have been developed to study the developmental programming of MetS. This review extends previous research reviews by addressing implementation of reprogramming strategies to prevent the programming of MetS. These mechanism-targeted strategies include antioxidants, melatonin, resveratrol, probiotics/prebiotics, and amino acids. Much work remains to be accomplished to determine the insults that could induce MetS, to identify the mechanisms behind MetS programming, and to develop potential reprogramming strategies for clinical translation.

Advised or Paid Way to get it right. The contribution of fact-checking tips and monetary incentives to spotting scientific disinformation

Disinformation about science can impose enormous economic and public health burdens. Several types of interventions have been proposed to prevent the proliferation of false information online, where most of the spreading takes place. A recently proposed strategy to help online users recognise false content is to follow the techniques of professional fact checkers, such as looking for information on other websites (lateral reading) and looking beyond the first results suggested by search engines (click restraint). In two preregistered online experiments (N = 5387), we simulated a social-media environment and set-out two interventions, one in the form of a pop-up meant to advise participants to follow such techniques, the other based on monetary incentive. In Experiment 1, we compared these interventions to a control condition. In Experiment 2 another condition was added to test the joint impact of the pop-up and the monetary incentive. We measured participants' ability to identify whether presented information was scientifically valid or invalid. Results revealed that while monetary incentives were overall more effective in increasing accuracy, the pop-up contributed when the post originated from an unknown source (and participants could rely less on prior information). Additional analysis on participants’ search style based on both self-report responses and objectively measured behaviour revealed that the pop-up increased the use of fact-checking strategies, and that these in turn increased accuracy. Study 2 also clarified that the pop-up and the incentive did not interfere with each other, but rather acted complementarily, suggesting that attention and literacy interventions can be designed in synergy.

Lateral reading and monetary incentives to sort out scientific (dis)information

Scientific disinformation can impose enormous economic and public health burdens. Several types of interventions have been proposed to prevent the proliferation of false information online, where most of the spreading takes place. A recently proposed strategy to help online users recognise false content is to follow the techniques of professional fact checkers, such as looking for information on other websites (lateral reading) and looking beyond the first results suggested by search engines (click restraint). In two preregistered online experiments (N = 5387), we simulated a social-media environment and set-out two interventions, one in the form of a pop-up meant to induce participants to follow such techniques, the other based on monetary incentive. In Experiment 1, we compared these interventions to a control condition. In Experiment 2 another condition was added to test the joint impact of the pop-up and the monetary incentive. We measured participants' ability to identify whether presented scientific information was scientifically (in)valid. Results revealed that while monetary incentives were overall more effective in increasing accuracy, the pop-up contributed when the post originated from an unknown source (and participants could rely less on prior information). Additional analysis on participants’ search style based on both self-report responses and objectively measured behaviour revealed that the pop-up increased the use of fact-checking strategies, and that these in turn increased accuracy. Study 2 also clarified that the pop-up and the incentive did not interfere with each other, but rather acted complementarily, suggesting that attention and literacy interventions can be designed in synergy.

Application of Deep Learning to Community-Science-Based Mosquito Monitoring and Detection of Novel Species

Mosquito-borne diseases account for human morbidity and mortality worldwide, caused by the parasites (e.g., malaria) or viruses (e.g., dengue, Zika) transmitted through bites of infected female mosquitoes. Globally, billions of people are at risk of infection, imposing significant economic and public health burdens. As such, efficient methods to monitor mosquito populations and prevent the spread of these diseases are at a premium. One proposed technique is to apply acoustic monitoring to the challenge of identifying wingbeats of individual mosquitoes. Although researchers have successfully used wingbeats to survey mosquito populations, implementation of these techniques in areas most affected by mosquito-borne diseases remains challenging. Here, methods utilizing easily accessible equipment and encouraging community-scientist participation are more likely to provide sufficient monitoring. We present a practical, community-science-based method of monitoring mosquito populations using smartphones. We applied deep-learning algorithms (TensorFlow Inception v3) to spectrogram images generated from smartphone recordings associated with six mosquito species to develop a multiclass mosquito identification system, and flag potential invasive vectors not present in our sound reference library. Though TensorFlow did not flag potential invasive species with high accuracy, it was able to identify species present in the reference library at an 85% correct identification rate, an identification rate markedly higher than similar studies employing expensive recording devices. Given that we used smartphone recordings with limited sample sizes, these results are promising. With further optimization, we propose this novel technique as a way to accurately and efficiently monitor mosquito populations in areas where doing so is most critical.