The Emotional Lockdown: How Social Distancing and Mask Wearing influence Mood and Emotion Recognition

During the COVID-19 pandemic, government-mandated protection measures such as contact restrictions and mask wearing significantly affected social interactions. In the current preregistered study we hypothesized that such measures could influence self-reported mood and the ability to recognize emotional expressions from the eye region of faces. We found that mood was positively related to face-to-face but not to virtual interactions. This suggests that contact restrictions leading to a decrease in face-to-face compared to virtual interactions may be related to negative mood. We also found slight improvements in emotion recognition from the eyes in a student sample tested during the pandemic relative to a comparable sample tested prior to the pandemic although these differences were restricted to female participants.

Development of a Real-Time Risk Model (RTRM) for Predicting In-Hospital COVID-19 Mortality

ABSTRACTBackgroundWith over 83 million cases and 1.8 million deaths reported worldwide by the end of 2020 for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), there is an urgent need to enhance identification of high-risk populations to properly evaluate therapy effectiveness with real-world evidence and improve outcomes.MethodsBaseline and daily indicators were evaluated using electronic health records for 46,971 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from 176 HCA Healthcare-affiliated hospitals, presenting from March to September 2020, to develop a real-time risk model (RTRM) of all-cause, hospitalized mortality. Patient facility, dates-of-care, clinico-demographics, comorbidities, vitals, laboratory markers, and respiratory support findings were aggregated in a logistic regression model.FindingsThe RTRM predicted overall mortality as well as mortality 1, 3, and 7 days in advance with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCROC) of 0.905, 0.911, 0.905, and 0.901 respectively, significantly outperforming a combined model of age and daily modified WHO progression scale (all p<0.0001; AUCROC, 0.846, 0.848, 0.850, and 0.852). The RTRM delineated risk at presentation from ongoing risk associated with medical care and showed that mortality rates decreased over time due to both decreased severity and changes in care.InterpretationTo our knowledge, this study is the largest of its kind to comprehensively evaluate predictors and incorporate daily risk measures of COVID-19 mortality. The RTRM validates current literature trends in mortality across time and allows direct translation for research and clinical applications.Research in contextEvidence before this studyDue to the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the body of evidence and published literature was considered prior to study initiation and throughout the course of the study. Although at study initiation there was a growing consensus that age and disease severity at presentation were the greatest contributors to predicting in-hospital mortality, there was less of a consensus on the key demographics, comorbidities, vitals and laboratory values. In addition, early on, most potential predictors of in-hospital mortality had been assessed by univariable analysis. In April of 2020, a systematic review of prediction studies for COVID-19 revealed that there were only 8 publications for prognosis of hospital mortality. All were deemed to have high potential for bias due to low sample size, model overfitting, vague reporting and/or insufficient follow-up. Over the duration of the study, in-hospital prediction models were published ranging from simplified scores to machine learning. There were at least 8 prediction studies that were published during the course of our own that had comparable sample size or extensive multivariable analysis with the greatest accuracy of prediction reported as 74%. Moreover, a report in December of 2020 independently validated 4 simple prediction models, with none achieving greater than an AUCROC of 0.72%. Lastly, an eight-variable score developed by a UK consortium on a comparable sample size demonstrated an AUCROC of 0.77. To our knowledge, however, none to-date have modeled daily risk beyond baseline.We frequently assessed World Health Organization (WHO) resources as well as queried both MedRXIV and PubMed with the search terms “COVID”, “prediction”, “hospital” and “mortality” to ensure we were assessing all potential predictors of hospitalized mortality. The last search was performed on January 5, 2021 with the addition of “multi”, “daily”, “real time” or “longitudinal” terms to confirm the novelty of our study. No date restrictions or language filters were applied.Added value of this studyTo our knowledge, this study is the largest and most geographically diverse of its kind to comprehensively evaluate predictors of in-hospital COVID-19 mortality that are available retrospectively in electronic health records and to incorporate longitudinal, daily risk measures to create risk trajectories over the entire hospital stay. Not only does our Real-Time Risk Model (RTRM) validate current literature, demonstrating reduced mortality over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying age and WHO severity as major drivers of mortality in regards to baseline characteristics, but it also outperforms a model of age and daily WHO score combined, achieving an AUCROC of 0.91 on the test set. Furthermore, the fact that the RTRM delineates risk at baseline from risk over the course of care allows more granular interpretation of the impact of various parameters on mortality risk, as demonstrated in the current study using both sex disparity and calendar epochs that were based on evolving treatment recommendations as proofs-of-principle.Implications of all the available evidenceThe goal of the RTRM was to create a flexible tool that could be used to assess intervention and treatment efficacy in real-world, evidence-based studies as well as provide real-time risk assessment to aid clinical decisions and resourcing with further development. Implications of this work are broad. The depth of the multi-facility, harmonized electronic health record (EHR) dataset coupled with the transparency we provide in the RTRM results provides a resource for others to interpret impact of markers of interest and utilize data that is relevant to their own studies. The RTRM will allow optimal matching in retrospective cohort studies and provide a more granular endpoint for evaluation of interventions beyond general effectiveness, such as optimal delivery, including dosing and timing, and identification of the population/s benefiting from an intervention or combination of interventions. In addition, beyond the scope of the current study, the RTRM and its resultant daily risk scores allow for flexibility in developing prediction models for other clinical outcomes, such as progression of pulmonary disease, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, and development of sepsis and/or multiorgan failure, all of which could provide a framework for real-time personalized care.

Educational Level and Financial Status: Decisive Factors for Level of Spirituality and Psychological Well-being among Elderly

Aim: The present study aims to assess the level of spirituality and psychological well being among institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly across their educational level and financial status. Sample: For the current study, a total of 200 elderly including institutionalized elderly (n1 =100) and a comparable sample of non-institutionalized elderly (n2 =100) were drawn through census and lottery methods respectively. Sample Selection: The institutionalized elderly were selected from Society Registration Act (SRA) recognized old age homes of Uttarakhand and non-institutionalized elderly were drawn from the nearby localities adjacent to the old age homes. Tools: Level of spirituality and psychological wellbeing of the respondents was assessed using Spiritual Belief Scale by Deshmukh and Deshmukh (2012) and Psychological Well Being Scale by Sisodia and Choudhary (2012) respectively. Results: Analysis of level of spirituality among elderly across educational qualification revealed that spirituality increased significantly with higher education. Graduate elderly were significantly more spiritual than those less educated and post graduates were observed to be even significantly more spiritual than graduates. Same trend was observed on psychological well being component. Graduate elderly were significantly more psychologically well than those less educated and post graduates were observed to be even significantly more psychologically well than graduates. Comparison across financial status revealed that elderly with fixed regular income had higher spirituality and psychological well being as compared to those with no fixed regular income. Conclusion: Socio-economic factors like educational level and financial status are strong determinants of level of spirituality and psychological well being among elderly. Spirituality and psychological well being both pave way for smooth ageing. They provide support for counterbalancing the inefficiencies caused by ageing.

Academic spill-ins or spill-outs? Examining knowledge spillovers of university patents

In this article, we investigate whether academic technology-based knowledge crosses university boundaries or remains trapped inside the ivory tower. To do so, we rely on a matched sample approach to compare the spillovers generated by academic and firm patents using measures that take into account knowledge spilling-in and knowledge spilling-out of academia. Although it is true that knowledge exchanges among universities may inflate the overall spillovers of university patents vis-à-vis firm patents, our results indicate that university patents generate more spillovers than a comparable sample of matched corporate patents, even when knowledge flows among universities are not regarded as spillovers. This suggests that, in our sample, firm technologies more frequently rely on academic patents than on technologies from other corporations. In addition, we find that the gap between university and industry spillovers differs across industries, with industries where patents are important for appropriating returns from R&D (i.e. more economically valuable), such as drugs, presenting a smaller gap than in industries with complex technologies (where firms have strong incentives to patent aggressively), such as computers. Finally, we show that industry patents generate more spillovers locally and that academic knowledge spillovers are less geographically localized than those of corporate research.

Disentangling the effects of sampling scale and size on the shape of species abundance distributions

Many authors have tried to explain the shape of the species abundance distribution (SAD). Some of them have suggested that sampling scale is an important factor shaping SADs. These suggestions, however, did not consider the indirect and well-known effect of sample size, which increases as samples are combined to generate SADs at larger scales. Here, we separate the effects of sample size and sampling scale on the shape of the SAD for three groups of organisms (trees, beetles and birds) sampled in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We compared the observed SADs at different sampling scales with simulated SADs having the same richness, relative abundances but comparable sample sizes, to show that the main effect shaping SADs is sample size and not sampling scale. The effect of scale was minor and deviations between observed and simulated SADs were present only for beetles. For trees, the match between observed and simulated SADs was improved at all scales when we accounted for conspecific aggregation, which was even more important than the sampling scale effect. We build on these results to propose a conceptual framework where observed SADs are shaped by three main factors, in decreasing order of importance: sample size, conspecific aggregation and beta diversity. Therefore, studies comparing SADs across sites or scales should use sampling and/or statistical approaches capable of disentangling these three effects on the shape of SADs.

Prevalence of Substance Use Disorders and Psychiatric Conditions Among County Jail Inmates: Changes and Stability Over Time

This study first sought to estimate the local Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) prevalence of various substance use disorders (SUDs) and psychiatric conditions among a sample of male county jail inmates ( N = 200) from 2016 data. The observed patterns in prevalence and internal consistency for the various conditions among a subgroup of inmates with a DSM-5 moderate-severe SUD diagnosis ( n = 149) were then compared to a comparable sample of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) substance-dependent inmates derived from 2008 data collected in an adjacent county jail ( N = 176) using a nearly identical structured clinical interview. Results revealed 87.0% of inmates in the total 2016 sample met criteria for any DSM-5 SUD. Despite similar methodology, comparable sample populations, and county jails in the same geographic region, there were marked differences between studies with respect to the prevalence of certain SUDs over an 8-year period. Conversely, 2016 prevalence rates for the co-occurring conditions were within 1% to 7% points of the rates evidenced in 2008.

From ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’ to ‘Ukonhauta’ in Nokialand: a socionomic perspective on the mood shift in Finland's popular music from 2006 to 2009

Social mood in Finland shifted from generally positive in the spring of 2006 to generally negative by the spring of 2009. We identify this change in mood via eight indicators, including the onset of a financial and macroeconomic crisis, a decline in measures of sentiment, a rise in radical politics and the demise of an iconic business unit of one of the country's most successful firms. From the standpoint of Prechter's socionomic theory we hypothesise that this change in social mood is also evident in a greater level of pessimism in the songs on the country's pop chart in 2009 relative to 2006. To test this hypothesis, we introduce and validate a tool to measure optimism and pessimism in popular music. We apply this tool to a random sample of songs from the Finnish pop chart from 2006 and a comparable sample from 2009. Indeed, we find that the sample from 2009 in the aggregate is substantially and significantly more pessimistic than the sample from 2006. The study serves to enrich our understanding of what makes pop songs popular and how popular music is linked psychologically to broader popular culture and other domains of social expression through a shared social mood.

Cosmopolitanism and ethnocentrism among young consumers in emerging Asia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumer cosmopolitanism (COS) and consumer ethnocentrism (CET) may affect young populations in China (an emerging country) and Korea (an advanced emerging country) on their evaluations of Japanese brands. Design/methodology/approach The author hypothesize that the levels and the effects of COS and CET will differ between China and Korea because of their differing levels of economic development and globalization. Surveys were conducted with 311 Chinese and Korean young individuals with comparable sample characteristics. Findings The research reveals a few interesting findings. First, the findings show that Chinese young consumers may be more ethnocentric and moderately less cosmopolitan than their Korean counterparts. Additionally, COS was found to have greater effects on evaluations of Japanese brands in China than in Korea. On the other hand, CET played a subdued role in brand evaluations for both countries. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that COS and CET may have reduced influences on future consumers in emerging Asia and other emerging countries as they experience increasing globalization. Originality/value This study addresses an under-researched issue of how consumer values may change in emerging Asia experiencing rapid economic development and globalization.

Building the case for independent monitoring of food advertising on Australian television

ObjectiveTo provide an independent monitoring report examining the ongoing impact of Australian self-regulatory pledges on food and drink advertising to children on commercial television.DesignAnalysis of food advertisements across comparable sample time periods in April/May 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The main outcome measure comprised change in the mean rate of non-core food advertisements from 2006 to 2011.SettingSydney free-to-air television channels.SubjectsTelevised food advertisements.ResultsIn 2011 the rate of non-core food advertisements was not significantly different from that in 2006 or 2010 (3·2/hv. 4·1/h and 3·1/h), although there were variations across the intervening years. The rate of fast-food advertising in 2010 was significantly higher than in 2006 (1·8/hv. 1·1/h,P< 0·001), but the same as that in 2011 (1·5/h).ConclusionsThe frequency of non-core food advertising on Sydney television has remained essentially unchanged between 2006 and 2011, despite the implementation of two industry self-regulatory pledges. The current study illustrates the value of independent monitoring as a basic requirement of any responsive regulatory approach.