Vaccination Schedule under Conditions of Limited Vaccine Production Rate

The paper is devoted to optimal vaccination scheduling during a pandemic to minimize the probability of infection. The recent COVID-19 pandemic showed that the international community is not properly prepared to manage a crisis of this scale. Just after the vaccines had been approved by medical agencies, the policymakers needed to decide on the distribution strategy. To successfully fight the pandemic, the key is to find the equilibrium between the vaccine distribution schedule and the available supplies caused by limited production capacity. This is why society needs to be divided into stratified groups whose access to vaccines is prioritized. Herein, we present the problem of distributing protective actions (i.e., vaccines) and formulate two mixed-integer programs to solve it. The problem of distributing protective actions (PDPA) aims at finding an optimal schedule for a given set of social groups with a constant probability of infection. The problem of distributing protective actions with a herd immunity threshold (PDPAHIT) also includes a variable probability of infection, i.e., the situation when herd immunity is obtained. The results of computational experiments are reported and the potential of the models is illustrated with examples.

Local Perspectives of Sustainable Urbanism

The protective actions of rehabilitation, especially when they affect urban spaces formally declared as areas of rehabilitation, must have an urban reflection and be projected and reflected in the corresponding planning and management techniques. Planning legislation provides the instruments (plans) and the proper techniques to make urban planning adjusted to the parameters of the rehabilitation performing actions that seek to promote the rational use of the natural and cultural resources, in particular the territory, the soil, and the urban and architectural heritage that are the support, the object, and the scene of the quality of life.

Local Perspectives of Sustainable Urbanism

The protective actions of restoration, especially when they affect urban spaces formally declared as areas of restoration, must have an urban reflection and be projected and reflected in the corresponding planning and management techniques. Planning legislation provides the instruments (plans) and the proper techniques to make urban planning adjusted to the parameters of the restoration performing actions that seek to promote the rational use of the natural and cultural resources, in particular the territory, the soil, and the urban and architectural heritage that are the support, the object, and the scene of the quality of life.

Analysis of Domestic Legal Framework based on International Law Towards Children’s Environmental Protection

Environmental damage and climate change consequences are affecting the health and well-being of many people throughout the world. However as compared to adults, children are more susceptible to environmental hazards because of their unique physiological, developmental and metabolic needs causing them to face a greater risk if exposed to pollution. While imperative actions are persistently being taken by countries globally to address environmental and climate change concerns, confronting these issues in the era of COVID-19 could be more complex due to implications and unprecedented challenges associated with the pandemic. In relation to children, while they are not a category at risk from a medical viewpoint, they are nevertheless not standing on an equal footing in facing environmental consequences of the pandemic effects. In responding to the interlinkages of COVID-19 crisis, environmental degradation, and children’s protection, the article examines provisions of the Child Act 2001 which is the most important legislation in Malaysia on children. The article then examines related policies and international law which provide the foundation of the objectives of the Act. It is imperative that, during the time when new threats to children’s wellbeing keep occurring, policies and international law principles are revisited and comprehended to support the law in securing protective actions for children and in constructing a new normal for the purpose of sustainability.

Care Ethics Management and Redesign Organization in the New Normal

The pandemic period has placed the organizations in a state of great tension. It has generated a situation of confusion, lack of rules, and production-related criticalities that have called into question the very existence of many productive realities. This article aims to highlight the dimensions of care and ethics put in place by HR managers in COVID-19. The objective that animated the authors have focused on the HRM level of medium and large companies in Italy to highlight the protective actions toward people and the organization in the period COVID 19, highlighting what were the ethical values and actions of care put in place. In this article, we wanted to give voice to managers (N = 45, including 21 women and 24 men, aged between 40 and 55 years old) who had management tasks in their organizations by asking them to tell us how they dealt with the challenges imposed by the emergency. In the research, we start from a way of understanding workplaces understood as a “process of ongoing social relationship” within which the HR function is dedicated to the care of the quality of relationships. HR managers have to manage a complex role of mediating between the interests of people and employers by trying to find good mediations.

COVID-19 Information Sources and Health Behaviors During Pregnancy: Results From a Prenatal App-Embedded Survey

Background Pregnancy is a time of heightened COVID-19 risk. Pregnant individuals’ choice of specific protective health behaviors during pregnancy may be affected by information sources. Objective This study examined the association between COVID-19 information sources and engagement in protective health behaviors among a pregnant population in a large academic medical system. Methods Pregnant patients completed an app-based questionnaire about their sources of COVID-19 information and engagement in protective health behaviors. The voluntary questionnaire was made available to patients using a pregnancy app as part of their routine prenatal care between April 21 and November 27, 2020. Results In total, 637 pregnant responders routinely accessed a median of 5 sources for COVID-19 information. The most cited source (79%) was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Self-reporting evidence-based protective actions was relatively common, although 14% self-reported potentially harmful behaviors to avoid COVID-19 infection. The CDC and other sources were positively associated with engaging in protective behaviors while others (eg, US president Donald Trump) were negatively associated with protective behaviors. Participation in protective behaviors was not associated with refraining from potentially harmful behaviors (P=.93). Moreover, participation in protective behaviors decreased (P=.03) and participation in potentially harmful actions increased (P=.001) over the course of the pandemic. Conclusions Pregnant patients were highly engaged in COVID-19–related information-seeking and health behaviors. Clear, targeted, and regular communication from commonly accessed health organizations about which actions may be harmful, in addition to which actions offer protection, may offer needed support to the pregnant population.

The Analysis of Chitosan-Coated Nanovesicles Containing Erythromycin—Characterization and Biocompatibility in Mice

Nanoantibiotics have proved improved pharmacokinetic characteristics and antimicrobial features. Recent studies have shown non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, antioxidant, anti-hyperlipidemic, and hepatocyte protective actions, among other advantages of chitosan-based nanoparticles. The purpose of our study was the structural analysis of novel chitosan-coated vesicles entrapping erythromycin (ERT) and the assessment of their biocompatibility in mice. According to the group in which they were randomly assigned, the mice were treated orally with one of the following: distilled water; chitosan; ERT; chitosan vesicles containing ERT. Original nanosystems entrapping ERT in liposomes stabilized with chitosan were designed. Their oral administration did not produce sizeable modifications in the percentages of the leukocyte formula elements, of some blood constants useful for evaluating the hepatic and renal function, respectively, and of some markers of oxidative stress and immune system activity, which suggests a good biocompatibility in mice. The histological examination did not reveal significant alterations of liver and kidney architecture in mice treated with chitosan liposomes entrapping ERT. The results indicate the designed liposomes are a promising approach to overcome disadvantages of conventional ERT treatments and to amplify their benefits and can be further studied as carrier systems.

Evidence-based guidelines for protective actions and earthquake early warning systems

Earthquake early warning systems (EEW) are becoming increasingly available or in development throughout the world. With public alerting in Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, and parts of the United States, it is important to provide evidence-based recommendations for protective action so people can protect themselves when they receive an alert. Best-practice warning communication research suggests that providing a protective action will increase the efficacy of the message. However, given the diversity of earthquakes and building types, as well as social and cultural contexts where these systems exist, the question is: what is the best protective action to recommend? The answer lies in maximizing life-saving protective actions during an earthquake event requires both contextually relevant messaging and widespread public education about appropriate protective actions under a range of conditions. By researching previous earthquake injury literature, examining current best practices and public education campaigns, key protective actions may be determined and used to increase the life-saving potential of earthquake early warning systems.