On-site disinfection techniques are beneficial during a pandemic when there is a marked shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), as experienced during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. Ozone gas has been considered an alternative on-site disinfectant during a pandemic because it has antimicrobial activities, can be produced from air by electricity without the need for storage, and can be easily deactivated after use. However, ozone gas might become distributed at the lower layer because it has a larger molecular weight than air. This study aimed to reveal the applicability of ozone gas for the on-site disinfection of PPE. The lockers meant for changing dresses were used as ozone gas exposure boxes, and the distribution of ozone was assayed. Considering that the determined ozone levels were not consistent in the types of ozone analysers, we studied the chemical and biological activities of ozone, which were evenly detected in the locker. The gown in the locker was also uniformly exposed to ozone. Results showed that ozone gas could be used for the on-site disinfection of PPE in a closed box, such as a locker. This finding is valuable during a pandemic when PPE is in short supply.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on weight status, obesity and overweight among US children and identify associated factors.
METHODS: At a large safety net health system in Massachusetts, anthropometric measurements of 701 children were analyzed before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Chi-square and paired t-test were computed for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with obesity and overweight.
RESULTS: Post-lockdown, the overall mean body mass index (BMI) increased from 21.07 to 21.57 kg/m2 (p < .001). The overall obesity (23.2%-27.4%, p < .001) and overweight (41.1%-44.5%, p < .001) burdens increased after the lockdown period. Obesity (40.5%-46.9%, p < .001) was highest among Spanish speakers. The youngest age group (2-5 years) had the greatest obesity rate increase by 26% (19.7%-24.8%, p < .001). Obesity was associated with younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91, 1.00), higher baseline BMI (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.15, 1.23) and Spanish speaking children (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.10, 4.33).
CONCLUSIONS: BMI, obesity and overweight increased among children during the COVID-19 lockdown, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged subpopulations. Strategies are needed to counteract the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on unhealthy weight gain and childhood obesity.

UNASSIGNED: India has seen more than 43 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of April 2022, with a recovery rate of 98.8%, resulting in a large section of the population including the healthcare workers (HCWs), susceptible to develop post COVID sequelae. This study was carried out to assess the nature and prevalence of medical sequelae following COVID-19 infection, and risk factors, if any.
UNASSIGNED: This was an observational, multicenter cross-sectional study conducted at eight tertiary care centers. The consenting participants were HCWs between 12 and 52 weeks post discharge after COVID-19 infection. Data on demographics, medical history, clinical features of COVID-19 and various symptoms of COVID sequelae was collected through specific questionnaire.
UNASSIGNED: Mean age of the 679 eligible participants was 31.49 ± 9.54 years. The overall prevalence of COVID sequelae was 30.34%, with fatigue (11.5%) being the most common followed by insomnia (8.5%), difficulty in breathing during activity (6%) and pain in joints (5%). The odds of having any sequelae were significantly higher among participants who had moderate to severe COVID-19 (OR 6.51; 95% CI 3.46-12.23) and lower among males (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.39-0.76). Besides these, other predictors for having sequelae were age (≥45 years), presence of any comorbidity (especially hypertension and asthma), category of HCW (non-doctors vs doctors) and hospitalisation due to COVID-19.
UNASSIGNED: Approximately one-third of the participants experienced COVID sequelae. Severity of COVID illness, female gender, advanced age, co-morbidity were significant risk factors for COVID sequelae.
UNASSIGNED: This work is a part of Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR)- Rational Use of Medicines network. No additional financial support was received from ICMR to carry out the work, for study materials, medical writing, and APC.

UNASSIGNED: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching impact, the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms is increasing significantly in China. Yet access to reliable and effective psychological treatment is still limited during the pandemic. The widespread adoption of mobile technologies may provide a new way to address this gap. In this research we will develop an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) based intervention delivered by mobile application and will test its usability, efficacy, and mechanism of its effects in relieving PTSD symptoms.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 147 Chinese participants with a diagnosis of PTSD according to the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) will be randomly assigned to an intervention group (app-delivered ACT), an active comparison group (app-delivered mindfulness), or a waitlist group. Participants in the intervention group or comparison group will use their respective apps for one month. Online self-report questionnaires will be used to assess the primary outcome of PTSD symptoms and the secondary outcomes symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety, and posttraumatic growth. The potential mediating variable to be tested is psychological flexibility and its components. These assessments will be conducted at baseline, at five times during treatment, at the end of treatment, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups.
UNASSIGNED: As far as we know, this study is the first randomized controlled trial to investigate the usability, efficacy, and mechanism of an app-delivered ACT intervention for PTSD. Furthermore, the research will assess the effect of treatment in reducing dropout rates, explore effective therapeutic components, and investigate mechanisms of symptom change, which will be valuable in improving the efficacy and usability of PTSD interventions.Trial registration: ChiCTR2200058408.

UNASSIGNED: Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been used for decades, but only caused allergic reactions exceptionally. Introduction of PEG-containing COVID-19 vaccines might have fostered public interest beyond medical reasoning.
UNASSIGNED: To investigate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the public interest in PEG allergy in Germany and the published PEG allergy cases worldwide.
UNASSIGNED: A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted to measure public interest in PEG allergy analyzing Google search volume in Germany from February 2018 to January 2022. Medically confirmed \"PEG allergy\" cases were analyzed by looking at the numbers of PubMed case reports and case series from 1977 until January 2022.
UNASSIGNED: Web results in Germany before COVID-19 show search volumes related to \"PEG allergy/testing\" was negligible, with 10 search queries per month. The pandemic led to a >200-fold increase from 250 queries 2 years before to 55 720 queries 2 years thereafter, reflecting tremendous public interest. Additionally, the maximum monthly search volume from before to during the pandemic increased immensely for \"vaccination\" (57-fold), \"vaccination and adverse effects\" (85-fold), \"vaccination and allergy\" (71-fold). In contrast, the increase of publication numbers for the search term \"PEG allergy\" was small from 2019 to 2021 (2.5-fold). Only a very low number of 211 cases with \"PEG allergy\" worldwide since 1977 could be identified.
UNASSIGNED: PEG allergy became a topic of major public interest because of COVID-19 vaccination. Scientific publications have increased to a lesser extent, probably promoted by public awareness. Conversely, the overall number of cases published with PEG allergy remain very low. The current high demand for COVID-19 vaccination allergy testing is triggered by public interest instead of medical reasoning.

The establishment of fuzzy relations and the fuzzification of time series are the top priorities of the model for predicting fuzzy time series. A lot of literature studied these two aspects to ameliorate the capability of the forecasting model. In this paper, we proposed a new method(FTSOAX) to forecast fuzzy time series derived from the improved seagull optimization algorithm(ISOA) and XGBoost. For increasing the accurateness of the forecasting model in fuzzy time series, ISOA is applied to partition the domain of discourse to get more suitable intervals. We improved the seagull optimization algorithm(SOA) with the help of the Powell algorithm and a random curve action to make SOA have better convergence ability. Using XGBoost to forecast the change of fuzzy membership in order to overcome the disadvantage that fuzzy relation leads to low accuracy. We obtained daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in 7 countries as a dataset to demonstrate the performance of FTSOAX. The results show that FTSOAX is superior to other fuzzy forecasting models in the application of prediction of COVID-19 daily confirmed cases.

This paper presents the first comparative study of emerging stock markets\' response to the COVID-19 pandemic with evidence from Ghana and Botswana. Using daily time-series data from March 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021, the study estimates parametric, semi-parametric and non-parametric models, and provides evidence to support the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., the total number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths) on the stock market performances of Ghana and Botswana. Interestingly, the study shows that the impact of the pandemic on Ghana\'s stock market is quantitatively greater than the stock market of Botswana. The study calls for fiscal and monetary policies to help firms on the stock market to survive the shock. Going forward, measures aimed at building a robust stock market to withstand such external shocks are critical.

UNASSIGNED: Meningioma is a slow-growing tumor that can cause neurological emergency due to intracranial hypertension. The definitive therapy is indeed emergency resection, but it is not always possible in several countries due to limited capacity and/or capability of the emergency operating room. The use of intraparenchymal fiberoptic intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring and decompressive craniectomy (DC) in cases of brain tumors might be possible, but it is uncommon. We report a meningioma patient in whom immediate meningioma resection was considered too risky due to intensive care unit (ICU) shortage during COVID-19 pandemic and, therefore, underwent these procedures as life-saving measures.
UNASSIGNED: A 24-year-old man was brought to the emergency room with a chief complaint of seizure. Physical examination was notable for decreased consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 11) and a dilated left pupil with intact light reflex. A contrasted Brain CT Scan revealed extra-axial mass on the left sphenoid with extensive tentacle edema, which pushed the midline structures 2 cm toward the contralateral side.
UNASSIGNED: The patient was diagnosed with Left Sphenoid Meningioma. We decided to perform intraparenchymal fiberoptic ICP monitor insertion and DC considering the situation, device availability, safety, and efficacy. The patient slowly regained consciousness in the recovery room after the procedure. The best-observed GCS was 12. Two weeks afterward, the patient came back to our outpatient clinic neurologically intact. The patient was then planned for elective tumor resection.
UNASSIGNED: ICP monitoring and DC are not commonly performed on brain tumor cases. However, in suboptimal situations, these procedures might save lives. The present case showed that ICP monitor and DC were helpful in times of ICU shortage.

UNASSIGNED: The use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCU) is increasing globally. However, owing to the epidemiology of diseases and local management strategies, POCU may not be universally applicable. Before developing a POCU training program, because of limited resources for medical education, it was pivotal to conduct a needs assessment and identify the training barriers.
UNASSIGNED: This study used a validated paper questionnaire. The survey instrument was distributed to 120 pediatric residents (male 60, female 60) training at our institution to assess their self-reported level of skill in POCU, and their perceptions with regard to the applicability of POCU, measured with a 5-point Likert scale. The skills deficit was measured by subtracting the self-reported level of skills in lung, cardiac, and abdominal POCU from the perceived applicability of POCU.
UNASSIGNED: Fifty-nine residents participated, resulting in a response rate of 50 and 48% (n = 29) for the male group, and 50% (n = 30) for the female group. The level of knowledge and proficiency was low. Scanning for free abdominal fluid was deemed the most applicable (mean 4.2 ± SD 1.1); however, the use of POCU to detect consolidation was considered least applicable (mean 2.7 ± SD 1.3). The skills deficit was highest for an abdominal POCU (mean 2.4 ± SD 1.6) and lowest for lung ultrasound (mean 1.4 ± SD 1.6). Although the majority (n = 48) agreed that this skill was essential, 3 (5%) had no interest, and 39% (n = 23) indicated a lack of time to acquire the skill.
UNASSIGNED: Though pediatric residents in Saudi Arabia agree that POCU is an essential skill, large skill deficits exist, supporting the necessity to provide POCU training. However, there are several barriers to overcome to achieve this.

Purpose Pulmonary fibrosis caused by COVID-19 pneumonia is a serious complication of COVID-19 infection, there is a lack of effective treatment methods clinically. This article explored the mechanism of action of berberine in the treatment of COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019, COVID-19) pneumonia pulmonary fibrosis with the help of the network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods We predicted the role of berberine protein targets with the Pharmmapper database and the 3D structure of berberine in the Pubchem database. And GeneCards database was used in order to search disease target genes and screen common target genes. Then we used STRING web to construct PPI interaction network of common target protein. The common target genes were analyzed by GO and KEGG by DAVID database. The disease-core target gene-drug network was established and molecular docking was used for prediction. We also analyzed the binding free energy and simulates molecular dynamics of complexes. Results Berberine had 250 gene targets, COVID-19 pneumonia pulmonary fibrosis had 191 gene targets, the intersection of which was 23 in common gene targets. Molecular docking showed that berberine was associated with CCl2, IL-6, STAT3 and TNF-α. GO and KEGG analysis reveals that berberine mainly plays a vital role by the signaling pathways of influenza, inflammation and immune response. Conclusion Berberine acts on TNF-α, STAT3, IL-6, CCL2 and other targets to inhibit inflammation and the activation of fibrocytes to achieve the purpose of treating COVID-19 pneumonia pulmonary fibrosis.