bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Student Debt on Career Choices among Doctor of Public Health Graduates in the United States: A Descriptive Analysis
Authors: Park Chulwoo , Coles Eric
Published: April 2022

(1) Background: As gaps in the public health workforce grow in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, graduates of the schools of public health, especially Doctors of Public Health (DrPH), are poised to offer relief. While there are some known recruitment issues, student debt and debt impact on career choices are understudied. (2) Methods: In the present study, we perform a descriptive analysis of the potential impact of student debt on career choices among DrPH students and alumni in the United States using a cross-sectional national online survey. A total of 203 participants (66: alumni and 137: current students) completed the survey. Descriptive statistics, a chi-squared test of independence, and content analysis were used to analyze the funding situation and its impact on career choices. (3) Results: We found that (1) 72% of current DrPH students have zero funding support for their degree, (2) scholarship opportunities for a DrPH degree are limited, especially when compared to PhD programs, and (3) student debt impacts 59% of DrPH students’ and 29% of DrPH graduates’ career choices (about 49% of all respondents). (4) Conclusions: Student debt and a misunderstanding of DrPH are likely impediments to DrPH graduates participating in the public health workforce.
Communication about Prognosis and End-of-Life in Heart Failure Care and Experiences Using a Heart Failure Question Prompt List
Authors: Hjelmfors Lisa , Mårtensson Jan , Strömberg Anna , Sandgren Anna , Friedrichsen Maria , Jaarsma Tiny
Published: April 2022

Background: To further advance the use of a heart-failure-specific question prompt list (HF-QPL) for communication about prognosis and end-of-life care, knowledge about such communication and the perceptions and experiences of professionals is needed. Objectives: 1. to describe health care professionals’ perceptions of communication about prognosis and end-of-life in heart failure (HF) care, and 2. to describe their experiences of using a HF-QPL. Design: A qualitative design that analyzed material from written assignments of nurses and physicians who were using a HF-QPL while participating in a communication course. Methods: Fifteen health care professionals from different regions in the south of Sweden were included. The data were collected from course assignments on 1. their reflection on the suitable timepoint for talking about prognosis for the first time, 2. their reflection on the HF-QPL, and 3. their experiences of using the HF-QPL in clinical practice. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Five overarching themes were identified. The first theme was awareness of professional role responsibilities that described the recognition of different responsibilities in these conversations within the HF team. The second theme described the importance of being optimally prepared, and the third that confidence and skills are required to use the HF-QPL. The fourth theme described the HF-QPL as a bridge in the communication between professionals, patients, and family members. The fifth theme identified challenges using the HF-QPL in HF care. Conclusions: Using a HF-QPL in HF care has the potential to start conversation and facilitate discussion about the HF trajectory.
Spinal Intradural Hematoma after Spinal Anesthesia in a Young Male Patient: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Ji Jae Young , Ahn Jae Min , Chung Jin Hun , Kim Nan Seol , Seo Yong Han , Jung Ho Soon , Chun Hea Rim , Kim Woo Jong , Park Chan Ho , Choi Jeong Soo , Jung Hyun Chul , Park Jin Soo
Published: April 2022

Spinal intradural hematoma (SIH) is a rare condition which can cause neurological sequelae such as permanent motor weakness and sensory loss in the lower extremities. Herein, we describe a case of SIH following spinal anesthesia. The patient was a 30-year-old man who underwent treatment for accessory navicular syndrome at our department. The patient was not receiving anticoagulation therapy, and spinal anesthesia was thus selected. No symptoms of hematoma were observed in the immediate postoperative period, but the patient complained of pain in both buttocks on postoperative day 5. However, neither motor weakness nor sensory loss were observed. Additionally, as the radiating pain extending to the lower extremities typical of neurological pain was not observed, musculoskeletal pain was suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed intradural hematomas at L4-5 and S1. Conservative treatment and follow-up evaluations were performed to ensure that additional neurological sequelae did not occur. Six months after symptom onset, his pain Numeric Rating Scale score was 0, and no other neurological findings were observed. However, in patients who undergo spinal anesthesia, localized pain in the back without other neurological symptoms and lack of radiating pain may be associated with more than musculoskeletal pain. Such patients must be continuously monitored.
Which Personal and Organizational Factors Influence the Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction of Shipyard Blue-Collar Workers?
Authors: Reig-Botella Adela , Clemente Miguel , Detaille Sarah , de Lange Annet H. , López-Golpe Jaime
Published: April 2022

Background: The purpose of this research was to analyze which personal and organizational factors are related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction of shipyard workers who work in different auxiliary shipyard military companies in the north of Spain. Methods: In total, 567 shipyard workers participated in this cross-sectional survey study. The ages were between 19 and 64 (M = 39.36, SD = 10.01), males 82.52%, females 17.48%. We used a survey that included questions about personal and organizational factors such as physical environment, occupational risks, and psychosocial risks, in addition to the job commitment and job satisfaction scales. Results: The results of this study show that job commitment is significantly related to a higher age, lower education, and environmental risk (low vs. high). Furthermore, job satisfaction (high vs. low) and organizational commitment (high vs. low) is related with environmental risk (low vs. high). Job commitment is also higher in workers with a low educational level and older workers. Job satisfaction is lower in workers with a high educational level. Conclusions: This study shows that different personal and environmental factors influence the shipyard workers’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction.
Associations between Daily Ambient Air Pollution and Pulmonary Function, Asthma Symptom Occurrence, and Quick-Relief Inhaler Use among Asthma Patients
Authors: Ścibor Monika , Balcerzak Bartosz , Galbarczyk Andrzej , Jasienska Grazyna
Published: April 2022

Particulate matter (PM) is harmful to human health, especially for people with asthma. The goal of this study was to enhance the knowledge about the short-term effects of daily air concentrations of PM on health outcomes among asthma patients. The novelty of this study was the inclusion of a homogeneous group of patients (N = 300) with diagnosed and partly controlled asthma. Patients recorded their symptoms, asthma quick-relief inhaler use, and peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements in a diary for two weeks. Data on particulate air pollution were obtained from stationary monitoring stations. We have shown that particulate pollutants (PM10 and PM2.5) are associated with significant deterioration of PEF and an increase in the frequency of early asthma symptoms, as well as asthma quick-relief inhaler use. These effects are observed not only on the day of exposure, but also on the following day. For public health practice, these results support the rationale for using peak-flow meters as necessary devices for proper asthma self-management and control, especially in locations where the air is polluted with particles. This may decrease the number of asthma patients seeking medical help.
Factors Influencing Compliance with COVID-19 Health Measures: A Spanish Study to Improve Adherence Campaigns
Authors: Galende Nuria , Redondo Iratxe , Dosil-Santamaria Maria , Ozamiz-Etxebarria Naiara
Published: April 2022

Since the spread of the COVID-19 virus was declared a pandemic, different measures have been taken to control it, including frequent hand-washing, the use of face masks and social distancing. Given the importance of these measures, the present study aims to assess compliance with them in a Spanish sample of 722 people aged between 18 and 65 years. It also aims to determine which factors influence the levels of compliance observed. Participants complied more with the rules in the public spaces. The younger group had lower levels of compliance than the older group. No differences were found in accordance with sex. It was shown that overall, the agents that most influenced compliance were family, testimonials and friends and fines. Some differences were observed in relation to age, and significant sex differences were found in some of these factors, with women scoring higher than men. The results are discussed in terms of their usefulness for the design of information campaigns that seek to foster a greater degree of engagement by the entire population and, ultimately, greater control of the pandemic, in addition to serving as a basis for the early prevention of the spread of new viruses in the future.
Development of an Ultraviolet-C Irradiation Room in a Public Portuguese Hospital for Safe Re-Utilization of Personal Protective Respirators
Authors: Padrão Jorge , Nicolau Talita , Felgueiras Helena P. , Calçada Carla , Veiga Maria Isabel , Osório Nuno S. , Martins Marcos S. , Dourado Nuno , Taveira-Gomes António , Ferreira Fernando , Zille Andrea
Published: April 2022

Almost two years have passed since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. However, it still holds a tight grasp on the entire human population. Several variants of concern, one after another, have spread throughout the world. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant may become the fastest spreading virus in history. Therefore, it is more than evident that the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) will continue to play a pivotal role during the current pandemic. This work depicts an integrative approach attesting to the effectiveness of ultra-violet-C (UV-C) energy density for the sterilization of personal protective equipment, in particular FFP2 respirators used by the health care staff in intensive care units. It is increasingly clear that this approach should not be limited to health care units. Due to the record-breaking spreading rates of SARS-CoV-2, it is apparent that the use of PPE, in particular masks and respirators, will remain a critical tool to mitigate future pandemics. Therefore, similar UV-C disinfecting rooms should be considered for use within institutions and companies and even incorporated within household devices to avoid PPE shortages and, most importantly, to reduce environmental burdens.
Integrated Analysis of Behavioural and Health COVID-19 Data Combining Bayesian Networks and Structural Equation Models
Authors: Kenett Ron S. , Manzi Giancarlo , Rapaport Carmit , Salini Silvia
Published: April 2022

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been highly variable. Governments have applied different mitigation policies with varying effect on social and economic measures, over time. This article presents a methodology for examining the effect of mobility restriction measures and the association between health and population activity data. As case studies, we refer to the pre-vaccination experience in Italy and Israel. Facing the pandemic, Israel and Italy implemented different policy measures and experienced different population behavioral patterns. Data from these countries are used to demonstrate the proposed methodology. The analysis we introduce in this paper is a staged approach using Bayesian Networks and Structural Equations Models. The goal is to assess the impact of pandemic management and mitigation policies on pandemic spread and population activity. The proposed methodology models data from health registries and Google mobility data and then shows how decision makers can conduct scenario analyses to help design adequate pandemic management policies.
Factors Associated with HIV Testing among Reproductive Women Aged 15–49 Years in the Gambia: Analysis of the 2019–2020 Gambian Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Deynu Michael , Agyemang Kingsley , Anokye Nana
Published: April 2022

Voluntary counselling and testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has always been one of the key policy interventions in the management and control of HIV/AIDS transmission. However, the prevalence of HIV testing among reproductive women in the Gambia remains low despite near universal information about HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in the Gambia. Understanding factors influencing HIV testing uptake provides empirical data for the development of targeted evidenced-based strategies aimed at enhancing HIV testing uptake. Therefore, this study examined the factors associated with HIV testing among reproductive women aged 15–49 years in the Gambia. Data on weighted sample of 11,865 women from the 2019–2020 Gambia Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed in this study. Chi square, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted and analysis conducted through Complex Samples Analysis in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Level of significance was set at p < 0.05 and 95% CI. Further analysis was conducted to determine the variability in HIV testing among women stratified by rural and urban centers. Prevalence of HIV testing among reproductive women was 42.1% (95% CI = 40.1–44.2%) in the Gambia. Women aged 20–24 years and 25–29 years (aOR = 3.10, 95% CI = 2.51–3.83) and (aOR = 4.52, 95% CI = 3.61–5.54) were more likely to test for HIV than those aged 15–19 years, respectively. Married women (aOR = 5.90, 95% CI = 4.84–7.02) were more likely to test for HIV compared to those who were not in any union. Respondents with higher education in urban centers (aOR = 2.65, 95% CI = 2.08–3.86) were likely to test for HIV compared to those in rural areas. HIV testing in the Gambia among reproductive women is low. Age, marital status, wealth index, place of residence, educational level, recent sexual activity, previous history of risky sexual behaviors, and history of an STI were associated with HIV testing. Health interventions targeted at increasing HIV testing uptake should factor in these.
“In Flow”! Why Do Users Share Fake News about Environmentally Friendly Brands on Social Media?
Authors: Obadă Daniel-Rareș , Dabija Dan-Cristian
Published: April 2022

Social media has triggered an increase in fake news spread about different aspects of modern lives, society, politics, societal changes, etc., and has also affected companies’ reputation and brands’ trust. Therefore, this paper is aimed at investigating why social media users share fake news about environmentally friendly brands. To examine social media users’ behavior towards environmentally friendly brands, a theoretical research model proposed and analyzed using structural equations modeling in SmartPLS on a convenience sample consisting of 922 questionnaires. Data was collected by means of a quantitative-based approach via a survey conducted among social media users from an emerging market. The results show that social media flow has a mediated impact on sharing fake news about environmentally friendly brands on social media. Considering the critical consequences of fake news, the paper argues that understanding the dissemination process of this type of bogus content on social media platforms has important theoretical and managerial implications. Understanding the psychological mechanisms that influence people’s behavior in sharing fake news about environmentally friendly brands on social networking sites (SNS) could help in better understanding the factors and the effects of this phenomenon. The originality of this research consists of proposing flow theory from positive psychology to be used as a theoretical framework to explain users’ behavior of sharing fake news about environmentally friendly brands on social media.
Cancers: What Are the Costs in Relation to Disability-Adjusted Life Years? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Garlasco Jacopo , Nurchis Mario Cesare , Bordino Valerio , Sapienza Martina , Altamura Gerardo , Damiani Gianfranco , Gianino Maria Michela
Published: April 2022

Cancers currently represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and precisely estimating their burden is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. This study aimed at understanding the average costs of cancer-related disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and highlighting possible differences in economic estimates obtained with diverse approaches. We searched four scientific databases to identify all the primary literature simultaneously investigating cancer-related costs and DALYs. In view of the different methodologies, studies were divided into two groups: those estimating costs starting from DALYs, and those independently performing cost and DALY analyses. The latter were pooled to compute costs per disease-related DALY: meta-analytic syntheses were performed for total costs and indirect costs, and in relation to the corresponding gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The quality of included studies was assessed through the Quality of Health Economic Studies instrument. Seven studies were selected. Total and indirect pooled costs per DALY were, respectively, USD 9150 (95% CI: 5560–15,050) and USD 3890 (95% CI: 2570–5880). Moreover, the cost per cancer-related DALY has been found to be, on average, 32% (95% CI: 24–42%) of the corresponding countries’ GDP per capita. Costs calculated a priori from DALYs may lead to results widely different from those obtained after data retrieval and model building. Further research is needed to better estimate the economic burden of cancer in terms of costs and DALYs.
Effects of Forest Healing Anti-Aging Program on Psychological, Physiological, and Physical Health of Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Baek Ji-Eun , Jung Jin-Hwa , Shin Ho-Jin , Kim Sung-Hyeon , Sung Si-Yoon , Park Su-Jin , Hahm Suk-Chan , Cho Hwi-Young , Lee Min-Goo
Published: April 2022

This study aimed to determine the effect of a forest healing anti-aging program on psychological, physiological, and physical health in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Twenty-two older people with MCI living in the city participated in a forest healing anti-aging program. Psychological indicators included the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Beck depression inventory (BDI), profile of mood states (POMS), World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument (WHOQOL), and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Physiological indicators included vital signs, body composition, and blood analysis. Physical indicators included the senior fitness test (SFT), muscle strength, spatiotemporal parameter of gait, static balance, and dynamic balance. Psychological, physiological, and physical indicators were evaluated at first and second pre-measurement, post-measurement, and one-month follow-up. MMSE, BDI, POMS, WHOQOL, body composition, blood analysis, SFT, muscle strength, spatiotemporal parameter of gait, and dynamic balance were significantly different between pre- and post-measurement. Beck depression inventory, POMS, WHOQOL, PSQI, SFT, muscle strength (elbow flexor muscle, knee extensor muscle), spatiotemporal parameter of gait significantly improved continually until the one-month follow-up. In conclusion, the forest healing program had a positive effect on the psychological, physiological, and physical health of older people with MCI.
No-Touch Automated Disinfection System Based on Hydrogen Peroxide and Ethyl Alcohol Aerosols for Use in Healthcare Environments
Authors: Triggiano Francesco , Caggiano Giuseppina , Lopuzzo Marco , Diella Giusy , Apollonio Francesca , Fasano Fabrizio , Montagna Maria Teresa
Published: April 2022

Healthcare-related infections are sustained by various bacteria and fungi. In recent years, various technologies have emerged for the sanitation of healthcare-related environments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a no-touch disinfection system that aerosolizes 5% hydrogen peroxide and 10% ethyl alcohol. After selecting an environment, the Total Bacterial Count and the Total Fungal Count in the air and on a surface of the room were determined to evaluate the effectiveness of the aerosolization system. In addition, sterile stainless-steel plates inoculated with S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and Aspergillus spp. isolated from hospitalized patients and reference strains were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the system. For each organism, three plates were used: A (cleaned), B (not cleaned), and C (control). The A plates were treated with non-ionic surfactant and the aerosolization system, the B plates were subjected to the aerosolization system, and the plates C were positioned outside the room that was sanitized. Following sanitization, air and surface sampling was conducted, after which, swabs were processed for bacterial and fungal enumeration. The results showed that the air sanitization system had good efficacy for both bacteria and fungi in the air and on stainless-steel plates, particularly for the A plates.
Exploring the Relationship between Fibromyalgia-Related Fatigue, Physical Activity, and Quality of Life
Authors: Alvarez Marcos C. , Albuquerque Maria Luiza L. , Neiva Henrique P. , Cid Luis , Rodrigues Filipe , Teixeira Diogo S. , Matos Rui , Antunes Raúl , Morales-Sánchez Verónica , Monteiro Diogo
Published: April 2022

The symptoms of fibromyalgia are varied, including general muscle pain and pain at specific points (also called tender points), excessive fatigue, anxiety, depression, and some psychological problems that can have a negative impact on quality of life. Physical activity is a widely used option by health professionals to alleviate the effects of this syndrome. However, there is no clear information on the possible mediating role of physical activity in the relationship between fibromyalgia-related fatigue and quality of life. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the relationship between fibromyalgia-related fatigue and quality of life, and to investigate the mediating role of physical activity in patients with this syndrome. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 237 Portuguese women aged 28 to 75 years (M = 49.12; SD ± 8.87) and 117 Brazilian women aged 20 to 69 years (M = 46.72; SD ± 8.38) were recruited to participate in this study. These patients completed three valid and reliable questionnaires related to the assessment of fibromyalgia-related fatigue (MDF-Fibro-17), physical activity (IPAQ), and quality of life (SF-36). Results: Both samples had scores above the midpoint for all dimensions of fibromyalgia-related fatigue and scores below the midpoint for quality of life. Physical activity had no mediating effect in either sample, as the total indirect effect was not significant. Conclusions: Physical activity does not mediate the relationship between fatigue and quality of life. However, the results also show that the fatigue dimensions associated with fibromyalgia had a negative and significant association with physical and mental health indicators in both samples. Thus, patients with FM with higher scores on fatigue-related symptoms might suffer more from physical and mental health, both of which are related to quality of life.
The Analysis of Patterns of Two COVID-19 Outbreak Clusters in China
Authors: Li Wenning , Gong Jianhua , Zhou Jieping , Fan Hongkui , Qin Cheng , Gong Yujiang , Hu Weidong
Published: April 2022

Since the emergence of COVID-19, there have been many local outbreaks with foci at shopping malls in China. We compared and analyzed the epidemiological and spatiotemporal characteristics of local COVID-19 outbreaks in two commercial locations, a department store building (DSB) in Baodi District, Tianjin, and the Xinfadi wholesale market (XFD) in Fengtai District, Beijing. The spread of the infection at different times was analyzed by the standard deviation elliptical method. The spatial transfer mode demonstrated that outbreaks started at the center of each commercial location and spread to the periphery. The number of cases and the distance from the central outbreak showed an inverse proportional logarithmic function shape. Most cases were distributed within a 10 km radius; infected individuals who lived far from the outbreak center were mainly infected by close-contact transmission at home or in the workplace. There was no efficient and rapid detection method at the time of the DSB outbreak; the main preventative measure was the timing of COVID-19 precautions. Emergency interventions (closing shopping malls and home isolation) were initiated five days before confirmation of the first case from the shopping center. In contrast, XFD closed after the first confirmed cases appeared, but those infected during this outbreak benefitted from efficient nucleic acid testing. Quick results and isolation of infected individuals were the main methods of epidemic control in this area. The difference in the COVID-19 epidemic patterns between the two shopping malls reflects the progress of Chinese technology in the prevention and control of COVID-19.
Rural Household Differentiation and Poverty Vulnerability: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Field Survey in Hubei, China
Authors: Zhang Zhengjie , Song Jiahao , Yan Caixia , Xu Dingde , Wang Wei
Published: April 2022

Rural family differentiation is an important perspective to analyze farmers’ behavior and poverty. Based on the data of 1673 farm households from rural field survey in 2019 in Hubei Province of China, this paper examines the main influencing factors of farm household differentiation on farm household poverty vulnerability from the perspective of the sustainable livelihoods of farm households. On this basis, the contribution of each influencing factor to farm household poverty vulnerability is analysed using the regression decomposition method. The results of the study show that the variables of farm household differentiation have a significant impact on poverty vulnerability, and the net household income per capita, which reflect the vertical differentiation of farm households, and the proportion of non-farm labor, which reflects the horizontal differentiation of farm households. Both have a significant negative impact on the poverty vulnerability of farm households. The regression decomposition method shows that the proportion of non-farm labor force, which reflects the horizontal differentiation of farm households, has the highest contribution to the poverty vulnerability of farm households. Human capital, natural capital, social capital, and physical capital also influence the poverty vulnerability of farm households to a certain extent.
Pharmacological Cardioversion in Patients with Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation and Chronic Kidney Disease Subanalysis of the CANT II Study
Authors: Ceynowa-Sielawko Beata , Wybraniec Maciej T. , Topp-Zielińska Aleksandra , Maciąg Aleksander , Miśkowiec Dawid , Balsam Paweł , Wójcik Maciej , Wróbel Wojciech , Farkowski Michał M. , Ćwiek-Rębowska Edyta , Ozierański Krzysztof , Błaszczyk Robert , Bula Karolina , Dembowski Tomasz , Peller Michał , Krzowski Bartosz , Wańha Wojciech , Koziński Marek , Kasprzak Jarosław D. , Szwed Hanna , Mizia-Stec Katarzyna , Szołkiewicz Marek
Published: April 2022

Pharmacological cardioversion (PCV) is commonly a primary option for termination of recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in emergency departments (ED). This is a subanalysis of the CANT II study, evaluating the effectiveness and safety of antazoline in patients (n = 777) at three stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD): Group I > 60 mL/min (n = 531), Group II 45–59 mL/min (n = 149), and Group III < 45 mL/min (n = 97). Patients in Group III were older and with a higher prevalence of co-morbidities; however, we did not find statistically significant differences in the overall effectiveness of PCV in comparison with the other groups. In patients receiving amiodarone, the PCV success rate was similar in all the studied groups, but along with a renal function decline, it decreased in patients receiving antazoline (79.1 vs. 35%; p < 0.001), and it increased almost significantly in patients receiving propafenone (69.9 vs. 100%; p = 0.067). In patients in Group I, antazoline restored a sinus rhythm as effectively as propafenone and amiodarone; however, in patients in Group III, both antazoline and amiodarone became less effective in restoring a sinus rhythm than propafenone (p = 0.002 and p = 0.034, respectively). The rate of safety endpoint was the highest in patients in Group III (eGFR < 45 mL/min), and it was significantly higher than in patients in Groups I and II (p = 0.008 and p = 0.036, respectively). We did not observe antazoline-related adverse events in any of the studied groups of patients. This real-world registry analysis revealed a different influence of CKD on the effectiveness of individual drugs, and while propafenone and amiodarone maintained their AF termination efficacy, antazoline became significantly less effective in restoring sinus rhythm.
Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Malay-Version of the Factors Influencing Community Willingness to Perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Use an Automated External Defibrillator Questionnaire
Authors: Daud Amsyar , Mohammed Nawi Azmawati , Aizuddin Azimatun Noor , Yahya Mohammad Fadhly
Published: April 2022

Limited factors influence community willingness to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use an automated external defibrillator, making it difficult to take preventive and control measures to improve the survival of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In this study, we translated and evaluated the Malay-language version of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation and an automated external defibrillator questionnaire. The translation and evaluation involved three phases: development, translation and cultural adaptation, and validation. Content validity was assessed by five experts, and demonstrated a content validity index of 0.98 and a Fleiss kappa index of 0.159. Construct validity for the multi-item scale performed using factor analysis and involving 100 participants was 0.777. Factor analysis using the varimax rotation method demonstrated the appropriateness of the data in the exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.849, suggesting high reliability. Test–retest reliability involving 45 participants calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient had a value of 0.723. The findings demonstrate that the Malay-version FIXED questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument and is ready to be used by health care workers and policymakers to evaluate the factors influencing the community’s willingness to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use an automated external defibrillator.
Early Nurse Management Experiences from Finnish COVID-19 Hubs: An In-Action Review
Authors: Nevala Mari S. , Vuorela Satu
Published: April 2022

Primary healthcare (PHC) clinics are the point of access for many COVID-19 patients; however, the focus of crisis response work has been in securing hospital capacities. The purpose of this study was to describe the early nurse management experiences from PHC clinics within Greater Helsinki dedicated to caring for all ambulatory patients with possible COVID-19 symptoms. The study objectives were to make PHC crisis response contributions known and to provide an in-action review (IAR) of crisis response efforts. Nurse managers from the four COVID-19 hubs in Greater Helsinki were interviewed using thematic pair interviews. The data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis, by which four main themes emerged: (1) capacity development led to a state of flux, (2) infection prevention control (IPC) was critical, (3) management of staff was essential in facilitating crisis response, and (4) respondents’ personal experiences. The state of flux stressed the provision of PHC services, but quick developments in telemedicine eased that burden. Conversation surrounding IPC was extensive, though discrepancies suggest that global efforts to standardize IPC practices must begin locally. Leadership was adjusted to accommodate for the crisis, especially regarding the motivation of staff. A vision to aspire toward in crisis recovery is needed.
Biomonitoring of Urinary Nickel Successfully Protects Employees and Introduces Effective Interventions
Authors: Kuo Che-Yu , Lin Cheng-Fu , Chung Shih-Yu , Lin Yu-Li , Chu Wei-Min , Chen Chun-Chieh , Tsan Yu-Tse
Published: April 2022

Nickel is a heavy metal used in many industries. Nickel exposure can induce respiratory diseases and allergic reactions, and increase cancer risk. This study evaluated the introduction of a grinding and polishing system to prevent injuries from nickel toxicity in workers. We performed a controlled, interventional, before-and-after study from January 2018 to December 2019 at a faucet component industrial manufacturing site. Results from workplace environmental monitoring, questionnaire responses, and biomonitoring were collected before and after the intervention. Thirty-seven workers (100% men) aged 25.0 (interquartile range (IQR): 22.0–33.5) years were categorized into two groups, those with and without nickel exposure. In the exposed group, the median exposure time was 18.0 months (IQR 14.0–20.0 months). Urinary nickel concentration was lower in the exposed group than in the non-exposed group (13.8 (IQR 1.7–20.7); 23.1 (IQR 11.3–32.8) μg/g creatinine, respectively; p = 0.047). The median urinary nickel concentration was lower in the second year than in the first year (17.4 (IQR 2.2–27.4), 7.7 (IQR 4.3–18.5) μg/g creatinine, respectively; p = 0.022). Significant reductions in urinary nickel concentration were observed following the intervention and educational program. Thus, biomonitoring of urinary nickel concentration can successfully reflect the effectiveness of interventions and their relationship to nickel exposure.
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Clinical Myelopathy Signs in Smartphone-Using University Students with Neck Pain
Authors: Puntumetakul Rungthip , Chatprem Thiwaphon , Saiklang Pongsatorn , Phadungkit Supaporn , Kamruecha Worawan , Sae-Jung Surachai
Published: April 2022

University students have the highest smartphone-use addiction, which coincides with a rising number in instances of neck pain. As the time in smartphone use increases, neck flexion tends to increase. These positions can affect the spinal cord by the direct and indirect mechanisms which lead to cervical myelopathy. Thus, the current study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of clinical myelopathic signs in smartphone-using university students with neck pain. A total of 237 smartphone-using university students with neck pain participated in the study. They were 20 to 25 years old. Their clinical myelopathic signs were evaluated using standardized test procedures. The prevalence of the clinical myelopathic sign was the Trömner sign at 41.35%, the finger escape sign at 28.27%, Hoffmann’s sign at 25.74%, and the inverted supinator sign at 18.14%. Smartphone usage ≥9.15 h per day was associated with ≥1 of a positive clinical myelopathic sign (adjusted OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.05 to 3.26, p = 0.05). The current study highlighted that prolonged smartphone usage may affect the spinal cord. Long duration (≥9 h per day) was associated with at least one positive clinical myelopathic sign. Therefore, smartphone-using university students need to keep their duration of smartphone use to less than 9 h per day. More attention should be given to increasing awareness about the importance of having healthy positions when using smartphones and using them for restricted durations in order to control the increasing prevalence of cervical myelopathy among smartphone-using university student in our societies.
Assessment of Groundwater Potential Zones Using GIS and Fuzzy AHP Techniques—A Case Study of the Titel Municipality (Northern Serbia)
Authors: Radulović Mirjana , Brdar Sanja , Mesaroš Minučer , Lukić Tin , Savić Stevan , Basarin Biljana , Crnojević Vladimir , Pavić Dragoslav
Published: April 2022

Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources for reliable and sustainable water supplies in the world. To understand the use of water resources, the fundamental characteristics of groundwater need to be analyzed, but in many cases, in situ data measurements are not available or are incomplete. In this study, we used GIS and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) techniques for delineation of the groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) in the Titel Municipality (northern Serbia) based on quantitative assessment scores by experts (hydrologists, hydrogeologists, environmental and geoscientists, and agriculture experts). Six thematic layers, such as geology, geomorphology, slope, soil, land use/land cover, and drainage density were prepared and integrated into GIS software for generating the final map. The area falls into five classes: very good (25.68%), good (12.10%), moderate (15.18%), poor (41.34%), and very poor (5.70%). The GWPZ map will serve to improve the management of these natural resources to ensure future water protection and development of the agricultural sector, and the implemented method can be used in other similar natural conditions.
Editorial on Geomatic Applications to Coastal Research: Challenges and New Developments
Authors: Ponte Lira Cristina , González-Villanueva Rita
Published: April 2022

This editorial introduces the Special Issue entitled “Geomatic Applications to Coastal Research: Challenges and New Developments” and succinctly evaluates future trends of the use of geomatics in the field of coastal research. This Special Issue was created to emphasize the importance of using different methodologies to study the very complex and dynamic environment of the coast. The field of geomatics offers various tools and methods that are capable of capturing and understanding coastal systems at different scales (i.e., time and space). This Special Issue therefore features nine articles in which different methodologies and study cases are presented, highlighting what the field of geomatics has to offer to the field of coastal research. The featured articles use a range of methodologies, from GIS to remote sensing, as well as statistical and spatial analysis techniques, to advance the knowledge of coastal areas and improve management and future knowledge of these areas.
Analyzing Air Pollutant Reduction Possibilities in the City of Zagreb
Authors: Kranjčić Nikola , Dogančić Dragana , Đurin Bojan , Siročić Anita Ptiček
Published: April 2022

This paper aims to present possible areas to plant different vegetation types near traffic jams to reduce air pollution in the capital of Croatia, the city of Zagreb. Based on main traffic road and random forest machine learning using WorldView-2 European cities data, potential areas are established. It is seen that, based on a 10 m buffer, there is a possible planting area of more than 220,000 square meters, and based on 15 m buffer, there is a possible planting area of more than 410,000 square meters. The proposed plants are Viburnum lucidum, Photinia x fraseri, Euonymus japonicus, Tilia cordata, Aesculus hippocastanum, Pinus sp., Taxus baccata, Populus alba, Quercus robur, Betula pendula, which are characteristic for urban areas in Croatia. The planting of proposed trees may result in an increase of 3–5% in the total trees in the city of Zagreb. Although similar research has been published, this paper presents novelty findings from combined machine learning methods for defining green urban areas. Additionally, this paper presents original results for this region.
Spatiotemporal Analysis of Traffic Accidents Hotspots Based on Geospatial Techniques
Authors: Hazaymeh Khaled , Almagbile Ali , Alomari Ahmad H.
Published: April 2022

This paper aims to explore the spatiotemporal pattern of traffic accidents using five years of data between 2015 and 2019 for the Irbid Governorate, Jordan. The spatial pattern of traffic-accident hotspots and their temporal evolution were identified along the internal and arterial roads network in the study area using spatial autocorrelation (Global Moran I index) and local hotspot analysis (Getis–Ord Gi*) techniques within the GIS environment. The study showed a gradual increase in the reported traffic accidents of approximately 38% at the year level. The analysis of traffic accidents at the severity level showed a distinguished spatial distribution of hotspot locations. The less severe traffic accidents (~95%) occurred on the internal road network in the Irbid Governorate’s towns where the highest traffic volume exist. The spatial autocorrelation analysis and the Getis–Ord Gi* statistics with 99% of significance level showed clustering patterns of traffic accidents along the internal and the arterial road network segments. Between 2015 and 2019, a notable evolution of the traffic-accident hotspots clusters was pronounced. The results can be used to guide traffic managers and decision makers to take appropriate actions for enhancing the hotspot locations and improving their traffic safety status.
Hybrid-TransCD: A Hybrid Transformer Remote Sensing Image Change Detection Network via Token Aggregation
Authors: Ke Qingtian , Zhang Peng
Published: April 2022

Existing optical remote sensing image change detection (CD) methods aim to learn an appropriate discriminate decision by analyzing the feature information of bitemporal images obtained at the same place. However, the complex scenes in high-resolution (HR) remote images cause unsatisfied results, especially for some irregular and occluded objects. Although recent self-attention-driven change detection models with CNN achieve promising effects, the computational and consumed parameters costs emerge as an impassable gap for HR images. In this paper, we utilize a transformer structure replacing self-attention to learn stronger feature representations per image. In addition, concurrent vision transformer models only consider tokenizing single-dimensional image tokens, thus failing to build multi-scale long-range interactions among features. Here, we propose a hybrid multi-scale transformer module for HR remote images change detection, which fully models representation attentions at hybrid scales of each image via a fine-grained self-attention mechanism. The key idea of the hybrid transformer structure is to establish heterogeneous semantic tokens containing multiple receptive fields, thus simultaneously preserving large object and fine-grained features. For building relationships between features without embedding with token sequences from the Siamese tokenizer, we also introduced a hybrid difference transformer decoder (HDTD) layer to further strengthen multi-scale global dependencies of high-level features. Compared to capturing single-stream tokens, our HDTD layer directly focuses representing differential features without increasing exponential computational cost. Finally, we propose a cascade feature decoder (CFD) for aggregating different-dimensional upsampling features by establishing difference skip-connections. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, experiments on two HR remote sensing CD datasets are conducted. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, our Hybrid-TransCD achieved superior performance on both datasets (i.e., LEVIR-CD, SYSU-CD) with improvements of 0.75% and 1.98%, respectively.
A Distributed Hybrid Indexing for Continuous KNN Query Processing over Moving Objects
Authors: Bareche Imene , Xia Ying
Published: April 2022

The magnitude of highly dynamic spatial data is expanding rapidly due to the instantaneous evolution of mobile technology, resulting in challenges for continuous queries. We propose a novel indexing approach model, namely, the Velocity SpatioTemporal indexing approach (VeST), for continuous queries, mainly Continuous K-nearest Neighbor (CKNN) and continuous range queries using Apache Spark. The proposed structure is based on a selective velocity partitioning method, i.e., since different objects have varying speeds, we divide the objects into two sets according to the actual mean speed we calculate before building the index and accessing data. Then the adopted indexing structure base unit comprises a nonoverlapping R-tree and a two dimension grid. The tree divides the space into nonoverlapping minimum bounding regions that point to the grids. Then, the uniform grid stores the object data of leaf nodes. This access method reduces the update cost and improves response time and query precision. In order to enhance performances for large-scale processing, we design a compact multilayer index structure on a distributed setting and propose a CKNN search algorithm for accurate results using a candidate cell identification process. We provide a comprehensive vision of our indexing model and the adopted query technique. The simulation results show that for query intervals of 100, the proposed approach is 13.59 times faster than the traditional approach, and the average time of the VeST approach is less than 0.005 for all query intervals. This proposed method improves response time and query precision. The precision of the VeST algorithm is almost equal to 100% regardless of the length of the query interval.
An Information Fusion Model between GeoSOT Grid and Global Hexagonal Equal Area Grid
Authors: Li Qingmei , Chen Xin , Tong Xiaochong , Zhang Xuantong , Cheng Chengqi
Published: April 2022

In order to cope with the rapid growth of spatiotemporal big data, data organization models based on discrete global grid systems have developed rapidly in recent years. Due to the differences in model construction methods, grid level subdivision and coding rules, it is difficult for discrete global grid systems to integrate, share and exchange data between different models. Aiming at the problem of information fusion between a GeoSOT grid and global hexagonal equal area grid system, this paper proposes the GeoSOT equivalent aggregation model (the GEA model). We establish a spatial correlation index method between GeoSOT grids and global hexagonal equal area grids, and based on the spatial correlation index, we propose an interoperable transformation method for grid attributes information. We select the POI (points of interest) data of Beijing bus and subway stations and carry out the transformation experiment of hexagonal grid to GeoSOT grid information so as to verify the effectiveness of the GEA model. The experimental results show that when the 17th-level GeoSOT grid is selected as the particle grid to fit the hexagonal grid, the accuracy and efficiency can be well balanced. The fitting accuracy is 95.51%, and the time consumption is 30.9 ms. We establish the associated index of the GeoSOT grid and the hexagonal grid and finally realized the exchange of information.