International journal of environmental research and public health
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Sep 2020
Information on COVID-19 and Psychological Distress in a Sample of Non-Health Workers during the Pandemic Period.
Methods by which the population should be informed when going through a pandemic such as COVID-19 have been questioned because of its influence on the adoption of preventive measures and its effects on mental health. Non-health workers are at risk of psychological distress from exposure to contaminated people or materials or by having to stay at home and adapt their activity to telework. The objective of the study is to analyze information the public receives about COVID-19 and its influence on their level of distress. ⋯ There is greater confidence in healthcare professionals than in the health system, and the main concern of those working away from home is spreading the virus to family members. It has been concluded that there is a need to enhance quality and truthful information on the Internet for non-health workers due to its accessibility, which should be constantly updated, a fact which international and national public bodies, research centers, and journal publishers have begun to understand during the current pandemic. Such quality information is needed to combat distress.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Sep 2020
ReviewMinimum Sizes of Respiratory Particles Carrying SARS-CoV-2 and the Possibility of Aerosol Generation.
This study calculates and elucidates the minimum size of respiratory particles that are potential carriers of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); furthermore, it evaluates the aerosol generation potential of SARS-CoV-2. The calculations are based on experimental results and theoretical models. In the case of maximum viral-loading derived from experimental data of COVID-19 patients, 7.18 × 10-4% of a respiratory fluid particle from a COVID-19 patient is occupied by SARS-CoV-2. ⋯ There are limitations to this analysis: (a) assumption that the viruses are homogeneously distributed in respiratory fluid particles and (b) considering a gene copy as a single virion in unit conversions. However, the study shows that high viral loads can decrease the minimum size of respiratory particles containing SARS-CoV-2, thereby increasing the probability of aerosol generation of the viruses. The aerosol generation theory created in this study for COVID-19 has the potential to be applied to other contagious diseases that are caused by respiratory infectious microorganisms.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Sep 2020
Work-Family Conflict and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Employees: Cross-Level Interaction of Organizational Justice Climate and Family Flexibility.
This study aims to examine how organizational and family factors protect employees from depressive symptoms induced by work-family conflict. With a cross-sectional design, a total of 2184 Chinese employees from 76 departments completed measures of work-family conflict, organizational justice, family flexibility, and depressive symptoms. The results showed that work-family conflict including work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict was positively associated with depressive symptoms. ⋯ Specifically, compared with employees with high family flexibility, procedural and distributive justice climate had a stronger buffering effect for employees with low family flexibility. These results indicate that organization and family could compensate each other to mitigate the effect of work-family conflict on employees' depressive symptoms. Cultivating justice climate in organization and enhancing family flexibility might be an effective way to reduce employees' depressive symptoms.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Sep 2020
Personal Music Players Use and Other Noise Hazards among Children 11 to 12 Years Old.
Exposure to loud music-due to widespread personal music players (PMPs) and noisy leisure activities-are major risk factors for noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) in adolescents. However, there is little evidence of the impact of noise on the hearing of younger children. This study aimed to explore an association between PMP use and hearing, and to identify other sources of noise among children. ⋯ Only 11.5% of the children ever used hearing protection while engaged in noisy activities. We found no convincing evidence of an association between PMP use and hearing thresholds, although our results suggest that tinnitus may be an early sign of NIHL in young children. The study shows a need to provide children, their parents, and educators with knowledge of how to take care of hearing, including how to avoid and minimize noise exposure.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Sep 2020
Comparative StudyChest CT Computerized Aided Quantification of PNEUMONIA Lesions in COVID-19 Infection: A Comparison among Three Commercial Software.
To compare different commercial software in the quantification of Pneumonia Lesions in COVID-19 infection and to stratify the patients based on the disease severity using on chest computed tomography (CT) images. ⋯ Computer-aided pneumonia quantification could be an easy and feasible way to stratify COVID-19 cases according to severity; however, a great variability among quantitative measurements provided by computer tools should be considered.