Research from April 2016http://hdl.handle.net/10547/6136962024-03-28T11:55:24Z2024-03-28T11:55:24ZInfluence of Environmental Factors and Genome Diversity on Cumulative COVID-19 Cases in the Highland Region of China: Comparative Correlational Study.Deji, ZhuogaTong, YuantaoHuang, HonglianZhang, ZeyuFang, MengCrabbe, M. James C.Zhang, XiaoyanWang, Yinghttp://hdl.handle.net/10547/6262092024-03-28T06:33:28Z2024-03-25T00:00:00ZInfluence of Environmental Factors and Genome Diversity on Cumulative COVID-19 Cases in the Highland Region of China: Comparative Correlational Study.
Deji, Zhuoga; Tong, Yuantao; Huang, Honglian; Zhang, Zeyu; Fang, Meng; Crabbe, M. James C.; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Ying
Background: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 caused the global COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging reports support lower mortality and reduced case numbers in highland areas; however, comparative studies on the cumulative impact of environmental factors and viral genetic diversity on COVID-19 infection rates have not been performed to date. Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the difference in COVID-19 infection rates between high and low altitudes, and to explore whether the difference in the pandemic trend in the high-altitude region of China compared to that of the lowlands is influenced by environmental factors, population density, and biological mechanisms. Methods: We examined the correlation between population density and COVID-19 cases through linear regression. A zero-shot model was applied to identify possible factors correlated to COVID-19 infection. We further analyzed the correlation of meteorological and air quality factors with infection cases using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Mixed-effects multiple linear regression was applied to evaluate the associations between selected factors and COVID-19 cases adjusting for covariates. Lastly, the relationship between environmental factors and mutation frequency was evaluated using the same correlation techniques mentioned above. Results: Among the 24,826 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported from 40 cities in China from January 23, 2020, to July 7, 2022, 98.4% (n=24,430) were found in the lowlands. Population density was positively correlated with COVID-19 cases in all regions (ρ=0.641, P=.003). In high-altitude areas, the number of COVID-19 cases was negatively associated with temperature, sunlight hours, and UV index (P=.003, P=.001, and P=.009, respectively) and was positively associated with wind speed (ρ=0.388, P<.001), whereas no correlation was found between meteorological factors and COVID-19 cases in the lowlands. After controlling for covariates, the mixed-effects model also showed positive associations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) with COVID-19 cases (P=.002 and P<.001, respectively). Sequence variant analysis showed lower genetic diversity among nucleotides for each SARS-CoV-2 genome (P<.001) and three open reading frames (P<.001) in high altitudes compared to 300 sequences analyzed from low altitudes. Moreover, the frequencies of 44 nonsynonymous mutations and 32 synonymous mutations were significantly different between the high- and low-altitude groups (P<.001, mutation frequency>0.1). Key nonsynonymous mutations showed positive correlations with altitude, wind speed, and air pressure and showed negative correlations with temperature, UV index, and sunlight hours. Conclusions: By comparison with the lowlands, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was substantially lower in high-altitude regions of China, and the population density, temperature, sunlight hours, UV index, wind speed, PM2.5, and CO influenced the cumulative pandemic trend in the highlands. The identified influence of environmental factors on SARS-CoV-2 sequence variants adds knowledge of the impact of altitude on COVID-19 infection, offering novel suggestions for preventive intervention.
2024-03-25T00:00:00ZHigh resolution temperature evolution maps of Bangladesh via data-driven learningWu, YichenYang, JiaxinZhang, ZhihuaDas, Lipon ChandraCrabbe, M. James C.http://hdl.handle.net/10547/6262082024-03-26T03:39:43Z2024-03-21T00:00:00ZHigh resolution temperature evolution maps of Bangladesh via data-driven learning
Wu, Yichen; Yang, Jiaxin; Zhang, Zhihua; Das, Lipon Chandra; Crabbe, M. James C.
As a developing country with an agricultural economy as a pillar, Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change, so the generation of high-resolution temperature maps is of great value for Bangladesh to achieve agricultural sustainable development. However, Bangladesh’s weak economy and sparse meteorological stations make it difficult to obtain such maps. In this study, by mining internal features and links inside observed data, we developed an efficient data-driven downscaling technique to generate high spatial-resolution temperature distribution maps of Bangladesh directly from observed temperature data at 34 meteorological stations with irregular distribution. Based on these high-resolution historical temperature maps, we further explored a data-driven forecast technique to generate high-resolution temperature maps of Bangladesh for the period 2025–2035. Since the proposed techniques are very low-cost and fully mine internal links inside irregular-distributed observations, they can support relevant departments of Bangladesh to formulate policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change in a timely manner.
2024-03-21T00:00:00ZRealising participation and protection rights when working with groups of young survivors of childhood sexual violence: a decade of learningCody, ClaireBovarnick, SilvieSoares, Clairehttp://hdl.handle.net/10547/6262072024-03-26T09:35:42Z2024-03-18T00:00:00ZRealising participation and protection rights when working with groups of young survivors of childhood sexual violence: a decade of learning
Cody, Claire; Bovarnick, Silvie; Soares, Claire
Childhood sexual violence is a global problem that has far-reaching impacts on children, families and communities. Whilst there has been significant commitment and action to tackle this issue, research with young people consistently draws attention to gaps and limitations. Emerging research, and practice-based evidence, tells us that young survivors of childhood sexual violence hold essential knowledge and expertise about the impacts of, and solutions for addressing, this form of violence. Yet, despite widespread recognition that children and young people have a right to ‘be heard’, in practice there are limited examples where young survivors come together collectively to collaborate with professionals to inform and influence research, policy or practice interventions in this field. This discussion paper begins by reflecting on barriers to, and opportunities for, participatory engagement with young survivors. The article draws on a decade long international programme of work and shares three key elements that have helped ‘scaffold’ our participatory work with young survivors: forming the right partnerships; weighing up the potential risks and benefits of engagement; and putting in place support for all involved. In conclusion, we present potential ways forward, underscoring the importance of addressing structural barriers, the need for creativity, and the significance of support and training for those accompanying young people and facilitating their engagement in the future.
2024-03-18T00:00:00ZEffectiveness of postnatal maternal or caregiver interventions on outcomes among infants under six months with growth faltering: a systematic reviewRana, RituSirwani, BarkhaMohandas, SaranyaKirubakaran, RichardPuthussery, ShubyLelijveld, NatashaKerac, Markohttp://hdl.handle.net/10547/6262062024-03-22T03:16:45Z2024-03-14T00:00:00ZEffectiveness of postnatal maternal or caregiver interventions on outcomes among infants under six months with growth faltering: a systematic review
Rana, Ritu; Sirwani, Barkha; Mohandas, Saranya; Kirubakaran, Richard; Puthussery, Shuby; Lelijveld, Natasha; Kerac, Marko
The care of infants at risk of poor growth and development is a global priority. To inform new WHO guidelines update on prevention and management of growth faltering among infants under six months, we examined the effectiveness of postnatal maternal or caregiver interventions on outcomes among infants between 0 and 6 months. We searched nine electronic databases from January 2000 to August 2021, included interventional studies, evaluated the quality of evidence for seven outcome domains (anthropometric recovery, child development, anthropometric outcomes, mortality, readmission, relapse, and non-response) and followed the GRADE approach for certainty of evidence. We identified thirteen studies with preterm and/or low birth weight infants assessing effects of breastfeeding counselling or education (n = 8), maternal nutrition supplementation (n = 2), mental health (n = 1), relaxation therapy (n = 1), and cash transfer (n = 1) interventions. The evidence from these studies had serious indirectness and high risk of bias. Evidence suggests breastfeeding counselling or education compared to standard care may increase infant weight at one month, weight at two months and length at one month; however, the evidence is very uncertain (very low quality). Maternal nutrition supplementation compared to standard care may not increase infant weight at 36 weeks postmenstrual age and may not reduce infant mortality by 36 weeks post-menstrual age (low quality). Evidence on the effectiveness of postnatal maternal or caregiver interventions on outcomes among infants under six months with growth faltering is limited and of ‘low’ to ‘very low’ quality. This emphasizes the urgent need for future research. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022309001).
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