Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dionysis Bochtis; Lefteris Benos; Maria Lampridi; Vasso Marinoudi; Simon Pearson; Claus G. Sørensen

doi:10.3390/su12198212

Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12198212 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (19) ◽

pp. 8212 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dionysis Bochtis ◽

Lefteris Benos ◽

Maria Lampridi ◽

Vasso Marinoudi ◽

Simon Pearson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virus Transmission ◽

The United States ◽

Control Measures ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Agricultural Labor ◽

Personal Protection Equipment ◽

Occupational Classification ◽

Hygiene Practices ◽

The Individual ◽

United States Standard

COVID-19 and the restrictive measures towards containing the spread of its infections have seriously affected the agricultural workforce and jeopardized food security. The present study aims at assessing the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on agricultural labor and suggesting strategies to mitigate them. To this end, after an introduction to the pandemic background, the negative consequences on agriculture and the existing mitigation policies, risks to the agricultural workers were benchmarked across the United States’ Standard Occupational Classification system. The individual tasks associated with each occupation in agricultural production were evaluated on the basis of potential COVID-19 infection risk. As criteria, the most prevalent virus transmission mechanisms were considered, namely the possibility of touching contaminated surfaces and the close proximity of workers. The higher risk occupations within the sector were identified, which facilitates the allocation of worker protection resources to the occupations where they are most needed. In particular, the results demonstrated that 50% of the agricultural workforce and 54% of the workers’ annual income are at moderate to high risk. As a consequence, a series of control measures need to be adopted so as to enhance the resilience and sustainability of the sector as well as protect farmers including physical distancing, hygiene practices, and personal protection equipment.

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Sources of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Microorganisms in Dental Aerosols

Journal of Dental Research ◽

10.1177/00220345211015948 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002203452110159

Author(s):

A.P. Meethil ◽

S. Saraswat ◽

P.P. Chaudhary ◽

S.M. Dabdoub ◽

P.S. Kumar

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

The United States ◽

Control Measures ◽

Personal Protection ◽

Personal Protection Equipment ◽

Linear Discriminant ◽

16S Sequencing ◽

Asymptomatic Patients

On March 16, 2020, 198,000 dentists in the United States closed their doors to patients, fueled by concerns that aerosols generated during dental procedures are potential vehicles for transmission of respiratory pathogens through saliva. Our knowledge of these aerosol constituents is sparse and gleaned from case reports and poorly controlled studies. Therefore, we tracked the origins of microbiota in aerosols generated during ultrasonic scaling, implant osteotomy, and restorative procedures by combining reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (to identify and quantify SARS-CoV-2) and 16S sequencing (to characterize the entire microbiome) with fine-scale enumeration and source tracking. Linear discriminant analysis of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity distances revealed significant class separation between the salivary microbiome and aerosol microbiota deposited on the operator, patient, assistant, or the environment ( P < 0.01, analysis of similarities). We also discovered that 78% of the microbiota in condensate could be traced to the dental irrigant, while saliva contributed to a median of 0% of aerosol microbiota. We also identified low copy numbers of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the saliva of several asymptomatic patients but none in aerosols generated from these patients. Together, the bacterial and viral data encourage us to conclude that when infection control measures are used, such as preoperative mouth rinses and intraoral high-volume evacuation, dental treatment is not a factor in increasing the risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic patients and that standard infection control practices are sufficiently capable of protecting personnel and patients from exposure to potential pathogens. This information is of immediate urgency, not only for safe resumption of dental treatment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but also to inform evidence-based selection of personal protection equipment and infection control practices at a time when resources are stretched and personal protection equipment needs to be prioritized.

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Fine-grained data reveal segregated mobility networks and opportunities for local containment of COVID-19

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-95894-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chao Fan ◽

Ronald Lee ◽

Yang Yang ◽

Ali Mostafavi

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Human Mobility ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

The United States ◽

Mobility Control ◽

Control Measures ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Effective Mobility ◽

Travel Restrictions ◽

Mobility Reduction

AbstractDeriving effective mobility control measures is critical for the control of COVID-19 spreading. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and regions implemented travel restrictions and quarantines to reduce human mobility and thus reduce virus transmission. But since human mobility decreased heterogeneously, we lack empirical evidence of the extent to which the reductions in mobility alter the way people from different regions of cities are connected, and what containment policies could complement mobility reductions to conquer the pandemic. Here, we examined individual movements in 21 of the most affected counties in the United States, showing that mobility reduction leads to a segregated place network and alters its relationship with pandemic spread. Our findings suggest localized area-specific policies, such as geo-fencing, as viable alternatives to city-wide lockdown for conquering the pandemic after mobility was reduced.

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International travelers and genomics uncover a ‘hidden’ Zika outbreak

10.1101/496901 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nathan D. Grubaugh ◽

Sharada Saraf ◽

Karthik Gangavarapu ◽

Alexander Watts ◽

Amanda L. Tan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Zika Virus ◽

Public Health Surveillance ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Herd Immunity ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

The United States ◽

Control Measures ◽

Local Case ◽

Peak Transmission ◽

And Control

AbstractThe ongoing Zika epidemic in the Americas has challenged public health surveillance, response, and control systems. Even as the epidemic appears to be near its end in the Americas, it is unclear whether substantial Zika virus transmission may still be ongoing. This issue is exacerbated by large discrepancies in local case reporting and significant delays in detecting outbreaks due to surveillance gaps. To uncover locations with lingering outbreaks in the Americas, we investigated travel-associated Zika cases diagnosed in the United States and Europe to identify signatures of transmission dynamics that were not captured by local reporting. We found that a large and unreported Zika outbreak occurred in Cuba during 2017, a year after peak transmission in neighboring countries, with cases still appearing in 2018. By sequencing Zika virus from infected travelers, we show that the 2017 outbreak in Cuba was sparked by long-lived lineages of Zika virus introduced from multiple places in the Americas a year prior. Our data suggest that while aggressive mosquito control in Cuba may initially have been effective at mitigating Zika virus transmission, in the absence of vaccines, herd immunity, or strong international coordination, such control measures may need to be maintained to be effective. Our study highlights how Zika virus may still be ‘silently’ spreading in the Americas and provides a framework for more accurately understanding outbreak dynamics.

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Ethics Principles, Personal Values, And Ethical Judgment

Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER) ◽

10.19030/jber.v6i5.2415 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Gary Saunders ◽

Loren Wenzel

Keyword(s):

Business Students ◽

Personal Values ◽

Ethical Problem ◽

Ethical Judgment ◽

The United States ◽

Business Leaders ◽

Business Community ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

The Individual ◽

Malaysian Students

Researchers have conducted various studies in an attempt to gain insights into the ethics of business leaders to postulate possible reasons for unethical behavior.  Recent scandals such as Enron, Worldcom, and Adelphia indicate an ethical problem still exists in the business community.  Business ethics are typically discussed at length in university business programs, sometimes with one or more courses devoted to the topic.  Very often students are used as surrogates for business leaders.  One such study by Ahmad and Fadzly (A & F, 2004) posited that when a person observes what they consider to be an unethical act they will try to explain (ethical judgment) why the individual acted unethically.  The person would then either endorse the action as acceptable in the circumstances or reject it as unacceptable.  Their ethics principles and personal values would supposedly influence that decision.  Additionally, the authors suggest that the perceived consequences of the unethical act would have an influence.  This study is an attempt to replicate the A & F study, using accounting and business students in the United States (their study was conducted with Malaysian students).  Ahmad and Fadzly’s questionnaire was modified and administered to 418 university business and accounting students.  The questionnaire contained 19 questions, randomly arranged, that related to five factors.  Respondents in the present study indicated a high level of ethics principles and personal values, and females displayed higher level personal values.  The ethical judgment scale reflects the level of acceptance of (making excuses for) unethical acts and less than 20% of the participants in the present study indicated that they would agree that the unethical acts contained in the scale were acceptable in the environment described.  Almost 60% of the respondents in the present study believed that they would experience positive consequences from unethical actions and a similar number, 56.13%, believed that they would experience negative consequences from unethical actions.

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‘A Routh O’ Auld Nick-Nackets’ – the antiquarian collection of John Rae

Scottish Archaeological Journal ◽

10.3366/saj.2014.0054 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36-37 (1) ◽

pp. 163-183

Author(s):

Paul Taylor

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Nineteenth Century ◽

Social Context ◽

Moral Education ◽

The United States ◽

Representative Case ◽

National Museums ◽

The Individual ◽

The University

John Rae, a Scottish antiquarian collector and spirit merchant, played a highly prominent role in the local natural history societies and exhibitions of nineteenth-century Aberdeen. While he modestly described his collection of archaeological lithics and other artefacts, principally drawn from Aberdeenshire but including some items from as far afield as the United States, as a mere ‘routh o’ auld nick-nackets' (abundance of old knick-knacks), a contemporary singled it out as ‘the best known in private hands' (Daily Free Press 4/5/91). After Rae's death, Glasgow Museums, National Museums Scotland, the University of Aberdeen Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, as well as numerous individual private collectors, purchased items from the collection. Making use of historical and archive materials to explore the individual biography of Rae and his collection, this article examines how Rae's collecting and other antiquarian activities represent and mirror wider developments in both the ‘amateur’ antiquarianism carried out by Rae and his fellow collectors for reasons of self-improvement and moral education, and the ‘professional’ antiquarianism of the museums which purchased his artefacts. Considered in its wider nineteenth-century context, this is a representative case study of the early development of archaeology in the wider intellectual, scientific and social context of the era.

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Tourism as a Tool for the Fulfilment of the Rights to Rest and Leisure Enshrined in Article No. 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

europa ethnica ◽

10.24989/0014-2492-2019-34-180 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (3-4) ◽

pp. 180-188

Author(s):

Bianca Nicla Romano

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal System ◽

Universal Declaration ◽

Title V ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Real Right ◽

Right To Work ◽

The Individual ◽

The Right ◽

Italian Constitution

Art. 24 of the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights recognises and protects the right of the individual to rest and leisure. This right has to be fully exercised without negative consequences on the right to work and the remuneration. Tourism can be considered one of the best ways of rest and leisure because it allows to enrich the personality of the individual. Even after the reform of the Title V this area is no longer covered by the Italian Constitution, the Italian legal system protects and guarantees it as a real right, so as to get to recognize its existence and the consequent compensation of the so-called “ruined holiday damage”. This kind of damage has not a patrimonial nature, but a moral one, and the Tourist-Traveler can claim for it when he has not been able to fully enjoy his holiday - the essential fulcrum of tourism - intended as an opportunity for leisure and/or rest, essential rights of the individual.

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Eye in COVID-19: A Brief Review

Pakistan Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.36351/pjo.v36i3.1040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Muhammad Mohsin Ali ◽

Qudsia Anwar Dar ◽

Zahid Kamal ◽

Alishba Khan

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Respiratory Symptoms ◽

Literature Search ◽

Control Measures ◽

Transmission Route ◽

Ocular Manifestation ◽

Personal Protection ◽

Personal Protection Equipment ◽

Ocular Manifestations ◽

Infection Control Measures

This is a brief review covering the currently available literature on ocular manifestations of COVID-19, andprevention strategies for ophthalmologists. A literature search was carried out of Pubmed, Google Scholar andWHO database of publications on COVID. Keywords used in the search were eye, ocular manifestations,ophthalmology, COVID-19, nCoV-2019, and coronavirus disease. All available articles were reviewed and thosepertinent to the study topic were included. Considering the dearth of information available, ophthalmology journals were also searched separately for relevant articles. Major ocular manifestation of COVID reported in literature is red eye, which usually presents before the onset of respiratory symptoms. Since the eye can be a possible transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, infection control measures should be undertaken by ophthalmologists, including use of personal protection equipment and eye/face covering. A framework for structuring ophthalmological services during the COVID pandemic is also presented in this review.

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Hospice Care in the United States: The Process Begins

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.2190/wl3r-2bv4-ejhq-xeun ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 159-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Robert W. Buckingham

Keyword(s):

Home Care ◽

Hospice Care ◽

Care Facility ◽

The United States ◽

Considerable Change ◽

Educational Institutions ◽

Hospice Movement ◽

Treatment Equipment ◽

Centered Care ◽

The Individual

The hospice concept represents a return to humanistic medicine, to care within the patient's community, for family-centered care, and the view of the patient as a person. Medical, governmental, and educational institutions have recognized the profound urgency for the advocacy of the hospice concept. As a result, a considerable change in policy and attitude has occurred. Society is re-examining its attitudes toward bodily deterioration, death, and decay. As the hospice movement grows, it does more than alter our treatment of the dying. Hospices and home care de-escalate the soaring costs of illness by reducing the individual and collective burdens borne by all health insurance policyholders. Because hospices and home care use no sophisticated, diagnostic treatment equipment, their overhead is basically for personal care and medication. Also, the patient is permitted to die with dignity. Studies indicated that the patient of a hospice program will not experience the anxiety, helplessness, inadequacy, and guilt as will an acute care facility patient. Consequently, a hospice program can relieve family members and loved ones of various psychological disorders.

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An Epidemiological Analysis of COVID-19 Confirmed Cases, Reported at National Institute of Health, Pakistan (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.20605 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ambreen Chaudhry

Keyword(s):

Age Groups ◽

Target Population ◽

Control Measures ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Bivariate Analysis ◽

Travel History ◽

Disease Epidemiology ◽

Hygiene Practices ◽

Multi Center Study ◽

Epidemiological Characteristics

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a zoonotic disease of novel origin that posed a continuous threat to health worldwide after taking the shape of the pandemic. An understanding of disease epidemiology is supportive in timely preventive and control measures as well as contact tracing and curbing surveillance activities. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to determine the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 confirmed cases reported at the National Institute of Health Pakistan and elements of its spread in Pakistan. METHODS A retrospective record review was conducted at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, Pakistan from January 25 to April 4, 2020. Univariate and bivariate analysis was done with 95% CI and p<0.05. RESULTS A total of 14,422 samples of suspected COVID-19 cases were received with a positivity rate of 9% (n=1348). Among all 70% (n=939) were male. The median age was 41years of age (range: 01-99Years). Among all, 19% were from 30-39 years old followed by 50-59 years old (17%). Children remained the least affected by 3% (n=35). Of the total reported cases, 55% (n=735) have reported the travel history within the last 14 days. Among these travelers’ international travelers were 23% (n=166) and domestic travelers were 77% (n=569). Travel history including both international and domestic remained significantly associated with the different age groups and Young adults remained more vulnerable to COVID-19 (P=0.03). Fever, SOB, and Cough remained the most significantly associated (P<0.05) in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS A higher incidence of COVID-19 among elderly men suggests robust quarantine measures for this target population. An escalating incidence of local transmission needs strict social distancing and hygiene practices to help flatten the curve. An extensive multi-center study is also recommended for a full understanding of disease dynamics.

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People and Climate Change

10.1093/oso/9780190886455.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Social Dimensions ◽

Community Inclusion ◽

Global Issue ◽

Political Challenge

Climate change is a profoundly social and political challenge with many social justice concerns around every corner. A global issue, climate change threatens the well-being, livelihood, and survival of people in communities worldwide. Often, those who have contributed least to climate change are the most likely to suffer from its negative consequences and are often excluded from the policy discussions and decisions that affect their lives. This book pays particular attention to the social dimensions of climate change. It examines closely people’s lived experience, climate-related injustice and inequity, why some groups are more vulnerable than others, and what can be done about it—especially through greater community inclusion in policy change. A highlight of the book is its diversity of rich, community-based examples from throughout the Global South and North. Sacrificial flood zones in urban Argentina, forced relocation of United Houma tribal members in the United States, and gendered water insecurities in Bangladesh and Australia are just some of the in-depth cases included in the book. Throughout, the book asks social and political questions about climate change. Of key importance, it asks what can be done about the unequal consequences of climate change by questioning and transforming social institutions and arrangements—guided by values that prioritize the experience of affected groups and the inclusion of diverse voices and communities in the policy process.

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