Do non-pharmaceutical policies in response to COVID-19 affect stock performance? Evidence from Malaysia stock market return and volatility

This paper examines the impact of non-pharmaceutical intervention by government on stock market return as well as volatility. Using daily Malaysian equity data from January 28, 2020 to May 31, 2022, the regression analysis with bootstrapping technique reveals that the government’s response in combating the deadly virus through Stringency index has shown a positive direct effect on both stock market returns and volatility, and indirect negative effect on stock market returns. The study revealed that international travel restriction and cancelling public events are the major contributors to the growth of volatility when estimated for Malaysia stock market index. On the one hand, heterogenous impact is expected from the perspective of different sectors when the individual social distancing measures were taken into account in determining stock return and volatility. Apart from that, the robustness check for the main findings remains intact in majority of the regression models after incorporating daily COVID-19 death rate, log (daily vaccination) and day-of-the-week effect as additional control variable in alternative

PLOS Biology at 20: Ain’t no mountain high enough

PLOS began publishing influential open access science in 2003. As PLOS Biology enters its third decade, we reflect on our mission, what has changed, what remains to be done and our wishes for the future

Developing an assistive technology usability questionnaire for people with neurological diseases

PURPOSE: This study describes the development of a questionnaire for assessing the usability of assistive technologies accessible to people with neurological diseases. METHODS: A Delphi study was conducted to identify relevant items for the questionnaire. After that, the content validity was addressed to identify the essential items. Once the questionnaire was designed following the results of the Delphi study and content validity, the reliability, validity, and the Rasch model of the questionnaire were examined. RESULTS: Two rounds of the Delphi study were carried out. A total of 73 participants (42 experts and 31 users) participated in round 1, and 59 people (27 experts and 32 users) in round 2. A total of 53 and 29 items were identified in rounds 1 and 2, respectively. In the content validity, we found nine items above the threshold of 0.58. Finally, ten items were included in the questionnaire. Fifty-one participants participate in the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire analyzed by Cronbach’s Alpha was α = 0,895. There was moderate to considerable concordance among our questionnaire items test-retest in the Kappa coefficient and a strong association between test-retest in the Spearman’s coefficient ρ = 0.818 (p<0,001). The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0,869 with a 95% confidence interval (0,781;0,923). There was a strong correlation between the total scores of the new questionnaire and other validated questionnaires analyzed with Spearman’s coefficient ρ = 0.756 (p<0,001). The ten items demonstrated a satisfactory fit to the Rasch model. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggested that the new questionnaire is a reliable 10-item usability questionnaire that allows subjective and quick assessment of the usability of assistive technologies by people with neurological diseases

A descriptive retrospective study on HIV care cascade in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines

INTRODUCTION: The HIV care cascade is a model used to examine the engagement of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in medical care from the time of diagnosis to sustained viral suppression. This study describes the stages of the cascade from linkage to care, antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, retention in care, and virologic suppression- at the University of the Philippines—Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) STD/AIDS Guidance and Intervention Prevention (SAGIP) treatment hub in the context of existing cascades with similar demographics. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients enrolled at the UP-PGH SAGIP treatment hub from June 2015 to December 2017. Baseline demographic and clinical data were collected, relevant to each stage of the cascade. Descriptive statistics using Microsoft Excel version 16.0 was used to characterize data and cumulative and conditional proportions were reported. RESULTS: Of the 584 patients included in the cohort, majority were male (91.1%), with a median age of 29 years (range, 0.17 to 68 years). Male-to-male sex was the most common mode of transmission (325/584, 55.6%). Among all patients enrolled at the UP PGH SAGIP treatment hub, 99.5% were linked to care, 95.0% initiated ART, 78.8% were retained in care and maintained on ART, 47.9% were tested for HIV viral load, and 45.5% achieved viral suppression. CONCLUSION: A high proportion of patients enrolled at the UP-PGH SAGIP treatment hub are linked to care and initiate ART, exceeding the set goal of 90%, which is higher than reported nationwide. However, there is a substantial decrease in the number of patients who are subsequently retained in care, tested for HIV viral load, and achieve viral suppression. Gaps in the cascade related to healthcare delivery need to be investigated further and addressed by future studies. We recommend implementation of a community-based, patient-centered approach in order to reach the goals of the HIV cascade, with particular focus on young, MSM-PLHIV

Clinical and pathological characterization of Central Nervous System cryptococcosis in an experimental mouse model of stereotaxic intracerebral infection

Infection of the Central Nervous System (CNS) by the encapsulated fungus Cryptococcus neoformans can lead to high mortality meningitis, most commonly in immunocompromised patients. While the mechanisms by which the fungus crosses the blood-brain barrier to initiate infection in the CNS are well recognized, there are still substantial unanswered questions about the disease progression once the fungus is established in the brain. C. neoformans is characterized by a glucuronoxylomannan (GXM)-rich polysaccharide capsule which has been implicated in immune evasion, but its role during the host CNS infection needs further elucidation. Therefore, the present study aims to examine these key questions about the mechanisms underlying cryptococcal meningitis progression and the impact of fungal GXM release by using an intracerebral rodent infection model via stereotaxic surgery. After developing brain infection, we analyzed distinct brain regions and found that while fungal load and brain weight were comparable one-week post-infection, there were region-specific histopathological (with and without brain parenchyma involvement) and disease manifestations. Moreover, we also observed a region-specific correlation between GXM accumulation and glial cell recruitment. Furthermore, mortality was associated with the presence of subarachnoid hemorrhaging and GXM deposition in the meningeal blood vessels and meninges in all regions infected. Our results show that using the present infection model can facilitate clinical and neuropathological observations during the progression of neurocryptococcosis. Importantly, this mouse model can be used to further investigate disease progression as it develops in humans

Mpox virus and transmission through sexual contact: Defining the research agenda

In a Policy Forum piece, Dr. Nicola Low and colleagues define the research agenda for Mpox virus and transmission through sexual contact

Beneficial features of pediococcus: from starter cultures and inhibitory activities to probiotic benefits

Pediococci are lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which have been used for centuries in the production of traditional fermented foods. There fermentative abilities were explored by the modern food processing industry in use of pediococci as starter cultures, enabling the production of fermented foods with distinct characteristics. Furthermore, some pediococci strains can produce bacteriocins and other antimicrobial metabolites (AMM), such as pediocins, which are increasingly being explored as bio-preservatives in various food matrices. Due to their versatility and inhibitory spectrum, pediococci bacteriocins and AMM are being extensively researched not only in the food industry, but also in veterinary and human medicine. Some of the pediococci were evaluated as potential probiotics with different beneficial areas of application associated with human and other animals’ health. The main taxonomic characteristics of pediococci species are presented here, as well as and their potential roles and applications as starter cultures, as bio-preservatives and as probiotic candidates

Temporal trends of mercury levels in fish (dab, Limanda limanda) and sediment from the German Bight (North Sea) in the period 1995–2020

As a toxic and harmful global pollutant, mercury (Hg) enters the marine environment through natural sources, and human activities. It bioaccumulates through the food chain and therefore, Hg is of great importance for environmental monitoring. This study aims to answer the question if Hg contamination in fish and sediment from the German Bight follows temporal trends. Therefore, 496 individual female dab (Limanda limanda) were analyzed. The Hg concentrations in the muscle of dab from the German Bight showed significant increase in function of time with an annual percental change of 1.4%, leading to a 41% increase in Hg contamination level within 25 years of monitoring. At the same time, Hg concentrations in sediment—analyzed in 86 samples—significantly decreased in the nearby North Sea environment. This surprising contradiction is shown in the present study and possible causes are discussed. It could be clearly shown that contamination in sediment and biota can follow completely different time courses and therefore, different environmental matrices should be considered in future monitoring studies. Age of the fish turned out to be a biological factor of particular importance for temporal trend analysis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-022-10655-y

Modelling the Effect of Vaccination Program and Inter-state Travel in the Spread of COVID-19 in Malaysia

A modified version of the SEIR model with the effects of vaccination and inter-state movement is proposed to simulate the spread of COVID-19 in Malaysia. A mathematical analysis of the proposed model was performed to derive the basic reproduction number. To enhance the model’s forecasting capabilities, the model parameters were estimated using the Nelder–Mead simplex method by fitting the model outputs to the observed data. Our results showed a good fit between the model outputs and available data, where the model was then able to perform short-term predictions. In line with the rapid vaccination program, our model predicted that the COVID-19 cases in the country would decrease by the end of August. Furthermore, our findings indicated that relaxing travel restrictions from a highly vaccinated region to a low vaccinated region would result in an epidemic outbreak. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10441-022-09453-3

Assessment of the exposure to PM(2.5) in different Lebanese microenvironments at different temporal scales

The weak potential of using the sole outdoor concentrations to represent personal exposure to PM(2.5) is confirmed by the literature; therefore, it is important to account for a person’s movements over time when estimating the short-term personal air pollution exposure within different microenvironments (MEs). This study is an example of applying an assessment method of the exposure to PM(2.5) in different microenvironments at different temporal scales. A low-cost particle counter (the Dylos 1700) was used; its performance was validated in comparison with equivalent instruments such the SidePak AM520 Personal Aerosol Monitor (R(2) = 0.89). This validation also provided a function to convert measured particle number concentrations (PNCs) into calculated particle mass concentrations. The 150 profiles that was collected on a minute-by-minute basis regarding PM(2.5) concentration from December 2018 to May 2021 highlight the influence of individual activities and contextual factors on the air quality, so that Lebanon’s annual PM(2.5) mean (24.2 µg⁄m(3)) is 142% higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) annual mean guideline (10 µg⁄m(3)). Winter is the most polluted period due to the increased application of space heating devices. Additionally, the occurrence of dusty winds during the spring period leads to the elevated levels of dispersed PM(2.5). Simultaneously, the rural zones are more polluted than urban ones due to the usage of more traditional heating equipment, in addition to the usage of chemical products like pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities in such areas. Furthermore, the (outdoor–indoor–transport) MEs indicate that the transport and indoor MEs have similar levels of suspended fine particulates, while outdoor MEs are less polluted. Studies based on the personal exposure to PM(2.5) were generally applied on specific and limited places such as schools, workplaces, or residences. The study aims to shed light on the modern method in an attempt to estimate the personal exposure to PM(2.5) and to inspire similar studies to achieve the maximum efficiency. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-022-10607-6