Unprecedented and unforeseen highly infectious Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a significant public health concern for most of the countries worldwide, including Nepal, and it is spreading rapidly. Undoubtedly, every nation has taken maximum initiative measures to break the transmission chain of the virus. This review presents a retrospective analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, analyzing the actions taken by the Government of Nepal (GoN) to inform future decisions. Data used in this article were extracted from relevant reports and websites of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) of Nepal and the WHO. As of January 22, 2021, the highest numbers of cases were reported in the megacity of the hilly region, Kathmandu district , and Bagmati province. The cured and death rates of the disease among the tested population are ~98.00 and ~0.74%, respectively. Higher numbers of infected cases were observed in the age group 21–30, with an overall male to female death ratio of 2.33. With suggestions and recommendations from high-level coordination committees and experts, GoN has enacted several measures: promoting universal personal protection, physical distancing, localized lockdowns, travel restrictions, isolation, and selective quarantine. In addition, GoN formulated and distributed several guidelines/protocols for managing COVID-19 patients and vaccination programs. Despite robust preventive efforts by GoN, pandemic scenario in Nepal is, yet, to be controlled completely. This review could be helpful for the current and future effective outbreak preparedness, responses, and management of the pandemic situations and prepare necessary strategies, especially in countries with similar socio-cultural and economic status. Federal, provincial, and district-level daily cases of COVID-19  in Nepal from January 23, 2020, to January 22, 2021, were obtained from the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), GoN,The MoHP of Nepal confirmed the first and second cases of COVID-19, respectively, in January and March, in an interval of 2 monthsn = 144,278) has the highest number of confirmed cases in Nepal, followed by province no. 1  and Lumbini   followed by Lalitpur , Morang , and Rupandehi  districts and lowest in Manang (n = 20), Mugu (n = 37), Mustang (n = 43), and Humla (n = 44) districts  . As depiistricts .n = 72,396), followed by the age group of 31–40 years  (n = 458) , over half  were observed in senior adults (≥60 years). One early study among the Nepalese children suggested that male children were more commonly infected than female children  ; howevern = 458) . A highen = 458) , 14. Oven = 458) . The enhn = 458) , 16. Amon = 184) followed by hypertension (n = 117), renal disease (n = 107), diabetes (n = 77), liver disease (n = 44), and cardiovascular disease (n = 36) , 623 (31.37%), 721 (36.30%), and 642 (32.32%) were with no report of comorbidities, with single comorbidities, and with multiple comorbidities, respectively. In cases with single comorbidities, the highest incidence was reported in respiratory disease ((n = 36) . SimilarGeographically, Nepal is divided into three distinct ecological zones, mountain, hilly, and low-plain land from north to south. Politically, Nepal is divided into 7 provinces, 77 districts, and 753 local bodies. There were multiple peaks of active cases of COVID-19 in Nepal: active cases rapidly increased from early May to early July 2020, then increased slowly up to late July and increased at a higher rate again up to the end of December, and then decreased sharply . The spaNepal has adopted many readiness and response-related initiatives at the federal, provincial, and local government levels to fight against COVID-19. Initially, the government had set health desks and allocated spaces for quarantine purposes at the international airport and at the borders, crossing points of entry (PoE) with India and ChinaThe GoN underestimated both the short and long-term impacts of border closure,As per the cabinet decision on March 25, 2020, Nepal established a COVID-19 response fund, developed a relief package,14. Furthermore, the NPHL organized the training of trainers for laboratory staff in collaboration with the Medical Laboratory Association of Nepal11, 13. Early testing and timely contact tracing are crucial restrictive policies to control the spreading of the SARS-CoV-2 virus  and “Standards for Home Quarantine” were imposed for all provinces76 B.S. a-2 virus ; however,,,,,,,,,Ministry of Health and Population engaged in developing, endorsing, improving, and disseminating contextualized technical guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs), tools, and training in all other critical aspects of the response to COVID-19, for instance, surveillance, case investigation, laboratory testing, contact tracing, case detection, isolation and management, infection prevention and control, empowering health and community volunteers, media communication and community engagement, rational use of personal protective equipment (PPE), requirements of drugs and equipment for case management and public health interventions, and continuity of essentials services,,,via the involvement of celebrities, doctors, and experts of microbiology and infectious diseases on physical distancing and the importance and use of masks and sanitizers to prevent the COVID-19 contagion. In addition, camping programs were launched by the involvement of youth volunteers of the community in central NepalMinistry of Health and Population and supporting organizations, such as United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF, and World Vision managed crucial supplies of PPE, facemasks, gloves, and sanitizers to ensure the protection of frontline workers and supporting staffs,,,,,Government of Nepal received funds from the World Bank ($29 million), the United States of America ($1.8 million), and Germany ($1.22 million) to keep people protected from COVID-19 through health systems preparedness, emergency response, and research. In addition, support from UNICEF and countries, including China, India, and the USA, in the form of emergency medical supplies and equipment were received within January 2020 to March 2020. Private companies, corporate houses, business organizations, and individuals have also contributed to the prevention, control, and treatment fund of coronavirus ($13.8 million), established by GoN to cope with COVID-19. The Prime Minister Relief Fund is also expected to be utilized. The GoN allowed international NGOs to divert 20% of their program budget to COVID-19 preparedness and response; for instance, the Social Welfare Council has allocated $226 millionThe GoN has formed a committee to coordinate the preparedness and response efforts, including the MoHP, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Urban Development, Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) includes the Red Cross Movement and civil society organizations . Under the joint leadership of the office of Resident Coordinator and the WHO, the HCT has initiated contingency planning and preparedness interventions, including the dissemination of communications materials to raise community-level awareness across the country,,However, despite these robust efforts implemented by GoN, few lapses existed. Examples are the following: issues of inconsistent implementation of immigration policies usually at Indo-Nepal borders,,,,,There is no doubt that GoN has taken major initiatives to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The MoHP, together with associated national and international organizations are closely monitoring and evaluating the signs of outbreaks, challenges, and enforcing the plan and strategies to mitigate the possible impact; however, many challenges and difficulties, such as management of testing, hospital beds, and ventilators, quarantine centers, frontline staffs, movement of people during the lockdown, are yet to be solvedTo strengthen its coordination mechanism, the government formed a team to monitor conditions and measures applied to control the outbreak; a COVID-19 coordination committeeFinally, this study only focuses on analyzing COVID-19 data extracted from the MoHP database for 1 year. Furthermore, we did not quantify the effectiveness of the strategies of GoN and the role of non-governmental organizations and authorities to combat COVID-19 in Nepal.n = 144,278), all of the 77 districts were affected. The cases showing highly COVID-specific symptoms were low (<1%) in comparison with the reports across the globe (This study provides an insight into the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from the Nepalese context for the period of first-wave from January 2020 to January 2021. Despite the several initiatives taken by the GoN, the current scenario of COVID-19 in Nepal is yet to be controlled in terms of infections and mortality. A total of 268,948 confirmed cases and 1,986 deaths were reported in one year period. The maximum number of cases were reported from Bagmati province (he globe , which mhe globe . Consisthe globe , 23, thehe globe . SpatialBased on this assessment, in addition to the WHO COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidanceBB: Conceptualization, writing, and original draft preparation. KB, BB, and AG: data curation. BB, RP, TB, SD, NP, and DG: writing, review, and editing. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.KB and AG were employed by Nepal Environment and Development Consultant Pvt. Ltd., in Kathmandu, Nepal. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Olcay Kıroğlu. Instead of “Pharmacovigilance Specialist, Balcali Hospital, Faculty of Medicines, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey,” it should be Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey.In the published article, there was an error in the affiliation for author The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.


The thermal strain can be measured using subjective methods without the use of sensitive equipment. The purpose of the present study was the development and validation of an observational - perceptual heat strain risk assessment (OPHSRA) method.This cross-sectional study, in 2019, was performed. At first, an observational-perceptual questionnaire was designed using effective items in producing heat strain. Then, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were examined. Later, 201 male workers were asked to perform the routine tasks for 90 min under various climatic conditions after resting in a cool room. At the end of the activity, the tympanic temperature of the subjects was accurately measured. Also, the designed questionnaire was completed by researchers and participants. Then, the effect coefficients of the items were calculated and used for developing the novel index. At final, the index validity was investigated.R2 = 0.69).The values of the content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI), and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha (α) of the designed questionnaire with 16 questions were equal to 0.793, 0.913, and 0.910, respectively. The results indicated that environmental, job, administrative, and clothing items assessed by the questionnaire with the coefficients of 0.860, 0.658, 0.783, and 0.566 had significant effects on the thermal strain, respectively. These coefficients were exploited to develop the index. The result revealed that the OPHSRA index justified 69% of the variations of the tympanic temperature (The novel index developed by the questionnaire had an acceptable validity. Therefore, this index can be used for estimating the risk of thermal strain in a variety of thermal conditions. Heat is one of the very common physical harmful agents in a variety of public and occupational environments, such as cement, steel, casting, and food produce industries. Heat exposure becomes a threat to people’s health . ProlongThe efforts to quantify the risk of heat-related health effects have resulted in the development of more than one hundred heat stress indices . The resEffective items in producing heat strain were identified by a literature review through a search in known databases and interviews with the experts of occupational health. Then, those were reviewed and the repetitive and irrelative items were omitted. Improper items for designing the qualitative question were also eliminated. In final, 37 items remained in the study. Those were classified into six groups, including personal, environmental, job, administrative, clothing, and lifestyle items based on the balance theory of job design . Based oIn this phase, a number of questions were generated for assessing the identified effective items. These questions were divided into three parts of observational, descriptive, and perceptual questions. Moreover, several responses were designed for each question. For quantifying the items, equivalent scores for each response were determined using subject-matter expertise, and later, those were modified based on the opinions of several experts. The draft questionnaire of the observational-perceptual heat strain risk assessment (OPHSRA) index included these questions. To develop the questionnaire, it was administered by the researchers. After developing the questionnaire, it can be administered by other people. The descriptive and perceptual questions are also answered by the workers.For evaluating the content validity, the questions were reviewed by ten experts with a research history on heat stress, including two professors, two associate professors, five assistant professors, and one Ph.D. candidate. They received an electronic mail, including the aims of the study and the draft questionnaire. The reviewers assessed the questions in terms of necessity using a 3-point Likert scale and in terms of relevance, clarify, and simplicity using the 4-point Likert scale. Lawshe and Waltz and Basel methods were applied to estimate the content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI), respectively. The values of CVR and CVI greater than 0.79 and 0.62 were accepted, respectively , 22. TheFor evaluating the reliability, the revised draft questionnaire was completed by 200 staff occupied in warm and dry and warm and humid areas, detailed below. Observational questions were also filled out by researchers, as experts. After, coefficients of Cronbach’s alpha (α) and McDonald’s omega were calculated for all questions and each group of questions. Moreover, the item-total correlation (ITC) coefficient of each question was computed, and the questions with ITC less than 0.3 were omitted. The ITC refers to the correlation between the item and the total scale. The minimum acceptable value of α was equal to 0.70 .After preparing the final questionnaire in the English language, a back-translation was performed. For this purpose, a blind translator was asked to translate the questionnaire back into the Persian language. Then, an expert panel, including two English language specialists, two Persian language specialists, and three occupational health specialists with a research history on heat stress, compared the original and translated versions of the questionnaire and examined any discrepancies. If applicable, the panel redrafted the questions and answers until their concept, meaning, and quality became the same.Two hundred Iranian male staff  participated in the present study. It was tried that the subjects are selected from different industrial parts with a variety of climatic occupational conditions. For this purpose, the researchers attentively inspected the parts of these industries and elected the duties desired for performing the study. Then, the medical records of individuals working in these duties were investigated and the subjects with inclusion criteria were entered into the study. In the steel industry, these parts included forging, spark, induction melting, steelmaking, isolation, machining, refractory, technical support, engineering post, preventive maintenance, foundry, sandblast, metal waste separation, and administrative. In the petrochemical factory, the parts consisted of the warehouse, cookery, gardening, loading gantry, steel drum production, weighbridge, bitumen production, hydrocarbon, preventive maintenance, research and development, and administration. Inclusion criteria were career length higher than 1 year, no having mental, infectious, pulmonary, cardiovascular, hypertension, renal, hyperthyroidism, digestive, and diabetes diseases, non-use of medications to affect heart rate and blood pressure such as beta-blockers, phenothiazines, diuretics, anticholinergics, antispasmodics, psychotropics, antihistamines, antihypertensives, amphetamine, and decongestants, and non-use of coffee, caffeine, and alcohol from 12 h before the study. Furthermore, their tympanic membrane and auditory canal were medically screened. Exclusion criteria included unwillingness to impressive cooperation and body temperature higher than 39 °C during the activity.The aim of the present study was the development of an observational-perceptual index. The lowest correlation between the developed index and tympanic temperature was assumed as 0.2. Then, the sample size was computed based on the confidence level of 95% and a test power of 80% Eq. .1\documeZβ1 −  is equal to 0.84 for a test power of 80%, and W is equal to 0.203 for the lowest correlation coefficient of 0.2. Hence, the minimum sample size was obtained as 194 individuals.Where In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered in the spring and summer seasons of 2019. Firstly, the subjects were asked to rest on a bed in a cool place around their workplace for 30 min. During this time, the steps of the study were explained to them and the demographical data of the subjects were collected. Also, their tympanic temperature was properly measured based on the standard of ISO 9886. After that, the participants were asked to return to their workplace and perform the routine tasks for 90 min. The researchers completed the observational questions during this time. At the end of 90 min, the tympanic temperature of the subjects was immediately and accurately measured based on the standard of ISO 9886. Simultaneously, they were asked to answer the descriptive and perceptual questions in the questionnaire. Moreover, environmental climatic parameters of dry temperature, wet temperature, globe temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity were recorded based on standards of ISO 7243 and ISO 7726. In the steel industry, the tasks performed by participants included refractory installation, metal waste separating, painting, welding, cutting, building, overhead crane operatory, overhead crane controlling, excavator driving, forklift driving, furnace operatory, casting operatory, pot operatory, sandblasting, molding, administrative activities, managing, monitoring, repairing, isolation operatory, and metalworking. In the petrochemical factory, the tasks performed by subjects consisted of cookery, cleaning, loading operatory, gardening, bitumen production operatory, hydrocarbon production operatory, drum carrying, welding, cutting, painting, pressing, administrative activities, managing, monitoring, forklift driving, repairing, building, and warehousing.The thermometer of Braun (IRT 6530 model with an accuracy of 0.1 °C) was used to measure the tympanic temperature. The WBGT meter (TES 1369B model with an accuracy of 0.1 °C) was applied for measuring the environmental climatic parameters of dry temperature, wet temperature, globe temperature, and relative humidity. Moreover, the developed questionnaire of OPHSRA was exploited to subjectively evaluate the effective items in producing heat strain through observation, description, and perception.The indirect effect coefficients of the items on thermal strain (variations of tympanic temperature) were calculated by structural equation modeling (SEM). Each of these coefficients was multiplied by the score of the related item, and resultant values were summed together for calculating the total score of the novel index.Gathered data were analyzed by the software of statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 18. The normality of variables was examined using skew and kurtosis curves. Based on the results, all items had the normal distribution. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to calculate the effect coefficients of the items. At first, the factor loadings of items of each factor, as direct effect coefficient, were computed using the Varimax method. Then, the regression method was used to calculate the score of each factor, in which factor loadings were multiplied by the data of each item. Later, a theoretical model was drawn using computed scores of the factors in AMOS software. The fitness of the designed model was evaluated using fit indices. Then, the novel index was developed by the indirect effect coefficients of the items in the model. Also, given the relationships between some of the items, it may be redundancy between them. In AMOS, modification Indices identified these redundant items. Co-variation was done between the measurement errors of redundant items based on the suggestion of the software for constraining the redundancy effects and increasing the fitness of the model. Finally, receiver operator curves (ROC) analysis was applied for categorizing the score of the novel index. Boundaries of risk levels included tympanic temperatures of 37.5, 38.0, and 38.5 °C . In ROC In total, 36 proper items affecting the heat strain were identified and classified into six groups. Those included personal items of skin color, body resistance, and effective diseases, environmental items of air temperature, air humidity, radiant temperature, thermal conduction, air velocity, wind direction, air pollution, and noise, job items of physical activity, mental workload, body movement, and body posture, administrative items of heat adaptation planning, heat exposure duration, work-rest cycle, shift work, work location (indoor or outdoor), heat control measures, access to cooling facilities, and access to cool rest room, clothing items of material, size, weave, thickness, color, ventilation, type (underwear use and covered body surface area), and personal protective equipment, and lifestyles items of smoking, salt consumption, drinking water, sleep situation, and work experience in a warm environment. Then, a draft questionnaire was designed for assessing these items.In examining content validity, six items were eliminated, and 14 questions were revised. Furthermore, 14 items were omitted after evaluating the reliability of the questionnaire. The list of removed items is available in Table This study results from a field survey involving 111 male employees of a steel factory (hot-dry ambiance) and 90 of a petrochemical factory (hot-humid environment). The values of the mean (standard deviation) of age, height, and weight were equal to 36.62 8.24) years, and 1.76 (0.06) meters, and 80.52 (14.91) kilograms, respectively. Table  years, aOPHSRA index was developed by the indirect effect coefficients of the items, as follow:Where Q1 to Q16 are the scores of the questions in the final questionnaire . It is ip <  0.001), 0.915  (p <  0.001), and 0.890  (p < 0.001), respectively. Moreover, the validity of OPHSRA was investigated using the linear regression analysis between the developed index and tympanic temperature. Figure Figure In the present study, 37 effective items in producing thermal strain were identified and categorized into six groups, including personal, environmental, job, administrative, clothing, and lifestyle items. Zheng et al. identified ten items and classified them into three groups, including work, environment, and worker, for evaluating the safety under hot and humid conditions . McLellaThis study was performed in the various climatic and occupational conditions so that the results revealed that the extensive ranges of scores related to observational, descriptive, and perceptual questions with normal distribution were collected. Therefore, this index can be applied for assessing the qualitative thermal strain risk of people occupied in different environments. In the model of the present study, environmental, administrative, job, and clothing items had significant effects on the thermal strain, respectively. Of these factors, the highest impact was related to the environmental items. In total, the main five items, including conductive heat, convective heat, radiant heat, sweat evaporation, and metabolism, impress on heat storage in the human body . TherefoBased on the results, the fitness of the presented model was confirmed, and the diagnostic accuracies of ROC curves were at acceptable levels. Furthermore, the validity of the developed index was investigated using linear regression analysis. The results indicated that the OPHSRA index could justify 69% of the variations of tympanic temperature. In the study of Dehghan et al. , this vaIn total, the results of the present study showed that the designed observational perceptual questionnaire had acceptable validity and reliability. This questionnaire evaluates the environmental, job, administrative, and clothing items using 16 items. Based on the results, the novel index developed by this questionnaire showed an acceptable validity in the prediction of thermal strain. Therefore, this index can be used for estimating the risk of thermal strain and preventing the occurrence of heat-related illnesses in a variety of thermal conditions. However, it is suggested that validation of this index is investigated in other industries and the female workers. Its validity can also be studied in non-work environments.


Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis remained at a stable level in all analyzed countries. Conclusion: Vaccine schedules differ among the countries, so does the epidemiological situation of selected diseases. Morbidity on measles was the most disturbing phenomenon: the incidence rate increased in almost 40% of all countries, regardless of the obligation to vaccinate. The increasing incidence of VPCD may be due to anti-vaccine movements, the activity of which is often caused by mistrust and spreading misinformation. In order to better prevent the increase in morbidity, standardization of vaccine schedules and documentation should be considered in the EU countries.Introduction: Despite the widespread availability of vaccines, the incidence of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases (VPCD) started to grow in recent years. The aim of the study was to compare the annual incidence of selected VPCDs in the EU (European Union) and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries in the period of the last 5 years , and the country-specific vaccine schedules. Methods: VPCD incidence rates in Europe were based on “The Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases” by the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control); vaccination schedules were based on ECDC reports. Results: The obligation to vaccinate was not universal, and it generally only applied to two preparations: the MMR  vaccine and the one against polio. During the study, the situation associated with mumps did not change or improve in individual countries; the median incidence amounted to 30 cases. The median incidence associated with rubella amounted to 1 case, but in a few countries, it grew very rapidly, i.e., in Germany, Italy, and Romania; in Poland, the incidence was clearly decreasing, from 5923 to 1532 cases. The most dynamic situation concerned measles. The total median was 2.4 cases per 100,000 population; the only one country with falling incidence was Germany. The diseases associated with  The introduction of vaccines against measles, rubella, mumps, polio, chicken pox, rotavirus diarrhea, as well as meningococcal and pneumococcal infections , bore the greatest importance in reducing infant and child mortality . UnfortuThe evidence on the effectiveness of vaccination and its importance for public health is the eradication of smallpox and the almost complete eradication of polio. In the early 1950s, polio epidemics caused paralysis in over 15,000 people in the USA alone. Following the introduction of the trivalent inactivated vaccine (IPV) in 1955 and the oral vaccine (OPV) in 1963, the number of cases of polio in the USA plummeted to fewer than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s [Nevertheless, modern medicine is still struggling with VPCD, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm that some of them have again become a real threat to the health and life of newborns and children in all WHO regions . The objThe analysis encompassed the EU , Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK)) and EFTA countries . The years selected for analysis were 2014–2019 , excluding 2020 when the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease—2019) pandemic broke out, and a reduction in the vaccination coverage and decline in the total number of vaccines administered were observed worldwide .For our analysis, we have chosen a few viral and bacterial acute diseases with high epidemic potential, qualifying acute diseases as developing suddenly and lasting a short time, often only a few days or weeks, and accompanied by distinct symptoms that require urgent or short-term care. The analysis covered measles, rubella, mumps, polio, chickenpox, rotavirus, and bacterial: invasive meningococcal and pneumococcal infections. Data were collected and compiled on the basis of:Based on “The Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases” by the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), the information contained in the dataset provided through ATLAS is made available by ECDC collating data from the Member States collected through The European Surveillance System (TESSy) ,9.https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/data-national-14-day-notification-rate-COVID-19) (access on 30 June 2021)Converted the incidence for rubella, mumps, Streptococcus pneumoniae (Belgium only) into cases per 100,000 population; the populations were estimated based on a recent ECDC report , polio, chicken pox, and rotavirus diarrhea. Depending on the disease, the data for different years were available: 2015–2019 for measles, 2014–2018 for mumps, 2014–2019 for rubella, 2014–2018 for Streptococcus pneumoniae, and 2014–2017 for Neisseria meningitidis. For each disease and country, the infection cases from the available years were summed up and then presented as the number of cases in the period per 100,000 population.For rubella  as well as meningococcal and pneumococcal infections, the total amounts of reported cases were summed up for each countryLong-term VPCD incidence rates  were obtVPCD Incidence Rates in Europe:Due to the lack of data on the national incidence, the incidence rates of chickenpox and rotavirus were not analyzed . No dataBased on shared databases, ECDC reports .Vaccine schedule in Switzerland .Vaccination Schedules for Measles, Mumps, Rubella Polio, as Well as Meningococcal and Pneumococcal Infections:p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.To compare the mandatory vs. non-mandatory policy to the annual incidence observed  we used a generalized linear regression model. Calculations were performed using Statistica 13.3 . The incidence associated with the discussed infectious diseases varied greatly with no evident pattern or clear trend. Among the countries under study, only in Luxembourg and in Malta, the incidence rates observed for each of the diseases under study were low. In Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden, the situation was stable. In France, Italy, Germany (excluding measles), Romania, and the UK (excluding rubella), high incidence persisted .The most dynamic situation concerned measles. The median was 2.4 cases per 100,000 population, and the only one country with falling incidence was Germany: in 2015 it was 246, and there were 51 cases per 100,000 population in 2019. In half of the studied countries, increased incidence was found: in Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK, where the increase was multiplied, and in Italy, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, where the increase was bigger. The highest change in incidence was found in Italy, from 25.6 to 162 cases per 100,000 population, and in Bulgaria, with 0 and 111.9 cases per 100,000 population . The higDuring the study, the situation associated with mumps did not change or improve in individual countries. High incidence rates were constantly observed in Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the Republic of Ireland. There has been a decline in Slovakia , and growth in Spain  . The 5-yThe median incidence associated with rubella amounted to below 1 case per 100,000 population, but in a few countries, it grew rapidly, i.e., in Italy and Romania. In Poland, the incidence was clearly decreasing, from 15.6 to 4.0 cases per 100,000 population , but theAccording to ECDC data, Europe has remained polio-free since 2002 .Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis remained at a stable level in all the studied countries; however, this level was different. The highest was in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherland, and Sweden (S. pneumoniae) and in Lithuania (N. meningitidis)  and the Netherlands  . The 5-yherlands . AccordiS. pneumoniae, and N. meningitides infections in studied countries.We found no simple correlation between mandatory vs. non-mandatory policy and the observed incidence of measles, mumps, rubella, N. meningitidis, Rotavirus and Varicella-Zoster Virus, were mandatory, while in 19 of the countries under study there was no compulsion in this regard. In Latvia, all vaccinations were mandatory except for N. meningitidis  and the one against polio) and only to a limited extent. Countries with the highest numbers of mandatory vaccinations were in Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia, where all of the discussed vaccines, except for the vaccinations against ngitidis .The most common vaccination was the one against polio, which was mandatory in 11 out of 31 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Malta. The MMR vaccine, against measles, mumps, and rubella, was mandatory in 9 out of 31 countries, both inside and outside the EU, namely, in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia .The pneumococcal vaccination was mandatory in 7 out of 31 countries . Meanwhile, the meningococcal vaccination was only imposed in France, and all 31 countries recommended these vaccinations .The MMR vaccination, against measles, mumps, and rubella, was administered in all 31 countries and in France; additionally, monovalent vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella were used in 6-month-old children in specific circumstances. Vaccination with two doses of MMR was mandatory in all countries, and additionally, in Germany, Czechia, and France, it was possible to re-vaccinate a child at a later age if a dose had been omitted before. In 18 out of 31 countries, the first dose is given at 12 months . The earliest, one dose was routinely administered in Austria and Switzerland (9 months), in Denmark in risk groups (9 months), and in France in specific circumstances (6 months), while it was the latest in Sweden and Iceland (18 months) .As for the polio vaccine, the first dose was given to babies at 2 or 3 months of age, and only in Poland was it given only at the age of 4 months. The number of doses in different countries varies greatly. Currently, in two countries (Slovenia and Switzerland), three doses were administered. In 13 countries , four doses were administered, and Malta allows an additional, optional fifth dose. In 12 countries , five doses were applied, and Germany grants a sixth, non-mandatory dose. In three countries, there were six doses. In France, babies were given three doses, followed by booster vaccinations every 5 years. Inactivated polio vaccines (IPV) are employed in all countries studied and, in the UK, attenuated live vaccines (OPV) were additionally used. Currently, in Europe, the vaccines employed were designed to work solely against polio, and there were also combined vaccines against polio and other diseases .Pneumococcal vaccines were administered in all countries except for Estonia. The first dose was given at 2 or 3 months, whereas in Romania, the first dose was given only after the child turns 1 year of age. The majority of countries provided three doses, while Cyprus and the UK administer two doses .Meningococcal vaccination was carried out in 19 out of 31 countries (61.3%); however, they were mandatory only in France. Depending on the type of vaccine administered (against various serotypes), immunization schedules in different countries varied greatly regarding the number of doses administered. The MenB  vaccine was administered in eight countries , and the number of doses in these countries ranged from one to four. MenC  was administered in 14 countries, and there were usually one or two doses. MCV4  was administered in four countries , and there were usually 1–3 doses, depending on the country. In Switzerland, ACWY  vaccine was administered for 2-year-olds, which constituted additional vaccination .Vaccination against rotavirus was conducted in 16 out of 31 countries, but they were mandatory only in Latvia and recommended in the remaining countries. Additionally, in Spain, the vaccination was recommended for babies born prematurely, and in the Netherlands to children from the exposed groups. The vaccination was not conducted in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Hungary, Iceland, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, or Slovenia. Currently, all the countries mentioned make use of oral live attenuated vaccines. In five countries, vaccinations in children were started at 6 weeks , and in Poland between 6 weeks and 6 months. In 10 countries , children were vaccinated at 2 months of age, while in Italy from 3 to 7 months, and in the UK, it is performed at 8 weeks of age. The number of doses ranged from one to three, and usually, there were two doses .Varicella zoster virus was currently employed in 11 out of 31 countries, additionally in Poland and Czechia (for exposed groups) and in Belgium and Switzerland (only to people without immunity). In three countries , the vaccine was mandatory. The number of doses administered, depending on the country, amounted to one or two  and countries bordering the EU, Ukraine, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, remain at high risk of a sustained polio outbreak .Old Union, Spain, France, or Italy. However, it is difficult to escape from the historical context, as the vaccination obligation applies mainly to the countries of the former Eastern Bloc: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia, and, exceptionally, France. On the other hand, in Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Italy, Romania, and the UK, vaccination coverage was very low in 2018, less than 90%, and in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Spain, it was only slightly better, below 95% [The most disturbing situation concerns measles. Almost 40% of the countries studied report an increasing incidence of the disease, and this growth applies to countries where vaccination is mandatory, such as Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, as well as the ones where vaccinations are only recommended, such as Lithuania, Romania, Spain, and the UK. The situation also has no relation to the historical context, i.e., high incidence occurs in both countries of the former Eastern Bloc, among others, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, as well as in the so-called elow 95% . We founelow 95% . FurtherMigration may be another reason for the wide variation regarding the measles incidence rate. For example, Italy—where high incidence rates were reported for measles, mumps, and rubella—is a country with a large number of foreign residents who arrive from outside the EU, including, among others, North Africa . UnfortuThe above elements, which could have an impact on the effectiveness of surveillance of the VPCD, do not explain the situation observed in Poland, where the 5-year incidence of rubella and mumps was several times higher than in the EU. It was also high in the closest EU neighbors’ countries. This might also be caused by the relatively recent introduction of the MMR vaccine for all children in Poland (2004).Therefore, compliance with the vaccination schedules applied is perhaps important; however, vaccination schedules for measles, rubella, mumps, pneumococci, and meningococci in Europe and other countries studied are very similar, and relatively minute differences concern the schedule of administration of the preparations (ages at which subsequent doses are administered/number of doses) and reimbursement—the level of co-payment for the vaccine and its administration and the obligation or voluntary administration of the vaccine—which is especially true of pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines.Neisseria meningitidis, was characterized by a great diversity throughout the European Union, possibly related to the high variability of their serotypes, which additionally vary in different populations. In Europe, invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, is one of the main causes of meningitis or invasive inflammatory diseases of various organs in children and community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Currently, the number of serotypes of these bacteria is estimated at over 90, which implies enormous problems in the practical application of the available vaccines [S. pneumoniae serotype in Denmark [S. pneumoniae isolates in Sweden are contained in the PCV13 vaccine [The epidemiology of two diseases caused by encapsulated bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae and vaccines . The thrvaccines . Serotyp Denmark . Only 17 vaccine .S. pneumoniae cases has been a significant problem in Slovenia for many years. National Vaccine Recommendations Program against S. pneumoniae was introduced in 2015, but vaccination coverage is still moderate (49–55%). Unfortunately, in addition, there is an increased number of cases caused by penicillin-resistant strains, possibly due to the overuse of antibiotics [A high number of ibiotics .Neisseria meningitidis, causing invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), has 13 serotypes. Serotype A is responsible for the majority of the illnesses, and it is also accountable for cyclical epidemics of meningitis in North Africa every 5–10 years and, in the past 25 years, in China and Russia. Serotype A was also responsible for individual IMD outbreaks in Europe until the mid-twentieth century. Diseases caused by serotype B are rarer; however, its long-term outbreaks are characterized by high morbidity and mortality [ortality . At the ortality . Accordiortality .It is estimated that socioeconomic factors determine the health of the population to the extent of 40% in the USA , and alsThe anti-vaccine movement is not a new phenomenon. As early as the late nineteenth century, there were protests in the UK and the USA against the mandatory smallpox vaccination, arguing that mandatory vaccination was a violation of the right to take care of one’s body in any way one choose .At times, the reason for fear and aversion to vaccinations lay in political decisions; however, the contemporary reason for the lack of trust in vaccination may also be the shortcomings of the procedures concerning controlling scientific integrity, associated with the publication by Andrew Wakefield falsifying the relationship between MMR vaccine and autism as well as enteritis in children. It was when one of the biggest myths regarding vaccination was born, which has been constantly reproduced since its inception in 1998 and fervently cited in discussions, despite the fact that the publication was later withdrawn and debunked repeatedly. The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety found no link between the vaccine and autism spectrum disorder. The publication of Wakefield’s article caused a long-standing health crisis. The Lancet published an apology and evidence that the study was based on false data. Andrew Wakefield was found guilty of violating professional ethics and removed from the British Medical Register. Even though the myth has long been refuted, distrust of vaccination has begun to spread around the world. Opponents of vaccination, despite the evidence and indisputable facts, continue to use Wakefield’s conclusions in their anti-vaccination campaigns .Anti-vaccination movements make use of modern channels of communication, such as social media, and, since 2019, social media accounts run by Vaccine-Hesitant Men (or anti-vax) are followed by at least 7.8 million more people than before . AccordiSocial attitudes towards vaccination can be divided into three categories: there are people who are vaccinated willingly (in the UK and the USA: 70–90% of the population), dogmatic opponents of vaccination who will not change their views, and undecided people who ask valid questions, and it is this group of people that should be focused on, educated, and informed .Catalogue of interventions addressing vaccine hesitancy, a practical tool for public health organizations and immunization stakeholders [The anti-vaccine movement is perhaps one of the reasons for the growing incidence of measles. ECDC recognized the seriousness of the problem and prepared a document entitled eholders .It should be considered to standardize the calendars and documentation confirming vaccinations at the EU level, which is especially vital in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The electronic version of such a document would allow access to information concerning past vaccinations, both for EU citizens traveling within the EU, as well as for newly arrived immigrants.Moreover, the situation in Poland  and in Lithuania (N. meningitidis) indicates that the response of the epidemiology of VPCD to any changes in vaccination is a long-term one. This is a public health component that takes time to show, and the situation can only improve after many years of intensive work on an effective vaccination schedule. The epidemiological situation of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands (IPD) proves the importance of an appropriate selection of serotypes for vaccine production.


African Journal of Disability 9(0), a669. https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v9i0.669, the author’s affiliation was given incorrectly in the ‘Affiliation’ section. The correct affiliation should be ‘School of the Arts, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa’ instead of ‘School of Visual Arts, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa’.In the version of this article initially published, Du Plessis, R., 2020, ‘The life stories and experiences of the children admitted to the Institute for Imbecile Children from 1895 to 1913’, This correction does not alter the significance of the study findings or the overall interpretation of the study results. The publisher apologises for any inconvenience caused.


The quick spread of invasive arthropod species worldwide, sometimes boosted by global warming and urbanization ,2,3,4, oEucalyptus citriodora and the related molecule p-menthane-3,8-diol) [Further, bites from bloodsucker insects and mites can be avoided using repellents. In this scenario, discovering novel and effective products to repel mosquitoes, ticks and tabanids, just to cite some hot examples, is a challenge for public health ,12,13,14,8-diol) .In this framework, the present Special Issue is dedicated to the development of effective and eco-friendly insecticides, acaricides, repellents and antimicrobials, including products of natural origin . Research efforts shedding light on the modes of action, behavioural modifications and non-target effects of the above-mentioned natural products have been welcomed. It has been recommended to the authors to include a positive control in the experiments , as well(a)Laboratory evaluation of the insecticidal, acaricidal and/or antimicrobial activity of plant essential oils ,19.(b)Isolation of pure constituents from plant extracts, and assessment of their insecticidal ,21,22, a(c)Synthesis and characterization of novel semisynthetic insecticides, along with their in vitro evaluation on insect cells .(d)Exploitation of invasive plant species as sources of effective insecticidal products .(e)Evaluation of the impact of selected plant-borne compounds on the behaviour of key insect pests, with special reference to aphids .(f)Development of botanical-based insecticidal formulations (including nanoformulations) characterized by an improved bioactivity and stability over time ,30.Herein, contributions on the following topics have been included:Finally, the Special Issue ends with two reviews. The first summarized current knowledge on the use of diatomaceous earths in crop protection, stored product, and urban pest control, presenting a number of challenges for future research . The secIn conclusion, despite the relevant research efforts undertaken in this field for discovering new insecticides, acaricides and repellents of natural origin, the road to their large-scale use in the real world appears long and windy, complicated by costly and complex authorization requirements , and wit


In the published article, there was an error in affiliation 4. Instead of “Department of Oncology, Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China”, it should be “Department of TCM Oncology, Putuo District Central Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China”.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.


The aim of this article is to present results of theoretical study on the properties of C⋯M bonds, where C is either a carbene or carbodiphosphorane carbon atom and M is an acidic center of MX Crystals [Undoubtedly, one can get an impression that there has been a kind of race that has been going on for over a dozen years related to the introduction of various names for various interatomic contacts. The current situation with this nomenclature has recently been well captured by Alkorta, Elguero, and Frontera in a review article in Crystals . Thus, iCrystals ,14,15,16Crystals ,20,21,22Crystals ,32,33,34Crystals ,44,45,46Crystals ,53,54,55Crystals ,61,62,63Crystals ,70,71,72Crystals ,76,77,78Crystals ,80,81. ACrystals ,18,19,20Crystals ,28,29,30Crystals ,32,33, aCrystals ,88,89,90Crystals ,92,93. UDue to their specific electronic structure, carbenes occupy particular position in organic chemistry ,102,103. singlet  Figure R2 covalep orbitals and have the same spins. In the singlet state, both electrons form a lone pair on one of the perpendicular p orbitals. Due to the presence of the often readily available electron lone pair, carbenes in the singlet state are good Lewis bases; i.e., they feature strong nucleophilic properties. Indeed, the nucleophilic properties of carbenes are well known and are often used in organic and organometallic synthesis [In the triplet spin state, both electrons occupy perpendicular ynthesis ,102,103.ynthesis ,110,111,ynthesis ,113,114,ynthesis ,117,118,ynthesis ,120,121,ynthesis ,124,125,ynthesis ,127,128,ynthesis ,130,131,ynthesis , halogenynthesis ,135,136 ynthesis ,134), anynthesis . Moreoveynthesis ,138,139,ynthesis ,102,139.ynthesis ,121, arep orbital perpendicular to the plane of the molecule, leading to the electrophilic properties of a given carbene [p orbital on the carbene carbon atom of singlet carbenes [ carbene ,144,145. carbene . A practcarbenes . It is wcarbenes ,144,145.p orbital on the carbene carbon atom  and their amine analogues ,171,172.It is understandable that so far, the vast majority of theoretical studies on beryllium and magnesium bonds have used as Lewis bases small molecules containing either some atoms with good electron-donating properties or π bonds ,30,31,32π bonds ,92,93, eπ bonds ,93. It iIn order to unite these two thematic areas, this article describes the result of theoretical research on a large group of dimers with a beryllium bond, magnesium bond, or zinc bond between various Lewis acids of the MXium bond  with theAs mentioned in the Introduction, this article describes research on systems containing a beryllium bond, a magnesium bond or a zinc bond, where the role of Lewis acids is played by the MXMeXsp orbital of the metal atom with one of the orbitals of X. Due to lower electronegativity of the metal atom, this atom is endowed with a partial positive charge  does not, suggests that q(M). Although the linear relationship between the value of q(M) is computed utilizing the Hirshfeld method, it is much better than in the case of NBO- and especially QTAIM-based charges  to 0.2 (blue)) for all MX (59 pm) . Therefo in MgF2 . The fac charges .Carbenes and CDPsImidazol-2-ylidene, imidazolidin-2-ylidene, tetrahydropyrymid-2-ylidene, cyclopropenylidene, and  large variation in the negative values on the C atom in  atom in the carbenes or the C(0) atom in the CDPs. On the other hand, strong positive potential concerns mainly hydrogen atoms in strongly polar N-H bonds. While the characteristics of the negative potential distribution around the carbon atom are similar in carbenes ⋯M interactions in the dimers formed by , which Very high bond strength of C(0)⋯M in the  is often treated as a measure of the strength of this interaction . If so, It should also be interesting to check the quality of the linear relationship between the values of The positive values  of the Lell type . Howeverovalency . On the A very important QTAIM parameter often used to describe the A–B bond strength  is the s A and B ,183,184.strength . It is wThe quality of the obtained linear correlations clearly depends on both the correlated parameters and the type of the metal atom in the MX0.732 au , thus caMost of the QTAIM-based parameters are determined at critical points , and therefore these parameters are local, i.e., they provide information about the properties at a particular point in space. One way out of this limitation is the NCI method ,193, whiof atoms . In ordeg and Zn .not followed by the presence of the respective bond paths. It has been shown that the presence or absence of a bond path generally has little to do with the interaction strength [The subfigure (a3) shows that the zinc bond in the cyclopropenylidene⋯ZnBrstrength ,196,197.Summing up, it can be concluded that the analysis based on the NCI method shows that the zinc bond is the strongest, and although the beryllium bond should only be slightly weaker than it, the latter is related to the presence of additional areas of weaker interaction in the antibonding regions of the Be atom. The high strength of the C⋯Zn bond (competing even with the Zn-Br bond) is reflected in high values of Geometries of monomers and dimers were fully optimized on the nctional  of Densinctional ,200,201 nctional ,205,206,en shown  to be onen shown . NBO-basen shown ,181 atomen shown  implemenen shown ,183,184 en shown  methods en shown .To date, the vast majority of theoretical studies on beryllium and magnesium bonds have used as Lewis bases small molecules, and the research on zinc (spodium) bonds is very rare. On the other hand, the research on carbenes and carbodiphosphoranes is mostly experimental. This article presents the results of theoretical research on the properties of beryllium, magnesium, and zinc bonds in a large group of dimers formed by the MXThe general characteristics of the presented dimers showed that the dissociation energies of the C(2)⋯M intermolecular interaction have wide range, from 10 to 53 kcal/mol, and this interaction is the strongest for the BeBrImportantly, it has been shown that the investigated systems are characterized by very high charge transfer effect from the carbene or carbodiphosphorane molecule to the MXTheoretical studies based on the QTAIM and NCI methods have shown that the zinc bond is not very different from the beryllium bond; both should be of similar strength, while the magnesium bond should be weaker. Both are also characterized by a high degree of covalence. The determined values of the delocalization index show, however, that the zinc bond should be definitely stronger than the beryllium and magnesium bonds.A large number of tested dimers as well as parameters characterizing both the interacting subsystems and the C⋯M bond itself allowed for the study of many linear relationships between the parameters. In general, they are good as long as systems with different M metal atoms are treated separately. The linear correlations for the zinc atom are usually slightly better than for the other atoms.In addition to the dominant C⋯M interaction, some of the studied dimers also have various additional interactions, such as, e.g., the N-H⋯F, N-H⋯C and F-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, or N-H⋯H-Mg dihydrogen bond. In the latter case, it may be extremely short, such as 1.44 Å in (NHA side result of the presented research is that the atomic charges obtained by the QTAIM method are highly unreliable. While more reliable than these, the NBO-based atomic charges also appear to be questionable. In contrast, the Hirshfeld atomic charges appear to be chemically sound.


Fresh and processed food products are rich in bioactive molecules, including polysaccharides, vitamins, carotenoids, peptides, antioxidants, phenolics, phytosterols, and novel lipids. Bioactive molecules in food could prevent several diseases . Thus, consumer awareness is growing about the health-promoting impact of food bioactive molecules. Health claims are essential added-value features, wherein health-enhancing potential of bioactives depend on their chemical structure. On the other hand, the investigation of the structure-function relationship of food bioactive molecules is of importance. In this regard, Molecules is delighted to highlight the importance of food bioactive molecules and their effect on health. In this Special Issue of Molecules, researchers are invited to contribute original research and up-to-date reviews. Fresh and processed food products  are rich in bioactive molecules, including vitamins, carotenoids, polysaccharides, proteins, peptides, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, sterols, and bioactive lipids ,4,5,6,7.Consumer awareness is growing about the health-enhancing effects of food bioactive molecules from plant and animals sources. Health claims are important value-added features for consumers, wherein authorities accept health claims in functional foods based on scientific evidence. The health-promoting impacts of bioactive compounds depend on their chemical structure; therefore, novel analytical techniques have been developed to elucidate the structure of active molecules ,15,16,17To give a recent view of the interest raised in the international research context within this topic, a search throughout the Scopus database was carried out using a string TITLE-ABS-KEY . The search returned 87,471 documents covering the time range from 1884 to 2022. In the last ten years (from 2011–2020), the search returned 48,842 documents .Apart from the published documents, approx. 30,600 were research articles, 1160 conference papers, 10,500 reviews, and 2800 book chapters. The documents annually published on “food *”, “health *”, and “disease *” are notably increased from 3537 contributions in 2011 to 7370 contributions in 2020. This measurable indicator reflects the importance and interest in “food *”, “health *”, and “disease *” as a topic in the scientific community. The documents are related to the subject areas of Medicine, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology, Nursing, Immunology and Microbiology, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Pharmaceutics, and Environmental Science. Scientists from the USA, UK, China, India, and Australia emerged as main authors.This Special Issue of Molecules is entitled Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health. In this regard, Molecules is delighted to highlight the importance of food bioactive molecules and their effect on health. Researchers from different fields, including food chemistry, biochemistry, natural products, phytotherapy, pharmacology, medicine, and biotechnology, are expected to disseminate their results in this issue. In this Special Issue of Molecules, researchers are invited to contribute original, unpublished research and up-to-date review articles that analyze and describe bioactive molecules in fresh and processed food products; their stability during food processing and storage; and the mechanisms of their digestion, bioactivity (in vitro and in vivo), and metabolite formation. In addition, the impact of food bioactive molecules in preventing and treating diseases is of interest.Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) novel analytical techniques in the structure elucidation of food bioactive molecules; (ii) chemistry and functionality of food bioactive molecules; (iii) factors affecting the structure-function relationship of food bioactive molecules; (iv) the effect of industrial and biotechnological processing on food bioactive molecules; (v) modification of food bioactive molecules to enhance their health-promoting effects.


Food security and nutrition have been prominent elements of the international development agenda. Over time, however, development priorities and challenges have oscillated, and the investment required has not been sustained. A broader consensus has emerged: one that guarantees food security and, in all its aspects, reduces hunger and malnutrition to promote strong economies, human and planetary health, and sustainable development. Our moral imperative is to positively change food systems to ensure that the food we produce is accessible, sustainable, safe, healthy, and equitable for everyone. Therefore, this special issue about Food Systems and Nutritional and Food Security focuses on connecting the importance of food systems to change nutrition and food security around the globe.In this context, attitude and knowledge of health, food, and nutrition can be one of the keys to facing food insecurity in several countries. Health and nutritional education are imperative to fight malnutrition ,2,3,4. KAdequate and healthy diets imply choosing and consuming balanced and adequate foods on nutrients and amount, variety, and sustainable aspects. Therefore, achieving the main social, economic, environmental, cultural, and security goals ,14,15,16During these past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has faced new food security and safety challenges. Firstly, food sales worldwide became more complex, and farmers faced many overstocked products leading to food loss . On the


The Positivity Workbook for Teens: Skills to Help You Increase Optimism, Resilience, and a Growth Mindset, the authors Goali Saedi Bocci and Ryan M. Niemiec deliver a self-improvement book for teens struggling with adolescence. The book is adapted from Martin Seligman's PERMATM model—a leading theory in positive psychology—which holds that flourishing is based on five pillars of well-being: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment . In Chapter 1, Identifying Positive Emotions, the reader reflects on the ten core positive emotions  how negative affect and cognitions can be modified through adaptive coping and behavior; and (b) how problem behaviors can be modified through adaptive affect and cognitions. In Chapter 3, Forecasting Your Mood, the reader considers several upcoming life events, within the framework of past successes and past failures.Part 1, Happiness (Zest Booster!), the authors discuss hedonic (pleasure-based) and eudaimonic (meaning-based) routes to happiness. In Chapter 5, Optimism (Hope Booster!), the reader is introduced to several different framing styles  associated with optimism and well-being. In Chapter 6, LOL and Live Fully (Humor Booster!), the authors tout the benefits of laughter in our lives . In Chapter 8, What Motivates You?, the authors focus on intrinsic motivation—i.e., the undertaking of an activity for its inherent satisfaction  and strengths specific to the heart . In Chapter 13, Overcoming Boredom, the authors promote curiosity as an antidote for boredom. The authors have the reader focus their attention. This act is core to mindfulness, a practice with numerous health benefits  Tribe, draws on the strengths of love, kindness, and teamwork, and helps the reader nurture positive relationships (“R” of PERMATM). In Chapter 14, Next-Level Bully Management, the authors warn the reader to think before they act, and make decisions from a place of inner peace. In Chapter 15, Are You My Friend or Frenemy?, the authors advise the reader to nurture their deep friendships, and be generous in expressing gratitude.Part 3, Your Key Relationship Strengths, the authors discuss honesty, love, forgiveness, kindness, humility, fairness, social intelligence, and zest. The reader reflects on what changes they can make to cultivate these strengths, with respect to their relationships with others. In Chapter 17, Stop Comparing Yourself to Others!, the authors suggest (a) setting social media limits, (b) engaging in noncompetitive activities, (c) focusing on the future, (d) practicing gratitude, and (e) remembering your character strengths. In Chapter 18, Getting Off (or On) the Social Media Bandwagon, the authors beg the reader to go “scroll-free” for a week, and record their observations in a journal. In Chapter 19, Combatting Loneliness and Isolation, the authors prescribe caring and knowing as a cure for loneliness.In Chapter 16, Cultivating What Matters Most, draws on gratitude, appreciation of beauty, and social intelligence, to help the reader find more meaning in their life (“M” of PERMATM). In Chapter 20, Savor Special Moments with Family, the reader reflects on pleasant memories shared with family, and uses them as fuel to fuel the future. In Chapter 21, Build an Attitude of Gratitude, the authors have the reader write a letter to someone important in their life, and thank them for their support and influence. This practice—expressive writing  writes about three beautiful things they came across that day, (b) creates a portfolio of things that trigger inspiration, and (c) adds beauty to their personal environment . In Chapter 25, Cultivating Spirituality and the Sacred, the reader considers (a) the purpose of their life, (b) the meaning of spirituality, and (c) what connects them to the sacred in their life. Chapter 26, Overcoming Jealousy, Envy, and FOMO, is tailored for the teen that overloads themselves—trying to keep up with their peers—and is driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO).In Chapter 23, s Bluth, . In ChapYour Goals, Your Life, draws on perseverance, perspective, and zest, to help the teen along the path to their accomplishments (“A” of PERMATM). In Chapter 27, Your Best Possible Self, the teen envisions themselves one year in the future, having reached their full potential or a milestone. They ask themselves, What character strengths are needed to make this a reality? In Chapter 28, Hope for Your Goals, the teen picks a goal, and using pathways thinking, conceives several different routes to take them there. In Chapter 29, Taming Your Inner Critic, the authors introduce the teen to loving-kindness meditation, a practice potent in promoting positive emotions (Fredrickson et al., Part 5, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, taps self-regulation, prudence, and perseverance, to link a healthy body to a healthy mind. In Chapter 30, Promoting Good Health, the authors introduce the Five Pillars of Good Health (Niemiec, Part 6, Niemiec, : exercisThe Positivity Workbook for Teens is a self-improvement book for teens struggling in the throes of adolescence. It is grounded in the teachings of positive psychology (Seligman, TM structure offers a sound foothold. In sum, The Positivity Workbook for Teens is an engaging self-help program for teens, their families, and their counselors.The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


In “Community Mitigation of COVID-19 and Portrayal of Testing on TikTok: Descriptive Study” :e29528), one error was noted.Due to a system error, the name of one author, Hao Tang, was replaced with the name of another author on the paper, Alessia Pellicane. In the originally published paper, the order of authors was listed as follows:Corey H Basch, Jan Mohlman, Joseph Fera, Alessia Pellicane, Alessia Pellicane, Charles E BaschThis has been corrected to:Corey H Basch, Jan Mohlman, Joseph Fera, Hao Tang, Alessia Pellicane, Charles E BaschIn the originally published paper, the ORCID of author Hao Tang was incorrectly published as follows:0000-0002-8220-6584This has been corrected to:0000-0003-3002-1374The correction will appear in the online version of the paper on the JMIR Publications website on June 29, 2021, together with the publication of this correction notice. Because this was made after submission to PubMed, PubMed Central, and other full-text repositories, the corrected article has also been resubmitted to those repositories.


In the published article, the affiliations of the author Bach Xuan Tran is not correct. Instead of having affiliations “Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam” and “Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA”, they should have “Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam” and “Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA”.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


In the published article, there was an error in affiliation 6 and 8. Instead of “Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.” it should be “Department of Medical Microbiology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.” And “Department of Biotechnology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai India.” should be “Centre for Materials Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.”In the published article, there was an error regarding the affiliation for Avin Ee-Hwan Koh. The correct affiliations should be “Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia.” And “Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.”The authors apologize for these errors and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


In the published article, an author name was incorrectly written as “Cherdsak Duang.” The correct spelling is “Cherdsak Duangchan.”In the published article, there was an error in affiliation 1. Instead of “College of Nursing, The University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States” it should be “College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.”In the published article, there was an error in affiliation 2. Instead of “University of Illinois Cancer Center, The University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States” it should be “University of Illinois Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.”In the published article, there was an error in affiliation 3. Instead of “School of Public Health, The University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States”, it should be “School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.”The authors apologize for these errors and affirm that they do not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


Bilal U, Alazraqui M, Caiaffa WT, et al. Inequalities in life expectancy in six large Latin American cities from the SALURBAL study: an ecological analysis. Lancet Planet Health 2019; 3: e503–10—In this Article, due to a linkage error with the Panama City data, life expectancy data, P90–P10 gaps, and associations with education have been corrected for Panama City in the Summary, table 2, the Results, where appropriate in the Discussion, in figures 1 and 2, and in the appendix. Additionally, support from the SALURBAL investigators has been added to the Acknowledgments section. These corrections have been made as of Jan 3, 2020.


In the published article, there was an error in the order of the authors in the author list. Instead of “Anna Kostera-Pruszczyk, Anna Potulska-Chromik, Małgorzata Łukawska, Marta Lipowska, Dorota Hoffman-Zacharska, Beata Olchowik, Magdalena Figlerowicz, Karolina Kanabus and Edyta Rosiak,” it should be “Małgorzata Łukawska, Anna Potulska-Chromik, Marta Lipowska, Dorota Hoffman-Zacharska, Beata Olchowik, Magdalena Figlerowicz, Karolina Kanabus, Edyta Rosiak and Anna Kostera-Pruszczyk.”The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.