Since the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, international recommendations for disease control have been readily available. However, blind implementation of these recommendations without grassroot-level support could result in public distrust and low adherence. This study evaluated the use of a public health priorities survey to rapidly assess perceptions of local health workers. A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was conducted among 5,847 health workers and medical students from January to February 2020 to evaluate the level of prioritization of various public health measures. Measures with the highest levels of prioritization were "Early prevention, environmental sanitation, and improvement of population health" and "Mobilization of community participation in disease control," which were concordant with policies implemented by the Vietnamese government. This study also demonstrated a high level of internal validity among survey items and shared ranking of priorities among all occupational groups. The use of this public health priorities survey was found to be effective in identifying priorities as identified by grassroots health workers to provide real-time feedback to the national government. However, future iterations of this survey should consider limiting the use of each prioritization score to ensure that responses represent the reality of source limitations and consider focusing on medical professionals and community workers due medical students' limited experience with Vietnam's healthcare infrastructure.
IntroductionHealth care systems have faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to timely population-based data has been vital to informing public health policy and practice. MethodsWe describe how ICES, an independent not-for-profit research and analytic institute in Ontario, Canada, pivoted existing research infrastructure and engaged health system stakeholders to provide near real-time population-based data and analytics to support Ontario's COVID-19 pandemic response. ResultsSince April 2020, ICES provided the Ontario COVID-19 Provincial Command Table and public health partners with regular and ad hoc reports on SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 vaccine coverage. These reports: 1) helped identify congregate care/shared living settings that needed testing and prevention efforts early in the pandemic; 2) provided early indications of inequities in testing and infection in marginalized neighbourhoods, including areas with higher proportions of immigrants and visible minorities; 3) identified areas with high test positivity, which helped Public Health Units target and evaluate prevention efforts; and 4) contributed to altering the province's COVID-19 vaccine roll-out strategy to target high-risk neighbourhoods and helping Public Health Units and community organizations plan local vaccination programs. In addition, ICES is a key component of the Ontario Health Data Platform, which provides scientists with data access to conduct COVID-19 research and analyses. Discussion and ConclusionICES was well-positioned to provide rapid analyses for decision-makers to respond to the evolving public health emergency, and continues to contribute to Ontario's pandemic response by providing timely, relevant reports to health system stakeholders and facilitating data access for externally-funded COVID-19 research.
Since 2013, smoke-free signs in public places, including in restaurants and food stores, have been introduced in Vietnam, aiming to prevent passive smoking. Although extensive research has been carried out on second-hand smoking among clients in public places (e.g., hospitals, restaurants) in Vietnam, no single study exists which captures the current practice of smoking among street food outlets. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of smoking and identify factors associated with smoking status and cessation motivation amongst food sellers in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study involving 1733 food providers at outlets was conducted in 29 districts in Hanoi capital, Vietnam, in 2015. The prevalence of smoking amongst food sellers was determined to be 8.5% (25% for men and 0.8% for women). The enforcement of the smoke-free policy remains modest, since only 7.9% observed outlets complied with the law, providing a room designated for smokers. Although approximately 80% of the participants were aware of the indoor smoke-free regulations in public places, such as restaurants and food stores, 40.2% of smokers reported no intention of quitting smoking. A percentage of 37.6% of current smokers reported that despite having intentions to quit, they did not receive any form of support for smoking cessation. Being male and having hazardous drinking habits and a poor quality of life were all factors that were significantly associated with smoking status. Additionally, having awareness of smoking's adverse effects and being frequently supervised by the authority were associated with a greater motivation to quit. This study highlights the importance of an accompanying education and smoking cessation program in addition to the frequent inspection and reinforcement of smoke-free policy in food stores. This research extends on our knowledge of smoking prevalence and its factors related to smoking events and motivation to quit among street food outlets. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that more government efforts ...
Understanding the predictors of health conditions and exposure to secondhand smoke among children is necessary to determine the severity of the issues and identify effective solutions. Despite the significant prevalence in smoking and child exposure to secondhand smoke, there have been only a few studies focusing on this area in Vietnam, and thus the current study aims to fill in this gap. The questionnaires of 435 children aged between 0 and 6 and their caregivers, who agreed to participate in the research, were collected at the Pediatric Department of Bach Mai hospital, Hanoi, in 2016. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with perceived health status and exposure to secondhand smoke among children in the last 24 h and the last 7 days from the date of the survey. Our study found that 43% of the respondents had smokers in the family, and 46.4% of children were exposed to passive smoking in the last 7 days. Urban children were most frequently exposed to passive smoking at home and in public, whereas in the rural area, the home and relatives' houses were the most common places for exposure. Compared to children whose caregivers were farmers, children of non-government workers were more likely to be exposed to passive smoking in the last 7 days. Moreover, children in a family having smoking rules and no smokers were less likely to be exposed to passive smoking in the last 24 h and 7 days than those living in a family allowing smoking and having smokers. In conclusion, our study shows that the government needs to implement better public smoking monitoring and encourage caregivers to implement smoke-free households or smoking rules in their houses.
In: Alcohol and alcoholism: the international journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism (MCA) and the journal of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA), Band 46, Heft Supplement 1, S. i48-i50
BMWFW (Austria) ; FWF (Austria) ; FNRS (Belgium) ; FWO (Belgium) ; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) ; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) ; MES (Bulgaria) ; CERN ; CAS (China) ; MoST (China) ; NSFC (China) ; COLCIENCIAS (Colombia) ; MSES (Croatia) ; CSF (Croatia) ; RPF (Cyprus) ; SENESCYT (Ecuador) ; MoER (Estonia) ; ERC IUT (Estonia) ; ERDF (Estonia) ; Academy of Finland (Finland) ; MEC (Finland) ; HIP (Finland) ; CEA (France) ; CNRS/IN2P3 (France) ; BMBF (Germany) ; DFG (Germany) ; HGF (Germany) ; GSRT (Greece) ; NKFIA (Hungary) ; DAE (India) ; DST (India) ; IPM (Iran) ; SFI (Ireland) ; INFN (Italy) ; MSIP (Republic of Korea) ; NRF (Republic of Korea) ; LAS (Lithuania) ; MOE (Malaysia) ; UM (Malaysia) ; BUAP (Mexico) ; CINVESTAV (Mexico) ; CONACYT (Mexico) ; LNS (Mexico) ; SEP (Mexico) ; UASLP-FAI (Mexico) ; MBIE (New Zealand) ; PAEC (Pakistan) ; MSHE (Poland) ; NSC (Poland) ; FCT (Portugal) ; JINR (Dubna) ; MON (Russia) ; RosAtom (Russia) ; RAS (Russia) ; RFBR (Russia) ; MESTD (Serbia) ; SEIDI (Spain) ; CPAN (Spain) ; PCTI (Spain) ; FEDER (Spain) ; MST (Taipei) ; ThEPCenter (Thailand) ; IPST (Thailand) ; STAR (Thailand) ; NSTDA (Thailand) ; TUBITAK (Turkey) ; TAEK (Turkey) ; NASU (Ukraine) ; SFFR (Ukraine) ; STFC (United Kingdom) ; DOE (U.S.A.) ; NSF (U.S.A.) ; Marie-Curie programme ; European Research Council (European Union) ; Horizon 2020 Grant (European Union) ; Leventis Foundation ; A. P. Sloan Foundation ; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation ; Belgian Federal Science Policy Office ; Fonds pour la Formation a la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture (FRIA-Belgium) ; Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT-Belgium) ; F.R.S.-FNRS (Belgium) ; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) of the Czech Republic ; Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hungary) ; New National Excellence Program UNKP (Hungary) ; Council of Science and Industrial Research, India ; HOMING PLUS programme of the Foundation for Polish Science ; European Union, Regional Development Fund ; Mobility Plus programme of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education ; National Science Center (Poland) ; National Priorities Research Program by Qatar National Research Fund ; Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica de Excelencia Maria de Maeztu ; Programa Severo Ochoa del Principado de Asturias ; Thalis programme ; Aristeia programme ; EU-ESF ; Greek NSRF ; Rachadapisek Sompot Fund for Postdoctoral Fellowship, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) ; Chulalongkorn Academic into Its 2nd Century Project Advancement Project (Thailand) ; Welch Foundation ; Weston Havens Foundation (U.S.A.) ; FWO (Belgium) under the Excellence of Science - EOS - be.h project ; Horizon 2020 Grant (European Union): 675440 ; NKFIA (Hungary): 123842 ; NKFIA (Hungary): 123959 ; NKFIA (Hungary): 124845 ; NKFIA (Hungary): 124850 ; NKFIA (Hungary): 125105 ; National Science Center (Poland): Harmonia 2014/14/M/ST2/00428 ; National Science Center (Poland): Opus 2014/13/B/ST2/02543 ; National Science Center (Poland): 2014/15/B/ST2/03998 ; National Science Center (Poland): 2015/19/B/ST2/02861 ; National Science Center (Poland): Sonata-bis 2012/07/E/ST2/01406 ; Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica de Excelencia Maria de Maeztu: MDM-2015-0509 ; Welch Foundation: C-1845 ; FWO (Belgium) under the Excellence of Science - EOS - be.h project: 30820817 ; A search for the pair production of the lightest supersymmetric partner of the top quark ((t) over tilde (1)) is presented. The search focuses on a compressed scenario where the mass difference between the top squark and the lightest supersymmetric particle, often considered to be the lightest neutralino (( chi) over tilde (0)(1)), is smaller than the mass of the W boson. The proton-proton collision data were recorded by the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). In this search, two decay modes of the top squark are considered: a four-body decay into a bottom quark, two additional fermions, and a (chi) over tilde (1)(0); and a decay via an intermediate chargino. Events are selected using the presence of a high-momentum jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and a low transverse momentum electron or muon. Two analysis techniques are used, targeting different decay modes ((t) over tilde (1)): of the a sequential selection and a multivariate technique. No evidence for the production of top squarks is found, and mass limits at 95% confidence level are set that reach up to 560 GeV, depending on the m((t) over tilde (1)) - m((chi) over tilde (0)(1)) mass difference and the decay mode.
BMWFW (Austria) ; FWF (Austria) ; FNRS (Belgium) ; FWO (Belgium) ; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) ; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) ; MES (Bulgaria) ; CERN ; CAS (China) ; MoST (China) ; NSFC (China) ; COLCIENCIAS (Colombia) ; MSES (Croatia) ; CSF (Croatia) ; RPF (Cyprus) ; SENESCYT (Ecuador) ; MoER (Estonia) ; ERC IUT (Estonia) ; ERDF (Estonia) ; Academy of Finland (Finland) ; MEC (Finland) ; HIP (Finland) ; CEA (France) ; CNRS/IN2P3 (France) ; BMBF (Germany) ; DFG (Germany) ; HGF (Germany) ; GSRT (Greece) ; OTKA (Hungary) ; NIH (Hungary) ; DAE (India) ; DST (India) ; IPM (Iran) ; SFI (Ireland) ; INFN (Italy) ; MSIP (Republic of Korea) ; NRF (Republic of Korea) ; LAS (Lithuania) ; MOE (Malaysia) ; UM (Malaysia) ; BUAP (Mexico) ; CINVESTAV (Mexico) ; CONACYT (Mexico) ; LNS (Mexico) ; SEP (Mexico) ; UASLP-FAI (Mexico) ; MBIE (New Zealand) ; PAEC (Pakistan) ; MSHE (Poland) ; NSC (Poland) ; FCT (Portugal) ; JINR (Dubna) ; MON (Russia) ; RosAtom (Russia) ; RAS (Russia) ; RFBR (Russia) ; RAEP (Russia) ; MESTD (Serbia) ; SEIDI (Spain) ; CPAN (Spain) ; PCTI (Spain) ; FEDER (Spain) ; Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland) ; MST (Taipei) ; ThEPCenter (Thailand) ; IPST (Thailand) ; STAR (Thailand) ; NSTDA (Thailand) ; TUBITAK (Turkey) ; TAEK (Turkey) ; NASU (Ukraine) ; SFFR (Ukraine) ; STFC (United Kingdom) ; DOE (U.S.A.) ; NSF (U.S.A.) ; Marie-Curie programme ; European Research Council ; Leventis Foundation ; A. P. Sloan Foundation ; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation ; Belgian Federal Science Policy Office ; Fonds pour la Formation a la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture (FRIA-Belgium) ; Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT-Belgium) ; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) of the Czech Republic ; Council of Science and Industrial Research, India ; HOMING PLUS programme of the Foundation for Polish Science ; European Union, Regional Development Fund ; Mobility Plus programme of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education ; National Science Center (Poland) ; National Priorities Research Program by Qatar National Research Fund ; Programa Severo Ochoa del Principado de Asturias ; Thalis programme ; EU-ESF ; Greek NSRF ; Rachadapisek Sompot Fund for Postdoctoral Fellowship, Chulalongkorn University ; Chulalongkorn Academic into Its 2nd Century Project Advancement Project (Thailand) ; Welch Foundation ; Weston Havens Foundation (U.S.A.) ; Aristeia programme ; Horizon Grant ; National Science Center (Poland): Harmonia 2014/14/M/ST2/00428 ; National Science Center (Poland): Opus 2014/13/B/ST2/02543 ; National Science Center (Poland): 2014/15/B/ST2/03998 ; National Science Center (Poland): 2015/19/B/ST2/02861 ; National Science Center (Poland): Sonata-bis 2012/07/E/ST2/01406 ; Welch Foundation: C-1845 ; Horizon Grant: 675440 ; A search for new physics is carried out in events with at least three electrons or muons in any combination, jets, and missing transverse momentum. Results are based on the sample of proton-proton collision data produced by the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV and collected by the CMS experiment in 2016. The data sample analyzed corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). Events are classified according to the number of b jets, missing transverse momentum, hadronic transverse momentum, and the invariant mass of same-flavor dilepton pairs with opposite charge. No significant excess above the expected standard model background is observed. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are computed for four different supersymmetric simplified models with pair production of gluinos or third-generation squarks. In the model with gluino pair production, with subsequent decays into a top quark-antiquark pair and a neutralino, gluinos with masses smaller than 1610 GeV are excluded for a massless lightest supersymmetric particle. In the case of bottom squark pair production, the bottom squark masses are excluded up to 840 GeV for charginos lighter than 200 GeV. For a simplified model of heavy top squark pair production, the (t) over tilde (2) mass is excluded up to 720, 780, or 710 GeV for models with an exclusive (t) over tilde (2) -> (t) over tilde H-1 decay, an exclusive (t) over tilde (2) -> (t) over tilde (1)Z decay, or an equally probable mix of those two decays. In order to provide a simplified version of the analysis for easier interpretation, a small set of aggregate signal regions also has been de fined, providing a compromise between simplicity and analysis sensitivity.
Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy ; Austrian Science Fund ; Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique ; Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek ; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) ; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) ; Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science ; CERN ; Chinese Academy of Sciences ; Ministry of Science and Technology ; National Natural Science Foundation of China ; Colombian Funding Agency (COLCIENCIAS) ; Croatian Ministry of Science,Education and Sport ; Croatian Science Foundation ; Research Promotion Foundation, Cyprus ; Secretariat for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ecuador ; Ministry of Education and Research ; Estonian Research Council ; European Regional Development Fund, Estonia ; Academy of Finland ; Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture ; Helsinki Institute of Physics ; Institut National de Physique Nucleeaire et de Physique des Particules /CNRS ; Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives/CEA, France ; Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung ; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, Germany ; General Secretariat for Research and Technology, Greece ; National Scientific Research Foundation ; National Innovation Office, Hungary ; Department of Atomic Energy ; Department of Science and Technology, India ; Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, Iran ; Science Foundation, Ireland ; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy ; Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning ; National Research Foundation (NRF), Republic of Korea ; Lithuanian Academy of Sciences ; Ministry of Education ; University of Malaya (Malaysia) ; Mexican Funding Agencies (BUAP) ; Mexican Funding Agencies (CINVESTAV) ; Mexican Funding Agencies (CONACYT) ; Mexican Funding Agencies (LNS) ; Mexican Funding Agencies (SEP) ; Mexican Funding Agencies (UASLP-FAI) ; Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand ; Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission ; Ministry of Science and Higher Education ; National Science Centre, Poland ; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, Portugal ; JINR, Dubna ; Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation ; Federal Agency of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation ; Russian Academy of Sciences ; Russian Foundation for Basic Research ; Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia ; Secretara de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion and Programa Consolider-Ingenio 2010, Spain ; ETH Board ; ETH Zurich ; PSI ; SNF ; UniZH ; Canton Zurich ; SER ; Ministry of Science and Technology, Taipei ; Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology of Thailand, Special Task Force for Activating Research and the National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand ; Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, and Turkish Atomic Energy Authority ; National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and State Fund for Fundamental Researches, Ukraine ; Science and Technology Facilities Council, U.K ; US Department of Energy, and the US National Science Foundation ; Marie-Curie programme and the European Research Council and EPLANET (European Union) ; Leventis Foundation ; A.P. Sloan Foundation ; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation ; Belgian Federal Science Policy Office ; Fonds pour la Formation a la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture (FRIA-Belgium) ; Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT-Belgium) ; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) of the Czech Republic ; Council of Science and Industrial Research, India ; HOMING PLUS programme of the Foundation for Polish Science ; European Union ; Regional Development Fund ; Mobility Plus programme of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education ; National Science Center (Poland) ; Harmonia ; Opus ; Sonata-bis ; Thalis and Aristeia programmes - EU-ESF ; Greek NSRF ; National Priorities Research Program by Qatar National Research Fund ; Programa Clarin-COFUND del Principado de Asturias ; Rachadapisek Sompot Fund for Postdoctoral Fellowship ; Chulalongkorn University and the Chulalongkorn Academic into Its 2nd Century Project Advancement Project (Thailand) ; Welch Foundation ; Science and Technology Facilities Council ; Estonian Research Council: IUT23-4 ; Estonian Research Council: IUT236 ; Harmonia: 2014/14/M/ST2/00428 ; Opus: 2013/11/B/ST2/04202 ; Opus: 2014/13/B/ST2/02543 ; Opus: 2014/15/B/ST2/03998 ; Sonata-bis: 2012/07/E/ST2/01406 ; Welch Foundation: C-1845 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K001256/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/N000250/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: CMS ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: GRIDPP ; Searches for invisible decays of the Higgs boson are presented. The data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC correspond to integrated luminosities of 5.1, 19.7, and 2.3 fb(-1) at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13TeV, respectively. The search channels target Higgs boson production via gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and in association with a vector boson. Upper limits are placed on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson decay to invisible particles, as a function of the assumed production cross sections. The combination of all channels, assuming standard model production, yields an observed (expected) upper limit on the invisible branching fraction of 0.24 (0.23) at the 95% confidence level. The results are also interpreted in the context of Higgs-portal dark matter models.
Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy ; Austrian Science Fund ; Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique ; Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek ; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) ; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) ; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) ; Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science ; CERN ; Chinese Academy of Sciences ; Ministry of Science and Technology ; National Natural Science Foundation of China ; Colombian Funding Agency (COLCIENCIAS) ; Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sport ; Croatian Science Foundation ; Research Promotion Foundation, Cyprus ; Ministry of Education and Research, Estonia ; Estonian Research Council, Estonia ; European Regional Development Fund, Estonia ; Academy of Finland ; Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture ; Helsinki Institute of Physics ; Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules / CNRS, France ; Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives / CEA, France ; Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung, Germany ; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany ; Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, Germany ; General Secretariat for Research and Technology, Greece ; National Scientific Research Foundation, Hungary ; National Innovation Office, Hungary ; Department of Atomic Energy, India ; Department of Science and Technology, India ; Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, Iran ; Science Foundation, Ireland ; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy ; Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Republic of Korea ; National Research Foundation (NRF), Republic of Korea ; Lithuanian Academy of Sciences ; Ministry of Education (Malaysia) ; CINVESTAV ; CONACYT ; SEP ; UASLP-FAI ; Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand ; Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission ; Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland ; National Science Centre, Poland ; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, Portugal ; JINR, Dubna ; Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation ; Federal Agency of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation ; Russian Academy of Sciences ; Russian Foundation for Basic Research ; Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia ; Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion, Spain ; Programa Consolider-Ingenio, Spain ; ETH Board ; ETH Zurich ; PSI ; SNF ; UniZH ; Canton Zurich ; SER ; Ministry of Science and Technology, Taipei ; Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics ; Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology of Thailand ; Special Task Force for Activating Research ; National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand ; Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey ; Turkish Atomic Energy Authority ; National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine ; State Fund for Fundamental Researches, Ukraine ; Science and Technology Facilities Council, U.K. ; US Department of Energy ; US National Science Foundation ; Marie-Curie programme (European Union) ; European Research Council (European Union) ; EPLANET (European Union) ; Leventis Foundation ; A. P. Sloan Foundation ; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation ; Belgian Federal Science Policy Office ; Fonds pour la Formation a la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture (FRIA-Belgium) ; Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT-Belgium) ; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) of the Czech Republic ; Council of Science and Industrial Research, India ; HOMING PLUS programme of the Foundation for Polish Science ; European Union, Regional Development Fund ; OPUS programme of the National Science Center (Poland) ; Compagnia di San Paolo (Torino) ; MIUR (Italy) ; Thalis programme - EU-ESF ; Aristeia programme - EU-ESF ; Greek NSRF ; National Priorities Research Program by Qatar National Research Fund ; Rachadapisek Sompot Fund for Postdoctoral Fellowship, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) ; Welch Foundation ; University of Malaya (Malaysia) ; Science and Technology Facilities Council ; Estonian Research Council, Estonia: IUT23-4 ; Estonian Research Council, Estonia: IUT23-6 ; MIUR (Italy): 20108T4XTM ; Welch Foundation: C-1845 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: GRIDPP ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/I000305/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K001256/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/N000250/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/H000925/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/L005603/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/M004775/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/N000242/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K001531/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: PP/E002803/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: CMS ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K003542/1 GRID PP ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K001639/1 CMS Upgrades ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K001639/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/I003622/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/J004871/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/H000925/2 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/J005479/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K003542/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/N001273/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/M002020/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K003542/1 GRIDPP ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/K003224/1 CMS Upgrades ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: PP/E000479/1 ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/M004775/1 GRIDPP ; Science and Technology Facilities Council: ST/I003622/1 GRIDPP ; A first measurement of the top quark spin asymmetry, sensitive to the top quark polarisation, in t-channel single top quark production is presented. It is based on a sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). A high-purity sample of t-channel single top quark events with an isolated muon is selected. Signal and background components are estimated using a fit to data. A differential cross section measurement, corrected for detector effects, of an angular observable sensitive to the top quark polarisation is performed. The differential distribution is used to extract a top quark spin asymmetry of 0.26 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.10(syst), which is compatible with a p-value of 4.6% with the standard model prediction of 0.44.
Background: Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods: This international, prospective, cohort study enrolled 20 006 adult (≥18 years) patients from 466 hospitals in 61 countries with 15 cancer types, who had a decision for curative surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and were followed up until the point of surgery or cessation of follow-up (Aug 31, 2020). Average national Oxford COVID-19 Stringency Index scores were calculated to define the government response to COVID-19 for each patient for the period they awaited surgery, and classified into light restrictions (index 60). The primary outcome was the non-operation rate (defined as the proportion of patients who did not undergo planned surgery). Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to explore the associations between lockdowns and non-operation. Intervals from diagnosis to surgery were compared across COVID-19 government response index groups. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04384926. Findings: Of eligible patients awaiting surgery, 2003 (10·0%) of 20 006 did not receive surgery after a median follow-up of 23 weeks (IQR 16-30), all of whom had a COVID-19-related reason given for non-operation. Light restrictions were associated with a 0·6% non-operation rate (26 of 4521), moderate lockdowns with a 5·5% rate (201 of 3646; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·77-0·84; p<0·0001), and full lockdowns with a 15·0% rate (1775 of 11 827; HR 0·51, 0·50-0·53; p<0·0001). In sensitivity analyses, including adjustment for SARS-CoV-2 case notification rates, moderate lockdowns (HR 0·84, 95% CI 0·80-0·88; p<0·001), and full lockdowns (0·57, 0·54-0·60; p<0·001), remained independently associated with non-operation. Surgery beyond 12 weeks from diagnosis in patients without neoadjuvant therapy increased during lockdowns (374 [9·1%] of 4521 in light restrictions, 317 [10·4%] of 3646 in moderate lockdowns, 2001 [23·8%] of 11 827 in full lockdowns), although there were no differences in resectability rates observed with longer delays. Interpretation: Cancer surgery systems worldwide were fragile to lockdowns, with one in seven patients who were in regions with full lockdowns not undergoing planned surgery and experiencing longer preoperative delays. Although short-term oncological outcomes were not compromised in those selected for surgery, delays and non-operations might lead to long-term reductions in survival. During current and future periods of societal restriction, the resilience of elective surgery systems requires strengthening, which might include protected elective surgical pathways and long-term investment in surge capacity for acute care during public health emergencies to protect elective staff and services.
Background Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods This international, prospective, cohort study enrolled 20 006 adult (≥18 years) patients from 466 hospitals in 61 countries with 15 cancer types, who had a decision for curative surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and were followed up until the point of surgery or cessation of follow-up (Aug 31, 2020). Average national Oxford COVID-19 Stringency Index scores were calculated to define the government response to COVID-19 for each patient for the period they awaited surgery, and classified into light restrictions (index 60). The primary outcome was the non-operation rate (defined as the proportion of patients who did not undergo planned surgery). Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to explore the associations between lockdowns and non-operation. Intervals from diagnosis to surgery were compared across COVID-19 government response index groups. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04384926. Findings Of eligible patients awaiting surgery, 2003 (10·0%) of 20 006 did not receive surgery after a median follow-up of 23 weeks (IQR 16–30), all of whom had a COVID-19-related reason given for non-operation. Light restrictions were associated with a 0·6% non-operation rate (26 of 4521), moderate lockdowns with a 5·5% rate (201 of 3646; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·77–0·84; p<0·0001), and full lockdowns with a 15·0% rate (1775 of 11 827; HR 0·51, 0·50–0·53; p<0·0001). In sensitivity analyses, including adjustment for SARS-CoV-2 case notification rates, moderate lockdowns (HR 0·84, 95% CI 0·80–0·88; p<0·001), and full lockdowns (0·57, 0·54–0·60; p<0·001), remained independently associated with non-operation. Surgery beyond 12 weeks from diagnosis in patients without neoadjuvant therapy increased during lockdowns (374 [9·1%] of 4521 in light restrictions, 317 [10·4%] of 3646 in moderate lockdowns, 2001 [23·8%] of 11 827 in full lockdowns), although there were no differences in resectability rates observed with longer delays. Interpretation Cancer surgery systems worldwide were fragile to lockdowns, with one in seven patients who were in regions with full lockdowns not undergoing planned surgery and experiencing longer preoperative delays. Although short-term oncological outcomes were not compromised in those selected for surgery, delays and non-operations might lead to long-term reductions in survival. During current and future periods of societal restriction, the resilience of elective surgery systems requires strengthening, which might include protected elective surgical pathways and long-term investment in surge capacity for acute care during public health emergencies to protect elective staff and services. Funding National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, Medtronic, Sarcoma UK, The Urology Foundation, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Background Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods This international, prospective, cohort study enrolled 20 006 adult (≥18 years) patients from 466 hospitals in 61 countries with 15 cancer types, who had a decision for curative surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and were followed up until the point of surgery or cessation of follow-up (Aug 31, 2020). Average national Oxford COVID-19 Stringency Index scores were calculated to define the government response to COVID-19 for each patient for the period they awaited surgery, and classified into light restrictions (index 60). The primary outcome was the non-operation rate (defined as the proportion of patients who did not undergo planned surgery). Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to explore the associations between lockdowns and non-operation. Intervals from diagnosis to surgery were compared across COVID-19 government response index groups. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04384926. Findings Of eligible patients awaiting surgery, 2003 (10·0%) of 20 006 did not receive surgery after a median follow-up of 23 weeks (IQR 16–30), all of whom had a COVID-19-related reason given for non-operation. Light restrictions were associated with a 0·6% non-operation rate (26 of 4521), moderate lockdowns with a 5·5% rate (201 of 3646; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·77–0·84; p<0·0001), and full lockdowns with a 15·0% rate (1775 of 11 827; HR 0·51, 0·50–0·53; p<0·0001). In sensitivity analyses, including adjustment for SARS-CoV-2 case notification rates, moderate lockdowns (HR 0·84, 95% CI 0·80–0·88; p<0·001), and full lockdowns (0·57, 0·54–0·60; p<0·001), remained independently associated with non-operation. Surgery beyond 12 weeks from diagnosis in patients without neoadjuvant therapy increased during lockdowns (374 [9·1%] of 4521 in light restrictions, 317 [10·4%] of 3646 in moderate lockdowns, 2001 [23·8%] of 11827 in full lockdowns), although there were no differences in resectability rates observed with longer delays. Interpretation Cancer surgery systems worldwide were fragile to lockdowns, with one in seven patients who were in regions with full lockdowns not undergoing planned surgery and experiencing longer preoperative delays. Although short-term oncological outcomes were not compromised in those selected for surgery, delays and non-operations might lead to long-term reductions in survival. During current and future periods of societal restriction, the resilience of elective surgery systems requires strengthening, which might include protected elective surgical pathways and long- term investment in surge capacity for acute care during public health emergencies to protect elective staff and services. Funding National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, Medtronic, Sarcoma UK, The Urology Foundation, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research.