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This study investigates the resilience dynamics of the Maldives’ tourism sector through a longitudinal analysis of tourist arrivals from six global regions (2008–2024), focusing on spatiotemporal behavioral shifts induced by external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using ANOVA and time-series data, the
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This study investigates the resilience dynamics of the Maldives’ tourism sector through a longitudinal analysis of tourist arrivals from six global regions (2008–2024), focusing on spatiotemporal behavioral shifts induced by external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using ANOVA and time-series data, the findings reveal divergent recovery trajectories across regions, highlighting resilience as a differentiated and adaptive process. European markets exhibited a rapid, V-shaped rebound, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 2022, reflecting the “One Island, One Resort” model’s alignment with post-crisis preferences for safety, isolation, and controlled environments. Conversely, Asian markets experienced a more gradual, L-shaped recovery due to extended mobility restrictions and slower border reopening. The analysis further demonstrates that tourism seasonality has been structurally reconfigured, with European arrivals still driven by climatic “push” factors (winter-sun demand). In contrast, Middle Eastern travel is anchored in cultural and religious “pull” factors, such as halal tourism and school vacations. These findings emphasize that tourism resilience is spatially, temporally, and behaviorally contingent, rather than uniform. Accordingly, policymakers should move beyond one-size-fits-all recovery models and implement spatially targeted, adaptive strategies, including customized marketing, diversified tourism offerings, and crisis-ready governance frameworks, to mitigate seasonality and reinforce the Maldives’ long-term capacity to withstand future shocks.
Full article
Although vaccination for COVID-19 and mask wearing were two of the main preventive measures against infection, their impact is unclear. In the present study, by using national surveillance data in Japan, we compared the incidence rate and weekly case increase ratios of COVID-19
[...] Read more.
Although vaccination for COVID-19 and mask wearing were two of the main preventive measures against infection, their impact is unclear. In the present study, by using national surveillance data in Japan, we compared the incidence rate and weekly case increase ratios of COVID-19 with the domestic stocks of masks and vaccination coverage. The trajectory of epidemic growth increased rapidly in the summer of 2021, concomitant with the launch of the mass national vaccination program. The most rapid spread of the epidemic was found in 2022, approximately 6 months after the national mass vaccination started, with the emergence of the Omicron variant. From 2022, two annual epidemic peaks occurred with seasonal changes. Whilst the winter peak follows the expected seasonal trend in respiratory infections, the summer peak may reflect a combination of short-term herd immunity and behavioral patterns. Nevertheless, these epidemic peaks continued irrespective of vaccine coverage and mask use. Further analysis into the duration of protective efficacy of the vaccines and mask use is required.
Full article
The contribution of SARS-CoV-2 infection to the severity of placental alterations in preeclampsia remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the morphological changes in placentas of women who experienced COVID-19 during pregnancy, with a focus on the presence or absence of preeclampsia. Materials [...] Read more.
The contribution of SARS-CoV-2 infection to the severity of placental alterations in preeclampsia remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the morphological changes in placentas of women who experienced COVID-19 during pregnancy, with a focus on the presence or absence of preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: The study included placentas from: (1) patients with both COVID-19 during pregnancy and preeclampsia (n = 20, 2022); (2) patients with COVID-19 during pregnancy without preeclampsia (n = 20, 2022); (3) patients with preeclampsia but without COVID-19 (n = 5, 2019); (4) patients with physiological pregnancies without COVID-19 or gestational complications (n = 5, 2019). Histological and immunohistochemical examinations of the placentas were performed using antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, DPP4 (CD26), and VEGF. Results: Placentas from patients with both COVID-19 and preeclampsia demonstrated the most pronounced stromal and vascular alterations, including pseudo-infarctions and villous fibrosis. Chorangiosis, excessive fibrinoid deposition in the intervillous space, and accelerated villous maturation with an increased number of syncytial knots were more common in the preeclampsia groups, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection. Symptomatic forms of coronavirus infection were associated with more severe manifestations of malperfusion. Expression of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was detected in 78% of syncytiotrophoblast cells and 37% of decidual cells in 28 of 40 placentas from women with previous COVID-19, while its presence in the vascular endothelium, macrophages, and villous fibroblasts was focal, as was CD26 expression. VEGF expression did not differ significantly between patients with and without COVID-19. Conclusions: COVID-19 is associated with more pronounced stromal–vascular alterations in the placenta; however, not all of these changes are directly caused by the virus itself but rather reflect the severe course of preeclampsia. Inflammatory alterations are nonspecific for COVID-19, even though CD26 and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are detectable in nearly all placental structures, whereas VEGF levels remain comparable to those observed in placentas prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
Full article
The teacher–student relationship is often more strongly associated with learning outcomes than the family relationship during emerging adulthood, primarily through self-efficacy. However, most of these findings are based on offline contexts, where teachers interact with students face-to-face and families remain relatively distant. Online
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The teacher–student relationship is often more strongly associated with learning outcomes than the family relationship during emerging adulthood, primarily through self-efficacy. However, most of these findings are based on offline contexts, where teachers interact with students face-to-face and families remain relatively distant. Online learning may involve different dynamics, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when families became more engaged and teacher–student interactions were digitally mediated. These shifts may also reshape the traditionally blurred boundaries between parental and teacher roles in China, where teachers are often regarded as quasi-parental figures. Therefore, it is necessary to re-examine and compare the relative contributions of family and teacher–student relationships to online learning outcomes. Data were collected from 1793 university students (Mage = 21.28, SD = 2.26; 50.08% male) across 32 provinces in China. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapping was used to test mediation and compare direct and indirect effects. The results showed that (a) both family and teacher–student relationships were positively associated with online learning outcomes via self-efficacy, and (b) although total effects were similar, the teacher–student relationship exhibited a stronger indirect effect. These findings suggest that family relationships primarily offer emotional and environmental support, maintaining background stability, whereas teacher–student relationships foster the cognitive–motivational processes underlying autonomous learning. They may play complementary roles in online learning within the Chinese higher education, where schools retain instructional authority even in digital environments and families continue to act as educational mediators.
Full article
The COVID-19 outbreak has had a tremendous socioeconomic impact around the world, and although there are currently some drugs that have been granted authorization by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of COVID-19, there are still some restrictions on their use. As a
[...] Read more.
The COVID-19 outbreak has had a tremendous socioeconomic impact around the world, and although there are currently some drugs that have been granted authorization by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of COVID-19, there are still some restrictions on their use. As a result, it is still necessary to urgently carry out related drug development research. Deep generative models and cheminformatics were used in this study to design and screen novel candidates for potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 small molecule compounds. In this study, the small molecule structure of Molnupiravir which has been authorized by the U.S. FDA for emergency use was used to be a model in a similarity search based on the BIOVIA Available Chemicals Directory (BIOVIA ACD) database using the BIOVIA Discovery Studio (DS) software (version 2022). There were 61,480 similar structures of Molnupiravir, which were used as training dataset for the deep generative model, and then the reinforcement learning model was used to generate 6000 small molecule structures. To further confirm whether those molecule structures potentially possess the ability of anti-SARS-CoV-2, cheminformatics techniques were used to assess 38 small molecule compounds with potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The suitability of 38 small molecule structures was calculated using ADMET analysis. Finally, one compound structure, Molecule_36, passed ADMET and was unpatented. This study demonstrates that Molecule_36 may have better potential than Molnupiravir does in affinity with SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and ADMET. We provide a combination of generative deep neural networks and cheminformatics for developing new anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds. However, additional chemical refinement and experimental validation will be required to determine its stability, mechanism of action, and antiviral efficacy.
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This study employs a modern GARCH framework to conduct a comparative analysis of the volatility transmission between crude oil prices and a comprehensive set of financial assets, including sectoral equities, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies, across oil-exporting and oil-importing countries. Our central finding reveals
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This study employs a modern GARCH framework to conduct a comparative analysis of the volatility transmission between crude oil prices and a comprehensive set of financial assets, including sectoral equities, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies, across oil-exporting and oil-importing countries. Our central finding reveals a stark pre-pandemic dichotomy: before COVID-19, oil price volatility exhibited a significant positive correlation with nearly all sectoral stock returns in oil-exporting countries (the United States and Canada), reflecting a systemic, demand-driven linkage. In contrast, this relationship was largely insignificant in oil-importing countries (the United Kingdom, France, and Japan), with the exception of the energy sector. The COVID-19 crisis temporarily erased this fundamental distinction, as sectoral stock markets in both country groups moved in significant positive correlation with oil, driven by the synchronized global demand shock. This transition underscores that the oil–equity relationship is structurally determined by a country’s net oil trade position, a dynamic that can be overridden during systemic global crises. These findings offer crucial insights for international portfolio diversification and risk management.
Full article
submission deadline 31 Dec 2025
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Submission Open
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 complications; SARS-CoV2 prognostic and predictive biomarkers; long COVID-19 and autoimmune disease; COVID-19 and microbiome; artificial intelligence
The first webinar in the series, held on 17 April 2020, saw both Prof. Dr. Antoine Flahault, Director of the Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Prof. Dr. Evelyne Bischof, Associate Professor, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, China and Research physician, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland speak on this topic.
The second webinar in the series, entitled “Coronaviruses: history, replication, innate immune antagonism”, saw Prof. Dr. Susan R. Weiss, Professor of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania speak on this topic.
WEBINAR 3: Could the COVID-19 Crisis be the Opportunity to Make Cities Carbon Neutral, Liveable and Healthy
The third webinar in this series was presented by Prof. Dr. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, a world leading expert in environmental exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health risk/impact assessment with a strong focus and interest on healthy urban living.
WEBINAR 4: COVID-19 - Global Supply Chains and the SDGs
For the fourth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Max Bergman, Dr. Dorothea Schostok and Prof. Dr. Patrick Paul Walsh gave a presentation on Global Supply Chains and the SDGs.
WEBINAR 5: The New Role of Family Physicians in Times of COVID-19
The fifth webinar of the COVID-19 Series saw Prof. Dr. Christos Lionis discuss the new role of family physicians that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WEBINAR 6: Survey on Symptoms/Signs, Protective Measures, Level of Awareness and Perception Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak among Dentists
In the sixth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Guglielmo Campus and Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia present and discuss the risk and the preventions that can and should be taken by dentists during this pandemic.
WEBINAR 7: Living with COVID-19: An Early Intervention Therapeutic Strategy to Control the Pandemic
The seventh webinar of the COVID-19 series, Dr. Hamid Merchant discussed the different therapeutic strategies that can be adopted in the early stages of the infection.
WEBINAR 8: Impact of COVID-19 on Routine Immunization, Reproduction and Pregnancy Outcome
For the eighth COVID-19 webinar, Prof. Dr. Jon Øyvind Odland discussed the effect that COVID-19 seems to have on pregnant women; whereas Prof. Dr. Giovanni Gabutti discussed the role of routine immunization as a way of fighting COVID-19.
