Long-term effect of childhood pandemic experience on medical major choice: Evidence from the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in China.

This study examines the long-term effect of a pandemic on a crucial human capital decision, namely college major choice. Using China's 2008-2016 major-level National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) entry grades, we find that the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) had a substantial deterrent effect on the choice of majoring in medicine among high school graduates who experienced the pandemic in their childhood. In provinces with larger intensities of SARS impact, medical majors become less popular as the average Gaokao grades of enrolled students decline. Further evidence from a nationally representative survey shows that the intensity of the SARS impact significantly decreases children's aspirations to pursue medical occupations, but does not affect their parents' expectations for their children to enter the medical profession. Our discussion on the effect mechanism suggests that the adverse influence of SARS on the popularity of medical majors likely originates from students' childhood experiences.

Effect of ambient air pollutants and meteorological variables on COVID-19 incidence.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether ambient air pollutants and meteorological variables are associated with daily COVID-19 incidence. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort from January 25 to February 29, 2020. SETTING: Cities of Wuhan, Xiaogan, and Huanggang, China. PATIENTS: The COVID-19 cases detected each day. METHODS: We collected daily data of COVID-19 incidence, 8 ambient air pollutants (particulate matter of ≤2.5 µm [PM2.5], particulate matter ≤10 µm [PM10], sulfur dioxide [SO2], carbon monoxide [CO], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], and maximum 8-h moving average concentrations for ozone [O3-8h]) and 3 meteorological variables (temperature, relative humidity, and wind) in China's 3 worst COVID-19-stricken cities during the study period. The multivariate Poisson regression was performed to understand their correlation. RESULTS: Daily COVID-19 incidence was positively associated with PM2.5 and humidity in all cities. Specifically, the relative risk (RR) of PM2.5 for daily COVID-19 incidences were 1.036 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.032-1.039) in Wuhan, 1.059 (95% CI, 1.046-1.072) in Xiaogan, and 1.144 (95% CI, 1.12-1.169) in Huanggang. The RR of humidity for daily COVID-19 incidence was consistently lower than that of PM2.5, and this difference ranged from 0.027 to 0.111. Moreover, PM10 and temperature also exhibited a notable correlation with daily COVID-19 incidence, but in a negative pattern The RR of PM10 for daily COVID-19 incidence ranged from 0.915 (95% CI, 0.896-0.934) to 0.961 (95% CI, 0.95-0.972, while that of temperature ranged from 0.738 (95% CI, 0.717-0.759) to 0.969 (95% CI, 0.966-0.973). CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that PM2.5 and humidity are substantially associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 and that PM10 and temperature are substantially associated with a decreased risk of COVID-19.

Air pollution and temperature are associated with increased COVID-19 incidence: A time series study.

OBJECTIVES: Although COVID-19 is known to be caused by human-to-human transmission, it remains largely unclear whether ambient air pollutants and meteorological parameters could promote its transmission. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to study whether air quality index (AQI), four ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and CO) and five meteorological variables (daily temperature, highest temperature, lowest temperature, temperature difference and sunshine duration) could increase COVID-19 incidence in Wuhan and XiaoGan between Jan 26th to Feb 29th in 2020. RESULTS: First, a significant correlation was found between COVID-19 incidence and AQI in both Wuhan (R2=0.13, p<0.05) and XiaoGan (R2=0.223, p<0.01). Specifically, among four pollutants, COVID-19 incidence was prominently correlated with PM2.5 and NO2 in both cities. In Wuhan, the tightest correlation was observed between NO2 and COVID-19 incidence (R2=0.329, p<0.01). In XiaoGan, in addition to the PM2.5 (R2=0.117, p<0.01) and NO2 (R2=0.015, p<0.05), a notable correlation was also observed between the PM10 and COVID-19 incidence (R2=0.105, p<0.05). Moreover, temperature is the only meteorological parameter that constantly correlated well with COVID-19 incidence in both Wuhan and XiaoGan, but in an inverse correlation (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AQI, PM2.5, NO2, and temperature are four variables that could promote the sustained transmission of COVID-19.

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on career development: Insights from cultural psychology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant global crisis that requires individuals, organizations and nations to take necessary steps to cope. To develop a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals' career development and possible coping strategies, we adopt a cultural psychological perspective to analyze: (1) how internalized cultural orientations (e.g., values, thinking styles, regulatory focus) may shape individual responses and coping strategies to COVID-19 pandemic; (2) how national culture influences the collective actions and norms during COVID-19 pandemic; (3) how to integrate insights from cultural psychology to enrich research on career management strategies in response to a fast changing environment. While this paper primarily focuses on the role of national culture (i.e., the shared meanings and practices in a nation), these discussions can largely be applied to other cultural settings. Practical implications are also discussed.