The effect of different COVID-19 public health restrictions on mobility: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have introduced non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as stay-at-home orders, to reduce person-to-person contact and break trains of transmission. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effect of different public health restrictions on mobility across different countries and cultures. The University of Bern COVID-19 Living Evidence database of COVID-19 and SARS-COV-2 publications was searched for retrospective or prospective studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions on Google Mobility. Titles and abstracts were independently screened by two authors. Information from included studies was extracted by one researcher and double checked by another. Risk of bias of included articles was assessed using the Newcastle Ottowa Scale. Given the heterogeneous nature of the designs used, a narrative synthesis was undertaken. From the search, 1672 references were identified, of which 14 were included in the narrative synthesis. All studies reported data from the first wave of the pandemic, with Google Mobility Scores included from January to August 2020, with most studies analysing data during the first two months of the pandemic. Seven studies were assessed as having a moderate risk of bias and seven as a low risk of bias. Countries that introduced more stringent public health restrictions experienced greater reductions in mobility, through increased time at home and reductions in visits to shops, workplaces and use of public transport. Stay-at-home orders were the most effective of the individual strategies, whereas mask mandates had little effect of mobility. CONCLUSIONS: Public health restrictions, particularly stay-at-home orders have significantly impacted on transmission prevention behaviours. Further research is required to understand how to effectively address pandemic fatigue and to support the safe return back to normal day-to-day behaviours.

Investigating the effects of reduced size on the properties of ferroelectrics.

A series of experiments has been undertaken to understand more about the fundamental origin of the thickness-induced permittivity collapse often observed in conventional thin film ferroelectric heterostructures. The various experiments are discussed, highlighting the eventual need to examine permittivity collapse in thin film single crystal material. It has been seen that dielectric collapse is not a direct consequence of reduced size, and neither is it a consequence of unavoidable physics associated with the ferroelectric-electrode boundary. Research on three-dimensional shape-constrained ferroelectrics, emphasizing self-assembled structures based on nanoporous alumina templates and on FIB-milled single crystals, is also presented, and appears to represent an exciting area for ongoing research.