Logistics and supply chain management of food industry during COVID-19: disruptions and a recovery plan

Hospital pharmacists' mental health during home isolation in the post-pandemic era of COVID-19: influencing factors, coping strategies, and the mediating effect of resilience

Objective

There is a notable research gap on the mental health challenges faced by hospital pharmacists in the post-pandemic era. Therefore, the present study aims to explore mental health status, influencing factors, coping strategies, and the mediating effect of resilience of home quarantine hospital pharmacists (HQHPs).

Methods

An embedded mixed-method study was conducted in Zhengzhou, a megalopolis in central China, from 20 October to 3 November 2022. For the qualitative study, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among HQHPs to understand their mental health state，the factors that affect their mental health, and the alleviating strategies they used. For the quantitative study, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25) were used to explore the mental health level of HQHPs. Meanwhile, the mediating effect of resilience was explored and verified with the bootstrap method or the structural equation model.

Results

20 HQHPs participated in the qualitative study. Two themes were identified in terms of the factors that influenced the HQHPs' mental health levels. The positive factors include optimism, family company, and connection with friends, while the negative factors include inadequate supplies, inadequate information, and other emergencies. 210 HQHPs participated in the quantitative study, with a median resilience score of 66 [55.75, 74] in the lowest score range and an anxiety score of 5 [2, 7] in the mild anxiety range. The correlation analysis showed that nine of the 10 influencing factors identified in qualitative research were positively correlated with CD-RISC-25 scores and negatively correlated with the GAD-7 score. The mediating effect of resilience on anxiety was significant (95% bootstrap CI [-1.818, -0.384], p<0.001; or 95% bootstrap CI [-1.174, -0.430], p<0.001).

Conclusion

Even in the post-epidemic era, hospital pharmacists face psychological challenges. They actively address these issues based on accumulated experience and a stabilized mindset. In this process, resilience plays a significant mediating role.

Microbes of traditional fermentation processes as synthetic biology chassis to tackle future food challenges

Microbial diversity is magnificent and essential to almost all life on Earth. Microbes are an essential part of every human, allowing us to utilize otherwise inaccessible resources. It is no surprise that humans started, initially unconsciously, domesticating microbes for food production: one may call this microbial domestication 1.0. Sourdough bread is just one of the miracles performed by microbial fermentation, allowing extraction of more nutrients from flour and at the same time creating a fluffy and delicious loaf. There are a broad range of products the production of which requires fermentation such as chocolate, cheese, coffee and vinegar. Eventually, with the rise of microscopy, humans became aware of microbial life. Today our knowledge and technological advances allow us to genetically engineer microbes - one may call this microbial domestication 2.0. Synthetic biology and microbial chassis adaptation allow us to tackle current and future food challenges. One of the most apparent challenges is the limited space on Earth available for agriculture and its major tolls on the environment through use of pesticides and the replacement of ecosystems with monocultures. Further challenges include transport and packaging, exacerbated by the 24/7 on-demand mentality of many customers. Synthetic biology already tackles multiple food challenges and will be able to tackle many future food challenges. In this perspective article, we highlight recent microbial synthetic biology research to address future food challenges. We further give a perspective on how synthetic biology tools may teach old microbes new tricks, and what standardized microbial domestication could look like.