title: Histopathologische Befunde bei therapierter und nichttherapierter SARS-CoV-2-Infektion – Bericht über 3 Autopsien

text: According to the current state of knowledge, several internal organs are usually involved in cases of SARS-CoV‑2 infections with a fatal course. Pathological changes are primarily found in lung tissues but there are also reports concerning direct or indirect (histo)pathological changes due to SARS-CoV‑2 infections in samples from the kidneys, liver and myocardium. Comparing three fatal cases associated with SARS-CoV‑2 infections in men using conventional histological staining, there were partly identical findings that enabled interpretations with respect to the chronology and pathophysiology of the disease. Of the men two were invasively ventilated in the intensive care unit and one man died after 8 days in domestic quarantine without treatment. A wide spectrum of findings potentially associated with SARS-CoV‑2 must be taken into account.


title: Oseltamivir bij infectie door een humaan coronavirus: Post-hocanalyse van gegevens uit 2016-2018

text: In een onderzoek tijdens 3 griepseizoenen tussen 2016 en 2018 bleek dat patiënten met griepachtige klachten een dag sneller herstelden wanneer oseltamivir werd toegevoegd aan de gebruikelijke zorg. Een nadere analyse laat zien dat dat niet alleen zo was bij influenza-infectie, maar ook bij infectie met humane coronavirussen.


title: In fighting common threats, people’s deep commitment to taking collective action matters: examples from China’s COVID-19 battle and her other combats

text: In fighting against common threats to human survival and well-being, be they from natural disaster or human conflict, people’s commitment to taking collective action matters and can make a huge or even decisive difference. Throughout human history, there is a myriad of powerful examples from around the world in which people’s deep commitment to taking collective action changed the course of combat against common threats. These examples are invaluable heritages that belong to the entire humanity. At this critical juncture in human history, they can help cultivate a greater sense of optimism among all the people in the world both in the present fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. To this end, in this showcase article, we present examples of this kind from China’s ongoing COVID-19 battle, and from two of her many historical combats.


title: Acute Lung Injury and Non-infectious Pneumonias

text: Lung injury can occur secondary to a myriad of causes, including infection, immunologic disorders, drug toxicity, or inhalational injury among others. Although the list of causative agents is long, the lung’s response to injury is limited resulting in similar patterns of disease irrespective of the cause. From a pathological perspective, acute lung injury refers to a group of entities that present with acute or subacute disease. These conditions are characterized by particular histological patterns including diffuse alveolar damage, acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia, organizing pneumonia, and eosinophilic pneumonia and clinically correspond to the varying degrees of acute respiratory distress syndrome (Patel et al, Chest 125:197–202, 2004; Beasley et al, Arch Pathol Lab Med 126:1064–1070, 2002; Avecillas et al, Clin Chest Med 27:549–557, 2006; Cottin, Cordier, Semin Respir Crit Care Med 33:462–475, 2012; Ferguson et al, Intensive Care Med 38:1573–1582, 2012). In most cases, the underlying cause will not be apparent from the histological findings requiring close correlation with clinical history and laboratory findings to determine the etiology. Nevertheless, careful search for infectious organisms with application of histochemical and immunohistochemical stains should be performed in all cases in order to identify cases that benefit from more targeted treatment.


title: Infectious Lung Disease

text: Infectious diseases are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. With new pathogens continuously emerging, known infectious diseases reemerging, increasing microbial resistance to antimicrobial agents, global environmental change, ease of world travel, and an increasing immunosuppressed population, recognition of infectious diseases plays an ever-important role in surgical pathology. This becomes particularly significant in cases where infectious disease is not suspected clinically and the initial diagnostic workup fails to include samples for culture. As such, it is not uncommon that a lung biopsy becomes the only material available in the diagnostic process of an infectious disease. Once the infectious nature of the pathological process is established, careful search for the causative agent is advised. This can often be achieved by examination of the hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections alone as many organisms or their cytopathic effects are visible on routine staining. However, ancillary studies such as histochemical stains, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, or molecular techniques may be needed to identify the organism in tissue sections or for further characterization, such as speciation.


title: Editorial comment on: Global burden of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers

text: This is an important paper but from my personal observations of how we are handling the pandemic in hospitals, it is perhaps not the risk of dealing with the patients that is the problem. In my institution, we have been fortunate to have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and we are well protected when entering the ward environment. However, wearing PPE is uncomfortable and it is disposed of on leaving the patient's room. Staff then congregate at the nurses' station and in the offices, where it is impossible to observe social isolation. I believe that the main threat to healthcare workers its other healthcare workers! We have had ward-based outbreaks with staff all contracting the virus simultaneously, presumably from an asymptomatic carrier in the workplace. This issue needs to be urgently addressed.


docid: dkukwnov

title: Ventilating two patients with one ventilator: technical setup and laboratory testing

text: With a modified circuit, it is feasible to ventilate two patients with one ventilator over a relevant range of compliances. Adding inspiratory resistance allows individual titration of tidal volume, and incorporating one-way valves prevents pendelluft. https://bit.ly/3ex8SYP


title: Global burden of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers

text: Provision of PPE, placing experienced HCWs mostly in organisational positions, increasing testing, minimising exposure by adjusting shift schedules, and providing food and sleep facilities could be some restorative measures to protect HCWs from #COVID19 https://bit.ly/2zcVARW


title: COVID-19 necrotising pneumonia and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a challenge for anticoagulation

text: ECMO and curative anticoagulation may be associated with severe bleeding events in #COVID19 pneumonia. ECMO and high levels of anticoagulation must be considered with caution in the most severe patients with #SARS-CoV-2 necrotising pneumonia. https://bit.ly/3clhu31


title: Alteration of Liver Biomarkers in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

text: INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China and spread worldwide. In this study, we assessed the characteristics of markers of the liver in patients with COVID-19 to provide new insights in improving clinical treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We recruited 279 patients who confirmed COVID-19 and the data of liver biomarkers and complete blood count of patients were defined as the day onset when the patients admitted to the hospital. RESULTS: The average of LDH value was 621.29 U/L in all patients with COVID-19, and CPK was 286.90 U/L. The average AST was 44.03 U/L in all patients, and ALT was 31.14 U/L. The AST/ALT ratio was 1.64 in all patients. The measurement of CRP was increased by 79.93% in all patients. Average ALT and AST values of patients with elevated ALT were significantly increased in comparison to patients with normal ALT (P-value = 0.001), while AST/ALT ratio was significantly decreased compared to patients with normal ALT (P-value= 0.014). In addition, the average LDH of patients with elevated ALT was significantly increased compared to patients with normal ALT (P-value = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Hepatic injury and abnormal liver enzymes related to COVID-19 infection is an acute non-specific inflammation alteration.


Wirkung der Corona-Krise auf die Staatsfinanzen


title: Investitionen und Konsum: wirtschaftspolitische Handlungsoptionen zur Jahresmitte 2020

text: The historically unprecedented slump in overall economic output due to the coronavirus crisis creates an urgency for economic policy responses. Demandside measures must be timely, targeted, and temporary. Addressing policy objectives beyond the economic recovery should not be the focus right now. A package of measures ranging from tax cuts to direct payments is appropriate.


Das EU-Budget in der Corona-Krise


Die europäische Antwort auf die Corona-Pandemie


title: Die Europäische Union in der Corona-Krise

text: The Coronavirus crisis has affected al of thel member states in the European Union — but some earlier and harder than others. A large rescue package is to be set up, the financing, conditions and possible requirements of which are still being disputed by EU members. The levels at which the measures are to be organised have not yet been established either. What is the importance of the national level or the supranational leves? Is it primarily about the European Monetary Union or about the EU as a whole? Solidarity is not only required by the European idea, but also by economic necessity, since the member states are strongly connected by their supply chains.


Europa in der Corona-Krise: Welche Maßnahmen sind nötig und auf welcher Ebene sollten sie ansetzen?


title: The Italian value chain in the pandemic: the input–output impact of Covid-19 lockdown

text: This paper investigates the role of the domestic value chain in transmitting the economic impact of Covid-19 lockdown measures. By employing techniques of complex networks analysis and input–output traditional tools, the study identifies those sectors that are key in the complex structure of the Italian supply chain and provides different rankings of the most ‘systemically important’ industries involved in the Covid-19 lockdown. The results suggest that by stopping the production process of many key sectors, the lockdown has led to a drop in input and output that, in turn, has generated a lock of about 52% of total circulating value added, 30% of which has been locked within indirect value chains. Further, by adding sectoral physical proximity indexes to the scenarios analysis, the method developed here provides a tool to guide governments in designing safe and efficient reopening policies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s40812-020-00164-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.


Ausnahmeföderalismus als Dauerzustand


Niere und Infektionen


title: Corona-Krise: die transformative Rezession

text: With the Corona crisis, unemployment is increasing in Germany despite all the countermeasures taken. In previous recessions, unemployment of the low-skilled in particular has become entrenched. Today, it is becoming apparent that technological change is also affecting medium-skilled workers in particular. In order to avoid consolidation, it is important to promote new hires, support qualification and enable vocational reorientation.


docid: bmfwdlmd

title: Local capacity, innovative entrepreneurial places and global connections: an overview

text: The globalisation trend of the past few decades, driven to a large extent by the proliferation of GVCs, has led to a set of significant changes in patterns of technology upgrading and new modes of interaction between domestic technology efforts and external sources of technological knowledge. Whether this new dynamic will lead to continuing increase in the economic importance of emerging economies will ultimately depend on whether their productivity growth will be driven by technology upgrading, requiring active and coordinated activity orchestrated by a variety of state and non-state actors under diverse sectoral, regional and national innovation systems. The new dynamic also reinforces the focus on local–global interfaces which becomes ever more important once we recognize that in the 21st century technology upgrading challenges depend much more on improvements in connectivity and on the industrial ecosystem. Still, the globalization process experienced in the past few decades—reflected in this collection of papers—may need to be recalibrated in the face of the drastic geopolitical changes that the process itself has brought about.


title: The Return of Fiscal Policy and the Euro Area Fiscal Rule

text: The text describes the theoretical developments of the assignment rules regarding fiscal and monetary policies and the respective roles in macroeconomics stabilisation. Monetary policy emerged as the dominant policy, reducing the active macro-role of fiscal policy to taking care of debt sustainability. This consensus started to change, and a new view has appeared, giving a more active role to fiscal policy. The article concludes with a brief analysis of fiscal rules, followed by a discussion about the European Union fiscal framework, and its necessary revision.


title: Räumliche Ausbreitung von COVID-19 durch interregionale Verflechtungen

text: The coronavirus has plunged the global economy into crisis. Since the beginning of March, contact and exit restrictions and bans on business activities have been imposed in Germany, schools have been closed, child care has been suspended, and strict hygiene regulations have been issued. In the meantime, the number of reported new infections has been significantly reduced and the German healthcare system does not appear to be overburdened to date. This is one of the reasons why there is now an intensive debate about easing the regulations, which would allow additional economic activity. The article also examines commuter links and the role they have played in the spread of COVID-19 in Germany as well as bad weather conditions and a high population density.


Human H9N2 Avian Influenza Infection: Epidemiological and Clinical Characterization of 16 Cases in China


Addressing Welsh needs


Sustainability in a COVID-19 world


Clarification on SEISS


title: Disrupted classes, undisrupted learning during COVID-19 outbreak in China: application of open educational practices and resources

text: With the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China, the Chinese government decided to ban any type of face-to-face teaching, disrupting classes and resulting in over 270 million students being unable to return to their universities/schools. Therefore, the Ministry of Education (MoE) launched an initiative titled ‘Ensuring learning undisrupted when classes are disrupted’ by reforming the entire educational system and including an online education component. However, this quick reform in this unexpected critical situation of widespread COVID-19 cases harbours several challenges, such as the lack of time and teacher/student isolation. This paper discusses the possibility of using open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) as an effective educational solution to overcome these challenges. Particularly, this study presents a generic OEP framework built on existing open-practice definitions. It then presents, based on this framework and based on the challenges reported by several Chinese education specialists during two national online seminars, a set of guidelines for the effective use of OER and OEP for both teaching and learning. Finally, this study presents some recommendations for the better adoption of OER and OEP in the future. The findings of this study can help researchers and educators apply OER and OEP for better learning experiences and outcomes during the COVID-19 outbreak.


Non vitae sed scientiam discimus. Oder: Warum forschen wir?


What are you?


What now for staff appraisals?


Jason Wong new Deputy Chief Dental Officer


Time to come together


What is the BDA doing to support the next generation of dentists?


What will Direct Access look like?


What does the future hold for the workforce of tomorrow?


title: An Overview of Coronavirus COVID-19 with their Pathogenesis and Risk Assessment of the Disease Utilizing Positive Predictive Value of the Clinical and Laboratory Data

text: COVID-19 has created a devastating pandemic, infecting more than 200 countries in its wake, only sparing Antarctica. The virus dissociates ferrous ion from the porphyrin ring of heme of haemoglobin—thus hampering the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the lung and tissue. The toxic effect of ferrous (Fe(2+)) ions and carbon dioxide causes lung damage giving rise to severe respiratory distress and an often observed clotting disorder. Serum ferritin level is increased along with the rise of serum LDH, d-dimer, serum IL-6 and cardiac troponin. Associated leukocytosis, occasional lymphocytopenia and radiological changes of the lung are the pathological hallmarks of the disease. All these parameters including other clinical data such as age, fever, gender and associated co-morbidities may be used as a Risk Assessment tool for COVID-19 before the report of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) is available. A timely intervention can contribute to rescuing millions from an untimely death.


title: Enchantment - Disenchantment-Re-Enchantment: Postdigital Relationships between Science, Philosophy, and Religion

text: This collectively written article explores postdigital relationships between science, philosophy, and religion within the continuum of enchantment, disenchantment, and re-enchantment. Contributions are broadly classified within four sections related to academic fields of philosophy, theology, critical theory, and postdigital studies. The article reveals complex and nuanced relationships between various disciplinary perspectives, religions, and political positions, and points towards lot of commonalities between their views to the enchantment, disenchantment, re-enchantment continuum. Some commonly discussed questions include: Where do the mythical, mystical and spiritual end and the rational, objective and empirical begin? How do we find our bearings in the midst of this complexity and where do we search for resources that are trustworthy and reliable? While the article inevitably offers more questions than answers, a common thread between all contributions is the need for an open postdigital dialogue conducted in the spirit of mutual understanding and respect. It is with this conclusion that the article offers a possible route for further development of such dialogue in the future.


Children's oral health


Five essentials for patient-centered communication during synchronous teledentistry


A good fit with indemnity


title: Stability Analysis and Optimal Control for Yellow Fever Model with Vertical Transmission

text: In this study, a deterministic model for the transmission dynamics of yellow fever (YF) in a human–mosquito setting in the presence of control measures is constructed and rigorously analyzed. In addition to horizontal transmissions, vertical transmission within mosquito population is incorporated. Analysis of the mosquito-only component of the model shows that the reduced model has a mosquito-extinction equilibrium, which is globally-asymptotically stable whenever the basic offspring number [Formula: see text] is less than unity. The vaccinated and type reproduction numbers of the full-model are computed. Condition for global-asymptotic stability of the disease-free equilibrium of the model when [Formula: see text] is presented. It is shown that, fractional dosing of YF vaccine does not meet YF vaccination requirements. Optimal control theory is applied to the model to characterize the controls parameters. Using Pontryagin’s maximum principle and modified forward–backward sweep technique, the necessary conditions for existence of solutions to the optimal control problem is determined. Numerical simulations of the models to assess the effect of fractional vaccine dosing on the disease dynamics and global sensitivity analysis are presented.


The ongoing - and resurgent - Challenge of post-infarct ventricular septal defect management


title: Biotechnology

text: Biotechnology derives from the Greek words – bios – life, technos – technology and logos – language, proof – that is biotechnology deals with the technical usage of living organisms for various purposes such as food, medicine, pharmaceuticals, recycling. Nowadays we deal with various colours or categories namely 10 introduced (red, blue, green, white, grey, yellow, brown, violet, dark and gold biotechnology) by Dr. Rita R. Colwell in 2003 and presented in this book. Other categories are also in use, the division into plant biotechnology, animal biotechnology, biotechnology of microorganisms and its colonies, cell culture biotechnologies, biotechnology of subcellular systems. The word ‘biotechnology’ was used for the first time by the director of the cattle utilization cooperative and Hungarian great land owner Karl Ereky and latter Hungarian Food minister. He published a book with the title: “Biotechnology of the meat, fat and milk production in agricultural large concerns for scientific sophisticated farmers” in 1919 in Berlin. His idea was to produce consumer goods with the use of living organisms called biotechnology. That was nothing new, but the word was new.


title: Leadership in the medical profession – it’s not rocket science

text: Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2020;5:354-360. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.200299


docid: ogdqioec

title: Incidence, mortality, and lethality of hospitalizations for community-acquired pneumonia with comorbid cardiovascular disease in Spain (1997–2015)

text: BACKGROUND: The probability of hospitalization in patients suffering from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with an underlying comorbidity, such as a cardiac pathology, is 73-fold higher than that in CAP patients without a comorbidity. Although previous studies have investigated patients with cardiac events and pneumonia, they have not studied the burden of disease in depth at the population level. The objective of this study is to provide population-level data on patients ≥60 years old who were hospitalized with pneumonia with comorbid cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Spain over a period of 19 years (1997–2015). METHODS: This is a retrospective study based on a minimum basic data set (MBDS). The following variables were collected: age, sex, re-admission (yes/no), hospital stay (days), and other diagnoses. Hospitalization rate (per 100,000 inhabitants), mortality rate (per 100,000 inhabitants), and lethality rate (%) were obtained, and the 95% confidence interval of each rate was calculated. Analyses were stratified by age (categorized into 4-year intervals), sex, and year of admission. Differences were assessed for significance with the chi-squared test for proportions and the Poisson model for rates. Logistic regression was run with in-hospital survival as the dependent variable and sex, age, year of admission, and re-admission (yes/no) as the independent variables. The level of significance was p < 0.005. RESULTS: The total number of patients ≥60 years old hospitalized for pneumonia with comorbid CVD was 99,346. The rates of hospitalization, mortality, and lethality increased significantly with age over the 19 years. Men had higher rates of hospitalization and mortality. The probability of a patient with CAP and CVD dying was correlated with male sex, older age, hospital re-admission, and having been hospitalized earlier in the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Community-acquired pneumonia with comorbid cardiovascular disease continues to be a major cause of hospitalization in Spain, especially in the elderly population, making it necessary to develop more preventive strategies for this group of patients.


title: Heart rupture repair during huge mediastinal mass resection – case report

text: BACKGROUND: Ventricular rupture is rarely described in the literature outside the context of myocardial infarction, infection or neoplasm. It is associated with a high mortality rate due to late presentation and delayed surgical intervention, which involves sutureless or sutured techniques. Comprehensive literature review failed to identify any case of intra-operative right ventricular heart rupture followed by myocardial repair and a complete recovery after a prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old previously healthy gentleman presented complaining of a new onset shortness of breath for 2 months. A large mediastinal mass was found on chest imaging and biopsy revealed a thymoma. Patient received a neoadjuvant Cisplatin/Doxorubicin/Cyclophosphamide (CAP) regimen chemotherapy then sternotomy and thymectomy en bloc with anterior pericardium. Post-thymectomy, the patient continued to be hypotensive in recovery despite aggressive fluid resuscitation. He was sent back to theatre, aggressive fluid resuscitation continued, surgical site exploration was done by reopening the sternum, and the bleeding source was identified and controlled, but intraoperative asystole developed. During internal cardiac massage, the right ventricle ruptured with a 3 cm defect which was successfully repaired using a pericardial patch without a bypass machine due to unavailability at our cancer center. The patient remained dependent on mechanical ventilation through tracheostomy for a total of 2 months due to bilateral phrenic nerve paralysis, was discharged from ICU to the surgical floor 66 days after the operation and weaned off ventilator support after 85 days, adequate respiratory and physical rehabilitation followed. Patient is doing very well now with excellent performance, and free of tumor recurrence 30 months after surgery. CONCLUSION: Right ventricular rupture is rarely described outside the context of myocardial infarction and valvular heart disease. Tumor proximity to the heart and neoadjuvant cardiotoxic chemotherapy are the proposed causes for precipitating the cardiac rupture in our case. Post-surgical patients who receive early physical rehabilitation and respiratory physiotherapy have improved survival and outcome.


title: A potential role for AHR in SARS-CoV-2 pathology

text: Coronavirus infection is associated to life-threatening respiratory failure. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) was recently identified as a host factor for Zika and dengue viruses; AHR antagonists decrease viral titers and ameliorate ZIKV-induced pathology in vivo. Here we report that AHR is activated during coronavirus infection, impacting anti-viral immunity and lung basal cells associated to tissue repair. Hence, AHR antagonists are candidate therapeutics for the management of coronavirus-infected patients.


title: Die Linke zwischen internen Konflikten, der ersten Koalition im Westen, Niederlagen im Osten und dem Ramelow-Effekt

text: Die Linke ist mit mehreren Herausforderungen konfrontiert: In Ostdeutschland als ihrer klassischen Hochburg verliert die Partei sowohl Mitglieder als auch Wählerstimmen, während im Westen Gewinne zu verbuchen sind, sodass sich (langfristig) die innerparteilichen Kräfteverhältnisse verschieben. Außerdem diskutiert Die Linke über den Umgang mit der AfD als neuer Konkurrenz um Protestwähler und die Ausrichtung ihrer Migrationspolitik. Diese und andere Aspekte der Entwicklung seit der Bundestagswahl 2017 greift das Kapitel auf.


title: Acute encephalopathy with elevated CSF inflammatory markers as the initial presentation of COVID-19.

text: BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus SARS-CoV-2. It is widely recognized as a respiratory pathogen, but neurologic complications can be the presenting manifestation in a subset of infected patients. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a 78-year old immunocompromised woman who presented with altered mental status after witnessed seizure-like activity at home. She was found to have SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated neuroinflammation. In this case, we undertake the first detailed analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokines during COVID-19 infection and find a unique pattern of inflammation in CSF, but no evidence of viral neuroinvasion. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that neurologic symptoms such as encephalopathy and seizures may be the initial presentation of COVID-19. Central nervous system inflammation may associate with neurologic manifestations of disease.


title: E-cigarette-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation and Dysregulated Repair are Mediated by nAChR α7 Receptor: Role of nAChR α7 in ACE2 Covid-19 receptor regulation

text: Electronic cigarette (e-cig) vaping is increasing rapidly in the United States, as e-cigs are considered less harmful than combustible cigarettes. However, limited research has been conducted to understand the possible mechanism that mediate, toxicity and pulmonary health effects of e-cigs. We hypothesized that sub-chronic e-cig exposure induces inflammatory response and dysregulated repair/extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, which occur through the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR α7). Adult wild-type (WT), nAChRα7 knockout (KO), and lung epithelial cell-specific KO (nAChRα7 CreCC10) mice were exposed to e-cig aerosol containing propylene glycol (PG) with or without nicotine. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) and lungs tissues were collected to determine e-cig induced inflammatory response and ECM remodeling, respectively. Sub-chronic e-cig exposure with nicotine increased the inflammatory cellular influx of macrophages and T-lymphocytes including increased pro-inflammatory cytokines in BALF and increased ACE2 Covid-19 receptor, whereas nAChR α7 KO mice show reduced inflammatory responses associated with decreased ACE2 receptor. Interestingly, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), such as MMP2, MMP8, and MMP9 were altered both at the protein and mRNA transcript levels in female and male, but WT mice exposed to PG alone showed a sex-dependent phenotype. Moreover, MMP12 was increased significantly in male mice exposed to PG with or without nicotine in a nAChR α7-dependent manner. Additionally, sub-chronic e-cig exposure with or without nicotine altered the abundance of ECM proteins, such as collagen and fibronectin significantly in a sex-dependent manner, but without the direct role of nAChR α7 gene. Overall, sub-chronic e-cig exposure with or without nicotine affected lung inflammation and repair responses/ECM remodeling, which were mediated by nAChR α7 in a sex-dependent manner.


title: Pre-Clinical Remote Undergraduate Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Study

text: Background : The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a sudden transition to remote learning in medical schools. We aimed to assess student perceptions of remote learning during the pre-clinical curricular training phase. Methods: A survey was distributed to first- and second-year medical students enrolled at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in March 2020. Frequencies of responses to structured multiple-choice questions were compared regarding impacts of remote learning on quality of instruction and ability to participate, value of various remote learning resources, living environment, and preparedness for subsequent stages of training. Responses to open-ended questions about strengths and weaknesses of the remote curriculum and overall reflections were coded for thematic content. Results: Of 268 students enrolled, 104 responded (53.7% of first-year students and 23.9% of second-year students). Overall, students felt the quality of instruction and their ability to participate had been negatively affected. Most (64.1%) preferred the flexibility of learning material at their own pace. Only 25.5% of respondents still felt connected to the medical school or classmates. Most second-year students (56.7%) felt their preparation for the USMLE Step 1 exam was negatively affected and 43.3% felt unprepared to begin clerkships. In narrative responses, most appreciated the increased flexibility of remote learning but recognized that digital fatigue, decreased ability to participate, and lack of clinical skills and hands-on lab learning were notable deficits. Conclusions: Videocasted lectures uploaded in advance, electronic health record and telehealth training for students, and training for teaching faculty to increase technological fluency may be considered to optimize remote learning curricula.


title: Evolution of effective serial interval of SARS-CoV-2 by non-pharmaceutical interventions

text: Studies of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have reported varying estimates of epidemiological parameters such as serial intervals and reproduction numbers. By compiling a unique line-list database of transmission pairs in mainland China, we demonstrated that serial intervals of COVID-19 have shortened substantially from a mean of 7.8 days to 2.6 days within a month. This change is driven by enhanced non-pharmaceutical interventions, in particular case isolation. We also demonstrated that using real-time estimation of serial intervals allowing for variation over time would provide more accurate estimates of reproduction numbers, than by using conventional definition of fixed serial interval distributions. These findings are essential to improve the assessment of transmission dynamics, forecasting future incidence, and estimating the impact of control measures.


title: Epidemiologic, Clinical, and Laboratory Findings of the COVID-19 in the current pandemic

text: BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 caused the pandemic affected the world deeply, with more than 3,000,000 people infected and nearly 200,000 deaths. This article aimed to summarize the epidemiologic traits, clinical spectrum, CT results and laboratory findings of COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We scoped for relevant literatures published during 1st Dec 2019 to 23rd Apr 2020 based on four databases by using English and Chinese. The evidence was synthesized narratively. RESULTS: The COVID-19 pandemic was found to have a higher transmission rate compared to SARS and MERS, and involved 4 stages of evolution. The basic reproduction number (R0) is 3.32 (95% CI:3.24–3.39) and the incubation period was 5.24 days (95% CI:3.97–6.50, 5 studies) on average, and the average time for symptoms onset varied by countries. Common clinical spectrums identified included fever (38.1–39.0°C), cough and fatigue, with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) being the most common complication reported. Body temperatures above 39.0 °C, dyspnea, and anorexia were more common symptoms in severe patients. Aged over 60 years old, having co-morbidities, and developing complications were the commonest high-risk factors associated with severe conditions. Leucopenia and lymphopenia were the most common signs of infection while liver and kidney damage were rare but may cause bad outcomes for patients. The bilateral, multifocal Ground-Glass Opacification (GGO) on peripheral, and the consolidative pulmonary opacity were the most frequent CT results and the tendency of mortality rates differed by region. CONCLUSIONS: We provided a bird’s-eye view of the COVID-19 during the current pandemic, which will help better understanding the key traits of the disease. The findings could be used for disease’s future research, control and prevention.


title: The COVID-19 Gene and Drug Set Library

text: The coronavirus (CoV) severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has received rapid response by the research community to offer suggestions for repurposing of approved drugs as well as to improve our understanding of the COVID-19 viral life cycle molecular mechanisms. In a short period, tens of thousands of research preprints and other publications have emerged including those that report lists of experimentally validated drugs and compounds as potential COVID-19 therapies. In addition, gene sets from interacting COVID-19 virus-host proteins and differentially expressed genes when comparing infected to uninfected cells are being published at a fast rate. To organize this rapidly accumulating knowledge, we developed the COVID-19 Gene and Drug Set Library (https://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/covid19/), a collection of gene and drug sets related to COVID-19 research from multiple sources. The COVID-19 Gene and Drug Set Library is delivered as a web-based interface that enables users to view, download, analyze, visualize, and contribute gene and drug sets related to COVID-19 research. To evaluate the content of the library, we performed several analyses including comparing the results from 6 in-vitro drug screens for COVID-19 repurposing candidates. Surprisingly, we observe little overlap across these initial screens. The most common and unique hit across these screen is mefloquine, a malaria drug that should receive more attention as a potential therapeutic for COVID-19. Overall, the library of gene and drug sets can be used to identify community consensus, make researchers and clinicians aware of the development of new potential therapies, as well as allow the research community to work together towards a cure for COVID-19.


title: Genetic correlates of psychological responses to the COVID-19 crisis in young adult twins in Great Britain

text: We investigated how the COVID-19 crisis and the extraordinary experience of lockdown affected young adults in England and Wales psychologically. One month after lockdown commenced (T2), we assessed 30 psychological and behavioural traits in 4,000 twins in their mid-twenties and compared their responses to the same traits assessed in 2018 (T1). Mean changes from T1 to T2 were modest and inconsistent: just as many changes were in a positive as negative direction. Twin analyses revealed that genetics accounted for about half of the reliable variance at T1 and T2. Genetic factors correlated on average .86 between T1 and T2 and accounted for over half of the phenotypic stability. Systematic environmental influences had negligible impact on T1, T2 or T2 change. Rather than the crisis fundamentally changing people psychologically, our results suggest that genetic differences between individuals play a fundamental role in shaping psychological and behavioural responses to the COVID-19 crisis.


title: Age-dependent assessment of genes involved in cellular senescence, telomere and mitochondrial pathways in human lung tissue of smokers, COPD and IPF: Associations with SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 ACE2-TMPRSS2-Furin-DPP4 axis

text: Aging is one of the key contributing factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and other chronic inflammatory lung diseases. Cigarette smoke is a major etiological risk factor that has been shown to alter cellular processes involving mitochondrial function, cellular senescence and telomeric length. Here we determined how aging contribute to the alteration in the gene expression of above mentioned cellular processes that play an important role in the progression of COPD and IPF. We hypothesized that aging may differentially alter the expression of mitochondrial, cellular senescence and telomere genes in smokers and patients with COPD and IPF compared to non-smokers. Total RNA from human lung tissues from non-smokers, smokers, and patients with COPD and IPF were processed and analyzed based on their ages (younger: <55 yrs and older: >55 yrs). NanoString nCounter panel was used to analyze the gene expression profiles using a custom designed codeset containing 112 genes including 6 housekeeping controls (mitochondrial biogenesis and function, cellular senescence, telomere replication and maintenance). mRNA counts were normalized, log2 transformed for differential expression analysis using linear models in the limma package (R/Bioconductor). Data from non-smokers, smokers and patients with COPD and IPF were analyzed based on the age groups (pairwise comparisons between younger vs. older groups). Several genes were differentially expressed in younger and older smokers, and patients with COPD and IPF compared to non-smokers which were part of the mitochondrial biogenesis/function (HSPD1, FEN1, COX18, COX10, UCP2 & 3), cellular senescence (PCNA, PTEN, KLOTHO, CDKN1C, TNKS2, NFATC1 & 2, GADD45A) and telomere replication/maintenance (PARP1, SIRT6, NBN, TERT, RAD17, SLX4, HAT1) target genes. Interestingly, NOX4 and TNKS2 were increased in the young IPF as compared to the young COPD patients. Genes in the mitochondrial dynamics and other quality control mechanisms like FIS1 and RHOT2 were decreased in young IPF compared to their age matched COPD subjects. ERCC1 (Excision Repair Cross-Complementation Group 1) and GADD45B were higher in young COPD as compared to IPF. Aging plays an important role in various infectious diseases. Elderly patients with chronic lung disease and smokers were found to have high incidence and mortality rates in the current pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Immunoblot analysis in the lung homogenates of smokers, COPD and IPF subjects revealed increased protein abundance of important proteases and spike proteins like TMPRSS2, furin and DPP4 in association with a slight increase in SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 levels. This may further strengthen the observation that smokers, COPD and IPF subjects are more prone to COVID-19 infection. Overall, these findings suggest that altered transcription of target genes that regulate mitochondrial function, cellular senescence, and telomere attrition add to the pathobiology of lung aging in COPD and IPF and other smoking-related chronic lung disease in associated with alterations in SARS-CoV-2 ACE2-TMPRSS2-Furin-DPP4 axis for COVID-19 infection.


title: COVID-19: Famotidine, Histamine, Mast Cells, and Mechanisms

text: SARS-CoV-2 infection is required for COVID-19, but many signs and symptoms of COVID-19 differ from common acute viral diseases. Currently, there are no pre- or post-exposure prophylactic COVID-19 medical countermeasures. Clinical data suggest that famotidine may mitigate COVID-19 disease, but both mechanism of action and rationale for dose selection remain obscure. We explore several plausible avenues of activity including antiviral and host-mediated actions. We propose that the principal famotidine mechanism of action for COVID-19 involves on-target histamine receptor H (2) activity, and that development of clinical COVID-19 involves dysfunctional mast cell activation and histamine release.


title: SARS-CoV2 drives JAK1/2-dependent local and systemic complement hyper-activation

text: Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present with a range of devastating acute clinical manifestations affecting the lungs, liver, kidneys and gut. The best-characterized entry receptor for the disease-causing virus SARS-CoV2, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) 2, is highly expressed in these tissues. However, the pathways that underlie the disease are still poorly understood. Here we show that the complement system is unexpectedly one of the intracellular pathways most highly induced by SARS-CoV2 infection in lung epithelial and liver cells. Within cells of the bronchoalveolar lavage of patients, distinct signatures of complement activation in myeloid, lymphoid and epithelial cells tracked with disease severity. Modelling the regulome of host genes induced by COVID-19 and the drugs that could normalize these genes both implicated the JAK1/2-STAT1 signaling system downstream of type I interferon receptors, and NF-kB. Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2 inhibitor and the top predicted pharmaceutical candidate, normalized interferon signature genes, IL-6 (the best characterized severity marker in COVID-19) and all complement genes induced by SARS-CoV2, but did not affect NF-kB-regulated genes. We predict that combination therapy with JAK inhibitors and other agents with the potential to normalize NF-kB-signaling, such as anti-viral agents, may serve as an effective clinical strategy.


title: Prognostic value of Cardiac Biomarkers in COVID-19 Infection: A Meta-analysis

text: Background Multiple Biomarkers have recently been shown to be elevated in COVID-19, a respiratory infection with multi-organ dysfunction; however, information regarding the prognostic value of cardiac biomarkers as it relates to disease severity and cardiac injury are inconsistent. Research Question The goal of this meta-analysis was to summarize the evidence regarding the prognostic relevance of cardiac biomarkers from data available in published reports. Study Design and Methods PubMed was searched from inception through April 2020 for studies comparing median values of cardiac biomarkers in critically ill versus non-critically ill COVID-19 patients, or patients who died versus those who survived. The weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) between the groups were calculated for each study and combined using a random effects meta-analysis model. The odds ratio (OR) for mortality based on cardiac injury was combined from studies reporting it. Results Troponin levels were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients who died or were critically ill versus those who were alive or not critically ill (WMD 0.58, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p<0.001). Cardiac injury was independently associated with significantly increased odds of mortality (OR 6.641, 95% CI 1.26 - 35.1, p=0.03). No difference in BNP was seen between the two groups. A significant difference in levels of D-dimer was seen in those who died or were critically ill. CK levels were only significantly higher in those who died versus those who were alive (WMD 0.47 95% CI 0.09-0.84, p=0.014). Interpretation Cardiac biomarkers add prognostic value to the determination of the severity of COVID-19 and can predict mortality.


docid: yonbkrwe

title: B cell clonal expansion and convergent antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2

text: During virus infection B cells are critical for the production of antibodies and protective immunity. Establishment of a diverse antibody repertoire occurs by rearrangement of germline DNA at the immunoglobulin heavy and light chain loci to encode the membrane-bound form of antibodies, the B cell antigen receptor. Little is known about the B cells and antigen receptors stimulated by the novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Here we show that the human B cell compartment in patients with diagnostically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and clinical COVID-19 is rapidly altered with the early recruitment of B cells expressing a limited subset of V genes, and extensive activation of IgG and IgA subclasses without significant somatic mutation. We detect expansion of B cell clones as well as convergent antibodies with highly similar sequences across SARS-CoV-2 patients, highlighting stereotyped naïve responses to this virus. A shared convergent B cell clonotype in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients was previously seen in patients with SARS. These findings offer molecular insights into shared features of human B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic spillover coronaviruses.


title: A Novel RP-HPLC-DAD Method Development for Anti-Malarial and COVID-19 Hydroxy Chloroquine Sulfate Tablets and Profiling of In-Vitro Dissolution in Multimedia.

text: Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is one of a large series of 4-aminoquinolines with antimalarial activity. Moreover, it is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Sometimes Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is very effective for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Based on the recent clinical experiments it is exploiting for the treatment of COVID-19, corona virus across the globe. A Reverse phase RP-HPLC method have been developed and validated as per the current ICH guidelines for estimation of Hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets. As part of method validation specificity, linearity, precision and recovery parameters were verified. The concentration and area relationships were linear (R (2) > 0.999), over the concentration range of 25 to 300 µg mL (-1) for HCQ. The relative standard deviations for precision and intermediate precision were less than 1.5%. The proposed RP-HPLC generic method was applied successfully for evaluation of invitro dissolution profile with different pH conditions like 0.1N HCl, pH 4.5 Acetate buffer and pH 6.8 Phosphate buffers of US marketed reference product.


title: Can Hyperperfusion of Nonaerated Lung Explain COVID-19 Hypoxia?

text: Early stages of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been associated with ‘silent hypoxia’ and poor oxygenation despite relatively small fractions of afflicted lung. Although it has been speculated that such paradoxical findings may be explained by impairment of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in infected lungs regions, no studies have confirmed this hypothesis nor determined whether such extreme degrees of perfusion redistribution are physiologically plausible. Here, we present a mathematical model which provides evidence that the extreme amount of pulmonary shunt observed in patients with early COVID-19 is not plausible without hyperperfusion of the relatively small fraction of injured lung, with three-fold increases in regional perfusion to afflicted regions. Although underlying perfusion heterogeneity (e.g., due to gravity or pulmonary emboli) exacerbated existing shunt in the model, the reported severity of hypoxia in early COVID-19 patients could not be replicated without considerable reduction of vascular resistance in nonoxygenated regions.


title: Potentially repurposable drugs for COVID-19 identified from SARS-CoV-2 Host Protein Interactome

text: We previously presented the protein-protein interaction network - the ‘HoP’ or the host protein interactome - of 332 host proteins that were identified to interact with 27 nCoV19 viral proteins by Gordon et al. Here, we studied drugs targeting the proteins in this interactome to identify whether any of them may potentially be repurposable against SARS-CoV-2. We studied each of the drugs using the BaseSpace Correlation Engine and identified those that induce gene expression profiles negatively correlated with SARS-associated expression profile. This analysis resulted in 20 drugs whose differential gene expression (drug versus normal) had an anti-correlation with differential expression for SARS (viral infection versus normal). These included drugs that were already being tested for their clinical activity against SARS-CoV-2, those with proven activity against SARS-CoV/MERS-CoV, broad-spectrum antiviral drugs, and those identified/prioritized by other computational re-purposing studies. In summary, our integrated computational analysis of the HoP interactome in conjunction with drug-induced transcriptomic data resulted in drugs that may be repurposable for COVID-19.


title: Interactome of SARS-CoV-2 / nCoV19 modulated host proteins with computationally predicted PPIs

text: World over, people are looking for solutions to tackle the pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2/nCoV-19. Notable contributions in biomedical field have been characterizing viral genomes, host transcriptomes and proteomes, repurposable drugs and vaccines. In one such study, 332 human proteins targeted by nCoV19 were identified. We expanded this set of host proteins by constructing their protein interactome, including in it not only the known protein-protein interactions (PPIs) but also novel, hitherto unknown PPIs predicted with our High-precision Protein-Protein Interaction Prediction (HiPPIP) model that was shown to be highly accurate. In fact, one of the earliest discoveries made possible by HiPPIP is related to activation of immunity upon viral infection. We found that several interactors of the host proteins are differentially expressed upon viral infection, are related to highly relevant pathways, and that the novel interaction of NUP98 with CHMP5 may activate an antiviral mechanism leading to disruption of viral budding. We are making the interactions available as downloadable files to facilitate future systems biology studies and also on a web-server at http://hagrid.dbmi.pitt.edu/corona that allows not only keyword search but also queries such as “PPIs where one protein is associated with ‘virus’ and the interactors with ‘pulmonary’”.


title: An in-silico approach to develop of a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 envelope (E) protein

text: Since the first appearance of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2) in China on December 2019, the world has now witnessed the emergence of the SARS- CoV-2 outbreak. Therefore, due to the high transmissibility rate of virus, there is an urgent need to design and develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 to prevent more cases affected by the virus. In this study, a computational approach is proposed for vaccine design against the envelope (E) protein of SARS-CoV-2, which contains a conserved sequence feature. First, we sought to gain potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes for vaccine designing against SARS-CoV-2. Second, we attempted to develop a multi-epitope vaccine. Immune targeting of such epitopes could theoretically provide defense against SARS-CoV-2. Finally, we evaluated the affinity of the vaccine to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules to stimulate the immune system response to this vaccine. We also identified a collection of B-cell and T-cell epitopes derived from E proteins that correspond identically to SARS-CoV-2 E proteins. The in-silico design of our potential vaccine against E protein of SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated a high affinity to MHC molecules, and it can be a candidate to make a protection against this pandemic event.


title: Identification of new drug treatments to combat COVID19: A signature-based approach using iLINCS

text: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious than other coronaviruses and has higher rates of mortality than influenza. As no vaccine or drugs are currently approved to specifically treat COVID-19, identification of effective therapeutics is crucial to treat the afflicted and limit disease spread. We deployed a bioinformatics workflow to identify candidate drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. Using an “omics” repository, the Library of Integrated Network-Based Cellular Signatures (LINCS), we simultaneously probed transcriptomic signatures of putative COVID-19 drugs and signatures of coronavirus-infected cell lines to identify therapeutics with concordant signatures and discordant signatures, respectively. Our findings include three FDA approved drugs that have established antiviral activity, including protein kinase inhibitors, providing a promising new category of candidates for COVID-19 interventions.


title: Experimenting with At-Home General Chemistry Laboratories During the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: [Image: see text] During the COVID-19 pandemic, an at-home laboratory program was created and implemented for a section of the general chemistry course at the University of Southern California. The experiments were designed to only utilize safe household items and no special equipment. These laboratory activities, spanning over 4 weeks, focused on concepts usually covered in the final one-third of our second-semester chemistry laboratory, including pH, acid–base titrations, buffers, solubility, phase equilibria, and thermodynamics. In this article, we describe the design of the laboratories and our experience with this experiment, while also providing an assessment on how similar activities could be integrated profitably into a regular general chemistry course.


title: Treating a Global Health Crisis with a Dose of Synthetic Chemistry

text: [Image: see text] The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has prompted scientists from many disciplines to work collaboratively toward an effective response. As academic synthetic chemists, we examine how best to contribute to this ongoing effort.


title: Pulmonary Embolism on CTPA in COVID-19 Patients

text: BACKGROUND: Understanding pulmonary embolism (PE) rate and contributing comorbid, clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics may aid in management of pro-thombotic events in COVID-19 (COVID+) patients. PURPOSE: To evaluate PE prevalence on computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) in COVID+ patients and factors associated with PE severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective, single-center study evaluated 62 COVID+ patients who underwent CTPA between March 13 and April 5, 2020. A 62-patient cohort who underwent CTPA prior to the first reported local COVID-19 case was retrogradely selected. The relative rate of CTPA-positivity was recorded. For the COVID+ cohort, comorbidities, laboratory values, clinical outcome, and venous thrombosis were recorded. Two thoracic radiologists assessed embolic severity using the Mastora system and evaluated right heart strain. Statistical analysis evaluated factors associated with PE and arterial obstruction severity. A P-value<.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: 37.1% of COVID+ patients had PE, higher than 14.5% of pre-COVID patients (P=.007). D-dimer levels closest to CTPA date correlated with Mastora obstruction score. ROC analysis identified optimal sensitivity (95%) and specificity (71%) for PE diagnosis at 1394 ng/mL DDU. The mean D-dimer was 1774 ng/mL and 6432 ng/mL DDU in CTPA-negative and CTPA-positive subgroups, respectively (P<.001). One additional CTPA-negative patient had DVT, for a total 38.7% with PE/DVT, despite 40% receiving prophylactic anticoagulation. Other factors did not demonstrate significant PE association. CONCLUSION: 37.1% of COVID+ CTPA exams diagnosed PE. PE can be a cause of decompensation in COVID+, and D-dimer can be used to stratify patients regarding PE risk and severity.


Physiotherapists should consider joining an ethics review committee


COVID-19 Pandemic: the greatest challenge in the history of critical care()


Gender Differences, Hyperuricemia and Brain Natriuretic Factor


title: A Perspective on Yoga as a Preventive Strategy for Coronavirus Disease 2019

text: The pandemic outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 has led to profound public health crisis. In particular, individuals with preexisting conditions of heart disease, diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases and the elderly are most vulnerable to succumb to this infection. The current COVID-19 emergency calls for rapid development of potential prevention and management strategies against this virus-mediated disease. There is a plethora of evidence that supports the add-on benefits of yoga in stress management, as well as prevention and management of chronic noncommunicable diseases. There are some studies on the effect of yoga in communicable diseases as well but very few for acute conditions and almost none for the rapidly spreading infections resulting in pandemics. Based on the available scientific evidences on yoga in improving respiratory and immune functions, we have formulated very simple doable integrated yoga modules in the form of videos to be practiced for prevention of the disease by children, adults, and the elderly.


Yoga for COVID-19


title: Seizures and epilepsy in cats

text: Seizures are a common presenting complaint in cats, although causes and options for the treatment of seizures in this species have been historically poorly described in the veterinary literature. Seizure manifestation in cats may be different than what is typically seen in dogs, but the underlying causes of seizure activity are the same. These include primary epilepsies, structural epilepsies, and reactive seizures. Although primary epilepsy was once believed to be rare in cats, we now commonly appreciate this syndrome, albeit at a lower frequency than in dogs. Because of this, a complete diagnostic work-up is recommended for all cats presenting for initial evaluation of seizures. Symptomatic treatment of seizures in cats is similar to dogs, with only a few limitations related to species-specific antiepileptic drug toxicities. The goal of this review is to summarize the recent veterinary literature related to feline seizures, with a focus on seizure classification, clinical manifestation, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment options.


docid: ywkgbozw

title: COVID-19 and risk management in a tissue bank


What You Gain and What You Lose in COVID-19: Perception of Medical Students on their Education


Trained innate immunity, COVID-19 therapeutic dilemma, and fake science


title: Trend Dynamics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Transmission in 16 Cities of Hubei Province, China

text: OBJECTIVE: A severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected by researchers from a patient in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in December 2019, and broke out in January 2020. Then, the pandemic was detected in countries around the world. Therefore, precise estimates of its current and future trends are highly required for future policy implications. METHODS: We retrieved data from the Health Commission of Hubei, China. Logistic-S curve model was used to estimate the current and future trends of SARS-CoV-2-infected cases among 16 cities of Hubei, China from Jan-11 to Feb-24, 2020. RESULTS: Out of 64,287 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Hubei, higher percentage of cases were in Wuhan and Xiaogan. The highest death percentage was found in Wuhan and Qianjiang. A significant percentage of cures were found in Enshi Prefecture and Huanggang, while Wuhan showed the lowest percentage of cures. Rising trends in infected cases were observed throughout the study period, particularly in Wuhan, and a higher trend was observed after 12-Feb. Gradual decline trend of SARS-CoV-2 cases was observed during Feb-25 to Mar-15 in Hubei Province. Future forecast showed that the average number of SARS-CoV-2-infected cases might be decreased or stable in Hubei in the coming 20 days. CONCLUSION: The public must take precautionary measures in order to control and prevent disease spread and avoid extra travelling.


docid: hlijigjw

title: From the Editor’s Desk: Teaching History in the Time of COVID-19


Entomology in the Time of COVID-19


docid: vfxudngy

title: Cartels in the time of COVID-19


title: Legislating in the Time of a Pandemic: Window of Opportunity or Invitation for Recklessness?

text: The COVID-19 epidemic has been exacerbated by failures in diagnostic testing for the virus in the United States. In response to these problems, two bills have been introduced in Congress to not only reform emergency use of diagnostic tests, but to fundamentally reform diagnostics regulation in non-emergencies. There has been a long-standing recognition that current U.S. regulation of diagnostics is outdated and problematic, and the history of public health legislation is that emergencies and crises have been the primary motivating factor to break Congressional inertia and to implement new legislation. Thus, the COVID-19 may create a useful “window of opportunity” to pass much-needed legislative reform of diagnostic regulation in both emergency and non-emergency contexts. At the same time, rushing radical legislative changes, especially if they have not been subject to careful stakeholder engagement and Congressional deliberation in advance, is precarious and could result in reckless and disruptive changes. We review and apply the historical lessons of legislating in response to a crisis and conclude the one but not both of the pending legislative proposals may satisfy the criteria for an appropriate opportunistic change for diagnostics regulation.


title: An “Infodemic”: Leveraging High-Volume Twitter Data to Understand Early Public Sentiment for the COVID-19 Outbreak

text: BACKGROUND: Twitter has been used to track trends and disseminate health information during viral epidemics. On January 21, 2020, the CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center and the WHO released its first situation report about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), sparking significant media attention. How Twitter content and sentiment evolved in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been described. METHODS: We extracted tweets matching hashtags related to COVID-19 from January 14(th) to 28(th), 2020 using Twitter’s application programming interface. We measured themes and frequency of keywords related to infection prevention practices. We performed a sentiment analysis to identify the sentiment polarity and predominant emotions in tweets and conducted topic modeling to identify and explore discussion topics over time. We compared sentiment, emotion, and topics among the most popular tweets, defined by the number of retweets. RESULTS: We evaluated 126,049 tweets from 53,196 unique users. The hourly number of COVID-19 related tweets starkly increased from January 21, 2020 onward. Nearly half (49.5%) of all tweets expressed fear and nearly 30% expressed surprise. In the full cohort, the economic and political impact of COVID-19 was the most commonly discussed topic. When focusing on the most retweeted tweets, the incidence of fear decreased and topics focused on quarantine efforts, the outbreak and its transmission, as well as prevention. CONCLUSION: Twitter is a rich medium that can be leveraged to understand public sentiment in real-time and potentially target individualized public health messages based on user interest and emotion.


title: COVID-19: Insights from innovation economists

text: The present document provides the take of innovation economists on the COVID-19 pandemic. It targets the general public and focuses on questions related to the Science, Technology, and Innovation ecosystem. It provides a reading of current real-world developments using economic reasoning and relying on existing economic research.


title: Cholesterol-modifying drugs in COVID-19

text: Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is more likely to lead to poor outcomes in the elderly and those with cardiovascular disease, obesity or metabolic syndrome. Here we consider mechanisms by which dyslipidemia and the use of cholesterol-modifying drugs could influence the virus-host relationship. Cholesterol is essential for the assembly, replication and infectivity of enveloped virus particles; we highlight several cholesterol-modifying drugs with the potential to alter the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle that could be tested in in vitro and in vivo models. Although cholesterol is an essential component of immune cell membranes, excess levels can dysregulate protective immunity and promote exaggerated pulmonary and systemic inflammatory responses. Statins block the production of multiple sterols, oxysterols and isoprenoids, resulting in a pleotropic range of context-dependent effects on virus infectivity, immunity and inflammation. We highlight antiviral, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of cholesterol-modifying drugs that merit further consideration in the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection.


The use of data from electronic health records in times of a pandemic—a legal and ethical assessment


title: Preference Refinement After a Budget Contraction

text: How does coping with a resource loss of time, space, or money change a consumer? In the current work, we argue that resource losses that give rise to budget contractions require a coping strategy that not only influences choice in the moment but also changes underlying consumer preferences. We show that the preference restructuring that occurs when coping with a budget loss also leads to stabilization of preferences. Specifically, a consumer who allocates a budget to a set of items prior to a budget contraction and allocates that same budget post-contraction when the budget is fully restored will allocate the restored budget to fewer options in the set. Coping with the contraction helps consumers prioritize what matters to them, leading to refinement of preference. This within-consumer preference refinement effect exists for budgets of time, space, and money. We identify boundary conditions (i.e., significant budget contractions and self-determined contraction allocations are necessary for prioritization to occur) and rule out non-prioritization explanations (e.g., anchoring and under-adjusting). These findings suggest that marketers should focus on capturing consumers who are dealing with budget contractions as this is one of the moments where individuals revisit and rediscover what matters most to them.


Occupational Health and Covid-19


title: The initial impact of COVID-19 and policy responses on household incomes

text: As soon as the scale of the coronavirus shock to the economy became clear, the UK government introduced three policies to protect directly household incomes: a Job Retention Scheme, to pay the wages of employees who were temporarily furloughed; a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to give grants to established self-employed people whose businesses had been affected; and a package of increases to entitlements to social security benefits, with Universal Credit at the core, that bolstered the UK’s means-tested ‘safety net’. This paper analyses the design and beneficiaries of these policies and, given the distributional pattern of the labour market shock, considers the emerging overall impact on living standards, particularly of low-income households.


The Rise and Regulation of Thermal Facial Recognition Technology during the COVID-19 Pandemic


ACC Advocacy: We Own the Problem, We Must Own the Solution


AANPconnect -- Reimaging a Conference


Earlier Breast Cancer Detection in Peru: Establishing a Comprehensive Program in an Underserved Region


Picking Up the Torch: Our Mission as the New FIT & EC Section Editors


China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the COVID-19 crisis


title: Expanding the international trade and investment policy agenda: The role of cities and services

text: We explore the public policy implications of two new, significant, and inter-related global phenomena. First, the rising share of services, particularly innovation-driven digital and knowledge-based services, in foreign trade and multinational enterprise activity; and second, the increasingly important role of global cities as home and hosts to these activities. Our framework distinguishes between national economic policies to promote trade and FDI, referred to as economic diplomacy, and comparable policies originating in cities, referred to as city diplomacy. National economic diplomacy has traditionally promoted trade and investment in goods, often through trade agreements and promotion agencies, and we explore the limitations of these tools as trade in services becomes more important. However, we also note that trade in services, particularly innovation-driven services, is concentrated in global cities, and traded between them, often within MNEs. We conclude that national policies on trade and investment cannot be divorced from innovation and knowledge strategies, and that these strategies cannot be divorced from cities. We emphasize that national economic diplomacy should be better aligned with city diplomacy. We also discuss how the transition to stronger city diplomacy may have consequences for firms and their strategies for corporate diplomacy.


title: How globalization became a thing that goes bump in the night

text: For almost 200 years, globalization has been seen as a positive development, albeit with costs and benefits, and as progress and modernization, a broadening of humanity’s scope from the local and parochial to the cosmopolitan and international. That changed dramatically with the Great Recession, the waves of migration of the last decade, and the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020. For many, globalization now connotes economic dislocation, increasing inequality, unwanted immigration, and a vehicle for the transmission of disease. The pandemic reminds us that most economic activity takes place within national borders. It has emphasized the dangers rather than the benefits of efficient linkages between markets, laying bare the dangers of complex global supply chains where any node can become a “choke point”, and the risks of overspecialization or the concentration of technological knowledge and/or production capacity in a single country or region. A more positive view of globalization will require restoring the balance between independence and integration, mitigation of its costs within and between countries, and dealing with redundancy and supply risk.


Uraemia disarms neutrophils against Candida


How did the U.S. stock market recover from the Covid-19 contagion?


title: JC Polyomavirus, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome: a review

text: The human neurotropic virus JC Polyomavirus, a member of the Polyomaviridae family, is the opportunistic infectious agent causing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, typically in immunocompromised individuals. The spectrum of underlying reasons for the systemic immunosuppression that permits JCV infection in the central nervous system has evolved over the past 2 decades, and therapeutic immunosuppression arousing JCV infection in the brain has become increasingly prominent as a trigger for PML. Effective immune restoration subsequent to human immunodeficiency virus-related suppression is now recognized as a cause for unexpected deterioration of symptoms in patients with PML, secondary to a rebound inflammatory phenomenon called immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, resulting in significantly increased morbidity and mortality in a disease already infamous for its lethality. This review addresses current knowledge regarding JC Polyomavirus, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy-related immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, and the immunocompromised states that incite JC Polyomavirus central nervous system infection, and discusses prospects for the future management of these conditions.


title: Reliable cross-docking location problem under the risk of disruptions

text: This paper seeks to develop a reliable network of cross-docks by taking in to account disruption and reliability issues to hedge against heterogeneous risk of cross-docking failure. In real environments, applying a recovery policy can be a feasible strategy to handle disruptions. Hence, in this study, a recovery policy has been addressed in the form of reallocating suppliers to alternative cross-docks or altering the transportation strategy to move shipments. In addition to cross-dock location design, the optimum capacity of opened cross-docks will be determined considering the loads that will be served by each cross-docking center under regular and disruption conditions. A mixed integer nonlinear programming formulation is presented for the problem and is then linearized to present an efficient model. In order to solve it, two Lagrangian relaxation algorithms are designed and tested on 40 problem instances with different values of parameters. The results achieved by GAMS/CPLEX are compared with those of two algorithms and some analyses are performed on the solutions. Moreover, as the case study, the focus has been placed on logistic part of a car-manufacturing company with a vast supply chain network, containing more than 600 suppliers. The logistic strategies have been applied in order to reduce the transportation cost through the supply chain network and diminish the disruption subsequences in such a network. Based on the results, some managerial recommendations are presented.


title: Effects of intraoperative individualized PEEP on postoperative atelectasis in obese patients: study protocol for a prospective randomized controlled trial

text: BACKGROUND: Obese patients undergoing general anesthesia and mechanical ventilation during laparoscopic abdominal surgery commonly have a higher incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), due to factors such as decreasing oxygen reserve, declining functional residual capacity, and reducing lung compliance. Pulmonary atelectasis caused by pneumoperitoneum and mechanical ventilation is further aggravated in obese patients. Recent studies demonstrated that individualized positive end-expiratory pressure (iPEEP) was one of effective lung-protective ventilation strategies. However, there is still no exact method to determine the best iPEEP, especially for obese patients. Here, we will use the best static lung compliance (Cstat) method to determine iPEEP, compared with regular PEEP, by observing the atelectasis area measured by electrical impedance tomography (EIT), and try to prove a better iPEEP setting method for obese patients. METHODS: This study is a single-center, two-arm, prospective, randomized control trial. A total number of 80 obese patients with body mass index ≥ 32.5 kg/m(2) scheduled for laparoscopic gastric volume reduction and at medium to high risk for PPCs will be enrolled. They will be randomly assigned to control group (PEEP5 group) and iPEEP group. A PEEP of 5 cmH(2)O will be used in PEEP5 group, whereas an individualized PEEP value determined by a Cstat-directed PEEP titration procedure will be applied in the iPEEP group. Standard lung-protective ventilation methods such as low tidal volumes (7 ml/kg, predicted body weight, PBW), a fraction of inspired oxygen ≥ 0.5, and recruitment maneuvers (RM) will be applied during and after operation in both groups. Primary endpoints will be postoperative atelectasis measured by chest electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and intraoperative oxygen index. Secondary endpoints will be serum IL-6, TNF-α, procalcitonin (PCT) kinetics during and after surgery, incidence of PPCs, organ dysfunction, length of in-hospital stay, and hospital expense. DISCUSSION: Although there are several studies about the effect of iPEEP titration on perioperative PPCs in obese patients recently, the iPEEP setting method they used was complex and was not always feasible in routine clinical practice. This trial will assess a possible simple method to determine individualized optimal PEEP in obese patients and try to demonstrate that individualized PEEP with lung-protective ventilation methods is necessary for obese patients undergoing general surgery. The results of this trial will support anesthesiologist a feasible Cstat-directed PEEP titration method during anesthesia for obese patients in attempt to prevent PPCs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: www.chictr.org.cn ChiCTR1900026466. Registered on 11 October 2019


BAST newsletter—June 2020


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title: Marie Curie takes to the screen

text: Radioactive, a new biopic of Marie Curie, weaves together her personal story, her discoveries and the repercussions of her research into radioactivity.


Sarcopenia, Frailty, and Gero-Science: A Decade of Progress and a Bright Future of Discovery


title: Analysis of the bitcoin stock market indexes using comparative study of two models SV with MCMC algorithm

text: The purpose of this article is to find a better technique for estimating the volatility of the price of bitcoin on the one hand and to check if this special kind of asset called cryptocurrency behaves like other stock market indices. We include five stock market indexes for different countries such as Standard and Poor’s 500 composite Index (S&P), Nasdaq, Nikkei, Stoxx, and DowJones. Using daily data over the period 2010–2019. We examine two asymmetric stochastic volatility models used to describe the volatility dependencies found in most financial returns. Two models are compared, the first is the autoregressive stochastic volatility model with Student’s t-distribution (ARSV-t), and the second is the basic SVOL. To estimate these models, our analysis is based on the Markov Chain Monte-Carlo method. Therefore, the technique used is a Metropolis–Hastings (Hastings in Biometrika 57:97–109, 1970), and the Gibbs sampler (Casella and George in Am Stat 46:167–174, 1992; Gelfand and Smith in J Am Stat Assoc 85:398–409, 1990; Gilks and Wild in 41:337–348, 1992). Model comparisons illustrate that the ARSV-t model performs better performances. We conclude that this model is better than the SVOL model on the MSE and AIC function. This result concerns bitcoin as well as the other stock market indices. Without forgetting that our finding proves the efficiency of Markov Chain for our sample and the convergence and stability for all parameters to a certain level. On the whole, it seems that permanent shocks have an effect on the volatility of the price of the bitcoin and also on the other stock market. Our results will help investors better diversify their portfolio by adding this cryptocurrency.


title: The first nationwide multicenter study of Acinetobacter baumannii recovered in Serbia: emergence of OXA-72, OXA-23 and NDM-1-producing isolates

text: BACKGROUND: The worldwide emergence and clonal spread of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is of great concern. The aim of this nationwide study was to investigate the prevalence of CRAB isolates in Serbia and to characterize underlying resistance mechanisms and their genetic relatedness. METHODS: Non-redundant clinical samples obtained from hospitalized patients throughout Serbia were included in the prospective, observational, multicenter study conducted from January to June 2018. Samples were initially screened for the presence of Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus (Acb) complex using conventional bacteriological techniques. Acb complexes recovered from clinical samples obtained from inpatients with confirmed bacterial infections were further evaluated for the presence of A. baumannii. Identification to the species level was done by the detection of the bla(OXA-51) gene and rpoB gene sequence analysis. Susceptibility testing was done by disk diffusion and broth microdilution method. CRAB isolates were tested for the presence of acquired carbapenemases (bla(OXA-24-like), bla(OXA-23-like,)bla(OXA-58-like), bla(OXA-143-like), bla(IMP), bla(VIM), bla(GIM), bla(SPM), bla(SIM), bla(NDM)) by PCR. Clonal relatedness was assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). RESULTS: Acb complex was isolated in 280 out of 2401 clinical samples (11.6%). Overall, A. baumannii was identified in 237 out of 280 Acb complex (84.6%). CRAB prevalence was found to be 93.7% (237/222). The MIC(50)/MIC(90) for imipenem and meropenem were 8/> 32 μg/mL and 16/> 32 μg/mL, respectively. Although susceptibility was high for colistin (95.7%; n = 227) and tigecycline (75.1%; n = 178), ten isolates (4.3%) were classified as pandrug-resistant. The following carbapenemases-encoding genes were found: 98 (44.2%) bla(OXA-24-like), 76 (34.5%) bla(OXA-23-like), and 7 (3.2%) bla(NDM-1). PFGE analysis revealed six different clusters. MLST analysis identified three STs: ST2 (n = 13), ST492 (n = 14), and ST636 (n = 10). Obtained results evaluated that circulating CRAB clones in Serbia were as follows: bla(OXA66)/bla(OXA23)/ST2 (32.4%), bla(OXA66)/bla(OXA23)/bla(OXA72)/ST2 (2.7%), bla(OXA66)/bla(OXA72)/ST492 (37.8%), and bla(OXA66)/bla(OXA72)/ST636 (27.1%). CONCLUSION: This study revealed extremely high proportions of carbapenem resistance among A. baumannii clinical isolates due to the emergence of bla(OXA-72), bla(OXA-23), and bla(NDM-1) genes among CRAB isolates in Serbia and their clonal propagation.


title: Crime and coronavirus: social distancing, lockdown, and the mobility elasticity of crime

text: Governments around the world restricted movement of people, using social distancing and lockdowns, to help stem the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We examine crime effects for one UK police force area in comparison to 5-year averages. There is variation in the onset of change by crime type, some declining from the WHO ‘global pandemic’ announcement of 11 March, others later. By 1 week after the 23 March lockdown, all recorded crime had declined 41%, with variation: shoplifting (− 62%), theft (− 52%), domestic abuse (− 45%), theft from vehicle (− 43%), assault (− 36%), burglary dwelling (− 25%) and burglary non-dwelling (− 25%). We use Google Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports to calculate the mobility elasticity of crime for four crime types, finding shoplifting and other theft inelastic but responsive to reduced retail sector mobility (MEC = 0.84, 0.71 respectively), burglary dwelling elastic to increases in residential area mobility (− 1), with assault inelastic but responsive to reduced workplace mobility (0.56). We theorise that crime rate changes were primarily caused by those in mobility, suggesting a mobility theory of crime change in the pandemic. We identify implications for crime theory, policy and future research.


title: NICE’s rejection of pembrolizumab for platinum-refractory urothelial carcinoma: is there a greater good?

text: Anti-PD1 and anti-PDL1 immunotherapy has transformed urothelial carcinoma treatment. Pembrolizumab is the only immunotherapy agent shown to have survival benefit compared with standard chemotherapy after progression on platinum-containing chemotherapy. Initial National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approval was based on efficacy data, but the final appraisal report rejected use of pembrolizumab owing to treatment cost.


title: Functional Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with Traumatic Brain Injury and Exposed to Hyperoxia: A Retrospective Multicentre Cohort Study

text: BACKGROUND: Supplemental oxygen administration to critically ill patients is ubiquitous in the intensive care unit (ICU). Uncertainty persists as to whether hyperoxia is benign in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly in regard to their long-term functional neurological outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of invasively ventilated patients with TBI admitted to the ICU. A database linkage between the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database (ANZICS-APD) and the Victorian State Trauma Registry (VSTR) was utilized. The primary exposure variable was minimum acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) III P(a)O(2) in the first 24 h of ICU. We defined hypoxia as P(a)O(2) < 60 mmHg, normoxia as 60–299 mmHg, and hyperoxia as ≥ 300 mmHg. The primary outcome was a Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) < 5 at 6 months while secondary outcomes included 12 and 24 months GOSE and mortality at each of these timepoints. Additional sensitivity analyses were undertaken in the following subgroups: isolated head injury, patients with operative intervention, head injury severity, and P(a)O(2) either subcategorized by increments of 60 mmHg or treated as a continuous variable. RESULTS: A total of 3699 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 42.8 years, 77.7% were male and the mean acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) III score was 60.1 (26.3). 2842 patients experienced normoxia, and 783 hyperoxia. The primary outcome occurred in 1470 (47.1%) of patients overall with 1123 (47.1%) from the normoxia group and 312 (45.9%) from the hyperoxia group—odds ratio 0.99 (0.78–1.25). No significant differences in outcomes between groups at 6, 12, and 24 months were observed. Sensitivity analyses did not identify subgroups that were adversely affected by exposure to hyperoxia. CONCLUSIONS: No associations were observed between hyperoxia in ICU during the first 24 h and adverse neurological outcome at 6 months in ventilated TBI patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12028-020-01033-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.


title: Secreted frizzled-related protein 2 prevents pressure-overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy by targeting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway

text: BACKGROUND AND AIM: Secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2) has been reported to be involved in cardiovascular diseases. However, its role in cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload is still elusive. We aimed to examine the role of sFRP2 in the development of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro. METHODS AND RESULTS: Following cardiac hypertrophy stimulated by aortic banding (AB), the expression of sFRP2 was downregulated in the hypertrophic ventricle. Adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9) was injected through the tail vein to overexpress sFRP2 in the mouse myocardium. Overexpression of sFRP2 alleviated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis, as identified by the reduced cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area, heart weight/body weight ratio, and left ventricular (LV) collagen ratio. Additionally, sFRP2 decreased cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by pressure overload. Western blot showed that sFRP2 prevented the expression of active β-catenin. The Wnt/β-catenin agonist LiCl (1 mmol/kg) abolished the inhibitory effects of sFRP2 on cardiac hypertrophy and apoptosis, as evidenced by the increased cross-sectional area and LV collagen ratio and the deterioration of echocardiographic data. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated that decreased sFRP2 levels were observed in failing mouse hearts. Overexpression of sFRP2 attenuated myocyte hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis induced by hypertrophic stimuli by inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. We revealed that sFRP2 may be a promising therapeutic target for the development of cardiac remodeling. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11010-020-03802-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.


title: Comparison of a Continuous Noninvasive Temperature to Monitor Core Temperature Measures During Targeted Temperature Management

text: BACKGROUND: Temperature modulating devices (TMD) currently utilize core temperature measurements during targeted temperature management (TTM) that are currently limited to esophageal (Et), bladder (Bt), or rectal (Rt) temperatures. We assessed the ability of a continuous noninvasive temperature monitor to accurately approximate core temperature during TTM. METHODS: All patients undergoing TTM using a gel pad surface TMD and an existing core temperature monitoring device were eligible for this study. Core and continuous noninvasive temperature monitoring values were simultaneously recorded for up to 72 h of TTM. The two sets of temperature data were downloaded from a clinical data acquisition storage system at 1-min intervals. The Bland–Altman method assessed agreement between the core and continuous noninvasive temperature monitor values, by measuring the mean difference (± 2 SD) between these values. RESULTS: There were 20 subjects that underwent study between January 2018 and March 2018 (55% women, age: 57 ± 14 years old, BMI: 28.9 + 9.8 kg/m(2), 100% mechanically ventilated). The comparison patient temperature source was predominantly esophageal (n = 10) followed by bladder (n = 5) or rectal (n = 5). There were a total of 999 h of paired patient temperature data from esophageal (50%), bladder (25%), and rectal (25%) temperatures. Bland–Altman analysis demonstrated good agreement with the superficial temperature monitor and core temperature measures in all patients overall, with a difference mean of 0.06 ± 0.39 C (P = 0.99) and no proportional bias noted (β =0.002, P = 0.917). CONCLUSIONS: Continuous noninvasive temperature monitoring is a suitable alternative method for assessing core temperature during TTM. Future studies should focus on developing connectivity with a continuous noninvasive temperature monitor to approximate core temperature during TTM.


title: Has air quality improved in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic? A parametric analysis

text: Many governments around the world have enforced quarantine policies to control the spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). These policies have had positive and negative effects on the environment. For example, the concentrations of certain harmful pollutants have decreased in some countries. In contrast, the concentrations of other pollutants have increased. This research analyzes the effect of quarantine policies on air quality in Quito, Ecuador. Using a parametric approach, it was found that NO(2) and PM2.5 concentrations have decreased significantly since the establishment of lockdown measures. However, O(3) concentrations have increased considerably in 2020.


title: An Invitation to Act on the Value of Self-Care: Being a Whole Person in All That You Do

text: The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in a sudden, unprecedented change in context that impacted the way behavior analysts live and work worldwide. Any rapidly shifting context requires behavioral flexibility, in addition to the acquisition of new skills and access to resources that foster resilience in the face of practical challenges and uncertainty about the future. Behavior analysts (particularly novice practitioners) may already be vulnerable to burnout (Plantiveau, Dounavi, & Virués-Ortega, 2018) and in need of greater support to adopt protective self-care practices. Such practices will enable them to continue providing effective services to distressed families, while navigating their own challenges. This article seeks to offer behavior analysts some tools and practices drawn from the work of contextual behavior scientists that can promote well-being and resilience. This includes strategies for clarifying and committing to an overarching value of self-care, acting congruently with personal and professional values across many domains of living, and practicing self-compassion in the process.


title: Processing of Complex Materials in the Copper Industry: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead

text: With the gradual decrease in the grade of copper ores being processed, copper concentrates have become more complex with higher impurity and gangue content. This trend has had a detrimental effect on smelters as they have to increase throughput to maintain copper metal production, while increasing operating costs due to processing the increased amounts of secondary products (slag, acid) and stabilizing waste streams. This paper discusses impacts from the increased complexity of resources from mine to smelters, highlighting the need for an integrated processing approach to achieve sustainable and competitive multi-metal recovery.


COVID-19 Fear, Mental Health, and Substance Misuse Conditions Among University Social Work Students in Israel and Russia


title: The interplay between knowledge-based competitiveness, people’s good health and well-being: new empirical evidence from Central and Eastern European countries

text: The enhancement of countries’ competitiveness represents an essential credential in current economic interventions, national policy frameworks and strategies, mainly in relation to sustainable economic development. This paper explores the drivers of competitiveness in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) in the knowledge economy, and its further impact on economic welfare, with a particular focus on individuals’ perceived good health and well-being (a good predictor of people’s future use of the healthcare system and mortality risk and a benchmark for sustainable development). The dataset grasps 11 CEECs analyzed during the 2000–2018 lapse of time. The methodological endeavor is based on three econometric procedures encompassing macroeconometric models, structural equation modelling (SEM) and network analysis through Gaussian Graphical Models. Main findings entail that CEECs competitiveness is driven by the key coordinates of the knowledge economy, particularly tertiary education, employment in technology and knowledge-intensive sectors, and additional government financial support dedicated for research and development activities. Moreover, in a further complex setting, competitiveness increases under the impact of education, research, development and innovation leads to significant upwards in GDP per capita levels. However, the further linkages with individuals’ good health and well-being, when considered as a consequence of welfare increase following knowledge-driven competitiveness, or as a direct impact of competitiveness increases, entail a downsized outcome in terms of individuals’ perceived health. Our results provide solid grounds for the development of new tailored policies designed to enhance CEECs knowledge-driven competitiveness in a comprehensive framework, with benefit spillovers on sustainable economic development. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11135-020-01015-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.


title: How Indian agriculture should change after COVID-19

text: The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the vulnerability of India’s Agri food system and accentuated the need for agricultural market reforms and digital solutions to connect farmers to markets, to create safety nets and ensure reasonable working conditions, and to decentralize Agri food systems to make them more resilient.


title: Assuring food security in Singapore, a small island state facing COVID-19

text: Small island states have features in common which make it difficult for them to assure food security through self-production, notably limited land, fresh water and labour. As these island states grow economically, diet diversification by an increasingly affluent population demands a balance between food imports and self-production. Singapore, a wealthy, small island state has consistently been ranked high in food security in international comparisons, but only under conditions when trade is uninhibited and countries do not reduce food exports. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown vulnerabilities in the country’s “Resilience” strategy to maintain food security through importing over 90% of its food needs from over 170 countries. Leading up to and during the pandemic, strategic policy initiatives were announced by the government and new measures were taken to increase the stability of imports, ramp up production from existing farms, increase self-production by 300% by 2030 through increasing the number of high technology urban vegetable and fish farms, and factory-cultured food, and reducing food waste. Singapore offers lessons for other small island states in ways to improve their food security.