title: Comparison of the computed tomography findings in COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia in immunocompetent adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

text: OBJECTIVES: To compare the chest computed tomography (CT) findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to other non-COVID viral pneumonia. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched through April 04, 2020, for published English language studies. Studies were eligible if they included immunocompetent patients with up to 14 days of viral pneumonia. Subjects had a respiratory tract sample test positive for COVID-19, adenovirus, influenza A, rhinovirus, parainfluenza, or respiratory syncytial virus. We only included observational studies and case series with more than ten patients. The pooled prevalence of each chest CT pattern or finding was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: From 2263 studies identified, 33 were eligible for inclusion, with a total of 1911 patients (COVID-19, n = 934; non-COVID, n = 977). Frequent CT features for both COVID-19 and non-COVID viral pneumonia were a mixed pattern of ground-glass opacity (GGO) and consolidation (COVID-19, 0.37; 0.17-0.56; non-COVID, 0.46; 0.35-0.58) or predominantly GGO pattern (COVID-19, 0.42; 0.28-0.55; non-COVID 0.25; 0.17-0.32), bilateral distribution (COVID-19, 0.81; 0.77-0.85; non-COVID, 0.69; 0.54-0.84), and involvement of lower lobes (COVID-19, 0.88; 0.80-0.95; non-COVID, 0.61; 0.50-0.82). COVID-19 pneumonia presented a higher prevalence of peripheral distribution (COVID-19 0.77; 0.67-0.87; non-COVID 0.34; 0.18-0.49), and involvement of upper (COVID-19, 0.77; 0.65-0.88; non-COVID 0.18; 0.10-0.27) and middle lobes (COVID-19, 0.61; 0.47-0.76; non-COVID 0.24; 0.11-0.38). CONCLUSION: Except for a higher prevalence of peripheral distribution, involvement of upper and middle lobes, COVID-19, and non-COVID viral pneumonia had overlapping chest CT findings. KEY POINTS: â¢ Most common CT findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were a predominant pattern of ground-glass opacity (GGO), followed by a mixed pattern of GGO and consolidation, bilateral disease, peripheral distribution, and lower lobe involvement. â¢ Most frequent CT findings of non-COVID viral pneumonia were a predominantly mixed pattern of GGO and consolidation, followed by a predominant pattern of GGO, bilateral disease, random or diffuse distribution, and lower lobe involvement. â¢ COVID-19 pneumonia presented a higher prevalence of peripheral distribution, and involvement of upper and middle lobes compared with non-COVID viral pneumonia.


title: Aerosolization During Common Ventilation Scenarios

text: Otolaryngologists are at increased risk for exposure to suspected aerosol-generating procedures during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In the present study, we sought to quantify differences in aerosol generation during common ventilation scenarios. We performed a series of 30-second ventilation experiments on porcine larynx-trachea-lung specimens. We used an optical particle sizer to quantify the number of 1- to 10-µm particles observed per 30-second period (PP30). No significant aerosols were observed with ventilation of intubated specimens (10.8 ± 2.4 PP30 vs background 9.5 ± 2.1, P = 1.0000). Simulated coughing through a tracheostomy produced 53.5 ± 25.2 PP30, significantly more than background (P = .0121) and ventilation of an intubated specimen (P = .0401). These data suggest that undisturbed ventilation and thus intubation without stimulation or coughing may be safer than believed. Coughing increases aerosol production, particularly via tracheostomy. Otolaryngologists who frequently manage patient airways and perform tracheostomy are at increased risk for aerosol exposure and require appropriate personal protective equipment, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


May Parkinson's disease be a protective factor against CNS involvement by SARS-CoV2?


title: Clinical practice guidance for hepatology and liver transplant providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: APASL expert panel consensus recommendations

text: BACKGROUND: Confronting a once-in-a-century pandemic with COVID-19, tremendous stress has been placed in all walks of life worldwide. AIMS: In order to enhance scientific information interflow in the arena of liver diseases in Asia-Pacific region during this difficult time, Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) has taken the initiative to form the APASL COVID-19 Taskforce to formulate a clinical practice guidance in Hepatology, liver-related oncology, transplantation and conduct of clinical trials. METHODS: A taskforce with 22 key opinion leaders in Hepatology from 16 countries or administration regions in Asia-Pacific regions was formed and through intense interaction via webinar, this guidance was formulated. Based on scientific data and experiences, recommendations were made in the management of liver injury, liver transplantation, autoimmune diseases, chronic liver diseases, delivery of elective and emergency services and conduct of clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first consensus clinical guidance synthesized by APASL for our hepatologist and their allied medical personal.


Association of mediastinal lymphadenopathy with COVID-19 prognosis


title: Soliton Distillation in Fiber Lasers

text: Pure solitons are for the first time distilled from the resonant continuous wave (CW) background in a fiber laser by utilizing nonlinear Fourier transform (NFT). It is identified that the soliton and the resonant CW background have different eigenvalue distributions in the nonlinear frequency domain. Similar to water distillation, we propose the approach of soliton distillation, by making NFT on a steady pulse generated from a fiber laser, then filtering out the eigenvalues of the resonant CW background in the nonlinear frequency domain, and finally recovering the soliton by inverse NFT (INFT). Simulation results verify that the soliton can be distinguished from the resonant CW background in the nonlinear frequency domain and pure solitons can be obtained by INFT.


title: Chest Computed Tomography Manifestation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Patients With Cardiothoracic Conditions

text: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a serious public health concern, with an exponentially growing number of patients worldwide. Computed tomography (CT) has been suggested as a highly sensitive modality for the diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in the early stages of COVID-19. The typical features of COVID-19 in chest CT include bilateral, peripheral, and multifocal ground-glass opacities with or without superimposed consolidations. Patients with underlying medical conditions are at higher risks of complications and mortality. The diagnosis of COVID-19 on the basis of the imaging features may be more challenging in patients with preexisting cardiothoracic conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, cardiovascular disease, and malignancies with cardiothoracic involvement. The extensive pulmonary involvement in some of these pathologies may obscure the typical manifestation of COVID-19, whereas other preexisting pathologies may resemble the atypical or rare CT manifestations of this viral pneumonia. Thus, understanding the specific CT manifestations in these special subgroups is essential for a prompt diagnosis.


Dog Bites in Children Surge during COVID-19: A Case for Enhanced Prevention


title: Coexistence of antiphospholipid syndrome and cryoglobulinemia in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

text: We present here a case of severe digital necrosis in a patient with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The concomitant presence of two autoimmune conditions such as cryoglobulinemia and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) were diagnosed. To best of our knowledge, this is the first case of the coexistence of RA, cryoglobulinemia, and APS in a single patient. An aggressive treatment was needed including hallux amputation, methylprednisolone pulses followed by rituximab with favorable outcome.


title: Hand Hygiene Among Health Care Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Recommendations

text: In-hospital transmission is one of the main routes of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spreading among health care workers (HCWs) who are the frontline fighters. However, coming into contact with COVID-19-positive patients is unavoidable. Therefore, hand hygiene is of utmost importance for the prevention of COVID-19 among HCWs. This purpose can be achieved by applying alcohol-based hand rubs, washing hands properly with soap and water, and applying other antiseptic agents. Nevertheless, regular hand hygiene could also be challenging, because water, detergents, and disinfectants may predispose HCWs to hand dermatitis. The current article reviews the risk factors for the development of hand dermatitis, with further focus on the most common agents used among HCWs. In addition, the risk of occupational hand dermatitis for each agent is evaluated to increase awareness of this common condition. Finally, some recommendations are discussed to reduce the effect of hand dermatitis on HCWs.


title: Outcomes in Patients with Severe COVID-19 Disease Treated with Tocilizumab - A Case- Controlled Study

text: BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is an ongoing threat to society. Patients who develop the most severe forms of the disease have high mortality. The interleukin-6 inhibitor tocilizumab has the potential to improve outcomes in these patients by preventing the development of cytokine release storm. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, case-control, single-center study in patients with severe to critical COVID-19 disease treated with tocilizumab. Disease severity was defined based on the amount of oxygen supplementation required. The primary endpoint was the overall mortality. Secondary endpoints were mortality in non-intubated patients, and mortality in intubated patients. RESULTS: A total of 193 patients were included in the study. 96 patients received tocilizumab, while 97 served as control group. The mean age was 60 years. Patients over 65 years represented 43% of the population. More patients in the tocilizumab group reported fever, cough, and shortness of breath (83%, 80%, and 96% versus 73%, 69%, and 71%, respectively). There was a non-statistically significant lower mortality in the treatment group (52% versus 62.1% P = 0.09). When excluding intubated patients, there was statistically significant lower mortality in patients treated with tocilizumab (6 vs. 27% P = 0.024). Bacteremia was more common in the control group (24% vs 13% P = 0.43), while fungemia was the similar for both (3% vs 4% P = 0.72). CONCLUSION: Our study showed a non-statistically significant lower mortality in patients with severe to critical COVID-19 disease who received tocilizumab. When intubated patients were excluded, the use of tocilizumab was associated with lower mortality.


title: Impact of coronavirus pandemic in appointments and anxiety/concerns of patients regarding orthodontic treatment

text: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the quarantine in orthodontic appointments, and patients' anxiety and concerns about their ongoing orthodontic treatment. SETTINGS AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Patients from private dental clinics of two orthodontists that were undergoing active orthodontic treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An online anonymous questionnaire regarding their anxiety about the coronavirus situation, availability/acceptance to attend an appointment, among others, was answered by orthodontic patients. Descriptive statistics with percentages was performed and responses were compared between sexes, cities, and association of the feelings/level of anxiety of patients and willingness to attend an appointment were performed with chi-square, independent t test, one-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests. RESULTS: The questionnaire was answered by 354 patients (231 female; 123 male) with mean age of 35.49 years. Most patients are respecting the quarantine, 44.7% related to be calm and 46.3% afraid or anxious. The level of anxiety was greater for females than males. There was significant association of the level of anxiety and the willingness to attend an appointment. The greatest concern of patients was delay in the end of treatment. CONCLUSION: The quarantine and coronavirus pandemic showed to have impact on orthodontic appointments and patients' anxiety. Patients willing to attend an orthodontic appointment presented significantly lower level of anxiety than patients that would not go or would go only in urgency/emergency. Females were more anxious than males about coronavirus pandemic, quarantine and impact on their orthodontic treatments. Delay in treatment was the greatest concern of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.


title: Perspective: Vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 severity - plausibly linked by latitude, ethnicity, impacts on cytokines, ACE2, and thrombosis (R1)

text: BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection ranges from asymptomatic through to fatal COVID-19 characterised by a "cytokine storm" and lung failure. Vitamin D deficiency has been postulated as a determinant of severity. OBJECTIVES: To review the evidence relevant to vitamin D and COVID-19 METHODS: Narrative review RESULTS: Regression modelling shows that more northerly countries in the Northern Hemisphere are currently (May 2020) showing relatively high COVID-19 mortality, with an estimated 4.4% increase in mortality for each 1 degree latitude north of 28 degrees North (P=0.031) after adjustment for age of population. This supports a role for ultraviolet B acting via vitamin D synthesis. Factors associated with worse COVID-19 prognosis include old age, ethnicity, male sex, obesity, diabetes and hypertension and these also associate with deficiency of vitamin D or its response. Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to severity of childhood respiratory illness. Experimentally, vitamin D increases the ratio of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to ACE, thus increasing angiotensin II hydrolysis and reducing subsequent inflammatory cytokine response to pathogens and lung injury. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial evidence supports a link between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 severity but it is all indirect. Community-based placebo-controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation may be difficult. Further evidence could come from study of COVID-19 outcomes in large cohorts with information on prescribing data for vitamin D supplementation or assay of serum unbound 25(OH) vitamin D levels. Meanwhile vitamin D supplementation should be strongly advised for people likely to be deficient.


title: Emerging genetic diversity among clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2: Lessons for today

text: Considering the current pandemic of COVID-19, it is imperative to gauge the role of molecular divergence in SARS-CoV-2 with time, due to clinical and epidemiological concerns. Our analyses involving molecular phylogenetics is a step toward understanding the transmission clusters that can be correlated to pathophysiology of the disease to gain insight into virulence mechanism. As the infections are increasing rapidly, more divergence is expected followed possibly by viral adaptation. We could identify mutational hotspots which appear to be major drivers of diversity among strains, with RBD of spike protein emerging as the key region involved in interaction with ACE2 and consequently a major determinant of infection outcome. We believe that such molecular analyses correlated with clinical characteristics and host predisposition need to be evaluated at the earliest to understand viral adaptability, disease prognosis, and transmission dynamics.


docid: wtpiffsy

title: Direct evidence of active SARS-CoV-2 replication in the intestine

text: BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no direct evidence to prove the active SARS-CoV-2 replication in the intestinal tract and relevant pathological changes in the colon and rectum. We investigated the presence of virions and pathological changes in surgical rectal tissues of a clinically confirmed COVID-19 patient with rectal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Here, the clinical data were collected during hospitalization and follow-up of this patient. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed on the rectal tissue specimens obtained from surgical resection, succus entericus and intestinal mucosa of ileostomy, and rectal mucosa during follow-up after recovery. Ultrathin sections of surgical samples were observed for SARS-CoV-2 virions using electron microscopy. Histopathological examination was performed using hematoxylin-eosin stain. Immunohistochemical analysis and immunofluorescence were carried out on rectal tissues to evaluate the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 antigen, and immune cell infiltrations. RESULTS: The patient had fever and cough on day 3 postoperatively, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on day 7, and was discharged from the hospital on day 41. RNA of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in surgically resected rectal specimens, but not in samples collected on 37 day after discharge. Notably, coincidence with rectal tissues of surgical specimens tested nucleic acid positive for SARS-CoV-2, typical coronavirus virions in rectal tissue were observed under electron microscopy. Moreover, abundant lymphocytes and macrophages (some are SARS-CoV-2 positive) infiltrating the lamina propria were found with no significant mucosal damage. CONCLUSIONS: We firstly reported that direct evidence of the active SARS-CoV-2 replication in the patient's rectum during the incubation period, which might explain SARS-CoV-2 fecal-oral transmission.


docid: paoehsob

title: Mapping the South African health landscape in response to COVID-19

text: When the COVID-19 disease pandemic infiltrated the world, there was an immediate need for accurate information. As with any outbreak, the outbreak follows a clear trajectory, and subsequently, the supporting information for that outbreak needs to address the needs associated with that stage of the outbreak. At first, there was a need to inform the public of the information related to the initial situation related to the"who"of the COVID-19 disease. However, as time continued, the"where","when"and"how to"related questions started to emerge in relation to the public healthcare system themselves. Questions surrounding the health facilities including COVID-19 hospital bed capacity, locations of designated COVID-19 facilities, and general information related to these facilities were not easily accessible to the general public. Furthermore, the available information was found to be outdated, fragmented across several platforms, and still had gaps in the data related to these facilities. To rectify this problem, a group of volunteers working on the covid19za project stepped in to assist. Each member leading a part of the project chose to focus on one of four problems related to the challenges associated with the Hospital information including: data quality, data completeness, data source validation and data visualisation capacity. As the project developed, so did the sophistication of the data, visualisation and core function of the project. The future prospects of this project relate to a Progressive Web Application that will avail this information for the public as well as healthcare workers through comprehensive mapping and data quality.


title: Continuous physiological monitoring using wearable technology to inform individual management of infectious diseases, public health and outbreak responses

text: Optimal management of infectious diseases is guided by up-to-date information at the individual and public health level. For infections of global importance including emerging pandemics such as COVID-19 or prevalent endemic diseases such like dengue, identifying patients at risk of severe disease and clinical deterioration can be challenging given the majority present with a mild illness. In our article, we describe the use of wearable technology for continuous physiological monitoring in healthcare. Deployment of wearables in hospital settings for the management of infectious diseases, or in the community to support syndromic surveillance during outbreaks could provide significant, cost effective advantages and improve healthcare delivery. We highlight a range of promising technologies employed by wearable devices and discuss the technical and ethical issues relating to implementation in the clinic, with specific focus on low- and middle- income countries. Finally, we propose a set of essential criteria for the roll-out of wearable technology for clinical use.


Peripheral "Swiss Cheese" Appearance in a COVID-19 Patient with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.


title: Vaccination strategies to combat novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2

text: The 2019-novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from human to human has recently reported in China. Now COVID-19 has been spread all over the world and declared epidemics by WHO. It has caused a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The elderly and people with underlying diseases are susceptible to infection and prone to serious outcomes, which may be associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine storm. Due to the rapid increase of SARS-CoV-2 infections and unavailability of antiviral therapeutic agents, developing an effective SAR-CoV-2 vaccine is urgently required. SARS-CoV-2 which is genetically similar to SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an enveloped, single and positive-stranded RNA virus with a genome comprising 29,891 nucleotides, which encode the 12 putative open reading frames responsible for the synthesis of viral structural and nonstructural proteins which are very similar to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV proteins. In this review we have summarized various vaccine candidates i.e., nucleotide, subunit and vector based as well as attenuated and inactivated forms, which have already been demonstrated their prophylactic efficacy against MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, so these candidates could be used as a potential tool for the development of a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.


title: Surgical practice recommendations for minimal access surgeons during COVID 19 pandemic - Indian inter-society directives

text: These are inter-society guidelines for performance of laparoscopic surgery during COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the way of surgical practice. The safety of healthcare workers and patients is being challenged. It is prudent that our surgical practice should adapt to this rapidly changing health environment. The guidance issued is based on global practices and national governmental directives. The Inter-Society Group urges you to be updated with the developing situation and evolving changes.


title: ILROG emergency guidelines for radiation therapy of hematological malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic

text: The International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group (ILROG) guidelines for using radiation therapy (RT) in hematological malignancies are widely used in many countries. The emergency situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic may result in limitations of treatment resources. Furthermore, in recognition of the need to also reduce the exposure of patients and staff to potential infection with COVID-19, the ILROG task force has made recommendations for alternative radiation treatment schemes. The emphasis is on maintaining clinical efficacy and safety by increasing the dose per fraction while reducing the number of daily treatments. The guidance is informed by adhering to acceptable radiobiological parameters and clinical tolerability. The options for delaying or omitting RT in some hematological categories are also discussed.


Letter to the Editor: Kim, S.-W., Su, K.-P. (2020) Using psychoneuroimmunity against COVID-19, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.03.025


docid: njwmwggq

title: Audiology in the Time of the Coronavirus


Fibreoptic tracheal intubation in COVID-19: not so fast


All hands on deck as cases of COVID-19 surge


No child is an island: sociability in times of social distancing


docid: fovrpeff

title: COVID-19 during pregnancy: Potential risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in neonates?


Novel viruses, old data, and basic principles: how to save lives and avoid harm amid the unknown


Editor's presentation: 'Les liaisones dangerouses. The heart in the time of COVID-19'


title: Salvation in a Time of Plague

text: Health workers offer their skills and care to COVID-19 pandemic patients, just as St Roch offered healing to those stricken by bubonic plague during the Renaissance. This article interprets 3 works of art in light of Roch's story of illness and recovery and applies key insights of ethical, artistic, and clinical relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Covid-19: Known risk factors fail to explain the increased risk of death among people from ethnic minorities


title: COVID-19, palliative care and public health

text: The lack of integration between public health approaches, cancer care and palliative and end-of-life care in the majority of health systems globally became strikingly evident in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. At the same time, the collapse of the boundaries between these domains imposed by the pandemic created unique opportunities for intersectoral planning and collaboration. While the challenge of integration is not unique to oncology, the organisation of cancer care and its linkages to palliative care and to global health may allow it to be a demonstration model for how the problem of integration can be addressed. Before the pandemic, the large majority of individuals with cancer in need of palliative care in low- and middle-income countries and the poor or marginalised in high-income countries were denied access. This inequity was highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as individuals in impoverished or population-dense settings with weak health systems have been more likely to become infected and to have less access to medical care and to palliative and end-of-life care. Such inequities deserve attention by government, financial institutions and decision makers in health care. However, there has been no framework in most countries for integrated decision-making that takes into account the requirements of public health, clinical medicine and palliative and end-of-life care. Integrated planning across these domains at all levels would allow for more coordinated resource allocation and better preparedness for the inevitability of future systemic threats to population health.


Covid-19: Doctors warn of humanitarian catastrophe at Europe's largest refugee camp


title: Scoping review sobre las recomendaciones para el aislamiento domiciliario en la pandemia del COVID-19./ [Scoping review about the recommendations for home isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic]

text: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected countries on all continents where containment and isolation measures have been systematically applied. AIM: To synthesize the available evidence on the management of home isolation due to COVID-19 infection. METHOD: A scoping review has been carried out using the Trip Database, PUBMED, CINAHL, COCHRANE and Scopus controlled language without any limits. From all the documents located, information was extracted on the date of publication, country of publication, type of study, assessment of the level of evidence and degree of recommendation, and results of interest to answer the research question. Critical reading of the selected documents has been carried out, but without using it as an exclusion criterion but rather informative. RESULTS: 163 records were located and 14 were selected. The recommendations have been grouped into 10 topics around all the daily management of home care. CONCLUSIONS: The scarcity of robust evidence on isolation from COVID-19 infection is objective. Most of the documents are reviews carried out after the consensus of experts at the international level.


title: COvid MEdicaTion (COMET) study: protocol for a cohort study

text: Various theories about drugs such as ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) in relation to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 are circulating in both mainstream media and medical literature. These are based on the fact that ACE2 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 cell invasion via binding of a viral spike protein to ACE2. However, the effect of ACE inhibitors, ARBs and other drugs on ACE2 is unclear and all theories are based on conflicting evidence mainly from animal studies. Therefore, clinical evidence is urgently needed. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between use of these drugs on clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19. Patients will be included from several hospitals in Europe. Data will be collected in a user-friendly database (Digitalis) on an external server. Analyses will be adjusted for sex, age and presence of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes. These results will enable more rational choices for randomised controlled trials for preventive and therapeutic strategies in COVID-19.


title: Intersecting Pandemics: Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Protective Behaviors on People Living with HIV, Atlanta, Georgia

text: BACKGROUND: COVID-19 and its social responses threaten the health of people living with HIV. We conducted a rapid-response interview to assess COVID-19 protective behaviors of people living with HIV and the impact of their responses on HIV related healthcare. METHOD: Men and women living with HIV (N = 162) ages 20 to 37 participating in a longitudinal study of HIV treatment and care completed routine study measures and an assessment of COVID-19-related experiences. RESULTS: At baseline, a majority of participants demonstrated HIV viremia, markers indicative of renal disorders, and biologically confirmed substance use. At follow-up, in the first month of responding to COVID-19, engaging in more social distancing behaviors was related to difficulty accessing food and medications, and increased cancelation of healthcare appointments, both by self and providers. We observed ART adherence had improved during the initial month of COVID-19 response. CONCLUSIONS: Factors that may pose added risk for COVID-19 severity were prevalent among people living with HIV and those with greater risk factors did not practice more COVID-19 protective behaviors. Social distancing and other practices intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 interfered with HIV care, and impeded access to food and medications, although an immediate adverse impact on medication adherence was not evident. These results suggest social responses to COVID-19 adversely impacted the healthcare of people living with HIV, supporting continued monitoring to determine the long-term effects of co-occurring HIV and COVID-19 pandemics.


The sprint to solve coronavirus protein structures - and disarm them with drugs


Development and implementation of a Greater Manchester COVID19 Urgent Eyecare Service


title: A modified deep convolutional neural network for detecting COVID-19 and pneumonia from chest X-ray images based on the concatenation of Xception and ResNet50V2

text: In this paper, we have trained several deep convolutional networks with introduced training techniques for classifying X-ray images into three classes: normal, pneumonia, and COVID-19, based on two open-source datasets. Our data contains 180 X-ray images that belong to persons infected with COVID-19, and we attempted to apply methods to achieve the best possible results. In this research, we introduce some training techniques that help the network learn better when we have an unbalanced dataset (fewer cases of COVID-19 along with more cases from other classes). We also propose a neural network that is a concatenation of the Xception and ResNet50V2 networks. This network achieved the best accuracy by utilizing multiple features extracted by two robust networks. For evaluating our network, we have tested it on 11302 images to report the actual accuracy achievable in real circumstances. The average accuracy of the proposed network for detecting COVID-19 cases is 99.50%, and the overall average accuracy for all classes is 91.4%.


title: Clusters of Coronavirus Disease in Communities, Japan, January-April 2020

text: We analyzed 3,184 cases of coronavirus disease in Japan and identified 61 case-clusters in healthcare and other care facilities, restaurants and bars, workplaces, and music events. We also identified 22 probable primary case-patients for the clusters; most were 20-39 years of age and presymptomatic or asymptomatic at virus transmission.


Talking to children about illness and death of a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic


title: Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Zhuhai, China, 2020

text: BACKGROUND: To illustrate the extent of transmission, identify affecting risk factors and estimate epidemiological modeling parameters of SARS-CoV-2 in household setting. METHODS: We enrolled 35 confirmed index cases and their 148 household contacts, January 2020-February 2020, in Zhuhai, China. All participants were interviewed and asked to complete questionnaires. Household contacts were then prospectively followed active symptom monitoring through the 21-day period and nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs were collected at 3-7 days intervals. Epidemiological, demographic and clinical data (when available) were collected. RESULTS: Assuming that all these secondary cases were infected by their index cases, the second infection rate (SIR) in household context is 32.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.4%-44.4%), with 10.4% of secondary cases being asymptomatic. Multivariate analysis showed that household contacts with underlying medical conditions, a history of direct exposure to Wuhan and its surrounding areas, and shared vehicle with an index patient were associated with higher susceptibility. Household members without protective measures after illness onset of the index patient seem to increase the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The median incubation period and serial interval within household were estimated to be 4.3 days (95% CI; 3.4 to 5.3 days) and 5.1 days (95% CI; 4.3 to 6.2 days), respectively. CONCLUSION: Early isolation of patients with COVID-19 and prioritizing rapid contact investigation, followed by active symptom monitoring and periodic laboratory evaluation, should be initiated immediately after confirming patients to address the underlying determinants driving the continuing pandemic.


title: Are you wearing a mask? Improving mask detection from speech using augmentation by cycle-consistent GANs

text: The task of detecting whether a person wears a face mask from speech is useful in modelling speech in forensic investigations, communication between surgeons or people protecting themselves against infectious diseases such as COVID-19. In this paper, we propose a novel data augmentation approach for mask detection from speech. Our approach is based on (i) training Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with cycle-consistency loss to translate unpaired utterances between two classes (with mask and without mask), and on (ii) generating new training utterances using the cycle-consistent GANs, assigning opposite labels to each translated utterance. Original and translated utterances are converted into spectrograms which are provided as input to a set of ResNet neural networks with various depths. The networks are combined into an ensemble through a Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifier. With this system, we participated in the Mask Sub-Challenge (MSC) of the INTERSPEECH 2020 Computational Paralinguistics Challenge, surpassing the baseline proposed by the organizers by 2.8%. Our data augmentation technique provided a performance boost of 0.9% on the private test set. Furthermore, we show that our data augmentation approach yields better results than other baseline and state-of-the-art augmentation methods.


title: Statins: Could an old friend help the fight against COVID-19?

text: COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has overwhelmed Healthcare Systems requiring the rapid development of treatments, at least, to reduce COVID-19 severity. Drug repurposing offers a fast track. Here, we discuss the potential beneficial effects of statins in COVID-19 patients based on evidence that they may target virus receptors, replication, degradation and downstream responses in infected cells, addressing both basic research and epidemiological information. Briefly, statins could act modulating virus entry, acting on the SARS-CoV-2 receptors, ACE2 and CD147, and/or lipid rafts engagement. Statins, by inducing autophagy activation, could regulate virus replication or degradation, exerting protective effects. The well-known anti-inflammatory properties of statins, by blocking several molecular mechanisms, including NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome, could limit the "cytokine storm" in severe COVID-19 patients which is linked to fatal outcome. Finally, statin moderation of coagulation response activation may also contribute to improve COVID-19 outcomes.


title: Strategies for daily operating room management of ambulatory surgery centers following resolution of the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

text: We performed a narrative review to explore the economics of daily operating room management decisions for ambulatory surgery centers following resolution of the acute phase of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is anticipated that there will be a substantive fraction of patients who will be contagious, but asymptomatic at the time of surgery. Use multimodal perioperative infection control practices (e.g., including patient decontamination) and monitor performance (e.g., S. aureus transmission from patient to the environment). The consequence of COVID-19 is that such processes are more important than ever to follow because infection affects not only patients but the surgery center staff and surgeons. Dedicate most operating rooms to procedures that are not airway aerosol producing and can be performed without general anesthesia. Increase throughput by performing nerve blocks before patients enter the operating rooms. Bypass the phase I post-anesthesia care unit whenever possible by appropriate choices of anesthetic approach and drugs. Plan long-duration workdays (e.g., 12-h). For cases where the surgical procedure does not cause aerosol production, but general anesthesia will be used, have initial (phase I) post-anesthesia recovery in the operating room where the surgery was done. Use anesthetic practices that achieve fast initial recovery of the brief ambulatory cases. When the surgical procedure causes aerosol production (e.g., bronchoscopy), conduct phase I recovery in the operating room and use multimodal environmental decontamination after each case. Use statistical methods to plan for the resulting long turnover times. Whenever possible, have the anesthesia and nursing teams stagger cases in more than one room so that they are doing one surgical case while the other room is being cleaned. In conclusion, this review shows that while COVID-19 is prevalent, it will markedly affect daily ambulatory workflow for patients undergoing general anesthesia, with potentially substantial economic impact for some surgical specialties.


title: COVID-Net: A Tailored Deep Convolutional Neural Network Design for Detection of COVID-19 Cases from Chest X-Ray Images

text: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating effect on the health and well-being of the global population. A critical step in the fight against COVID-19 is effective screening of infected patients, with one of the key screening approaches being radiology examination using chest radiography. Motivated by this and inspired by the open source efforts of the research community, in this study we introduce COVID-Net, a deep convolutional neural network design tailored for the detection of COVID-19 cases from chest X-ray (CXR) images that is open source and available to the general public. To the best of the authors' knowledge, COVID-Net is one of the first open source network designs for COVID-19 detection from CXR images at the time of initial release. We also introduce COVIDx, an open access benchmark dataset that we generated comprising of 13,975 CXR images across 13,870 patient patient cases, with the largest number of publicly available COVID-19 positive cases to the best of the authors' knowledge. Furthermore, we investigate how COVID-Net makes predictions using an explainability method in an attempt to not only gain deeper insights into critical factors associated with COVID cases, which can aid clinicians in improved screening, but also audit COVID-Net in a responsible and transparent manner to validate that it is making decisions based on relevant information from the CXR images. By no means a production-ready solution, the hope is that the open access COVID-Net, along with the description on constructing the open source COVIDx dataset, will be leveraged and build upon by both researchers and citizen data scientists alike to accelerate the development of highly accurate yet practical deep learning solutions for detecting COVID-19 cases and accelerate treatment of those who need it the most.


title: Repurposing of FDA-approved antivirals, antibiotics, anthelmintics, antioxidants, and cell protectives against SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease

text: SARS-CoV-2 or Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a rapidly spreading, highly contagious, and sometimes fatal disease for which drug discovery and vaccine development are critical. SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) was used to virtually screen 1697 clinical FDA-approved drugs. Among the top results expected to bind with SARS-CoV-2 PLpro strongly were three cell protectives and antioxidants (NAD+, quercitrin, and oxiglutatione), three antivirals (ritonavir, moroxydine, and zanamivir), two antimicrobials (doripenem and sulfaguanidine), two anticancer drugs, three benzimidazole anthelmintics, one antacid (famotidine), three anti-hypertensive ACE receptor blockers (candesartan, losartan, and valsartan) and other miscellaneous systemically or topically acting drugs. The binding patterns of these drugs were superior to the previously identified SARS CoV PLpro inhibitor, 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), suggesting a potential for repurposing these drugs to treat COVID-19. The objective of drug repurposing is the rapid relocation of safe and approved drugs by bypassing the lengthy pharmacokinetic, toxicity, and preclinical phases. The ten drugs with the highest estimated docking scores with favorable pharmacokinetics were subjected to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations followed by molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area (MM/GBSA) binding energy calculations. Phenformin, quercetin, and ritonavir all demonstrated prospective binding affinities for COVID-19 PLpro over 50 ns MD simulations, with binding energy values of -56.6, -40.9, and -37.6 kcal/mol, respectively. Energetic and structural analyses showed phenformin was more stable than quercetin and ritonavir. The list of the drugs provided herein constitutes a primer for clinical application in COVID-19 patients and guidance for further antiviral studies.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.


title: The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system: Role in pathogenesis and potential therapeutic target in COVID-19

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, has spread worldwide causing high fatality rates. Neither a vaccine nor specific therapeutic approaches are available, hindering the fight against this disease and making better understanding of its pathogenesis essential. Despite similarities between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, the former has unique characteristics which represent a great challenge to physicians. The mechanism of COVID-19 infection and pathogenesis is still poorly understood. In the present review, we highlight possible pathways involved in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and potential therapeutic targets, focusing on the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.


title: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Systematic Review of Imaging Findings in 919 Patients

text: OBJECTIVE. Available information on CT features of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is scattered in different publications, and a cohesive literature review has yet to be compiled. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This article includes a systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase (Elsevier), Google Scholar, and the World Health Organization database. RESULTS. Known features of COVID-19 on initial CT include bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacification (GGO) with a peripheral or posterior distribution, mainly in the lower lobes and less frequently within the right middle lobe. Atypical initial imaging presentation of consolidative opacities superimposed on GGO may be found in a smaller number of cases, mainly in the elderly population. Septal thickening, bronchiectasis, pleural thickening, and subpleural involvement are some of the less common findings, mainly in the later stages of the disease. Pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, lymphadenopathy, cavitation, CT halo sign, and pneumothorax are uncommon but may be seen with disease progression. Follow-up CT in the intermediate stage of disease shows an increase in the number and size of GGOs and progressive transformation of GGO into multifocal consolidative opacities, septal thickening, and development of a crazy paving pattern, with the greatest severity of CT findings visible around day 10 after the symptom onset. Acute respiratory distress syndrome is the most common indication for transferring patients with COVID-19 to the ICU and the major cause of death in this patient population. Imaging patterns corresponding to clinical improvement usually occur after week 2 of the disease and include gradual resolution of consolidative opacities and decrease in the number of lesions and involved lobes. CONCLUSION. This systematic review of current literature on COVID-19 provides insight into the initial and follow-up CT characteristics of the disease.


title: 2019-Novel Coronavirus-Related Acute Cardiac Injury Cannot Be Ignored

text: PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a new infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has reached a pandemic status. Although SARSCoV-2 causes primarily respiratory problems, concurrent cardiac injury cannot be ignored since it may be an independent predictor for adverse outcomes. To resolve these issues, we aim to summarize the prevalence and its underlying mechanisms of acute cardiac injury in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection. RECENT FINDINGS: The main clinical manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection is pneumonia, cardiovascular complications have also been identified in the earliest reported cases from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Given the SARS-CoV-2 likely uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptors as its host receptor, ACE2-related signaling pathways may play a key role in mediating myocardial injury. SARS-CoV-2 infection related acute cardiac injury cannot be ignored, and its underlying mechanisms remain speculated. We would suggest that health professionals investigate cardiac function as part of the routine care.


COVID-19 threatens health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: the eye of the crocodile


Clinical Progress Note: Point-of-Care Ultrasound Applications in COVID-19


title: Mental health circumstances among health care workers and general public under the pandemic situation of COVID-19 (HOME-COVID-19)

text: BACKGROUND: After the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally, upgraded quarantine and physical distancing strategy, strict infection measures, and government's strict lockdown have been abided to confront the spread of the COVID-19 in Thailand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about the mental health and psychosocial problems among health care workers and the general population are now arising. Yet, information on mental health and psychosocial problems among health care workers and the general population have not been comprehensively reported in Thailand. As such, we conduct a cross-sectional study, a national online survey to describe the short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and psychosocial problems among health care workers and the general population in Thailand. METHODS: This study is a repeated cross-sectional study, an open online voluntary national-based survey during the wave I (April 21-May 4, 2020) follow-up in the wave II (August 3-16, 2020), wave III (November 15-28, 2020), and a 1-year follow-up survey (wave IV: April 21-May 4, 2021) in Thailand. Health care workers at the hospitals and the adult general population will be invited to participate in the online survey via the SurveyMonkey that limits one-time participation per unique internet protocol address. The target sample size of at least 1182 health care workers and 1310 general populations will be required to complete the online survey for each wave of the survey. Sociodemographic characteristics and a set of measurement tools for mental and psychosocial problems for each subcohort including depression, anxiety, stress, resilient copings, neuroticism, perceived social support, wellbeing, somatic symptoms, insomnia, burnout (for healthcare workers), and public stigma toward COVID-19 infection (for the general population) will be collected. For all estimates of prevalence, we will weigh data for all wave analyses under the complex design of the survey. Subgroup analyses stratified by key characteristics will also be done to analyze the proportion differences. For the repeated cross-sectional survey, we will combine the data from the wave I to wave IV survey to analyze changes in the mental health status. We will perform multilevel logistic regression models with random intercepts to explore associations with individual-level and region-level/hospital-level predictors. We also plan to perform an ancillary systematic review and meta-analysis by incorporating data from our findings to all available evidence. RESULTS: Our findings will provide information on the short- and long-term mental health status as well as the psychosocial responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in a national sample of health care workers and the general population in Thailand. CONCLUSION: This prospective, nationally based, a repeated cross-sectional study will describe the mental health status and psychosocial problems among health care workers and the general population in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Faculty of Public Health and Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiang Mai University. The findings will be disseminated through public, scientific, and professional meetings, and publications in peer-reviewed journals. THAI CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY (TCTR) REGISTRATION NUMBER: TCTR20200425001.


Sixty seconds on . . . Mr Bean's checklist


title: The Pandemic Effect: Raising the Bar for Ethics, Empathy, and Professional Collegiality

text: The widespread, tragic loss of life and the dedication of health care professionals have characterized the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic. While we mourn the loss of so many Americans to this novel virus, we also much acknowledge the positive effects to our profession, which are not insignificant. We have witnessed our larger community of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons pulling together in a manner not heretofore observed by this author. From the local level of practitioners to our national societies, there has been an amazing effort of collegial unity to develop the most clinically relevant guidelines for providing patient care with maximal safety, in the face of little scientific knowledge or experience with this virus. In addition, we as a specialty and individual otolaryngologists have, through our shared experiences, raised the bar for empathy, ethics, and professional interaction during these difficult times. We must reflect upon our professional growth and capture this renewal of altruism that lives at the heart of our calling.


title: Possible therapeutic role of a highly standardized mixture of active compounds derived from cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (AHCC) in patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus

text: The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19) is currently, March 2020, affecting more than 100,000 people worldwide and, according to the WHO (World Health Organization), a pandemic is shortly expected. The virus infects the lower respiratory tract and causes severe pneumonia and mortality in approximately 10% and 3-5%, respectively, of cases, mainly among the elderly and/or people affected by other diseases. AHCC is an α-glucan-based standardized mushroom extract that has been extensively investigated as an immunostimulant both in animals and/or in humans affected by West Nile virus, influenza virus, avian influenza virus, hepatitis C virus, papillomavirus, herpes virus, hepatitis B virus and HIV by promoting a regulated and protective immune response. Although the efficacy of AHCC has not yet been specifically evaluated with respect to SARS-CoV-2 disease, its action in promoting a protective response to a wide range of viral infections, and the current absence of effective vaccines, could support its use in the prevention of diseases provoked by human pathogenic coronavirus, including COVID-19.


Relación entre obesidad, diabetes e ingreso en UCI en pacientes COVID-19./ Relación entre obesidad, diabetes e ingreso en UCI en pacientes COVID-19./ Relationship between obesity, diabetes and ICU admission in COVID-19 patients


title: National age and coresidence patterns shape COVID-19 vulnerability

text: Based on harmonized census data from 81 countries, we estimate how age and coresidence patterns shape the vulnerability of countries' populations to outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We estimate variation in deaths arising due to a simulated random infection of 10% of the population living in private households and subsequent within-household transmission of the virus. The age structures of European and North American countries increase their vulnerability to COVID-related deaths in general. The coresidence patterns of elderly persons in Africa and parts of Asia increase these countries' vulnerability to deaths induced by within-household transmission of COVID-19. Southern European countries, which have aged populations and relatively high levels of intergenerational coresidence, are, all else equal, the most vulnerable to outbreaks of COVID-19. In a second step, we estimate to what extent avoiding primary infections for specific age groups would prevent subsequent deaths due to within-household transmission of the virus. Preventing primary infections among the elderly is the most effective in countries with small households and little intergenerational coresidence, such as France, whereas confining younger age groups can have a greater impact in countries with large and intergenerational households, such as Bangladesh.


Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak


title: To Do or Not to Do?-A Review of Cancer Surgery Triage Guidelines in COVID-19 Pandemic

text: COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a global health emergency involving more than 200 countries so far. The number of affected population is on rising, so is the mortality. This crisis has overwhelmed the healthcare infrastructures in many affected countries. Due to overall rising cancer incidence and specific concerns, a cohort of cancer patients forms a distinct subset of the population in whom a correct and timely treatment has a huge impact on the outcome. During this period, oncology care is definitely affected owing to many factors like lockdowns, reduced beds and deferral of elective cases to halt the spread of the pandemic. Surgery remains the best line of defence in many solid organ tumours especially in early stage and is potentially curative. China, the source of this pandemic, has taken more than 3 months to enter the post transitional phase of this pandemic. Deferring cancer surgeries for this long period may have a direct impact on the long-term outcomes of cancer patients. Many surgical oncology associations across the globe have come up with triage guidelines for surgical care of cancer patients; however, these are based on expert opinion rather than actual data. Herein, we intend to review these guidelines with respect to the risk of disease progression in cancer patients. In the absence of actual data on cancer surgery care during this pandemic, clinical decisions should be based on careful consideration of disease-related and patient-related factors. While some of the cancer surgeries can be safely delayed for some time, how long we can delay surgeries safely cannot be answered/ explained by any means. Thorough evaluation and discussion by an expert and experienced multidisciplinary team appears to be the most effective way forward.


Endoscopy activity in a covid-19 high-risk area (Barcelona): Moving forward (or backwards) according to the necessary resources available


title: Magnetic properties of icosahedral quasicrystals and their cubic approximants in the Cd-Mg-RE (RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, and Tm) systems

text: A systematic investigation has been performed to elucidate effects of Rare-Earth (RE) type and local atomic configuration on magnetic properties of icosahedral quasicrystal (iQC) and their cubic approximants (2/1 and 1/1 ACs) in the ternary Cd-Mg-RE (RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, and Tm) systems. At low temperatures, iQC and 2/1 ACs exhibit spin-glass-like freezing for RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho, while Er and Tm systems do not show freezing behaviour down to the base temperature ~ 2 K. The 1/1 ACs exhibit either spin-glass-like freezing or antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering depending on their constituent Mg content. The Tf values show increasing trend from iQC to 2/1 and 1/1 ACs. In contrast, the absolute values of Weiss temperature for iQCs are larger than those in 2/1 and 1/1 ACs, indicating that the total AFM interactions between the neighboring spins are larger in aperiodic, rather than periodic systems. Competing spin interactions originating from the long-range Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida mechanism along with chemical disorder of Cd/Mg ions presumably account for the observed spin-glass-like behavior in Cd-Mg-RE iQCs and ACs.


title: Resolviendo Una De Las Piezas Del Puzle: Covid-19 Y Diabetes Tipo 2./ [solving One of the Pieces of the Puzzle: Covid-19 and Type 2 Diabetes]

text: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic represents an enormous challenge. Given the considerable presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the current population, the pandemic is a health issue that requires an effort to provide better responses to our patients who are more vulnerable to the onset of infection and who are candidates for presenting more severe symptoms. This document attempts to address the relationship between COVID-19 infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus. To this end, we will briefly analyse whether the epidemiological data support this association and, subsequently, go in depth on the pathophysiological mechanisms that might connect the two diseases.


Favourable outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 in a 1-year-old girl with acute myeloid leukaemia and severe treatment-induced immunosuppression


docid: eoldxkig

title: COVID-19 and prisons: Providing mental health care for people in prison, minimising moral injury and psychological distress in mental health staff


title: ICU and Ventilator Mortality Among Critically Ill Adults With Coronavirus Disease 2019

text: OBJECTIVES: To determine mortality rates among adults with critical illness from coronavirus disease 2019. DESIGN: Observational cohort study of patients admitted from March 6, 2020, to April 17, 2020. SETTING: Six coronavirus disease 2019 designated ICUs at three hospitals within an academic health center network in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. PATIENTS: Adults greater than or equal to 18 years old with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 disease who were admitted to an ICU during the study period. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 217 critically ill patients, mortality for those who required mechanical ventilation was 35.7% (59/165), with 4.8% of patients (8/165) still on the ventilator at the time of this report. Overall mortality to date in this critically ill cohort is 30.9% (67/217) and 60.4% (131/217) patients have survived to hospital discharge. Mortality was significantly associated with older age, lower body mass index, chronic renal disease, higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, lower PaO2/FIO2 ratio, higher D-dimer, higher C-reactive protein, and receipt of mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, renal replacement therapy, or vasodilator therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite multiple reports of mortality rates exceeding 50% among critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019, particularly among those requiring mechanical ventilation, our early experience indicates that many patients survive their critical illness.


title: Working memory capacity predicts individual differences in social-distancing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

text: Noncompliance with social distancing during the early stage of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a great challenge to the public health system. These noncompliance behaviors partly reflect people's concerns for the inherent costs of social distancing while discounting its public health benefits. We propose that this oversight may be associated with the limitation in one's mental capacity to simultaneously retain multiple pieces of information in working memory (WM) for rational decision making that leads to social-distancing compliance. We tested this hypothesis in 850 United States residents during the first 2 wk following the presidential declaration of national emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that participants' social-distancing compliance at this initial stage could be predicted by individual differences in WM capacity, partly due to increased awareness of benefits over costs of social distancing among higher WM capacity individuals. Critically, the unique contribution of WM capacity to the individual differences in social-distancing compliance could not be explained by other psychological and socioeconomic factors (e.g., moods, personality, education, and income levels). Furthermore, the critical role of WM capacity in social-distancing compliance can be generalized to the compliance with another set of rules for social interactions, namely the fairness norm, in Western cultures. Collectively, our data reveal contributions of a core cognitive process underlying social-distancing compliance during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting a potential cognitive venue for developing strategies to mitigate a public health crisis.


docid: ldjqczvr

title: Inflammatory and Coagulative Considerations for the Management of Orthopaedic Trauma Patients with COVID-19: A Review of the Current Evidence and Our Surgical Experience

text: Mounting evidence suggests that the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) involves a hyperinflammatory response predisposing patients to thromboembolic disease and acute respiratory distress. In the setting of severe blunt trauma, damaged tissues induce a local and systemic inflammatory response through similar pathways to COVID-19. As such, patients with COVID-19 sustaining orthopaedic trauma injuries may have an amplified response to the traumatic insult due to their baseline hyperinflammatory and hypercoagulable state. These patients may have compromised physiological reserve to withstand the insult of surgical intervention before reaching clinical instability. Herein, we review the current evidence regarding pathogenesis of COVID-19 and its implications on the management of orthopaedic trauma patients by discussing a case and the most recent literature.


title: COVID-19 infectivity profile correction

text: The infectivity profile of an individual with COVID-19 is attributed to the paper Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19 by He et al., published in Nature Medicine in April 2020. However, the analysis within this paper contains a mistake such that the published infectivity profile is incorrect and the conclusion that infectiousness begins 2.3 days before symptom onset is no longer supported. In this document we discuss the error and compute the correct infectivity profile. We also establish confidence intervals on this profile, quantify the difference between the published and the corrected profiles, and discuss an issue of normalisation when fitting serial interval data. This infectivity profile plays a central role in policy and decision making, thus it is crucial that this issue is corrected with the utmost urgency to prevent the propagation of this error into further studies and policies. We hope that this preprint will reach all researchers and policy makers who are using the incorrect infectivity profile to inform their work.


[Guidance for routine pathology practice during the prevention and control period of novel coronavirus pneumonia]


Theme: Information on the Covid-19 pandemic


Dealing with loss of life across the spectrum of humankind


title: The Ocular Manifestations and Transmission of COVID-19: Recommendations for Prevention

text: BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel coronavirus termed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been linked to ocular signs and symptoms in several case reports. Research has demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 is spread primarily through close contact via respiratory droplets, but there is the possibility for ocular transmission, with the conjunctiva as a conduit as well as a source of infection. DISCUSSION: Ocular manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 include follicular conjunctivitis, and have been repeatedly noted as an initial or subsequent symptom of COVID-19-positive patients. Particularly in patients with ocular manifestations, there is evidence that the virus may present in tears, based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival swab samples via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The virus may therefore be transmittable from the ocular surface to a new host via contact with the ocular mucosa, tears, or subsequent fomites. CONCLUSIONS: All health care professionals should ask patients about ocular symptoms consistent with SARS-CoV-2, and use eye protection such as goggles or face shields as part of the standard personal protective equipment for high-risk patients in addition to wearing of masks by both the patient and provider, and should consider tears to be potentially infectious.


title: A calibration disk for the correction of radial errors from chromatic aberration and rotor stretch in the Optima AUC™ analytical ultracentrifuge

text: Experiments performed in the analytical ultracentrifuge (AUC) measure sedimentation and diffusion coefficients, as well as the partial concentration of colloidal mixtures of molecules in the solution phase. From this information, their abundance, size, molar mass, density and anisotropy can be determined. The accuracy with which these parameters can be determined depends in part on the accuracy of the radial position recordings and the boundary conditions used in the modeling of the AUC data. The AUC instrument can spin samples at speeds up to 60,000 rpm, generating forces approaching 300,000 g. Forces of this magnitude will stretch the titanium rotors used in the instrument, shifting the boundary conditions required to solve the flow equations used in the modeling of the AUC data. A second source of error is caused by the chromatic aberration resulting from imperfections in the UV-visible absorption optics. Both errors are larger than the optical resolution of currently available instrumentation. Here, we report software routines that correct these errors, aided by a new calibration disk which can be used in place of the counterbalance to provide a calibration reference for each experiment to verify proper operation of the AUC instrument. We describe laboratory methods and software routines in UltraScan that incorporate calibrations and corrections for the rotor stretch and chromatic aberration in order to support Good Manufacturing Practices for AUC data analysis.


docid: ylchvcgl

title: News at a glance


Assessing the Value of Diagnostic Tests in the New World of COVID-19 Pandemic


docid: akiljkfi

title: Effect of Jinhua Qinggan granules on novel coronavirus pneumonia in patients

text: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Jinhua Qinggan granules in the treatment of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). METHODS: Eighty cases of COVID-19 diagnosed from January 24 to February 17, 2020 in Beijing YouAn Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. All 80 patients received symptomatic and supportive treatment. Among them, 44 patients took Jinhua Qinggan granules (treatment group) within 24 h of admission, and the remaining 36 patients either did not take Jinhua Qinggan granules or took the granules for less than 2 d (control group). In this study, we compared the duration of viral nucleic acid detection and of pneumonia absorption improvement between the two groups. RESULTS: Among the 80 cases, 37 were male (46%) and 43 were female (54%) with age ranging from 15 to 86 years, with an average age of 51.19 years. The average duration of viral nucleic acid detection was (7 ± 4) d in the Jinhua Qinggan administration group and (10 ± 4) d for the control group (P = 0.010), following which, nucleic acid tests were negative. Of the two groups, 56.82% in the Jinhua Qinggan treatment group and 27.78% in the control group demonstrated negative nucleic acid tests within 7 d or less. The 7-day viral clearance rate was significantly higher in the Jinhua Qinggan group compared with the control group (P = 0.009). Furthermore, the pneumonia recovery time indicated by chest CT was (8 ± 4) d in the Jinhua Qinggan group, which was significantly shorter than the control group, at (10 ± 5) d (P = 0.021). No adverse reactions were found in the treatment group after taking this medicine. CONCLUSION: In patients with COVID-19, Jinhua Qinggan granules can effectively shorten the duration of nucleic acid detection and promote the absorption of pneumonia inflammatory exudate without obvious adverse reactions.


title: An automated Residual Exemplar Local Binary Pattern and iterative ReliefF based corona detection method using lung X-ray image

text: Coronavirus is normally transmitted from animal to person, but nowadays it is transmitted from person to person by changing its form. Covid-19 appeared as a very dangerous virus and unfortunately caused a worldwide pandemic disease. Radiology doctors use X-ray or CT images for the diagnosis of Covid-19. It has become crucial to help diagnose such images using image processing methods. Therefore, we proposed a novel intelligent computer vision method to automatically detect the Covid-19 virus. The proposed automatic Covid-19 detection method consists of preprocessing, feature extraction and feature selection stages. Image resizing and grayscale conversion are used in the preprocessing phase. The proposed feature generation method is called as Residual Exemplar Local Binary Pattern (ResExLBP). In the feature selection phase, a novel iterative ReliefF (IRF) based feature selection is used. Decision tree (DT), linear discriminant (LD), support vector machine (SVM), k nearest neighborhood (kNN) and subspace discriminant (SD) methods are chosen as classifiers in the classification phase. Leave one out cross-validation (LOOCV) and 10-fold cross-validation are used for training and testing. In this work, SVM classifier achieved 100.0% classification accuracy by using 10-fold cross-validation. This result clearly has shown that we reached the perfect classification rate by using X-ray image for Covid-19 detection.


title: Increased ACE2 Expression in the Bronchial Epithelium of COPD Patients who are Overweight

text: OBJECTIVE: Mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is increased in COPD patients. Furthermore, higher body mass index (BMI) is related to severe disease. SARS-CoV-2 utilises angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to gain cellular entry. METHODS: We have investigated whether ACE2 bronchial epithelial expression is increased in COPD patients who are overweight compared to those who are not by RNA sequencing. RESULTS: We observed increased ACE2 expression in COPD patients who are overweight (mean BMI 29 kg/m2 ) compared to those notoverweight (mean BMI 21 kg/m2 ) (p=0.004). CONCLUSION: Increased ACE2 expression may cause increased SARS-CoV-2 infection of the respiratory tract. COPD patients who are overweight may be at greater risk of developing severe COVID-19.


Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic


Sustainable response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the operating theatre: we need more than just personal protective equipment


Recovery of non-urgent surgery - Operation backlog and proposals for a restart


title: Analytical Mechanics Allows Novel Vistas on Mathematical Epidemic Dynamics Modelling

text: This contribution aims to shed light on mathematical epidemic dynamics modelling from the viewpoint of analytical mechanics. To set the stage, it recasts the basic SIR model of mathematical epidemic dynamics in an analytical mechanics setting. Thereby, it considers two possible re-parameterizations of the basic SIR model. On the one hand, it is proposed to re-scale time, while on the other hand, to transform the coordinates, i.e.\ the independent variables. In both cases, Hamilton's equations in terms of a suited Hamiltonian as well as Hamilton's principle in terms of a suited Lagrangian are considered in minimal and extended phase and state space coordinates, respectively. The corresponding Legendre transformations relating the various options for the Hamiltonians and Lagrangians are detailed. Ultimately, this contribution expands on a multitude of novel vistas on mathematical epidemic dynamics modelling that emerge from the analytical mechanics viewpoint. As result, it is believed that interesting and relevant new research avenues open up when exploiting in depth the analogies between analytical mechanics and mathematical epidemic dynamics modelling.


title: COVID-19 (SARS-Cov-2) and the heart - An ominous association

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Cardiovascular manifestations of COVID-19 are diverse and complex and include acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis masquerading as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, pericarditis and pericardial effusion. We present 2 cases of COVID-19 infection with myocardial involvement with distinct mechanistic pathways and outcomes. Important decision strategies such as the timing of cardiac catheterization (when indicated) and requirement of early hemodynamic support in critically ill patients are discussed.


title: Positional Correlation Natural Vector: A Novel Method for Genome Comparison

text: Advances in sequencing technology have made large amounts of biological data available. Evolutionary analysis of data such as DNA sequences is highly important in biological studies. As alignment methods are ineffective for analyzing large-scale data due to their inherently high costs, alignment-free methods have recently attracted attention in the field of bioinformatics. In this paper, we introduce a new positional correlation natural vector (PCNV) method that involves converting a DNA sequence into an 18-dimensional numerical feature vector. Using frequency and position correlation to represent the nucleotide distribution, it is possible to obtain a PCNV for a DNA sequence. This new numerical vector design uses six suitable features to characterize the correlation among nucleotide positions in sequences. PCNV is also very easy to compute and can be used for rapid genome comparison. To test our novel method, we performed phylogenetic analysis with several viral and bacterial genome datasets with PCNV. For comparison, an alignment-based method, Bayesian inference, and two alignment-free methods, feature frequency profile and natural vector, were performed using the same datasets. We found that the PCNV technique is fast and accurate when used for phylogenetic analysis and classification of viruses and bacteria.


Why Only Test Symptomatic Patients? Consider Random Screening for COVID-19


title: Assessing the relationship between ground levels of ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with coronavirus (COVID-19) in Milan, Italy

text: This paper investigates the correlation between the high level of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection accelerated transmission and lethality, and surface air pollution in Milan metropolitan area, Lombardy region in Italy. For January-April 2020 period, time series of daily average inhalable gaseous pollutants ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), together climate variables (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation rate, atmospheric pressure field and Planetary Boundary Layer) were analyzed. In spite of being considered primarily transmitted by indoor bioaerosols droplets and infected surfaces or direct human-to-human personal contacts, it seems that high levels of urban air pollution, and climate conditions have a significant impact on SARS-CoV-2 diffusion. Exhibited positive correlations of ambient ozone levels and negative correlations of NO2 with the increased rates of COVID-19 infections (Total number, Daily New positive and Total Deaths cases), can be attributed to airborne bioaerosols distribution. The results show positive correlation of daily averaged O3 with air temperature and inversely correlations with relative humidity and precipitation rates. Viral genome contains distinctive features, including a unique N-terminal fragment within the spike protein, which allows coronavirus attachment on ambient air pollutants. At this moment it is not clear if through airborne diffusion, in the presence of outdoor and indoor aerosols, this protein "spike" of the new COVID-19 is involved in the infectious agent transmission from a reservoir to a susceptible host during the highest nosocomial outbreak in some agglomerated industrialized urban areas like Milan is. Also, in spite of collected data for cold season (winter-early spring) period, when usually ozone levels have lower values than in summer, the findings of this study support possibility as O3 can acts as a COVID-19 virus incubator. Being a novel pandemic coronavirus version, it might be ongoing during summer conditions associated with higher air temperatures, low relative humidity and precipitation levels.


Covid-19 : protocoles de soins ou protocoles de recherche ?/ [Covid-19: care protocols or research protocols?]


docid: pssjuzui

title: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

text: The present study provides an overview of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak which has rapidly extended globally within a short period. COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2). SARS-CoV-2 is different from usual coronaviruses responsible for mild sickness such as common cold among human beings. It is crucial to understand the impact and outcome of this pandemic. We therefore overview the changes in the curves of COVID-19 confirmed cases and fatality rate in China and outside of China from 31st of December 2019 to 25th of March 2020. We also aimed to assess the temporal developments and death rate of COVID-19 in China and worldwide. More than 414,179 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 197 countries, including 81,848 cases in China and 332,331 outside of China. Furthermore, 18,440 infected patients died from COVID-19 infection; 3,287 cases were from China and 15,153 fatalities were reported worldwide. Among the worldwide infected cases, 113,802 patients have been recovered and discharged from different hospitals. Effective prevention and control measures should be taken to control the disease. The presented Chinese model (protocol) of disease prevention and control could be utilized in order to curb the pandemic situation.


COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Data deficiency to delayed decision


Organizational aspects of intensive care unit resource allocation in a primary respiratory intensive care center specialized for the treatment of SARS-COV-2 patients


An updated systematic review on the coronavirus pandemic: lessons for psychiatry


title: COVID-19 in 2 Persons with Mild Upper Respiratory Tract Symptoms on a Cruise Ship, Japan

text: We describe 2 cases of coronavirus disease in patients with mild upper respiratory symptoms. Both patients worked on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan. One patient had persistent, low-grade upper respiratory tract symptoms without fever. The other patient had rapid symptom cessation but persistent viral RNA detection.


title: Predicting intervention effect for COVID-19 in Japan: state space modeling approach

text: Japan has observed a surge in the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has caused a serious impact on the society especially after the declaration of the state of emergency on April 7, 2020. This study analyzes the real time data from March 1 to April 22, 2020 by adopting a sophisticated statistical modeling based on the state space model combined with the well-known susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model. The model estimation and forecasting are conducted using the Bayesian methodology. The present study provides the parameter estimates of the unknown parameters that critically determine the epidemic process derived from the SIR model and prediction of the future transition of the infectious proportion including the size and timing of the epidemic peak with the prediction intervals that naturally accounts for the uncertainty. Even though the epidemic appears to be settling down during this intervention period, the prediction results under various scenarios using the data up to May 18 reveal that the temporary reduction in the infection rate would still result in a delayed the epidemic peak unless the long-term reproduction number is controlled.


Letter: Anosmia in COVID-19: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Through the Nasoliary Epithelium and a Possible Spreading Way to the Central Nervous System-A Purpose to Study


Management recommendations for patients with chronic kidney disease during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic


title: Hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19: A critical appraisal of the existing evidence

text: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has sparked much interest in the therapeutics of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Its antiviral properties have been studied for years; regarding the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), it has been shown that HCQ may act at multiple levels. These extend from the initial attachment of the virus to the respiratory epithelium to the inhibition of its replication by the alkalinisation of the phagolysosome's microenvironment and the post-translational modification of certain viral proteins. Preliminary clinical evidence from China and France showed significant virological and clinical benefit in HCQ-treated patients, while other studies, mostly including critically ill patients, did not show favorable results. In this review, we critically appraise the existing evidence on HCQ against SARS-CoV-2 with particular emphasis on its protective and therapeutic role. Safety concerns that are relevant to the short-term HCQ use are also discussed. In the context of the rapid evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic that strains the health care systems worldwide and considering limited population-wide testing rates in most of the vulnerable countries, early empiric short-term administration of HCQ in symptomatic individuals, may be a promising, safe and low-cost strategy.


docid: gbdsztze

title: Temporal radiographic changes in COVID-19 patients: relationship to disease severity and viral clearance

text: COVID-19 is "public enemy number one" and has placed an enormous burden on health authorities across the world. Given the wide clinical spectrum of COVID-19, understanding the factors that can predict disease severity will be essential since this will help frontline clinical staff to stratify patients with increased confidence. To investigate the diagnostic value of the temporal radiographic changes, and the relationship to disease severity and viral clearance in COVID-19 patients. In this retrospective cohort study, we included 99 patients admitted to the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, with laboratory confirmed moderate or severe COVID-19. Temporal radiographic changes and viral clearance were explored using appropriate statistical methods. Radiographic features from HRCT scans included ground-glass opacity, consolidation, air bronchogram, nodular opacities and pleural effusion. The HRCT scores (peak) during disease course in COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia (median: 24.5) were higher compared to those with pneumonia (median: 10) (p = 3.56 × 10 -12), with more frequency of consolidation (p = 0.025) and air bronchogram (p = 7.50 × 10-6). The median values of days when the peak HRCT scores were reached in pneumonia or severe pneumonia patients were 12 vs. 14, respectively (p = 0.048). Log-rank test and Spearman's Rank-Order correlation suggested temporal radiographic changes as a valuable predictor for viral clearance. In addition, follow up CT scans from 11 pneumonia patients showed full recovery. Given the values of HRCT scores for both disease severity and viral clearance, a standardised HRCT score system for COVID-19 is highly demanded.


title: CSANZ Imaging Council Position Statement on Echocardiography Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: This Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Imaging Council Position Statement aims to guide local, regional and national clinical practice, and facilitate resource and echocardiographic service planning appropriately during the current COVID-19 global pandemic. General considerations include workforce arrangements and contingency plans, patient risk assessment for COVID-19 and level of care (personal protective equipment) for staff. Both outpatient and inpatient settings are addressed, including specific considerations in the in-patient setting including scanning protocols, screening modalities and indications for echocardiograms in the context of COVID-19 infection.


Genetic variation in SARS-CoV-2 may explain variable severity of COVID-19


Be aware of misdiagnosis-Influenza A H1N1 in a pregnant patient with suspected COVID-19


title: Expanding the concept of the professional integrity of obstetrics during a public health emergency

text: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed great demands on many hospitals to maximize their capacity to care for affected patients. The requirement to reassign space has created challenges for obstetric services. We describe the nature of that challenge for an obstetric service in New York City. This experience raised an ethical challenge: whether it would be consistent with professional integrity to respond to a public health emergency with a plan for obstetric services that would create an increased risk of rare maternal mortality. We answered this question using the conceptual tools of professional ethics in obstetrics, especially the professional virtue of integrity. A public health emergency requires frameshifting from an individual-patient perspective to a population-based perspective. We show that an individual-patient-based, beneficence-based deliberative clinical judgment is not an adequate basis for organizational policy in response to a public health emergency. Instead, physicians, especially those in leadership positions, must frameshift to population-based clinical ethical judgment that focuses on reduction of mortality as much as possible in the entire population of patients served by a healthcare organization.


docid: yroqdfbx

title: Prevalence of malnutrition and analysis of related factors in elderly patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

text: BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition and its related factors in elderly patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated the nutritional status of elderly inpatients with COVID-19 using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Based on MNA scores, patients were divided into non-malnutrition group (MNA ≥ 24), the group with risk of malnutrition (MNA 17-23.5) and malnutrition group (MNA score < 17). Regression analysis was conducted to screen for risk factors for malnutrition. RESULTS: A total of 182 patients were included in the study, of which 27.5% were in the group with malnutrition risk and 52.7% were in the malnutrition group. There were statistical differences in the incidence of comorbid diabetes mellitus, body mass index (BMI), calf circumference,albumin, hemoglobin, and lymphocyte counts among the three groups. Further regression analysis suggested that combined diabetes, low calf circumference, and low albumin were independent risk factors for malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of malnutrition in elderly patients with COVID-19 was high, and nutritional support should be strengthened during treatment, especially for those with diabetes mellitus, low calf circumference, or low albumin.


How the coronavirus pandemic is changing virtual science communication


docid: tgddtwtv

title: Defining the Epidemiology of Covid-19 - Studies Needed


An Initial Evaluation of the Agreement Between Two SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Assays


title: Occurrence of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis in children younger than three years of age before and after the introduction of rotavirus vaccine: a prospective observational study in four pediatric clinics in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

text: In Japan, rotavirus (RV) vaccines have already been introduced but not used for universal vaccination as of 2018. Therefore, we identified cases of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in children younger than three years of age and investigated the occurrence of infection before and after the introduction of RV vaccines. An ecological study through prospective surveillance was conducted in four pediatric clinics in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, during the 2011 to 2018 RVGE epidemic seasons. We divided the study period into three eras: pre-vaccine introduction era (2011), low-mid coverage transitional era (2012 to 2014, RV vaccine coverage rate: 32.9-56.5%), and high coverage plateau era (2015 to 2018, 67.7-81.7%). In this study, the incidence rate of severe RVGE was significantly lower in the plateau era than in the pre-vaccine introduction and transitional eras. Furthermore, the hospitalization rate due to RVGE in Shibata City was lower in the plateau era than in the pre-vaccination introduction and transitional eras. The number of hospitalizations due to RVGE in subjects who required or did not require intravenous rehydration at the pediatric clinics significantly decreased with the increase in vaccine coverage rates by more than 70% in the plateau era.


title: Analysis of the first cluster of cases in a family of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Gansu Province

text: The epidemiological history and clinical characteristics of 7 cases of COVID-19 and 1 case of close contact in the first family aggregation epidemic of COVID-19 in Gansu Province were analyzed The first patient A developed on January 22, 2020, with a history of residence in Wuhan, and confirmed severe cases of NCP on January 24, 2020;patient B, on January 23, 2020, diagnosed on January 31, severe cases;patient C, asymptomatic, diagnosed on January 27;patient D, asymptomatic, diagnosed on January 27;patient E, on January 24, diagnosed on January 28;patient F, asymptomatic, diagnosed on January 31;Patient G was asymptomatic and was diagnosed on January 31 In close contact, H was asymptomatic, PCR test was negative and asymptomatic, and he was discharged early Among the 7 patients, 1 case died of (B) aggravation, and the other patients' condition was effectively controlled after active treatment Except for the discharged cases, 5 cases were positive for COVID-19 specific IgM antibody and 1 case was negative In this clustering outbreak, 4 patients remained asymptomatic, but PCR and IgM antibodies were positive, indicating that asymptomatic patients may be the key point to control the epidemic Specific IgM antibody screening for patients whose pharyngeal swab nucleic acid test is negative but with ground glass-like lung lesions is very important for early detection and early isolation ;


title: [Analysis of the first cluster of cases in a family of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Gansu Province]

text: The epidemiological history and clinical characteristics of 7 cases of COVID-19 and 1 case of close contact in the first family aggregation epidemic of COVID-19 in Gansu Province were analyzed. The first patient A developed on January 22, 2020, with a history of residence in Wuhan, and confirmed severe cases of NCP on January 24, 2020; patient B, on January 23, 2020, diagnosed on January 31, severe cases; patient C, asymptomatic, diagnosed on January 27; patient D, asymptomatic, diagnosed on January 27; patient E, on January 24, diagnosed on January 28; patient F, asymptomatic, diagnosed on January 31; Patient G was asymptomatic and was diagnosed on January 31. In close contact, H was asymptomatic, PCR test was negative and asymptomatic, and he was discharged early. Among the 7 patients, 1 case died of (B) aggravation, and the other patients' condition was effectively controlled after active treatment. Except for the discharged cases, 5 cases were positive for COVID-19 specific IgM antibody and 1 case was negative. In this clustering outbreak, 4 patients remained asymptomatic, but PCR and IgM antibodies were positive, indicating that asymptomatic patients may be the key point to control the epidemic. Specific IgM antibody screening for patients whose pharyngeal swab nucleic acid test is negative but with ground glass-like lung lesions is very important for early detection and early isolation.


title: Mortality threats and technology effects on tourism

text: â¢Investigates people's responses to tourism during Covid-19 lockdownâ¢Uses an experimental approach in tourismâ¢Investigates preference for innovative touristic virtual tours in relation to threat and self-esteemâ¢Combines research in psychology (Terror Management Theory) with that in tourismâ¢Discusses practical and research implications and future research avenues for tourism research.


18.2 Million Individuals at Increased Risk of Severe COVID-19 Illness Are Un- or Underinsured


Potential Impact of Climate on Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) Epidemic


COVID-19 in patients with cardiovascular diseases


The role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Covid-19: Only an hypothesis or a potential new field of research?


title: Compact CAR: Low-Overhead Cache Replacement Policy for an ICN Router

text: Information-centric networking (ICN) has gained attention from network research communities due to its capability of efficient content dissemination. In-network caching function in ICN plays an important role to achieve the design motivation. However, many researchers on in-network caching have focused on where to cache rather than how to cache: the former is known as contents deployment in the network and the latter is known as cache replacement in an ICN element. Although, the cache replacement has been intensively researched in the context of web-caching and content delivery network previously, the conventional approaches cannot be directly applied to ICN due to the fine granularity of cacheable items in ICN, which eventually changes the access patterns. In this paper, we argue that ICN requires a novel cache replacement algorithm to fulfill the requirements in the design of high performance ICN element. Then, we propose a novel cache replacement algorithm to satisfy the requirements named Compact CLOCK with Adaptive Replacement (Compact CAR), which can reduce the consumption of cache memory to one-tenth compared to conventional approaches.


Cell type-specific expression of the putative SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 in human hearts


title: Early impact of COVID-19 on transplant center practices and policies in the United States

text: COVID-19 is a novel, rapidly changing pandemic: consequently, evidence-based recommendations in solid organ transplantation (SOT) remain challenging and unclear. To understand the impact on transplant activity across the United States, and center-level variation in testing, clinical practice, and policies, we conducted a national survey between March 24, 2020 and March 31, 2020 and linked responses to the COVID-19 incidence map. Response rate was a very high 79.3%, reflecting a strong national priority to better understand COVID-19. Complete suspension of live donor kidney transplantation was reported by 71.8% and live donor liver by 67.7%. While complete suspension of deceased donor transplantation was less frequent, some restrictions to deceased donor kidney transplantation were reported by 84.0% and deceased donor liver by 73.3%; more stringent restrictions were associated with higher regional incidence of COVID-19. Shortage of COVID-19 tests was reported by 42.5%. Respondents reported a total of 148 COVID-19 recipients from <1 to >10 years posttransplant: 69.6% were kidney recipients, and 25.0% were critically ill. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was used by 78.1% of respondents; azithromycin by 46.9%; tocilizumab by 31.3%, and remdesivir by 25.0%. There is wide heterogeneity in center-level response across the United States; ongoing national data collection, expert discussion, and clinical studies are critical to informing evidence-based practices.