Laparoscopy in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (covid-19) Era


Telepsychiatry and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic-Current and Future Outcomes of the Rapid Virtualization of Psychiatric Care


title: Prediction of potential inhibitors for RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 using comprehensive drug repurposing and molecular docking approach

text: The pandemic prevalence of COVID-19 has become a very serious global health issue. Scientists all over the world have been heavily invested in the discovery of a drug to combat SARS-CoV-2. It has been found that RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRp) plays a crucial role in SARS-CoV-2 replication, and thus could be a potential drug target. Here, comprehensive computational approaches including drug repurposing and molecular docking were employed to predict an effective drug candidate targeting RdRp of SARS-CoV-2. This study revealed that Rifabutin, Rifapentine, Fidaxomicin, 7-methyl-guanosine-5'-triphosphate-5'-guanosine and Ivermectin have a potential inhibitory interaction with RdRp of SARS-CoV-2, and could be effective drugs for COVID-19. In addition, virtual screening of the compounds from ZINC database also allowed the prediction of two compounds (ZINC09128258 and ZINC 09883305) with pharmacophore features that interact effectively with RdRp of SARS-CoV-2; indicating their potentiality as effective inhibitors of the enzyme. Furthermore, ADME analysis along with analysis of toxicity was also investigated to check the pharmacokinetics and drug-likeness properties of the two compounds. Comparative structural analysis of protein-inhibitor complexes revealed that positions of the amino acid Y32, K47, Y122, Y129, H133, N138, D140, T141, S709 and N781 are crucial for drug surface hotspot in the RdRp of SARS-CoV-2.


title: Spring in London with Covid-19: a personal view

text: This is a personal view from London as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread here and the situation changes from day to day. As such it can only be a snapshot caught in time; it is not a diary of events. The Coronavirus Act 2020 gives Government enormous powers and was passed by Parliament in one day of debate immediately before it closed early for the Easter break. In March, the government imposed a "lockdown: the closure of all" but "essential" businesses and people other than essential workers must work from home but are allowed out for exercise and food shopping but must maintain 2 m apart, the "social distancing rule". The aim is to suppress the spread of the virus, reduce the death toll and "protect the National Health Service (NHS)" which needed time to empty wards and expand its intensive care unit (ICU) capability to deal with an expected influx of thousands of very sick patients. I discuss whether this strategy is working, how and why it has rapidly been altered to respond to criticism. Why was the Government so slow to seek the help of private laboratories to assist with testing? Why was the personal protective equipment (PPE) guidance altered only after criticism? I look at the impact of the lockdown on the UK economy, the changes to practice of medicine and speeding of scientific research. Cooperating with the lockdown has its price; is it harming the health and mental health of children, people living in households with potentially abusive partners or parents and those who are disabled or financially desperate? Is the cure worse than the disease? The Economy is being devastated by the lockdown and each day of lockdown it is worse. Is litigation being seeded even now by the pandemic? Notwithstanding unprecedented Government financial help many businesses are on the edge of collapse, people will lose their jobs and pensioners income. The winners include pharmacies, supermarkets, online food retailers, Amazon, online apps, providers of video games, services, streaming and scientific research laboratories, manufacturers of testing kits, ventilators, hand sanitisers, coffins, undertakers, etc. The British public is cooperating with lockdown but are we less productive at home? Parents with babies and children often child minders, school, grandparents or paid help which is not now available. Will current reliance on video-conferencing and video calls permanently change the way we work and will we need smaller city offices? Will we travel less? Will medical and legal practice and civil and criminal trials be generally carried out remotely? Will social distancing with self-isolation and job losses and business failures fuel depression? Is Covid-19 comparable to past epidemics like the Plague and Spanish flu?


Re:(In) visible impact of inadequate WaSH Provision on COVID-19 incidences can be not be ignored in large and megacities of India


COVID-19 in Peru: the need to pay attention to the high number of police deaths due to the pandemic


Plasmacytoid lymphocytes in SARS-CoV-2 infection (Covid-19)


Nursing home physician with normal chest X-ray and probable COVID-19 based on 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging


Adapting protocols for the care of surgical patients during the COVID-19 pandemic


title: Epidemic Exposure Notification with Smartwatch: A Proximity-Based Privacy-Preserving Approach

text: Businesses planning for the post-pandemic world are looking for innovative ways to protect the health and welfare of their employees and customers. Wireless technologies can play a key role in assisting contact tracing to quickly halt a local infection outbreak and prevent further spread. In this work, we present a wearable proximity and exposure notification solution based on a smartwatch that also promotes safe physical distancing in business, hospitality, or recreational facilities. Our proximity-based privacy-preserving contact tracing (P$^3$CT) leverages the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for reliable proximity sensing, and an ambient signature protocol for preserving identity. Proximity sensing exploits the received signal strength (RSS) to detect the user's interaction and thus classifying them into low- or high-risk with respect to a patient diagnosed with an infectious disease. More precisely, a user is notified of their exposure based on their interactions, in terms of distance and time, with a patient. Our privacy-preserving protocol uses the ambient signatures to ensure that users' identities be anonymized. We demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed solution through extensive experimentation.


In other Covid-19 news


COVID-19 Pulmonary Involvement: Is Really an Interstitial Pneumonia?


title: Perspectives of Immune Therapy in Coronavirus Disease 2019

text: The global fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is largely based on strategies to boost immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and prevent its severe course and complications. The human defence may include antibodies which interact with SARS-CoV-2 and neutralize its aggressive actions on multiple organ systems. Protective cross-reactivity of antibodies against measles and other known viral infections has been postulated, primarily as a result of the initial observations of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 in children. Uncontrolled case series have demonstrated virus-neutralizing effect of convalescent plasma, supporting its efficiency at early stages of contracting SARS-CoV-2. Given the variability of the virus structure, the utility of convalescent plasma is limited to the geographic area of its preparation, and for a short period of time. Intravenous immunoglobulin may also be protective in view of its nonspecific antiviral and immunomodulatory effects. Finally, human monoclonal antibodies may interact with some SARS-CoV-2 proteins, inhibiting the virus-receptor interaction and prevent tissue injury. The improved understanding of the host antiviral responses may help develop safe and effective immunotherapeutic strategies against COVID-19 in the foreseeable future.


title: Consideraciones en la Atención Odontológica de Urgencia en Contexto de Coronavirus COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

text: Los Coronavirus son una familia de virus de amplia distribución en la naturaleza presentes principalmente en los animales El Covid-19 es la enfermedad causada por el coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), que fue identificado y caracterizado en enero de 2020 en China Los profesionales del área odontológica deben tomar todas las medidas de protección al tener que realizar una atención de urgencia, lavado de manos y utilización de equipos de protección personal Para cada una de las urgencias odontológicas consideradas en la guía del Ministerio de Salud de Chile se dan recomendaciones para el actuar y posterior desechos e higienización de materiales El objetivo de este artículo de revisión es entregar recomendaciones actualizadas y atingentes a nuestra realidad nacional a fin de disminuir las posibilidades de contagio ante la exposición inminente de pacientes sospechosos o que pudiesen presentar Covid-19


An emerging coronavirus causing pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China: calling for developing therapeutic and prophylactic strategies


Challenging Times for Children With Transfusion-dependent Thalassemia Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic


Management and outcomes of a vascular surgery department with sudden medical staff outbreak of COVID-19


title: Changes in air quality and human mobility in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic

text: The first goal of this study is to quantify the magnitude and spatial variability of air quality changes in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on two federally regulated pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Observed concentrations at all available ground monitoring sites (240 and 480 for NO2 and PM2.5, respectively) were compared between April 2020 and April of the prior five years, 2015-2019, as the baseline. Large statistically significant decreases in NO2 concentrations were found at more than 65% of the monitoring sites, with an average drop of 2 ppb when compared to the mean of the previous five years. The same patterns are confirmed by satellite-derived NO2 column totals from NASA OMI. PM2.5 concentrations from the ground monitoring sites, however, were more likely to be higher. The second goal of this study is to explain the different responses of the two pollutants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hypothesis put forward is that the shelter-in-place measures affected peoples' driving patterns most dramatically, thus passenger vehicle NO2 emissions were reduced. Commercial vehicles and electricity demand for all purposes remained relatively unchanged, thus PM2.5 concentrations did not drop significantly. To establish a correlation between the observed NO2 changes and the extent to which people were sheltering in place, we use a mobility index, which was produced and made public by Descartes Labs. This mobility index aggregates cell phone usage at the county level to capture changes in human movement over time. We found a strong correlation between the observed decreases in NO2 concentrations and decreases in human mobility. By contrast, no discernible pattern was detected between mobility and PM2.5 concentrations changes, suggesting that decreases in personal-vehicle traffic alone may not be effective at reducing PM2.5 pollution.


title: Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction in a COVID-19 Patient with Ankylosing Spondylitis Treated with Etanercept: Case Report

text: The neurologic manifestations concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are highly penetrated. Anosmia and ageusia are one of the common acute neurologic symptoms, which develop in the early stage of COVID-19. However, it is not reported that how immunosuppressive agents affect these symptoms. We report olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) treated with etanercept during COVID-19. A 53-year-old female showing AS controlled with tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor, etanercept, had been diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, presenting cough and rhinorrhea. One month after diagnosis, she complained about hyposmia and hypogeusia two days before the seronegative conversion of SARS-CoV-2, which were confirmed by a neurological examination. We speculate that the etanercept may have delayed the development of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in the patient.


How scientific conferences will survive the coronavirus shock


Keeping standards of multiple sclerosis care through the COVID-19 pandemic


title: Rapid screening of COVID-19 patients using white blood cell scattergrams, a study on 381 patients

text: Complementary tools are warranted to increase the sensitivity of the initial testing for COVID-19. We identified a specific 'sandglass' aspect on the white blood cell scattergram of COVID-19 patients reflecting the presence of circulating plasmacytoid lymphocytes. Patients were dichotomized as COVID-19-positive or -negative based on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and chest computed tomography (CT) scan results. Sensitivity and specificity of the 'sandglass' aspect were 85·9% and 83·5% respectively. The positive predictive value was 94·3%. Our findings provide a non-invasive and simple tool to quickly categorize symptomatic patients as either COVID-19-probable or -improbable especially when RT-PCR and/or chest CT are not rapidly available.


title: Rapid screening of COVID-19 patients by White blood cells scattergrams, a study on 381 patients

text: Complementary tools are warranted to increase the sensitivity of the initial testing for COVID-19. We identified a specific "sandglass" aspect on the white blood cells scattergram of COVID-19 patients reflecting the presence of circulating plasmacytoid lymphocytes. Patients were dichotomized as COVID-19 positive or negative based on RT-PCR and chest CT scan results. Sensitivity and specificity of the "sandglass" aspect were 85.9% and 83.5% respectively. The positive predictive value was 94.3%. Our findings provide a non-invasive and simple tool to quickly categorize symptomatic patients as either COVID-19 probable or improbable especially when RT-PCR and/or chest CT are not rapidly available.


title: Reply: "Vitamin D Supplementation in Influenza and COVID-19 Infections. Comment on: Evidence That Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Nutrients 2020, 12(4), 988"

text: We thank Dr [...].


EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic


Rethinking how we care for our patients in a time of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic


title: The digestive system and the COVID-19

text: The current pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an ongoing healthcare crisis. While COVID- 19 typically presents as fever and respiratory illness, almost 50% of the patients also have associated digestive symptoms which vary from abdominal pain to diarrhoea and indigestion. Literature review of association of COVID- 19 with digestive symptoms was done using Google search and the results are presented herein.


title: COVID-19 Pandemic: Cardiovascular Complications and Future Implications

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is now a global pandemic with the highest number of affected individuals in the modern era. Not only is the infection inflicting significant morbidity and mortality, but there has also been a significant strain to the health care system and the economy. COVID-19 typically presents as viral pneumonia, occasionally leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. However, emerging evidence suggests that it has a significant impact on the cardiovascular (CV) system by direct myocardial damage, severe systemic inflammatory response, hypoxia, right heart strain secondary to ARDS and lung injury, and plaque rupture secondary to inflammation. Primary cardiac manifestations include acute myocarditis, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, and abnormal clotting. Several consensus documents have been released to help manage CV disease during this pandemic. In this review, we summarize key cardiac manifestations, their management, and future implications.


title: Les canules nasales à haut débit pour le traitement de l'insuffisance respiratoire hypoxémique aiguë chez les patients atteints de la COVID-19: comptes rendus systématiques de l'efficacité et des risques d'aérosolisation, de dispersion et de transmission de l'infection./ High-flow nasal cannula for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in patients with COVID-19: systematic reviews of effectiveness and its risks of aerosolization, dispersion, and infection transmission

text: PURPOSE: We conducted two World Health Organization-commissioned reviews to inform use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We synthesized the evidence regarding efficacy and safety (review 1), as well as risks of droplet dispersion, aerosol generation, and associated transmission (review 2) of viral products. SOURCE: Literature searches were performed in Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Chinese databases, and medRxiv. Review 1: we synthesized results from randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) comparing HFNC to conventional oxygen therapy (COT) in critically ill patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Review 2: we narratively summarized findings from studies evaluating droplet dispersion, aerosol generation, or infection transmission associated with HFNC. For both reviews, paired reviewers independently conducted screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. We evaluated certainty of evidence using GRADE methodology. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: No eligible studies included COVID-19 patients. Review 1: 12 RCTs (n = 1,989 patients) provided low-certainty evidence that HFNC may reduce invasive ventilation (relative risk [RR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74 to 0.99) and escalation of oxygen therapy (RR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.98) in patients with respiratory failure. Results provided no support for differences in mortality (moderate certainty), or in-hospital or intensive care length of stay (moderate and low certainty, respectively). Review 2: four studies evaluating droplet dispersion and three evaluating aerosol generation and dispersion provided very low certainty evidence. Two simulation studies and a crossover study showed mixed findings regarding the effect of HFNC on droplet dispersion. Although two simulation studies reported no associated increase in aerosol dispersion, one reported that higher flow rates were associated with increased regions of aerosol density. CONCLUSIONS: High-flow nasal cannula may reduce the need for invasive ventilation and escalation of therapy compared with COT in COVID-19 patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. This benefit must be balanced against the unknown risk of airborne transmission.


Covid-19: Roll out of 10m antibody tests to begin next week, government announces


Covid-19: Appropriate PPE prevents infections in doctors in frontline roles, study shows


title: Impact of COVID-19 on clinical practice, income, health and lifestyle behavior of Brazilian urologists

text: OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on clinical practice, income, health and lifestyle behavior of Brazilian urologists during the month of April 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 39-question, web-based survey was sent to all urologist members of the Brazilian Society of Urology. We assessed socio-demographic, professional, health and behavior parameters. The primary goal was to evaluate changes in urologists' clinical practice and income after two months of COVID-19. We also looked at geographical differences based on the incidence rates of COVID-19 in different states. RESULTS: Among 766 urologists who completed the survey, a reduction ≥ 50% of patient visits, elective and emergency surgeries was reported by 83.2%, 89.6% and 54.8%, respectively. An income reduction of ≥ 50% was reported by 54.3%. Measures to reduce costs were implemented by most. Video consultations were performed by 38.7%. Modifications in health and lifestyle included weight gain (32.9%), reduced physical activity (60.0%), increased alcoholic intake (39.9%) and reduced sexual activity (34.9%). Finally, 13.5% of Brazilian urologists were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and about one third required hospitalization. Urologists from the highest COVID-19 incidence states were at a higher risk to have a reduction of patient visits and non-essential surgeries (OR=2.95, 95% CI 1.86 - 4.75; p< 0.0001) and of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (OR=4.36 95%CI 1.74-10.54, p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 produced massive disturbances in Brazilian urologists' practice, with major reductions in patient visits and surgical procedures. Distressing consequences were also observed on physicians' income, health and personal lives. These findings are probably applicable to other medical specialties. Available at. <https://www.intbrazjurol.com.br/pdf/aop/20209915_Gomes_OA.pdf>.


title: How the COVID-19 infection tsunami revolutionized the work of respiratory physiotherapists: an experience from Northern Italy

text: Due to COVID-19 outbreak, to lighten the burden of acute and critical care hospitals, some respiratory rehabilitation departments have been used to host patients with COVID-19 in the post-acute phase. This new and unexpected situation required a change of roles and scheduling of the rehabilitation teams. In this manuscript we describe the unexpected and urgent organizational change of the Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation (CPR) service during the COVID-19 emergency in a Northern Italian rehabilitation hospital, focusing on the Respiratory Physiotherapists' (RPTs) role. A quick three-days complete reorganization of the entire hospital was needed. A COVID-19 care team including a multidisciplinary panel of physicians, nurses, and RPTs was quickly performed to manage 90 beds for post acute patients with COVID-19. Within the team, the RPTs changed their shifts, so as to be available 16h per day, 7 days out of 7. Remodelled tasks in charge of RPTs were: oxygen therapy daily monitoring, non invasive ventilation (NIV) and continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) delivery, pronation and postural changes to improve oxygenation, reconditioning with leg/arm cranking and exercises, initial and final patients' functional assessment by short-physical performance battery (SPPB) and 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1-STS) to evaluate motor conditions and exercise-induced oxygen desaturation. Three "what-to-do" algorithms were developed to guide: i) oxygen de-escalation by reducing inhaled fraction of oxygen (FiO2); ii) oxygenation improvement through the use of Venturi mask; iii) reconditioning and physical activity. One-hundred seventy patients were treated in one month. As main topics, RPTs have been involved in oxygen therapy management in almost a third of the admitted patients, reconditioning exercises in 60% of the cases, and initial and final functional motor capacity assessment in all patients. Details of activities performed by the RPT in one typical working day are also shown. Our reorganization has exploited the professional skills and clinical expertise of the RPTs. This re-organization can provide practical insights to other facilities that are facing this crisis, and may be a starting point for implementing post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Future studies will have to improve and review this organization.


title: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Returnees to Japan from Wuhan, China, 2020

text: In early 2020, Japan repatriated 566 nationals from China. Universal laboratory testing and 14-day monitoring of returnees detected 12 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection; initial screening results were negative for 5. Common outcomes were remaining asymptomatic (n = 4) and pneumonia (n = 6). Overall, screening performed poorly.


title: Case Report: Walking Pneumonia in Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Mild Symptoms with Marked Abnormalities on Chest Imaging

text: This case report underlines the appearance of a "walking pneumonia" in a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient, with evidence of progressive lung involvement on chest imaging studies. The patient traveled from Wuhan, Hubei, China, to Thailand in January 2020. One of her family members was diagnosed with COVID-19. She presented to the hospital because of her concern, but she was without fever or any respiratory symptoms. Three days earlier, her nasopharyngeal and throat swabs revealed a negative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) test by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Her initial chest radiography was abnormal, and her first sputum SARS-CoV-2 test yielded inconclusive results. A subsequent sputum test was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Diagnosis in this patient was facilitated by chest imaging and repeat viral testing. Thus, chest imaging studies might enhance capabilities for early diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia.


title: [Development, operational dilemma and tentative idea for construction mechanism of fever clinic in China]

text: Establishing fever clinic was an important achievement of the fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, and played an important role in the subsequent outbreaks of H1N1, H7N9 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Fever clinics have significant emergency characteristics, but there are no rescue conditions in the fever clinics. Consequently, the problem of establishment and management of fever clinics is still outstanding. Based on the development of fever clinics, this paper analyzes the operational dilemma of fever clinics, explores the measures of establishment and management of fever clinics, and constructs the operational mechanism of fever clinics in order to provide the basis for the emergency management system of public health emergencies, which is suitable for Chinese health system.


Chiral switches of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine: potential drugs to treat COVID-19


Familial hypercholesterolaemia and COVID-19: triggering of increased sustained cardiovascular risk


title: Disaster Resilience and Asset Prices

text: This paper investigates whether security markets price the effect of social distancing on firms' operations. We document that firms that are more resilient to social distancing significantly outperformed those with lower resilience during the COVID-19 outbreak, even after controlling for the standard risk factors. Similar cross-sectional return differentials already emerged before the COVID-19 crisis: the 2014-19 cumulative return differential between more and less resilient firms is of similar size as during the outbreak, suggesting growing awareness of pandemic risk well in advance of its materialization. Finally, we use stock option prices to infer the market's return expectations after the onset of the pandemic: even at a two-year horizon, stocks of more pandemic-resilient firms are expected to yield significantly lower returns than less resilient ones, reflecting their lower exposure to disaster risk. Hence, going forward, markets appear to price exposure to a new risk factor, namely, pandemic risk.


Challenges in the Practice of Sexual Medicine in the Time of COVID-19 in Brazil


title: Calibrated Intervention and Containment of the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: COVID-19 has infected more than 823,000 people globally and resulted in over 40,000 deaths as of April 1, 2020. Swift government response to contain the outbreak requires accurate and continuous census of the infected population, particularly with regards to viral carriers without severe symptoms. We take on this task by converting the symptom onset time distribution, which we calibrated, into the percentage of the latent, pre-symptomatic and symptomatic groups through a novel mathematical procedure. We then estimate the reduction of the basic reproduction number $R_0$ under specific disease control practices such as contact tracing, testing, social distancing, wearing masks and staying at home. When these measures are implemented in parallel, their effects on $R_0$ multiply. For example, if 70% of the general public wear masks and contact tracing is conducted at 60% efficiency within a 4-day time frame, epidemic growth will be flattened in the hardest hit countries. Finally, we analyze the bell-shaped curves of epidemic evolution from various affected regions and point out the significance of a universal decay rate of -0.32/day in the final eradication of the disease.


title: Australia's primary care COVID-19 response

text: General practice is absolutely central to national and local responses to COVID-19 in Australia, and the nation is building a response on the basis of its very strong system of primary healthcare.


title: Multi-centre Spanish study found no incidences of viral transmission in infants born to mothers with COVID-19

text: AIM: Our aim was to describe the clinical features of mothers infected with COVID-19 and examine any potential vertical mother to newborn transmission. We also assessed how effective the discharge recommendations were in preventing transmission during the first month of life. METHODS: This multicentre descriptive study involved 16 Spanish hospitals. We reviewed the medical records of 42 pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 from 13 March to 29 March 2020, when they were in their third trimester of pregnancy. They and their newborn infants were monitored until the infant was one month old. RESULTS: Over half (52.4%) of the women had a vaginal delivery. The initial clinical symptoms were coughing (66.6%) and fever (59.5%) and one mother died due to thrombo-embolic events. We admitted 37 newborn infants to the neonatal unit (88%) and 28 were then admitted to intermediate care for organisational virus-related reasons. No infants died and no vertical transmission was detected during hospitalisation or follow up. Only six were exclusively breastfed at discharge CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of COVID-19 transmission in any of the infants born to COVID-19 mothers and the post discharge advice seemed effective. The measures to avoid transmission appeared to reduce exclusive breastfeeding at discharge.


title: Large-cell lymphoma with features intermediate between Hodgkin's, Primary mediastinal B-cell and Grey-zone lymphoma: a conundrum on fine-needle aspiration cytology

text: Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) and gray-zone lymphoma (GZL) are rare B-cell lymphomas with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. The fine-needle cytology of a GZL observed in a cervical lymph node is described and compared to the corresponding histological features. This case highlights the cytological and histological diagnostic difficulties and the need of a timely and accurate diagnosis.


title: UHMS Position Statement: Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO2) for COVID-19 Patients

text: There have been numerous recent inquiries regarding use of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) for patients with COVID-19 Questions have been raised pertinent to two possible mechanisms for HBO2 in this clinical context The UHMS Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Committee, UHMS Executive Committee, with collaborative input from multiple senior UHMS members and researchers have drafted this position statement


title: [Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization with HepaSphereTM for Gastric Cancer with Mediastinal Lymph Node Metastases Causing Esophageal Compression and Dysphagia-A Case Report]

text: A 50s man was diagnosed with esophagogastric junction cancer. Simultaneously, PET-CT demonstrated mediastinal lymph node metastases. Two months later, 4 courses of systemic chemotherapy(SOX)were provided as preoperative therapy. However, the outcome was PD; therefore, radical gastrectomy could not be performed. Two more months later, esophageal dysphagia developed. Mediastinal lymph nodes that compressed the esophagus and the primary lesion of the cardia were considered to be the causes of dysphagia, and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization targeting those 2 lesions was performed. Cisplatin 20 mg, docetaxel 20 mg, and 5-FU 250mg were the drugs administered. These drugs were injected from the right bronchial artery, left gastric artery, and left phrenic artery, followed by mild embolization with HepaSphereTM. The mediastinal lymph nodes shrunk significantly, and dysphagia improved with 2 sessions. The primary lesion was found to have reduced in size with 6 sessions. Currently, no regrowth of the mediastinal lymph nodes has been observed 16 months(9 sessions) after the first session, and control of the primary lesion has been obtained.


title: Analytical Methods on Determination in Pharmaceuticals and Biological Materials of Chloroquine as Available for the Treatment of COVID-19

text: With the outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID-19), people's health and existing economies on a global scale are seriously threatened. Currently, most of the countries all over the world are studying extensively to better understand the antimalarial chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for therapeutic purposes due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, CQ and HCQ can have serious side effects, from psychiatric effects to sudden death. Therefore, a faster and more effective detection method is needed to monitor drug concentrations. In this review, a large study was conducted on the detection techniques and quantitative determination methods of CQ and its related metabolites. In this review, chromatography, electrophoresis, electroanalytical, spectroscopic, and immunological methods for CQ and related metabolites are discussed extensively. It is hoped that a better understanding of the CQ used for therapeutic purposes in the COVID-19 outbreak will be provided.


Surgery at the time of COVID-19 pandemic: initial evidence of safe practice


title: Data-Driven Methods to Monitor, Model, Forecast and Control Covid-19 Pandemic: Leveraging Data Science, Epidemiology and Control Theory

text: This document analyzes the role of data-driven methodologies in Covid-19 pandemic. We provide a SWOT analysis and a roadmap that goes from the access to data sources to the final decision-making step. We aim to review the available methodologies while anticipating the difficulties and challenges in the development of data-driven strategies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. A 3M-analysis is presented: Monitoring, Modelling and Making decisions. The focus is on the potential of well-known datadriven schemes to address different challenges raised by the pandemic: i) monitoring and forecasting the spread of the epidemic; (ii) assessing the effectiveness of government decisions; (iii) making timely decisions. Each step of the roadmap is detailed through a review of consolidated theoretical results and their potential application in the Covid-19 context. When possible, we provide examples of their applications on past or present epidemics. We do not provide an exhaustive enumeration of methodologies, algorithms and applications. We do try to serve as a bridge between different disciplines required to provide a holistic approach to the epidemic: data science, epidemiology, controltheory, etc. That is, we highlight effective data-driven methodologies that have been shown to be successful in other contexts and that have potential application in the different steps of the proposed roadmap. To make this document more functional and adapted to the specifics of each discipline, we encourage researchers and practitioners to provide feedback. We will update this document regularly.


title: COVID-19 epidemic in Switzerland: on the importance of testing, contact tracing and isolation

text: Switzerland is among the countries with the highest number of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases per capita in the world. There are likely many people with undetected SARS-CoV-2 infection because testing efforts are currently not detecting all infected people, including some with clinical disease compatible with COVID-19. Testing on its own will not stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Testing is part of a strategy. The World Health Organization recommends a combination of measures: rapid diagnosis and immediate isolation of cases, rigorous tracking and precautionary self-isolation of close contacts. In this article, we explain why the testing strategy in Switzerland should be strengthened urgently, as a core component of a combination approach to control COVID-19.


title: No Place Like Home: Cross-National Data Analysis of the Efficacy of Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: BACKGROUND: In the absence of a cure in the time of a pandemic, social distancing measures seem to be the most effective intervention to slow the spread of disease. Various simulation-based studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of these measures. While those studies unanimously confirm the mitigating effect of social distancing on disease spread, the reported effectiveness varies from 10% to more than 90% reduction in the number of infections. This level of uncertainty is mostly due to the complex dynamics of epidemics and their time-variant parameters. However, real transactional data can reduce uncertainty and provide a less noisy picture of the effectiveness of social distancing. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to integrate multiple transactional data sets (GPS mobility data from Google and Apple as well as disease statistics from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) to study the role of social distancing policies in 26 countries and analyze the transmission rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic over the course of 5 weeks. METHODS: Relying on the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model and official COVID-19 reports, we first calculated the weekly transmission rate (ß) of COVID-19 in 26 countries for 5 consecutive weeks. Then, we integrated these data with the Google and Apple mobility data sets for the same time frame and used a machine learning approach to investigate the relationship between the mobility factors and ß values. RESULTS: Gradient boosted trees regression analysis showed that changes in mobility patterns resulting from social distancing policies explain approximately 47% of the variation in the disease transmission rates. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with simulation-based studies, real cross-national transactional data confirms the effectiveness of social distancing interventions in slowing the spread of COVID-19. In addition to providing less noisy and more generalizable support for the idea of social distancing, we provide specific insights for public health policy makers regarding locations that should be given higher priority for enforcing social distancing measures.


Time to Leverage Health System Collaborations: Supporting Nursing Facilities Through the COVID-19 Pandemic


Rethinking the First COVID-19 Death in Turkey


title: Sektion Pflege zur aktuellen Situation der Intensivpflege in Deutschland : Arbeitsgruppe der Sektion Pflege der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Internistische Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin (DGIIN)./ [Nursing Division on the current intensive care situation in Germany : Working group of the Nursing Division of the German Society of Medical Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DGIIN)]

text: The year 2020 is the year of care on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale. However, due to current events, the "Year of Corona" will be remembered more. A positive aspect is the attention and appreciation of the nursing profession in the population. Nevertheless, politicians and various professional groups in the hospital limit nursing care almost exclusively to practical activities that are directly necessary for the patients. A clearly noticeable improvement in working conditions for nurses as a result of the political efforts of this legislative period has so far failed to materialise to the same extent as the active involvement of nurses in political decisions and resolutions that directly affect the professional group. The rapid build-up of bed capacities has made it possible to provide the patients concerned with the necessary intensive medical care. In many places, however, this has been at the expense of the nurses and physicians, some of whom have had to work without the necessary training, with insufficient protective equipment and in unfamiliar areas. These problems continue to exist even after months of the covid-19 crisis.The Nursing Section of the DGIIN expressly declares its willingness to actively and constructively participate in any processes in the future and, with the following 5 points, offers initial practical assistance to improve the situation in German intensive care units.


title: Art of prevention: Life in the time of coronavirus

text: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has continued to progress since its discovery in December 2019. A cluster of patients with atypical pneumonia identified in Wuhan, China, served as the epicenter of this recent epidemic. This family of viruses is responsible for the common cold along with the infamous severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2002 and Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2012. The Southern China Wholesale Market reportedly has connections to the original 27 cases in Wuhan, China. The worldwide confirmed case total has eclipsed 1,450,000, with more than 83,000 deaths. Patient presentation ranges from mild respiratory illness to acute respiratory distress syndrome and subsequent death. Early epidemiologic studies of viral spread support the hypothesis that COVID-19 can remain latent with an extended and infectious incubation period. The U.S. government has issued level 3 precautions for most international travel, along with prohibiting entry to foreign nationals traveling from China, Iran, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the European Schengen area (e.g., France, Italy, Germany). Prevention remains the mainstay in treating and defeating the COVID-19 epidemic. Anyone infected or suspected of being infected should self-quarantine at home or admit themselves to a specified hospital with infrastructure to handle the situation. The combination of prevention and containment provides the best opportunity to stall the spread of COVID-19.


Vaginal delivery in COVID-19 pregnant women: anorectum as a potential alternative route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission


title: The Dynamics of COVID-19 spread in Lebanon

text: We explore the spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Lebanon by adopting three different approaches, namely the SEIR model, a model of repeated iterations and a Fermi-Dirac-like model. We fit the first seventy five days of available daily data since the first diagnosed case and we forecast possible scenarios of contagion associated with different levels of social distancing measures. We determine the initial reproductive transmission rate in Lebanon and its subsequent dynamics. Our results suggest that preserving severe mitigation measures would halt the spread of the disease. Nevertheless, relaxing measures would trigger a second outbreak of infections within a couple of weeks, with severity depending on the extent of relaxation.


2019-novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): estimating the case fatality rate - a word of caution


title: Incorporating telemedicine as part of COVID-19 outbreak response systems

text: Healthcare providers should revisit disaster response policies to incorporate telemedicine systems to address some of the unique challenges posed by infectious disease outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).


The emotional impact of COVID-19: From medical staff to common people


Letter: Adaptation Under Fire: Two Harvard Neurosurgical Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic


title: Global health crises are also information crises: A call to action

text: In this opinion paper, we argue that global health crises are also information crises. Using as an example the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, we (a) examine challenges associated with what we term "global information crises"; (b) recommend changes needed for the field of information science to play a leading role in such crises; and (c) propose actionable items for short- and long-term research, education, and practice in information science.


title: First known person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the USA

text: BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first detected in China in December, 2019. In January, 2020, state, local, and federal public health agencies investigated the first case of COVID-19 in Illinois, USA. METHODS: Patients with confirmed COVID-19 were defined as those with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. Contacts were people with exposure to a patient with COVID-19 on or after the patient's symptom onset date. Contacts underwent active symptom monitoring for 14 days following their last exposure. Contacts who developed fever, cough, or shortness of breath became persons under investigation and were tested for SARS-CoV-2. A convenience sample of 32 asymptomatic health-care personnel contacts were also tested. FINDINGS: Patient 1-a woman in her 60s-returned from China in mid-January, 2020. One week later, she was hospitalised with pneumonia and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Her husband (Patient 2) did not travel but had frequent close contact with his wife. He was admitted 8 days later and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Overall, 372 contacts of both cases were identified; 347 underwent active symptom monitoring, including 152 community contacts and 195 health-care personnel. Of monitored contacts, 43 became persons under investigation, in addition to Patient 2. These 43 persons under investigation and all 32 asymptomatic health-care personnel tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. INTERPRETATION: Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while Patient 1 was symptomatic. Despite active symptom monitoring and testing of symptomatic and some asymptomatic contacts, no further transmission was detected. FUNDING: None.


title: Perspectives from Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic: nationwide survey-based focus on minimally invasive HPB surgery

text: The safety of minimally invasive procedures during COVID pandemic remains hotly debated, especially in a country, like Italy, where minimally invasive techniques have progressively and pervasively entered clinical practice, in both the hepatobiliary and pancreatic community. A nationwide snapshot of the management of HPB minimally invasive surgery activity during COVID-19 pandemic is provided: a survey was developed and conducted within AICEP (Italian Association of HepatoBilioPancreatic Surgeons) with the final aim of conveying the experience, knowledge, and opinions into a unitary report enabling more efficient crisis management. Results from the survey (81 respondents) show that, in Italian hospitals, minimally invasive surgery maintains its role despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with the registered reduction of cases being proportional to the overall reduction of the HPB surgical activity. Respondents agree that the switch from minimally invasive to open technique can be considered as a valid option for cases with a high technical complexity. Several issues merit specific attention: screening for virus positivity should be universally performed; only expert surgical teams should operate on positive patients and specific technical measures to lower the biological risk of contamination during surgery must be followed. Future studies specifically designed to establish the true risks in minimally invasive surgery are suggested. Furthermore, a standard and univocal process of prioritization of patients from Regional Healthcare Systems is advisable.


title: How did we get here? Short history of COVID-19 and other coronavirus-related epidemics

text: The COVID-19 epidemic was not the first coronavirus epidemic of this century and represents one of the increasing number of zoonoses from wildlife to impact global health. SARS CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 epidemic is distinct from, but closely resembles SARS CoV-1, which was responsible for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002. SARS CoV-1 and 2 share almost 80% of genetic sequences and use the same host cell receptor to initiate viral infection. However, SARS predominantly affected individuals in close contact with infected animals and health care workers. In contrast, CoV-2 exhibits robust person to person spread, most likely by means of asymptomatic carriers, which has resulted in greater spread of disease, overall morbidity and mortality, despite its lesser virulence. We review recent coronavirus-related epidemics and distinguish clinical and molecular features of CoV-2, the causative agent for COVID-19, and review the current status of vaccine trials.


title: Effect of Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, and Azithromycin on the Corrected QT Interval in Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection

text: BACKGROUND: The novel SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is responsible for the global coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Small studies have shown a potential benefit of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine±azithromycin for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019. Use of these medications alone, or in combination, can lead to a prolongation of the QT interval, possibly increasing the risk of Torsade de pointes and sudden cardiac death. METHODS: Hospitalized patients treated with chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine±azithromycin from March 1 to the 23 at 3 hospitals within the Northwell Health system were included in this prospective, observational study. Serial assessments of the QT interval were performed. The primary outcome was QT prolongation resulting in Torsade de pointes. Secondary outcomes included QT prolongation, the need to prematurely discontinue any of the medications due to QT prolongation, and arrhythmogenic death. RESULTS: Two hundred one patients were treated for coronavirus disease 2019 with chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine. Ten patients (5.0%) received chloroquine, 191 (95.0%) received hydroxychloroquine, and 119 (59.2%) also received azithromycin. The primary outcome of torsade de pointes was not observed in the entire population. Baseline corrected QT interval intervals did not differ between patients treated with chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (monotherapy group) versus those treated with combination group (chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin; 440.6±24.9 versus 439.9±24.7 ms, P=0.834). The maximum corrected QT interval during treatment was significantly longer in the combination group versus the monotherapy group (470.4±45.0 ms versus 453.3±37.0 ms, P=0.004). Seven patients (3.5%) required discontinuation of these medications due to corrected QT interval prolongation. No arrhythmogenic deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest reported cohort of coronavirus disease 2019 patients to date treated with chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine±azithromycin, no instances of Torsade de pointes, or arrhythmogenic death were reported. Although use of these medications resulted in QT prolongation, clinicians seldomly needed to discontinue therapy. Further study of the need for QT interval monitoring is needed before final recommendations can be made.


title: Comparison of two methods to clear the airways of critically ill children and adults with COVID-19 infection: a structured summary of a study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

text: OBJECTIVES: As there is no treatment for COVID-19 with a proven mortality benefit at this moment in the pandemic, supportive management including mechanical ventilation is the core management in an intensive care unit (ICU). It is a challenge to provide consistent care in this situation, highly demanding and leading to potential staff shortages in ICU. We need to reduce unnecessary exposure of healthcare workers to the virus. This study aims to examine the impact of care using a non-invasive oscillating device (NIOD) for chest physiotherapy in the care of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19. In particular, we aim to explore if a NIOD performed by non-specialized personnel is not inferior to the standard chest physiotherapy (CPT) undertaken by physiotherapists caring for patients with COVID-19. TRIAL DESIGN: A pilot multicenter prospective crossover noninferiority randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: All mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 admitted to one of the two ICUs, and CPT ordered by the responsible physician. The participants will be recruited from two intensive care units in Canadian Academic Hospitals (one pediatric and one adult ICU). INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: We will implement NIOD and CPT alternatingly for 3 h apart over 3 h. We will apply a pragmatic design, so that other procedures including hypertonic saline nebulization, intermittent positive pressure ventilation, suctioning (e.g., oral or nasal), or changing the ventilator settings or modality (i.e., increasing positive end-expiratory pressure or changing the nasal mask to total face continuous positive airway pressure) can be provided at the direction of bedside intensivists in charge. MAIN OUTCOMES: The primary outcome measurement is the oxygenation level before and after the procedure (SpO2/FiO2 ratio). For cases with invasive ventilation (i.e., the use of an endotracheal tube to deliver positive pressure) and non-invasive ventilation, we will also document expiratory tidal volume, vital signs, and any related complications such as vomiting, hypoxemia, or unexpected extubation. We will collect the data before, 10 min after, and 30 min after the procedure. RANDOMIZATION: The order of the procedures (i.e., NIOD or CPT) will be randomly allocated using manual generated random numbers for each case. Randomization will be carried out by the independent research assistant in the study coordinating center by using opaque sealed envelopes, assigning an equal number of cases to each intervention arm. Stratification will be applied for age (> 18 years or ≤ 18 years of age) and the study sites. BLINDING (MASKING): No blinding will be performed. NUMBERS TO BE RANDOMIZED (SAMPLE SIZE): We estimate the necessary sample size as 25 for each arm (total 50 cases), with a power of 0.90 and an alpha of 0.05, with a non-inferiority design. TRIAL STATUS: The protocol version number 1 was approved on 27 March 2020. Currently, recruitment has not yet started, with the start scheduled by the mid-June 2020 and the end anticipated by December 2020. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04361435 . Registered on 28 April 2020 FULL PROTOCOL: The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional File 1). In the interest in expediting dissemination of this material, the familiar formatting has been eliminated; this letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol.


Efecto de una intervención en las redes sociales en tiempos del COVID-19./ [Effect of an intervention on social networks in the time of COVID-19]


title: Modeling the early steps of cytoplasmic trafficking in viral infection and gene delivery

text: Gene delivery of nucleic acid to the cell nucleus is a fundamental step in gene therapy. In this review of modeling drug and gene delivery, we focus on the particular stage of plasmid DNA or virus cytoplasmic trafficking. A challenging problem is to quantify the success of this limiting stage. We present some models and simulations of plasmid trafficking and of the limiting phase of DNA-polycation escape from an endosome and discuss virus cytoplasmic trafficking. The models can be used to assess the success of viral escape from endosomes, to quantify the early step of viral-cell infection, and to propose new simulation tools for designing new hybrid-viruses as synthetic vectors.


Is it too premature to recommend against laparoscopic emergency surgery in COVID-19 patients?


title: Molecular Characterization of Ebselen Binding Activity to SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease

text: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) urgently calls for the design of drugs directed against this new virus. Given its essential role in proteolytic processing, the main protease Mpro has been identified as an attractive candidate for drugs against SARS-CoV-2 and similar coronaviruses. Recent high-throughput screening studies have identified a set of existing, small-molecule drugs as potent Mpro inhibitors. Amongst these, Ebselen (2-Phenyl-1,2-benzoselenazol-3-one), a glutathione peroxidase mimetic seleno-organic compound, is particularly attractive. Recent experiments suggest that its effectiveness is higher than that of other molecules that also act at the enzyme catalytic site. By relying on extensive simulations with all-atom models, in this study we examine at a molecular level the potential of Ebselen to decrease Mpro catalytic activity. Our results indicate that Ebselen exhibits a distinct affinity for the catalytic site cavity of Mpro. In addition, our molecular models reveal a second, previously unkown binding site for Ebselen in the dimerization region localized between the II and III domains of the protein. A detailed analysis of the free energy of binding indicates that the affinity of Ebselen to this second binding site is in fact significantly larger than that to the catalytic site. A strain analysis indicates that Ebselen bound between the II-III domains exerts a pronounced allosteric effect that regulates catalytic site access through surface loop interactions, and induces a displacement and reconfiguration of water hotspots, including the catalytic water, which could interfere with normal enzymatic function. Taken together, these findings provide a framework for the future design of more potent and specific Mpro inhibitors, based on the Ebselen scaffold, that could lead to new therapeutic strategies for COVID-19.


Ethics in the age of COVID-19


Case of acute arthritis following SARS-CoV-2 infection


Worldwide Effect of COVID-19 on Physical Activity: A Descriptive Study


Covid-19: planning a future that focuses on sustainability, health, and social value


title: Correction to: Evaluating the efficacy and safety of human anti-SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma in severely ill adults with COVID-19: A structured summary of a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

text: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.


Diabetes Care at the Times of Transition and COVID-19 Pandemics (Ukrainian Experience)


title: Respiratory advice for the non-respiratory physician in the time of COVID-19

text: COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 beta-coronavirus, has changed clinical practice in a matter of weeks. Among the physician specialties, respiratory physicians have been at the forefront of the response to this new challenge. Here we provide advice for non-respiratory physicians on the ward-based care of patients with this disease. This includes recommendations on hydration, thromboprophylaxis, nutritional support and on the importance of the early detection of deterioration, setting ceilings of care and use of anticipatory drugs where appropriate. We also discuss oxygen support modalities, proning, safe working practices and a new approach to multi-professional working. We include references to a number of important research studies.


Thrombocytopenia and coagulation disorders due to COVID 19 infection with concomitant cardiovascular diseases requiring anti-platelet and anticoagulant therapy, which strategy?


title: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on domestic violence: The dark side of home isolation during quarantine

text: Domestic violence is a global public health problem. It takes many different forms and leads to significant physical and psychological consequences for the victim and the whole family. Situations that may prompt episodes of violence in the family include stress, emotional disappointment, economic factors, bad and cramped housing, and alcohol or drug abuse. How does the government's forced home isolation to contain Covid-19 infections impact on this type of abuse? Numerous articles have reported a decrease in reports of domestic violence since quarantine began but how reliable is these data? Is it a potential wake-up call for public institutions? We discuss the risks associated with quarantine measures during the pandemic and suggest the measures to prevent and improve the reporting of abuse cases.


title: Evaluation of Chemical Protocols for Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 Infectious Samples

text: Clinical samples collected in coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), patients are commonly manipulated in biosafety level 2 laboratories for molecular diagnostic purposes. Here, we tested French norm NF-EN-14476+A2 derived from European standard EN-14885 to assess the risk of manipulating infectious viruses prior to RNA extraction. SARS-CoV-2 cell-culture supernatant and nasopharyngeal samples (virus-spiked samples and clinical samples collected in COVID-19 patients) were used to measure the reduction of infectivity after 10 minute contact with lysis buffer containing various detergents and chaotropic agents. A total of thirteen protocols were evaluated. Two commercially available formulations showed the ability to reduce infectivity by at least 6 log 10, whereas others proved less effective.


title: From high volume to "zero" proctology: Italian experience in the COVID era

text: PURPOSE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit Italy early and strongly, challenging the whole health care system. Proctological patients and surgeons are experiencing a previously unseen change in care with unknown repercussion. Here we discuss the proctological experience of 4 Italian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Following remote brainstorming, the authors summarised their experience in managing proctological patients during the COVID-19 pandemics and put forward some practical observations to further investigate. RESULTS: The 4 hospitals shifted from a high-volume proctological activity to almost "zero" visits and surgery. Every patient accessing the hospital must respect a specific COVID-19 protocol. Proctological patients can be stratified based on presentation and management considerations into (1) neoplastic patients, the only allowed to be surgically treated, (2) the ones requiring urgent care, operated only in highly selected cases and (3) the stable, already known patients, managed remotely. Changes in the clinical management of the proctological disease are presented together with some considerations to be explored. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of scientific evidence, these practical considerations may be valuable to proctological surgeons starting to face the COVID-19 pandemics. Beside the more clinical considerations, this crisis produced unexpected consequences such as an improvement of the therapeutic alliance and a shift towards telemedicine that may be worth exploring also in the post-COVID-19 era.


title: Real-time monitoring the transmission potential of COVID-19 in Singapore, March 2020

text: BACKGROUND: As of March 31, 2020, the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic that started in China in December 2019 is now generating local transmission around the world. The geographic heterogeneity and associated intervention strategies highlight the need to monitor in real time the transmission potential of COVID-19. Singapore provides a unique case example for monitoring transmission, as there have been multiple disease clusters, yet transmission remains relatively continued. METHODS: Here we estimate the effective reproduction number, Rt, of COVID-19 in Singapore from the publicly available daily case series of imported and autochthonous cases by date of symptoms onset, after adjusting the local cases for reporting delays as of March 17, 2020. We also derive the reproduction number from the distribution of cluster sizes using a branching process analysis that accounts for truncation of case counts. RESULTS: The local incidence curve displays sub-exponential growth dynamics, with the reproduction number following a declining trend and reaching an estimate at 0.7 (95% CI 0.3, 1.0) during the first transmission wave by February 14, 2020, while the overall R based on the cluster size distribution as of March 17, 2020, was estimated at 0.6 (95% CI 0.4, 1.02). The overall mean reporting delay was estimated at 6.4 days (95% CI 5.8, 6.9), but it was shorter among imported cases compared to local cases (mean 4.3 vs. 7.6 days, Wilcoxon test, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The trajectory of the reproduction number in Singapore underscores the significant effects of successful containment efforts in Singapore, but it also suggests the need to sustain social distancing and active case finding efforts to stomp out all active chains of transmission.


title: PCR Assays Turned Positive in 25 Discharged COVID-19 Patients

text: We report the observation that 14.5% of COVID-19 patients had positive RT-PCR testing again after discharge. We describe correlations between laboratory parameters and treatment duration (r= -0.637; p=0.002) and time to virus recrudescence (r= 0.52; p=0.008) respectively, suggesting the need for additional measures to confirm illness resolution in COVID-19 patients.


title: When altruists cannot help: the influence of altruism on the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

text: BACKGROUND: The positive predictive effect of altruism on physical and psychological well-being has been extensively demonstrated in previous studies, but few studies have examined the effect of altruism on negative mental health outcomes when altruists cannot perform altruistic behaviours. This study explored the influence of altruism on negative affect and mental health (anxiety and depressive symptoms) during the COVID-19 pandemic while people self-isolated at home in China. METHOD: University students were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional online survey during the outbreak of COVID-19 in China. Self-reported perceived risk, altruism, negative affect, anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured using the Self-Report Altruism Scale (SRA scale), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9). A structural equation model was used to analyse the mediating and moderating effects on mental health. RESULTS: The final sample comprised 1346 Chinese participants (Mage = 19.76 ± 2.23 years, 73% female). Overall, the higher the risk the participants perceived, the more negative affect they exhibited (ß = 0.16, p < .001), and thus, the more anxious and depressed they felt (ß = 0.134, p < .001); however, this relationship between risk perception and negative affect was moderated by altruism. In contrast to previous studies, the increase in negative affect associated with the increased perceived risk was pronounced among individuals with high altruism (t = 7.68, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with high altruism exhibited more negative affect than those with low altruism, which indirectly increased their anxiety and depressive symptoms. These findings enrich theories of altruism and provide valuable insight into the influence of altruism on mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.


COVID-19 pandemic for Pediatric Health Care: disadvantages and opportunities


title: AFP-LSE: Antifreeze Proteins Prediction Using Latent Space Encoding of Composition of k-Spaced Amino Acid Pairs

text: Species living in extremely cold environments resist the freezing conditions through antifreeze proteins (AFPs). Apart from being essential proteins for various organisms living in sub-zero temperatures, AFPs have numerous applications in different industries. They possess very small resemblance to each other and cannot be easily identified using simple search algorithms such as BLAST and PSI-BLAST. Diverse AFPs found in fishes (Type I, II, III, IV and antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs)), are sub-types and show low sequence and structural similarity, making their accurate prediction challenging. Although several machine-learning methods have been proposed for the classification of AFPs, prediction methods that have greater reliability are required. In this paper, we propose a novel machine-learning-based approach for the prediction of AFP sequences using latent space learning through a deep auto-encoder method. For latent space pruning, we use the output of the auto-encoder with a deep neural network classifier to learn the non-linear mapping of the protein sequence descriptor and class label. The proposed method outperformed the existing methods, yielding excellent results in comparison. A comprehensive ablation study is performed, and the proposed method is evaluated in terms of widely used performance measures. In particular, the proposed method demonstrated a high Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.52, F-score of 0.49, and Youden's index of 0.81 on an independent test dataset, thereby outperforming the existing methods for AFP prediction.


title: Head and neck oncologic surgery in the COVID-19 pandemic: Our experience in a deep south tertiary care center

text: INTRODUCTION: The ongoing worldwide pandemic due to COVID-19 has forced drastic changes on the daily lives of the global population. This is most notable within the health care sector. The current paper outlines the response of the head and neck oncologic surgery (HNS) division within our academic otolaryngology department in the state of Alabama. METHODS: Data with regard to case numbers and types were obtained during the pandemic and compared with time matched data. Our overall approach to managing previously scheduled and new cases, personal protective equipment (PPE) utilization, outpatient clinic, and resident involvement is summarized. DISCUSSION: Our HNS division saw a 55% reduction in surgical volume during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We feel that an early and cohesive strategy to triaging surgical cases, PPE usage, and minimizing exposure of personnel is essential to providing care for HNS patients during this pandemic.


Suppressing the Epidemic in New South Wales


title: Defining Essential Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: COVID-19 is a rapidly growing global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. With no vaccine or definitive treatment, public health authorities have recommended a strategy of "social distancing," reducing individual interaction, canceling elective procedures, and limiting nonessential services. Health care providers must determine what procedures are considered "elective," balancing risk of treatment delays with that of coronavirus exposure to patient, family, and providers. Given critical periods for language development and the long-term impact of auditory deprivation, some audiologic and otologic services should be considered essential. In this article, we describe the experience of a quaternary referral pediatric hospital in Seattle, the epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States, and share strategies for risk minimization employed by Seattle Children's Hospital. We hope that this work can be a reference for other centers continuing care for children who are deaf and hard of hearing during the COVID-19 and future resource-limiting crises.


Addressing Hearing Loss to Improve Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic


title: Airway Management for Endoscopic Laryngotracheal Stenosis Surgery During COVID-19

text: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents unique challenges for surgical management of laryngotracheal stenosis. High viral concentrations in the upper aerodigestive tract, the ability of the virus to be transmitted by asymptomatic carriers and through aerosols, and the need for open airway access during laryngotracheal surgery create a high-risk situation for airway surgeons, anesthesiologists, and operating room personnel. While some surgical cases of laryngotracheal stenosis may be deferred, patients with significant airway obstruction or progressing symptoms often require urgent surgical intervention. We present best practices from our institutional experience for surgical management of laryngotracheal stenosis during this pandemic, including preoperative triage, intraoperative airway management, and personal protective measures.


Increased risk of ocular injury seen during lockdown due to COVID-19


Rheumatic disease and COVID-19


Atypical pneumonia diagnosed as coronavirus disease 2019 by a serologic test (patient -1 in Poland)


title: Efficacy of glutathione therapy in relieving dyspnea associated with COVID-19 pneumonia: A report of 2 cases

text: Purpose: Infection with COVID-19 potentially can result in severe outcomes and death from "cytokine storm syndrome", resulting in novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) with severe dyspnea, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), fulminant myocarditis and multiorgan dysfunction with or without disseminated intravascular coagulation. No published treatment to date has been shown to adequately control the inflammation and respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19, apart from oxygen therapy and assisted ventilation. We evaluated the effects of using high dose oral and/or IV glutathione in the treatment of 2 patients with dyspnea secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: Two patients living in New York City (NYC) with a history of Lyme and tick-borne co-infections experienced a cough and dyspnea and demonstrated radiological findings consistent with novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). A trial of 2â¯g of PO or IV glutathione was used in both patients and improved their dyspnea within 1â¯h of use. Repeated use of both 2000 mg of PO and IV glutathione was effective in further relieving respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: Oral and IV glutathione, glutathione precursors (N-acetyl-cysteine) and alpha lipoic acid may represent a novel treatment approach for blocking NFKappaB and addressing "cytokine storm syndrome" and respiratory distress in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.


No more "social distancing" but practice physical separation


title: Aggregated COVID-19 suicide incidences in India: Fear of COVID-19 infection is the prominent causative factor

text: Many Indian COVID-19 suicide cases are turning the press-media attention and flooding in the social media platforms although, no particular studies assessed the COVID-19 suicide causative factors to a large extent. Therefore, the present study presents 69 COVID-19 suicide cases (aged 19 to 65 years; 63 cases were males). The suicide causalities are included as follows - fear of COVID-19 infection (n=21), followed by financial crisis (n=19), loneliness, social boycott and pressure to be quarantine, COVID-19 positive, COVID-19 work-related stress, unable to come back home due to lockdown, unavailability of alcohol etc. Considering the extreme psychological impacts related to COVID-19, there emerges a need for countrywide extensive tele-mental health care services.


title: Disparate Patterns of Movements and Visits to Points of Interests Located in Urban Hotspots across U.S. Metropolitan Cities during COVID-19

text: We examined the effect of social distancing on changes in visits to urban hotspot points of interest. Urban hotspots, such as central business districts, are gravity activity centers orchestrating movement and mobility patterns in cities. In a pandemic situation, urban hotspots could be potential superspreader areas as visits to urban hotspots can increase the risk of contact and transmission of a disease among a population. We mapped origin-destination networks from census block groups to points of interest (POIs) in sixteen cities in the United States. We adopted a coarse-grain approach to study movement patterns of visits to POIs among the hotspots and non-hotspots from January to May 2020. Also, we conducted chi-square tests to identify POIs with significant flux-in changes during the analysis period. The results showed disparate patterns across cities in terms of reduction in POI visits to hotspot areas. The sixteen cities are divided into two categories based on visits to POIs in hotspot areas. In one category, which includes the cities of, San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago, we observe a considerable decrease in visits to POIs in hotspot areas, while in another category, including the cites of, Austin, Houston, and San Diego, the visits to hotspot areas did not greatly decrease during the social distancing period. In addition, while all the cities exhibited overall decreasing visits to POIs, one category maintained the proportion of visits to POIs in the hotspots. The proportion of visits to some POIs (e.g., Restaurant and Other Eating Places) remained stable during the social distancing period, while some POIs had an increased proportion of visits (e.g., Grocery Stores). The findings highlight that social distancing orders do yield disparate patterns of reduction in movements to hotspots POIs.


title: COVID-19 and the Otolaryngologist: Preliminary Evidence-Based Review

text: The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has rapidly swept across the world since its identification in December 2019. Otolaryngologists are at unique risk due to the close contact with mucus membranes of the upper respiratory tract and have been among the most affected healthcare workers in Wuhan, China. We present information on COVID-19 management relevant to otolaryngologists on the frontlines of this pandemic and provide preliminary guidance based on practices implemented in China and other countries and practical strategies deployed at Stanford University. Laryngoscope, 2020.


Resuming liver transplantation amid the COVID-19 pandemic


title: Text as data: a machine learning-based approach to measuring uncertainty

text: The Economic Policy Uncertainty index had gained considerable traction with both academics and policy practitioners. Here, we analyse news feed data to construct a simple, general measure of uncertainty in the United States using a highly cited machine learning methodology. Over the period January 1996 through May 2020, we show that the series unequivocally Granger-causes the EPU and there is no Granger-causality in the reverse direction


Correction to Lancet Infect Dis 2020; published online March 23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30162


Handheld Ultrasound Devices: An Emerging Technology to Reduce Viral Spread during the Covid-19 Pandemic


title: Pulmonary Pathology of Early Phase COVID-19 Pneumonia in a Patient with a Benign Lung Lesion

text: AIMS: An ongoing outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) diseases (COVID-19) has been spreading in multiple countries. One of the reasons for the rapid spread is that the virus can be transmitted from infected individuals without symptoms. Revealing the pathological features of early phase COVID-19 pneumonia is important to the understanding of its pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to explore pulmonary pathology of early phase COVID-19 pneumonia in a patient with a benign lung lesion. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed the pathological changes of lung tissue from a 55-year-old female patient with early phase SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this case, right lower lobectomy was performed for a benign pulmonary nodule. Detailed clinical, laboratory and radiological data were also described. This case was confirmed to have preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection by real-time RT-PCR and RNA in situ hybridization on surgically removed lung tissues. Histologically, COVID-19 pneumonia was characterized by exudative inflammation. The closer to the visceral pleura, the more severe the exudation of monocytes and lymphocytes. Perivascular inflammatory infiltration, intraalveolar multinucleated giant cells, pneumocyte hyperplasia and intracytoplasmic viral-like inclusion bodies were seen. However, fibrinous exudate and hyaline membrane formation, which were typical pulmonary features of SARS pneumonia, were not evident in this case. Immunohistochemical staining results showed that an abnormal accumulation of CD4+ helper T lymphocytes and CD163+ M2 macrophages in the lung tissue. CONCLUSION: The results highlighted the pulmonary pathological changes of early phase SARS-CoV-2 infection and suggested a role of immune dysfunction in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 pneumonia.


Covid-19: International staff are considered vital to NHS's efforts, survey finds


Rapid mobilisation of research in response to covid-19: a paradigm for the future


title: A Note on the Evolution of Covid-19 in Italy

text: We employ methods largely exploited in Physics, in the analysis of the evolution of dynamical systems, to study the pattern of the Covid-19 infection in Italy. The techniques we employ are based on the use of logistic function and of its derivative, namely the Hubbert function. The latter is exploited to give a prediction on the number of infected per day. We also mention the possibility of taking advantage from other mathematical tools based e.g. on the Gompertz equation and make some comparison on the different predictive capabilities.


Guidance in an uncertain world


title: A Multi-Dimensional Big Data Storing System for Generated COVID-19 Large-Scale Data using Apache Spark

text: The ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had burst out in Wuhan China, specifically in December 2019. COVID-19 has caused by a new virus that had not been identified in human previously. This was followed by a widespread and rapid spread of this epidemic throughout the world. Daily, the number of the confirmed cases are increasing rapidly, number of the suspect increases, based on the symptoms that accompany this disease, and unfortunately number of the deaths also increase. Therefore, with these increases in number of cases around the world, it becomes hard to manage all these cases information with different situations; if the patient either injured or suspect with which symptoms that appeared on the patient. Therefore, there is a critical need to construct a multi-dimensional system to store and analyze the generated large-scale data. In this paper, a Comprehensive Storing System for COVID-19 data using Apache Spark (CSS-COVID) is proposed, to handle and manage the problem caused by increasing the number of COVID-19 daily. CSS-COVID helps in decreasing the processing time for querying and storing COVID-19 daily data. CSS-COVID consists of three stages, namely, inserting and indexing, storing, and querying stage. In the inserting stage, data is divided into subsets and then index each subset separately. The storing stage uses set of storing-nodes to store data, while querying stage is responsible for handling the querying processes. Using Apache Spark in CSS-COVID leverages the performance of dealing with large-scale data of the coronavirus disease injured whom increase daily. A set of experiments are applied, using real COVID-19 Datasets, to prove the efficiency of CSS-COVID in indexing large-scale data.


Low dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia: A double-edged sword


Limited transmissibility of coronavirus (SARS-1, MERS, and SARS-2) in certain regions of Africa


Reply to Letter to the Editor: "Don't judge too RAShly: the multifaceted role of the renin-angiotensin system and its therapeutic potential in COVID-19"


title: Data as evidence

text: In an earlier article, Gordon Drummond summarized ongoing changes in how statistics are being used in experimental physiology. He described the near-ubiquitous use of the P value, cautioning against declaring an analysis 'statistically significant'. He mentioned alternative approaches, including Bayesian and likelihood approaches. This article focuses on the latter approach, although I initially take another look at the P value. Then the likelihood approach is introduced with a very artificial example to enable the concept to be grasped easily. Next, a more realistic example is described, with associated calculations. A further example using real categorical data is explained, showing how it relates to and is superior to the oft-used χ2 test. A final discussion reveals that the likelihood approach, although mathematically and statistically accurate, is poorly supported by literature and training.


The COVID-19 pandemic: we are all in this together


title: Organ function support in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: Tongji experience

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease and a serious threat to human health. COVID-19 can cause multiple organ dysfunction, such as respiratory and circulatory failure, liver and kidney injury, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and thromboembolism, and even death. The World Health Organization reports that the mortality rate of severe-type COVID-19 is over 50%. Currently, the number of severe cases worldwide has increased rapidly, but the experience in the treatment of infected patients is still limited. Given the lack of specific antiviral drugs, multi-organ function support treatment is important for patients with COVID-19. To improve the cure rate and reduce the mortality of patients with severe- and critical-type COVID-19, this paper summarizes the experience of organ function support in patients with severe- and critical-type COVID-19 in Optical Valley Branch of Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China. This paper systematically summarizes the procedures of functional support therapies for multiple organs and systems, including respiratory, circulatory, renal, hepatic, and hematological systems, among patients with severe- and critical-type COVID-19. This paper provides a clinical reference and a new strategy for the optimal treatment of COVID-19 worldwide.


title: Reducing food waste in residential complexes using a pilot-scale on-site system

text: A pilot-scale on-site system combining biological treatment and a drying stage was applied to achieve mass reduction of food waste (FW) at an urban residential complex. The effectiveness of biodegrading the organic portion of FW via microorganisms existing in FW improved by 38.80% by controlling rates of FW loading and air-flow. In one stage of the on-site biological treatment, the major bacterial community was identified to be mesophilic and facultative; Lactobacillus was the most dominant genus, accounting for 78.1% of bacterial community. Total mass reduction of FW approached 90.15% by increasing removal of both moisture and the organic portion of FW. In addition, the solids and liquids of the final by-products have the potential to be recycled into resources such as fertilizer, a bio-solid refuse fuel or external carbon sources for wastewater treatment plants. The proposed decentralized system offers practical and environmental approaches for FW management in residential complexes.


Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with persistent negative CT findings


title: COVID-19 in Refractory Myasthenia Gravis- A Case Report of Successful Outcome

text: This is a brief report of a patient who has refractory Myasthenia Gravis, on multiple long-term immunosuppressive therapies and contracted COVID-19 during this 2020 pandemic. She was quarantined for total of 14 days and recovered successfully without any complications (no myasthenia exacerbation or crisis, no COVID-19 related complications), with no changes to her immunosuppressive therapy. Treatment of MG patients with COVID-19 needs to be tailored to individual patient.


Pulmonary Pathology of Early Phase 2019 Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia


title: Is copper beneficial for COVID-19 patients?

text: Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for both pathogens and the hosts during viral infection. Cu is involved in the functions of critical immune cells such as T helper cells, B cells, neutrophils natural killer (NK) cells, and macrophages. These blood cells are involved in the killing of infectious microbes, in cell-mediated immunity and the production of specific antibodies against the pathogens. Cu-deficient humans show an exceptional susceptibility to infections due to the decreased number and function of these blood cells. Besides, Cu can kill several infectious viruses such as bronchitis virus, poliovirus, human immunodeficiency virus type 1(HIV-1), other enveloped or nonenveloped, single- or double-stranded DNA and RNA viruses. Moreover, Cu has the potent capacity of contact killing of several viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Since the current outbreak of the COVID-19 continues to develop, and there is no vaccine or drugs are currently available, the critical option is now to make the immune system competent to fight against the SARS-CoV-2. Based on available data, we hypothesize that enrichment of plasma copper levels will boost both the innate and adaptive immunity in people. Moreover, owing to its potent antiviral activities, Cu may also act as a preventive and therapeutic regime against COVID-19.


title: The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on substance use: Implications for prevention and treatment

text: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought major challenges to healthcare systems and public health policies globally, as it requires novel treatment and prevention strategies to adapt for the impact of the pandemic. Individuals with substance user disorders (SUD) are at risk population for contamination due to multiple factors-attributable to their clinical, psychological and psychosocial conditions. Moreover, social and economic changes caused by the pandemic, along with the traditional difficulties regarding treatment access and adherence-will certainly worsen during this period, therefore aggravate their condition. In addition, this population are potential vectors of transmission. In that sense, specific strategies for prevention and treatment must be discussed. health care professionals dealing with SUD must be aware of the risks and challenges they will meet during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Addiction care must be reinforced, instead of postponed, in order to avoid complications of both SUD and COVID-19 and to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.


Managing sickle cell patients with COVID-19 infection: the need to pool our collective experience


title: Neurofilaments: neurobiological foundations for biomarker applications

text: Interest in neurofilaments has risen sharply in recent years with recognition of their potential as biomarkers of brain injury or neurodegeneration in CSF and blood. This is in the context of a growing appreciation for the complexity of the neurobiology of neurofilaments, new recognition of specialized roles for neurofilaments in synapses and a developing understanding of mechanisms responsible for their turnover. Here we will review the neurobiology of neurofilament proteins, describing current understanding of their structure and function, including recently discovered evidence for their roles in synapses. We will explore emerging understanding of the mechanisms of neurofilament degradation and clearance and review new methods for future elucidation of the kinetics of their turnover in humans. Primary roles of neurofilaments in the pathogenesis of human diseases will be described. With this background, we then will review critically evidence supporting use of neurofilament concentration measures as biomarkers of neuronal injury or degeneration. Finally, we will reflect on major challenges for studies of the neurobiology of intermediate filaments with specific attention to identifying what needs to be learned for more precise use and confident interpretation of neurofilament measures as biomarkers of neurodegeneration.


title: Less social emergency departments: implementation of workplace contact reduction during COVID-19

text: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid changes in community and healthcare delivery policies creating new and unique challenges to managing ED pandemic response efforts. One example is the practice of social distancing in the workplace as an internationally recommended non-pharmaceutical intervention to reduce transmission. While attention has been focused on public health measures, healthcare workers cannot overlook the transmission risk they present to their colleagues and patients. Our network of three EDs are all high traffic areas for both patients and staff, which makes the limitation of close person-to-person contact particularly difficult to achieve. To design, implement and communicate contact reduction changes in the ED workplace, our COVID-19 task force formalised a set of multidisciplinary recommendations that enumerated concrete ways to reduce healthcare worker transmission to coworkers and to patients from ED patient arrival to discharge. We also addressed staff-to-staff contact reduction strategies when not performing direct patient care. We describe our conceptual approach and successful implementation of workplace distancing.


Teledermatology in the era of COVID-19: Experience of an academic department of dermatology


Can we operate our patients without fear during the period of COVID-19 infection?


title: Looking out for myself: Exploring the relationship between conspiracy mentality, perceived personal risk, and COVID-19 prevention measures

text: OBJECTIVES: This research examined how conspiracy mentality may affect compliance with preventive health measures necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and the underlying motivations to comply. DESIGN AND METHOD: We conducted two cross-sectional studies (Study 1 N = 762, Study 2 N = 229) on a French population, measuring conspiracy mentality, compliance with preventive health measures, and perceived risks related to COVID-19. We also measured motivations to comply with preventive measures in Study 2. RESULTS: We show that people high in conspiracy mentality are likely to engage in non-normative prevention behaviours (Study 1), but are less willing to comply with extreme preventive behaviours that are government-driven (Study 2). However, we demonstrate that a perceived risk to oneself (risk of death) and a motivation to protect oneself can act as a suppressor: Conspiracy mentality is linked with an increase in the perception of risk to oneself, which, in turn, is associated with normative compliance. We also find that perceived risk of death explains the relationship between conspiracy mentality and non-normative prevention behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies showcase how people high in conspiracy theorizing may (dis)engage with prevention behaviours, but that perceived risk and motivation to protect oneself could increase these individuals' compliance.


title: Plan de contingencia para los servicios de medicina intensiva frente a la pandemia COVID-19./ Plan de contingencia para los servicios de medicina intensiva frente a la pandemia COVID-19./ Contingency plan for the intensive care services for the COVID-19 pandemic

text: In January 2020, the Chinese authorities identified a new virus of the Coronaviridae family as the cause of several cases of pneumonia of unknown aetiology. The outbreak was initially confined to Wuhan City, but then spread outside Chinese borders. On 31 January 2020, the first case was declared in Spain. On 11 March 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. On 16 March 2020, there were 139 countries affected. In this situation, the Scientific Societies SEMICYUC and SEEIUC have decided to draw up this Contingency Plan to guide the response of the Intensive Care Services. The objectives of this plan are to estimate the magnitude of the problem and identify the necessary human and material resources. This is to provide the Spanish Intensive Medicine Services with a tool to programme optimal response strategies.


title: Plan de contingencia para los servicios de medicina intensiva frente a la pandemia COVID-19./ Plan de contingencia para los servicios de medicina intensiva frente a la pandemia COVID-19./ Contingency Plan for the Intensive Care Services for the COVID-19 pandemic

text: In January 2020, the Chinese authorities identified a new virus of the Coronaviridae family as the cause of several cases of pneumonia of unknown aetiology. The outbreak was initially confined to Wuhan City, but then spread outside Chinese borders. On 31 January 2020, the first case was declared in Spain. On 11 March 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. On 16 March 2020, there were 139 countries affected. In this situation, the Scientific Societies SEMICYUC and SEEIUC, have decided to draw up this Contingency Plan to guide the response of the Intensive Care Services. The objectives of this plan are to estimate the magnitude of the problem and identify the necessary human and material resources. This is to provide the Spanish Intensive Medicine Services with a tool to programme optimal response strategies.


title: A Spatial Markov Chain Cellular Automata Model for the Spread of Viruses

text: We consider a Spatial Markov Chain model for the spread of viruses. The model is based on the principle to represent a graph connecting nodes, which represent humans. The vertices between the nodes represent relations between humans. In this way, a graph is connected in which the likelihood of infectious spread from person to person is determined by the intensity of interpersonal contact. Infectious transfer is determined by chance. The model is extended to incorporate various lockdown scenarios.