title: Clinical characteristics of 50466 patients with 2019-nCoV infection

text: Objective: We aim to summarize reliable evidences of evidence-based medicine for the treatment and prevention of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by analyzing all the published studies on the clinical characteristics of patients with 2019-nCoV. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and other databases were searched. Several studies on the clinical characteristics of 2019-nCoV infection were collected for Meta-analysis. Results: Ten studies were included in Meta-analysis, including a total number of 50466 patients with 2019-nCoV infection. Meta-analysis shows that, among these patients, the incidence of fever was 89.1%, the incidence of cough was 72.2%, and the incidence of muscle soreness or fatigue was 42.5%. The incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was 14.8%, the incidence of abnormal chest computer tomography (CT) was 96.6%, the percentage of severe cases in all infected cases was 18.1%, and the case fatality rate of patients with 2019-nCoV infection was 4.3%. Conclusion: Fever and cough are the most common symptoms in patients with 2019-nCoV infection, and most of these patients have abnormal chest CT examination. Several people have muscle soreness or fatigue as well as ARDS. Diarrhea, hemoptysis, headache, sore throat, shock, and other symptoms only occur in a small number of patients. The case fatality rate of patients with 2019-nCoV infection is lower than that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).


title: Near Term Predictions of Covid-19 Cases in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu in India Based on Basu Model

text: Four states in India account for nearly two thirds of the Covid-19 cases and the numbers are growing fast. A mathematical model which has been recently developed and which has been applied to other countries and regions in the world has been used in this paper to anchor the available data to date and to make near term projections. The projections can be compared to actual data to take steps in the near term in controlling the spread of this disease. Key words: Coronavirus, Covid-19, SARS, Basu model, analysis, data, infectious disease, India, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, reopening, resurgence


title: Variations in Personal Protective Equipment Preparedness in Intensive Care Units during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Asia-Pacific Countries

text: Objectives: To evaluate PPE-preparedness across intensive care units (ICUs) in 6 Asia-Pacific countries. PPE-preparedness was defined as the adherence to guidelines, training HCWs, procuring PPE stocks and responding appropriately to a suspected case (transportation and admission to hospital). Design: Cross-sectional web-based survey. Setting: ICUs in Australia, New Zealand (NZ), Singapore, Hong Kong (HK), India and Philippines with a 24/7 Emergency/Casualty Department, and capable of mechanically ventilating patients for more than 24 hours. Interventions: Questionnaire sent to intensivists in 633 Level II/III ICUs in 6 Asia-Pacific countries by email, WhatsApp and text messaging. Main outcome measures: 263 intensivists responded, of whom 231 were eligible for analysis. Response rates were 68%-100% in all countries except India, where it was 24%. 97% either conformed to or exceeded WHO recommendations for PPE-practice. 59% employed airborne precautions irrespective of aerosol-generation-procedures. There were variations in negative-pressure room use (highest in HK/Singapore), training (best in NZ), and PPE stock-awareness (best in HK/Singapore/NZ). High-flow-nasal-oxygenation and non-invasive ventilation were not options in most HK (66.7%, 83.3% respectively) and Singapore ICUs (50%, 80% respectively), but were considered in other countries to a greater extent. 38% reported not having specialized airway teams. Showering and buddy-systems were underutilized. Clinical waste disposal training was suboptimal (38%). Conclusions: Most intensivists from six Asia-Pacific countries appeared to be aware of the WHO PPE-guidelines by either conforming to/exceeding the recommendations. Despite this, there were widespread variabilities across ICUs and countries in several domains, particularly related to PPE-training and preparedness. Standardising PPE guidelines may translate to better training, better compliance and policies that improve HCW safety. Adopting low-cost approaches such as buddy-systems should be encouraged. More importantly, better pandemic preparedness and building systems with deeply embedded culture of safety is essential to ensure the safety and well-being of HCWs during such pandemics.


title: Neutrophils, Crucial, or Harmful Immune Cells Involved in Coronavirus Infection: A Bioinformatics Study

text: The latest member of the Coronaviridae family, called SARS-CoV-2, causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The disease has caused a pandemic and is threatening global health. Similar to SARS-CoV, this new virus can potentially infect lower respiratory tract cells and can go on to cause severe acute respiratory tract syndrome, followed by pneumonia and even death in many nations. The molecular mechanism of the disease has not yet been evaluated until now. We analyzed the GSE1739 microarray dataset including 10 SARS-positive PBMC and four normal PBMC. Co-expression network analysis by WGCNA suggested that highly preserved 833 turquoise module with genes were significantly related to SARS-CoV infection. ELANE, ORM2, RETN, BPI, ARG1, DEFA4, CXCL1, and CAMP were the most important genes involved in this disease according to GEO2R analysis as well. The GO analysis demonstrated that neutrophil activation and neutrophil degranulation are the most activated biological processes in the SARS infection as well as the neutrophilia, basophilia, and lymphopenia predicted by deconvolution analysis of samples. Thus, using Serpins and Arginase inhibitors during SARS-CoV infection may be beneficial for increasing the survival of SARS-positive patients. Regarding the high similarity of SARS-CoV-2 to SARS-CoV, the use of such inhibitors might be beneficial for COVID-19 patients.


title: COVID-19 Induced Anxiety and Protective Behaviors During COVID-19 Outbreak: Scale Development and Validation

text: Background: The outbreak of communicable diseases increases community anxiety levels; however, it demands protective behavioral changes with adjacent awareness of the emerging epidemic. This work aims to develop valid instruments to evaluate COVID-19 induced anxiety, protective behaviors, and knowledge towards COVID-19, and to explore the relationship between the three constructs. Methods: A total sample of 215 university students were recruited to participate in an online self-administered questionnaire. The e-survey consisted of three instruments: COVID-19 Induced Anxiety Scale (CIAS) with 10 items, Protective Behaviors towards COVID-19 Scale (PBCS) with 14 items, and COVID-19 Related Knowledge Scale (CRKS) with 12 items. Results: Item-total analysis and CFA models indicated that CIAS items no. 1, 2, 5, and 8 should be removed to achieve adequate internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=0.78) and structural validity. The protective behaviors towards COVID-19 can be estimated from 3 dimensions: Routine Protective Behaviors (RPB), Post-exposure Protective Behaviors (PPB), and Post-exposure Risky Behaviors (PRB). Meanwhile, PBCS showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=0.85). Although the sample was unbalanced on gender, gender explained 5% of the variance in protective behaviors with females being more inclined to engage in protective behaviors. Structural Equation Model (SEM) implied that an individual's COVID-19 related knowledge was associated with the three dimensions of protective behaviors (RPB, PPB, and PRB) positively. However, the level of COVID-19 induced anxiety was linked to RPB and PPB positively but negatively to PRB. Conclusion: The 6-item version of CIAS and the 14-item version of PBCS are promising tools for measuring COVID-19 induced anxiety and protective behaviors and can be adopted for future use during early phases of communicable diseases outbreaks. Knowledge is a key indicator for protective behavior; therefore, awareness strategies need to suppress infodemic impact. Severe stress must be monitored during early phases of outbreaks as it significantly increases the probability of risk behavior engagement.


title: A Comprehensive Review of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

text: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus strain that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It spread to several countries across continents and infected more than one million people within three months. While there is no consensus on the treatment of the disease yet, understanding the virus and its transmission is a cardinal priority. SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted through bodily fluid. Upon inoculation, the surface enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) acts as a receptor protein for viral entry. The mean incubation period is 5.1 days, and infected individuals can exhibit a variety of symptoms from fever, cough, dyspnea, and respiratory failure to even multiorgan failure. Given the current situation, it is of paramount importance to understand the virus as thoroughly as possible. In this review, we discuss the background, epidemiology, possible pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and diagnostic studies related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also elaborate on the current research and evidence on treatment options and vaccine development based on the literature.


title: Concerns about disease management and psychological stress in SAPHO patients during the COVID-19 epidemic

text: Objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic brings potentially impact on the care of patients with rheumatic diseases, including SAPHO syndrome. We aimed to investigate the disease status, concerns about management, and psychological stress in SAPHO patients during the COVID-19 epidemic. Method A structured questionnaire was distributed online to patients with SAPHO syndrome enrolled in a Chinese cohort study on March 3rd, 2020. Patients were ask about the current treatments, disease status, and concerns about disease management during the epidemic. Psychologic stress (scored from 0 to 10 points) and psychological problems were reported by the patients. Results A total of 157 patients (mean age 38.4 {+/-} 12.3 years, 66.9% females) were included in the study. None of the patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. Sixty-five (41.4%) patients worried about their disease conditions during the epidemic with concerns including medication shortage (73.8%), delay of consultation (46.2%), and disease aggravation (61.5%). Sixty-seven (42.7%) patients had medication withdrawal or dose reduction due to lack of drugs, irregular daily schedule or subjective reasons. The most common psychological problems reported was little interest or pleasure in doing things (66.2%). Patients with progressive disease condition were more distressed and disturbed by the epidemic. Patients with nail involvement felt more worried about their disease conditions than patients without (59.6% vs 31.0%, p =0. 001). Conclusions The COVID-19 epidemic imposes a negative impact on the disease management and psychological stress in SAPHO patients. Patients' access to specialty care and medication well as mental stress is of great concern.


title: A single dose SARS-CoV-2 simulating particle vaccine induces potent neutralizing activities

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) for which a vaccine is urgently needed to control its spreading. To facilitate the representation of a native-like immunogen without being infectious, here, we reported a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate (designated ShaCoVacc) by incorporating spike-encoding mRNA inside and decorating spike protein on the surface of the virus simulating particles (VSPs) derived from lentiviral particles. We characterized the mRNA copy number, glycosylation status, transduction efficiency, and innate immune property of the new vaccine platform. Importantly, we showed the ShaCoVacc induced strong spike-specific humoral immune responses and potent neutralizing activities by a single injection. Additionally, we disclosed the epitopes of spike-specific antibodies using peptide microarray and revealed epitopes susceptible to specific neutralizing antibodies. These results support further development of ShaCoVacc as a candidate vaccine for COVID-19 and VSP may serve as a new vaccine platform for emerging infectious diseases.


title: Corticospinal neuroplasticity and sensorimotor recovery in rats treated by infusion of neurotrophin-3 into disabled forelimb muscles started 24 h after stroke

text: Stroke often leads to arm disability and reduced responsiveness to stimuli on the other side of the body. Neurotrophin-3 (NT3) is made by skeletal muscle during infancy but levels drop postnatally and into adulthood. It is essential for the survival and wiring-up of sensory afferents from muscle. We have previously shown that gene therapy delivery of human NT3 into the affected triceps brachii forelimb muscle improves sensorimotor recovery after ischemic stroke in adult and elderly rats. Here, to move this therapy one step nearer to the clinic, we set out to test the hypothesis that intramuscular infusion of NT3 protein could improve sensorimotor recovery after ischemic cortical stroke in adult rats. To simulate a clinically-feasible time-to-treat, twenty-four hours later rats were randomized to receive NT3 or vehicle by infusion into triceps brachii for four weeks using implanted minipumps. NT3 increased the accuracy of forelimb placement during walking on a horizontal ladder and increased use of the affected arm for lateral support during rearing. NT3 also reversed sensory deficits on the affected forearm. There was no evidence of forepaw sensitivity to cold stimuli after stroke or NT3 treatment. MRI confirmed that treatment did not induce neuroprotection. Functional MRI during low threshold electrical stimulation of the affected forearm showed an increase in peri-infarct BOLD signal with time in both stroke groups and indicated that neurotrophin-3 did not further increase peri-infarct BOLD signal. Rather, NT3 induced spinal neuroplasticity including sprouting of the spared corticospinal and serotonergic pathways. Neurophysiology showed that NT3 treatment increased functional connectivity between the corticospinal tracts and spinal circuits controlling muscles on the treated side. After intravenous injection, radiolabelled NT3 crossed from bloodstream into the brain and spinal cord in adult mice with or without strokes. Our results show that delayed, peripheral infusion of neurotrophin-3 can improve sensorimotor function after ischemic stroke. Phase I and II clinical trials of NT3 (for constipation and neuropathy) have shown that peripheral, high doses are safe and well tolerated, which paves the way for NT3 as a therapy for stroke.


title: Panic of buying toilet papers: A historical memory or a horrible truth? systematic review of gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID-19

text: Context: Within only 30 days after the first announcement of infection with “SARS-CoV-2” in Wuhan, it spread to more than 20 countries and become a pandemic by WHO as a “high alarming level of infection” with 136,343 involved cases all over the world. Methods: To uncover more about the probable gastrointestinal transmission and its clinical manifestations, we reviewed all research publications with keywords including: “COVID-19”, “SARS-CoV-2”, “Coronavirus”, “outbreak”, “ARAS-CoV” in Medline, Scopus, Google Scholar as well as all news in social media about “novel COVID-19 pandemic”. Out of 40 recent publications, 10 articles were studied by 2 authors. Results: Although the SARS-CoV-2 tends to infect respiratory epithelial cells through the respiratory tracts, recent investigations detected the virus in the stool specimen, raising the question of the fecal-oral transmission route. Different studies showed that almost all gastrointestinal signs and symptoms were seen in elderly patients (more than 65 years old). including anorexia (40%), nonspecific abdominal pains (8%), diarrhea (10%) and nausea and Vomiting in about 8% of patients. Anorexia and generalized abdominal pain suffer many treated cases even 10-20 days after negative blood tests (like CRP, lymphopenia) and negative PCR of respiratory samples. The main reason for this prolonged anorexia and abdominal pain may be due to the long persistence of COVID-19 in the gastrointestinal tracts after primary treatment. Conclusions: Comparing to SARS, patients with COVID-19 showed less diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and/or abdominal discomfort before respiratory symptoms. Feces as a potential contagious source of Viral RNA can last even after viral clearance in the respiratory tract. We strongly recommend all cured patients of COVID-19 to disinfect and clean their toilets until 17-20 days after negative blood tests and solving their respiratory disorders. Gastrointestinal manifestations have seen in all men while no women referred with GI signs.


title: Should the Management of Embolic Stroke in the Elderly Be Changed if They Also Have COVID-19?

text: INTRODUCTION: A strong association between stroke and atrial fibrillation (AF) has been demonstrated. Anticoagulation for the prevention of stroke in high-risk patients has the benefit of improving the life expectancy, quality of life, autonomy and social functioning of the patient. The COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges for stroke patients because of the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and thromboembolic risk. CASE DESCRIPTION: We describe the case of an 84-year-old female patient admitted due to an embolic stroke and non-anticoagulated AF. Her admission symptoms were sensory-motor aphasia and severe right limb paresis with an NIHSS score of 24. The diagnosis of embolic stroke (namely, total anterior circulation infarct; TACI) was made. Her stroke was extensive so she was not started on anticoagulation. During hospitalization, new embolic events occurred and a concomitant diagnosis of COVID-19 was made with progressive respiratory dysfunction followed by multiorgan failure. The patient died despite appropriate treatment. DISCUSSION: The prognosis of elderly patients with cardioembolic stroke depends on anticoagulation administration. The NIHSS score on admission of our patient meant anticoagulation therapy was not appropriate. The diagnosis of COVID-19 contributed to the patient’s death. LEARNING POINTS: Anticoagulation should be considered in stroke patients with total infarction and atrial fibrillation. There is an association between COVID-19 and thromboembolic stroke. Elderly patients with stroke and COVID-19 are at higher risk of death.


title: COVID-19: from temporary de-globalisation to a re-discovery of tourism?

text: The processes of globalisation and time-space compression, driven mainly by the neoliberal agenda and the advancement of various space-shrinking technologies, have markedly re-shaped the world over the last 75 years in an almost unchallenged manner. Amongst the most significant outcomes of these processes have been the popularisation of international travel and the accompanying global expansion of the tourism industry. As the first major force ever to effectively stop (or even reverse) globalisation and time-space compression, the COVID-19 outbreak has also put on hold the whole travel and tourism industry. In this respect, the tourism as we knew it just a few months ago has ceased to exist. Although the price the world is paying for this is enormous, the temporary processes of de-globalisation offer the tourism industry an unprecedented opportunity for a re-boot–an unrepeatable chance to re-develop in line with the tenets of sustainability and to do away with various ‘dark sides’ of tourism’s growth such as environmental degradation, economic exploitation or overcrowding. However, the path of re-development and transformation which the global tourism production system will follow once the COVID-19 crisis has been resolved is yet to be determined.


title: Bayesian inference of infected patients in group testing with prevalence estimation

text: Group testing is a method of identifying infected patients by performing tests on a pool of specimens collected from patients. For the case in which the test returns a false result with finite probability, we propose Bayesian inference and a corresponding belief propagation (BP) algorithm to identify the infected patients from the results of tests performed on the pool. We show that the true-positive rate is improved by taking into account the credible interval of a point estimate of each patient. Further, the prevalence and the error probability in the test are estimated by combining an expectation-maximization method with the BP algorithm. As another approach, we introduce a hierarchical Bayes model to identify the infected patients and estimate the prevalence. By comparing these methods, we formulate a guide for practical usage.


title: Art Therapy in Pandemics: Lessons for COVID-19

text: To help art therapists work effectively with the realities of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), this special report brings together art therapists who have experience working in pandemics (Ebola, SARS), attending to health professionals, and building creative virtual communities. Art therapists can support recommended public health psychosocial guidelines by disseminating information, promoting expression and inspiration, challenging stigma, modulating media input, securing family connections, monitoring secondary traumatic stress, developing coping and resilience, maintaining relationships, and amplifying hope.


title: Numerical Analysis of Disastrous Effect of Reopening Too Soon in Georgia, USA

text: Social distancing restrictions were lifted in Georgia, USA before the daily new Covid-19 cases were significantly reduced below the peak. In this paper we show through numerical analysis the disastrous consequence of this action resulting in a second peak of daily cases which caused additional fatalities. Key words: Coronavirus, Covid-19, SARS, Basu model, analysis, data, infectious disease, Georgia, USA, reopening, resurgence


title: Framing the MERS information crisis: An analysis on online news media's rumour coverage

text: Purpose: This paper explores the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea in 2015 in order to examine social implications of news media's roles during rumour propagation. There was an alarming level of public fear during the disease outbreak due toan information crisis, resulted by the government's holdback of vital information and the widespread MERS rumours on social media. By paying attention to news coverage patterns of rumours and comparing them across the outbreak period, the paper examines the following research questions: (a) Under what media frames were the MERS rumours reported by the online news? (b) Which media frame did the online news use most frequently? (c) How did the media frames change during and after the information vacuum?. Methods: Content analysis of news articles that covered MERS rumours during the outbreak has been conducted. Inductive open coding has been performed to investigate what reactions and media frames the news coverages have demonstrated to report the rumour propagation. Sample: The article samples were retrieved for big data analysis from the Big Kinds or the Korea Integrated News Database System (www.bigkinds.or.kr), by using the search terms, “MERS” and “SNS (Social Network Services).” A total of 142 articles have been sampled. Results: The paper found 7 reaction variables and categorized them into 2 risk-reporting media frames: risk-alarming frame(Anxiety, Criticisms and Damage) and risk-mitigating frame (Government, Correction, Remedies and Causes). The paper discovered that anxiety was the most frequently observed reaction variable across all phases. The paper also concluded that there has been a decrease in risk-alarming media frames and an increase in attempts to analyze causes for the rumour propagation (Causes), as the outbreak proceeds to the second phase, when the information vacuum finally ended. Conclusion: By exploring a disease outbreak in which ineffective risk management and absence of official information caused significant problems, the paper underlines the need for systematic risk communication measures, endorsed by effective collaboration among political leadership, media and the public.


title: Comparative Evaluation of Polyflake as Material for Repair and Reclamation Design

text: Abstract This paper empirically quantified polyflake deposition repair compared to alternative thermal spray techniques specifically when applied to 1045 steel shaft. Polyflake is a composite of c-glass flakes and high-performance modified resin that can substantially protect ferrous and non-ferrous surfaces. In the repair and reclamation of defective or damaged metal structures by deposition of engineering materials, thermal spray techniques using metals or ceramics are commonly favored over their counterparts due to their versatility of the type of deposition material utilized. However, a simpler and more economical approach is polyflake material deposition. In this study, a full factorial design of experiment is used to characterize the main effects of three materials and techniques used for deposition: c-glass high temperature resin polyflake, 303 stainless steel metallization, and aluminum oxide ceramic deposition repair. The experiments were used to evaluate the mechanical properties and performance of the repaired 1045 steel shafts. In addition, environmental impact assessment was conducted to evaluate the environmental performance of the three repair techniques implemented. The experimental results show that repair material and technique have significant effect on the hardness of the repaired components and their abrasion resistance properties. Upon completion of 75 hours of simulated service operation of the repaired shafts, aluminum oxide ceramic coating repair showed dominance in overall quality characteristics; however, it had highest cost demands and higher energy footprint.


title: Particle removal characteristics of a high-velocity electrostatic mist eliminator

text: In this study, we developed a flat plate-type wet electrostatic precipitator that generates stable corona discharge compared to wire-type discharge electrodes. Particle removal efficiencies were compared among differing shapes of the discharge electrode, including varying horizontal and vertical distances between spiked edges, and varying the height of the discharge pin support. When the horizontal distance between spiked edges was increased to 36 mm, the vertical distance between spiked edges increased to 54 mm, and when the height of the discharge pin support was increased to 76 mm, the removal efficiency of PM10was maintained at approximately 60.0%. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of particles over 5 µm was about 80% or greater. When the flow rate was 4 m s–1, the gap between collection plates was 60 mm, and –14 kV was applied to the discharge electrode. The particle removal efficiency of the flat plate-type electrostatic precipitator was maintained when the horizontal and vertical distances between spiked edges and the height of the discharge pin support were below threshold levels. Those variables may be important factors for designing the shape of the discharge electrode. Therefore, when designing electrostatic precipitators with multiple channels, the discharge electrode weight and processing costs must be considered when determining the optimal horizontal and vertical distances between spiked edges and the height of discharge pin support.


The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Decision to Stop the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACCT-1): On Solid Ethical and Scientific Ground


title: Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for COVID-19: results from UK Biobank

text: Background Information on risk factors for COVID-19 is sub-optimal. We investigated demographic, lifestyle, socioeconomic, and clinical risk factors, and compared them to risk factors for pneumonia and influenza in UK Biobank. Methods UK Biobank recruited 37-70 year olds in 2006-2010 from the general population. The outcome of confirmed COVID-19 infection (positive SARS-CoV-2 test) was linked to baseline UK Biobank data. Incident influenza and pneumonia were obtained from primary care data. Poisson regression was used to study the association of exposure variables with outcomes. Findings Among 428,225 participants, 340 had confirmed COVID-19. After multivariable adjustment, modifiable risk factors were higher body mass index (RR 1.24 per SD increase), smoking (RR 1.38), slow walking pace as a proxy for physical fitness (RR 1.66) and use of blood pressure medications as a proxy for hypertension (RR 1.40). Non-modifiable risk factors included older age (RR 1.10 per 5 years), male sex (RR 1.64), black ethnicity (RR 1.86), socioeconomic deprivation (RR 1.26 per SD increase in Townsend Index), longstanding illness (RR 1.38) and high cystatin C (RR 1.24 per 1 SD increase). The risk factors overlapped with pneumonia somewhat; less so for influenza. The associations with modifiable risk factors were generally stronger for COVID-19, than pneumonia or influenza. Interpretation These findings suggest that modification of lifestyle may help to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and could be a useful adjunct to other interventions, such as social distancing and shielding of high risk. Funding British Heart Foundation, Medical Research Council, Chief Scientist Office.


title: Distribution of the 2019-nCoV Epidemic and Correlation with Population Emigration from Wuhan, China

text: BACKGROUNDS: The ongoing new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia outbreak is spreading in China and has not reached its peak. Five millions of people had emigrated from Wuhan before the city lockdown, which potentially represent a source of virus spreaders. Case distribution and its correlation with population emigration from Wuhan in early epidemic are of great importance for early warning and prevention of future outbreak. METHODS: The officially reported cases of 2019-nCoV pneumonia were collected as of January 30, 2020. Time and location information of these cases were extracted analyzed with ArcGIS and WinBUGS. Population migration data of Wuhan City and Hubei province were extracted from Baidu Qianxi and analyzed for their correlation with case number. FINDINGS: The 2019-nCoV pneumonia cases were predominantly distributed in Hubei and other provinces of South China. Hot spot provinces included Sichuan and Yunnan provinces that are adjacent to Hubei. While Wuhan city has the highest number of cases, the time risk is relatively stable. Numbers of cases in some cities are relatively low, but the time risks are continuously rising. The case numbers of different provinces and cities of Hubei province were highly correlated with the emigrated populations from Wuhan. Lockdown of 19 cities of Hubei province, and implementation of nationwide control measures efficiently prevented the exponential growth of case number. INTERPRETATION: Population emigrated from Wuhan was the main infection source for other cities and provinces. Some cities with low case number but were in rapid increase. Due to the upcoming Spring Festival return transport wave, understanding of the trends of risks in different regions is of great significance for preparedness for both individuals and institutions.


title: Development Optimization and Validation of RT-LAMP based COVID-19 Facility in Pakistan

text: The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has created a widespread panic across the globe especially in the developing countries like Pakistan. The lack of resources and technical staff are causing havoc challenges in the detection and prevention of this global outbreak. Therefore, a less expensive and massive screening of suspected individuals for COVID-19 is required. In this study, a user-friendly technique of reverse transcription-loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) was designed and validated to suggest a potential RT-qPCR alternate for rapid testing of COVID-19 suspected individuals. A total of 12 COVID-19 negative and 72 COVID-19 suspected individuals were analyzed. Both RT-qPCR and RT-LAMP assays were performed for all the individuals using open reading frame (ORF 1ab), nucleoprotein (N) and Spike (S) genes. All 12 specimens which were negative using RT-qPCR were also found negative using RT-LAMP assay. Overall 62 out of 72 positive samples (detected using RT-qPCR) were found COVID-19 positive using RT-LAMP assay. Interestingly all samples (45) having Ct values less than 30 showed 100% sensitivity. However, samples with weaker Ct values (i.e., => 35) showed 54% concordance, suggesting potential false negatives or false positives in RT-LAMP or RT-qPCR results, respectively. Overall comparative assessment showed that RT-LAMP assay showed strong sensitivity and specificity and can be used as an alternative strategy for rapid COVID-19 testing. Hence, based on fast processing time, minimal risk of specimens transfer and utilizing available resources, LAMP based detection of COVID-19 is strongly advocated especially for developing countries.


title: Exploring the correlation between COVID-19 fatalities and poor WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) services

text: Access to safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services have been recognized as a highly precautionary measure essential to protecting human health during this COVID-19 outbreak. However, it is currently unknown whether poor or non- availability of these services are also closely related to COVID-19 fatalities. We analysed the latest data on COVID-19 fatality rates in Sub Saharan Africa with indicators of safe water and sanitation governance to test this hypothesis. We found a strong correlation between a higher case fatality rate and poorer access to safe drinking water as well as safe sanitation. The Pearson correlation is stronger for access to safe sanitation ( -0.30) compared to access to safe drinking water (-0.20). The Chad, Niger and Sierra Leone were amongst the countries with the highest fatality rates (>6.0) and also had particularly poor access to safe drinking water (<34%) and safe sanitation (<22%). The hypothesis of an association between COVID-19 fatalities and poor access to water and sanitation was confirmed by this study. However, our analysis does not establish causality. Given the increase spread of COVID-19 and related deaths, this analysis serves as an important reminder that safe water and sanitation services are key for public health interventions and highlights the need to prioritise this sector in all economies.


title: Design of Ultrasonic Longitudinal-Torsional Vibrator Based on Waveguide Principle for Manufacturing and Medical Applications

text: Abstract This paper presents a new design of an ultrasonic vibrator that transforms longitudinal vibration into torsional vibrations for both manufacturing and medical applications. Conventional design methods of the ultrasonic vibrators are difficult to achieve complex hybrid vibration due to the limit of traditional straight shape and the tedious machining processes in fabrication. To overcome the disadvantages, this paper presents a new design of a hybrid longitudinal-torsional (L&T) ultrasonic vibrator. The hybrid L&T vibrator was designed using the acoustic waveguide principle and successfully transform the longitudinal vibration into a harmonic torsional vibration on the sample plane. An analytical finite element modeling was conducted for optimizing the hybrid L&T design parameters. Due to the complex design geometry, the new L&T design is difficult to be manufactured by conventional machining processes. Selective laser melting additive manufacture (SLM-AM) was used to fabricate the new hybrid L&T vibrator design. The designed hybrid longitudinal-torsional (L&T) vibrator was driven by axially polarized piezo-ceramic stacks for ultrasonic vibration applications. The experiments validate that the developed L&T vibrator is able to deliver high-energy efficiency vibration in both the longitudinal and the torsional directions. The presented new design of L&T ultrasonic vibrators can be used for applications of ultrasonic machining, surgical bone drilling, high efficient ultrasonic motors, or vibrational needle insertions or surgical tools for medical treatments.


title: Model calibration, nowcasting, and operational prediction of the COVID-19 pandemic

text: We present a simple operational nowcasting/forecasting scheme based on a joint state/parameter estimate of the COVID-19 epidemic at national or regional scale, performed by assimilating the time series of reported daily death numbers into a simple SEIR model. This system generates estimates of the current reproductive rate, Rt, together with predictions of future daily deaths and clearly outperforms a number of alternative forecasting systems that have been presented recently. Our current (14th April 2020) estimates for Rt are, respectively, UK 0.49 (0.0 – 1.02), Spain 0.55 (0.33 – 0.77), Italy 0.90 (0.74 – 1.06) and France 0.67 (0.40 – 0.94) (mean and 95% credible intervals). Thus, we believe that the epidemics have been successfully suppressed in each of these countries, with high probability. Our approach is trivial to set up for any region and generates results in a few minutes on a laptop. We believe it would be straightforward to set up equivalent frameworks using more complex and realistic models, and hope that some experts in the field of epidemiological modelling will consider investigating this approach further.


title: Statistical evaluation of selected air quality parameters influenced by COVID-19 lockdown. (Special Issue: Covid-19.)

text: Air pollution has become a serious concern for its potential health hazard, however, often got less attention in developing countries, like Bangladesh It is expected that worldwide lockdown due to COVID-19 widespread cause reduction in environmental pollution in particularly the air pollution: however, such changes have been different in different places In Chittagong, a city scale lockdown came in force on 26 March 2020, a week after when first three cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Bangladesh This study aims to statistically evaluate the effects of COVID-19 lockdown (26 March to 26 April 2020) on selected air quality pollutants and air quality index s The daily average concentrations of air pollutants PMsub10/sub, PMsub2 5/sub, NOsub2/sub, SOsub2/sub and CO of Chittagong city during COVID-19 lockdown were statistically evaluated and were compared with dry season data averaging over previous 8 years (2012 to 2019) During lockdown, except NOsub2/sub, all other pollutants studied showed statistically significant decreasing trend During the COVID-19 shutdown notable reduction of 40%, 32% and 13% compared to the daily mean concentrations of these previous dry season were seen for PMsub2 5/sub, PMsub10/sub and NOsub2/sub, respectively The improvement in air quality index value was found as 26% in comparison to the previous dry season due to less human activities in COVID-19 shutdown The factor analysis showed that AQI in Chittagong city is largely influenced by PMsub10/sub and PMsub2 5/sub during COVID-19 shutdown The lesson learnt in this forced measure of lockdown is not surprising and unexpected It is rather thought provoking for the decision makers to tradeoff the tangible air quality benefits with ongoing development strategies' that was often overlooked directly or indirectly


title: Discovery of a [CI]-faint, CO-bright Galaxy: ALMA Observations of the Merging Galaxy NGC 6052

text: We report sensitive [\ion{C}{1}]~$^3P_1$--$^3P_0$ and $^{12}$CO~$J$=4--3 observations of the nearby merging galaxy NGC 6052 using the Morita (Atacama Compact) Array of ALMA. We detect $^{12}$CO~$J$=4--3 toward the northern part of NGC 6052, but [\ion{C}{1}]~$^3P_1$--$^3P_0$ is not detected with a [\ion{C}{1}]~$^3P_1$--$^3P_0$ to $^{12}$CO~$J$=4--3 line luminosity ratio of$~\lesssim0.07$. According to models of photodissociation regions, the unusual weakness of [\ion{C}{1}]~$^3P_1$--$^3P_0$ relative to $^{12}$CO~$J$=4--3 can be explained if the interstellar medium has a hydrogen density larger than $10^5\,{\rm cm}^{-3}$, conditions that might arise naturally in the ongoing merging process in NGC 6052. Its [\ion{C}{1}]~$^3P_1$--$^3P_0$ emission is also weaker than expected given the molecular gas mass inferred from previous measurements of $^{12}$CO~$J$=1--0 and $^{12}$CO~$J$=2--1. This suggests that [\ion{C}{1}]~$^3P_1$--$^3P_0$ may not be a reliable tracer of molecular gas mass in this galaxy. NGC 6052 is a unique laboratory to investigate how the merger process impacts the molecular gas distribution.


title: 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia with onset of dizziness: a case report.

text: The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic continues, with the number of infections and deaths increasing. The respiratory tract is the main route of transmission of the virus, and the majority of symptoms are respiratory relative. Until now, there has been no reports concerning the nervous system onset. We present a 2019-nCoV patient with the onset of simple dizziness, accompanied by dry throat, no fever, no cough, no headache, no mental abnormality, and no obvious abnormality in the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head. Meanwhile, chest computed tomography (CT) scans showed multiple small spot shadows and interstitial changes in the early stage, especially in the extrapulmonary zone. There was a development of multiple ground-glass shadows and infiltrative shadows in both lungs with mild pleural effusion. The nucleic acid gene detection was positive, and thus the diagnosis of 2019-nCoV was confirmed. At last, the prognosis was good after active treatment. After antiviral and anti-infective treatment, the symptoms recovered. We presume that 2019-nCoV can also manifest in the nervous system alone, and lung CT, which has relative specificity, should be used as a routine screening method.


title: Modeling and Forecasting Trend of COVID-19 Epidemic in Iran

text: Background: COVID-19 is an emerging disease and precise data are not available in the world and Iran. this study aimed to determine the epidemic trend and prediction of COVID-19 in Iran. Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis and modeling. We used the daily reports of definitive COVID-19 patients (sampling of severe cases and hospitalization) released by Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Epidemic projection models of Gompertz, Von Bertalanffy and least squared error (LSE) were used to predict the number of cases at April 3, 2020 until May 13, 2020. Results: R0 in Iran was estimated to be 4.7 that has now fallen to below 2. Given the three different scenarios, the prediction of the patients on April 3, 2020 by Von Bertalanffy, Gompertz and LSE were estimated at 48200, 52500 and 58000, respectively. The number of deceased COVID-19 patients was also estimated to be 3600 individuals using the Von growth model, 4200 ones by Gompertz's model and 4850 ones according to the LSE method. To predict and estimate the number of patients and deaths in the end of epidemic based on Von and Gompertz models, we will have 87000 cases, 4900 and 11000 deaths until 13 May and 1 June, respectively. Conclusion: The process of controlling the epidemic is tangible. If enforcement and public behavior interventions continue with current trends, the control and reduction of the COVID-19 epidemic in Iran will be flat from April 28, until July, 2020 and new cases are expected to decline from the following Iranian new year.


title: Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among the general population during COVID-19 outbreak in Iran: A national cross-sectional survey

text: Abstract Background: COVID-19, which emerged in December 2019, is the largest pandemic ever to occur. During the early phase, little was known about public awareness relating to Coronavirus disease. This study was designed to determine knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among the Iranian public towards COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was carried out in Iran from 2 March to 8 April 2020 using a self-administered questionnaire on 1,480 people. COVID-19-related KAP questions were adapted from other internationally validated questionnaires specific to infectious diseases. Results: All participants were aware of COVID-19. When asked unprompted, 80% of respondents could correctly cite fever, difficulty breathing and cough as signs/symptoms of COVID-19. Most of our sample population knew that by staying at home and staying isolated (95.3%, 95 % CI: 94.2-96.3) as well as constant hand washing and using disinfectants (92.5%, 95 % CI: 91.1-93.8) could prevent COVID-19. However, there was also widespread misconceptions such as the belief that COVID-19 can be transmitted by wild animals (58%, 95 % CI: 55.5-60.5) and by air (48.3%, 95 % CI: 45.7-50.8). Unprompted, self-reported actions taken to avoid COVID-19 infection included hand washing with soap and water (95.4%, 95 % CI: 94.3-96.4), avoiding crowded places (93%, 95 % CI: 91.7-94.3), cleaning hands with other disinfectants (80.9 %, 95 % CI: 78.9- 82.9), and covering mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing (76.1 %, 95 % CI: 73.9-78.2). The internet and social media (94.5%, 95 % CI: 93.3-95.6) were the main Coronavirus information sources. However, the most trusted information sources on Coronavirus were health and medical professionals (79.3%, 95 % CI: 77.2-81.3). The majority of participants (77.0%, 95 % CI: 74.8-79.1) wanted more information about Coronavirus to be available. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that people's knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 at the time of its outbreak was of a high level. Therefore, health systems should use multiple ways, such as mass media, phone applications, electronic, print, and tele-education to increase KAP related to COVID-19.


title: An update on therapeutic repurposing strategies for COVID-19

text: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, well known as COVID-19 has become the current health distress to the entire world. In the pandemic scenario the research on the rapid development of new drug molecules is highly risky and tedious process. The current COVID-19 emergency demands an urgent development of possible strategies to protect people at high risk of infection and hence the drug repurposing became an emerging approach to fight COVID-19. This review summarizes an update on various therapeutic strategies with special attention on repurposing of drugs to fight against SARS-CoV-2 worldwide. The investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes is one line of scientific research followed to develop safe and effective COVID-19 treatments. Broad-spectrum antiviral agents (BSAAs) that have been believed to be safe through testing on early phase clinical trials have been hyped as good drug repurposing candidates. Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs such as Ribavirin, Umifenovir were advised for COVID-19 treatment. Some antibiotics may be repurposed as COVID-19 treatments such as teicoplanin, oritavancin, dalbavancin, monensin and azithromycin. Ivermectin an antiparasitic is recently repurposed. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, having immunomodulating effect on humans, have been shown to have antiviral activity at starting and post-entry stages of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. There is a need for global health emergency to call for a courageous, global response at the political and governmental levels. Therefore, the regulatory agencies must act swiftly to lessen any financial obstacles involving private companies and update guidelines for drug licenses by repurposing if necessary.


title: Projecting the Spread of COVID19 for Germany

text: We model the evolution of the number of individuals that are reported to be sick with COVID-19 in Germany. Our theoretical framework builds on a continuous time Markov chain with four states: healthy without infection, sick, healthy after recovery or after infection but without symptoms and dead. Our quantitative solution matches the number of sick individuals up to the most recent observation and ends with a share of sick individuals following from infection rates and sickness probabilities. We employ this framework to study inter alia the expected peak of the number of sick individuals in a scenario without public regulation of social contacts. We also study the effects of public regulations. For all scenarios we report the expected end of the CoV-2 epidemic. We have four general findings: First, current epidemiological thinking implies that the long-run effects of the epidemic only depend on the aggregate long-run infection rate and on the individual risk to turn sick after an infection. Any measures by individuals and the public therefore only influence the dynamics of spread of CoV-2. Second, predictions about the duration and level of the epidemic must strongly distinguish between the officially reported numbers (Robert Koch Institut, RKI) and actual numbers of sick individuals. Third, given the current (scarce) medical knowledge about long-run infection rate and individual risks to turn sick, any prediction on the length (duration in months) and strength (e.g. maximum numbers of sick individuals on a given day) is subject to a lot of uncertainty. Our predictions therefore offer robustness analyses that provide ranges on how long the epidemic will last and how strong it will be. Fourth, public interventions that are already in place and that are being discussed can lead to more and less severe outcomes of the epidemic. If an intervention takes place too early, the epidemic can actually be stronger than with an intervention that starts later. Interventions should therefore be contingent on current infection rates in regions or countries. Concerning predictions about COVID-19 in Germany, we find that the long-run number of sick individuals (that are reported to the RKI), once the epidemic is over, will lie between 500 thousand and 5 million individuals. While this seems to be an absurdly large range for a precise projection, this reflects the uncertainty about the long-run infection rate in Germany. If we assume that Germany will follow the good scenario of Hubei (and we are even a bit more conservative given discussions about data quality), we will end up with 500 thousand sick individuals over the entire epidemic. If by contrast we believe (as many argue) that once the epidemic is over 70% of the population will have been infected (and thereby immune), we will end up at 5 million cases. Defining the end of the epidemic by less than 100 newly reported sick individuals per day, we find a large variation depending on the effectiveness of governmental pleas and regulations to reduce social contacts. An epidemic that is not influenced by public health measures would end mid June 2020. With public health measures lasting for few weeks, the end is delayed by around one month or two. The advantage of the delay, however, is to reduce the peak number of individuals that are simultaneously sick. When we believe in long-run infection rates of 70%, this number is equally high for all scenarios we went through and well above 1 million. When we can hope for the Hubei-scenario, the maximum number of sick individuals will be around 200 thousand only. Whatever value of the range of long-run infection rates we want to assume, the epidemic will last at least until June, with extensive and potentially future public health measures, it will last until July. In the worst case, it will last until end of August. We emphasize that all projections are subject to uncertainty and permanent monitoring of observed incidences are taken into account to update the projection. The most recent projections are available at https://www.macro.economics.uni-mainz.de/corona-blog/.


title: The Coronavirus 2019 pandemic in Canada: the impact of public health interventions on the course of the outbreak in Alberta and other provinces

text: Background: The SARS-CoV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread across the world with varying impact on health systems and outcomes. We assessed how the type and timing of public- health interventions impacted the course of the outbreak in Alberta and other Canadian provinces. Methods: We used publicly-available data to summarize rates of laboratory data and mortality in relation to measures implemented to contain the outbreak and testing strategy. We estimated the transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2 before the state of emergency declaration for each province (R0) and at the study end date (Rt). Results: The first cases were confirmed in Ontario (January 25) and British Columbia (January 28). All provinces implemented the same health-policy measures between March 12 and March 30. Alberta had a higher percentage of the population tested (3.8%) and a lower mortality rate (3/100,000) than Ontario (2.6%; 11/100,000) or Quebec (3.1%; 31/100,000). British Columbia tested fewer people (1.7%) and had similar mortality as Alberta. Data on provincial testing strategies were insufficient to inform further analyses. Mortality rates increased with increasing rates of lab- confirmed cases in Ontario and Quebec, but not in Alberta. R0 was similar across all provinces, but varied widely from 2.6 (95% confidence intervals 1.9-3.4) to 6.4 (4.3-8.5), depending on the assumed time interval between onset of symptoms in a primary and a secondary case (serial interval). The outbreak is currently under control in Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia (Rt <1). Interpretation: COVID-19-related health outcomes varied by province despite rapid implementation of similar health-policy interventions across Canada. Insufficient information about provincial testing strategies and a lack of primary data on serial interval are major limitations of existing data on the Canadian COVID-19 outbreak.


title: Investigation of Deformation Induced Micro to Macro scale Surface Roughness

text: Abstract In the present work the relationship between deformation and deformation induced surface roughness of 100 micron thick annealed AISI 304 stainless steel was investigated at the meso scale. This work is a continuation of the previous work by the authors where roughness values were determined at the apex of the bulge test samples at micro scale. The apex is believed to be the region of highest stress and strain in a typical bulge process in a circular die. The material was deformed using a biaxial bulge test through hydraulic fluid pressure. The strains on the workpieces were measured with respect to the forming pressure. The surface roughness was measured by scanning the interior (concave) area of bulge with Bruker GTK-17 optical profilometer over an area of 1.3mm x 1mm. The results show linear relationship between roughness and deformation strain, and it establish a similar trend with roughness measured at micro scale.


title: Novel class of OTU deubiquitinases regulate substrate ubiquitination upon Legionella infection

text: Legionella pneumophila is a gram-negative pathogenic bacterium that causes Legionaries’ disease. The Legionella genome codes more than 300 effector proteins able to modulate host-pathogen interactions during infection. Among them are also enzymes altering the host-ubiquitination system including bacterial ligases and deubiquitinases. In this study, based on homology-detection screening on 305 Legionella effector proteins, we identified two Legionella OTU-like deubiquitinases (LOT; LotB (Lpg1621/Ceg23) and LotC (Lpg2529), LotA (Lpg2248/Lem21) is already known). A crystal structure of LotC catalytic core (LotC14-310) was determined at 2.4 Å and compared with other OTU deubiquitinases, including LotB. Unlike the classical OTU-family, the structures of Legionella OTU-family (LotB and LotC) shows an extended helical lobe between the Cys-loop and the variable loop, which define a novel class of OTU-deubiquitinase. Despite structural differences in their helical lobes, both LotB and LotC interact with ubiquitin. LotB has an additional ubiquitin binding site (S1’) enabling specific cleavage of Lys63-linked poly-ubiquitin chains. By contrast, LotC only contains the S1 site and cleaves different species of ubiquitin chains. MS analysis of catalytically inactive LotB and LotC identified different categories of host-substrates for these two related DUBs. Together, our results provide new structural insights of bacterial OTU deubiquitinases and indicate distinct roles of bacterial deubiquitinases in host-pathogen interactions.


First Person: Administrator to COVID-19 Staff: We're Not Making Enough Money Special COVID-19 Coverage: The Lowdown on Drugs to Treat COVID-19


title: Self-care instructions for people not requiring hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

text: Context: Recently, the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a health challenge worldwide. Dealing with outbreaks of highly pathogenic COVID-19 in the first stage requires preventive actions and self-care behaviors from individuals them-selves. The purpose of this study was to determine self-care instructions for people not requiring hospitalization for COVID-19 dis-ease. Methods: This study was a narrative review to identify self-care instructions for people not requiring hospitalization for COVID-19. A regular search was conducted in PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar. In this regard, related studies and guidelines in the English language were reviewed. The keywords used were: self-care, coronavirus, COVID-19, and Instructions. Results: Based on the findings, self-care instructions for people with COVID-19 that not requiring hospitalization were identified in 10 main categories. According to WHO guidelines, patients and household members should be educated about personal hygiene, and how to care for the member of the family suspected of having COVID-19 disease as safely as possible to prevent the infection from spreading to household contacts. Conclusions: Since there is no definitive treatment and the unknown behavior of COVID-19, self-care behaviors have been the best possible strategy to control the virus.


title: Comparison of two commercial molecular tests and a laboratory-developed modification of the CDC 2019-nCOV RT-PCR assay for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 from upper respiratory tract specimens

text: We compared the ability of 2 commercial molecular amplification assays [RealTime SARS-CoV-2 on the m2000 (Abbott) and ID NOW COVID-19 (Abbott)] and a laboratory developed test [modified CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay with RNA extraction by eMag(R) (bioMeriux) and amplification on QuantStudio 6 or ABI 7500 Real-Time PCR System (Life Technologies)] to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in upper respiratory tract specimens. Discrepant results were adjudicated by medical record review. 200 nasopharyngeal swab specimens in viral transport medium were collected from symptomatic patients between March 27 and April 9, 2020. Results were concordant for 167 specimens (84.3% overall agreement), including 94 positive and 73 negative specimens. The RealTime SARS-CoV-2 assay on the m2000 yielded 33 additional positive results, 25 of which were also positive by the modified CDC assay but not by the ID NOW COVID-19 assay. In a follow-up evaluation, 97 patients for whom a dry nasal swab specimen yielded negative results by the ID NOW COVID-19 assay had a paired nasopharyngeal swab specimen collected in viral transport medium and tested by the RealTime SARS-CoV-2 assay; SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 13 (13.4%) of these specimens. Medical record review deemed all discrepant results to be true positives. The ID NOW COVID-19 test was fastest (as soon as 5 minute for positive and 13 minute for negative result.) The RealTime SARS-CoV-2 assay on the m2000 detected more cases of COVID-19 infection than the modified CDC assay or the ID NOW COVID-19 test.


title: SARS-CoV-2 infection in 86 healthcare workers in two Dutch hospitals in March 2020

text: Background On February 27, 2020, the first patient with COVID-19 was reported in the Netherlands. During the following weeks, nine healthcare workers (HCWs) were diagnosed with COVID-19 in two Dutch teaching hospitals, eight of whom had no history of travel to China or Northern-Italy. A low-threshold screening regimen was implemented to determine the prevalence and clinical presentation of COVID-19 among HCWs in these two hospitals. Methods HCWs who suffered from fever or respiratory symptoms were voluntarily tested for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR on oropharyngeal samples. Structured interviews were conducted to document symptoms for all HCWs with confirmed COVID-19. Findings Thirteen-hundred fifty-three (14%) of 9,705 HCWs employed were tested, 86 (6%) of whom were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Most HCWs suffered from relatively mild disease and only 46 (53%) reported fever. Seventy-nine (92%) HCWs met a case definition of fever and/or coughing and/or shortness of breath. None of the HCWs identified through the screening reported a travel history to China or Northern Italy, and 3 (3%) reported to have been exposed to an inpatient known with COVID-19 prior to the onset of symptoms. Interpretation Within two weeks after the first Dutch case was detected, a substantial proportion of HCWs with fever or respiratory symptoms were infected with SARS-CoV-2, probably caused by acquisition of the virus in the community during the early phase of local spread. The high prevalence of mild clinical presentations, frequently not including fever, asks for less stringent use of the currently recommended case-definition for suspected COVID-19.


title: Modeling and Preparedness: The Transmission Dynamics of COVID-19 Outbreak in Provinces of Ecuador

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease first identified in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan of China, is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease has become a pandemic in just a few months and spread globally with more than 2.89 million cases and 203,000 deaths across 185 countries, as of April 26th, 2020. Ecuador has reported one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in Latin America, with more than 10K cases and 500 deaths in a country of approximately 17 million people. The dynamics of the outbreak is being observed quite different in different provinces of Ecuador with high reported prevalence in some low population density provinces. In this study, we aim to understand variations in outbreaks between provinces and provide assistance in essential preparedness planning in order to respond effectively to ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The study estimated the critical level of quarantine rate along with corresponding leakage in order to avoid overwhelming the local health care system. The results suggest that provinces with high population density can avoid a large disease burden provided they initiate early and stricter quarantine measures even under low isolation rate. To best of our knowledge, this study is first from the region to determine which provinces will need much preparation for current outbreak in fall and which might need more help.


COVID-19 and competitive markets of securitisation


title: Comparing South Korea and Italy’s healthcare systems and initiatives to combat COVID-19

text: Italy and South Korea have two distinctly different healthcare systems, causing them to respond to public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic in markedly different ways. Differences exist in medical education for both countries, allowing South Korean medical graduates to have a more holistic education in comparison to their Italian counterparts, who specialize in medical education earlier on. Additionally, there are fewer South Korean physicians per 1000 people in South Korea compared to Italian physicians per 1000 people in Italy. However, both countries have a national healthcare system with universal healthcare coverage. Despite this underlying similarity, the two countries addressed COVID-19 in nearly opposite manners. South Korea employed technology and the holistic education of its physician community, despite having a smaller proportion of physicians in society, to its advantage by implementing efficacious drive-through centers that test suspected individuals rapidly and with little to no contact with healthcare staff, decreasing the possibility of transmission of COVID-19. Conversely, Italy is presently considered the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe and has recorded the highest death toll of any country outside of mainland China. This is partially due to the reactionary nature of Italy’s public health measures compared to South Korea’s proactive response. The different healthcare responses of South Korea and Italy can inform decisions made by public health bodies in other countries, especially in countries across the Americas, which can selectively adopt policies that have worked in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 and learn from mistakes made by both countries.


Persistent viral shedding lasting over 60 days in a mild COVID-19 patient with ongoing positive SARS-CoV-2


title: Outpatient strategies and the changing SARS-CoV-2 epidemic

text: In response to the early outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, online fever clinics were set up. Then, an online face-to-face consultation was developed to solve the extreme difficulty of getting medical services to patients with chronic diseases. http://bit.ly/3cPppai


title: Prediction of Peak and Termination of Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Epidemic in Iran

text: The growth and development of Covid-19 transmission have significantly cut the attention of many societies, particularly Iran that has been struggling with this contagious, infectious disease since late February 2020. In the present study, the known SIR model was used for the dynamics of an epidemic to provide a suitable assessment of the COVID-19 virus epidemic in Iran. The epidemic curve and SIR model parameters were obtained with the use of Iran statistical data. The recovered people were considered alongside the official number of confirmed victims as the reliable long-time statistical data of Iran. The results offered many important predictions of the COVID-19 virus epidemic such as realistic number of victims, infection rate, peak time, and other characteristics.


title: Pandemic Publishing: Medical journals drastically speed up their publication process for Covid-19

text: In times of public crises, including the current Covid-19 pandemic, rapid dissemination of relevant scientific knowledge is of paramount importance. The duration of scholarly journals’ publication process is one of the main factors hindering quick delivery of new information. While proper editorial assessment and peer review obviously require some time, turnaround times for medical journals can be up to several months, which is undesirable in the era of a crisis. Following initiatives of medical journals and scholarly publishers to accelerate their publication process, this study assesses whether medical journals have indeed managed to speed up their publication process for Covid-19 related articles. It studies the duration of 14 medical journals’ publication process both during and prior to the current pandemic. Assessing a total of 669 articles, the study concludes that medical journals have indeed drastically accelerated the publication process for Covid-19 related articles since the outbreak of the pandemic. Compared to articles published in the same journals before the pandemic, turnaround times have decreased on average by 49%. The largest decrease in number of days between submission and publication of articles was due to a decrease in the number of days required for peer review. For articles not related to Covid-19, no acceleration of the publication process is found. While the acceleration of journals’ publication process is laudable from the perspective of quick information dissemination, it also raises concerns relating to the quality of the peer review process and the quality of the resulting publications.


title: Hasty Reduction of COVID-19 Lockdown Measures Leads to the Second Wave of Infection

text: The outbreak of COVID-19 has an undeniable global impact, both socially and economically. March 11th, 2020, COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic worldwide. Many governments, worldwide, have imposed strict lockdown measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19. However, these measures cannot last forever; therefore, many countries are already considering relaxing the lockdown measures. This study, quantitatively, investigated the impact of this relaxation in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Canada. A modified version of the SIR model is used to model the reduction in lockdown based on the already available data. The results showed an inevitable second wave of COVID-19 infection following loosening the current measures. The study tries to reveal the predicted number of infected cases for different reopening dates. Additionally, the predicted number of infected cases for different reopening dates is reported.


title: Early prediction of mortality risk among severe COVID-19 patients using machine learning

text: Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been spreading globally. The number of deaths has increased with the increase in the number of infected patients. We aimed to develop a clinical model to predict the outcome of severe COVID-19 patients early. Methods Epidemiological, clinical, and first laboratory findings after admission of 183 severe COVID-19 patients (115 survivors and 68 nonsurvivors) from the Sino-French New City Branch of Tongji Hospital were used to develop the predictive models. Five machine learning approaches (logistic regression, partial least squares regression, elastic net, random forest, and bagged flexible discriminant analysis) were used to select the features and predict the patients' outcomes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was applied to compare the models' performance. Sixty-four severe COVID-19 patients from the Optical Valley Branch of Tongji Hospital were used to externally validate the final predictive model. Results The baseline characteristics and laboratory tests were significantly different between the survivors and nonsurvivors. Four variables (age, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level, lymphocyte count, and d-dimer level) were selected by all five models. Given the similar performance among the models, the logistic regression model was selected as the final predictive model because of its simplicity and interpretability. The AUROCs of the derivation and external validation sets were 0.895 and 0.881, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.892 and 0.687 for the derivation set and 0.839 and 0.794 for the validation set, respectively, when using a probability of death of 50% as the cutoff. The individual risk score based on the four selected variables and the corresponding probability of death can serve as indexes to assess the mortality risk of COVID-19 patients. The predictive model is freely available at https://phenomics.fudan.edu.cn/risk_scores/. Conclusions Age, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level, lymphocyte count, and d-dimer level of COVID-19 patients at admission are informative for the patients' outcomes.


title: PROGNOSTIC FACTORS FOR CLINICAL COURSE OF PATIENTS WITH COVID-19: PROTOCOL FOR A RAPID LIVING SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

text: CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Determining prognostic factors in a context of health crises such as the COVID-19 scenario may provide the best possible care for patients and optimize the management and the resource utilization of the health system. Thus, we aim to systematically review the prognostic factors for different outcomes of patients with COVID-19. DESIGN AND SETTING: Protocol for a rapid living systematic review methodology following the recommendations proposed by the Cochrane Handbook. METHODS: We will include prospective and retrospective longitudinal cohorts. In view of the limited amount of information, we will also include case-control studies. We will search PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), LILACS, Scopus and SciELO to identify published, ongoing, and unpublished studies. No language restrictions will be applied. We will perform the critical appraisal of included studies with the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool and the certainty of evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE).


title: SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody Responses Are More Robust in Patients with Severe Disease

text: We studied plasma antibody responses of 35 patients about 1 month after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Titers of antibodies binding to the viral nucleocapsid and spike proteins were significantly higher in patients with severe disease. Likewise, mean antibody neutralization titers against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and live virus were higher in the sicker patients, by ~5-fold and ~7-fold, respectively. These findings have important implications for those pursuing plasma therapy, isolation of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, and determinants of immunity.


title: Afucosylated immunoglobulin G responses are a hallmark of enveloped virus infections and show an exacerbated phenotype in COVID-19

text: IgG antibodies are crucial for protection against invading pathogens. A highly conserved N-linked glycan within the IgG-Fc-tail, essential for IgG function, shows variable composition in humans. Afucosylated IgG variants are already used in anti-cancer therapeutic antibodies for their elevated binding and killing activity through Fc receptors (FcγRIIIa). Here, we report that afucosylated IgG which are of minor abundance in humans (∼6% of total IgG) are specifically formed against surface epitopes of enveloped viruses after natural infections or immunization with attenuated viruses, while protein subunit immunization does not elicit this low fucose response. This can give beneficial strong responses, but can also go awry, resulting in a cytokine-storm and immune-mediated pathologies. In the case of COVID-19, the critically ill show aggravated afucosylated-IgG responses against the viral spike protein. In contrast, those clearing the infection unaided show higher fucosylation levels of the anti-spike protein IgG. Our findings indicate antibody glycosylation as a potential factor in inflammation and protection in enveloped virus infections including COVID-19.


Sharp Increase in Large-Vessel Stroke Risk Seen In Young, Healthy COVID-19 Patients


title: Acute Pericarditis and Cardiac Tamponade in a Patient with COVID-19: A Therapeutic Challenge

text: We report a case of acute viral pericarditis and cardiac tamponade in a patient with COVID-19 to highlight the associated treatment challenges, especially given the uncertainty associated with the safety of standard treatment. We also discuss complications associated with delayed diagnosis in patients who potentially may need mechanical ventilation. LEARNING POINTS: Large pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade should be considered in patients with COVID-19 who decompensate further after intubation and mechanical ventilation. The characteristics of pericardial effusion in patients with COVID-19 are described. A successful treatment approach for acute pericarditis in a patient with COVID-19 in light of differing opinions over the safety of NSAID use is described.


title: Development of a remote dedicated doctor platform of ophthalmology and its application efficiency during epidemic of COVID-19/ 新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情防控期间眼科远程专属医生平台的构建和应用价值

text: Objective: Due to the circumstances where people being required to home quarantine and eye hospitals being unable to receive patient normally, The application of internet plus technology is explored to build Remote Dedicated Doctor Platform of Ophthalmology (RDDPO) for online consultation, accessing to medication, medical services and advises orderly, and to help to further develop and apply the platform. Methods: In 2018, RDDPO was jointly developed.It has been modified and improved to the formulation of national medical policy and medical insurance policy and the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, and it has been carried out comprehensive application verification during the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic.With a B/S structure, platform docks the official accounts of Wechat platform.On the server side, three J2EE frameworks of the integrated development, including Struts2, Spring and Hibernate are adopted; on the mobile client side, a combination of development tools including React-Native and Redux is used.Meanwhile, a micro-services Architecture (msA) of RESTful WebAPI is chosen at the business logic layer.The terminal data information is used to summarize the results of the platform's functional services for ophthalmic patients, such as remote diagnosis and treatment, online prescription, medicine delivery and health education, etc., and to make statistics on all kinds of data during the epidemic prevention and control period, so as to verify the operations management capabilities of the platform's functions. Results: During the period of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, the number of monthly visits of RDDPO increased from 1063 person times from September 1, 2019 to the end of September to 30 002 person times from February 1, 2020 to February 28, 2020.The proportion of diagnosis and treatment person times of this platform in the total number of diagnosis and treatment person times increased from 19.1% (203/1 063) to 92.3% (277/3 002), which can effectively avoid the risk of personal contact infection and meet the patients' medical needs.95.8% of the patients were very satisfied.95.8% of the patients were very satisfied. Conclusions: The RDDPO establishes a channel for doctor-patient communication during the epidemic, which can be considered as an important way to effectively address the needs of patients for medical treatment.


title: Criminalisation of transmission of SARS-CoV-2: A potential challenge to controlling the outbreak in South Africa

text: In March 2020, two cases of attempted murder were opened against people who had tested positive for COVID-19 and had not remained in quarantine. Criminal law has previously been used to criminalise intentional transmission of HIV in both South Africa (SA) and other countries. However, it has been found that criminalisation laws undermine public health and measures to control outbreaks by stigmatising those infected and deterring testing. This article explores whether SA's existing HIV criminalisation laws can be applied to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and the potential effect such measures could have on efforts to control the COVID-19 epidemic.


title: Evidence for strong mutation bias towards, and selection against, T/U content in SARS-CoV2: implications for attenuated vaccine design

text: Large-scale re-engineering of synonymous sites is a promising strategy to generate attenuated viruses for vaccines. Attenuation typically relies on de-optimisation of codon pairs and maximization of CpG dinculeotide frequencies. So as to formulate evolutionarily-informed attenuation strategies, that aim to force nucleotide usage against the estimated direction favoured by selection, here we examine available whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV2 to infer patterns of mutation and selection on synonymous sites. Analysis of mutational profiles indicates a strong mutation bias towards T with concomitant selection against T. Accounting for dinucleotide effects reinforces this conclusion, observed TT content being a quarter of that expected under neutrality. A significantly different mutational profile at CDS sites that are not 4-fold degenerate is consistent with contemporaneous selection against T mutations more widely. Although selection against CpG dinucleotides is expected to drive synonymous site G+C content below mutational equilibrium, observed G+C content is slightly above equilibrium, possibly because of selection for higher expression. Consistent with gene-specific selection against CpG dinucleotides, we observe systematic differences of CpG content between SARS-CoV2 genes. We propose an evolutionarily informed gene-bespoke approach to attenuation that, unusually, seeks to increase usage of the already most common synonymous codons. Comparable analysis of H1N1 and Ebola finds that GC3 deviated from neutral equilibrium is not a universal feature, cautioning against generalization of results.


title: APOE E4 GENOTYPE PREDICTS SEVERE COVID-19 IN THE UK BIOBANK COMMUNITY COHORT

text: The novel respiratory disease COVID-19 produces varying symptoms, with fever, cough, and shortness of breath being common. In older adults, we found that pre-existing dementia is a major risk factor (OR = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.71 to 5.50) for COVID-19 hospitalization in the UK Biobank (UKB). In another UK study of 16,749 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, dementia was among the common comorbidities and was associated with higher mortality. Additionally, impaired consciousness, including delirium, is common in severe cases. The ApoE e4 genotype is associated with both dementia and delirium, with the e4e4 (homozygous) genotype associated with high risk of dementia. We therefore aimed to test associations between ApoE e4 alleles and COVID-19 severity, using the UKB data.


title: 3D Printing of Human Anatomical Models for Preoperative Surgical Planning

text: Abstract Rapid Prototyping (RP) is an emerging technology, especially in a Three-Dimensional Printing (3DP) application. 3DP is used in many fields such as aeronautical, automotive, architecture, medical, and many others. 3DP can be effectively used in anatomical education for medical students who are pursuing their undergraduate degrees.It can also be used for pre-operative surgical planning by experts before surgery. Some complex organs of the human body which cannot be seen visible even after dissection of the cadaver can be printed using a 3D printer which provides haptic studies on organs and bones to students. These 3D printed parts can be used in pre-operative planning such as analysis and diagnosis formulation of affected organs. Further, it can be used in explaining the operative procedures to patients which helps them to understand and co-operate with the medical procedures. Therefore, this project aims at 3DP of complex organs and bones for anatomical studies and pre-operative planning procedures. As a first step in the project, some of the human bones were printed and analyzed for its quality.


title: COVID‐19 in kidney transplant recipients

text: There is minimal information on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in immunocompromised individuals. We have studied 10 patients treated at 12 adult care hospitals. Ten kidney transplant recipients tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) by polymerase chain reaction, and 9 were admitted. The median age was 57 (interquartile range [IQR] 47‐67), 60% were male, 40% Caucasian, and 30% Black/African American. Median time from transplant to COVID‐19 testing was 2822 days (IQR 1272‐4592). The most common symptom was fever, followed by cough, myalgia, chills, and fatigue. The most common chest X‐ray and computed tomography abnormality was multifocal patchy opacities. Three patients had no abnormal findings. Leukopenia was seen in 20% of patients, and allograft function was stable in 50% of patients. Nine patients were on tacrolimus and a mycophenolic antimetabolite, and 70% were on prednisone. Hospitalized patients had their antimetabolite agent stopped. All hospitalized patients received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. Three patients died (30%), and 5 (50%) developed acute kidney injury. Kidney transplant recipients infected with COVID‐19 should be monitored closely in the setting of lowered immunosuppression. Most individuals required hospitalization and presenting symptoms were similar to those of nontransplant individuals.


title: Tipiracil binds to uridine site and inhibits Nsp15 endoribonuclease NendoU from SARS-CoV-2

text: SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15 is a uridylate-specific endoribonuclease with C-terminal catalytic domain belonging to the EndoU family. It degrades the polyuridine extensions in (−) sense strand of viral RNA and some non-translated RNA on (+) sense strand. This activity seems to be responsible for the interference with the innate immune response and evasion of host pattern recognition. Nsp15 is highly conserved in coronaviruses suggesting that its activity is important for virus replication. Here we report first structures with bound nucleotides and show that SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15 specifically recognizes U in a pattern previously predicted for EndoU. In the presence of manganese ions, the enzyme cleaves unpaired RNAs. Inhibitors of Nsp15 have been reported but not actively pursued into therapeutics. The current COVID-19 pandemic brought to attention the repurposing of existing drugs and the rapid identification of new antiviral compounds. Tipiracil is an FDA approved drug that is used with trifluridine in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Here, we combine crystallography, biochemical and whole cell assays, and show that this compound inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15 and interacts with the uridine binding pocket of the enzyme’s active site, providing basis for the uracil scaffold-based drug development.


title: Characterization of accessory genes in coronavirus genomes

text: The Covid19 infection is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a novel member of the coronavirus (CoV) family. CoV genomes code for a ORF1a / ORF1ab polyprotein and four structural proteins widely studied as major drug targets. The genomes also contain a variable number of open reading frames (ORFs) coding for accessory proteins that are not essential for virus replication, but appear to have a role in pathogenesis. The accessory proteins have been less well characterized and are difficult to predict by classical bioinformatics methods. We propose a computational tool GOFIX to characterize potential ORFs in virus genomes. In particular, ORF coding potential is estimated by searching for enrichment in motifs of the X circular code, that is known to be over-represented in the reading frames of viral genes. We applied GOFIX to study the SARS-CoV-2 and related genomes including SARS-CoV and SARS-like viruses from bat, civet and pangolin hosts, focusing on the accessory proteins. Our analysis provides evidence supporting the presence of overlapping ORFs 7b, 9b and 9c in all the genomes and thus helps to resolve some differences in current genome annotations. In contrast, we predict that ORF3b is not functional in all genomes. Novel putative ORFs were also predicted, including a truncated form of the ORF10 previously identified in SARS-CoV-2 and a little known ORF overlapping the Spike protein in Civet-CoV and SARS-CoV. Our findings contribute to characterizing sequence properties of accessory genes of SARS coronaviruses, and especially the newly acquired genes making use of overlapping reading frames.


title: COVID-19 Pandemic Prediction for Hungary; a Hybrid Machine Learning Approach

text: Several epidemiological models are being used around the world to project the number of infected individuals and the mortality rates of the COVID-19 outbreak. Advancing accurate prediction models is of utmost importance to take proper actions. Due to a high level of uncertainty or even lack of essential data, the standard epidemiological models have been challenged regarding the delivery of higher accuracy for long-term prediction. As an alternative to the susceptible-infected-resistant (SIR)-based models, this study proposes a hybrid machine learning approach to predict the COVID-19 and we exemplify its potential using data from Hungary. The hybrid machine learning methods of adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multi-layered perceptron-imperialist competitive algorithm (MLP-ICA) are used to predict time series of infected individuals and mortality rate. The models predict that by late May, the outbreak and the total morality will drop substantially. The validation is performed for nine days with promising results, which confirms the model accuracy. It is expected that the model maintains its accuracy as long as no significant interruption occurs. Based on the results reported here, and due to the complex nature of the COVID-19 outbreak and variation in its behavior from nation-to-nation, this study suggests machine learning as an effective tool to model the outbreak. This paper provides an initial benchmarking to demonstrate the potential of machine learning for future research.


title: Role of vegetation as a mitigating factor in the urban context

text: It is known that the urban environment amplifies the effects of climate change, sometimes with disastrous consequences that put people at risk. These aspects can be affected by urban vegetation and planting design but, while there are thousands of papers related to the effects of climate change, a relatively limited number of them are directly aimed at investigating the role of vegetation as a mitigating factor in the urban context. This paper focuses on reviewing the research on the role of urban vegetation in alleviating the adverse conditions of the urban environment in order to provide some practical guidelines to be applied by city planners. Through an analysis of the documents found in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using urban vegetation and climate change-related keywords we selected five major issues related to the urban environment: (1) particulate matter, (2) gaseous pollution, (3) noise pollution, (4) water runoff, (5) urban heat island effect. The analysis of existing knowledge reported here indicates that the roles of urban vegetation on the adverse effect of climate change could not be simply deemed positive or negative, because the role of urban green is also strongly linked to the structure, composition, and distribution of vegetation, as well as to the criteria used for management. Therefore, it could help to better understand the roles of urban green as a complex system and provide the foundation for future studies.


title: Unique case of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion secondary to COVID-19 Disease

text: SARS-COVID-2 has been noted to be associated with neurological symptoms and complications including stroke. Hypercoagulability associated with COVID-19 has been described as a “sepsis-induced coagulopathy” and may predispose to spectrum of thromboembolic events. We present a unique article of isolated central retinal artery occlusion secondary to SARS-COV 2.


title: HAS COUNTRYWIDE LOCKDOWN WORKED AS A FEASIBLE MEASURE IN BENDING THE COVID-19 CURVE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES?

text: In the absence of any effective vaccine and clinically proven treatment, experts thought that strict lockdown measures could be an effective way to slow down the spread of novel coronavirus. Despite the strict lockdown measures in several developing countries, the number of newly infected cases is getting unbridled as time progresses. This anomaly ignites questions about the effectiveness of the prolonged strict confinement measures. In light of the above view, with an aim to find the answer to this question, trends of four epidemiological parameters: growth factor of daily reported COVID-19 cases, daily incidence proportion, daily cumulative index and effective reproduction number in five developing countries named Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Pakistan and South Africa have been analysed meticulously considering the different phases of their national lockdowns. Any compelling evidence has not been found in favor of country-wide lockdown effectiveness in the above-mentioned countries. Numerical results illustrate that stringent nationwide lockdown measures have failed bringing the epidemic threshold (Re) of COVID-19 under unity. In addition, citizens of the aforementioned countries have been struggling with catastrophic socio-economic consequences due to prolonged confinement measures. Our study suggests that a new policy should be proposed for developing countries to battle against future disease outbreaks ensuring a perfect balance between saving lives and confirming livelihoods.


title: SARS-CoV-2 mutations altering regulatory properties: deciphering host’s and virus’s perspectives

text: Since the first recorded case of the SARS-CoV-2, it has acquired several mutations in its genome while spreading throughout the globe. However, apart from some changes in protein coding, functional importance of these mutations in disease pathophysiology are still largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the significance of these mutations both from the host’s and virus’s perspective by analyzing the host miRNA binding and virus’s internal ribosome entry site (IRES), respectively. Strikingly, we observed that due to the acquired mutations, host miRNAs bind differently compared to the reference; where few of the miRNAs lost and few gained the binding affinity for targeting the viral genome. Moreover, functional enrichment analysis suggests that targets of both of these gained and lost miRNAs might be involved in various host immune signaling pathways. Also, we sought to shed some insights on the impacts of mutations on the IRES structure of SARS-CoV-2. Remarkably, we detected that three particular mutations in the IRES can disrupt its secondary structure which can further make the virus less functional. These results could be valuable in exploring the functional importance of the mutations of SARS-CoV-2 and could provide novel insights into the differences observed different parts of the world.


title: Lost and Found: Stopping Bluetooth Finders from Leaking Private Information

text: A Bluetooth finder is a small battery-powered device that can be attached to important items such as bags, keychains, or bikes. The finder maintains a Bluetooth connection with the user's phone, and the user is notified immediately on connection loss. We provide the first comprehensive security and privacy analysis of current commercial Bluetooth finders. Our analysis reveals several significant security vulnerabilities in those products concerning mobile applications and the corresponding backend services in the cloud. We also show that all analyzed cloud-based products leak more private data than required for their respective cloud services. Overall, there is a big market for Bluetooth finders, but none of the existing products is privacy-friendly. We close this gap by designing and implementing PrivateFind, which ensures locations of the user are never leaked to third parties. It is designed to run on similar hardware as existing finders, allowing vendors to update their systems using PrivateFind.


title: Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification combined with nanoparticles-based biosensor for diagnosis of COVID-19

text: Given the scale and rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, known as 2019-nCov) infection (COVID-19), the ongoing global SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has become a huge public health issue. Rapid and precise diagnostic methods are thus immediately needed for diagnosing COVID-19, providing timely treatment and facilitating infection control. A one-step reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) coupled with nanoparticles-based biosensor (NBS) assay (RT-LAMP-NBS) was successfully established for rapidly and accurately diagnosing COVID-19. A simple equipment (such as heating block) was required for maintaining a constant temperature (63 C) for only 40 min. Using two designed LAMP primer sets, F1ab (opening reading frame 1a/b) and np (nucleoprotein) genes of SARS-CoV-2 were simultaneously amplified and detected in a one-step and single-tube reaction, and the detection results were easily interpreted by NBS. The sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 RT-LAMP-NBS was 12 copies (each of detection target) per reaction, and no cross-reactivity was generated from non-SARS-CoV-2 templates. Among clinically diagnosed COVID-19 patients, the analytical sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 was 100% (33/33) in the oropharynx swab samples, and the assay's specificity was also 100% (96/96) when analyzed the clinical samples collected from non-COVID-19 patients. The total diagnosis test from sample collection to result interpretation only takes approximately 1 h. In sum, the RT-LAMP-NBS is a promising tool for diagnosing the current SARS-CoV-2 infection in first line field, public health and clinical laboratories, especially for resource-challenged regions.