title: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unhealthy Eating in Populations with Obesity

text: OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patronage to unhealthy eating establishments in populations with obesity. METHODS: Anonymized movement data accounting for roughly 10% of devices in the United States at 138,989 unhealthy eating locations from December 1st 2019 through April 2020 and the percentage of adults with obesity, the poverty rate, and the food environment index in 65% of United States counties were collected and merged. A cluster corrected Poisson spline regression was performed predicting patronage by day, the percentage of adults with obesity in the establishment's county, the county's poverty rate, and its food environment index, as well as their interactions. RESULTS: Patronage to unhealthy eating establishments was higher where there was a higher percentage of the adult population with obesity. A similar pattern was observed for counties with a lower food environment index. These disparities appear to have increased as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest unhealthy eating patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic are higher in already at-risk populations. Policy makers can use these findings to motivate interventions and programs aimed at increasing healthy food intake in at-risk communities during crises.


title: Chest CT and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Critical Review of the Literature to Date

text: OBJECTIVE. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. Studies in the radiology literature have suggested that CT might be sufficiently sensitive and specific in diagnosing COVID-19 when used in lieu of a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test; however, this suggestion runs counter to current society guidelines. The purpose of this article is to critically review some of the most frequently cited studies on the use of CT for detecting COVID-19. CONCLUSION. To date, the radiology literature on COVID-19 has consisted of limited retrospective studies that do not substantiate the use of CT as a diagnostic test for COVID-19.


title: Suggestions casted to the novel coronavirus nucleic acid amplification test from viral pneumonia pathogenesis/ 中华检验医学杂志

text: An outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), results in Coronavirus disease that began in Wuhan, China, has spread rapidly with cases now confirmed in multiple countries. Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), represent by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) plays an important role in disease diagnosis and treatment evaluation. The test results by RT-PCR have attracted much attention recently. As understanding to this novel pathogen is still limited, it would be much help to combine the knowledge about its pathogenesis to judge the test results, in addition to review the quality control in laboratory. This review will focus on understanding the specific RT-PCR performance of the 2019-nCoV, under the background of viral pneumonia. The purpose of this review is to add value to NAAT of 2019-nCoV, with combined knowledge of epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics and pre-analysis quality control from viral pneumonia.


title: Best Practice Recommendations for Pediatric Otolaryngology during the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: OBJECTIVE: To review the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pediatric otolaryngology and provide recommendations for the management of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. DATA SOURCES: Clinical data were derived from peer-reviewed primary literature and published guidelines from national or international medical organizations. Preprint manuscripts and popular media articles provided background information and illustrative examples. METHODS: Included manuscripts were identified via searches using PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar, while organizational guidelines and popular media articles were identified using Google search queries. Practice guidelines were developed via consensus among all authors based on peer-reviewed manuscripts and national or international health care association guidelines. Strict objective criteria for inclusion were not used due to the rapidly changing environment surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and a paucity of rigorous empirical evidence. CONCLUSIONS: In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical care must be judiciously allocated to treat the most severe conditions while minimizing the risk of long-term sequelae and ensuring patient, physician, and health care worker safety. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The COVID-19 pandemic will have a profound short- and long-term impact on health care worldwide. Although the full repercussions of this disease have yet to be realized, the outlined recommendations will guide otolaryngologists in the treatment of pediatric patients in the face of an unprecedented global health crisis.


title: Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Patients With COVID-19: Pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or Something Else?

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a very heterogeneous disease. Some aspects of COVID-19 pneumonia question the real nature of ground glass opacities and its consolidative lesions. It has been hypothesized that COVID-19 lung involvement could represent not only a viral effect but also an immune response induced by the infection, causing epithelial/endothelial lesions and coagulation disorders. We report 3 cases of COVID-19 pneumonia in which contrast-enhanced ultrasound was suggestive of consolidations with perfusion defects, at least in part caused by ischemic or necrotic changes and not only by inflammatory or atelectasis events.


COVID-19 and Asthma, the Good or the Bad?


title: Impacts of COVID-19 control measures on tropospheric NO$_2$ over China, South Korea and Italy

text: Tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO$_2$) concentrations are strongly affected by anthropogenic activities. Using space-based measurements of tropospheric NO$_2$, here we investigate the responses of tropospheric NO$_2$ to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) over China, South Korea, and Italy. We find noticeable reductions of tropospheric NO$_2$ columns due to the COVID-19 controls by more than 40% over E. China, South Korea, and N. Italy. The 40% reductions of tropospheric NO$_2$ are coincident with intensive lockdown events as well as up to 20% reductions in anthropogenic nitrogen oxides (NO$_x$) emissions. The perturbations in tropospheric NO$_2$ diminished accompanied with the mitigation of COVID-19 pandemic, and finally disappeared within around 50-70 days after the starts of control measures over all three nations, providing indications for the start, maximum, and mitigation of intensive controls. This work exhibits significant influences of lockdown measures on atmospheric environment, highlighting the importance of satellite observations to monitor anthropogenic activity changes.


title: Saudi Society for Cardiac Surgeons consensus document on COVID-19, April 1, 2020

text: The COVID-19 pandemic represents an international health crisis that is challenging to all governments. Health practitioners in different fields have a duty to guide people and governments to achieve safe health practices. The Saudi Society for Cardiac Surgeons recognizes that it is difficult to establish evidence-based guidelines for safe cardiac surgery practices in such a crisis because this is an unprecedented health pandemic. So we decided to work with our colleagues in other societies by reviewing different recommendations and safe practices issued by different health organizations and scientific societies. The aim was to come up with recommendations that could guide hospitals, physicians, and other members of the healthcare team on the best available practices that are applicable to our community and that will not only ensure optimum patient care delivery but also protect healthcare workers from the risk of infection and aid the national effort in containing and managing this worldwide pandemic.


Respiratory Parameters in Patients With COVID-19 After Using Noninvasive Ventilation in the Prone Position Outside the Intensive Care Unit


title: Guidelines for primary health care-based telemental health in a low-to middle-income country: the case of Lebanon

text: Significant efforts have been conducted to improve access to Mental Health Services (MHS) and reduce the burden of Mental Health Disorders (MHD) in Low-to Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). However, important challenges to accessing MHS still exist and limit improvements. Telemental Health (TMH), a modality that delivers remote MHS provides an ideal solution to complement existing efforts; however, there are limited reports on its implementation in developing countries such as Lebanon. This study presents the first roadmap for TMH applicability in Lebanon, with a focus on the Primary Health Care (PHC) setting, which has international relevance. We review existing guidelines and contextualise them to the Lebanese setting by addressing essential components for implementation. In specific, we shed light on 6 aspects: (1) patient population, (2) technological guidelines, (3) clinical guidelines, (4) administrative guidelines, (5) workforce, and (6) monitoring and evaluation. In addition, we acknowledge the important role of governmental efforts in setting the infrastructural and regulatory aspects for TMH practice. We provide guidance for public health professionals, government officials, and clinicians looking to adopt TMH practice in Lebanon or other countries with similar development and cultural landscapes.


title: Las estadísticas sanitarias y la invisibilidad por sexo y de género durante la epidemia de COVID-19./ [Health statistics and invisibility by sex and gender during the COVID-19 epidemic]

text: Reports on COVID-19 from the Spanish Health Ministry are valuable, but incomplete, with the perverse effect that the susceptibility to COVID-19 by sex is unclear. Prevalence of COVID-19 by sexes differs between countries. The trend in Spain shows an unequal pattern, initially more frequent in men, but women outnumbered them from March 31, after two weeks lockdown. Infections are more frequent in women than in men in close contact with probable/confirmed COVID-19 cases. Consistent with deaths in men, they are hospitalized more frequently than women: Significant gender differences in signs/symptoms can drive this pattern, already observed in other pathologies. In late April, excess mortality is the same in women (67%) than in men (66%). But, lack of exhaustive information on deaths from COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients may contribute to lower notification of deaths in women. Invisibility of data by sex and gender is probably affecting negatively women with COVID -19 more than men.


title: Macrophage activation syndrome in children with Kawasaki disease: diagnostic and therapeutic approaches

text: BACKGROUND: Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a rare, life-threatening complication of Kawasaki disease (KD). Early recognition and treatment of MAS are very important, but sometimes it is difficult to distinguish MAS from a severe form of KD. DATA SOURCES: A PubMed search was performed in Clinical Queries using the key terms "macrophage activation syndrome or secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)" and "Kawasaki disease". RESULTS: KD patients with MAS show high intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance and coronary complications. Mortality is also as high as MAS in other diseases. Persistent fever greater than 10 days is highly associated with development of MAS in KD. Splenomegaly is observed in more than two-thirds of KD patients with MAS. Thrombocytopenia is often the earliest laboratory finding of MAS. Hyperferritinemia is highly specific and sensitive for detecting MAS in KD; so, ferritin levels should be checked if there are unexplained clinical exacerbations in KD patients. Given the under-recognition of MAS in KD, it is prudent to consider resistant KD as occult/subclinical MAS. Many KD patients with MAS have good outcomes on immune modulators. However, if KD patients fulfill the HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria, they may undergo longer and more intensive treatment than needed. CONCLUSIONS: The possible existence of MAS should be taken into account when a KD patient shows persistent fever, splenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, hyperferritinemia, or IVIG resistance. The under-diagnosis of MAS in patients with KD is an important issue to be addressed. Therapeutically, however, there is a possibility of over-treatment of MAS in patients with KD.


title: Ripresa dell'attività sportiva in seguito a pandemia COVID-19. Come comportarsi?/ [Return to sport after the COVID-19 pandemic. How to behave?]

text: Italy, and all the world, has recently faced the arduous battle against the spread of a new coronavirus: SARS-CoV-2. This unexpected pandemic dramatically upended all areas of life, leading to a profound change in priorities, both in the medical as well as the social-economic field; and sports is no exception. Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic also walloped the world of sports. Every aspect of sports has been affected, leading professional and amateur leagues to stop their activities, in order to limit the spread of the virus, a painful but mandatory choice. Even the most popular sports in the world had to deal with the massive global threat of SARS-CoV-2. The Italian Sports Medical Federation (FMSI) has recently drawn up a protocol to be implemented when teams will receive from the authorities the permission to return to competitive activities. The purpose of this paper is to deepen the FMSI indications and allow wider dissemination and understanding.


title: Estimating the burden of United States workers exposed to infection or disease: A key factor in containing risk of COVID-19 infection

text: INTRODUCTION: With the global spread of COVID-19, there is a compelling public health interest in quantifying who is at increased risk of contracting disease. Occupational characteristics, such as interfacing with the public and being in close quarters with other workers, not only put workers at high risk for disease, but also make them a nexus of disease transmission to the community. This can further be exacerbated through presenteeism, the term used to describe the act of coming to work despite being symptomatic for disease. Quantifying the number of workers who are frequently exposed to infection and disease in the workplace, and understanding which occupational groups they represent, can help to prompt public health risk response and management for COVID-19 in the workplace, and subsequent infectious disease outbreaks. METHODS: To estimate the number of United States workers frequently exposed to infection and disease in the workplace, national employment data (by Standard Occupational Classification) maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was merged with a BLS O*NET survey measure reporting how frequently workers in each occupation are exposed to infection or disease at work. This allowed us to estimate the number of United States workers, across all occupations, exposed to disease or infection at work more than once a month. RESULTS: Based on our analyses, approximately 10% (14.4 M) of United States workers are employed in occupations where exposure to disease or infection occurs at least once per week. Approximately 18.4% (26.7 M) of all United States workers are employed in occupations where exposure to disease or infection occurs at least once per month. While the majority of exposed workers are employed in healthcare sectors, other occupational sectors also have high proportions of exposed workers. These include protective service occupations (e.g. police officers, correctional officers, firefighters), office and administrative support occupations (e.g. couriers and messengers, patient service representatives), education occupations (e.g. preschool and daycare teachers), community and social services occupations (community health workers, social workers, counselors), and even construction and extraction occupations (e.g. plumbers, septic tank installers, elevator repair). CONCLUSIONS: The large number of persons employed in occupations with frequent exposure to infection and disease underscore the importance of all workplaces developing risk response plans for COVID-19. Given the proportion of the United States workforce exposed to disease or infection at work, this analysis also serves as an important reminder that the workplace is a key locus for public health interventions, which could protect both workers and the communities they serve.


title: Cobalt-60 and electron beam irradiation induced lipid oxidation on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

text: BACKGROUND: Irradiation can cause lipid oxidation of fish. This study aimed to examine the effect of radiation (method, dose, and dose rate) on the acid value (AV), peroxide value (PV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content, and fatty acid profile of fresh and freeze-dried largemouth bass fleshes. RESULTS: The AV, PV and TBARS presented dose dependent increase in fish meat for both cobalt-60 (60 Co) and electron beam (EB) irradiation. With a 6 kGy of radiation, all measured indices in 60 Co group were significantly higher than those in EB group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). With a 3 kGy of radiation, the AV, PV and TBARS in 200 Gy/min dose rate group were significantly lower than those in 2 Gy/min and 80 Gy/min groups (P<0.05). After 60 Co irradiation, the AV, PV and TBARS in most of fresh samples were significantly higher than those in freeze-dried samples (P<0.01). And 60 Co radiation decreased the unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) content in fresh samples and increased the UFA content in freeze-dried samples. Our study indicated that 60 Co irradiation, particularly at a low dose rate, accelerated lipid oxidation in fish meat. A large amount of muscle moisture enhances the amount of UFA loss in fish meat during 60 Co irradiation. CONCLUSION: Low dose (3 kGy) of EB irradiation, high dose rate (200 Gy/min) of 60 Co irradiation or freeze-drying treatment can alleviate the lipid oxidation of largemouth bass meat. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


COVID-19 and Health Disparities: the Reality of "the Great Equalizer"


Smoking in critically ill patients with COVID-19: the Australian experience


Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in covid-19


The eighth alternative to evidence based medicine in the early era of the COVID-19 pandemic: Too much emergency and emotion, too little evidence


An ethical algorithm for rationing life-sustaining treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic


Correction to Lancet Infect Dis 2020; published online March 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30174-2


title: [Clinical Management of Lung Cancer Patients during the Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)]

text: Since late December 2019, an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China has spread quickly nationwide. With the spread of COVID-19, the routine clinical diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer patients has been disturbed. Due to the systemic immunosuppressive of lung cancer patients caused by the malignancy and anticancer treatments, lung cancer patients are more susceptible to infection than healthy individuals. Furthermore, patients with cancer had poorer prognosis from infection. Lung cancer patients should be the priority group for COVID-19 prevention. The protection provisions and control measures aiming to protect lung cancer patients from COVID-19 have been increasingly concerned. During the COVID-19 outbreak period, it should be carefully differentiated for fever and respiratory symptoms for lung cancer patients receiving anti-tumor treatment, in order to evaluate the risk of COVID-19. Moreover, it is necessary to carry out meticulous and individualized clinical management for lung cancer patients to effectively protect the patients from COVID-19.


title: Clinical findings of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Jiangsu province, China: A retrospective, multi-center study

text: Limited data are available for clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outside Wuhan. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 and identify the risk factors for severe illness of COVID-19 in Jiangsu province, China. Clinical data of hospitalized COVID-19 patients were retrospectively collected in 8 hospitals from 8 cities of Jiangsu province, China. Clinical findings of COVID-19 patients were described and risk factors for severe illness of COVID-19 were analyzed. By Feb 10, 2020, 202 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. The median age of patients was 44.0 years (interquartile range, 33.0-54.0). 55 (27.2%) patients had comorbidities. At the onset of illness, the common symptoms were fever (156 [77.2%]) and cough (120 [59.4%]). 66 (32.7%) patients had lymphopenia. 193 (95.5%) patients had abnormal radiological findings. 11 (5.4%) patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and none of the patients died. 23 (11.4%) patients had severe illness. Severe illness of COVID-19 was independently associated with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 28 kg/m2 (odds ratio [OR], 9.219; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.731 to 31.126; P<0.001) and a known history of type 2 diabetes (OR, 4.326; 95% CI, 1.059 to 17.668; P = 0.041). In this case series in Jiangsu Province, COVID-19 patients had less severe symptoms and had better outcomes than the initial COVID-19 patients in Wuhan. The BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2 and a known history of type 2 diabetes were independent risk factors of severe illness in patients with COVID-19.


Effects of mindfulness and meaning in life on psychological distress in Chinese university students during the COVID-19 epidemic: A chained mediation model


Household studies provide key insights on the transmission of, and susceptibility to, SARS-CoV-2


Coronavirus: Stay proactive


title: Mining the Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients in China: Analysis of Social Media Posts

text: BACKGROUND: In December 2019, pneumonia cases of unknown origin were reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Identified as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the number of cases grew rapidly by human-to-human transmission in Wuhan. Social media, especially Sina Weibo (a major Chinese microblogging social media site), has become an important platform for the public to obtain information and seek help. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the characteristics of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients who asked for help on Sina Weibo. METHODS: We conducted data mining on Sina Weibo and extracted the data of 485 patients who presented with clinical symptoms and imaging descriptions of suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. In total, 9878 posts seeking help on Sina Weibo from February 3 to 20, 2020 were analyzed. We used a descriptive research methodology to describe the distribution and other epidemiological characteristics of patients with suspected or laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection. The distance between patients' home and the nearest designated hospital was calculated using the geographic information system ArcGIS. RESULTS: All patients included in this study who sought help on Sina Weibo lived in Wuhan, with a median age of 63.0 years (IQR 55.0-71.0). Fever (408/485, 84.12%) was the most common symptom. Ground-glass opacity (237/314, 75.48%) was the most common pattern on chest computed tomography; 39.67% (167/421) of families had suspected and/or laboratory-confirmed family members; 36.58% (154/421) of families had 1 or 2 suspected and/or laboratory-confirmed members; and 70.52% (232/329) of patients needed to rely on their relatives for help. The median time from illness onset to real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was 8 days (IQR 5.0-10.0), and the median time from illness onset to online help was 10 days (IQR 6.0-12.0). Of 481 patients, 32.22% (n=155) lived more than 3 kilometers away from the nearest designated hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that patients seeking help on Sina Weibo lived in Wuhan and most were elderly. Most patients had fever symptoms, and ground-glass opacities were noted in chest computed tomography. The onset of the disease was characterized by family clustering and most families lived far from the designated hospital. Therefore, we recommend the following: (1) the most stringent centralized medical observation measures should be taken to avoid transmission in family clusters; and (2) social media can help these patients get early attention during Wuhan's lockdown. These findings can help the government and the health department identify high-risk patients and accelerate emergency responses following public demands for help.


title: Construction of 5G all-wireless network and information system for cabin hospitals

text: The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) broke out in Wuhan, China, in early 2020. In an effort to curb the spread of the epidemic, the government has requisitioned a variety of venues and plant buildings and built more than 20 cabin hospitals to receive patients with mild symptoms within 48 hours. Under this circumstance, we worked out a 5G all-wireless solution to divide the overall network system of the cabin hospital into multiple network units by function. While ensuring good signal coverage of the local unit, each network unit was independently connected to the host hospital's data center over a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel built on the 5G wireless network. Our successful experience with the application of this 5G + VPN all-wireless network system well points to the bright prospect of 5G wireless network. In addition, the 5G + VPN solution can also be used for multihospital network interconnection and rapid network recovery during the failure of wired network.


The hidden inequalities of COVID-19


title: Preparedness and Preventive Behaviors for a Pandemic Disaster Caused by COVID-19 in Serbia

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The disease was first detected in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, in December 2019 and has since spread globally, especially to Europe and North America, resulting in the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic disaster of 2019-2020. Although most cases have mild symptoms, there is some progression to viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure and death. More than 4.6 million cases have been registered across 216 countries and territories as of 19 April 2020, resulting in more than 311,000 deaths. Risk to communities with continued widespread disease transmission depends on characteristics of the virus, including how well it spreads between people; the severity of resulting illness; and the medical or other measures available to control the impact of the virus (for example, vaccines or medications that can treat the illness) and the relative success of these. In the absence of vaccines or medications, non-pharmaceutical interventions were the most important response strategy based on community interventions such as person-to-person distancing, mask-wearing, isolation and good personal hygiene (hand-washing)-all of which have been demonstrated can reduce the impact of this seemingly unstoppable globally spreading natural disaster. This paper presents the results of quantitative research regarding the level of citizen preparedness for disasters caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Serbia. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire that was requested and then collected online among 975 respondents during disaster in April 2020. The questionnaire examined citizens' basic socio-economic and demographic characteristics, their knowledge, preparedness, risk perception and preventive measures taken individually and as a community to prevent the death and widespread transmission of novel coronavirus disease 2019 in the Republic of Serbia. Based on the findings that there are major differences in the public's perception of risks posed by communicable disease threats such as presented by COVID-19, emergency management agencies should use these differences to develop targeted strategies to enhance community and national preparedness by promoting behavioral change and improving risk management decision-making.


Bearing the brunt of covid-19: older people in low and middle income countries


Tracheostomy care during COVID 19 pandemic in a head and neck oncology unit


Keep Calm and Log On: Telemedicine for COVID-19 Pandemic Response


title: Optimization of the intravenous infusion workflow in the isolation ward for patients with coronavirus disease 2019

text: Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of optimization of the intravenous infusion workflow in isolation wards for patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Methods: The infusion management group optimized the intravenous infusion workflow based on Hamer's Process Reengineering Theory and applied it to the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019. The work efficiency, patients' satisfaction and economic indicators before and after optimization were compared. Results: After the infusion workflow was optimized, average times for preparation drugs and intravenous admixture, and patients' waiting time decreased from 4.84 min, 4.03 min, and 34.33 min to 3.50 min, 2.60 min, and 30.87 min, respectively, patients' satisfaction increased from 66.7% to 93.3%, and the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) decreased from 46.67 sets and 186.6 CNY per day to 36.17 sets and 144.6 CNY, with statistical significance. Conclusion: The optimization of the intravenous infusion workflow can effectively decrease the cost of PPE while improving the efficiency of infusion and patients' satisfaction.


title: SARS-CoV-2 infection of the liver directly contributes to hepatic impairment in patients with COVID-19

text: BACKGROUND: Liver enzyme abnormality is common in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Whether or not SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to liver damage per se remains unknown. Here we reported the clinical characteristics and liver pathological manifestations of COVID-19 patients with liver enzyme abnormality. METHODS: We received 156 patients diagnosed of COVID-19 from two designated centers in China, and compared clinical features between patients with elevated aminotransferase or not. Postmortem liver biopsies were obtained from two cases who had elevated aminotransferase. We investigated the patterns of liver impairment by electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, TUNEL assay, and pathological studies. RESULTS: 64 of 156 (41.0%) COVID-19 patients had elevated aminotransferase. The median levels of ALT were 50 U/L vs. 19 U/L, respectively, AST were 45.5 U/L vs. 24 U/L, respectively in abnormal and normal aminotransferase groups. The liver enzyme abnormality was associated with disease severity, as well as a series of laboratory tests including higher A-aDO2, higher GGT, lower albumin, decreased CD4+ T cells and B lymphocytes. Ultrastructural examination identified typical coronavirus particles characterized by spike structure in cytoplasm of hepatocytes in two COVID-19 cases. SARS-CoV-2 infected hepatocytes displayed conspicuous mitochondrial swelling, endoplasmic reticulum dilatation, and glycogen granule decrease. Histologically, massive hepatic apoptosis and a certain binuclear hepatocytes were observed. Taken together, both ultrastructural and histological evidence indicated a typical lesion of viral infection. Immunohistochemical results showed scanty CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes. No obvious eosinophil infiltration, cholestasis, fibrin deposition, granuloma, massive central necrosis, or interface hepatitis were observed. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection in liver is a crucial cause of hepatic impairment in COVID-19 patients. Hence, a surveillance of viral clearance in liver and long outcome of COVID-19 is required.


The Heart in the Time of the 'Coronavirus'


No SARS-CoV-2 detected in amniotic fluid in mid-pregnancy


New SARS-like virus in China triggers alarm


title: Sparse HP Filter: Finding Kinks in the COVID-19 Contact Rate

text: In this paper, we estimate the time-varying COVID-19 contact rate of a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model. Our measurement of the contact rate is constructed using data on actively infected, recovered and deceased cases. We propose a new trend filtering method that is a variant of the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter, constrained by the number of possible kinks. We term it the \emph{sparse HP filter} and apply it to daily data from five countries: Canada, China, South Korea, the UK and the US. Our new method yields the kinks that are well aligned with actual events in each country. We find that the sparse HP filter provides a fewer kinks than the $\ell_1$ trend filter, while both methods fitting data equally well. Theoretically, we establish risk consistency of both the sparse HP and $\ell_1$ trend filters. Ultimately, we propose to use time-varying $\textit{contact growth rates}$ to document and monitor outbreaks of COVID-19.


Covid-19 cases increase steeply in US south and west


title: Institution of a Novel Process for N95 Respirator Disinfection with Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide in the Setting of the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Large Academic Medical Center

text: Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been an invaluable yet limited resource when it comes to protecting healthcare workers against infection during the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In the US, N95 respirator supply chains are severely strained and conservation strategies are needed. A multidisciplinary team at the Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Jewish Hospital, and BJC Healthcare was formed to implement a program to disinfect N95 respirators. The process described extends the life of N95 respirators using vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) disinfection and allows healthcare workers to retain their own N95 respirator across a large metropolitan healthcare system.


Abstract: Autopsy is of great significance to the elucidation of the pathological changes, pathogeneses and causes of death of corona virus disease 2019 ï¼COVID-19ï¼ and can provide theoretical basis for more scientific and accurate prevention and control of the outbreak. Based on related laws and regulations, such as the Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, the clinical manifestations and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19, and the related guidelines on the prevention and control of the outbreak, combined with the practical work of forensic pathology examination, the Guide to the Forensic Pathology Practice on Death Cases Related to Corona Virus Disease 2019 ï¼COVID-19ï¼ ï¼Trial Draftï¼ has been developed. This guide includes information on the background investigation of the cases, autopsy room requirements, personal prevention and protections, external examinations, autopsy, auxiliary examinations, and so on. This guide can be used as a reference by forensic and pathological examination institutions, as well as examination staff.


Performance of VivaDiag COVID-19 IgM/IgG Rapid Test is inadequate for diagnosis of COVID-19 in acute patients referring to emergency room department


COVID-19 and cancer care


title: Improving Baseline Subtraction for Increased Sensitivity of Quantitative PCR Measurements

text: Motivated by the current COVID-19 health-crisis, we examine the task of baseline subtraction for quantitative polymerase chain-reaction (qPCR) measurements. In particular, we present an algorithm that leverages information obtained from non-template and/or DNA extraction-control experiments to remove systematic bias from amplification curves. We recast this problem in terms of mathematical optimization, i.e. by finding the amount of control signal that, when subtracted from an amplification curve, minimizes background noise. We demonstrate that this approach can yield a decade improvement in sensitivity relative to standard approaches, especially for data exhibiting late-cycle amplification. Critically, this increased sensitivity and accuracy promises more effective screening of viral DNA and a reduction in the rate of false-negatives in diagnostic settings.


title: Update on therapeutic approaches and emerging therapies for SARS-CoV-2 virus

text: The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in over 7,273,958 cases with almost over 413,372 deaths worldwide as per the WHO situational report 143 on COVID-19. There are no known treatment regimens with proven efficacy and vaccines thus far, posing an unprecedented challenge to identify effective drugs and vaccines for prevention and treatment. The urgency for its prevention and cure has resulted in an increased number of proposed treatment options. The high rate and volume of emerging clinical trials on therapies for COVID-19 need to be compared and evaluated to provide scientific evidence for effective medical options. Other emerging non-conventional drug discovery techniques such as bioinformatics and cheminformatics, structure-based drug design, network-based methods for prediction of drug-target interactions, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and phage technique could provide alternative routes to discovering potent Anti-SARS-CoV2 drugs. While drugs are being repurposed and discovered for COVID-19, novel drug delivery systems will be paramount for efficient delivery and avoidance of possible drug resistance. This review describes the proposed drug targets for therapy, and outcomes of clinical trials that have been reported. It also identifies the adopted treatment modalities that are showing promise, and those that have failed as drug candidates. It further highlights various emerging therapies and future strategies for the treatment of COVID-19 and delivery of Anti-SARS-CoV2 drugs.


title: Retrofitting an environmental monitor with a silicon photomultiplier sensor

text: We report on the retrofitting of a standard DP2 environmental radiation monitor replacing the photomultiplier tube with a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). The use of a SiPM has several advantages for a hand-held radiation monitor, including convenient low voltage operation and physical robustness. The SiPM is used to replace the existing photomultiplier tube, and we report the detection efficiency and alpha/beta discrimination performance of the modified probe compared to an unmodified version.


title: Unreported Cases for Age Dependent COVID-19 Outbreak in Japan

text: We investigate the age structured data for the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. We consider a mathematical model for the epidemic with unreported infectious patient with and without age structure. In particular, we build a new mathematical model and a new computational method to fit the data by using age classes dependent exponential growth at the early stage of the epidemic. This allows to take into account differences in the response of patients to the disease according to their age. This model also allows for a heterogeneous response of the population to the social distancing measures taken by the local government. We fit this model to the observed data and obtain a snapshot of the effective transmissions occurring inside the population at different times, which indicates where and among whom the disease propagates after the start of public mitigation measures.


title: Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding and mild course of COVID-19 in a patient after recent heart transplantation

text: In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, organ transplant recipients are considered to be at high risk for an unfavorable outcome. However, in particular the role of immunosuppression in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains undetermined. Here, we present a 62-year-old male COVID-19 patient with recent heart transplantation who developed only mild symptoms, but had prolonged virus shedding, and summarize the available data on COVID-19 in cardiac allograft recipients. Initially the patient presented with a transient episode of fever and sore throat but no other symptoms, in particular no cough or dyspnea at rest. After diagnosis, immunosuppression was continued unchanged. On day 7, his temperature increased again with concurrent mild rise of C-reactive protein, IL-6, and pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels. Hydroxychloroquine was started and continued for 7 days. While the patient no longer had clinical symptoms 20 days after initial presentation, virus culture of throat swabs on days 18 and 21 confirmed active virus replication and SARS-CoV-2 PCR remained positive on day 35 with copy numbers similar to the onset of infection. In conclusion, the immunosuppression regimen in transplant recipients with mild COVID-19-associated symptoms may be continued unchanged. However, it may contribute to delayed virus polymerase chain reaction conversion and thus possible prolonged infectivity.


title: COVID-19 Transmission in Dental Practice: Brief Review of Preventive Measures in Italy

text: The outbreak and diffusion of SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has caused an emergency in the health system worldwide. After a first development in Wuhan, China, the virus spread in other countries, with Italy registering the second highest number of cases in Europe on the 7th of April 2020 (135,586 in total). The World Health Organization declared the pandemic diffusion of COVID-19, and restrictive measures to limit contagion have been taken in several countries. The virus has a predominantly respiratory transmission through aerosol and droplets. The importance of infection control is therefore crucial in limiting the effects of virus diffusion. We aim to discuss the risks related to dental practice and current recommendations for dental practitioners. A literature search was performed to retrieve articles on the management of COVID-19 diffusion in dental practice. The documented clinical experience, the measures of professional prevention, and the actual Italian situation were reported and described. Four articles were retrieved from the literature search. Among the eligible articles, 3 reported measures to contrast COVID-19 diffusion. The infection management protocols suggested were reviewed. Finally, recommendations based on the Italian experience in terms of patient triage, patients' entrance into the practice, dental treatment, and after-treatment management are reported and discussed. COVID-19 is a major emergency worldwide, which should not be underestimated. Due to the rapidly evolving situation, further assessment of the implications of COVID-19 outbreak in dental practice is needed.


title: Society of Robotic Surgery Review: Recommendations Regarding the Risk of COVID-19 Transmission During Minimally Invasive Surgery

text: The COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty regarding the safety and appropriate utilization of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) during this current outbreak. Surgical governing bodies such as Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and the Royal Colleges of Surgery of Great Britain and Ireland have made statements regarding the possibility of COVID-19 release into CO2 insufflant during MIS. The basis for this concern is prior evidence in the literature of other viral pathogen release during laparoscopic surgery. The recommendations are correctly based on caution given the lack of understanding of how COVID-19 compares to other viruses with regard to transmission and presence in CO2 during MIS. In this review we have investigated the available literature on COVID-19 transmission during MIS, address the implications of current and previously published recommendations and discuss steps to mitigate COVID-19 transmission during MIS for staff and patient safety.


Type I and type III interferon in opposition?


Covid-19: EU states report 60% rise in emergency calls about domestic violence


title: Beyond HIV infection: Neglected and varied impacts of CCR5 and CCR5Δ32 on viral diseases

text: The interactions between chemokine receptors and their ligands may affect susceptibility to infectious diseases as well as their clinical manifestations. These interactions mediate both the traffic of inflammatory cells and virus-associated immune responses. In the context of viral infections, the human C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) receives great attention from the scientific community due to its role as an HIV-1 co-receptor. The genetic variant CCR5Δ32 (32 base-pair deletion in CCR5 gene) impairs CCR5 expression on the cell surface and is associated with protection against HIV infection in homozygous individuals. Also, the genetic variant CCR5Δ32 modifies the CCR5-mediated inflammatory responses in various conditions, such as inflammatory and infectious diseases. CCR5 antagonists mimic, at least in part, the natural effects of the CCR5Δ32 in humans, which explains the growing interest in the potential benefits of using CCR5 modulators for the treatment of different diseases. Nevertheless, beyond HIV infection, understanding the effects of the CCR5Δ32 variant in multiple viral infections is essential to shed light on the potential effects of the CCR5 modulators from a broader perspective. In this context, this review discusses the involvement of CCR5 and the effects of the CCR5Δ32 in human infections caused by the following pathogens: West Nile virus, Influenza virus, Human papillomavirus, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, Poliovirus, Dengue virus, Human cytomegalovirus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Enterovirus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and Hantavirus. Subsequently, this review addresses the impacts of CCR5 gene editing and CCR5 modulation on health and viral diseases. Also, this article connects recent findings regarding extracellular vesicles (e.g., exosomes), viruses, and CCR5. Neglected and emerging topics in "CCR5 research" are briefly described, with focus on Rocio virus, Zika virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and Rhinovirus. Finally, the potential influence of CCR5 on the immune responses to coronaviruses is discussed.


title: The ocular surface, coronaviruses and COVID-19

text: The ocular surface has been suggested as a site of infection with Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). This review examines the evidence for this hypothesis, and its implications for clinical practice. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is transmitted by person-to-person contact, via airborne droplets, or through contact with contaminated surfaces. SARS-CoV-2 binds to angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) to facilitate infection in humans. This review sets out to evaluate evidence for the ocular surface as a route of infection. A literature search in this area was conducted on 15 April 2020 using the Scopus database. In total, 287 results were returned and reviewed. There is preliminary evidence for ACE2 expression on corneal and conjunctival cells, but most of the other receptors to which coronaviruses bind appear to be found under epithelia of the ocular surface. Evidence from animal studies is limited, with a single study suggesting viral particles on the eye can travel to the lung, resulting in very mild infection. Coronavirus infection is rarely associated with conjunctivitis, with occasional cases reported in patients with confirmed COVID-19, along with isolated cases of conjunctivitis as a presenting sign. Coronaviruses have been rarely isolated from tears or conjunctival swabs. The evidence suggests coronaviruses are unlikely to bind to ocular surface cells to initiate infection. Additionally, hypotheses that the virus could travel from the nasopharynx or through the conjunctival capillaries to the ocular surface during infection are probably incorrect. Conjunctivitis and isolation of the virus from the ocular surface occur only rarely, and overwhelmingly in patients with confirmed COVID-19. Necessary precautions to prevent person-to-person transmission should be employed in clinical practice throughout the pandemic, and patients should be reminded to maintain good hygiene practices.


title: COVID stress syndrome: Concept, structure, and correlates

text: BACKGROUND: Research shows that the COVID Stress Scales have a robust multifactorial structure, representing five correlated facets of COVID-19-related distress: (a) Fear of the dangerousness of COVID-19, which includes fear of coming into contact with fomites potentially contaminated with SARSCoV2, (b) worry about socioeconomic costs of COVID-19 (e.g., worry about personal finances and disruption in the supply chain), (c) xenophobic fears that foreigners are spreading SARSCoV2, (d) traumatic stress symptoms associated with direct or vicarious traumatic exposure to COVID-19 (nightmares, intrusive thoughts, or images related to COVID-19), and (e) COVID-19-related compulsive checking and reassurance seeking. These factors cohere to form a COVID stress syndrome, which we sought to further delineate in the present study. METHODS: A population-representative sample of 6,854 American and Canadian adults completed a self-report survey comprising questions about current mental health and COVID-19-related experiences, distress, and coping. RESULTS: Network analysis revealed that worry about the dangerousness of COVID-19 is the central feature of the syndrome. Latent class analysis indicated that the syndrome is quasi-dimensional, comprising five classes differing in syndrome severity. Sixteen percent of participants were in the most severe class and possibly needing mental health services. Syndrome severity was correlated with preexisting psychopathology and with excessive COVID-19-related avoidance, panic buying, and coping difficulties during self-isolation. CONCLUSION: The findings provide new information about the structure and correlates of COVID stress syndrome. Further research is needed to determine whether the syndrome will abate once the pandemic has passed or whether, for some individuals, it becomes a chronic condition.


title: Whole-Process Emergency Training of Personal Protective Equipment Helps Healthcare Workers Against COVID-19: Design and Effect

text: OBJECTIVE: To develop an emergency training program of personal protective equipment (PPE) for general healthcare workers (HCWs) who may be under the threat of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and evaluate the effect of the program. METHODS: A three-stage training program was designed. The complete clinical workflow together with infectious disease ward was simulated. To verify the effect of the program, an experimental training with pre- and post-test was conducted before large-scale training. RESULTS: Post-test scores were significantly improved when compared with the pre-test scores. Among all PPE, N95 respirator and protective coverall needed training most. Meanwhile, "proficiency level" and "mutual check & help" also needed to be strengthened as independent scoring points. CONCLUSION: This training program significantly improved the performances of participants. It may therefore be applied for general HCWs on a larger scale.


title: COVID-19 and Cancer: a Comprehensive Review

text: PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged to be the biggest global health threat worldwide, which has now infected over 1.7 million people and claimed more than 100,000 lives around the world. Under these unprecedented circumstances, there are no well-established guidelines for cancer patients. RECENT FINDINGS: The risk for serious disease and death in COVID-19 cases increases with advancing age and presence of comorbid health conditions. Since the emergence of the first case in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, tremendous research efforts have been underway to understand the mechanisms of infectivity and transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a fatal virus responsible for abysmal survival outcomes. To minimize the mortality rate, it becomes prudent to identify symptoms promptly and employ treatments appropriately. Even though no cure has been established, multiple clinical trials are underway to determine the most optimal strategy. Managing cancer patients under these circumstances is rather challenging, given their vulnerable status and the aggressive nature of their underlying disease. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on health and the immune system of those affected, reviewing the latest treatment approaches and ongoing clinical trials. Additionally, we discuss challenges faced while treating cancer patients and propose potential approaches to manage this vulnerable population during this pandemic.


The course of clinical diagnosis and treatment of a case infected with coronavirus disease 2019


title: Leveraging Insight from Centuries of Outbreak Preparedness to Improve Modern Planning Efforts

text: Though pandemic preparedness has been a focus of public health planning for centuries, during which our understanding of infectious disease dynamics has grown, our methodologies for managing outbreaks have remained relatively unchanged. We propose leveraging this history to identify opportunities for actual progress. We contrast current plans with historical outbreak control measures and isolate how the complexities of a modern era yield additional challenges in how best to anticipate and mitigate outbreaks. We analyze a diversity of publicly available modern preparedness plans against the context of a historically-based fictional outbreak control strategy described in Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year (published 1720). We identify themes in preparedness planning that remain unchanged from historical settings even though they continue to be actively evaluated in planning efforts. More importantly, we isolate critical modern challenges in preparedness planning that remain predominantly unsolved. These modern, unsolved issues offer best avenues for meaningful improvement. Shifting our planning efforts to focus on identified novel issues may greatly strengthen our local- to global- capacity to deal with infectious threats.


title: US Policies Increase Vulnerability of Immigrant Communities to the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: The adverse policy environment in the United States (US) has made immigrant communities particularly vulnerable to uncontrolled community spread of COVID-19. Past and recent federal and state policy actions may exacerbate undetected community spread in immigrant communities and commensurate economic impact. Given the importance of immigrants to the US economy and society, and the human toll this pandemic is having on migrants worldwide, federal and state policies should pivot to find ways to improve access to healthcare for immigrants.


title: Universal Masking is Urgent in the COVID-19 Pandemic: SEIR and Agent Based Models, Empirical Validation, Policy Recommendations

text: We present two models for the COVID-19 pandemic predicting the impact of universal face mask wearing upon the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus--one employing a stochastic dynamic network based compartmental SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered) approach, and the other employing individual ABM (agent-based modelling) Monte Carlo simulation--indicating (1) significant impact under (near) universal masking when at least 80% of a population is wearing masks, versus minimal impact when only 50% or less of the population is wearing masks, and (2) significant impact when universal masking is adopted early, by Day 50 of a regional outbreak, versus minimal impact when universal masking is adopted late. These effects hold even at the lower filtering rates of homemade masks. To validate these theoretical models, we compare their predictions against a new empirical data set we have collected that includes whether regions have universal masking cultures or policies, their daily case growth rates, and their percentage reduction from peak daily case growth rates. Results show a near perfect correlation between early universal masking and successful suppression of daily case growth rates and/or reduction from peak daily case growth rates, as predicted by our theoretical simulations. Our theoretical and empirical results argue for urgent implementation of universal masking. As governments plan how to exit societal lockdowns, it is emerging as a key NPI; a"mouth-and-nose lockdown"is far more sustainable than a"full body lockdown", on economic, social, and mental health axes. An interactive visualization of the ABM simulation is at http://dek.ai/masks4all. We recommend immediate mask wearing recommendations, official guidelines for correct use, and awareness campaigns to shift masking mindsets away from pure self-protection, towards aspirational goals of responsibly protecting one's community.


title: A Positive-Pressure Environment Disposable Shield (PEDS) for COVID-19 Health Care Worker Protection

text: The COVID-19 pandemic has strained health care system resources and reduced the availability of life-sustaining and medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) though the combination of increased demand and disrupted manufacturing supply chains. As a result of these shortages, many health care providers have temporarily used largely untested, improvised PPE (iPPE). Lack of quality control for makeshift PPE and frequent repurposing of used items to conserve supplies increase both the risk of provider infection and nosocomial spread to uninfected patients. One strategy to reduce risk of infection and preserve existing equipment is the implementation of secondary barrier devices placed directly over patients or providers. The authors describe an inexpensive, disposable, positive-pressure head isolation unit that can be rapidly constructed from materials readily available in nearly all health care settings for under five US dollars. The unit was successfully deployed in Taiwan during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, and again during the COVID-19 pandemic. The iPPE worn directly by the health care workers (HCWs) can be donned prior to patient contact in the presence of an air source. This strategy may be more protective than a covering placed over the patient in an aerosol-generating environment, which requires the HCW to be in close contact with the patient prior to securing the protective device.


Syncope as the presenting symptom of COVID-19 infection


title: Implications of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Crisis on Clinical Cancer Care: Report of the University Cancer Center Hamburg

text: With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemia, routine clinical work was immediately, deeply, and sustainably impacted in Germany and worldwide. The infrastructure of almost all hospitals is currently redirected to provide a maximum of intensive care resources, including the necessary staff. In parallel, routine as well as emergency clinical care for all patients in need has to be secured. This challenge becomes particularly evident in cancer care. In order to maintain adequate oncological care at all levels of provision and to conduct especially curative and intensive treatments with a maximum of safety, continuous adaption of the oncology care system has to be ensured. Intensive communication with colleagues and patients is needed as is consequent expert networking and continuous reflection of the own developed strategies. In parallel, it is of high importance to actively avoid cessation of innovation in order not to endanger the continuous improvement in prognosis of cancer patients. This includes sustained conduction of clinical trials as well as ongoing translational research. Here, we describe measures taken at the University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH) - a recognized comprehensive oncology center of excellence - during the COVID-19 crisis. We aim to provide support and potential perspectives to generate a discussion basis on how to maintain high-end cancer care during such a crisis and how to conduct patients safely into the future.


Switching to another antihypertensive effective drug when using ACEIs/ARBs to treat arterial hypertension during COVID-19


title: Evaluation of the immune response in conventionally weaned pigs infected with porcine deltacoronavirus

text: Although porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a significant pandemic threat in the swine population and has caused significant economic losses, information regarding the immune response in conventionally weaned pigs infected with PDCoV is scarce. Hence, the immune response in conventionally weaned pigs infected with PDCoV was assessed after challenge and rechallenge. After the first challenge, obvious diarrhea and viral shedding developed successively in all pigs in the four inoculation dose groups from 3 to 14 days postinfection (dpi), and all pigs recovered (no clinical symptoms or viral shedding) by 21 dpi. All pigs in the four groups exhibited significantly increased PDCoV-specific IgG, IgA and virus-neutralizing (VN) antibody (Ab) titers and IFN-Î³ levels in the serum after the first challenge. All pigs were completely protected against rechallenge at 21 dpi. The serum levels of PDCoV-specific IgG, IgA, and VN Abs increased further after rechallenge. Notably, the IFN-Î³ level declined continuously after 7 dpi. In addition, the levels of PDCoV-specific IgG, IgA and VN Abs in saliva increased significantly after rechallenge and correlated well with the serum Ab titers. Furthermore, the appearance of clinical symptoms of PDCoV infection in conventionally weaned pigs was delayed with reduced inoculation doses. In summary, the data presented here offer important reference information for future PDCoV animal infection and vaccine-induced immunoprotection experiments.


title: COVID-19 and pediatric inflammatory bowel disease: How to manage it?

text: Pediatric gastroenterologists, family members, and caregivers of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are on alert; they are all focused on implementing prophylactic measures to prevent infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, evaluating the risks in each patient, guiding them in their treatment, and keeping IBD in remission. To face the current issues of the coronavirus disease pandemic, we have developed a synthesis of the main recommendations of the literature directed at pediatric gastroenterologists in control of patients with pediatric IBD and adapted to the national reality.


title: Characterizing information leaders in Twitter during COVID-19 crisis

text: Information is key during a crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic as it greatly shapes people opinion, behaviour and even their psychological state. It has been acknowledged from the Secretary-General of the United Nations that the infodemic of misinformation is an important secondary crisis produced by the pandemic. Infodemics can amplify the real negative consequences of the pandemic in different dimensions: social, economic and even sanitary. For instance, infodemics can lead to hatred between population groups that fragment the society influencing its response or result in negative habits that help the pandemic propagate. On the contrary, reliable and trustful information along with messages of hope and solidarity can be used to control the pandemic, build safety nets and help promote resilience and antifragility. We propose a framework to characterize leaders in Twitter based on the analysis of the social graph derived from the activity in this social network. Centrality metrics are used to identify relevant nodes that are further characterized in terms of users parameters managed by Twitter. We then assess the resulting topology of clusters of leaders. Although this tool may be used for surveillance of individuals, we propose it as the basis for a constructive application to empower users with a positive influence in the collective behaviour of the network and the propagation of information.


Characteristics and virulence of novel coronaviruses - four points to "fear correctly"


How materials can beat a virus


title: Bayesian Modeling of COVID-19 Positivity Rate -- the Indiana experience

text: In this short technical report we model, within the Bayesian framework, the rate of positive tests reported by the the State of Indiana, accounting also for the substantial variability (and overdispeartion) in the daily count of the tests performed. The approach we take, results with a simple procedure for prediction, a posteriori, of this rate of 'positivity' and allows for an easy and a straightforward adaptation by any agency tracking daily results of COVID-19 tests. The numerical results provided herein were obtained via an updatable R Markdown document.


title: Sixty-eight consecutive patients assessed for COVID-19 infection: Experience from a UK Regional infectious diseases Unit

text: BACKGROUND: Assessment of possible infection with SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 illness, has been a major activity of infection services since the first reports of cases in December 2019. OBJECTIVES: We report a series of 68 patients assessed at a Regional Infection Unit in the UK. METHODS: Between 29 January 2020 and 24 February 2020, demographic, clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data were collected. We compared clinical features between patients not requiring admission for clinical reasons or antimicrobials with those assessed as needing either admission or antimicrobial treatment. RESULTS: Patients assessed were aged from 0 to 76 years; 36/68 were female. Peaks of clinical assessments coincided with updates to the case definition for suspected COVID-19. Microbiological diagnoses included SARS-CoV-2, mycoplasma pneumonia, influenza A, non-SARS/MERS coronaviruses and rhinovirus/enterovirus. Nine of sixty-eight received antimicrobials, 15/68 were admitted, 5 due to inability to self-isolate. Patients requiring admission on clinical grounds or antimicrobials (14/68) were more likely to have fever or raised respiratory rate compared to those not requiring admission or antimicrobials. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients had mild illness, which did not require clinical intervention. This finding supports a community testing approach, supported by clinicians able to review more unwell patients. Extensions of the epidemiological criteria for the case definition of suspected COVID-19 lead to increased screening intensity; strategies must be in place to accommodate this in time for forthcoming changes as the epidemic develops.


COVID-19: Active measures to support community-dwelling older adults


Assessing the reading level of online resources on COVID-19


Impact of Potential COVID-19 Treatment on South African Water Sources Already Threatened by Pharmaceutical Pollution


title: Rapid isolation and profiling of a diverse panel of human monoclonal antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

text: Antibodies are a principal determinant of immunity for most RNA viruses and have promise to reduce infection or disease during major epidemics. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global pandemic with millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths to date1,2. In response, we used a rapid antibody discovery platform to isolate hundreds of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein. We stratify these mAbs into five major classes on the basis of their reactivity to subdomains of S protein as well as their cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV. Many of these mAbs inhibit infection of authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus, with most neutralizing mAbs recognizing the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of S. This work defines sites of vulnerability on SARS-CoV-2 S and demonstrates the speed and robustness of advanced antibody discovery platforms.


Positive impact of lockdown on COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand


title: Dog and cat population dynamics in an urban area: evaluation of a birth control strategy/ Dinâmica populacional canina e felina em área urbana: avaliação da estratégia de controle reprodutivo

text: For canine and feline population management in an urban area, a set of well-developed strategies is required to prevent overpopulation, the abandonment of animals, and zoonosis. An understanding of the dynamics of these populations and a characterization of these populations are necessary for action planning. The proposed strategies should be monitored and evaluated so that canine and feline population management programs are properly implemented. Population management programs can be improved through evidence based adaptive management. The objective of this study was to characterize the canine and feline populations and their dynamics in an urban area and to evaluate the impact of a birth control program. Three cross-sectional census surveys and a birth control program were conducted in a neighborhood of São Paulo area with 4,275 households. The two first surveys were performed in 2005 and 2006, prior to implementation of the birth control program, and were used to characterize the canine and feline populations. The third survey was performed in 2008, eighteen months after the birth control strategy had been established. The canine population decreased from 2006 to 2008, after birth control. The mean age for the canine population was 3.36 years; 65% of the dogs were younger than 3 years of age. The mean life expectancy at birth was 3.9 years for male dogs and 5.9 years for female dogs. The mean age for the feline population was 1.66 years; 74% of the cats were 1 year of age or less. The canine and feline populations had a high mortality rate for juveniles younger than 1 year of age. There was an 8% and an 18% decrease in canine and feline birth rates, respectively, after spay or neuter intervention. There was a high animal population turnover, which was more pronounced in the feline population.(AU)


An integrated response to the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the Emergency Medical Services of Emilia Romagna


title: Point-of-Care RNA-Based Diagnostic Device for COVID-19

text: At the end of 2019, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a fast-spreading respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was reported in Wuhan, China and has now affected over 123 countries globally [...].


Correction to Lancet Neurol 2020; 19: 481-82


title: Neutrophils and Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Drive Necroinflammation in COVID-19

text: The COVID-19 pandemic is progressing worldwide with an alarming death toll. There is an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies to combat potentially fatal complications. Distinctive clinical features of severe COVID-19 include acute respiratory distress syndrome, neutrophilia, and cytokine storm, along with severe inflammatory response syndrome or sepsis. Here, we propose the putative role of enhanced neutrophil infiltration and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps, complement activation and vascular thrombosis during necroinflammation in COVID-19. Furthermore, we discuss how neutrophilic inflammation contributes to the higher mortality of COVID-19 in patients with underlying co-morbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This perspective highlights neutrophils as a putative target for the immunopathologic complications of severely ill COVID-19 patients. Development of the novel therapeutic strategies targeting neutrophils may help reduce the overall disease fatality rate of COVID-19.


title: Potential Application of Whole Body Vibration Exercise For Improving The Clinical Conditions of COVID-19 Infected Individuals: A Narrative Review From the World Association of Vibration Exercise Experts (WAVex) Panel

text: COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease which leads to several clinical conditions related to the dysfunction of the respiratory system along with other physical and psychological complaints. Severely affected patients are referred to intensive care units (ICUs), limiting their possibilities for physical exercise. Whole body vibration (WBV) exercise is a non-invasive, physical therapy, that has been suggested as part of the procedures involved with pulmonary rehabilitation, even in ICU settings. Therefore, in the current review, the World Association of Vibration Exercise Experts (WAVEX) reviewed the potential of WBV exercise as a useful and safe intervention for the management of infected individuals with COVID-19 by mitigating the inactivity-related declines in physical condition and reducing the time in ICU. Recommendations regarding the reduction of fatigue and the risk of dyspnea, the improvement of the inflammatory and redox status favoring cellular homeostasis and the overall improvement in the quality of life are provided. Finally, practical applications for the use of this paradigm leading to a better prognosis in bed bound and ICU-bound subjects is proposed.


title: Reduction of coronavirus burden with mass azithromycin distribution

text: We evaluated the potential antiviral effects of azithromycin on the nasopharyngeal virome of Nigerien children who had received multiple rounds of mass drug administration. We found that the respiratory burden of non-SARS coronaviruses was decreased with azithromycin distributions.


title: Erratum: Strategies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Braz Oral Res. 2020;34:e068

text: [This corrects the article doi: 10.1590/1807-3107bor-2020.vol34.0068].


title: Discovering associations in COVID-19 related research papers

text: A COVID-19 pandemic has already proven itself to be a global challenge. It proves how vulnerable humanity can be. It has also mobilized researchers from different sciences and different countries in the search for a way to fight this potentially fatal disease. In line with this, our study analyses the abstracts of papers related to COVID-19 and coronavirus-related-research using association rule text mining in order to find the most interestingness words, on the one hand, and relationships between them on the other. Then, a method, called information cartography, was applied for extracting structured knowledge from a huge amount of association rules. On the basis of these methods, the purpose of our study was to show how researchers have responded in similar epidemic/pandemic situations throughout history.


title: Herbal medicine for treatment of children diagnosed with COVID-19: A review of guidelines

text: This review aimed to summarize and analyze the pattern identification (PI), herbal formulae, and composition of herbs provided by recent guidelines for the treatment of pediatric COVID-19. Seven data sources were reviewed until March 25, 2020. We analyzed the herbal formulae included in the guidelines and performed a network analysis to identify the frequency of herbs recommended in the herbal formulae. All 3 guidelines were provincial guidelines from China. Our results showed that there were 4 stages, 12 PIs, and 13 herbal formulae recommended by the provincial guidelines. These herbal formulae included a total of 56 herbs. Based on our network analysis, Scutellariae Radix was paired with Artemisiae Annuae Herba in one cluster. In another cluster, Armeniacae Semen was paired with Coicis Semen and Ephedrae Herba was paired with Gypsum Fibrosum. This review serves as a reference for the use of traditional medicine in the treatment of pediatric COVID-19.


title: Predicting the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) utilizing capability as the receptor of SARS-CoV-2

text: SARS-CoV-2, the newly identified human coronavirus causing severe pneumonia pandemic, was probably originated from Chinese horseshoe bats. However, direct transmission of the virus from bats to humans is unlikely due to lack of direct contact, implying the existence of unknown intermediate hosts. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of SARS-CoV-2, but only ACE2s of certain species can be utilized by SARS-CoV-2. Here, we evaluated and ranked the receptor-utilizing capability of ACE2s from various species by phylogenetic clustering and sequence alignment with the currently known ACE2s utilized by SARS-CoV-2. As a result, we predicted that SARS-CoV-2 tends to utilize ACE2s of various mammals, except murines, and some birds, such as pigeon. This prediction may help to screen the intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2.


SARS-CoV-2: a novel deadly virus in a globalised world


title: Automated Detection of COVID-19 from CT Scans Using Convolutional Neural Networks

text: COVID-19 is an infectious disease that causes respiratory problems similar to those caused by SARS-CoV (2003). Currently, swab samples are being used for its diagnosis. The most common testing method used is the RT-PCR method, which has high specificity but variable sensitivity. AI-based detection has the capability to overcome this drawback. In this paper, we propose a prospective method wherein we use chest CT scans to diagnose the patients for COVID-19 pneumonia. We use a set of open-source images, available as individual CT slices, and full CT scans from a private Indian Hospital to train our model. We build a 2D segmentation model using the U-Net architecture, which gives the output by marking out the region of infection. Our model achieves a sensitivity of 96.428% (95% CI: 88%-100%) and a specificity of 88.39% (95% CI: 82%-94%). Additionally, we derive a logic for converting our slice-level predictions to scan-level, which helps us reduce the false positives.


SARS-CoV-2 and Europe: timing of containment measures for outbreak control


The Development of COVID-19 Vaccines: Safeguards Needed


title: COVID-19 in persons with chronic myeloid leukaemia

text: We studied by questionnaire 530 subjects with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in Hubei Province during the recent SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Five developed confirmed (N = 4) or probable COVID-19 (N = 1). Prevalence of COVID-19 in our subjects, 0.9% (95% Confidence Interval, 0.1, 1.8%) was ninefold higher than 0.1% (0, 0.12%) reported in normals but lower than 10% (6, 17%) reported in hospitalised persons with other haematological cancers or normal health-care providers, 7% (4, 12%). Co-variates associated with an increased risk of developing COVID-19 amongst persons with CML were exposure to someone infected with SARS-CoV-2 (P = 0.037), no complete haematologic response (P = 0.003) and co-morbidity(ies) (P = 0.024). There was also an increased risk of developing COVID-19 in subjects in advanced phase CML (P = 0.004) even when they achieved a complete cytogenetic response or major molecular response at the time of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. 1 of 21 subjects receiving 3rd generation tyrosine kinase-inhibitor (TKI) developed COVID-19 versus 3 of 346 subjects receiving imatinib versus 0 of 162 subjects receiving 2nd generation TKIs (P = 0.096). Other co-variates such as age and TKI-therapy duration were not significantly associated with an increased risk of developing COVID-19. Persons with these risk factors may benefit from increased surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection and possible protective isolation.


title: Lessons Learned for Orthopaedic Care Within the NYC COVID Epicenter Utilizing the USNS Comfort

text: Although elective surgeries and in-person office visits were greatly reduced during the COVID-19 crisis, orthopaedic surgeons continue to play a critical role in caring for both orthopaedic and non-orthopaedic problems during this pandemic. Orthopaedic departments provide the ability to off-load emergency departments of orthopaedic issues, redeploy staff to areas of need across the hospital system, and provide direct care to COVID-19 patients. The following will discuss the experience of a large academic orthopaedic surgery department within the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to redeployment of human capital, unique resources such as the USNS Comfort, as well as our recommended strategy for handling future disaster situations. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:: Prognostic Level V. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Evolutionary Adaptation toward Host Entry and Recognition of Receptor O-Acetyl Sialylation in Virus-Host Interaction

text: The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of the global health crisis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. No evidence is yet available for CoV infection into hosts upon zoonotic disease outbreak, although the CoV epidemy resembles influenza viruses, which use sialic acid (SA). Currently, information on SARS-CoV-2 and its receptors is limited. O-acetylated SAs interact with the lectin-like spike glycoprotein of SARS CoV-2 for the initial attachment of viruses to enter into the host cells. SARS-CoV-2 hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) acts as the classical glycan-binding lectin and receptor-degrading enzyme. Most ß-CoVs recognize 9-O-acetyl-SAs but switched to recognizing the 4-O-acetyl-SA form during evolution of CoVs. Type I HE is specific for the 9-O-Ac-SAs and type II HE is specific for 4-O-Ac-SAs. The SA-binding shift proceeds through quasi-synchronous adaptations of the SA-recognition sites of the lectin and esterase domains. The molecular switching of HE acquisition of 4-O-acetyl binding from 9-O-acetyl SA binding is caused by protein-carbohydrate interaction (PCI) or lectin-carbohydrate interaction (LCI). The HE gene was transmitted to a ß-CoV lineage A progenitor by horizontal gene transfer from a 9-O-Ac-SA-specific HEF, as in influenza virus C/D. HE acquisition, and expansion takes place by cross-species transmission over HE evolution. This reflects viral evolutionary adaptation to host SA-containing glycans. Therefore, CoV HE receptor switching precedes virus evolution driven by the SA-glycan diversity of the hosts. The PCI or LCI stereochemistry potentiates the SA-ligand switch by a simple conformational shift of the lectin and esterase domains. Therefore, examination of new emerging viruses can lead to better understanding of virus evolution toward transitional host tropism. A clear example of HE gene transfer is found in the BCoV HE, which prefers 7,9-di-O-Ac-SAs, which is also known to be a target of the bovine torovirus HE. A more exciting case of such a switching event occurs in the murine CoVs, with the example of the ß-CoV lineage A type binding with two different subtypes of the typical 9-O-Ac-SA (type I) and the exclusive 4-O-Ac-SA (type II) attachment factors. The protein structure data for type II HE also imply the virus switching to binding 4-O acetyl SA from 9-O acetyl SA. Principles of the protein-glycan interaction and PCI stereochemistry potentiate the SA-ligand switch via simple conformational shifts of the lectin and esterase domains. Thus, our understanding of natural adaptation can be specified to how carbohydrate/glycan-recognizing proteins/molecules contribute to virus evolution toward host tropism. Under the current circumstances where reliable antiviral therapeutics or vaccination tools are lacking, several trials are underway to examine viral agents. As expected, structural and non-structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 are currently being targeted for viral therapeutic designation and development. However, the modern global society needs SARS-CoV-2 preventive and therapeutic drugs for infected patients. In this review, the structure and sialobiology of SARS-CoV-2 are discussed in order to encourage and activate public research on glycan-specific interaction-based drug creation in the near future.


Convalescent Plasma to Treat COVID-19: Possibilities and Challenges


title: Clinical management of psoriasis patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

text: Psoriasis is a systemic immune-mediated inflammatory disease that requires consistent treatment and follow-up. Given that COVID-19 will persist in the coming years, dermatologists need to adjust their practices accordingly to care for their patients, particularly psoriasis patients managed with systemic therapies. We provide guidelines for optimizing care for psoriasis patients, including considerations for medication management, lifestyle adjustments, and utilization of telemedicine.


Safe Reintroduction of Cardiovascular Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: From the North American Society Leadership


French Pandemic Resistance


Systemic steroids in patients with COVID-19: pros and contras, an endocrinological point of view


Hard times and annular rings


title: Disparities In Outcomes Among COVID-19 Patients In A Large Health Care System In California

text: As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic spreads throughout the United States, evidence is mounting that racial and ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are bearing a disproportionate burden of illness and death. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of COVID-19 patients at Sutter Health, a large integrated health system in northern California, to measure potential disparities. We used Sutter's integrated electronic health record to identify adults with suspected and confirmed COVID-19, and we used multivariable logistic regression to assess risk of hospitalization, adjusting for known risk factors, such as race/ethnicity, sex, age, health, and socioeconomic variables. We analyzed 1,052 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from the period January 1-April 8, 2020. Among our findings, we observed that compared with non-Hispanic white patients, non-Hispanic African American patients had 2.7 times the odds of hospitalization, after adjustment for age, sex, comorbidities, and income. We explore possible explanations for this, including societal factors that either result in barriers to timely access to care or create circumstances in which patients view delaying care as the most sensible option. Our study provides real-world evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in the presentation of COVID-19.


title: Physical activity in a pandemic: A new treatment target for psychological therapy

text: The COVID-19 pandemic and its management are placing significant new strains on people's well-being, particularly those with pre-existing mental health conditions. Physical activity has been shown to improve mental as well as physical health. Increasing activity levels should be prioritized as a treatment target, especially when the barriers to exercise are greater than ever. Promoting physical activity has not traditionally been the remit of psychologists. Yet psychological theory and therapeutic techniques can be readily applied to address physical inactivity. We present theoretical perspectives and therapy techniques relating to (1) beliefs about physical activity, (2) motivation to be physically active, and (3) the sense of reward achieved through being physically active. We outline strategies to initiate and maintain physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby benefitting mental and physical health. COVID-19 is demanding rapid and substantial change across the whole health care system. Psychological therapists can respond creatively by addressing physical activity, a treatable clinical target which delivers both mental and physical health benefits. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Physical activity is essential for our mental and physical health. Yet COVID-19 presents novel barriers to physical activity. Psychological theory and techniques to address beliefs, motivation, and reward can be applied to increase physical activity during COVID-19. Physical activity is an important clinical target to sustain and improve mental health, especially in the current pandemic.


Pediatric antimicrobial stewardship in the COVID-19 outbreak


Mental health participation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic


title: Personalized therapy approach for hospitalized patients with COVID-19

text: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 experiencing respiratory symptoms have different complications (inflammatory, co-infection and thrombotic) that are identifiable by analytics patterns. Personalized treatment decisions decreased early mortality (OR 0.144, CI 0.03-0.686; p=0.015). Increasing age (OR 1.06; p=0.038) and therapeutic effort limitation (OR 9.684; p<0.001) were associated with higher mortality.


title: The Aging of Î³Î´ T Cells

text: In the coming decades, many developed countries in the world are expecting the "greying" of their populations. This phenomenon poses unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems. Aging is one of the most important risk factors for infections and a myriad of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. A common denominator that is implicated in these diseases is the immune system. The immune system consists of the innate and adaptive arms that complement each other to provide the host with a holistic defense system. While the diverse interactions between multiple arms of the immune system are necessary for its function, this complexity is amplified in the aging immune system as each immune cell type is affected differently-resulting in a conundrum that is especially difficult to target. Furthermore, certain cell types, such as Î³Î´ T cells, do not fit categorically into the arms of innate or adaptive immunity. In this review, we will first introduce the human Î³Î´ T cell family and its ligands before discussing parallels in mice. By covering the ontogeny and homeostasis of Î³Î´ T cells during their lifespan, we will better capture their evolution and responses to age-related stressors. Finally, we will identify knowledge gaps within these topics that can advance our understanding of the relationship between Î³Î´ T cells and aging, as well as age-related diseases such as cancer.


title: Statistical and Network-Based Analysis of Italian COVID-19 Data: Communities Detection and Temporal Evolution

text: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak started in Wuhan, China, and it has rapidly spread across the world. Italy is one of the European countries most affected by COVID-19, and it has registered high COVID-19 death rates and the death toll. In this article, we analyzed different Italian COVID-19 data at the regional level for the period 24 February to 29 March 2020. The analysis pipeline includes the following steps. After individuating groups of similar or dissimilar regions with respect to the ten types of available COVID-19 data using statistical test, we built several similarity matrices. Then, we mapped those similarity matrices into networks where nodes represent Italian regions and edges represent similarity relationships (edge length is inversely proportional to similarity). Then, network-based analysis was performed mainly discovering communities of regions that show similar behavior. In particular, network-based analysis was performed by running several community detection algorithms on those networks and by underlying communities of regions that show similar behavior. The network-based analysis of Italian COVID-19 data is able to elegantly show how regions form communities, i.e., how they join and leave them, along time and how community consistency changes along time and with respect to the different available data.


Efficacy of remdesivir in a rhesus macaque model of MERS-CoV infection


Paediatrics is a big player of COVID-19 in Hong Kong


SARS-CoV-2-encoded nucleocapsid protein acts as a viral suppressor of RNA interference in cells


Inhibitors of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System and Covid-19 in critically ill elderly patients


title: Repurposing antimicrobial stewardship tools in the electronic medical record for the management of COVID-19 patients

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the antimicrobial stewardship module in our electronic medical record was reconfigured for the management of COVID-19 patients. This change allowed our subspecialist providers to review charts quickly to optimize potential therapy and management during the patient surge.


title: Autonomously Replicating RNAs of Bungowannah Pestivirus: ERNS Is Not Essential for the Generation of Infectious Particles

text: Autonomously replicating subgenomic Bungowannah virus (BuPV) RNAs (BuPV replicons) with deletions of the genome regions encoding the structural proteins C, ERNS, E1, and E2 were constructed on the basis of an infectious cDNA clone of BuPV. Nanoluciferase (Nluc) insertion was used to compare the replication efficiencies of all constructs after electroporation of in vitro-transcribed RNA from the different clones. Deletion of C, E1, E2, or the complete structural protein genome region (C-ERNS-E1-E2) prevented the production of infectious progeny virus, whereas deletion of ERNS still allowed the generation of infectious particles. However, those ΔERNS viral particles were defective in virus assembly and/or egress and could not be further propagated for more than three additional passages in porcine SK-6 cells. These "defective-in-third-cycle" BuPV ΔERNS mutants were subsequently used to express the classical swine fever virus envelope protein E2, the N-terminal domain of the Schmallenberg virus Gc protein, and the receptor binding domain of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus spike protein. The constructs could be efficiently complemented and further passaged in SK-6 cells constitutively expressing the BuPV ERNS protein. Importantly, BuPVs are able to infect a wide variety of target cell lines, allowing expression in a very wide host spectrum. Therefore, we suggest that packaged BuPV ΔERNS replicon particles have potential as broad-spectrum viral vectors.IMPORTANCE The proteins NPRO and ERNS are unique for the genus Pestivirus, but only NPRO has been demonstrated to be nonessential for in vitro growth. While this was also speculated for ERNS, it has always been previously shown that pestivirus replicons with deletions of the structural proteins ERNS, E1, or E2 did not produce any infectious progeny virus in susceptible host cells. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that BuPV ERNS is dispensable for the generation of infectious virus particles but still important for efficient passaging. The ERNS-defective BuPV particles showed clearly limited growth in cell culture but were capable of several rounds of infection, expression of foreign genes, and highly efficient trans-complementation to rescue virus replicon particles (VRPs). The noncytopathic characteristics and the absence of preexisting immunity to BuPV in human populations and livestock also provide a significant benefit for a possible use, e.g., as a vector vaccine platform.


title: Does the $\ell_1$-norm Learn a Sparse Graph under Laplacian Constrained Graphical Models?

text: We consider the problem of learning a sparse graph under Laplacian constrained Gaussian graphical models. This problem can be formulated as a penalized maximum likelihood estimation of the precision matrix under Laplacian structural constraints. Like in the classical graphical lasso problem, recent works made use of the $\ell_1$-norm regularization with the goal of promoting sparsity in Laplacian structural precision matrix estimation. However, we find that the widely used $\ell_1$-norm is not effective in imposing a sparse solution in this problem. Through empirical evidence, we observe that the number of nonzero graph weights grows with the increase of the regularization parameter. From a theoretical perspective, we prove that a large regularization parameter will surprisingly lead to a fully connected graph. To address this issue, we propose a nonconvex estimation method by solving a sequence of weighted $\ell_1$-norm penalized sub-problems and prove that the statistical error of the proposed estimator matches the minimax lower bound. To solve each sub-problem, we develop a projected gradient descent algorithm that enjoys a linear convergence rate. Numerical experiments involving synthetic and real-world data sets from the recent COVID-19 pandemic and financial stock markets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. An open source $\mathsf{R}$ package containing the code for all the experiments is available at https://github.com/mirca/sparseGraph.


Sex- and Gender-specific Observations and Implications for COVID-19


Italian pulmonologist units and COVID-19 outbreak: "mind the gap"!


Bronchoscopy use in the COVID-19 era


title: Food safety issues related to wildlife have not been taken seriously from SARS to COVID-19

text: 17 years after the outbreak of SARS, the 2019-nCoV broke out in December 2019. It's an unprecedented huge challenge and disaster for people all over the world. According to Web of Science database, The author found that 95,724 virology papers have been published in the past 17 years, 68,632 of which are supported by fund (71.7%). Meanwhile, 50,567 papers related to food safety have been published in the past 17 years, 28,165 of which are supported by fund (55.7%%). It seems that people's safety and global stability are greatly guaranteed. However, whether SARS or 2019-nCoV, scientists were targeting wildlife, the author found that only 515 studies on food safety related to wildlife have been published worldwide in the past 17 years. After SARS, the whole world did not pay enough attention to food safety related to wildlife.


Hospital-Wide SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Screening in 3056 Staff in a Tertiary Center in Belgium


title: Surgical treatment of diabetic foot ulcers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

text: Diabetic foot ulcers are among the most serious complications of diabetes. If left untreated, these ulcers can lead to severe infection and gangrene; in some instances, they may result in death. Thus, timely treatment of diabetic foot ulcers is extremely important. However, timely patient treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic is particularly challenging, because of the higher volume of patients and the need to ensure safety of medical personnel. This article describes a proposed strategy for diagnosis and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, based on experiences with infection and control strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.