title: A familial cluster of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by one family member during his asymptomatic incubation period

text: An ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread in the world, whereas asymptomatic carriers may also play a critical role in the pandemic. We report a familial cluster of COVID-19 caused by one family member before his onset of illness, indicating that it seems to be potentially infectious during the incubation period, even earlier than we expected. Close contact, especially in a small enclosed space, might be the cause of familial transmission. The unsynchronized changes in the clinical symptoms and COVID-19 nucleic acid were found in this case, so consecutive nucleic acid detection of pretty suspected cases was recommended. Family members, especially of whom the confirmed cases contacted with since one incubation period before onset rather than 2 days before onset, should be regarded as close contact and centrally isolated in case of asymptomatic infection already existed in the family.


Air Pollution and the Novel Covid-19 Disease: a Putative Disease Risk Factor


Re-purposing a face tent as a disposable aerosol evacuation system to reduce contamination in COVID-19 patients: a simulated demonstration


Serum Amyloid A protein has been undervalued as a biomarker in cases of COVID-19


title: The Pivotal Roles of US3 Protein in Cell-to-Cell Spread and Virion Nuclear Egress of Duck Plague Virus

text: The duck plague virus (DPV) US3 protein, a homolog of the herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) US3 protein that is reported to be critical for viral replication, has been minimally studied. Therefore, to investigate the function of the DPV US3 protein, we used scarless Red recombination technology based on an infectious bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) containing the DPV Chinese virulent strain (CHv) genome and successfully constructed and rescued a US3-deleted mutant and the corresponding revertant virus (BAC-CHv-ΔUS3 and BAC-CHv-ΔUS3R, respectively). For viral growth characteristics, compared to the parental and revertant viruses, the US3-deleted mutant showed an approximately 100-fold reduction in viral titers but no significant reduction in genome copies, indicating that the US3-deleted mutant exhibited decreased viral replication but not decreased viral DNA generation. In addition, the US3-deleted mutant formed viral plaques that were 33% smaller on average than those formed by the parental and revertant viruses, demonstrating that US3 protein affected the viral cell-to-cell spread of DPV. Finally, the results of electron microscopy showed that the deletion of US3 resulted in a large number of virions accumulating in the nucleus and perinuclear space, thus blocking virion nuclear egress. In this study, we found that the DPV US3 protein played pivotal roles in viral replication by promoting viral cell-to-cell spread and virion nuclear egress, which may provide some references for research on the function of the DPV US3 protein.


title: Tracking the origin of early COVID-19 cases in Canada

text: The original coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China has become a global pandemic. By tracking the earliest 118 COVID-19 cases in Canada, we produced a Voronoi treemap to show the travel origins of the country's earliest COVID-19 cases. By March 11, 2020, even though the majority (64.1%) of the world's COVID-19 confirmed cases still had their origin in China, only 7.6% of Canada's first 118 COVID-19 cases arose due in travelers to China. The most commonly reported travel history among the 118 cases originated from the Middle East, the United States, and Europe. Thus, in retrospect, broadening of early screening tools and travel restrictions to countries and regions outside China may help control global COVID-19 spread.


title: The Home Office in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic and its impact in the Labor Supply

text: We lightly modify Eriksson's (1996) model to accommodate the home office in a simple model of endogenous growth. By home office we mean any working activity carried out away from the workplace which is assumed to be fixed. Due to the strong mobility restrictions imposed on citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, we allow the home office to be located at home. At the home office, however, in consequence of the fear and anxiety workers feel because of COVID-19, they become distracted and spend less time working. We show that in the long run, the intertemporal elasticity of substitution of the home-office labor is sufficiently small only if the intertemporal elasticity of substitution of the time spent on distracting activities is small enough also.


title: It is currently unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 is viable in semen or whether COVID-19 damages spermatozoa

text: Research is needed to understand the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in semen, sexual transmissibility, and impact on sperm quality. Several studies have examined men recovering from COVID-19, but large-scale community-based testing is needed to ascertain the effects on the male reproductive tract, and the potential for prolonged transmission.


Call to action for advocacy of immigrant nurses during COVID-19 pandemic


title: Impact of a selective use of episiotomy combined with Couder's maneuver for the perineal protection

text: PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of a selective use of episiotomy combined with Couder's maneuver on the incidence of perineal tears in spontaneous term deliveries. METHODS: A comparative, retrospective, mono-centric study in a university maternity unit was designed and included all primiparous women who delivered spontaneously after 37 weeks of gestation in cephalic presentation. Two cohorts were studied, before and after the practice of Couder's maneuver. In the first cohort, the ''OSE cohort'' only selective episiotomies were performed from January 2009 to December 2010. In the second cohort, from January 2016 to December 2017, the ''SEC cohort'' selective episiotomies combined with Couder's maneuver were performed by midwives and obstetricians. The primary outcome was the type of perineal tears, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) classification. RESULTS: A total of 2081 patients were included: 909 patients in the OSE cohort and 1172 patients in the SEC cohort. Couder's maneuver was performed in 59% of the SEC cohort. In the SEC cohort, there were an increase in the number of intact perinea (55% versus 63%, p < 0.001), a decrease in second-degree perineal tears (18% versus 11%, p < 0.001) and a decrease in labia minora tears (48% versus 37%, p < 0.001). The rate of obstetrical anal sphincter injuries was less than 1% in both cohorts (0.3% versus 0.5%, p = 0.7). CONCLUSION: A selective use of episiotomy combined with Couder's maneuver could reduce the incidence of perineal tears, particularly second-degree perineal tears, without increasing the rate of obstetrical anal sphincter injuries.


To Face Coronavirus Disease 2019, Surgeons Must Embrace Palliative Care


title: Urology Residency Applications in The COVID-19 Era

text: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate urology applicants' opinions about the interview process during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An anonymous survey was emailed to applicants to our institution from the 2019/2020 Urology matches prior to issuance of professional organization guidelines. The survey inquired about attitudes toward the residency interview process in the era of COVID-19 and which interview elements could be replicated virtually. Descriptive statistics were utilized. RESULTS: 80% of urology applicants from the 2019/2020 matches received our survey. 156 people (24% of recipients) responded. 34% preferred virtual interviews, while 41% in-person interviews at each program, and 25% regional/centralized interviews. 64% said that interactions with residents (pre/post-interview social and informal time) were the most important interview day component and 81% said it could not be replicated virtually. Conversely, 81% believed faculty interviews could be replicated virtually. 87% believed that city visits could not be accomplished virtually. A plurality felt that away rotations and second-looks should be allowed (both 45%). COMMENT: Applicants feel that faculty interviews can be replicated virtually, while resident interactions cannot. Steps such as a low-stakes second looks after programs submit rank lists (potentially extending this window) and small virtual encounters with residents could ease applicant concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Applicants have concerns about changes to the match processes. Programs can adopt virtual best practices to address these issues.


title: A case of long-term dasatinib-induced proteinuria and glomerular injury

text: A 52-year-old woman was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Treatment with dasatinib, a second-generation Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was initiated, and complete cytogenetic remission was achieved. Two years later, proteinuria occurred, and the urinary protein level increased gradually in the next 3 years. Moreover, the serum creatinine level increased mildly during this period. The urinary protein level reached 2.18 g/gCr; hence, a renal biopsy was conducted. Light microscopy revealed mild proliferation of mesangial cells, and immunofluorescence analysis revealed IgG and C3 depositions in the mesangial area. Electron microscopy revealed electron-dense deposition in the paramesangial area, partial podocyte foot process effacement, and segmental endothelial cell swelling with a slight expansion of the subendothelial space. Dasatinib was discontinued, and within 3 weeks, the proteinuria disappeared, with improvements in her renal function. After switching to bosutinib, a new second-generation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor, the proteinuria remained negative. The rapid cessation of proteinuria following dasatinib discontinuation indicated that proteinuria was induced by the long-term administration of dasatinib. Proteinuria and renal function should be regularly monitored during dasatinib therapy.


Dental and medical collaboration during COVID-19


title: A cascade network for Detecting COVID-19 using chest x-rays

text: The worldwide spread of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus poses an unprecedented challenge to the world's medical resources and prevention and control measures. Covid-19 attacks not only the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and life-threatening, but also the heart, kidneys, brain and other vital organs of the body, with possible sequela. At present, the detection of COVID-19 needs to be realized by the reverse transcription-polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). However, many countries are in the outbreak period of the epidemic, and the medical resources are very limited. They cannot provide sufficient numbers of gene sequence detection, and many patients may not be isolated and treated in time. Given this situation, we researched the analytical and diagnostic capabilities of deep learning on chest radiographs and proposed Cascade-SEMEnet which is cascaded with SEME-ResNet50 and SEME-DenseNet169. The two cascade networks of Cascade - SEMEnet both adopt large input sizes and SE-Structure and use MoEx and histogram equalization to enhance the data. We first used SEME-ResNet50 to screen chest X-ray and diagnosed three classes: normal, bacterial, and viral pneumonia. Then we used SEME-DenseNet169 for fine-grained classification of viral pneumonia and determined if it is caused by COVID-19. To exclude the influence of non-pathological features on the network, we preprocessed the data with U-Net during the training of SEME-DenseNet169. The results showed that our network achieved an accuracy of 85.6\% in determining the type of pneumonia infection and 97.1\% in the fine-grained classification of COVID-19. We used Grad-CAM to visualize the judgment based on the model and help doctors understand the chest radiograph while verifying the effectivene.


title: Bringing radiology to patient's home using mobile equipment: A weapon to fight COVID-19 pandemic

text: Because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) high contagiousness, it is crucial to identify and promptly isolate COVID-19 patients. In this context, chest imaging examinations, in particular chest x-ray (CXR), can play a pivotal role in different settings, to triage in case of unavailability, delay of or first negative result of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and to stratify disease severity. Considering the need to reduce, as much as possible, hospital admission of patients with suspected or confirmed infection, the use of mobile x-ray equipment could represent a safe approach. We picture a potential sequence of events, involving a team composed by a radiographer and a nurse, going to patient's home to perform CXR, nasopharyngeal swab (and, if needed, also a blood sample), with fast radiologist tele-reporting, and resulting patient management approach (home isolation or emergency room admission, when needed). This approach brings healthcare to patient's home, reducing the risk of infected subjects referring to family doctors' office or emergency departments, and strengthening community medicine while maintaining a strong connection with radiology departments.


title: Report of 5 nurses infecting COVID-19 during patient care: case Series

text: Background: The high prevalence of COVID-19 has been paied lots of attention all over the world. Nurses are in the first line against this infection and they placed in a high-risk situation. This study aimed to report COVID-19 infection during patients care among nures in the Mostafa Khomini Hospital, Ilam, Iran. In this hospital 125 nurses were enrolled in COVID-19 center. Findings: In the present study 5 out of 125 nurses (4%) who enrolled in COVID-19 infection center, were infected with COVID-19. They were first positive for real-time PCR but the CT scan was positive for just one of them. None of the infected nurses were hospitalized and all of them preferred to be quarantine at home and receive the necessary care and treatment (Oseltamivir, Azithromycin and Kaletra. Conclusion: This study showed that regardless of self caring, the nurses were exposed to COVID-19. Because at the the beginning of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Iran, there were no special protection against this infection.Therfore they were at risk for the COVID-19.This study also reported that receiving the necessary care and treatment at home was a good experience for nurses that can be used in some cases.


Correction to Lancet Psychiatry 2020; 7: e15-16


Covid-19 and ethnic minorities: an urgent agenda for overdue action


Clinical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental education


Is susceptibility to severe COVID-19 disease an inborn error of metabolism?


title: High rates of 30-day mortality in patients with cirrhosis and COVID-19

text: BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a major worldwide threat for healthy individuals as well as for patients with comorbidities, but its impact on patients with cirrhosis is currently unknown. This study aimed at evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on the clinical outcome of these patients. METHODS: In this multicenter retrospective study, cirrhotic patients with confirmed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were enrolled between 1st and 31th March 2020. Clinical and biochemical data at COVID-19 and at the last outpatient visit were obtained through review of medical records. RESULTS: Fifty cirrhotic patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled (age 67 years, 70% men, 38% virus-related, 52% previously compensated cirrhosis). At diagnosis, 64% of patients presented fever, 42% shortness of breath/polypnea, 22% encephalopathy, 96% needed hospitalization or prolonged an ongoing one. Respiratory-support was necessary in 71%, 52% received antivirals, 80% heparin. Serum albumin significantly decreased, while bilirubin, creatinine and prothrombin time significantly increased at COVID-19 diagnosis compared to last available data. The proportion of patients with MELD≥15 increased from 13% to 26% (p=0.037), acute-on-chronic liver failure and and de novo acute liver injury occurred in 14 (28%) and 10 patients, respectively. Seventeen patients died after a median of 10 (4-13) days from COVID-19 diagnosis, with a 30-day-mortality rate of 34%. Severity of lung and liver (according to CLIF-C, CLIF-OF and MELD scores) diseases independently predicted mortality. Mortality was significantly higher in hospitalized cirrhotics with COVID-19 than in those hospitalized for bacterial infections. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 is associated with liver function deterioration and elevated mortality in cirrhotic patients.


Overwhelming COVID-19 Clinical Trials: Call for Prospective Meta-Analyses


Update Alert: Epidemiology of and Risk Factors for Coronavirus Infection in Health Care Workers


Covid-19: Questions remain over UK government's PPE guidance


Vertical transmission and materno-fetal outcomes in 13 patients with COVID-19


Increased CSF levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, and ACE in SARS-CoV-2-associated encephalitis


title: Balancing Personal Privacy and Public Safety in COVID-19: Case of Korea and France

text: There has been vigorous debate on how different countries responded to the COVID-19. To secure public safety, Korea has actively used personal information at the risk of personal privacy whereas France encourages voluntary cooperation at the risk of public safety. In this article, we examine the pros and cons of these two different approaches in epidemiological investigations. In addition, we present technological options of de-identification of personal information in the course of managing this pandemic under control. We discuss lessons for future research and policy implications.


title: COVID-19 and gastrointestinal endoscopy: What should be taken into account?

text: On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a subsequent impact on the entire world and health care system. Since the causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 houses in the aerodigestive tract, activities in the gastrointestinal outpatient clinic and endoscopy unit should be limited to emergencies only. Health care professionals are faced with the need to perform endoscopic or endoluminal emergency procedures in patients with a confirmed positive or unknown COVID-19 status. With this report, we aim to provide recommendations and practical relevant information for gastroenterologists based on the limited amount of available data and local experience, to guarantee a high-quality patient care and adequate infection prevention in the gastroenterology clinic.


In considerations of robotic colorectal surgery within a COVID-19 pandemic


COVID-19 and lockdown: living in 'interesting times'


title: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: is interleukin-6 (IL-6) the 'culprit lesion' of ARDS onset? What is there besides Tocilizumab? SGP130Fc

text: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 many studies have been published showing possible therapies, here the author discusses the end of stage disease related drugs, like Tocilizumab which is currently being used in ARDS patients. In some patients, disease progression leads to an enormous secretion of cytokines, known as cytokine storm, among those cytokines IL-6 plays an important role. Here the author shows how IL-6 has both pro and anti-inflammatory properties, depending on the pathway of transduction: soluble (trans-signaling) or membrane-related (classic signaling), and suggests how targeting only the pro-inflammatory pathway, with SGP130Fc, could be a better option then targeting them both. Other possible IL-6 pathway inhibitors such as Ruxolitinib and Baricinitib are then analyzed, underlying how they lack the benefit of targeting only the pro-inflammatory pathway.


Water scarcity and COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa


Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and Radical Cystectomy


Androgenetic Alopecia Present in the Majority of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients - the "Gabrin sign"


title: Imaging dynamic observation of COVID-19 patients cured by imported coronavirus pneumonia/ 中华放射学杂志

text: Objective@#To explore the imaging changes of lung lesions in patients with imported COVID-19 patients when reaching the discharge standard.@*Method@#The clinical and CT imaging data of 60 patients with imported COVID-19 cured and discharged from January to February 2020 in Anhui Province were retrospectively collected. The clinical characteristics of the patients and the characteristics of chest CT images at discharge were analyzed.@*Results@#Fever (57 cases) and cough (55 cases) were the main symptoms in 60 patients. At the initial diagnosis, 5 cases were mild, 53 were ordinary, and 2 were severe. In 5 light patients, 3 cases were negative in the whole course of CT examination, 2 cases were negative in the first time and abnormal in the second time. . The first CT imaging features of 55 patients (53 common type and 2 severe type)were mainly bilateral lung involvement (51 cases), multiple lesions (33 cases), more common under the pleura (40 cases), and ground glass opacities were the most common. (55 cases). The clinical features of chest CT in clinical outcomes are that the ground glass shadow in the lung gradually fades and was completely absorbed (19 cases); the scope of ground glass shadow in the lung expanded and progressed to crazy-paving, consolidation shadow, and the lesion gradually absorbs again followed by Fibrous cord shadows (27 cases); ground-glass opacities in the lungs quickly progressed to a consolidation and then slowly absorbed . Most of the lesions were accompanied by more residual fibrous cord shadows (4 cases). In 2 severe patients, the lesions in the lungs were larger ground glass, and a big amount of fibrous foci remained after slowly absorption.@*Conclusion@#Chest CT plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of imported COVID-19, and the degree of lung involvement seen on CT images is in good agreement with clinical outcome.


Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19


Evaluation of a foldable barrier enclosure for intubation and extubation procedures adaptable for patients with COVID-19: A mannequin study


title: Development of New Hybrid Model of Discrete Wavelet Decomposition and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Models in Application to One Month Forecast the Casualties Cases of COVID-19

text: Everywhere around the globe, the hot topic of discussion today is the ongoing and fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). Earlier detected in Wuhan, Hubei province, in China in December 2019, the deadly virus engulfed China and some neighboring countries, which claimed thousands of lives in February 2020. The proposed hybrid methodology involves the application of discreet wavelet decomposition to the dataset of deaths due to COVID-19, which splits the input data into component series and then applying an appropriate econometric model to each of the component series for making predictions of death cases in future. ARIMA models are well known econometric forecasting models capable of generating accurate forecasts when applied on wavelet decomposed time series. The input dataset consists of daily death cases from most affected five countries by COVID-19, which is given to the hybrid model for validation and to make one month ahead prediction of death cases. These predictions are compared with that obtained from an ARIMA model to estimate the performance of prediction. The predictions indicate a sharp rise in death cases despite various precautionary measures taken by governments of these countries.


The Importance of Diagnostic Testing during a Viral Pandemic: Early Lessons from Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)


Triage of functional, female and neuro-urology patients during and immediately after the Covid-19 outbreak


title: Neural Network aided quarantine control model estimation of global Covid-19 spread

text: Since the first recording of what we now call Covid-19 infection in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on Dec 31, 2019, the disease has spread worldwide and met with a wide variety of social distancing and quarantine policies. The effectiveness of these responses is notoriously difficult to quantify as individuals travel, violate policies deliberately or inadvertently, and infect others without themselves being detected. In this paper, we attempt to interpret and extrapolate from publicly available data using a mixed first-principles epidemiological equations and data-driven neural network model. Leveraging our neural network augmented model, we focus our analysis on four locales: Wuhan, Italy, South Korea and the United States of America, and compare the role played by the quarantine and isolation measures in each of these countries in controlling the effective reproduction number $R_{t}$ of the virus. Our results unequivocally indicate that the countries in which rapid government interventions and strict public health measures for quarantine and isolation were implemented were successful in halting the spread of infection and prevent it from exploding exponentially. We test the predictive ability of our model by matching predictions in the duration 3 March - 1 April 2020 for Wuhan and in the duration 25 March - 1 April 2020 for Italy and South Korea. In the case of the US, our model captures well the current infected curve growth and predicts a halting of infection spread by 20 April 2020. We further demonstrate that relaxing or reversing quarantine measures right now will lead to an exponential explosion in the infected case count, thus nullifying the role played by all measures implemented in the US since mid March 2020.


title: The Automation of Acceleration: AI and the Future of Society

text: The Acceleration Thesis studies the phenomenon of social acceleration in its different aspects, something that has been occurring since the beginnings of civilization, and is one of the topics of debate in contemporary Critical Theory. When we find ourselves in a society immersed in a capitalist model, where the means of production are pressured to produce more and more to supply a market characterized by consumerism, acceleration induces an increase in the speed of production that exceeds the physical and cognitive capacities of human beings. An obvious solution to such demand is automation. The automation of the means of production occurred in several stages, as in the industrial revolutions, previously we can say that it was our physical capacities that were surpassed. However, in the middle of the 4th Industrial Revolution, with the massive use of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) is our cognitive capacitie that is being continuously surpassed. Thus, new questions about the benefits and risks of the use of such technologies are being debated, mainly in the area of machine ethics, which will be the focus of our study. In this article we present a review of several points, the risks and benefits of social modernization through AI, how human society has been preparing to deal with such changes, and finally, how the debate on such technologies is taking place in a way totally dominated by European and North American societies. We believe it is necessary to make the debate about the technologies that will shape the future of global society more democratic and inclusive, so that our preferences are more homogeneous and less biased.


¿Cumplimos correctamente los protocolos de prevención en oftalmología?: a propósito de la última epidemia por coronavirus./ ¿Cumplimos correctamente los protocolos de prevención en oftalmología?: a propósito de la última epidemia por coronavirus./ Do we correctly comply with prevention protocols in ophthalmology? About the latest coronavirus epidemic


Unchanged surgical management of patients with Cholangiocarcinoma during the COVID-19 pandemic


Corrigendum to Canadian Association of Thoracic Radiology/Canadian Association of Radiologists Consensus Statement Regarding Chest Imaging in Suspected and Confirmed COVID-19


title: Use of Anesthesia Machines in a Critical Care Setting During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

text: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created an unprecedented need for mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. To meet this increased demand, some facilities were forced to use anesthesia gas machines (AGMs) as intensive care unit (ICU) ventilators. While an off-label use, AGM manufacturers, the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists have guidelines for AGM use in the ICU, however, there is scant literature describing their use. This article describes our experiences at New York University Langone Medical Center using AGMs in the ICU for ventilating critically ill COVID-19 patients.


The Impact of COVID-19 on Radiology Trainees


Hydroxychloroquine, COVID-19 and diabetes. Why it is a different story


Barriers to Telemedicine Implementation in Southwest Tribal Communities During COVID-19


title: ATeam technology for detecting early signs of viral cytopathic effect

text: Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), the major energy currency of the cell, is involved in many cellular processes, including the viral life cycle, and can be used as an indicator of early signs of cytopathic effect (CPE). In this study, we demonstrated that CPE can be analyzed using an FRET-based ATP probe named ATP indicator based on Epsilon subunit for Analytical Measurements (ATeam). The results revealed that as early as 3 hr, the virus infected cells showed a significantly different Venus/cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) ratio compared to the mock-infected cells. The ATeam technology is therefore useful to determine the early signs of ATP-based CPE as early as 3 hr without morphology-based CPE by light microscopy, and enables high throughput determination of the presence of microorganisms in neglected samples stored in laboratories.


title: COVID-19 in diabetic patients: Related risks and specifics of management

text: Diabetes is among the most frequently reported comorbidities in patients infected with COVID-19. According to current data, diabetic patients do not appear to be at increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 compared to the general population. On the other hand, diabetes is a risk factor for developing severe and critical forms of COVID-19, the latter requiring admission to an intensive care unit and/or use of invasive mechanical ventilation, with high mortality rates. The characteristics of diabetic patients at risk for developing severe and critical forms of COVID-19, as well as the prognostic impact of diabetes on the course of COVID-19, are under current investigation. Obesity, the main risk factor for incident type 2 diabetes, is more common in patients with critical forms of COVID-19 requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. On the other hand, COVID-19 is usually associated with poor glycemic control and a higher risk of ketoacidosis in diabetic patients. There are currently no recommendations in favour of discontinuing antihypertensive medications that interact with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Metformin and SGLT2 inhibitors should be discontinued in patients with severe forms of COVID-19 owing to the risks of lactic acidosis and ketoacidosis. Finally, we advise for systematic screening for (pre)diabetes in patients with proven COVID-19 infection.


title: Shattered social identity and moral injuries: Work-related conditions in health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

text: The present article assesses the effects of shattered social identity and moral injuries experienced by health care professionals (HCPs) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Professional expertise and emotional-cognitive demands as key aspects of HCPs' social identity are introduced, and the effects of moral injuries-in terms of violation of medical-ethical and social-ethical norms-on the mental health of HCPs are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


title: Consistency analysis of COVID-19 nucleic acid tests and the changes of lung CT

text: BACKGROUND: COVID-19, the latest outbreak of infectious disease, has caused huge medical challenges to China and the entire globe. No unified diagnostic standard has been formulated. The initial diagnosis remains based on the positive of nucleic acid tests. However, early nucleic acid tests were identified to be negative in some patients, whereas the patients exhibited characteristic CT changes of lung, and positive test results appeared after repeated nucleic acid tests, having caused the failure to diagnose these patients early. The study aimed to delve into the relationships between initial nucleic acid testing and early lung CT changes in patients with COVID-19. METHOD: In accordance with the latest COVID-19 diagnostic criteria, 69 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 treated in the infected V ward of Xiaogan Central Hospital from 2020/1/25 to 2020/2/6 were retrospectively analyzed. The consistency between the first COVID-19 nucleic acid test positive and lung CT changes was studied. In addition, the sensitivity and specificity of CT and initial nucleic acid were studied. RESULT: The Kappa coefficient of initial nucleic acid positive changes and lung CT changes was -1.52. With a positive nucleic acid test as the gold standard, the sensitivity of lung CT was 12.00 %, 95 % CI: 4.6-24.3; with the changes of CT as the gold standard, the sensitivity of nucleic acid positive was 30.16 %, 95 % CI: 19.2-43.0. CONCLUSION: The consistency between the initial positive nucleic acid test and the CT changes in the lungs is poor; low sensitivity was achieved for initial nucleic acid detection and CT changes.


Covid-19 pandemic and Nepal


Behavioral considerations and impact on personal protective equipment use: Early lessons from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic


title: COVID19 pandemic and people with opioid use disorder: innovation to reduce risk

text: The Covid-19 pandemic is creating a vast and growing number of challenges for all. People with a history of opioid use disorder (OUD) also may be exposed to additional risks. Piedmont one of the areas most severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with large numbers of people infected and related mortality. In the region, specialists responsible for OUD care identified the risk that the existing care system exposed patients to. Teams designed and implemented innovation approaches to enable continuation of care and reduce the inherent system risk to patients with OUD.


Exuberant Plasmocytosis in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Specimen of the First Patient Requiring Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for SARS-CoV-2 in Europe


Creation and benefits of the "COVID Autopsy Listserve"


A Trial of Lopinavir-Ritonavir in Covid-19


title: Israel's response to the COVID-19 pandemic: tailoring measures for vulnerable cultural minority populations

text: Every country has vulnerable populations that require special attention from policymakers in their response to a pandemic. This is because those populations may have specific characteristics, culture and behaviours that can accelerate the spread of the virus, and they usually have less access to healthcare, particularly in times of crisis. In order to carry out a comprehensive national intervention plan, policy makers should be sensitive to the needs and lifestyles of these groups, while taking into account structural and cultural gaps.In the context of Israel, the two most prominent and well-defined minority groups are the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and parts of the Arab population. The government was slow to recognize the unique position of these two groups, public pressure eventually led to a response that was tailored to the ultra-Orthodox community and during the month of Ramadan a similar response has been implemented among the Arab community.


title: Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic can increase physical inactivity and the global burden of cardiovascular disease

text: Emerging data indicate a substantial decrease in global physical activity levels during the period of social isolation adopted worldwide to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Confinement-induced decreases in physical activity levels and increases in sedentary behavior may provoke a rapid deterioration of cardiovascular health and premature deaths among populations with increased cardiovascular risk. Even short-term (1-4 wk) inactivity has been linked with detrimental effects in cardiovascular function and structure and increased cardiovascular risk factors. In this unprecedented and critical scenario, home-based physical activity programs arise as a clinically relevant intervention to promote health benefits to cardiac patients. Many studies have demonstrated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of different models of home-based exercise programs in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases and major cardiovascular events among different populations. This body of knowledge can inform evidence-based policies to be urgently implemented to counteract the impact of increased physical inactivity and sedentary behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak, thereby alleviating the global burden of cardiovascular disease.


title: Microvascular disease confers additional risk to COVID-19 infection

text: The majority of fatalities thus far in the COVID-19 pandemic have been attributed to pneumonia. As expected, the fatality rate reported in China is higher in people with chronic pulmonary disease (6.3%) and those who have cancer (5.6%). According to the American College of Cardiology Clinical Bulletin "COVID-19 Clinical Guidance for the CV Care Team", there is a significantly higher fatality rate in people who are elderly (8.0% 70-79 years; 14.8% ≥80 years), diabetic (7.3%), hypertensive (6.0%), or have known cardiovascular disease (CVD) (10.5%). We propose a biological reason for the higher mortality risk in these populations that is apparent. We further present a set of pathophysiological reasons for the heightened danger that could lead to therapies for enhanced management and prevention.


title: Pathological Findings of Postmortem Biopsies From Lung, Heart, and Liver of 7 Deceased COVID-19 Patients

text: Background. A novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been affecting almost all nations around the world. Most infected patients who have been admitted to intensive care units show SARS signs. In this study, we aimed to achieve a better understanding of pathological alterations that take place during the novel coronavirus infection in most presumed affected organs. Methods. We performed postmortem core needle biopsies from lung, heart, and liver on 7 deceased patients who had died of coronavirus disease 2019. Prepared tissue sections were observed by 2 expert pathologists. Results. Diffuse alveolar damage was the main pathologic finding in the lung tissue samples. Patients with hospitalization durations of more than 10 days showed evidence of organization. Multinucleated cells in alveolar spaces and alveolar walls, atypical enlarged cells, accumulation of macrophages in alveolar spaces, and congestion of vascular channels were the other histopathologic alteration of the lung. None of our heart biopsy samples met the criteria for myocarditis. Liver biopsies showed congestion, micro- and macro-vesicular changes, and minimal to mild portal inflammation, in the majority of cases. Conclusions. Similar to the previous coronavirus infection in 2003, the main pathologic finding in the lung was diffuse alveolar damage with a pattern of organization in prolonged cases. The SARS-CoV-2 infection does not cause myocarditis, and the ischemia of myocardium is the most probable justification of the observed pathologic changes in the heart. Liver tissue sections mostly showed nonspecific findings; however, ischemia of the liver can be identified in some cases.


Coronavirus outbreak: the role of companies in preparedness and responses


Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Radiology Education-Strategies for Survival


title: Human Coronavirus Data from Four Clinical Trials of Masks and Respirators

text: There are few published data on the protection of masks or respirators against coronavirus infections. This is an important research question to inform the response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The transmission modes of human coronaviruses are similar, thought to be by droplet, contact and sometimes airborne routes. There are several randomised clinical trials of masks and respirators, but most used clinical endpoints or tested only for influenza. In four trials which we conducted, we tested for human coronaviruses, but only composite viral endpoints were reported in the trials. We reviewed and analysed the coronavirus data from four of our trials. Laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections were identified in our community household trial (1 case), health worker trials (8 cases) and trial of mask use by sick patients (19 cases). No coronavirus infections were transmitted in households to parents who wore P2 or surgical masks, but one child with coronavirus infection transmitted infection to a parent in the control arm. No transmissions to close contacts occurred when worn by sick patients with coronavirus infections. There was a higher risk of coronavirus infection in HCWs who wore a mask compared to a respirator, but the difference was not statistically significant. These are the only available data on coronavirus infections associated with mask or respirator use. More clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy of respiratory protection against coronavirus infections.


Protect against market exclusivity in the fight against COVID-19


Severe hypocalcemia in a thyroidectomized woman with Covid-19 infection


Peribronchial Consolidation with Surrounding Ground-Glass Opacity in COVID-19 Pneumonia: 3D Reconstruction of a Chest Computed Tomography


text: Peribronchial Consolidation with Surrounding Ground-Glass Opacity in COVID-19 Pneumonia: 3D Reconstruction of a Chest Computed Tomography.


Cleveland Clinic Akron General Urology Residency Program's COVID-19 Experience


title: Hospitalization and Critical Care of 109 Decedents with COVID-19 Pneumonia in Wuhan, China

text: Rationale: The current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, China, spreads across national and international borders. The overall death rate of COVID-19 pneumonia in the Chinese population was 4%.Objectives: To describe the process of hospitalization and critical care of patients who died of COVID-19 pneumonia.Methods: This was a multicenter observational study of 109 decedents with COVID-19 pneumonia from three hospitals in Wuhan. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were collected and analyzed, and the final date of follow-up was February 24, 2020.Results: The mean age of 109 decedents with COVID-19 pneumonia was 70.7 years, 35 patients (32.1%) were female, and 85 patients (78.0%) suffered from one or more underlying comorbidities. Multiple organ failure, especially respiratory failure and heart failure, appeared in all patients even at the early stage of disease. Overall, the mean time from onset of symptoms to death was 22.3 days. All 109 hospitalized patients needed admission to an intensive care unit (ICU); however, because of limited availability, only 51 (46.8%) could be admitted. The period from hospitalization to death in the ICU group and non-ICU group was 15.9 days (standard deviation = 8.8 d) and 12.5 days (8.6 d, P = 0.044), respectively.Conclusions: Mortality due to COVID-19 pneumonia was concentrated in patients above the age of 65 years, especially those with major comorbidities. Patients who were admitted to the ICU lived longer than those who were not. Our findings should aid in the recognition and clinical management of such infections, especially with regard to ICU resource allocation.


Acute Start Peritoneal Dialysis during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Outcomes and Experiences


COVID and CopMich: comparing and contrasting COVID-19 experiences in the USA and Scandinavia


title: Providing care for the 99.9% during the COVID-19 pandemic: How ethics, equity, epidemiology, and cost per QALY inform healthcare policy

text: Managing healthcare in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) era should be guided by ethics, epidemiology, equity, and economics, not emotion. Ethical healthcare policies ensure equitable access to care for patients regardless of whether they have COVID-19 or another disease. Because healthcare resources are limited, a cost per Quality Life Year (QALY) approach to COVID-19 policy should also be considered. Policies that focus solely on mitigating COVID-19 are likely to be ethically or financially unsustainable. A cost/QALY approach could target resources to optimally improve QALYs. For example, most COVID-19 deaths occur in long-term care facilities, and this problem is likely better addressed by a focused long-term care reform than by a society-wide non-pharmacological intervention. Likewise, ramping up elective, non-COVID-19 care in low prevalence regions while expanding testing and case tracking in hot spots could reduce excess mortality from non-COVID-19 diseases and decrease adverse financial impacts while controlling the epidemic. Globally, only â¼0.1% of people have had a COVID-19 infection. Thus, ethical healthcare policy must address the needs of the 99.9%.


'Ring of fire' appearance in COVID-19 pneumonia


Face masks in the covid-19 crisis: caveats, limits, and priorities


20-Year Synthetic Biology Research Roadmap: Implications for Vaccine Development and Future Research


title: Strengthening the Power of Nurses in Combating COVID-19

text: In December 2019, several novel coronavirus infections were firstly reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China, and the outbreak is quickly expanding locally and globally. World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2020a) announced the coronavirus epidemic as an "International Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)" on January 30, 2020.


Data Safety Monitoring during Covid-19: Keep On Keeping On


title: Echo Chambers on Social Media: A comparative analysis

text: Recent studies have shown that online users tend to select information adhering to their system of beliefs, ignore information that does not, and join groups - i.e., echo chambers - around a shared narrative. Although a quantitative methodology for their identification is still missing, the phenomenon of echo chambers is widely debated both at scientific and political level. To shed light on this issue, we introduce an operational definition of echo chambers and perform a massive comparative analysis on more than 1B pieces of contents produced by 1M users on four social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Gab. We infer the leaning of users about controversial topics - ranging from vaccines to abortion - and reconstruct their interaction networks by analyzing different features, such as shared links domain, followed pages, follower relationship and commented posts. Our method quantifies the existence of echo-chambers along two main dimensions: homophily in the interaction networks and bias in the information diffusion toward likely-minded peers. We find peculiar differences across social media. Indeed, while Facebook and Twitter present clear-cut echo chambers in all the observed dataset, Reddit and Gab do not. Finally, we test the role of the social media platform on news consumption by comparing Reddit and Facebook. Again, we find support for the hypothesis that platforms implementing news feed algorithms like Facebook may elicit the emergence of echo-chambers.


Information Diet in Covid-19 Crisis;a Commentary


Viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples


COVID-19: Nephrology preparedness checklist


Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding: Not a rare phenomenon


title: Outcomes in Patients with COVID-19 Infection Taking ACEI/ARB

text: PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for the aggressive coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Recently, investigators have stipulated that COVID-19 patients receiving angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) may be subject to poorer outcomes. This editorial presents the available evidence to guide treatment practices during this pandemic. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies from Wuhan cohorts provide valuable information about COVID-19. A cohort with 52 critically ill patients revealed cardiac injury in 12% of patients. Worse outcomes appear to be more prevalent in patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM), possibly due to overexpression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor in airway alveolar epithelial cells. Investigators suspect that SARS-CoV-2 uses the ACE2 receptor to enter the lungs in a mechanism similar to SARS-CoV. Several hypotheses have been proposed to date regarding the net effect of ACEI/ARB on COVID-19 infections. Positive effects include ACE2 receptor blockade, disabling viral entry into the heart and lungs, and an overall decrease in inflammation secondary to ACEI/ARB. Negative effects include a possible retrograde feedback mechanism, by which ACE2 receptors are upregulated. Even though physiological models of SARS-CoV infection show a theoretical benefit of ACEI/ARB, these findings cannot be extrapolated to SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19. Major cardiology scientific associations, including ACC, HFSA, AHA, and ESC Hypertension Council, have rejected these correlation hypotheses. After an extensive literature review, we conclude that there is no significant evidence to support an association for now, but given the rapid evolvement of this pandemic, findings may change.


title: Large Arabic Twitter Dataset on COVID-19

text: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), emerged late December 2019 in China, is now rapidly spreading across the globe. At the time of writing this paper, the number of global confirmed cases has passed two millions and half with over 180,000 fatalities. Many countries have enforced strict social distancing policies to contain the spread of the virus. This have changed the daily life of tens of millions of people, and urged people to turn their discussions online, e.g., via online social media sites like Twitter. In this work, we describe the first Arabic tweets dataset on COVID-19 that we have been collecting since January 1st, 2020. The dataset would help researchers and policy makers in studying different societal issues related to the pandemic. Many other tasks related to behavioral change, information sharing, misinformation and rumors spreading can also be analyzed.


Temperature and COVID-19: India


title: Efficacy of slit lamp breath shields

text: PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of slit lamp breath shields to prevent droplet spray from a simulated sneeze. DESIGN: Experimental study to test effectiveness of personal protective equipment. METHODS: The nozzle of a spray gun was adjusted to angularly disperse a mist of colored dye that approximated a patient sneezing on a dimensionally accurate cardboard slit lamp model. We tested the designs of six commercially available breath shields, and one breath shield repurposed from a plastic container lid. Each breath shield was sprayed in a standardized fashion three times and the amount of overspray compared with no shield was quantified. The surface area that was sprayed was calculated using Adobe Photoshop's color range function. The average percentage of overspray of each breath shield was computed in comparison to the control. RESULTS: The breath shields ranged in surface area from 116-1254 cm2 and the amount of overspray varied from 54% to virtually none. Larger breath shields offered better protection than smaller ones. Breath shields attached to the objective lens arm were a better barrier than those hung by the oculars of comparable size. A repurposed plastic lid breath shield was 513cm2, was slightly curved toward the examiner's face, and allowed only 2% overspray. The largest breath shield (1254 cm2) hung near the oculars and prevented essentially all the overspray. CONCLUSION: The performance of different designs of breath shields is variable. Even high functioning shields should be used in conjunction with personal protective equipment including masks, goggles and gloves, and handwashing. Ideally patients should also wear a cloth mask during all slit lamp exams.


SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Upper Respiratory Specimens of Infected Patients


title: COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on the air quality during the partial lockdown in São Paulo state, Brazil

text: In early March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 as a pandemic, and in late March 2020 partial lockdown was ordered by the São Paulo state government. The aim of this study was to assess impacts on air quality in São Paulo - Brazil, during the partial lockdown implemented to provide social distancing required due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have analyzed data from four air quality stations in São Paulo, Brazil to assess air pollutant concentration variations during the partial lockdown. Data were compared to the five-year monthly mean and to the four-week before the partial lockdown. Overall, drastic reductions on NO (up to -77.3%), NO2 (up to -54.3%), and CO (up to -64.8%) concentrations were observed in the urban area during partial lockdown compared to the five-year monthly mean. By contrast, an increase of approximately 30% in ozone concentrations was observed in urban areas highly influenced by vehicle traffic, probably related to nitrogen monoxide decreases. Although the partial lockdown has contributed to a positive impact on air quality, it is important to take into account the negative impacts on social aspects, considering the deaths caused by COVID-19 and also the dramatic economic effects.


title: The Role of Medical Student Government in Responding to COVID-19

text: The COVID-19 outbreak has sown clinical and administrative chaos at academic health centers throughout the country. As COVID-19-related burdens on the health care system and medical schools piled up, questions from medical students far outweighed the capacity of medical school administrators to respond in an adequate or timely manner, leaving students feeling confused and without clear guidance. In this Perspective, incoming and outgoing executive leaders of the University of Michigan Medical School Student Council and medical school deans outline the specific ways they were able to bridge the gap between medical students and administrators in a time of crisis. To illustrate the value of student government during uncertain times, the authors identify the most pressing problems faced by students at each phase of the curriculum-preclerkship, clerkship, and postclerkship-and explain how Student Council leadership partnered with administrators to find creative solutions to these problems and provide guidance to learners. They end by reflecting on the role of student government more broadly, identifying 3 guiding principles of student leadership and how these principles enable effective student representation.


Bilirubin levels in patients with mild and severe Covid-19: A pooled analysis


title: Monitoring COVID-19 through Trends in Influenza-like Illness and Laboratory-confirmed Influenza and COVID-19 - New York State, excluding New York City, January 1 - April 12, 2020

text: Innovative monitoring approaches are needed to track the COVID-19 epidemic and potentially assess the impact of community mitigation interventions. In this report, we present temporal data on influenza-like illness, influenza diagnosis and COVID-19 cases for all four regions of New York State through the first six weeks of the outbreak.


title: Recommandations CCAFU sur la prise en charge des cancers de l'appareil urogénital en période d'épidémie au Coronavirus COVID-19./ [Recommendations CCAFU on the management of cancers of the urogenital system during an epidemic with Coronavirus COVID-19]

text: AIM: The French population is facing the COVID-19 pandemic and the health system have been reoriented in emergency for the care of patients with coronavirus. The management of cancers of the urinary and male genital tracts must be adapted to this context. MATERIAL AND METHOD: An expert opinion documented by a literature review was formulated by the Cancerology Committee of the French Association of Urology (CCAFU). RESULTS: The medical and surgical management of patients with any cancers of the urinary and male genital tracts must be adapted by modifying the consultation methods, by prioritizing interventions according to the intrinsic prognosis of cancers, taking into account the patient's comorbidities. The protection of urologists from COVID-19 must be considered. CONCLUSION: The CCAFU issues an expert opinion on the measure to be taken to adapt the management of cancers of the male urinary and genital tract to the context of pandemic by COVID-19.


COVID-19: Possible reasons for the increased prevalence of Olfactory and Gustatory dysfunction observed in European studies


Decline in invasive pneumococcus diseases while combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan


A recommendation for IVF lab practice in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic


title: A high ATP concentration enhances the cooperative translocation of the SARS coronavirus helicase nsP13 in the unwinding of duplex RNA

text: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus nonstructural protein 13 (SCV nsP13), a superfamily 1 helicase, plays a central role in viral RNA replication through the unwinding of duplex RNA and DNA with a 5' single-stranded tail in a 5' to 3' direction. Despite its putative role in viral RNA replication, nsP13 readily unwinds duplex DNA by cooperative translocation. Herein, nsP13 exhibited different characteristics in duplex RNA unwinding than that in duplex DNA. nsP13 showed very poor processivity on duplex RNA compared with that on duplex DNA. More importantly, nsP13 inefficiently unwinds duplex RNA by increasing the 5'-ss tail length. As the concentration of nsP13 increased, the amount of unwound duplex DNA increased and that of unwound duplex RNA decreased. The accumulation of duplex RNA/nsP13 complexes increased as the concentration of nsP13 increased. An increased ATP concentration in the unwinding of duplex RNA relieved the decrease in duplex RNA unwinding. Thus, nsP13 has a strong affinity for duplex RNA as a substrate for the unwinding reaction, which requires increased ATPs to processively unwind duplex RNA. Our results suggest that duplex RNA is a preferred substrate for the helicase activity of nsP13 than duplex DNA at high ATP concentrations.


title: Cardiac imaging in congenital heart disease during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic: recommendations from the Working Group on Congenital Heart Disease of the Italian Society of Cardiology

text: : The recent outbreak of 2019 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 is having major repercussions on healthcare services provision in Italy and worldwide. Data suggest the virus has a strong impact on the cardiovascular system, and cardiac imaging will play an important role in patients affected by coronavirus disease-2019. Although paediatric patients are mildly affected, they represent a clear accelerator in spreading the virus, and healthcare workers are at higher risk of infection. The aim of this position paper is to provide clinical recommendation regarding the execution of imaging investigations for the cardiac diagnostic work-up of paediatric patients with suspected or confirmed infection.


SARS-CoV-2 Receptor ACE2 is upregulated in Colonic Organoids from Hypertensive Rats


Comment on: COVID-19: a recommendation to examine the effect of hydroxychloroquine in preventing infection and progression


Los derechos humanos de los niños con discapacidad durante emergencias sanitarias: el desafío de COVID-19


The day after COVID-19


title: Lessons from dermatology about inflammatory responses in Covid-19

text: The SARS-Cov-2 is a single-stranded RNA virus composed of 16 non-structural proteins (NSP 1-16) with specific roles in the replication of coronaviruses. NSP3 has the property to block host innate immune response and to promote cytokine expression. NSP5 can inhibit interferon (IFN) signalling and NSP16 prevents MAD5 recognition, depressing the innate immunity. Dendritic cells, monocytes, and macrophages are the first cell lineage against viruses' infections. The IFN type I is the danger signal for the human body during this clinical setting. Protective immune responses to viral infection are initiated by innate immune sensors that survey extracellular and intracellular space for foreign nucleic acids. In Covid-19 the pathogenesis is not yet fully understood, but viral and host factors seem to play a key role. Important points in severe Covid-19 are characterized by an upregulated innate immune response, hypercoagulopathy state, pulmonary tissue damage, neurological and/or gastrointestinal tract involvement, and fatal outcome in severe cases of macrophage activation syndrome, which produce a 'cytokine storm'. These systemic conditions share polymorphous cutaneous lesions where innate immune system is involved in the histopathological findings with acute respiratory distress syndrome, hypercoagulability, hyperferritinemia, increased serum levels of D-dimer, lactic dehydrogenase, reactive-C-protein and serum A amyloid. It is described that several polymorphous cutaneous lesions similar to erythema pernio, urticarial rashes, diffuse or disseminated erythema, livedo racemosa, blue toe syndrome, retiform purpura, vesicles lesions, and purpuric exanthema or exanthema with clinical aspects of symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema. This review describes the complexity of Covid-19, its pathophysiological and clinical aspects.


title: Geographic risk assessment of COVID-19 transmission using recent data: An observational study

text: BACKGROUND: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regularly issues "travel health notices" that address disease outbreaks of novel coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 in destinations worldwide. The notices are classified into 3 levels based on the risk posed by the outbreak and what precautions should be in place to prevent spreading. What objectively observed criteria of these COVID-19 situations are required for classification and visualization? This study aimed to visualize the epidemic outbreak and the provisional case fatality rate (CFR) using the Rasch model and Bayes's theorem and developed an algorithm that classifies countries/regions into categories that are then shown on Google Maps. METHODS: We downloaded daily COVID-19 outbreak numbers for countries/regions from the GitHub website, which contains information on confirmed cases in more than 30 Chinese locations and other countries/regions. The Rasch model was used to estimate the epidemic outbreak for each country/region using data from recent days. All responses were transformed by using the logarithm function. The Bayes's base CFRs were computed for each region. The geographic risk of transmission of the COVID-19 epidemic was thus determined using both magnitudes (i.e., Rasch scores and CFRs) for each country. RESULTS: The top 7 countries were Iran, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Spain, China (Hubei), and France, with values of {4.53, 3.47, 3.18, 1.65, 1.34 1.13, 1.06} and {13.69%, 0.91%, 47.71%, 0.23%, 24.44%, 3.56%, and 16.22%} for the outbreak magnitudes and CFRs, respectively. The results were consistent with the US CDC travel advisories of warning level 3 in China, Iran, and most European countries and of level 2 in South Korea on March 16, 2020. CONCLUSION: We created an online algorithm that used the CFRs to display the geographic risks to understand COVID-19 transmission. The app was developed to display which countries had higher travel risks and aid with the understanding of the outbreak situation.


title: Impact of disease on plasma and lung exposure of chloroquine, hydroxy-chloroquine and azithromycin: application of PBPK modelling

text: We use a mechanistic lung model to demonstrate that accumulation of chloroquine (CQ), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin (AZ) in the lungs is sensitive to changes in lung pH, a parameter that can be affected in patients with COVID-19. A reduction in pH from 6.7 to 6 in the lung, as observed in respiratory disease, led to 20-, 4.0- and 2.7-fold increases in lung exposure of CQ, HCQ and AZ, respectively. Simulations indicated that the relatively high concentrations of CQ and HCQ in lung tissue were sustained long after administration of the drugs had stopped. Patients with COVID-19 often present with kidney failure. Our simulations indicate that renal impairment (plus lung pH reduction) caused 30-, 8.0- and 3.4-fold increases in lung exposures for CQ, HCQ and AZ, respectively, with relatively small accompanying increases (20 to 30%) in systemic exposure. Although a number of different dosage regimens were assessed, the purpose of our study was not to provide recommendations for a dosing strategy, but to demonstrate the utility of a PBPK modelling approach to estimate lung concentrations. This, used in conjunction with robust in vitro and clinical data, can help in the assessment of COVID-19 therapeutics going forward.


Retraction-Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis


How Much Covid-19 Will Change the World


The Management of Patients With Lung Cancer During the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019


title: Chest CT findings of COVID-19 pneumonia by duration of symptoms

text: PURPOSE: To evaluate lung abnormalities on thin-section computed tomographic (CT) scans in patients with COVID-19 and correlate findings to duration of symptoms. METHODS: In total, 348 CT scans in 112 patients were classified according to the time after the onset of the initial symptoms, namely stage-1 (0-4 days); stage-2 (5-9 days); stage-3 (10-14 days); stage-4 (15-21 days); stage-5 (22-28 days); and stage-6 (ï¼28 days). Each lung lobe was evaluated for extent affected by ground-glass opacities (GGO), crazy-paving pattern and consolidation, in five categories of percentual severity. Summation of scores from all five lung lobes provided the total CT score (maximal CT score, 25). RESULTS: The predominant patterns of lung abnormalities were GGOs, crazy-paving pattern, consolidation and linear opacities. The frequency of crazy-paving pattern, consolidation and linear opacities peaked at stage-3 (62.7 %), stage-4 (75.0 %) and stage-5 (83.1 %), respectively, and decreased thereafter. Total CT scores increased from stage-1 to stage-2 (2.8 ± 3.1, vs. 6.5 ± 4.6, respectively, P < 0.01), and thereafter remained high. The lower lobes were more inclined to be involved with higher CT scores except for stage-1. At stage-6 98.1 % of CT scans still showed abnormalities (CT score 7.5 ± 4.1). CONCLUSION: Thin-section CT could provide semi-quantitative analysis of pulmonary damage severity. This disease changed rapidly at the early stage, then tended to be stable and lasted for a long time.


title: Anti-RAS drugs and SARS-CoV-2 infection

text: â¢There is no enough evidence to indicate that ACEIs and ARBs result in ACE2 upregulation.â¢The level of ACE2 expression is not completely related with the risk of COVID-19 infection.â¢There is currently no evidence that ACEI/ARB increase risk for COVID-19 infection from clinical trials.â¢It is not recommended that COVID-19 patients with hypertension or normal hypertensive patients at risk for exposure to stop using ACEI/ARB or change to other antihypertensive drugs.


Toward understanding the 2019 Coronavirus and its impact on the heart


Children's role in pandemic is still a puzzle


Long term care settings in the times of the COVID-19: Challenges and future directions


Comment on "Digital Mental Health and COVID-19: Using Technology Today to Accelerate the Curve on Access and Quality Tomorrow": A UK Perspective


title: Introductions and early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in France, 24 January to 23 March 2020

text: Following SARS-CoV-2 emergence in China, a specific surveillance was implemented in France. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences retrieved through this surveillance suggests that detected initial introductions, involving non-clade G viruses, did not seed local transmission. Nevertheless, identification of clade G variants subsequently circulating in the country, with the earliest from a patient who neither travelled to risk areas nor had contact with travellers, suggests that SARS-CoV-2 might have been present before the first recorded local cases.


Delayed diagnosis of COVID-19 in a 34-year-old man with atypical presentation


Cardiac arrest in a COVID-19 patient after receiving succinylcholine for tracheal reintubation


Key highlights from the Canadian Thoracic Society's Position Statement on the Optimization of Asthma Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic


title: COVID-19 forecasting based on an improved interior search algorithm and multi-layer feed forward neural network

text: COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was emerged in December 2019 within Wuhan, China. As the crisis of its serious increasing dynamic outbreak in all parts of the globe, the forecast maps and analysis of confirmed cases (CS) becomes a vital great changeling task. In this study, a new forecasting model is presented to analyze and forecast the CS of COVID-19 for the coming days based on the reported data since 22 Jan 2020. The proposed forecasting model, named ISACL-MFNN, integrates an improved interior search algorithm (ISA) based on chaotic learning (CL) strategy into a multi-layer feed-forward neural network (MFNN). The ISACL incorporates the CL strategy to enhance the performance of ISA and avoid the trapping in the local optima. By this methodology, it is intended to train the neural network by tuning its parameters to optimal values and thus achieving high-accuracy level regarding forecasted results. The ISACL-MFNN model is investigated on the official data of the COVID-19 reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) to analyze the confirmed cases for the upcoming days. The performance regarding the proposed forecasting model is validated and assessed by introducing some indices including the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and the comparisons with other optimization algorithms are presented. The proposed model is investigated in the most affected countries (i.e., USA, Italy, and Spain). The experimental simulations illustrate that the proposed ISACL-MFNN provides promising performance rather than the other algorithms while forecasting task for the candidate countries.


title: Economic analysis of healthcare-associated infection prevention and control interventions in medical and surgical units: Systematic review using a discounting approach

text: BACKGROUND: Nosocomial or healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are associated with a financial burden that affects both patients and healthcare institutions worldwide. The clinical best care practices (CBPs) of hand hygiene, hygiene and sanitation, screening, and basic and additional precautions aim to reduce this burden. The COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed these four CBPs are critically important prevention practices that limit the spread of HCAIs. AIM: This paper conducted a systematic review of economic evaluations related to these four CBPs using a discounting approach. METHODS: We searched for articles published between 2000 and 2019. We included economic evaluations of infection prevention and control of Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhoea, meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli. Results were analyzed with: cost-minimization, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, cost-benefit and cost-consequence analyses. Articles were assessed for quality. RESULTS: A total of 11 898 articles were screened and seven were included. Most studies (4/7) were of overall moderate quality. All studies demonstrated cost effectiveness of CBPs. The average yearly net cost savings from the CBPs ranged from $252 847 (2019 $CAD) to $1 691 823 depending on the rate of discount (3% and 8%). The average incremental benefit cost ratio of CBPs varied from 2.48 to 7.66. CONCLUSION: In order to make efficient use of resources and maximize health benefits, ongoing research in the economic evaluation of infection control should be carried out to support evidence-based healthcare policy decisions.


title: Identification of nsp1 gene as the target of SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR using nanopore whole-genome sequencing

text: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 using molecular assays is critical for patient management and the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is an increasing number of SARS-CoV-2 viruses with mutations at the primer or probe binding sites, and these mutations may affect the sensitivity of currently available real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays targeting the nucleocapsid (N), envelope (E), and open reading frame 1a or 1b genes. Using sequence-independent single-primer amplification and nanopore whole-genome sequencing, we have found that the nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1) gene, located at the 5' end of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, was highly expressed in the nasopharyngeal or saliva specimens of 9 COVID-19 patients of different clinical severity. Based on this finding, we have developed a novel nsp1 real-time RT-PCR assay. The primers and probes are highly specific for SARS-CoV-2. Validation with 101 clinical specimens showed that our nsp1 RT-PCR assay has a sensitivity of 93.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 86.2%-97.2%), which was similar to those of N and E gene RT-PCR assays. The diagnostic specificity was 100% (95% CI: 92.9%-100%). The addition of nsp1 for multitarget detection of SARS-CoV-2 can avoid false-negative results due to mutations at the primers/probes binding sites of currently available RT-PCR assays.


title: COVID-19 complicated by parainfluenza co-infection in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

text: The number of people suffering from the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 continues to rise. In SARS-CoV-2, superinfection with bacteria or fungi seems to be associated with increased mortality. The role of co-infections with respiratory viral pathogens has not yet been clarified. Here, we report the course of COVID-19 in a CLL patient with secondary immunodeficiency and viral co-infection with parainfluenza.


title: Response to Commentary on "The neuroinvasive potential of SARS-CoV-2 may play a role in the respiratory failure of COVID-19 patients"

text: In a recent review, we have suggested a neuroinvasive potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its possible role in the causation of acute respiratory failure of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients (J Med Viol doi: 10.1002/jmv.25728), based upon the clinical and experimental data available on the past SARS-CoV-1 and the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In this article, we provide new evidence recently reported regarding the neurotropic potential of SARS-CoV-2 and respond to several comments on our previously published article. In addition, we also discuss the peculiar manifestations of respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients and the possible involvement of nervous system.


title: [Covid-19 in patients on dialysis: infection prevention and control strategies]

text: Covid-19 is a disease caused by a new coronavirus presenting a variability of flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, myalgia and fatigue;in severe cases, patients develop pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and septic shock, that can result in their death This infection, which was declared a global epidemic by the World Health Organization, is particularly dangerous for dialysis patients, as they are frail and more vulnerable to infections due to the overlap of multiple pathologies In patients with full-blown symptoms, there is a renal impairment of various degrees in 100% of the subjects observed However, as Covid-19 is an emerging disease, more work is needed to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies It is essential to avoid nosocomial spread;in order to control and reduce the rate of infections it is necessary to strengthen the management of medical and nursing personnel through the early diagnosis, isolation and treatment of patients undergoing dialysis treatment We cover here a series of recommendations for the treatment of dialysis patients who are negative to the virus, and of those who are suspected or confirmed positive


Covid-19: Trump cancels all flights from Europe, apart from the UK


COVID-19 outbreak: The early response of a UK orthopaedic department


title: Dos terapias conocidas podrían ser efectivas como adyuvantes en el paciente crítico infectado por COVID-19./ Dos terapias conocidas podrían ser efectivas como adyuvantes en el paciente crítico infectado por COVID-19./ Two known therapies could be useful as adjuvant therapy in critical patients infected by COVID-19

text: Pneumonia caused by coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, has been spread around the world already becoming a pandemic. Unfortunately, there is not yet a specific vaccine or effective antiviral drug for treating COVID-19. Many of these patients deteriorate rapidly and require intubation and are mechanically ventilated, which is causing the collapse of the health system in many countries due to lack of ventilators and intensive care beds. In this document we review two simple adjuvant therapies to administer, without side effects, and low cost that could be useful for the treatment of acute severe coronavirus infection associated with acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). VitaminC, a potent antioxidant, has emerged as a relevant therapy due to its potential benefits when administered intravenous. The potential effect of vitaminC in reducing inflammation in the lungs could play a key role in lung injury caused by coronavirus infection. Another potential effective therapy is ozone: it has been extensively studied and used for many years and its effectiveness has been demonstrated so far in multiples studies. Nevertheless, our goal is not to make an exhaustive review of these therapies but spread the beneficial effects themselves. Obviously clinical trials are necessaries, but due to the potential benefit of these two therapies we highly recommended to add to the therapeutic arsenal.


title: Expanding coverage for essential care during COVID-19

text: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will exacerbate the financial situations of the millions of Americans who struggle to afford their medical care, but policy solutions are available to quickly mitigate this problem.


Les traitements à base d'hydroxychloroquine dans le cadre de la pandémie de CoViD-19


Wearing the N95 mask with a plastic handle reduces pressure injury


title: AAR-LN-DQ: Automatic Anatomy Recognition based Disease Quantification in Thoracic Lymph Node Zones via FDG PET/CT images without Nodal Delineation

text: PURPOSE: The derivation of quantitative information from medical images in a practical manner is essential for quantitative radiology (QR) to become a clinical reality, but still faces a major hurdle because of image segmentation challenges. With the goal of performing disease quantification in lymph node (LN) stations without explicit nodal delineation, this paper presents a novel approach for disease quantification (DQ) by automatic recognition of LN zones and detection of malignant lymph nodes within thoracic LN zones via positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images. Named AAR-LN-DQ, this approach decouples DQ methods from explicit nodal segmentation via a LN recognition strategy involving a novel globular filter and a deep neural network called SegNet. METHOD: The methodology consists of four main steps: (a) Building lymph node zones models by automatic anatomy recognition (AAR) method. It incorporates novel aspects of model building that relate to finding an optimal hierarchy for organs and lymph node zones in the thorax. (b) Recognizing lymph node zones by the built lymph node models. (c) Detecting pathologic LNs in the recognized zones by using a novel globular filter (g-filter) and a multi-level support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Here, we make use of the general globular shape of LNs to first localize them and then use a multi-level SVM classifier to identify pathologic LNs from among the LNs localized by the g-filter. Alternatively, we designed a deep neural network called SegNet which is trained to directly recognize pathologic nodes within AAR localized LN zones. (d) Disease quantification based on identified pathologic LNs within localized zones. A fuzzy disease map is devised to express the degree of disease burden at each voxel within the identified LNs to simultaneously handle several uncertain phenomena such as PET partial volume effects, uncertainty in localization of LNs, and gradation of disease content at the voxel level. We focused on the task of disease quantification in patients with lymphoma based on PET/CT acquisitions and devised a method of evaluation. Model building was carried out using 42 near-normal patient data sets via contrast-enhanced CT examinations of their thorax. PET/CT data sets from an additional 63 lymphoma patients were utilized for evaluating the AAR-LN-DQ methodology. We assess the accuracy of the three main processes involved in AAR-LN-DQ via 5-fold cross validation: lymph node zone recognition, abnormal lymph node localization, and disease quantification. RESULTS: The recognition and scale error for LN zones were 12.28 mm ± 1.99 and 0.94 ± 0.02, respectively, on normal CT data sets. On abnormal PET/CT data sets, the sensitivity and specificity of pathologic LN recognition were 84.1% ± 0.115 and 98.5% ± 0.003, respectively, for the g-filter-SVM strategy, and 91.3% ± 0.110 and 96.1% ± 0.016, respectively, for the SegNet method. Finally, the mean absolute percent errors for disease quantification of the recognized abnormal LNs were 8% ± 0.09 and 14% ± 0.10 for the g-filter-SVM method and the best SegNet strategy, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Accurate disease quantification on PET/CT images without performing explicit delineation of lymph nodes is feasible following lymph node zone and pathologic LN localization. It is very useful to perform LN zone recognition by AAR as this step can cover most (95.8%) of the abnormal LNs and drastically reduce the regions to search for abnormal LNs. This also improves the specificity of deep networks such as SegNet significantly. It is possible to utilize general shape information about LNs such as their globular nature via g-filter and to arrive at high recognition rates for abnormal LNs in conjunction with a traditional classifier such as SVM. Finally, the disease map concept is effective for estimating disease burden, irrespective of how the LNs are identified, to handle various uncertainties without having to address them explicitly one-by-one.


Imaging Findings in Four COVID-19 Patients


title: Influenza-associated pneumonia as reference to assess seriousness of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

text: Information on severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (transmissibility, disease seriousness, impact) is crucial for preparation of healthcare sectors. We present a simple approach to assess disease seriousness, creating a reference cohort of pneumonia patients from sentinel hospitals. First comparisons exposed a higher rate of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilation. There were more case fatalities among COVID-19 patients without comorbidities than in the reference cohort. Hospitals should prepare for high utilisation of ventilation and intensive care resources.


COVID-19, osteoarthritis and women's health


title: The role of triage in the prevention and control of COVID-19

text: OBJECTIVE: To prevent and control public health emergencies, we set up a prescreening and triage workflow and analyzed the effects on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: In accordance with the requirements of the level 1 emergency response of public health emergencies in Shaanxi Province, China, a triage process for COVID-19 was established to guide patients through a 4-level triage process during their hospital visits. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was based on positive COVID-19 nucleic acid testing according to the unified triage standards of the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (Trial version 4),4 issued by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. RESULTS: The screened rate of suspected COVID-19 was 1.63% (4 of 246) in the general fever outpatient clinic and 8.28% (13 of 157) in the COVID-19 outpatient clinic, and they showed a significant difference (P = .00). CONCLUSIONS: The triage procedure effectively screened the patients and identified the high-risk population.


Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Children: Indian Perspectives


South Africa's lockdown regulations and the reinforcement of anti-informality bias


title: Mega-COV: A Billion-Scale Dataset of 65 Languages For COVID-19

text: We describe Mega-COV, a billion-scale dataset from Twitter for studying COVID-19. The dataset is diverse (covers 234 countries), longitudinal (goes as back as 2007), multilingual (comes in 65 languages), and has a significant number of location-tagged tweets (~32M tweets). We release tweet IDs from the dataset, hoping it will be useful for studying various phenomena related to the ongoing pandemic and accelerating viable solutions to associated problems.


title: Proinflammatory Cytokines in the Olfactory Mucosa Result in COVID-19 Induced Anosmia

text: Studies have found increased rates of dysosmia in patients with Novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the mechanism that causes olfactory loss is unknown. The primary objective of this study was to explore local proinflammatory cytokine levels in the olfactory epithelium in patients with COVID-19. Biopsies of the olfactory epithelium were taken from patients with confirmed COVID-19 as well as uninfected controls. Levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1-beta (IL-1ß) were assessed using ELISA and compared between groups. Average TNF-α levels were significantly increased in the olfactory epithelium of the COVID-19 group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). However, no differences in IL-1ß were seen between groups. Elevated levels of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α were seen in the olfactory epithelium in patients with COVID-19. This suggests that direct inflammation of the olfactory epithelium could play a role in the acute olfactory loss described in many patients with COVID-19.


Summary of the latest information on novel coronavirus pneumonia as of February 12


title: Development of Genetic Diagnostic Methods for Novel Coronavirus 2019 (nCoV-2019) in Japan

text: At the end of 2019, pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus 2019 (nCoV) emerged in Wuhan city, China. Many airline travelers moved between Wuhan and Japan at that time, suggesting that Japan is at high risk of invasion by the virus. Diagnostic systems for 2019-nCoV were developed with urgency. Two nested RT-PCR assays and two real-time RT-PCR assays were adapted to local Japanese conditions. As of 8 February 2020, the assays developed have successfully detected 25 positive cases of infection in Japan.


title: The Role of Lipid Metabolism in COVID-19 Virus Infection and as a Drug Target

text: The current Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic has infected over two million people and resulted in the death of over one hundred thousand people at the time of writing this review. The disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Even though multiple vaccines and treatments are under development so far, the disease is only slowing down under extreme social distancing measures that are difficult to maintain. SARS-COV-2 is an enveloped virus that is surrounded by a lipid bilayer. Lipids are fundamental cell components that play various biological roles ranging from being a structural building block to a signaling molecule as well as a central energy store. The role lipids play in viral infection involves the fusion of the viral membrane to the host cell, viral replication, and viral endocytosis and exocytosis. Since lipids play a crucial function in the viral life cycle, we asked whether drugs targeting lipid metabolism, such as statins, can be utilized against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. In this review, we discuss the role of lipid metabolism in viral infection as well as the possibility of targeting lipid metabolism to interfere with the viral life cycle.


Genetic Analysis Tracks SARS-CoV-2 Mutations in Human Hosts


title: Good Inter- and Intra-Observer Reliability for Assessment of Radiographic Femoral and Tibial Frontal and Sagittal Planes Joints Angles in Normal Cats

text: OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-observer reliability of plain digital radiographs for assessing normal feline femoral and tibial joint reference angles in the sagittal and frontal planes. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cadaveric radiographic anatomical study. that involved 20 short-haired domestic adult cats. METHODS: Sagittal and frontal plane tibial and femoral joint angles of 40 limbs were measured twice by three observers with different levels of experience. Inter- and intraobserver reliability was determined by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). An ICC > 0.75 was considered high correlation, 0.74 > ICC > 0.60 good correlation, 0.59 > ICC > 0.4 fair correlation and an ICC < 0.40 poor correlation. RESULTS: Mean ± standard deviation angles were anatomic lateral proximal femoral angle (aLPFA) 110.6 ± 3.6; anatomic lateral distal femoral angle (aLDFA) 91.9 ± 2.1; mechanical lateral proximal femoral angle; mLPFA (mLPFA) 107.3 ± 3.6; mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA) 95.5 ± 1.7; femoral neck anteversion (FNA) 121.9 ± 4.1; anatomical caudal proximal femoral angle (aCPFA) 156.1 ± 3.9; anatomical caudal distal femoral angle (aCDFA) 101.4 ± 1.4; mechanical medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA) 93.5 ± 1.2; mechanical medial distal tibial angle (mMDTA) 100.5 ± 2.3; mechanical cranial proximal tibial angle (mCrPTA) 113.1 ± 3.2; tibial plateau angle (TPA) 23.1 ± 3.2; mechanical cranial proximal tibial angle (mCrDTA) 86.7 ± 3.1.The intra-observer ICC indicated high correlation for 70% or more of the measurements. The inter-observer agreement among observers was high. These results show that the radiographic method for measuring femoral and tibial joint angles was good or high, except for FNA and mCrDTA. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides some radiographic anatomical and mechanical joint angles of the femurs and tibias of normal domestic short-haired cats. We found good reliability for both intra- and interobserver measurements.


Asymptomatic and Pre-Symptomatic COVID-19 in China


Stroke in COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-1


Will COVID-19 lead to a major change of the EU Public Health mandate? A renewed approach to EU's role is needed


title: Let us unite against COVID-19 - a New Zealand perspective

text: Novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has shaken the existence of mankind worldwide, including that of New Zealand. In comparison to other countries, New Zealand has had a very low number of confirmed and probable cases as well as COVID-19-related deaths. New Zealand closed its borders and rapidly declared a stringent lockdown to eliminate COVID-19. The country's 'go hard, go early' policy serves as an exemplar for the rest of the world to date. The mysterious nature of COVID-19 has caused tremendous stress and uncertainty leading to universal conflict between public health and state economy. Mental health services and non-government organisations have been proactive in the fight against COVID-19. Though there has been no significant rise in referrals to secondary mental health services to date (4 May 2020), a rapid surge in mental health presentations is widely anticipated. Telehealth may prove to be an efficient and cost-effective tool for the provision of future health services.


title: Effects of Corticosteroid Treatment for Non-Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Propensity Score-Based Analysis

text: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The effects of corticosteroid treatment on non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients are unknown. To determine the impacts of adjuvant corticosteroid administrated to patients with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia. METHOD: A retrospective cohort study based on propensity score analysis was designed to explore the effects of corticosteroid on several clinical outcomes. RESULTS: 132 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria and 35 pairs were generated according to propensity score matching. Compared to non-corticosteroid group, the CT score on day 7 was significantly higher in corticosteroid group (8.6 (IQR, 2.8-11.5) versus 12.0 (IQR, 5.0-19.3), Pâ=â0.046). In corticosteroid group, more patients progressed to severe cases (11.4% versus 2.9%, Pâ=â0.353), hospital stay (23.5 days (IQR, 19-29 d) versus 20.2 days (IQR, 14-25.3 d), Pâ=â0.079) and duration of viral shedding (20.3 days (IQR, 15.2-24.8 d) versus 19.4 days (IQR, 11.5-28.3 d), Pâ=â0.669) were prolonged, while fever time (9.5 days (IQR, 6.5-12.2 d) versus 10.2 days (IQR, 6.8-14 d), Pâ=â0.28) was shortened, however all these data revealed no statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: Corticosteroid might have a negative effect on lung injury recovery in non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients, however the results of this study must be interpreted with caution because of confounding factors.


Febrile Infant: COVID-19 in Addition to the Usual Suspects


On the relationship between androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer and risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2


title: Hospital financial preparedness and covid-19

text: It is highly likely that COVID-19 will result in a drain on hospitals financial resources, not the least of which being cash Not all hospitals are financially prepared for any enduring loss of cash, with hospitals in few states being well prepared Those states that have experienced early cases of COVID-19 are less well prepared financially Several policy options merit consideration


title: COVID-19: Initial Perioperative and Perianesthesia Nursing Response in a Military Medical Center

text: Nurses have historically led efforts to improve the health of populations while simultaneously and unselfishly providing care during pivotal moments of national need. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented strain on the US health care system, including severe shortages of hospital beds, supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals, and healthy frontline clinicians. Perioperative and perianesthesia leaders and clinicians have unique opportunities to provide patient care during the COVID-19 crisis. In this manuscript, we describe the initial changing roles and contributions of perioperative and perianesthesia registered nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and share recent experiences from a military medical center. Perioperative and perianesthesia nurses are vital to the overall nursing viability of the health care system, as they possess the requisite knowledge and skills to provide expert clinical care in many hospital settings and meet the demands of a global pandemic.


Huge mass of the scalp: follicular lymphoma with complete regression after therapy


title: Publisher Correction: Science in the time of coronavirus

text: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.


Challenges of coronavirus disease 2019


Outcome of Parkinson's Disease Patients Affected by COVID-19


title: Assisted breastfeeding technique to improve knowledge, attitude, and practices of mothers with cleft lip- and palate-affected infants: A randomized trial

text: BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common developmental anomalies affecting the craniofacial region leading to an array of problems including the inability to feed properly. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of specially designed audio-visual module over traditional instructional module in improving the assisted breastfeeding habits. METHODOLOGY: Sixteen patients received training regarding the feeding practices through the traditional instructional method, and 16 subjects received training through audio-visual module. Infants in both the groups received the standard care. These infants were followed up longitudinally for 6 months. During the follow up period, the growth parameters were recorded monthly. The knowledge, attitude, and practices of the mothers regarding feeding practices were assessed using KAP questionnaire. RESULTS: There was significant improvement in the knowledge of the mothers from baseline to 6 months, however, the practices indicated that the mothers belonging to the audio-visual module group showed better understating of the condition and earlier adaptation of the breastfeeding practices. Correspondingly, the growth parameters also showed significant difference. CONCLUSION: The custom-made audio-visual module would help the mothers adapt better to the stressful situation following the birth of the infant affected with cleft lip and palate.


COVID-19 Pandemic and Acute Myocardial Infarction: Management Protocol From a British Cardiac Centre


Fear of COVID 2019: First suicidal case in India !


COVID-19: Possible Impact of the Genetic Background in IFNL Genes on Disease Outcomes