A novel use of network analysis in public health Developing a quantitative assessment method for the COVID-19 pandemic risk Exploring the time series of network density for early warning signals of pandemic risk Tracking the evolution of pandemic risk through the degree of connectedness.

COVID-19 originally known as Corona virus has been declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11th March 2020 This infectious disease discovered from Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has affected millions of people around the world Every country around the world is undergoing global economic crises and therefore, it s the need of an hour to predict the prevalence and incidence of this disease throughout the world This will help the medical practitioners and government agencies in India to make key decisions and appropriate measures to demystify the disease and prevent the country from global economic recession This paper aims to analyze the number of cases in India by utilizing the machine learning techniques and exploratory data analysis to observe the growth patterns and map the increase in the frequency of those infected The source of data was authentic COVID-19website which was showing confirmed diseased cases of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and India as a whole The count of confirmed cases taken from 14th March 2020 to 3rd September 2020 put together will help to know how effective the current efforts have been and also help to realize the need of working further to combat this virus This research focuses on predicting the possible number of confirmed cases using techniques of data mining, data analysis with particularly regression, clustering and predictive analysis The primary focus is to predict the number of cases in the coming month and finding out that whether there is relation between temperature with number of confirmed cases or not ? 2021 IEEE

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is changing the way we practice pathology, including fine needle aspiration (FNA) diagnostics. Although recommendations have been issued to prioritise patients at high oncological risk, postponing those with unsuspicious presentations, real world data have not been reported yet. METHODS: The percentages of the cytological sample types processed at the University of Naples Federico II, during the first 3 weeks of Italian national lockdown were compared with those of the same period in 2019. RESULTS: During the emergency, the percentage of cytology samples reported as malignant increased (p<0.001), reflecting higher percentages of breast (p=0.002) and lymph nodes FNAs (p=0.008), effusions (p<0.001) and urine (p=0.005). Conversely, thyroid FNAs (p<0.001) and Pap smears (p=0.003) were reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Even in times of covid-19 outbreak, cytological examination may be safely carried out in patients at high oncological risk, without the need to be postponed.

Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, psychological distress is increased. Transdiagnostic mechanisms, including trauma, personality functioning, mentalizing and emotion regulation are considered relevant to the development and maintenance of mental health problems and therefore may play a role in individuals reactions to the pandemic. Aim: To identify moderating and mediating factors associated with pandemic-related distress and mental health problems in adults and families, we aim to investigate the interactions of interpersonal trauma (childhood trauma and domestic violence), psychological capacities (personality functioning, mentalizing and emotion regulation) and pandemic-related adversity on psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we aim to investigate behavioral and cognitive consequences of the pandemic (e.g., media consumption, vaccination status, conspiracy beliefs). Methods: Using an online-based cross-sectional and longitudinal design, we will investigate a sample of adult participants recruited via online platforms in German-speaking countries over the course of 1 year with four measurements points via self-report instruments (personality functioning: PID5BF +; mentalizing: MentS, PRFQ; emotion regulation: DERS-SF; mental health problems: PHQ-9, GAD-7; a composite pandemic-related stress score). Structural equation and multi-level modeling will be performed for data analyses. Implications: This study will provide data on the moderating and mediating effects of trauma, personality functioning and mentalizing during the pandemic in a large community sample, particularly on vulnerable groups like families. Identifying transdiagnostic mechanisms of psychopathology in the course of a pandemic crisis may provide valuable insight for the development of pre- and intervention measures for potential psychological distress during and post the pandemic.

The use of telemedicine has grown immensely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine provides a means to deliver clinical care while limiting patient and provider exposure to the COVID-19. As such, telemedicine is finding applications in a variety of clinical environments including primary care and the acute care setting and the array of patient populations who use telemedicine continues to grow. Yet as telehealth becomes ubiquitous, it is critical to consider its potential to exacerbate disparities in care. Challenges accessing technology and digital literacy, for example, disproportionately impact older patients and those living in poverty. When implemented with the consideration of health disparities, telemedicine provides an opportunity to address these inequities. This manuscript explores potential mechanisms by which telemedicine may play a role in exacerbating or ameliorating disparities in care. We further describe a framework and suggested strategies with which to implement telemedicine systems to improve health equity.

It is highly desirable to improve the anti-slipping stability of the crimping structure for a reliable connection. This study innovatively presents a biomimetic strategy for designing a high-performance crimping structure for industrial hose assembly based on evidence that the special infundibulum dentis structure on the occlusal surface of ruminant molars has the potential of anti-slippage and can also reduce the risk of stress concentration. Utilizing reverse engineering technology, the three-dimensional (3D) digital model of the bovine molar was built as a representative prototype, and then corresponding characteristics of the infundibulum dentis were extracted with a fitting method for the bionic design of the crimping structure. Numerical simulations and experimental results both indicate that the bionic crimping structure has high resistance to slippage of hose body compared with the traditional type, and further, the formation mechanism of bionic anti-slipping performance was discussed.

ObjectiveTo systematically assess the diagnostic accuracy of rapid point-of-care tests for diagnosis of current SARS-CoV-2 infections in children under real-life conditions. Study designMultiple bibliographic databases including MEDLINE and Embase, clinical trial registries and further information sources were systematically searched for literature (last bibliographic search: May 7, 2021). Diagnostic cross-sectional or cohort studies that included pediatric study participants and evaluated rapid point-of care tests for diagnosing current SARS-CoV-2 infections against RT-PCR as the reference standard were eligible for inclusion. QUADAS-2 was used to assess the risk of bias and the applicability of the included studies. Bivariate meta-analyses with random effects were performed. Variability was assessed by subgroup analyses. ResultsWe included 17 studies with a total of 6355 pediatric study participants. All included studies compared antigen tests against RT-PCR. Only one study was at low risk of bias. The pooled overall diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in pediatric populations was 64.2% (95% CI: 57.4%-70.5%) and 99.1% (95% CI: 98.2%-99.5%), respectively. In symptomatic children, the pooled diagnostic sensitivity was 71.8% (95% CI: 63.6%-78.8%) and the pooled diagnostic specificity was 98.7% (95% CI: 96.6%-99.5%). The pooled diagnostic sensitivity in asymptomatic children was 56.2% (95% CI: 47.6%-64.4%) and the pooled diagnostic specificity was 98.6% (95% CI: 97.3%-99.3%). ConclusionsPerformance of current antigen tests under real-life conditions varies broadly. Policymakers should especially be aware of the low diagnostic sensitivity of current antigen tests. Results should be interpreted with caution since risk of bias was predominantly judged as unclear due to poor reporting. Study registrationCRD42021236313 (PROSPERO).

Abstract The COVID-19 outbreak has led to a focus by public health practitioners and scholars on ways to limit spread while facing unprecedented challenges and resource constraints. Recent COVID-19-specific enhanced Traffic Control Bundling (eTCB) recommendations provide a cogent framework for managing patient care pathways and reducing health care worker (HCW) and patient exposure to SARS-CoV-2. eTCB has been applied broadly and has proven to be effective in limiting fomite and droplet transmissions in hospitals and between hospitals and the surrounding community. At the same time, resource constrained conditions involving limited personal protective equipment (PPE), low testing availability, and variability in physical space can require modifications in the way hospitals implement eTCB. While eTCB has come to be viewed as the standard practice, COVID-19 related resource constraints often require hospital implementation teams to customize eTCB solutions. We provide and describe a cross-functional, collaborative on-the-ground adaptive application of eTCB initially piloted at two hospitals and subsequently reproduced at 16 additional hospitals and health systems in the US to date. By effectively facilitating eTCB deployment, hospital leaders and practitioners can establish clearer zones of risk and related protective practices that prevent transmission to HCWs and patients. We outline key insights and recommendations gained from recent implementation under the aforementioned constraints and a cross-functional team process that can be utilized by hospitals to most effectively adapt eTCB under resource constraints.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread reductions in mobility and induced observable changes in atmospheric emissions. Recent work has employed novel mobility datasets as a proxy for trace gas emissions from traffic by scaling CO2 emissions linearly with those near-real-time mobility data. Yet there has been little work evaluating these emission numbers. Here, we systematically compare these mobility datasets to traffic data from local governments in seven diverse urban and national/state regions to characterize the magnitude of errors that result from using the mobility data. We observe differences in excess of 60% between these mobility datasets and local traffic data. We could not find a general functional relationship between mobility data and traffic flow over all regions and observe higher deviations from using such general relationships than the original data. Finally, we give an overview of potential errors that come from estimating CO2 emissions using (mobility or traffic) activity data. Future work should be cautious when using these mobility metrics for emission estimates.

Relevance. The rapid spread of new pathogens inevitably leads to the occurrence of joint circulation with already known infectious agents, leading to the development of mixed infections. The simultaneous circulation of the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 with a highly contagious measles virus leads to the development of mixed infections in people who have not been sick or vaccinated against measles. Aims. Review cases of co-infection with measles and COVID-19 in Moscow. Material and methods. A retrospective study of cases of measles and COVID-19 co-infection in three children with a description of the epidemiological and clinical picture of the disease. Results. In all observed children, the manifestation of the disease was typical for measles, the diagnosis of COVID-19 was established based on a laboratory study carried out in a hospital, which gave reason to count. That the infection with SARS-CoV-2 occurred after the infection of children with measles. Conclusions. Different incubation periods can lead to several options for the development of co-infection. The similarity of clinical symptoms at the onset of the disease does not allow excluding a certain infection clinically, without laboratory verification. ? Zvereva NN et al.

The epidemic psychology of pandemics creates an atmosphere of panic and fear that can expedite new laws and facilitate criminogenic narrative arousal. Using narrative criminology, we discuss crimes that emerged from pandemic narratives in the early phases of the disease in Mexico. We show how pandemic master narratives have unexpected criminogenic effects; can be negotiated to make them criminogenic; and are opposed by more fundamentally criminogenic counter-narratives. We also show how pandemics repurpose justifications for traditional crimes and offer an opportunity for narrative repositioning of criminals. Societal crises intensify the continuous narrative negotiation that always underlies the meaning of crime. Pandemics can therefore act as a prism through which social scientists can see how crime is an ongoing narrative accomplishment.

We have previously identified methylene blue, a tricyclic phenothiazine dye approved for clinical use for the treatment of methemoglobinemia and used for other medical applications, as a small-molecule inhibitor of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and ACE2, the first critical step of the attachment and entry of this coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we show that methylene blue concentration-dependently inhibits this PPI for the spike protein of the original strain as well as for those of variants of concerns such as the D614G mutant and delta (B.1.617.2) with IC50 in the low micromolar range (1-5 M). Methylene blue also showed promiscuous activity and inhibited several other PPIs of viral proteins (e.g., HCoV-NL63 - ACE2, hepatitis C virus E - CD81) as well as others (e.g., IL-2 - IL-2R) with similar potency. This non-specificity notwithstanding, methylene blue inhibited the entry of pseudoviruses bearing the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in hACE2-expressing host cells both for the original strain and the delta variant. It also blocked SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.5) virus replication in Vero E6 cells with an IC50 in the low micromolar range (1.7 M) when assayed using quantitative PCR of the viral RNA. Thus, while it seems to be a promiscuous PPI inhibitor with low micromolar activity and it has a relatively narrow therapeutic index, methylene blue inhibits entry and replication of SARS-CoV-2, including several of its mutant variants, and has potential as a possible inexpensive, broad-spectrum, orally bioactive small-molecule antiviral for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

The advent of big data analytics tools in recent years has sparked interest from different communities to take advantage of data and plan the right strategy for their organization Data is meaningful only if it is processed correctly and transformed into some useful information This information is very helpful in planning strategies and various decision-making tasks COVID-19 is one such pandemic that has devastated the world on a large scale Every country is trying to make the best of the strategies to fight against this pandemic In this chapter, the analysis is performed on the global COVID-19 available data to get some meaningful insights about the disease Elasticsearchs Kibana dashboard has been used in this work which will be acting as a single viewpoint to get the insight of different statistics based on multiple key factors such as country-wise statistics, death ratio, gender distribution, infection rate, etc This data will be used to forecast multiple statistics for different countries It can be easily deployed over the web so that relevant authorities can utilize it as per their requirement A machine learning approach is also used in this study to predict future trends of COVID-19 pandemic This work will provide a good visualization over novel coronavirus and help us in planning better strategies to deal with this pandemic ? 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd

Liver transplantation is the only life-saving treatment for end-stage liver failure but is limited by the organ shortage and consequences of immunosuppression. Repopulation of decellularised scaffolds with recipient cells provides a theoretical solution, allowing reliable and timely organ sourcing without the need for immunosuppression. Recellularisation of the vasculature of decellularised liver scaffolds was investigated as an essential prerequisite to the survival of other parenchymal components. Liver decellularisation was carried out by portal vein perfusion using a detergent-based solution. Decellularised scaffolds were placed in a sterile perfusion apparatus consisting of a sealed organ chamber, functioning at 37C in normal atmospheric conditions. The scaffold was perfused via portal vein with culture medium. A total of 107 primary cultured bone marrow stem cells, selected by plastic adherence, were infused into the scaffold, after which repopulated scaffolds were perfused for up to 30 days. The cultured stem cells were assessed for key marker expression using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), and recellularised scaffolds were analysed by light, electron and immunofluorescence microscopy. Stem cells were engrafted in portal, sinusoidal and hepatic vein compartments, with cell alignment reminiscent of endothelium. Cell surface marker expression altered following engraftment, from haematopoietic to endothelial phenotype, and engrafted cells expressed sinusoidal endothelial endocytic receptors (mannose, Fc and stabilin receptors). These results represent one step towards complete recellularisation of the liver vasculature and progress towards the objective of generating transplantable neo-organs.

The South African governments COVID-19 pandemic risk mitigation strategies significantly limited social contact, which necessitated a novel approach to existing face-to-face career guidance practices. The Grade 9 Career Guidance Project, originally developed as a group-based career development intervention, required radical adaptation into a self-directed, manualized format to offer career guidance to Grade 9 learners from low-income communities amid a global pandemic. The adaptation and continuation of the project was deemed essential as secondary school learners in low-income communities have limited career guidance support. Furthermore, a close collaboration with the teachers at eight resource-constrained South African secondary schools was vital for successful implementation. To assess the success of the adaptation to a self-directed format, a mixed-methods design was employed, and Life Orientation teachers evaluative feedback was solicited (n = 11). Favorable quantitative results were obtained;majority of teachers agreed that learners enjoyed the booklet (manualized format) and that it was deemed an adequate substitute to the previous contact-based format of the Career Guidance Project. This was also confirmed by the qualitative findings revealing teachers satisfaction with the booklets content, specifically that the booklet is complementary to the Life Orientation curriculum. Qualitative findings identified specific contextual barriers that contributed to some learners struggling to use the booklet optimally. The results suggest that it is feasible and acceptable to implement a self-directed career guidance intervention among secondary school learners amid a global pandemic. Teachers recommended ways to integrate the booklet, resources, and contact sessions as a preferred way forward. These findings have important implications for similar resource-constrained settings that may not have readily access to in-person career guidance and counseling human development.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) is becoming increasingly serious In March 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated remdesivir for compassionate use to treat COVID-19 Thus, the development of novel antiviral agents, antibodies, and vaccines against COVID-19 is an urgent research subject Many laboratories and research organizations are actively investing in the development of new compounds for COVID-19 Through in silico high-throughput virtual screening, we have recently identified compounds from the compound library of Natural Products Research Laboratories (NPRL) that can bind to COVID-19 3L(pro) polyprotein and block COVID-19 3L(pro) activity through in silico high-throughput virtual screening Curcuminoid derivatives (including NPRL334, NPRL339, NPRL342, NPRL346, NPRL407, NPRL415, NPRL420, NPRL472, and NPRL473) display strong binding affinity to COVID-19 3L(pro) polyprotein The binding site of curcuminoid derivatives to COVID-19 3L(pro) polyprotein is the same as that of the FDA-approved human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitor (lopinavir) to COVID-19 3L(pro) polyprotein The binding affinity of curcuminoid derivatives to COVID-19 3Lpro is stronger than that of lopinavir and curcumin Among curcuminoid derivatives, NPRL-334 revealed the strongest binding affinity to COVID-19 3L(pro) polyprotein and is speculated to have an anti-COVID-19 effect In vitro and in vivo ongoing experiments are currently underway to confirm the present findings This study sheds light on the drug design for COVID-19 3L(pro) polyprotein Basing on lead compound development, we provide new insights on inhibiting COVID-19 attachment to cells, reducing COVID-19 infection rate and drug side effects, and increasing therapeutic success rate

Metal hyperaccumulating plant species are an interesting example of natural selection and environmental adaptation but they may also be useful to developing new technologies of environmental monitoring and remediation. Noccaea caerulescens and Arabidopsis halleri are both Brassicaceae and are known metal hyperaccumulators. This study evaluated tolerance, uptake and translocation of zinc sulfide quantum dots by N. cearulescens and cadmium sulfide quantum dots by A. halleri in direct comparison with the non-hyperaccumulator, genetically similar T. perfoliatum and A. thaliana. Growth media were supplied with two different concentrations of metal in either salt (ZnSO4 and CdSO4) or nanoscale form (ZnS QDs and CdS QDs). After 30a?days of exposure, the concentration of metals in the soil, roots and leaves was determined. Uptake and localization of the metal in both nanoscale and non-nanoscale form inside plant tissues was investigated by Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) equipped with an X-ray probe. Specifically, the hyperaccumulators in comparison with the non-hyperaccumulators accumulate ionic and nanoscale Zn and Cd in the aerial parts with a BCF ratio of 45.9 for Zn ion, 49.6 for nanoscale Zn, 2.64 for Cd ion and 2.54 for nanoscale Cd. Results obtained with a differential extraction analytical procedure also showed that a significant fraction of nanoscale metals remained inside the plants in a form compatible with the retention of at least a partial initial structure. The molecular consequences of the hyperaccumulation of nanoscale materials are discussed considering data obtained with hyperaccumulation of ionic metal. This is the first report of conventional hyperaccumulating plants demonstrating an ability to hyperaccumulate also engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and suggests a potential novel strategy for not only understanding plant-nanomaterial interactions but also for potential biomonitoring in the environment to avoid their entering into the food chains.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Its outbreak in many states of the world, forced the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic. Currently, COVID-19 has infected 1 991 562 patients causing 130 885 deaths globally as of 16 April 2020. The aim of this review is to underline the epidemiological, clinical and management characteristics in children affected by COVID-19. METHODS: We searched Pubmed, from January to April 2020, for the following search terms: "COVID-19", "children", "SARS-COV2", "complications", "epidemiology", "clinical features", focusing our attention mostly on epidemiology and symptoms of COVID-19 in children. RESULTS: Usually, infants and children present milder symptoms of the disease with a better outcome than adults. Consequently, children may be considered an infection reservoir that may play a role as spreader of the infection in community.

Only a few years ago, viral diagnosis was largely an exercise for academic researchers and public health practitioners with focus on epidemiologic analyses and outbreak prevention, detection, and control. Opportunities for therapeutic intervention were limited to only a few applications such as herpesvirus infections, influenza, and HIV/AIDS; hence, once a bacterial or fungal infection was excluded, clinicians were limited to providing supportive care for what was presumed to be a viral syndrome. Public health organizations tracked the incidence of viral infections and the development of resistance to the few antiviral drugs in use and provided input to governments and the pharmaceutical industry regarding selection of vaccine targets. More recently, interest in viral diagnostics has burgeoned with the advent of new tools for detection and discovery, global recognition of pandemic risk, high-throughput drug screening, rational drug design, and immunotherapeutics. An additional impetus has been the implication of viruses in chronic illnesses not previously attributed to infection. The objective of this chapter is to review the factors responsible for the rise in awareness of viral infections, methods for diagnosis and monitoring viral infections, and future prospects for improvements in discovery, detection, and response to the challenges of clinical virology.

Significant differences exist in the availability of healthcare worker (HCW) SARS-CoV-2 testing between countries, and existing programmes focus on screening symptomatic rather than asymptomatic staff. Over a 3 week period (April 2020), 1032 asymptomatic HCWs were screened for SARS-CoV-2 in a large UK teaching hospital. Symptomatic staff and symptomatic household contacts were additionally tested. Real-time RT-PCR was used to detect viral RNA from a throat+nose self-swab. 3% of HCWs in the asymptomatic screening group tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. 17/30 (57%) were truly asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic. 12/30 (40%) had experienced symptoms compatible with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)>7 days prior to testing, most self-isolating, returning well. Clusters of HCW infection were discovered on two independent wards. Viral genome sequencing showed that the majority of HCWs had the dominant lineage B?1. Our data demonstrates the utility of comprehensive screening of HCWs with minimal or no symptoms. This approach will be critical for protecting patients and hospital staff.