ABSTRACT
The patient presented with nausea, appetite loss, and fatigue. She had received two doses of Pfizer/BioN-Tech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (COMIRNATY) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Acute liver injury was noted 14 days after the first dose of the vaccine. Re-exposure through the second dose worsened the liver injury. After liver biopsy on the third day of admission, methylprednisolone (1000 mg) was administered. Liver histology showed acute hepatitis with diffuse lobular inflammation/necrosis and lymphocyte-dominant infiltra-tion in the portal areas. The patient was diagnosed with drug-induced liver injury due to the COVID-19 vaccine based on the Digestive Disease Week Japan 2004 (DDW-J) scale, which assesses the temporal relationship, liver biopsy, and laboratory findings. With improvements in the blood test parameters, prednisolone was gradually tapered and stopped. One month later, no biochemical signs of relapse were noted. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing liver injury after the administration of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Japan.Copyright © 2022 The Japan Society of Hepatology.
ABSTRACT
Eye discomfort is a major complaint reported in indoor spaces and has been suggested to be exacerbated by environmental conditions such as low humidity and high air velocity. Wearing face masks, which has become essential in our daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, can also cause eye discomfort by affecting the microclimate around the eyes. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the effect of wearing masks on eye discomfort by measuring the physical environment around the eyes and short-term physiological and psychological responses and comparing them with and without surgical face masks. The results showed that when the participant wore a mask, exhaled air flowed out through the gap at the top edge of the mask, resulting in a higher air velocity and absolute humidity around the eyes than when the mask was not worn. No significant differences were found in subjective discomfort, tear-film stability, ocular surface temperature or blink frequency. However, the tear evaporation rate, estimated based on physical measurements, was greater when wearing a mask than when not wearing it. This study revealed that wearing face masks can negatively affect the environment around the eyes in terms of tear-film health.
ABSTRACT
A 63-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with sore throat and fever. He was diagnosed with Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19), and on the 3rd day after diagnosis, he started on ventilatory management. On the 25th day, the patient presented with over 3 L of watery diarrhea, which continued daily. When the diarrhea did not improve with various treatments, on the 98th day, a double-balloon endoscopy of the small intestine was performed, and diffuse loss of villi structure in the jejunum was noted. Due to massive pleural effusion, the patient succumbed to circulatory and respiratory failure 111 days after admission to the hospital. The pathological autopsy revealed that the mucosal epithelium had been exfoliated from the entire small intestine. As this case shows, some COVID-19 cases are associated with severe diarrhea;further investigation is needed to elucidate the pathogenesis of COVID-19-associated diarrhea.Copyright © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
We fabricated a capacitor-type actuator with laminated conductive polymer on both sides of the piezoelectric film and evaluated basic acoustic characteristics. This actuator is applied to our new 'Auditory AR (Augmented Reality) device' which enables users to hear both real and virtual sound information. We carried out measurements of those actuator-characteristics in a cylindrical frame with constant curvature, the same with our AR device. The AC (Alternating Current) amplification characteristics simply increase quasi-linearly within the audio band, and saturate at about 10 kHz, near the upper limit of audio frequency. We applied the autocorrelation analysis method to evaluate the verbal speech transmission efficiency, without human examinee, because of the global pandemic of the COVID-19, and successfully estimated the transmission clarity under the "Virus-free" circumstances. We developed a 'vector effective duration model' to evaluate users' verbal cognitive clarity, only with physical measurement without human subjects. In the low-frequency band below 1 kHz and in the ultra-high-frequency band above 10 kHz, beyond auditory bands, the frame-mounted actuator shows conspicuous attenuation. In the mid-frequency band between 1 kHz and 10 kHz, i.e., higher area of the audio band, selectively amplified frequency components are observed. This mid-frequency band primarily conveys the semantic content of spoken language. This area is the band for "whispering". Our actuator amplifies this "whispering band" in harmonic ways effectively and is suitable for a "Lo-Fi auditory module" that cuts off unnecessary low- and high-frequency bands;auditory organs are mostly exhausted with physical impacts conveyed by those low-frequency components, and they transmit more emotional information than verbal meanings. Users can use this module all day long without auditory fatigue. Renewals in hearing aids and welfare technologies are expected. © International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV), 2022.
ABSTRACT
This study surveyed adult web monitor enrollees about the lives of and stress experienced by Japanese children and adolescents during the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was conducted on February 10, 2022 (after the sixth wave) and August 19, 2022 (during the seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan), with 231 and 217 survey participants, respectively. The questionnaire was designed so that adults could assess the frequency of exercise, and difficulties experienced by children and adolescents around them. Regarding exercise opportunities, 22% of parents of middle and high school children reported that children's exercise opportunities "stayed the same” or "increased considerably” in the first survey. Whereas, in the second survey, all parents of middle and high school children reported that children's exercise opportunities "decreased.” Regarding stress, 17% of parents of adolescents 18 years and older responded that the stress experienced was the "same as before” or "a little less than before” in the first survey, but all of these parents responded "quite a bit” to the same question in the second survey. The findings suggest that the life changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may have a significant impact on children and adolescents and may increase stress. The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents should be further investigated. © Fuji Technology Press Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the worldwide spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) since its emergence in 2019. Virus replication and infection dynamics after its deposition on the respiratory tissues require detailed studies for infection control. This study focused primarily on SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the mucus layer of the nasal cavity and nasopharynx, based on coupled computational fluid-particle dynamics (CFPD) and host-cell dynamics (HCD) analyses. Considering the mucus milieu, we coupled the target-cell limited model with the convection-diffusion term to develop an improved HCD model. The infection dynamics in the mucus layer were predicted by a combination of the mucus flow field, droplet deposition distribution, and HCD. The effect of infection rate, β, was investigated as the main parameter of HCD. The results showed that the time series of SARS-CoV-2 concentration distribution in the mucus layer strongly depended on diffusion, convection, and virus production. β affected the viral load peak, its arrival time, and duration. Although the SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the mucus layer obtained in this study have not been verified by appropriate clinical data, it can serve as a preliminary study on the virus transmission mode in the upper respiratory tract. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
ABSTRACT
The aim of the article is to study pharmacokinetic characteristics of intravenous olokizumab in patients with moderate COVID-19 to relieve a hyperinflammation syndrome. Materials and methods. The pharmacokinetic study was conducted as a part of a phase III clinical study (RESET, NCT05187793) on the efficacy and safety of a new olokizumab regimen (intravenous, at the doses of 128 mg or 256 mg) in COVID-19 patients. Plasma concentrations of olokizumab were determined by the enzyme immunoassay. The population analysis was performed using a previously developed pharmacokinetic model based on a linear two compartment. Results. The pharmacokinetic analysis included the data from 8 moderate COVID-19 patients who had been administrated with olokizumab intravenously at the dose of 128 mg. According to the analysis results in this population, there was an increase in the drug clearance, compared with the data obtained in healthy volunteers and the patients with rheumatoid arthritis: 0.435, 0.178 and 0.147 l/day, respectively. The parameters analysis within the framework of a population pharmacokinetic model showed that the main factors for the increased olokizumab clearance are a high body mass index. In addition, the presence of COVID-19 itself is an independent factor in increasing the drug clearance. Conclusion. After the intravenous olokizumab administration, an increase in the drug clearance is observed in moderate COVID-19 patients against the background of the disease course. The main contribution to the increased clearance is made by the characteristics of the population of COVID-19 patients associated with the risk of a severe disease and inflammation. When administered intravenously at the dose of 128 mg, a therapeutically significant olokizumab level was maintained throughout the acute disease phase for 28 days. Copyright © 2022 Volgograd State Medical University, Pyatigorsk Medical and Pharmaceutical Institute. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the effect of refraining from going out during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on physical function in community-dwelling older adults. The study included 49 patients who underwent home-visit rehabilitation. Four parameters of physical function & mdash;grip strength, five-times sit-to-stand test, single-leg stance test, and standing test for imbalance and disequilibrium (SIDE)& mdash;were assessed. They were evaluated before (March 2020) and after (May 2020) the state emergency was imposed, and the results were compared. The grip strength decreased significantly. A significant difference was also observed in the proportion of different SIDE levels in the study group before and after the implementation of the state emergency. The number of SIDE 2a or lower patients increased during the state emergency (p < 0.001). Comprehensive community support and rehabilitation are necessary to maintain physical function in older individuals. In particular, we believe that there is a need to utilize remote rehabilitation using digital devices (such as internet-based guidance) so that older adults can continue to exercise at home.
ABSTRACT
The patient presented with nausea, appetite loss, and fatigue. She had received two doses of Pfizer/BioN-Tech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (COMIRNATYR) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Acute liver injury was noted 14 days after the first dose of the vaccine. Re-exposure through the second dose worsened the liver injury. After liver biopsy on the third day of admission, methylprednisolone (1000 mg) was administered. Liver histology showed acute hepatitis with diffuse lobular inflammation/necrosis and lymphocyte-dominant infiltra-tion in the portal areas. The patient was diagnosed with drug-induced liver injury due to the COVID-19 vaccine based on the Digestive Disease Week Japan 2004 (DDW-J) scale, which assesses the temporal relationship, liver biopsy, and laboratory findings. With improvements in the blood test parameters, prednisolone was gradually tapered and stopped. One month later, no biochemical signs of relapse were noted. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing liver injury after the administration of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Japan. Copyright © 2022 The Japan Society of Hepatology.
ABSTRACT
Owing to the global COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, many people have been forced to adopt a new lifestyle that makes extensive use of information and communication technology (ICT) under the slogan “Stay Home.” Because older adults have been reported to be more resistant to information technology, such rapid changes in their lifestyle would be more difficult for them to accept. However, some senior citizens have used ICT or have improved their ICT skills since the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing the current situation of older adults may allow for a detailed analysis of the acceptance process of information technology. In this article, we aim to clarify the mechanism of acceptance and use of information technology among older adults in terms of social conditions, support systems, and the usability and accessibility of interfaces. The results indicated that the transtheoretical model of behavior change in terms of interest and usage status of ICT/IoT services can be used to categorize technology acceptance situations. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The worldwide outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to many changes in the methods used to impart education, with nearly all university courses in Japan transitioning to an online format, particularly video conferencing of live lectures. Considering the difficulties students face in remaining engaged during online lectures, we propose methods to maximize student participation by displaying a real-time animated avatar of the teacher’s face over the lecture slides. Students were presented with photos of different teachers and asked to select whom they would prefer to take a class with, and whom they would not prefer. An open-source deep fake tool was then used to animate the selected photos by following the facial expressions of a teacher in real-time. These animations were superimposed over the lecture slides in an online class. Our experimental results show that students taught by their preferred teacher’s animated avatar posted more comments, which was the form of feedback used, compared to when they were taught by a less preferred teacher’s avatar on the slides. We speculate that a change in the teacher’s avatar influences active student participation in online learning. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The recognition that the spread of COVID-19 is primarily through airborne transmission has brought renewed urgency to understand the spread of aerosols generated from patients. Viral-laden aerosols generated from oral coughs have been well studied;however, aerosols generated from nasal sneezing has been overlooked. This scenario arises from patients who suffer allergenic rhinosinusitis, or the nasal cavity is irritated, particularly during naso-endoscopy. Nasal sneezing is characterised by an explosive blast of air exiting the nostrils, which can be considered as dual jets, resulting in the spread of viral-laden aerosols remaining suspended in the air. This study used computational fluid dynamics consisting of a hybrid RANS-LES turbulence method to model the airflow and the discrete phase model to track aerosol dispersion during nasal sneezing. The results demonstrated that the exhaled airflow jets during nasal sneezing resemble the flow characteristics of two parallel jets in co-flow. These two jets interfere with each other in the merging zone, and after they merge, the sneeze plume expands radially. The nasal sneeze forms a V-shaped plume with smaller particles in the core region. At the end of the sneeze, when the exhaled jets have lost their initial momentum, the large particle dispersion is dominated by gravity. We detected the presence of a 'sneeze puff' that transport droplets away from the body, similar to the buoyant puff observed in recent COVID-19 studies of oral coughs.
ABSTRACT
Using spatially- and temporally-resolved data from the New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS) and the New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) network, we characterized changes in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) following the COVID-19 shutdown in NYC (3/20/20 – 6/7/20). Difference-in-difference analysis of PM2.5 and NO2 measured at 93 sites were used to estimate the change in citywide pollution attributable to the shutdown. We also quantified how these pollutant changes varied among different demographic groups using difference-in-difference analyses stratified by neighborhood poverty levels and rates of PM2.5-attributable health outcomes. Spatial patterns of PM2.5 and NO2 were interpolated across NYC by fitting land-use regression models to measurements at the 93 sites. Weather conditions and emission source trends were analyzed to determine the potential effects of meteorology and specific emission sources on the observed pollution changes. We estimate that citywide average PM2.5 and NO2 decreased by approximately 25% and 29%, respectively, due to the shutdown. Weather readings show little evidence that meteorology biased our results in the direction of our findings. Data on major sources of PM2.5 and NO2 pollution suggests that decreased vehicle traffic and commercial cooking contributed to declines in air pollution during this period. Pollution reductions occurred disproportionately in the city's central business district (CBD), with smaller changes in other areas of the city, such as those with the highest burden of air pollution-related health impacts. These findings emphasize the need to target pollution sources in communities that suffer the greatest from pollution exposure in the design of equitable environmental health policy. © 2022
ABSTRACT
Patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) tend to show extreme hypercoagulability and require intensive anticoagulant therapy. The prognosis is extremely poor in patients with intracranial hemorrhage. We report a case of COVID-19 complicated by acute subdural hematoma, which necessitated craniotomy for hematoma evacuation to improve the patient's prognosis. A 60-year-old man diagnosed with COVID-19 presented with severe respiratory failure and hypercoagulability and underwent ECMO along with intensive anticoagulant therapy with a large dose of heparin. Physical examination revealed anisocoria secondary to acute subdural hematoma. He denied a history of head injury, and computed tomography angiography revealed no vascular lesions. We diagnosed the patient with a non-traumatic, simple type hematoma. We discussed this case with the attending physician and reviewed the surgical indications and procedures. The attending physician recommended postoperative heparin withdrawal with ECMO. The hematoma was evacuated using a small crani-otomy. Considering the risk of COVID-19, we cautiously performed all intraoperative procedures, especially those associated with aerosol generation, such as irrigation and the use of the craniotome. Heparin was discontinued postoperatively. The modified Rankin scale (mRS) score on postoperative day 90 was mRS 3. Optimal infection control measures prevented nosocomial infections in this patient despite the emergency surgical intervention.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: We aimed to analyze the changes in depression, sleepiness, insomnia, and sleep habits in relation to the degree of self-isolation due to COVID-19 pandemic. A state of emergency was declared for the whole of Japan on 7 April 2020. People in Shiga prefecture were recommended to stay at home and refrain from moving to other prefectures from 8 April to 31 May 2020. Methods: We enrolled 54 patients who regularly visited the sleep outpatient clinic in Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Japan. We compared the sleep habits, depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9: PHQ-9), insomnia (Athens Insomnia Scale: AIS), and sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale: ESS) of patients, one year before (from April to July 2019), during (May 2020) and six months after (Nov 2020) the self-isolation period due to the COVID-19. We conducted repeated measures ANOVA to examine changes. Results: PHQ-9 (3.89±0.64, 3.65±0.62 and 3.52±0.66: p=0.410), AIS (4.78±0.59, 4.65±0.57 and 4.63±0.57: p=0.843) and ESS (7.93±0.76, 7.07±0.68 and 7.00±0.73: p=0.088) were not significantly different among three visits. Sleep duration (6.06±0.23hr, 6.29±0.19hr and 6.16±0.22hr: p=0.248) and sleep onset latency (24.8±5.55min, 19.2±3.97min and 21.0±4.85min: p=0.445) were also not significantly different. Conclusion: Self-isolation due to COVID-19 was not associated with changes in depression, sleepiness, and insomnia among patients for sleep outpatient units in in Shiga prefecture, Japan.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a serious public health problem worldwide. In general, healthcare workers are considered to be at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, the prevalence of COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Japan is not well characterized. In this study, we aimed to examine the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among 2160 healthcare workers in hospitals and clinics that are not designated to treat COVID-19 patients in Japan. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G was 1.2% in August and October 2020 (during and after the second wave of the pandemic in Japan), which is relatively higher than that in the general population in Japan (0.03-0.91%). Because of the higher risk of COVID-19 infection, healthcare workers should be the top priority for further social support and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.