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Intro: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered global collaborative efforts on response and research to detect SARS-CoV-2 particles not just in the human population but also in wastewater. While the examination of clinical samples from COVID-19 patients links SARS-CoV-2 to specific individuals, the analysis of an amalgam of human feces through environmental surveillance (ES) links SARSCoV-2 to populations and communities served by the wastewater system. Studies on SARS-CoV-2 in the environment were already done in high-resource countries. However, its epidemiology in wastewater bodies in the Philippines is limited. In this study, we used the National ES for Polio and Other Pathogens Network to investigate the molecular epidemiology and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 at the outset of the pandemic. Method(s): This is a retrospective study of 250 wastewater samples collected from May 2020 to July 2021. Samples were processed using the two-phase concentration technique. Pepper mild mottle virus RNAs were quantified as the internal control. Real-time PCR was used to detect the N-gene of the SARS-CoV-2. Whole genomes were sequenced using the COVID-19 ARTIC v4.0. Phylogenetic and mutation analysis were done and lineage assignments were established using the PANGOLIN software. Finding(s): Forty-two percent (107/250) of the environmental samples detected SARS-CoV-2 particles. Fifty-nine samples with Ct values <=38 were sequenced and the whole genome analysis revealed B.1.1 and B.6. lineages of SARS-CoV-2. When viral load were plotted with the weekly cases in the respective site, we observed that SARS-CoV2 can be detected in wastewater weeks before the spike of cases in the community. Conclusion(s): This is the first report on the detection of B.1.1 and B.6 SARS-CoV-2 particles in waste/surface waters in the Philippines. With the declining incidence of COVID-19 cases, this study provided data regarding the feasibility of establishing environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 as a supplemental tool for human or case monitoring especially in resource-limited settings.Copyright © 2023
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by a virus called RARS-CoV-2 spread worldwide. As the result, the number of people who are lack exercise has increased. In addition, there are few systems to evaluate exercise movements and facilitate physical exercise at home. In this study, we developed a boxing glove type sensation device an acceleration sensor was installed in a boxing glove to evaluate the power of a punch, and the device has the function of glitz to the punches by producing sound, vibration, and light according to the type and power of the punching motion. An evaluation experiment was conducted to confirm that this device could induce exercise and promote health by having fun. A comparison was made between a normal boxing glove and the boxing glove type sensation device. As the results, we could confirm that, the number of strong punches with high acceleration and the total number of punches increased in the sensation device. In addition, the heart rate after exercise increased significantly compared to before and after exercise. The results also showed an increase in mood elevation and positive emotions. © 2022 IEEE.
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A 2018 study of performance measures for the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) Incident Management Team (IMT) program concluded that the program was cost effective and benefited Utah motorists. During the 2018 legislative session, UDOT received funding to expand its IMT program. To determine the benefits of expanding the IMT program, a comparison of performance measures for 2018 and 2020 incident data was conducted. In addition, data regarding the affected volume, the excess travel time, and the excess user cost associated with incident congestion were gathered. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected traffic volumes during this study, and statistical analyses were utilized to account for volume differences between the two years. Results indicated that the expansion of the IMT program has allowed UDOT to respond more consistently to incidents and respond to a larger quantity of incidents over a larger coverage area and in extended operating hours. © ASCE.
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Background: The end of the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), is not foreseen. Vaccination using two subtypes of mRNA-based vaccines, BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273, is an effective public health measure to reduce the risk of infection and severe complications from COVID-19. However, COVID-19 vaccine response data for patients with myeloid malignancy, who are at severe risk in case of infection, has not emerged. Aims: We investigated the antibody titers of COVID-19 in patients with myeloid malignancies who received two doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: Previously treated, currently treated, and newly diagnosed 46 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 23 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) were included in this study. Anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers were measured at 3 months after the second vaccination and compared them to those in healthy controls. Results: Seroconversion rates for AML and MDS were 94.7% and 100%, without significant difference from healthy controls (100%). In AML patients, the median antibody titers of patients in complete remission (CR) (816.5 [interquartile range (IQR): 250.0-2063.5] U/ml vs 1023.0 [640.0-1535.0] U/ml, P=0.668), especially those who were under treatment-free observation in CR (1630.0 [806.0-2454.0] U/ml vs 1023.0 [640.0-1535.0] U/ml, P=0.1220), were comparable to those in healthy controls. On the other hand, even in CR, the antibody titer in AML patients under maintenance therapy was significantly lower than that in patients under treatment-free observation (154.0 [126.0-289.0] U/ml vs 1630.0 [806.0-2454.0] U/ml, P=0.0003). Among the AML patients in CR, patients receiving maintenance treatment had a significantly lower median absolute lymphocyte count (0.81 [0.71-1.46] x 109/l vs 1.58 [1.29-1.93] x 109/l, P=0.0094) and a significantly lower median absolute neutrophil count (1.45 [1.15-1.64] x 109/l vs 3.45 [2.68-4.28] x 109/l, P<0.0001) than that in patients under treatment-free observation. Significantly lower antibody titers were associated with current active treatment (92.2 [37.5-216.3] U/ml vs 1630.0 [806.0-2454.0] U/ml, P<0.0001), AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (50.8 U/ml [39.9-109.1] vs 816.5 [283.0-1935.3] U/ml, P=0.0022), advanced age more than the median age of 68 years (195.0 [43.3-743.0] U/ml vs 1630.0 [806.0-3391.0] U/ml, P=0.0002), and vaccine subtypes of BNT162b2 (285.0 [127.8-1045.3] U/ml vs 3037.0 [2198.50-4537.0] U/ml, P=0.0002) in AML patients and with current active treatment (41.0 [10.7-227.5] U/ml vs 623.5 [173.8-1613.3] U/ml, P=0.0233), subtypes of excess blasts (11.1 [4.8-34.1] U/ml vs 212.0 [81.7-600.0] U/ml, P=0.0293), and high and very high risk of the revised international prognostic scoring system in MDS patients (9.0 [3.4-41.0] U/ml vs 169.0 [48.5-327.0] U/ml, P=0.0380). Summary/Conclusion: This is one of the first studies on the effect of COVID-19 vaccines focusing on patients with AML and MDS, and there are many new findings. The response to COVID-19 vaccine appears to be related to disease and treatment status. Myeloid malignancies may have less impact than lymphoid malignancies on the vaccine response. AML patients under treatment-free observation in CR could be expected to have a vaccine effect that is comparable to that in healthy individuals. In contrast, since the response to vaccination might be insufficient in AML patients undergoing maintenance therapy, maintenance therapy should be continued with strict measures for prevention of infection even after vaccination.
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The characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clusters in medical and social welfare facilities and the factors associated with cluster size are still not yet fully understood. We reviewed COVID-19 cases in Japan identified from January 15 to April 30, 2020 and analyzed the factors associated with cluster size in medical and social welfare facilities. In this study, COVID-19 clusters were identified in 56 medical and 34 social welfare facilities. The number of cases in those facilities peaked after the peak of the general population. The duration of occurrence of new cases in clusters was positively correlated with the number of cases in both types of facilities (rho = 0.44, P < 0.001;and rho = 0.69, P < 0.001, respectively). However, the number of days between the first case in a prefecture and the onset of clusters was negatively correlated with the number of cases only in clusters in social welfare facilities (rho = 0.4, P = 0.004). Our results suggest that COVID-19 cases in those facilities were prevalent in the latter phase of the disease's community transmission, although the underlying mechanisms for such a trend could differ between medical and social welfare facilities.
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Rationale: Barotrauma during mechanical ventilation more frequently occurs in COVID-19 patients than other diseases. Some previous studies reported that barotrauma was a risk factor for death;however, immortal bias due to its time-dependent nature was not considered in these studies. Therefore, we surveyed each prognosis of barotrauma whose onset was divided by time.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed intubated COVID-19 patients from March in 2020 to May in 2021. We compared 90-day survival prognosis of the barotrauma group (pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum/subcutaneous emphysema) with that of the non-barotrauma group. We also performed landmark survival analysis at day 7, 14, 21, and 28. Barotrauma occurred within 7 days on and before the landmark was considered as the exposure. The patients who were extubated before the exposure period were excluded. Additionally, we assessed the clinical data of surgically treated pneumothorax secondary to COVID-19 in our institution.Results: A total of 192 patients were included. Barotrauma occurred in 44 patients (22.9 %) (only pneumomediastinum/subcutaneous emphysema: 27 cases, only pneumothorax: 11 cases, both of them: 6 cases). The 90-day survival rate of the barotrauma group was significantly worse compared to the non-barotrauma group (47.7 % vs 82.4 %, p < 0.001). In the 7-day landmark analysis, there was no significant difference in the 90-day survival rate from the landmark between the barotrauma group and the non-barotrauma group (75.0 % vs 75.7 %, p = 0.79). On the other hand, in the 14, 21, and 28-day landmark analysis, the survival rate of the barotrauma group was significantly worse than that of the non-barotrauma group (at day 14, 41.7 % vs 69.1 %, p = 0.044;at day 21, 16.7 % vs 62.5 %, p = 0.014;at day 28, 20.0 % vs 66.7 %, p = 0.018).Pathological specimens of surgical cases showed subpleural hematoma and pulmonary cyst in the background of heterogenous lung inflammation.Conclusions: Barotrauma was a poor prognostic factor in ventilated COVID-19 patients. The impact of barotrauma after 7 days from intubation could be more important than within 7 days. Barotrauma might be an important clinical sign of lung destruction by COVID-19.
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Amid the ongoing battle against COVID-19, the scientific community has high hope in wastewaterbased epidemiology (WBE). It was not only proposed as a complement to capacity-plagued clinical testing, but also an early warning tool that may enable timely intervention measures. In this study, we developed a wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA load model based on the fecal shedding profile of infected individuals. The epidemic data of COVID-19 in the Tokyo metropolitan area were used to perform a simulation to analyze the capability of WBE in providing early warning. The simulation result suggests that under the current settings, WBE is not a feasible approach as the detection limit is too high to provide a warning signal in the early stage of the epidemic. However, it also indicates that if the methodology can be reasonably improved by new experimental practices, optimized sampling strategy, and refined model, the concentration of viral RNA in Tokyo wastewater would exceed the detection limit as early as in April 2020, when Tokyo was being hit by the first wave of COVID-19 outbreak. This early detection may have great social benefit if the detection can be used to facilitate the decision-making process and form epidemic emergency response. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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This paper aims to develop a short supply chain for the local production of protective masks for the population in different regions of Brazil, in view of the scarcity of resources on the market in pandemic contexts. Regarding the methodological procedures, the research was classified as applied in nature, with a qualitative approach and as for the exploratory objective because it plans at this time of the pandemic, of COVID-19 to present an emergency supply chain that has not yet been properly mapped. Regarding the data, secondary data related to suppliers in the supply chain and potential manufacturers of masks were used in the Central Business Register of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The information on the productive arrangements in the clothing sector was obtained through a search on the Google search site. As a result, this paper identified the existence of potential complete supply chains in the Southeast and South regions, as well as pointed out the need to develop some links in the chain in other regions of the country, in order to guarantee supply in pandemic periods. In the post pandemic period, it is necessary to use policies to stimulate the development of suppliers of the masks supply chain, especially in the North, Northeast and Midwest regions of Brazil in order to enable the prompt production of articles by the installed capacity of the region. © 2020, Universidade de Taubate. All rights reserved.