Work-from-home and the risk of securities misconduct

In the wake of the global pandemic, a challenge for CEOs and boards is to set a stakeholder-acceptable organizational balance between remote and traditional office working. However, the risks of work-from-home are not yet fully understood. We describe competing theories that predict the effect on misconduct of a corporate shift to work-from-home. Using internal bank data on securities traders we exploit lockdown variation induced by emergency regulation of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our difference-in-differences analysis reveals that working from home lowers the likelihood of securities misconduct;ultimately those working from home exhibit fewer misconduct alerts. The economic significance of these changes is large. Our study makes an important step toward understanding the link between the balance of work locations and the risk that comes with this tradeoff. © 2023 The Authors. European Financial Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Longitudinal lung function assessment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 using 1H and 129Xe lung MRI

Introduction: The progression of pathophysiological pulmonary changes in patients following acute COVID-19 is not well established. Method(s): Patients hospitalised with COVID-19 pneumonia without signs of ILD, had MRI exams at a median of 6 (n=9), 12 (n=9), 25 (n=7), and 52 (n=3) weeks. MRI sequences included: dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) lung perfusion,129 Xe diffusion weighted (DW-MRI), 129Xe ventilation and 129Xe 3D dissolved phase imaging. Result(s): 9 patients (age 56+/-9 years;7 male;1 required treatment in an ICU) were recruited. Median RBC:TP was abnormally low at all visits compared to reference age and sex matched data. An individual's RBC:TP was significantly and positively associated with an increase in their pulmonary blood volume (p=0.026). For patients with 52 week data available, one showed a continued increase in RBC:TP, 2 patients maintained a low RBC:TP (Figure 1). Ventilation defect percentage, and ventilation heterogeneity significantly decreased at 25 weeks compared to 6 129 129 129 weeks (p=0.010 and p=0.048). DW-MRI was normal at all visits. Dissolved phase xenon imaging showed RBC:TP significantly increased at 12 and 25 weeks compared to 6 weeks (p=0.048). Conclusion(s): In patients recovering after COVID-19, poor gas transfer is reflected by impaired xenon transfer, which improves alongside pulmonary blood volume.

COVID-19 infection and maternal morbidity in critical care units in Scotland: a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that, in comparison with non-pregnant women of reproductive age, pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely to be admitted to critical care, receive invasive ventilation, and die. At present there are limited data in relation to outcomes and healthcare utilisation following hospital discharge of pregnant and recently pregnant women admitted to critical care. METHODS: A national cohort study of pregnant and recently pregnant women who were admitted to critical care in Scotland with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. We examined hospital outcomes as well as hospital re-admission rates. RESULTS: Between March 2020 and March 2022, 75 pregnant or recently pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were admitted to 24 Intensive Care Units across Scotland. Almost two thirds (n=49, 65%) were from the most deprived socio-economic areas. Complete 90-day acute hospital re-admission data were available for 74 (99%) patients. Nine (12%) women required an emergency non-obstetric hospital re-admission within 90 days. Less than 5% of the cohort had received any form of vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: This national cohort study has demonstrated that pregnant or recently pregnant women admitted to critical care with COVID-19 were more likely to reside in areas of socio-economic deprivation, and fewer than 5% of the cohort had received any form of vaccination. More targeted public health campaigning across the socio-economic gradient is urgently required.

Longitudinal 129xe and 1h Lung Mri Assessment of Lung Structure, Ventilation, Perfusion, and Gas Transfer Following Hospitalization with Covid-19

The long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) pneumonia on the lungs and pulmonary circulation require further characterization. We assessed progression of pathophysiological pulmonary changes during 1 year of follow-up of patients who had been hospitalized because of COVID-19. After discharge, recruited patients had up to four MRI examinations at a median of 6 (n=9), 12 (n=9), 25 (n=7) and 52 (n=3) weeks. Lung MRI examinations included: ultra-short echo time (UTE), dynamic contrastenhanced (DCE) lung perfusion, 129Xe diffusion weighted (DW-MRI), 129Xe ventilation and 129Xe 3D dissolved phase imaging. Nine patients (age 56 +/-9 years;six male) were recruited. Ventilation defect percentage and whole lung coefficient of variation of lung ventilation decreased significantly at 25 weeks (visit 3) compared with visit 1 at 6 weeks (p=0.010 and p=0.048). The UTE imaging indicated no evidence of lung scarring, and DW-MRI indicated normal lung microstructure across all visits. Dissolved phase xenon imaging showed that RBC:TP increased significantly at visits 2 and 3 compared with visit 1 (p=0.048). Median RBC:TP was abnormally low at all visits compared with reference age- and sex-matched data. An individual's RBC:TP was associated significantly and positively with an increase in their pulmonary blood volume (p=0.026). For patients with 52-week data available, one showed a continued improvement in RBC:TP;however, two of the patients maintained a low RBC:TP. In patients recovering from COVID-19, xenon gas transfer improves alongside pulmonary blood volume. Further work is needed to establish the proportion of post-COVID-19 patients who have longer-term impairment in xenon transfer and to correlate changes in lung MRI parameters with symptoms, lung function tests and other imaging modalities. Persistent impairment of xenon transfer might represent a physiological mechanism underlying ongoing symptoms in some patients and might indicate damage to the pulmonary microcirculation.

A Qualitative Analysis of Barriers to Peri-Discharge Care for Patients with COPD and OSA Overlap

Rationale: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suffer heightened morbidity, mortality, and readmission rates. COPD is co-prevalent with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in 20-60% of patients, and patients with COPD/OSA overlap are at higher risk for hospital readmission and mortality compared to COPD alone. Current COPD readmission reduction programs are focused on decreasing COPD readmissions;however, few explore impactful comorbid conditions. No study has identified peri-discharge barriers in the acute care setting from the perspective of patients with COPD/OSA or healthcare workers to identify areas of improvement. Methods: Semi-structured interviews, conducted via telephone (recorded) of hospitalized patients with COPD/OSA and acute care healthcare workers were conducted at an urban academic medical center (11/2020-1/2021) among a convenience sample of recruited participants. All recordings were transcribed and uploaded to NVivo, which facilitated thematic analysis, using an a priori codebook. Coding was conducted in rounds, and meetings were used to resolve differences and update the codebook as needed. This iterative process continued until all transcripts were analyzed. Results: Thirty-five participants were interviewed, 27 healthcare workers (HCW), 4 nurses, 6 respiratory therapists, 5 physicians, 3 case managers, 4 social workers, and 5 pharmacists, and 8 patients. The HCWs interviewed served an average of 7.5 years, were <50 years old (81.5%), and most were female (74.1%), white (81.5%), and non-Hispanic (100%). HCW respondents identified barriers that mapped to four main levels: patient, team, hospital, and the healthcare system. Select barriers HCWs identified included health literacy, patient cognitive impairments, peri-discharge time management, lack of resources for patients post-discharge, cost, and insurance. All patient interviewees were <50 years old, most were male (62.5%), white (62.5%), and non-Hispanic (87.5%). Select barriers patients identified included current SES status, care team discussions, disease burden (visits to ED/hospital), follow-up care (including transportation), and perceptions of healthcare due to COVID-19. Conclusion: Healthcare workers and COPD/OSA patients report multilevel hospital discharge barriers. To improve barriers to care for these complex patients, multilevel interventions addressing noted barriers are needed.

Engineering protein activity into off-the-shelf DNA devices.

DNA-based devices are straightforward to design by virtue of their predictable folding, but they lack complex biological activity such as catalysis. Conversely, protein-based devices offer a myriad of functions but are much more difficult to design due to their complex folding. This study combines DNA and protein engineering to generate an enzyme that is activated by a DNA sequence of choice. A single protein switch, engineered from nanoluciferase using the alternate-frame-folding mechanism and herein called nLuc-AFF, is paired with different DNA technologies to create a biosensor for specific nucleic acid sequences, sensors for serotonin and ATP, and a two-input logic gate. nLuc-AFF is a genetically encoded, ratiometric, blue/green-luminescent biosensor whose output can be quantified by a phone camera. nLuc-AFF retains ratiometric readout in 100% serum, making it suitable for analyzing crude samples in low-resource settings. This approach can be applied to other proteins and enzymes to convert them into DNA-activated switches.

Sleep loss in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: During the pandemic, healthcare workers have shared their stresses on social media, including regarding sleep disturbances. However, an assessment of sleep using validated measures among healthcare workers on social media is lacking. Methods: A restricted, self-selection survey was distributed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for 16 days targeting healthcare workers who were clinically active during COVID-19. In addition to demographics and career information, participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Insomnia Severity Index. Poor sleep quality was defined as PSQI > 5. Moderate-to-severe insomnia was defined as an ISI > 14. Multivariate logistic regression tested the association between demographics and career characteristics and sleep outcomes. Results: Of the 983 who clicked our link, 906 completed the survey. Participants were mostly white (70%), female (75%), physicians (64%). Mean sleep duration was 6.1 (SD1.2) hours. Nearly 90% experienced poor sleep (PSQI). One third reported moderate or severe insomnia. Many (60%) reported sleep disruptions due to device usage or due to bad dreams at least once per week (45%). In multivariable regression, non-physicians (OR 3.5, CI: 2.5, 5.0), Hispanic ethnicity (OR 2.2;CI: 1.44, 3.45), being single (1.5, CI: 1.03, 2.21), and youngest age group (18-24) (OR 9.9;CI: 1.44, 68.09) had increased odds of insomnia. In open-ended comments, sleep disruptions mapped to 5 categories: (1) Work demands (“The volume of calls and messages from my patient and caregiver population is through the roof ”);(2) Pandemic related (“I never had sleep issues prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly I had issues with sleep initiation.”;(3) Children and family (“COVID plus home stress plus stress over my kids, my job, my marriage.”);(4) Personal health (“Insomnia predating COVID, but worsened with COVID.”);(5) Responses to the pandemic (“I worry about how COVID is being managed by the President.This does keep me awake at night.”). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, 90% of healthcare workers surveyed on social media reported poor sleep, with over onethird of participants reporting moderate-severe insomnia. Online sleep interventions for healthcare workers are urgently needed.

Neutropenia in patients under treatment with clozapine and COVID-19 infection

IntroductionClozapine is among the most effective antipsychotics used for treatment resistant schizophrenia. Adverse reactions to clozapine include neutropenia. Case series report that clozapine-treated patients with COVID-19 have no documented neutropenia.ObjectivesWe sought to investigate the potential adverse effect of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in patients taking clozapine.MethodsWe retrospectively inspected data of 13 consecutive patients on clozapine, admitted to Highgate Mental Health Centre -Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust between March and June 2020. Selection was based on their COVID-19 symptoms presentation and/or COVID-19 positive test. We used a linear regression model with COVID status as independent variable and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) as dependent variable to inform about a correlation between COVID-19 status and neutrophil count. STATA was used for statistics.ResultsWe collected data on thirteen patients of which nine were male. The median age was of 41.97 years;six subjects were Black, three were Asian and four were White Caucasian. Ten subjects tested positive to COVID-19 and 3 were suspected cases -these latter were excluded from stastical analysis. During COVID-19 infection, neutrophils count (ANC) dropped significantly to 4.215 from a baseline value of 5.337. The beta values of 0.83 shows that ANC declined significantly during COVID-19 infection (p =<.0001, R2 = 95%). In three of thirteen patients, ANC drop was significant and changed the patients’ monitoring status from green to amber and required frequent blood tests.ConclusionsClinicians should bear in mind that a significant drop in neutrophils count may occur in COVID-19 -infected patients taking clozapine.DisclosureNo significant relationships.