An Improved Granulated Convolutional Neural Network Data Analysis Model for COVID-19 Prediction

As COVID-19 poses a major threat to people's health and economy, there is an urgent need for forecasting methodologies that can anticipate its trajectory efficiently. In non-stationary time series forecasting jobs, there is frequently a hysteresis in the anticipated values relative to the real values. The multilayer deep-time convolutional network and a feature fusion network are combined in this paper's proposal of an enhanced Multilayer Deep Time Convolutional Neural Network (MDTCNet) for COVID-19 prediction to address this problem. In particular, it is possible to record the deep features and temporal dependencies in uncertain time series, and the features may then be combined using a feature fusion network and a multilayer perceptron. Last but not least, the experimental verification is conducted on the prediction task of COVID-19 real daily confirmed cases in the world and the United States with uncertainty, realizing the short-term and long-term prediction of COVID-19 daily confirmed cases, and verifying the effectiveness and accuracy of the suggested prediction method, as well as reducing the hysteresis of the prediction results.

Non - pharmaceutical interventions for respiratory virus infection in children and its effect.

With the emergence of new respiratory virus,it is more apparent for the vulnerability of population to respiratory viral infection. Non -pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for respiratory virus infection have become the main way to prevent corona virus disease 2019. Some studies had proven its effectiveness. In addition,the NPIs also significantly reduced the incidence and hospitalization rate of other respiratory disease in children. NPIs for respiratory virus infection in children have its particularity and challenge. In daily life,it is important to guide children how to do the NPIs, so as to protect susceptible children and reduce the disease burden in children's health system. Therefore, the aerosol transmission, the specificity of the NPIs in children, and the impact on childhood respiratory diseases are described in this article, to improve the prevention of common respiratory diseases in children.Copyright © 2022 Chinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co.Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Rapid on-site PEDV detection using homogeneous fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based ELISA

The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a major pathogen of swine enteric diseases. Various etiology and serological methods have been employed for PEDV detection, but most of their applications are limited to lab-oratories. To extend PEDV detection to on-site applications, we design a homogeneous fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Both donor and acceptor fluores-cence microspheres modified PEDV antibodies can be linked only to the occurrence of PEDV antigen, thus generating FRET signals, which can be collected by our designed portable FRET immunoassay station (FRETIS). Verified by standard samples, FRET immunoassay reached high sensitivity with a detection limit as TCID50 (median tissue culture infective dose) of 10/mL, which is 10 times more sensitive than colloidal gold test strips;and verified by clinical samples, it was also proved with high accuracy, good selectivity, and repeatability. More importantly, FRET immunoassay could detect PEDV in a 96-well plate in 35 min with only one step of incubation without any further washing steps using field-portable devices and field-operable procedures, well supporting on -site applications. Considering these advantages, this reported FRET immunoassay provides a promising way for multi-sample on-site PEDV detection and can be potentially used in the swine industry.

[Clinical characteristics of 16 neonates infected with SARS-CoV-2 during Omicron variant outbreak].

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of the neonates infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the Omicron outbreak in Shanghai 2022. Methods: In this retrospective case series study, all the 16 neonates with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection who were admitted to the neonatal unit in Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from March 1st to May 31st, 2022 were enrolled. Their epidemiological history, clinical manifestations, nucleic acid cycle threshold (Ct) value and outcomes were analyzed. Based on maternal vaccination, they were divided into vaccinated group and unvaccinated group. Rank sum test and Chi-square test were used for the comparison between the groups. Results: Among the 16 neonates, 10 were male, and 6 were female. All the infants were full-term. The infection was confirmed at the age of 12.5 (8.0, 20.5) days. All the neonates had a history of exposure to infected family members, and thus horizontal transmission was the primary mode. Four infants were asymptomatic, 12 were symptomatic, and there were no severe or critical cases. The most common clinical manifestation was fever (11 cases), with the highest temperature of 38.1 (37.9, 38.3) ℃ and a course of 1-5 days. Other clinical manifestations included nasal obstruction (3 cases), runny nose (2 cases), cough (2 cases), poor feeding (2 cases), vomiting (1 case), and mild tachypnea (1 case). The complete blood counts of all neonates were within the normal range, and the C-reactive protein increased slightly in 1 infant. Chest imaging was performed in 2 infants, showing mild focal exudative changes. Nucleic acid turned negative (Ct value ≥35) within 7-15 days after diagnosis. All neonates fully recovered after supportive treatment, and the length of hospitalization was 13 (10, 14) days. In the telephone follow-up 2 weeks after discharge for all 16 cases, no infant showed reoccurrence of clinical manifestations or nucleic acid reactivation. Maternal vaccination was not significantly correlated with symptomatic infection or the persistence of positive nucleic acid result in neonates (all P>0.05). Conclusions: Horizontal transmission is the primary mode for neonatal SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection. Neonatal infections are usually mild or asymptomatic, with good short-term outcomes. And their clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations are nonspecific.

[Management and short-term outcomes of neonates born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant].

Objective: To summarize the management and short-term outcomes of neonates delivered by mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 158 neonates born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant admitted to the isolation ward of Children's Hospital of Fudan University from March 15th, 2022 to May 30th, 2022. The postnatal infection control measures for these neonates, and their clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes were analyzed. They were divided into maternal symptomatic group and maternal asymptomatic group according to whether their mothers had SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. The clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups using Rank sum test and Chi-square test. Results: All neonates were under strict infection control measures at birth and after birth. Of the 158 neonates, 75 (47.5%) were male. The gestational age was (38+3±1+3) weeks and the birth weight was (3 201±463)g. Of the neonates included, ten were preterm (6.3%) and the minimum gestational age was 30+1 weeks. Six neonates (3.8%) had respiratory difficulty and 4 of them were premature and required mechanical ventilation. All 158 neonates were tested negative for SARS-COV-2 nucleic acid by daily nasal swabs for the first 7 days. A total of 156 mothers (2 cases of twin pregnancy) infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the time from confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection to delivery was 7 (3, 12) days. Among them, 88 cases (56.4%) showed clinical symptoms, but none needed intensive care treatment. The peripheral white blood cell count of the neonates in maternal symptomatic group was significantly higher than that in maternal symptomatic group (23.0 (18.7, 28.0) × 109 vs. 19.6 (15.4, 36.6) × 109/L, Z=2.44, P<0.05). Conclusions: Neonates of mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant during third trimester have benign short-term outcomes, without intrauterine infection through vertical transmission. Strict infection control measures at birth and after birth can effectively protect these neonates from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Research on the spread trend of COVID-19 based on SEIR-C model

The latent and insidious nature of COVID-19 transmission poses a great challenge to epidemic prevention and control. In order to predict its transmission trend more accurately, optimal epidemic prevention and control strategies and measures can be formulated. In this paper, we propose a SEIR-C epidemic transmission trend prediction model, which improves the traditional SEIR infectious disease model and combines it with the GRU model, and experiments show that the model has better results in epidemic transmission prediction. The paper also analyses the situation of isolation measures and vaccines in epidemic prevention and control, providing some reference for the formulation of epidemic prevention and control policies. © 2022 ACM.

A Community-Designed Qr Code-Based Animation Helps Patients Prepare for Endoscopies

Aim: Conventionally, patients are gathered to watch an introductory video at the clinic before endoscopic investigations take place. This may arouse practical issues under the COVID pandemic. Our centre, in collaboration with students from a local secondary school, has designed a set of animations which patients can easily access to with a QR code using their own mobile devices, so as to avoid patient gathering and increase their flexibility to read the information. This study aims to evaluate patients' perception of the QR code-based introductory animations of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) and colonoscopy (CLN). Method(s): A QR code linking to the animation was attached to the appointment sheet. Patients were asked to watch the animation with their own mobile devices before the endoscopy. A questionnaire with 5 questions was distributed after completion of their procedures. Result(s): A total of 144 patients undergoing OGD and CLN were recruited in May-June, 2022 at Tin Shui Wai Hospital. The response rate was 91.7%. Positive feedback was received. 12 patients (8.3%) did not gain access to the animation. A majority of patients agreed or totally agreed that the animation offered them more flexibility to understand the procedures before their OGD (75.4%) and CLN (79.1%). The QR code-based animation was deemed easy-to-use (80.3%), appealing (78.0%) and educational (81.0%). Conclusion(s): With increasing accessibility to mobile devices, patient education in preparation for medical procedures is no longer confined to the hospital setting. QR code-based animation is shown to be an effective and welcoming tool to prepare patients for endoscopies.

[Transmission chains of local epidemic of COVID-19 caused by 2019-nCoV Delta variant in Zhenhai district, Ningbo].

Objective: To investigate the local epidemic of COVID-19 caused by 2019-nCoV Delta variant in Zhenhai district of Ningbo, identify the transmission chain and provide reference for the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: The incidence data of COVID-19 in Zhenhai from 6 to 18 December, 2021 were collected in field investigation. Field epidemiological investigation was conducted to understand the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 cases and analyze the transmission chains. Results: The first case might be infected with 2019-nCoV through direct or indirect exposure when passing through a medium-risk area, then a family cluster was caused, and the epidemic spread through close contacts of family members with others such as work, daily life, and moxibustion. The epidemic lasted for 14 days, and 74 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported. The median incubation period was 4.0(3.0,5.8)d. All the cases were in a chain of transmission for more than 6 generations, and the intergenerational interval was 3.5(2.0,5.3)d. The gene sequencing result indicated that the pathogen was Delta AY.4 variant of 2019-nCoV. Both the epidemiological investigation and the gene sequencing results supported that the local COVID-19 epidemic in Zhenhai was associated with the COVID-19 epidemic in Shanghai. Conclusions: The transmission chain of this epidemic was clear. Delta AY.4 variant has obvious characteristic to cause case clusters in families, places with poor ventilation, and residential communities. It is suggested to strengthen the health management in key areas and key populations, and increase the frequency of nucleic acid testing.

A new method for detecting COVID-19 combining deep learning with improved histogram equalization and median filter

The new coronavirus (COVID-2019) epidemic outbreak has devastating impacts on people's daily lives and public healthcare systems. The chest X-ray image is an effective tool for diagnosing new coronavirus diseases. This paper proposes a new method to identify the new coronavirus from chest X-ray images to assist radiologists in fast and accurate image reading. We first enhance the contrast of X-ray images by using adaptive histogram equalization and eliminating image noise by using a median filter. Then, the X-ray image is fed to a sophisticated deep neural network (FAC-DPN-SENet) proposed by us to train a classifier, which is used to classify an X-ray image as usual or COVID-2019 or other pneumonia. Applying our method to a standard dataset, we achieve a classification accuracy of 93%, which is significantly better performance than several other state-of-the-art models, such as ResNet and DenseNet. This shows that the proposed method can be used as an effective tool to detect COVID-2019. © 2021 IEEE.

Non - pharmaceutical interventions for respiratory virus infection in children and its effect

With the emergence of new respiratory virus,it is more apparent for the vulnerability of population to respiratory viral infection. Non -pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for respiratory virus infection have become the main way to prevent corona virus disease 2019. Some studies had proven its effectiveness. In addition,the NPIs also significantly reduced the incidence and hospitalization rate of other respiratory disease in children. NPIs for respiratory virus infection in children have its particularity and challenge. In daily life,it is important to guide children how to do the NPIs, so as to protect susceptible children and reduce the disease burden in children's health system. Therefore, the aerosol transmission, the specificity of the NPIs in children, and the impact on childhood respiratory diseases are described in this article, to improve the prevention of common respiratory diseases in children. © 2022 Chinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co.Ltd. All Rights Reserved.