Empowering COVID-19 Fact-Checking with Extended Knowledge Graphs

During the COVID-19 outbreak, fake news regarding the disease have spread at an increasing rate. Let's think, for instance, to face masks wearing related news or various home-made treatments to cure the disease. To contrast this phenomenon, the fact-checking community has intensified its efforts by producing a large number of factchecking reports. In this work, we focus on empowering knowledge-based approaches for misinformation identification with previous knowledge gathered from existing fact-checking reports. Very few works in literature have exploited the information regarding claims that have been already fact-checked. The main idea that we explore in this work is to exploit the detailed information in the COVID-19 fact check reports in order to create an extended Knowledge Graph. By analysing the graph information about the already checked claims, we can verify newly coming content more effectively. Another gap that we aim to fill is the temporal representation of the facts stored in the knowledge graph. At the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to associate the temporal validity to the KG relations. This additional information can be used to further enhance the validation of claims.

In-situ fabrication of 3D interior hotspots templated with a protein@Au core-shell structure for label-free and on-site SERS detection of viral diseases

Nanoscale plasmonic hotspots play a critical role in the enhancement of molecular Raman signals, enabling the sensitive and reliable trace analysis of biomedical molecules via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). However, effective and label-free SERS diagnoses in practical fields remain challenging because of clinical samples' random adsorption and size mismatch with the nanoscale hotspots. Herein, we suggest a novel SERS strategy for interior hotspots templated with protein@Au core-shell nanostructures prepared via electrochemical one-pot Au deposition. The cytochrome c and lysates of SARS-CoV-2 (SLs) embedded in the interior hotspots were successfully functionalized to confine the electric fields and generate their optical fingerprint signals, respectively. Highly linear quantitative sensitivity was observed with the limit-of-detection value of 10-1 PFU/ mL. The feasibility of detecting the targets in a bodily fluidic environment was also confirmed using the proposed templates with SLs in human saliva and nasopharyngeal swabs. These interior hotspots templated with the target analytes are highly desirable for early and on-site SERS diagnoses of infectious diseases without any labeling processes.

3D interior hotspots embedded with viral lysates for rapid and label-free identification of infectious diseases

In recent decades, biomedical sensors based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which reveals unique spectral features corresponding to individual molecular vibrational states, have attracted intensive attention. However, the lack of a system for precisely guiding biomolecules to active hotspot regions has impeded the broad application of SERS techniques. Herein, we demonstrate the irreversible active engineering of three-dimensional (3D) interior organo-hotspots via electrochemical (EC) deposition onto metal nanodimple (ECOMD) platforms with viral lysates. This approach enables organic seed-programmable Au growth and the spontaneous bottom-up formation of 3D interior organo-hotspots simultaneously. Because of the net charge effect on the participation rate of viral lysates, the number of interior organo-hotspots in the ECOMDs increases with increasingly positive polarity. The viral lysates embedded in the ECOMDs function as both a dielectric medium for field confinement and an analyte, enabling the highly specific and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 lysates (SLs) at concentrations as low as 10-2 plaque forming unit/mL. The ECOMD platform was used to trace and detect the SLs in human saliva and diagnose of the delta-type SARS-CoV-2 in clinical environments;the results indicate that the proposed platform can provide point-of-care diagnoses of infectious diseases.

MATERNITY STAFF PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTS ON ANTENATAL SCREENING AND SERVICES FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A SURVEY STUDY

Background: Domestic and family violence (DFV) and mental health screening are core components of antenatal care. However, the COVID-19 pandemic both increased the prevalence of DFV and mental health issues and resulted in many antenatal visits becoming telehealth. DFV and mental health screening were consequently often delayed, potentially resulting in insufficient time to establish support systems before birth. This study assessed pandemic effects on DFV and mental health screening from the perspective of local maternity service providers. Methods: Maternity staff (midwives, doctors, allied health) at three Sydney metropolitan hospitals were surveyed regarding perceived impact of COVID-19 on the delivery, timeliness, and quality of overall pregnancy care, DFV and mental health screening and care, and their telehealth perceptions. Responses by hospital and maternity care provider subtype were compared. Results: Of 109 respondents, most felt the pandemic negatively impacted overall pregnancy care (60%), DFV screening/care (57%), and mental health screening/care (57%), significantly more believing COVID-19 'extremely' negatively impacted DFV screening (p = 0.02). Staff at the hospital with highest sociodemographic diversity were significantly more concerned about DFV screening/ care. Nominated telehealth advantages e.g. reduced travel (69%) and clinic overcrowding (62%) were fewer than disadvantages including no physical examinations (90%), difficulties picking up non-verbal cues (84%), and certain questions unsafe (62%). Fiftysix percent believed telehealth should be used for some antenatal care for select women (low-risk, multiparous). Conclusions: Telehealth may have an ongoing limited role in maternity care in Australia for low-risk women. Staff considered those high-risk for physical and/or psychosocial reasons unsuited to telehealth care.

The effects of immersive garden experience on the health care to elderly residents with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment living in nursing homes after the COVID-19 pandemic

Elderly patients living in long-term care facilities have been restricted from leaving to comply with social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a worsening of disorders, such as anxiety and depression. This study aims to understand the health benefits of an immersive garden experience to elderly nursing home residents with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments. Virtual reality devices were used to provide immersive garden experiences for the residents who were unable to go outside. The heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) data of the participants of the participants were collected using biofeedback instruments, and changes in the low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) and the standard deviation of the NN interval (SDNN) values caused by immersive garden experiences were discussed. The results show that the immersive garden experiences were beneficial to these elderly residents. Within 6 min of completing the experiment, we found that the heart rates of participants had dropped slightly, while SDNN and HF values continued to rise. SDNN values before and after the experiment demonstrated a statistically significant improvement. Furthermore, participants expressed their satisfaction with the video intervention program. The results indicated that nursing homes can provide immersive landscape experiences to help increase HRV and SDNN of their elderly residents. This will not only help these residents recall beautiful memories of their past, but will also improve their quality of life. © 2021, International Consortium of Landscape and Ecological Engineering.

M-region Segmentation of Pharyngeal Swab Image Based on Improved U-Net Model

The main method to diagnose COVID-19 is a nucleic acid test from a throat swab. Routine manual collection methods expose medical personnel to high-risk environment, which has a high risk of cross-infection. A throat swab sampling robot was developed to take the place of medical staff. The automatic segmentation of M-region in the pharyngeal swab image, which plays a core guiding role when the robot takes a throat swab sample. Aiming at the problem of discontinuous or fuzzy boundary in M-region of oral cavity, the segmentation accuracy is affected. An improved U-Net model is proposed and a new multi-scale feature fusion module with channel attention mechanism is presented. The ability of adaptive learning is enhanced and the segmentation precision of M-region with discontinuous or fuzzy edges is increased. Oral images of 45 volunteers were collected for training and testing. Experimental results showed that the model could accurately segment M-region in pharyngeal swab images, and compared with other segmentation networks, it has better indexes of segmentation precision.

Study of coupling the age-structured contact patterns to the COVID-19 pandemic transmission

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has raged more than 10 months and it has become a major public health concern. It is necessary to account for the intrinsic mechanisms and reveal the transmission pattern. Method: We collect detailed information of 944 COVID-19 cases in Guangdong province from January 23rd to February 16th. According to the age-structured characteristics, the population is divided into four groups such as child group (0-5 years old), adolescent group (6-19 years old), young and middle-aged group (20-64 years old), elderly group (65 and over years old). Coupling with different age-structured contact patterns, we establish a discrete age-structured COVID-19 model, obtain the basic reproduction number and final size. By Markov Chain Monte Carlo numerical method (MCMC), we identify the model parameters, fit the cumulative cases, calculate eradiation time of disease, infection peak and the peak arrival time, etc.Results: We found that the most infected people are the young and middle-aged individuals;Compared with household quarantine measure, the peak value of hospitalizations among young and middle-aged group in community mode will increase of 41%, and the peak will delay two weeks. By analyzing the proportions of the final sizes associated age groups, it is found that the elderly have a higher susceptibility, while the adolescents have a lower susceptibility. Under the household quarantine measure, if infected individuals have been confirmed in time of half a day, the peak size of hospitalizations will be further reduced, and the peak hospitalization will advance one week. The model reveals social contact patterns for impacting on COVID-19 transmission, and evaluates the effectiveness of household quarantine. Copyright © 2021 Acta Physica Sinica. All rights reserved.

[Preliminary study of the relationship between novel coronavirus pneumonia and liver function damage: a multicenter study].

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia and a preliminary study to explore the relationship between different clinical classification and liver damage. Methods: Consecutively confirmed novel coronavirus infection cases admitted to seven designated hospitals during January 23, 2020 to February 8, 2020 were included. Clinical classification (mild, moderate, severe, and critical) was carried out according to the diagnosis and treatment program of novel coronavirus pneumonia (Trial Fifth Edition) issued by the National Health Commission. The research data were analyzed using SPSS19.0 statistical software. Quantitative data were expressed as median (interquartile range), and qualitative data were expressed as frequency and rate. Results: 32 confirmed cases that met the inclusion criteria were included. 28 cases were of mild or moderate type (87.50%), and four cases (12.50%) of severe or critical type. Four cases (12.5%) were combined with one underlying disease (bronchial asthma, coronary heart disease, malignant tumor, chronic kidney disease), and one case (3.13%) was simultaneously combined with high blood pressure and malignant tumor. The results of laboratory examination showed that the alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin (ALB), and total bilirubin (TBil) for entire cohort were 26.98 (16.88 ~ 46.09) U/L and 24.75 (18.71 ~ 31.79) U/L, 39.00 (36.20 ~ 44.20) g/L and 16.40 (11.34 ~ 21.15) µmol/L, respectively. ALT, AST, ALB and TBil of the mild or moderate subgroups were 22.75 (16.31 ~ 37.25) U/L, 23.63 (18.71 ~ 26.50) U/L, 39.70 (36.50 ~ 46.10) g/L, and 15.95 (11.34 ~ 20.83) µmol/L, respectively. ALT, AST, ALB and TBil of the severe or critical subgroups were 60.25 (40.88 ~ 68.90) U/L, 37.00 (20.88 ~ 64.45) U/L, 35.75 (28.68 ~ 42.00) g/L, and 20.50 (11.28 ~ 25.00) µmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this multicenter retrospective study suggests that novel coronavirus pneumonia combined with liver damage is more likely to be caused by adverse drug reactions and systemic inflammation in severe patients receiving medical treatment. Therefore, liver function monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened during the treatment of such patients.