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The global pandemic coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), the disease infected by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), is extremely contagious. It is mainly spread among people through respiratory droplets, aerosols, direct or indirect contact, fecal-oral transmission, and cold chain transportation. Especially, patients who are in the incubation period or have no obvious symptoms already have the ability to infect others. SARS-C0V-2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus, with a single linear RNA segment. Each SARS-CoV-2 virion is 60-140 mm in diameter. Like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 has four structural proteins, known as the spike (S), envelope(E), membrane (M), and nucleocapsid (N) proteins. To date, a variety of detection methods for the SARS-CoV-2 have been developed based on the virus structural basis and 'etiological characteristics, which would provide an effective guarantee for the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients and the control of the epidemic. In order to help for the early diagnosis and prevention of COVID-19, the pathogenic characteristics and recent progresses of detection base on nucleic acid, immunology and biosensors of the SARS-CoV-2 are reviewed in this paper.
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How teachers creatively adopted and adapted to the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak is at the heart of the findings presented in this chapter. With the support of the Avenue-LearnIT2teach project, English Second Language (ESL) teachers in Canada enabled the rapid response of many Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) programs to site closures, resulting in an unprecedented uptake of online learning (OL) in a matter of weeks. The project rapidly changed course to support LINC teachers to adopt blended learning (BL) courseware and adapt teaching practices to the new OL reality. This chapter discusses the impact of the project's efforts to meet the surge in demand in teacher training and learner courseware for these online immigrant settlement and language learning programs. The project's rapid response to onsite LINC program closures during the COVID-19 crisis is reviewed. As a result of the disruptions to in-person program delivery, the focus of the project has shifted from blended learning (BL) to online learning (OL) by adapting its formal and informal professional development (PD) offerings. Findings with respect to the surge in demand for teacher training, course development, and mentoring are presented. Feedback from teachers on the "front lines" further illustrates teachers' OL uptake. The chapter also addresses the impact of formal and informal PD provided by a committed team of mentors as well as the importance of teacher presence in online program delivery. Implications and recommendations with respect to rapid responses in situations of crises conclude the chapter. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.
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INTRODUCTION: The paper aims to discuss the various issues/ problems that people face in day to day life. Using diverse scenarios ranging from mental health issues to common grafting procedures, the author here strives to link these issues to bioengineering and how they are being impacted by modern technology. Most methods and procedures discussed attempt to utilize day-to-day activities and ease of access. The paper has adopted rapid review method. For literature collection, Google scholar database has been used with a scope of specific keywords and time frame of 5 weeks to complete the study © COPYRIGHT RED FLOWER PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD
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COVID-19, a viral respiratory illness, is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first identified in Wuhan, China, in 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide. Testing and isolation were essential to control the virus's transmission due to the severity of the disease. In this context, there is a global interest in the feasibility of employing nano-biosensors, especially those using graphene as a key material, for the real-time detection of the virus. The exceptional properties of graphene and the outstanding performance of nano-biosensors in identifying various viruses prompted a feasibility check on this technology. This paper focuses on the recent advances in using graphene-based electrochemical biosensors for sensing the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Specifically, it reviews various types of electrochemical biosensors, including amperometric, potentiometric, and impedimetric biosensors, and discusses the current challenges associated with biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 detection. The conclusion of this review discusses future directions in the field of electrochemical biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 detection, underscoring the importance of continued research and development in this domain.
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In December 2019, several cases of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 were identified in the city of Wuhan (China), which was declared by the WHO as a pandemic in March 2020 because it caused enormous problems to public health due to its rapid transmission of contagion. Being an uncontrolled case, precautions were taken all over the world to moderate the coronavirus that undoubtedly was very deadly for any person, presenting several symptoms, among them we have fever as a common symptom. A biosecurity measure that is frequently used is the taking of temperature with an infrared thermometer, which is not well seen by some specialists due to the error they present, therefore, it would not represent a safe measurement. In view of this problem, in this article a thermal image processing system was made for the measurement of body temperature by means of a drone to obtain the value of body temperature accurately, being able to be implemented anywhere, where it is intended to make such measurement, helping to combat the spread of the virus that currently continues to affect many people. Through the development of the system, the tests were conducted with various people, obtaining a more accurate measurement of body temperature with an efficiency of 98.46% at 1.45 m between the drone and the person, in such a way that if it presents a body temperature higher than 38° C it could be infected with COVID-19. © 2023 IEEE.
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Background: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the benchmark in diagnosing of corona virus disease. It takes at least 4 hours. Multiple studies reported that rapid antigen test could be used. Their role in diagnosing corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is questionable. This study was conducted to assess the accuracy of rapid antigen test in Urology and Nephrology Center Mansoura University, Egypt. Methods: COVID-19 rapid ag test was evaluated in comparison to real time PCR as a gold standard in diagnosis of COVID-19 infection in employees and patients with respiratory symptoms in specialized care facility Urology and Nephrology Center of Mansoura University from March 2020 till August 2021. Complete blood picture and non-contrast computerized tomography (CT) was done. Results: Eight hundred and eighty-four (884) individuals (median age 36 years) were included in this study: 478 healthcare workers, 217 non-healthcare workers, and 189 patients. PCR was positive in 569 samples and negative in 315. Out of 315 negative PCR samples, 8 were positive by rapid antigen test with a specificity of 97.4%. Conclusion: Rapid antigen tests in comparison to PCR test have a good accuracy in diagnosis in of COVID-19 infection and can be used during pandemics in low-resource areas. © 2020 The author (s). Published by Zagazig University.
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Currently, there is no availability of any proven specific treatment or prevention strategy to fight against COVID-19. Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy is expected to increase survival rates in COVID-19 as in the case of emerging viral infection (SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV). To collect all the studies relevant to CP therapy in critically ill or severe COVID-19 patients and summarize the findings. The systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA consensus statement. A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases on April 25, 2020. A total of six studies (28 patients) relevant to CP therapy in severe or critical COVID-19 are considered for inclusion. Two authors extracted the data about study characteristics, demographics, symptoms, co-morbidities, clinical classification of COVID-19, drug therapies, oxygen therapy, laboratory results, chest CT, neutralizing antibody titer, SARS-CoV-2 RNA load, aal outcome. The review findings revealed that CP therapy increases lymphocyte count, reduced s serum inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, Procalcitonin) and liver enzyme levels (AST or ALT). There was a rise in serum neutralizing antibody titers in 10 of 14 patients after CP transfusion. In 4 of 14 patients, the titer levels remain unchanged after CP transfusion. All 28 cases (100%) achieved negative to the SARS-CoV-2 RNA after CP transfusion. The convalescent plasma transfusion can improve neutralizing antibody titers and reduces the viral load in severe/critical COVID-19 patients. The review recommends a well-controlled trial design is required to give a definite statement on the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in severe/critical COVID-19.
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During the COVID-19 epidemic, blood samples are usually processed at 56 to attenuate the virus before pathogen detection. 71 blood samples of malaria patients reported by Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017-2019 were collected, including 38 with Plasmodium falciparum infection, 8 P. malariae, 11 P. ovale and 14 P. vivax. The effect of inactivation on the thermal stability of P. falciparum histidine rich protein II (PfHRPII) and Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) in blood samples was assessed before and after incubation at 56 for 30 min using the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kit. The results showed that among the 38 P. falciparum T1-positive (PfHRPII) blood samples before heat treatment, 35 samples remained to be T1-positive (92.11%, 35/38, chi2=3.123, P>0.05) after heat treatment;while 54 blood samples (26 P. falciparum, 6 P. vivax, 10 P. ovale and 12 P. vivax) that were T2-positive (pLDH) before heat treatment turned to be T2-negative (positive rate 0, 0/54, chi2=87.755, P<0.01) after heat treatment. It was demonstrated that PfHRPII is stable during incubation at 56 for 30 min, while pLDH is unstable and degraded or inactivated during the heating. Therefore, the detection results of P. falciparum will not be affected by RDT, but diagnosis of the parasites other than P. falciparum in blood samples may be missed.Copyright © 2021, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases. All rights reserved.
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There is a need for rapid, sensitive, specific, and low-cost virus sensors. Recent work has demonstrated that organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) can detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein. Here, a simple and low-cost approach to the fabrication of OECT devices with excellent stability and unprecedented sensitivity and specificity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus is demonstrated. The devices rely on the engineered protein minibinder LCB1, which binds strongly to SARS-CoV-2. The resulting devices exhibit excellent sensitivity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD). These results demonstrate a simple, effective, and low-cost biomolecular sensor applicable to the real-time detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus and a general strategy for OECT device design that can be applied for the detection of other pathogenic viruses.
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The onset of COVID-19 introduced unprecedented changes to how U.S. public health services were delivered. Many public and private agencies faced mandatory closures, social distancing mandates, and rapid transitions to telehealth interventions and treatment. Mental health clinicians witnessed disruptions in continuity of care and an increase in mental health risks overall. Although some studies have been conducted to survey clinicians' perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of technology-based interventions, knowledge about mental health clinicians' experiences and perceptions in Virginia was sparse. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how mental health clinicians in Virginia described their experiences and perceptions of using telehealth in providing services to clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social-ecological systems and technology acceptance models were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of clinicians. Data analysis led to the identification of themes: (a) pre-COVID-19 treatment and services (b) adjustments to rapid implementation of telehealth, (c) convenience and flexibility to providing services following acclimation, (d) technological barriers to providing telehealth services, (e) challenges with limited understanding and exposure to technology, (f) protocols and managing expectations, (g) acceptance and aversion to telehealth service, and (h) lessons learned for future practice. The findings of this study have potential implications for positive social change by providing insight into the ease of use of telehealth models, encouraging ongoing training for clinical professionals, and informing future research and practice in the mental health field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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Purpose: In December 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic began in the world. To reduce mortality, in addiction to mass vaccination, it is necessary to massify and accelerate clinical diagnosis, as well as creating new ways of monitoring patients that can help in the construction of specific treatments for the disease. Objective: In this work, we propose rapid protocols for clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 through the automatic analysis of hematological parameters using evolutionary computing and machine learning. These hematological parameters are obtained from blood tests common in clinical practice. Method: We investigated the best classifier architectures. Then, we applied the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) to select the most relevant attributes: serum glucose, troponin, partial thromboplastin time, ferritin, D-dimer, lactic dehydrogenase, and indirect bilirubin. Then, we assessed again the best classifier architectures, but now using the reduced set of features. Finally, we used decision trees to build four rapid protocols for Covid-19 clinical diagnosis by assessing the impact of each selected feature. The proposed system was used to support clinical diagnosis and assessment of disease severity in patients admitted to intensive and semi-intensive care units as a case study in the city of Paudalho, Brazil. Results: We developed a web system for Covid-19 diagnosis support. Using a 100-tree random forest, we obtained results for accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity superior to 99%. After feature selection, results were similar. The four empirical clinical protocols returned accuracies, sensitivities and specificities superior to 98%. Conclusion: By using a reduced set of hematological parameters common in clinical practice, it was possible to achieve results of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity comparable to those obtained with RT-PCR. It was also possible to automatically generate clinical decision protocols, allowing relatively accurate clinical diagnosis even without the aid of the web decision support system. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Brazilian Society of Biomedical Engineering.
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COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by newly discovered coronavirus. Currently, RT-PCR and Rapid Testing are used to test a person against COVID-19. These methods do not produce immediate results. Hence, we propose a solution to detect COVID-19 from chest X-ray images for immediate results. The solution is developed using a convolutional neural network architecture (VGG-16) model to extract features by transfer learning and a classification model to classify an input chest X-ray image as COVID-19 positive or negative. We introduced various parameters and computed the impact on the performance of the model to identify the parameters with high impact on the model's performance. The proposed solution is observed to provide best results compared to the existing ones. © 2023 Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Delhi.
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In December 2022, the Council of Experts was held. It purpose was to determine the place of virus-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NMA) in the ethiotropic treatment of COVID-19 in vulnerable categories of patients. The main issues were identified and their solutions were proposed. At the first visit of pregnant women due to COVID-19, proactive identification of risk factors and early prescription of NMA are recommended, preferably - with published safety data in this category of patients (casirivimab + imdevimab). In patients with oncological and other chronic (rheumatology, pulmonology, gastroenterology) diseases, prophylactic use of NMA is recommended. regardless of the severity of the disease. For patients with chronic pathology regardless of the severity of the disease an early prescription of ethiotropic therapy must be provided, combating the long-term circulation of the virus. To solve the problem of late treatment prescription, it is necessary to: use rapid tests, prescribe NMA if indicated, even if the patient presents late, introduce digital technologies to transfer information about COVID-19 cases between healthcare institutions (HI), create call centers for primary triage of patients, daily hospitals to reduce the burden on the HI. The issue of NMA using related to changes in their activity against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 remains relevant. Among the proposed solutions are: priority of indications over information about the activity of NMA, the diversification of the choice of NMA in HI, taking into account clinical experience, indications for use and prognosis of NMA activity, the use of combined forms of NMA (for example, casirivimab + imdevimab) or a combination of NMA with other means of ethiotropic therapy.Copyright © 2023, Dynasty Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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Rapid tests are essential tools for monitoring and containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Lateral flow assays (LFAs) have been introduced for the point-of-care COVID-19 diagnosis, using paper-based devices, and widely used for detecting antigen or antibody related to COVID-19. This book chapter includes a brief overview of the LFAs for rapid test of COVID-19, with focus on nanomaterials for bioconjugation, material selection, human sampling, antibody and antigen tests, viral nucleic acid detection, advantages, limitations, and future perspective. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.
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The nucleocapsid (N) protein is an abundant component of SARS-CoV-2 and a key analyte for lateral-flow rapid antigen tests. Here, we present new structural insights for the SARS-CoV-2 N protein using cryo-electron microscopy (EM) and molecular modeling tools. Epitope mapping based on structural data supported host-immune interactions in the C-terminal portion of the protein, while other regions revealed protein-protein interaction sites. Complementary modeling results suggested that N protein structures from known variants of concern (VOC) are nearly 100% conserved at specific antibody-binding sites. Collectively, these results suggest that rapid tests that target the nucleocapsid C-terminal domain should have similar accuracy across all VOCs. In addition, our combined structural modeling workflow may guide the design of immune therapies to counter viral processes as we plan for future variants and pandemics.
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BACKGROUND: The Hong Kong government distributed rapid antigen test (RAT) kits to households across the city and called for a universal voluntary testing exercise for three consecutive days during the Omicron wave to identify infected persons early for quarantine and disrupt transmission chains in the community. We conducted a survey to evaluate the participation rates and explore the determinants of voluntary RAT adoption and hesitancy. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviews from 19 May to 16 June 2022 using an overlapping dual-frame telephone number sampling design. Information on willingness to adopt voluntary RAT, four themes of personal qualities, attitudes toward the government's health policies, incentives to motivate RAT adoption, and personal sociodemographic factors were collected. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the factors associated with RAT adoption. RESULTS: Of the 1010 participants, 490 successfully responded to the fixed-line and 520 to the mobile phone survey, with response rates of 1.42% and 1.63% and screen hesitancy rates of 36.1% and 39.3%, respectively. Participants of adoption RAT were those aged 30-49 years, with high perceived COVID-19 infection severity, ≥ 3 doses of COVID-19 vaccination, and more agreement with the health policies on material resources and quarantine orders. Individuals who were less risk seeking and more altruistic reported a higher adoption of voluntary RAT. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the willingness to participate in a voluntary universal testing programme might shed light on effective ways to minimise screening hesitancy in future public health strategies and campaigns.
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COVID-19 , Cell Phone , Humans , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19 Vaccines , Cross-Sectional Studies , Hong Kong/epidemiology , VaccinationABSTRACT
Background: Rapid antigen detection tests (Ag-RDT) for SARS-CoV-2 with emergency use authorization generally include a condition of authorization to evaluate the test's performance in asymptomatic individuals when used serially. We aim to describe a novel study design that was used to generate regulatory-quality data to evaluate the serial use of Ag-RDT in detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus among asymptomatic individuals. Methods: This prospective cohort study used a siteless, digital approach to assess longitudinal performance of Ag-RDT. Individuals over 2 years old from across the USA with no reported COVID-19 symptoms in the 14 days prior to study enrollment were eligible to enroll in this study. Participants throughout the mainland USA were enrolled through a digital platform between October 18, 2021 and February 15, 2022. Participants were asked to test using Ag-RDT and molecular comparators every 48 hours for 15 days. Enrollment demographics, geographic distribution, and SARS-CoV-2 infection rates are reported. Key Results: A total of 7361 participants enrolled in the study, and 492 participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 154 who were asymptomatic and tested negative to start the study. This exceeded the initial enrollment goals of 60 positive participants. We enrolled participants from 44 US states, and geographic distribution of participants shifted in accordance with the changing COVID-19 prevalence nationwide. Conclusions: The digital site-less approach employed in the "Test Us At Home" study enabled rapid, efficient, and rigorous evaluation of rapid diagnostics for COVID-19 and can be adapted across research disciplines to optimize study enrollment and accessibility.
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BACKGROUND: Demand for rapid evidence-based syntheses to inform health policy and systems decision-making has increased worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To promote use of rapid syntheses in LMICs, the WHO's Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) created the Embedding Rapid Reviews in Health Systems Decision-Making (ERA) Initiative. Following a call for proposals, four LMICs were selected (Georgia, India, Malaysia and Zimbabwe) and supported for 1 year to embed rapid response platforms within a public institution with a health policy or systems decision-making mandate. METHODS: While the selected platforms had experience in health policy and systems research and evidence syntheses, platforms were less confident conducting rapid evidence syntheses. A technical assistance centre (TAC) was created from the outset to develop and lead a capacity-strengthening program for rapid syntheses, tailored to the platforms based on their original proposals and needs as assessed in a baseline questionnaire. The program included training in rapid synthesis methods, as well as generating synthesis demand, engaging knowledge users and ensuring knowledge uptake. Modalities included live training webinars, in-country workshops and support through phone, email and an online platform. LMICs provided regular updates on policy-makers' requests and the rapid products provided, as well as barriers, facilitators and impacts. Post-initiative, platforms were surveyed. RESULTS: Platforms provided rapid syntheses across a range of AHPSR themes, and successfully engaged national- and state-level policy-makers. Examples of substantial policy impact were observed, including for COVID-19. Although the post-initiative survey response rate was low, three quarters of those responding felt confident in their ability to conduct a rapid evidence synthesis. Lessons learned coalesced around three themes - the importance of context-specific expertise in conducting reviews, facilitating cross-platform learning, and planning for platform sustainability. CONCLUSIONS: The ERA initiative successfully established rapid response platforms in four LMICs. The short timeframe limited the number of rapid products produced, but there were examples of substantial impact and growing demand. We emphasize that LMICs can and should be involved not only in identifying and articulating needs but as co-designers in their own capacity-strengthening programs. More time is required to assess whether these platforms will be sustained for the long-term.
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COVID-19 , Developing Countries , Humans , Health Policy , Policy Making , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Pandemic mitigation measures can have a negative impact on access and provision of essential healthcare services including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. This rapid review looked at the literature on the impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on SRH and gender-based violence (GBV) on women in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) using WHO rapid review guidance. We looked at relevant literature published in the English language from January 2020 to October 2021 from LMICs using WHO rapid review methods. A total of 114 articles were obtained from PubMed, Google Scholar and grey literature of which 20 met the eligible criteria. Our review found that there was an overall reduction in; (a) uptake of services as shown by lower antenatal, postnatal and family planning clinic attendance, (b) service delivery as shown by reduced health facility deliveries, and post abortion care services and (c) reproductive health outcomes as shown by an increase in incidence of GBV especially intimate partner violence. COVID-19 mitigation measures negatively impact SRH of women in LMICs. Findings from this review could inform policy makers in the health sector to recognise the potential adverse effects of COVID-19 responses on SRH in the country, and therefore implement mitigation measures.
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COVID-19 , Sexual Health , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Reproductive Health , Developing Countries , COVID-19/epidemiology , Sexual BehaviorABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, students with COVID-19 may end isolation after 5 days if symptoms are improving; some individuals may still be contagious. Rapid antigen testing identifies possibly infectious virus. We report on a test-to-return (TTR) program in a Massachusetts school district to inform policy decisions about return to school after COVID-19. METHODS: During the 2021-2022 Omicron BA.1 surge, students with COVID-19 could return on day 6-10 if they met symptom criteria and had a negative rapid test; students with positive rapid tests and those who declined TTR remained isolated until day 11. TTR positivity rates were compared by grade level, vaccination status, symptom status, and day of infection. RESULTS: 31.4% of students had a positive TTR rapid test; there were no differences by grade or vaccination status. Ever-symptomatic students were more likely to have a positive rapid test (75/174 [43.1%] vs 18/104 [17.3%]). For ever-symptomatic students, TTR positivity decreased by day of infection. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of students may still be contagious 6 days after onset of COVID-19 infection. TTR programs may increase or reduce missed school days, depending on when return is otherwise allowed (day 6 or 11). The impact of TTR programs on school-associated transmission remains unknown.