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This special issue contains 8 articles that explore various latest research on COVID-19, including the clinical presentation of the disease, the role of inflammation, the development of new treatments, and the long-term effects of the infection. The topics covered include the evaluation of white blood cell parameters and their significance in COVID-19 patients in Western Maharashtra, India;the association between acute phase reactants and COVID-19 severity and mortality in a tertiary care hospital in India;the clinico-hematological profile of COVID-19 patients from an Indian perspective;the correlation between C-reactive protein test results and clinical characteristics in COVID-19 patients;the effective binding affinity of an inhibitor against the SARS-CoV-2 NSP13 helicase;the assessment of absolute neutrophil count in COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care hospital;the analysis of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG response following the first and second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine;and a case report discussing the diagnostic dilemma of hypoplastic acute myeloid leukemia in a COVID-19 patient.
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The main purpose of this paper is to identify the critical drivers of the food supply chain (FSC) in the Indian context and find cause–effect relationships among the identified drivers using a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-based method. After a review of the literature and discussion with food chain experts, fourteen drivers have been identified for this study. Critical drivers and their causal relationships are explored through the cause-and-effect diagram. Results of this study show that the drivers namely "Shift towards a sustainable food system in India” (D7), "Social requirements on food security and safety” (D13), and "Growing attention towards food SCM amidst pandemic Covid-19” (D1) are the top three critical and influential drivers. It has been observed that limited research studies are done to identify and analyze the FSC drivers specific in the Indian context. Recent advancements in Blockchain technology have paved the path for improving the performance of the food supply chain with appropriate Blockchain technology intervention. Blockchain technology (BT) can be a new driver in the FSCM. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the implementation of Blockchain technology in the food supply chain. This paper attempts to draw the attention of policymakers to develop a new sound policy with the help of Blockchain technology to ensure food security. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).
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[...]standing on the crest of yet another wave of change, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning,2 pathology educators may soon be challenged to convey the best ways to apply these tools to the problems of diagnostic pathology for the coming generation of learners and the present corps of practitioners.3 Hence, this collaborative effort aims to describe the genetic code governing the transmission of pathology knowledge to subsequent generations of medical professionals.4 We aim to expose not just the code but also the supporting array of catalysts, enhancers, and other cofactors now in place to ensure we have a robust and potent supply of pathologists. APPLYING DP IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL, DENTAL, VETERINARY, AND ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATION Beginning in 1985, this technology has been progressively more widely implemented in undergraduate medical, dental, veterinary, and allied health (nursing, pharmacy, medical technology, etc) education platforms in the United States and internationally.5,11-26 As noted above, virtual microscopy laboratories, available on personal devices or in school-based computer labs, have replaced fixed laboratories housing gross specimens, boxes of glass slides, and student microscopes. WSI with links to supplementary resources, such as gross and radiologic images and additional study material, provide enrichment for the teaching and learning experience in the new virtual environment. [...]significant exposure to microanatomy and the laboratory methods of pathology underpinning so much of diagnosis, therapy, and management is foundational.
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic reminded once again that microbiological diagnostic methods are irreplaceable in both diagnosing and detecting asymptomatic persons. At present, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard method for diagnosing COVID-19, but the test's accuracy varies in sample quality. Especially in the last stages of the disease, negative results of nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab samples or rapid antigen tests do not necessarily mean that these patients do not carry the virus. Considering that a significant number of COVID-19 patients need intensive care and mechanical ventilation in the late period, which sample should be taken from where and when should be evaluated. Lower respiratory tract samples have a more significant chance of finding viral RNA than upper respiratory tract samples. Technical recommendations and the virological diagnostic methodologies and used in the intensive care unit of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 are summarized in this article. We aimed to emphasize the need to get a sample from the right place at the right time for a reliable virological diagnosis.Copyright © 2022 by The Cardiovascular Thoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care.
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OBJECTIVES: During 2020, the UK's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) established the Moonshot programme to fund various diagnostic approaches for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Mass spectrometry was one of the technologies proposed to increase testing capacity. METHODS: Moonshot funded a multi-phase development programme, bringing together experts from academia, industry and the NHS to develop a state-of-the-art targeted protein assay utilising enrichment and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to capture and detect low levels of tryptic peptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 virus. The assay relies on detection of target peptides, ADETQALPQRK (ADE) and AYNVTQAFGR (AYN), derived from the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2, measurement of which allowed the specific, sensitive, and robust detection of the virus from nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of LC-MS/MS was compared with reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) via a prospective study. RESULTS: Analysis of NP swabs (n=361) with a median RT-qPCR quantification cycle (Cq) of 27 (range 16.7-39.1) demonstrated diagnostic sensitivity of 92.4% (87.4-95.5), specificity of 97.4% (94.0-98.9) and near total concordance with RT-qPCR (Cohen's Kappa 0.90). Excluding Cq>32 samples, sensitivity was 97.9% (94.1-99.3), specificity 97.4% (94.0-98.9) and Cohen's Kappa 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: This unique collaboration between academia, industry and the NHS enabled development, translation, and validation of a SARS-CoV-2 method in NP swabs to be achieved in 5 months. This pilot provides a model and pipeline for future accelerated development and implementation of LC-MS/MS protein/peptide assays into the routine clinical laboratory.
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These proceedings contain articles that discuss setting the stage: the current state of the TB epidemic and COVID-19 effects, recap of events after the UN high-level conference in 2018, and direction for the UN high-level meeting in 2023. The ITFDE last discussed tuberculosis (TB) in 2010 and identified the following objectives: accelerated improvement and expansion of laboratory services for diagnosis and treatment, including assessment of drug resistance;increased support for better control and research;improved access to care and coverage of the most vulnerable populations;and political advocacy for TB control by potential allies inside and outside the health sector.
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic reminded once again that microbiological diagnostic methods are irreplaceable in both diagnosing and detecting asymptomatic persons. At present, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard method for diagnosing COVID-19, but the test’s accuracy varies in sample quality. Especially in the last stages of the disease, negative results of nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab samples or rapid antigen tests do not necessarily mean that these patients do not carry the virus. Considering that a significant number of COVID-19 patients need intensive care and mechanical ventilation in the late period, which sample should be taken from where and when should be evaluated. Lower respiratory tract samples have a more significant chance of finding viral RNA than upper respiratory tract samples. Technical recommendations and the virological diagnostic methodologies and used in the intensive care unit of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 are summarized in this article. We aimed to emphasize the need to get a sample from the right place at the right time for a reliable virological diagnosis. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Koronavirüs hastalığı-19 (COVID-19) pandemisi gerek tanıda gerekse asemptomatik kişilerin tespitinde mikrobiyolojik tanı yöntemlerinin vazgeçilmez olduğunu bir kez daha hatırlatmıştır. Günümüzde gerçek zamanlı revers transkriptaz polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu halen COVID-19 tanısı için altın standart tanı yöntemi olarak kabul edilmektedir, ancak testin doğruluğu alınan örneğin zamanlamasına ve kalitesine göre değişebilmektedir. Özellikle hastalığın ileri evrelerinde nazofarengeal veya orofarengeal sürüntü örneklerinin ya da hızlı antijen testlerinin negatif olarak sonuçlanması bu hastaların kesin olarak virüsü taşımadıkları anlamına gelmez. Ciddi sayıda COVID-19 hastasının geç dönemde yoğun bakım ve mekanik ventilasyona ihtiyacı olduğu düşünüldüğünde, nereden ve ne zaman numune alınması gerektiği iyi değerlendirilmelidir. Alt solunum yolu örneklerinde viral RNA bulma şansı üst solunum yolu örneklerine göre daha fazladır. SARS-CoV-2 ile enfekte hastaların yoğun bakım ünitesinde kullanılan virolojik tanı metodolojileri ve teknik öneriler bu yazıda özetlendi. Amacımız, güvenilir bir virolojik tanı için doğru zamanda doğru yerden örnek alınması gereksinimini vurgulamaktır. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the Society of Thoracic Carido-Vascular Anaesthesia & Intensive Care is the property of Gogus Kalp Damar Anestezi ve Yogun Bakim Dernegi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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Real time RT-PCR is considered as the gold standard test to detect COVID-19. The use of sample pooling strategy increases testing capacity and spares resources. However, the effectiveness of sample pooling should be evaluated in the setting before being implemented. Forty five samples including 20 high positives (Ct<20), 20 low positives (Ct 20-40) and 05 negative samples were used to prepare 1:1, 1:3 and 1:5 simulated sample pools which were then subjected to viral RNA extraction followed by real time RT-PCR. Sensitivity and specificity of sample pooling technique in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was 100% without significant variation of Ct values. According to our results, pooling of up to 6 samples will not have an effect on the final result in clinical samples and hence can be adopted in the given context for the diagnosis of COVID-19 by RT-PCR.
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The sensitive and specific detection of an infection with SARS-CoV-2 is the basis of all infection control management. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the discussion has primarily focused on the availability of diagnostic options, then on correct material collection and effective handling of the scarce test resource, and finally on the value of individual procedures and the use of rapid test methods. The following overview attempts to summarize in a compact form the current state of knowledge on the rational and effective working with laboratory diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 infections using predominantly scientific review articles.
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The continuation of the environmental deterioration, the coronavirus pandemic, and the financial stagger have invoked the attention of sustainability. Developing sustainable information systems becomes crucial for ensuring the success of enterprise information management and sustainable competitiveness. This study analyzed a set of critical factors for sustainable information systems. Using decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method and referring to the theory of practice-based view (PBV), this study constructed a research framework in which the factors reflect the common practices of a sustainable information system. The cause and effect relationships among the factors are illustrated with a discussion of the implications. © 2022 ACM.
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Sensitive and specific serological tests are mandatory for epidemiological studies evaluating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevalence as well as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) morbidity and mortality rates. The accuracy of results is challenged by antibody waning after convalescence and by cross-reactivity induced by previous infections with other pathogens. By employing a patented platform technology based on capturing antigen-antibody complexes with a solid-phase-bound Fcγ receptor (FcγR) and truncated nucleocapsid protein as the antigen, two SARS-CoV-2 IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), featuring different serum and antigen dilutions, were developed. Validation was performed using a serum panel comprising 213 longitudinal samples from 35 COVID-19 patients and a negative-control panel consisting of 790 pre-COVID-19 samples from different regions of the world. While both assays show similar diagnostic sensitivities in the early convalescent phase, ELISA 2 (featuring a higher serum concentration) enables SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody detection for a significantly longer time postinfection (≥15 months). Correspondingly, analytical sensitivity referenced to indirect immunofluorescence testing (IIFT) is significantly higher for ELISA 2 in samples with a titer of ≤1:640; for high-titer samples, a prozone effect is observed for ELISA 2. The specificities of both ELISAs were excellent not only for pre-COVID-19 serum samples from Europe, Asia, and South America but also for several challenging African sample panels. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG FcγR ELISAs, methodically combining antigen-antibody binding in solution and isotype-specific detection of immune complexes, are valuable tools for seroprevalence studies requiring the (long-term) detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in populations with a challenging immunological background and/or in which spike-protein-based vaccine programs have been rolled out.
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COVID-19 , Receptors, IgG , Antibodies, Viral , COVID-19/diagnosis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Humans , Immunoglobulin G , Nucleocapsid Proteins , SARS-CoV-2 , Sensitivity and Specificity , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusABSTRACT
The SARS-COV-2 virus of the coronavirus family was identified in 2019. This is a type of virus that infects humans and some animals, in Peru it has seriously affected everyone, causing so many deaths, which has resulted in that people be tested to rule out contagion, using laboratory methods recommended by the government of the country. Therefore, the data science methodology was used with this research, where its objective is to predict what types of people are contaminated during SARS-COV-2 by the regions of Peru, identified through laboratory methods, therefore, the ”data bank” was taken by PNDA, the CSV file was used for that study, apart from the fact that it comes from the INS and the CDC of the MINSA. In which, machine learning was developed with the decision tree algorithm and then began coding, in such a way that the distribution called Anaconda was used where it is encoded in Python language, together with that distribution, Jupyter Notebook was used which is a client-server application. The results generated by this research prove that it was possible to identify the types of individuals by SARS-COV-2. These results can help prevention entities against SARS-COV-2 to apply the corresponding preventive measures in a more focused way.
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This special issue consists of 20 articles presenting the latest innovations and approaches to investigations in laboratory hematology. The updated laboratory hematology and COVID-19-related laboratory hematology-related guidelines are included.
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During the difficult time of coronavirus outbreaks, global environmental disasters, and financial turmoil, developing and deploying sustainable information systems is a crucial management task for ensuring the functionality of enterprise information processing and thus sustaining competitiveness. This study develops a set of criteria for sustainable information systems using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. By referring to the theory of knowledge-based view and sustainability, this study constructed a research framework in which the selection attributes reflect core knowledge elements of a sustainable information system. An empirical study was performed using the DEMATEL method with data collected from industry experts. The results conclude a cause and effect relationship of the knowledge factors influencing information system sustainability. The study discovered that the economical aspect is a causal factor of environmental aspect and social aspect for sustainability considerations. Furthermore, commercial IT solution knowledge, eco-design knowledge, and workplace safety and health knowledge are the most influential knowledge components for the economic, environmental, and social aspects of information system sustainability, respectively. © 2021 International Consortium for Electronic Business. All rights reserved.
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Candida auris has emerged in recent years as an important cause of hospital infection outbreaks around the world. C. auris is an intensive care unit (ICU) environmental colonizer and many hospital environments may harbor C. auris transmission. In addition, in 2020, other countries: Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Colombia and the United States - documented cases of C. auris infection, mostly in patients with a history of COVID-19 infection, highlighting that in the first three countries no isolates were reported prior to this period. Therefore, it is noteworthy that both COVID-19 and C. auris share at least six characteristics that should be highlighted: (a) both pathogens may remain on surfaces, including hospital floors, beds, bedrails, poles, air conditioners and windows;(b) both may present high mortality rates;(c) both pathogens require standard laboratory methods for diagnosis;(d) both present treatment difficulties due to multidrug resistance (C. auris) or no effective medical therapy (SARS-Cov-2);(e) both are globally distributed causing outbreaks in healthcare facilities;(f) both present risk factors, including in cases of mechanical ventilation, diabetes mellitus, protracted ventilator-assisted management, immunosuppression, chronic kidney disease, etc. There is much to be learned about these infectious diseases, particularly in countries with poor hygiene, high population density and intense migratory flows, not to mention international travel contributing substantially to both pandemics. Vigilance practices by hospital committees for infection control and routine diagnostic processes for determining C. auris fungal infection in COVID-19 patients should be implemented. Modern diagnostic tests must be made available worldwide, as well as access to adequate antifungal therapy to manage C. auris infection. All of the aspects mentioned will effectively contribute to reducing mortality by COVID-19 and enable monitoring the emergence of C. auris.
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Drug-target interactions prediction is of great significance in medical and biological research, but traditional laboratory methods have disadvantages such as high cost and time-consuming. Therefore, in recent years, deep learning, similarity calculation methods and other methods are becoming more and more widely applied to related research. This paper proposes an improved deep learning model, named as FPConv-DTI, which uses the fingerprint information of drug and the evolution feature information of protein based on a convolutional neural network. The Borderline-SMOTE algorithm is also used to generate new positive examples for training to solve the imbalance problem, and combines the number of sample data to process the input differently. Experiments have been carried out with four standard datasets and Drugbank dataset. The results show that compared with other methods, our method has greatly improvement for predicting drug-target interactions. In addition, some COVID-19 drugs are also predicted with the best-performing model, which shows that FPConv-DTI model is the potential for practical drug prediction. © 2021 Association for Computing Machinery.
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BACKGROUND: Diagnostic sensitivities of point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 assays depend on specimen type and population-specific viral loads. Evaluation of these assays require "direct" specimens from paired-swab studies rather than more accessible residual specimens in viral transport media (VTM). METHODS: Residual VTM and limit-of-detection studies were conducted on Abbott ID NOW™ COVID-19, Quidel Sofia 2™ SARS Antigen FIA, and DiaSorin Simplexa™ COVID-19 Direct assays, with cycle threshold (CT) adjustments to approximate direct-specimen testing based on gene-target doubling each PCR cycle. Logistic regression was used to model assay performance by specimen CT. These models were applied to CT distributions of symptomatic and asymptomatic populations presenting to emergency services to predict the percentage of specimens that would be detected by each assay. A 96-sample paired-swab study was conducted to confirm model results. RESULTS: When using direct nasopharyngeal samples and fit with either VTM or limit-of-detection data, percent positivities for ID NOW (symptomatic 94.9%/97.4%; asymptomatic 88.4.0%/89.6%) and Simplexa (symptomatic 97.8%/97.2%; asymptomatic 91.1%/90.8%) were predicted to be similar. Likewise, percent positivities for ID NOW with direct nasal specimens (symptomatic 77.8%; asymptomatic 64.5%) and, fit with VTM data, Sofia 2 with direct nasopharyngeal specimens (symptomatic 76.6%, asymptomatic 60.3%) were similar. The paired-swab study comparing direct nasopharyngeal specimens on ID NOW and nasopharyngeal VTM specimens on Simplexa showed 99% concordance. CONCLUSIONS: Assay performance can be modeled as dependent on viral load, fit using laboratory bench study results, and adjusted to account for direct-specimen testing. When using nasopharyngeal specimens, direct testing on Abbott ID NOW and VTM testing on DiaSorin Simplexa have similar performance.
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COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19 Testing , Disease Progression , Humans , Nasopharynx , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: An evolving COVID-19 testing landscape and issues with test supply allocation, especially in the current pandemic, has made it challenging for ordering providers. We audited orders of the Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 PCR with reverse transcription (RT-PCR) platform-the fastest of several other testing modalities available-to illuminate these challenges utilizing a multidisciplinary laboratory professional team consisting of a pathology resident and microbiology laboratory director. METHODS: Retrospective review of the first 5 hundred Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test orders from a 2-week period to determine test appropriateness based on the following indications: emergency surgery, emergent obstetric procedures, initial behavioral health admission, and later including discharge to skilled care facilities and pediatric admissions. Our hypothesis was that a significant proportion of orders for this testing platform were inappropriate. RESULTS: On review, a significant proportion of orders were incorrect, with 69.8% (n = 349, P < 0.0001) not meeting indications for rapid testing. Of all orders, 249 designated as emergency surgery were inappropriate, with 49.0% of those orders never proceeding with any surgical intervention; most of these were trauma related (64.6% were orders associated with a trauma unit). CONCLUSIONS: Significant, pervasive inappropriate ordering practices were identified at this center. A laboratory professional team can be key to identifying problems in testing and play a significant role in combating inappropriate test utilization.
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COVID-19 , Academic Medical Centers , COVID-19 Testing , Child , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Retrospective Studies , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the delivery of secondary care services. Self-collection of capillary blood at home can facilitate the monitoring of patients with chronic disease to support virtual clinics while mitigating the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the comparability of whole blood capillary and plasma venous samples for 15 routinely used biochemical analytes and to develop and pilot a user-friendly home-collection kit to support virtual outpatient clinical services. METHODS: To investigate the comparability of whole blood capillary and plasma venous samples for 15 routinely requested biochemical analytes, simultaneous samples of venous and capillary blood were collected in EDTA and lithium-heparin plasma separation tubes that were of 4-6 mL and 400-600 µL draw volume, respectively. Venous samples were analysed within 4 h of collection while capillary samples were kept at ambient temperature for three days until centrifugation and analysis. Analyte results that were comparable between the matrices were then piloted in a feasibility study in three outpatient clinical services. RESULTS: HbA1c, lipid profile and liver function tests were considered comparable and piloted in the patient feasibility study. The home-collect kit demonstrated good patient usability. CONCLUSION: Home collection of capillary blood could be a clinically-useful tool to deliver virtual care to patients with chronic disease.