Look before diving into pooling of SARS-CoV-2 samples on high throughput analyzers

Given the unprecedented demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits of specimen pooling have recently been explored. As previous studies were limited to mathematical modeling or testing on low throughput PCR instruments, this study aimed to assess pooling on high throughput analyzers. To assess the impact of pooling, SARS-CoV-2 dilutions were performed at varying pool depths (i.e. 1:2, 1:4, and 1:8) into test-negative nasopharyngeal or oropharynx/anterior nares swabs matrix. Testing was evaluated on the automated Roche Cobas 6800 system, or the Roche MagNApure LC 2.0 or MagNAPure 96 instruments paired with a laboratory-developed test using a 96-well PCR format. The frequency of detection in specimens with low viral loads was evaluated using archived specimens collected throughout the first pandemic wave. The proportion of detectable results per pool depths was used to estimate the potential impact. In addition, workflow at the analytical stage, and pre-and post-stages of testing were also considered. The current study estimated that pool depths of 1:2, 1:4, and 1:8 would have allowed the detection of 98.3%, 96.0%, and 92.6% of positive SARS-CoV-2 results identified in the first wave of the pandemic in Nova Scotia. Overall, this study demonstrated that pooling on high throughput instrumentation can dramatically increase the overall testing capacity to meet increased demands, with little compromising to sensitivity at low pool depths. However, the human resources required at the pre-analytical stage of testing is a particular challenging to achieve.

A Cardiology Exhibit at a Science Museum, Viewed as Speech Acts in Sequence.

An exhibit about cardiology at a science museum is an elaborate form of health communication, with messaging happening across text, pictures, models, and videos. This qualitative case study uses concepts of speech act sequencing and interpellation to explain a series of multimodal exhibits about cardiovascular health. Health exhibits are described as verbal and audiovisual arguments combining assertions of information; directives to change behavior, and designations of risk candidacy-or sequences of assertive, directive, and declarative speech acts. Visitors are targeted as heart disease candidates according to their risk factors, such as hypertension, overweight, and inactivity. Communication research focused on health exhibits is rare, and this article presents a new way of looking at them that contributes to the current discussions about controlling language. Implications for health communication scholars and multimedia message designers are explored.