关键词： Cervical cancer disparities   Hispanics/Latinas   Cancer screening   Underserved   Social determinants of health   COVID-19  

摘要： Objective To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cervical cancer screening rates of Hispanic individuals compared to non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals in the United States, whether a responsive surge in catch-up screenings occurred as society adapted to pandemic changes, and to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics between the study populations. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the All of Us Research Program, which incorporates electronic health record data and survey data from a demographically, geographically, and medically diverse participant group, we assessed the annual cervical cancer screening rates during 2019–2021 by race/ethnicity among eligible individuals ages 21–64. Results Among 116,052 unique individuals (78,829 NHW and 37,223 Hispanic), Hispanic individuals had lower annual cervical cancer screening rates than NHWI across the three years studied. They experienced a more significant decrease in screening from 2019 to 2020 (39.27 %) compared to NHWIs (21.15 %) and less of a rebound increase in the following year, 2021 (10.33 % vs 13.83 %). Hispanic individuals aged 50–64 experienced the sharpest decline in screening rates (−43.01 % from 2019 to 2020). Hispanic individuals also experienced greater adverse social conditions, including lack of insurance or employment, lower educational attainment, and lower household income. Conclusions Hispanic individuals experienced a more significant decrease in cervical cancer screening rates with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with NHW individuals and did not experience a robust rebound in cervical cancer screening rates in 2021. As a result, the disparity in cervical cancer screening rates between NHW and Hispanic individuals considerably worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic.

关键词： Antibody pairs   Pathogen detection   Nanobodies   Screening strategy   Lateral flow immunoassay   IMMUNOASSAY   AFFINITY  

摘要： Antibody pairs-based immunoassay platforms served as essential and effective tools in the field of pathogen detection. However, the cumbersome preparation and limited detection sensitivity of antibody pairs challenge in establishment of a highly sensitive detection platform. In this study, using COVID-19 testing as a case, we utilized readily accessible nanobodies as detection antibodies and further proposed an accurate design concept with a more scientific and efficient screening strategy to obtain ultrasensitive antibody pairs. We employed nanobodies capable of binding different antigenic epitopes of the nucleocapsid (NP) or receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigens sandwich as substitutes for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) sandwich in fast detection formats and utilized time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) microspheres as the signal probe. Consequently, we developed a multiepitope nanobody sandwich-based fluorescence lateral flow immunoassay (FLFA) strip. Our results suggest that the NP antigen had a detection limit of 12.01pg/mL, while the RBD antigen had a limit of 6.51 pg/mL using our FLFA strip. Based on double mAb sandwiches, the values presented herein demonstrated 4 to 32-fold enhancements in sensitivity, and 32 to 256-fold enhancements compared to commercially available antigen lateral flow assay kits. Furthermore, we demonstrated the excellent characteristics of the proposed test strip, including its specificity, stability, accuracy, and repeatability, which underscores its the prospective utility. Indeed, these findings indicate that our established screening strategy along with the multi-epitope nanobody sandwich mode provides an optimized strategy in the field of pathogen detection.

摘要： This paper empirically examines the impact of digital transformation on the financing constraints of tourism-related listed companies in the Chinese capital market during the COVID-19 pandemic. The empirical results indicate that digital transformation significantly reduces financing constraints during the pandemic. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the mitigating effect of digital transformation on financing constraints during the pandemic is mainly evident in large-scale enterprises and those with a higher proportion of institutional investors.

关键词： COVID-19   FTIR   Biomarker   Explainable artificial intelligence   Shapley explanations   INFRARED FTIR SPECTROSCOPY   GLYCOSYLATION   SERUM  

摘要： This study explores the molecular alterations and disease progression in COVID-19 patients using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with spectrochemical and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) approaches. Blood serum samples from intubated patients (IC), those receiving hospital services (SC), and recovered patients (PC) were analyzed to identify potential spectrochemical serum biomarkers. Spectrochemical parameters such as lipid, protein, nucleic acid concentrations, and IgG glycosylation were quantified, revealing significant alterations indicative of disease severity. Notably, increased lipid content, altered protein concentrations, and enhanced protein phosphorylation were observed in IC patients compared to SC and PC groups. The serum AGR (Albumin/Globulin Ratio) index demonstrated a distinct shift among patient groups, suggesting its potential as a rapid biochemical marker for COVID-19 severity. Additionally, alterations in IgG glycosylation and glucose concentrations were associated with disease severity. Spectral analysis highlighted specific bands indicative of nucleic acid concentrations, with notable changes observed in IC patients. XAI techniques further elucidated the importance of various spectral features in predicting disease severity across patient categories, emphasizing the heterogeneity of COVID-19's impact. Overall, this comprehensive approach provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying COVID-19 pathogenesis and offers a transparent and interpretable prediction algorithm to aid decision-making and patient management.

摘要： During the Covid-19 pandemic, the governments of many countries adopted measures to support the population during the lockdowns and periods of reduced economic activity. In the Republic of Georgia, in April 2020 the government announced that it would pay the electricity bills of residential customers in April and May 2020, effectively making electricity free, as long as usage would not exceed 200 kWh/month. Consumers using more than 200 kWh would pay the regular tariff on the entire consumption (not just the kWh above 200). In August 2020, the government announced that the policy would be in force again in November and December 2020, and January and February 2021. We examine meter readings from a 10 % sample of the country's customers base outside of the Tbilisi city limits to see if the response to the policy is consistent with the predictions from economic theory. We find that, as suggested by economic theory, in the months when the policy is in place low-volume consumers increase their electricity usage and high-volume consumers decrease it in an effort to make the 200 kWh mark. However, we do not find any evidence of “bunching” at 200 kWh or of a “hole” thereafter. The average household increased usage by some 5 % above and beyond their normal. This figure however masks considerable heterogeneity in the effects of the policy across urban, rural, and “high mountain” status areas.

关键词： Na,K-ATPase   Endogenous ouabain   Bipolar disorder   Covid-19  

摘要： Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a psychiatric disorder marked by mood swings between manic and depressive episodes. The reduction in the Na,K-ATPase (NKA) enzyme activity and the inability of individuals with BD to produce endogenous ouabain (EO) at sufficient levels to stimulate this enzyme during stressful events are factors proposed for BD etiology. According to these hypotheses, reduction in NKA activity would result in altered neuronal resting potential, leading to BD symptoms. Recently, damage to the adrenals (EO synthesis site) in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients has been reported, however studies pointing to the pathophysiological mechanisms shared by these two diseases are scarce. Through a literature review, this study aims to correlate COVID-19 and BD, focusing on the role of NKA and EO to identify possible mechanisms for the worsening of BD due to COVID-19. The search in the PubMed database for the descriptors (“bipolar disorder” AND “Na,K-ATPase”), (“bipolar disorder” AND “endogenous ouabain”), (“covid-19” AND “bipolar disorder”) and (“covid-19” AND “adrenal gland”) resulted in 390 articles. The studies identified the adrenals as a vulnerable organ to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cases of adrenal damage in patients with COVID-19 showing lower levels of adrenal hormones were reported. Cases of COVID-19 patients with symptoms of mania were reported worldwide. Given these results, we propose that adrenal cortical cell damage could lead to EO deficiency following neuronal NKA activity impairment, with small reductions in activity leading to mania and greater reductions leading to depression.

关键词： Point-of-care testing   COVID-19   SARS-CoV-2   Analyser-free   Acute respiratory illness  

摘要： Background A novel single-use, analyser-free, molecular point-of-care test for SARS-CoV-2 (Veros COVID-19 test, Sherlock Biosciences) could reduce time to results and improve patient care and flow in the emergency department (ED), but its performance in this setting is unknown. Methods Adults aged ≥18 years presenting to Southampton General Hospital (UK) with suspected COVID-19 were tested with the Veros COVID-19 test in addition to standard of care near-patient PCR. Measures of diagnostic accuracy were calculated for the Veros COVID-19 test stratified by Ct value. Discrepant results underwent viral culture. Findings Between Jan 16 and May 2, 2023, 400 patients were enrolled with a median (IQR) age of 60 (34−77) and 141 (35·3%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive by PCR. The Veros test gave valid results on the first test in 384 (96·0%), and sensitivity and specificity were 127/141 (90·1%, 95%CI 83·9–94·5) and 258/259 (99·6%, 95%CI 97·9–100) overall. For those with high or moderate viral load (Ct ≤30), sensitivity was 125/129 (96·9%, 95%CI 92·3–99·2). One (7·1%) of 14 PCR positive/Veros test negative samples was culture positive. Median (IQR) time from sample collection to result was 19 (18−20) mins with the Veros test versus 73 (59−92) mins with PCR (p < 0·0001). Interpretation The Veros COVID-19 test generated results in near real-time, around 1 h sooner than rapid, near-patient, analyser-based PCR, and accuracy was excellent for samples with moderate and high viral loads. The Veros test represents a step-change in molecular diagnostics for infection and could significantly reduce time to results and improve patient management in EDs and other settings.

摘要： Coronavirus is an endangered disease to kills more than millions of people, but it has also put tremendous pressure on the whole medical system. The initial stage of identification of COVID-19 is necessary to isolate the patients with positive cases in order to stop the disease from spreading. The amalgamation of imaging techniques and deep learning algorithms takes less time and leads to more accurate outcomes for COVID-19 detection. Deep learning techniques have been employed by scientists to identify coronavirus infection in lung images during the COVID-19 worldwide epidemic. In this review, a review of the Covid-19 detection framework based on machine learning and deep learning techniques using X-ray images is done. First, the review of existing Covid-19 detection models is done. For this purpose, a detailed literature survey is carried out on Covid-19 detection papers from 2019 to 2023. Following the literature survey, the pre-processing procedures, the segmentation process, and the classification techniques used for Covid-19 detection using deep learning, machine learning, and optimization algorithms are reviewed and categorized. After that, the dataset and the implementation tool which are utilized for Covid-19 detection works are analyzed and grouped. Finally, the performance metrics validation such as accuracy, recall, F1-score, NPV, precision, sensitivity, and specificity is carried out. The research gaps in the existing Covid-19 detection techniques are provided further as references to aid in future works.

关键词： Thyroid eye disease   Vaccination   Thyroid-stimulating antibody   Magnetic Resonance Imaging   Asymmetry  

摘要： The influence of COVID-19 vaccination on thyroid eye disease (TED) is unknown. We investigated the characteristics of COVID-19-vaccinated TED. Sixty-two consecutive patients diagnosed with active TED were divided as follows. Patients from 2014 to 2019 were defined as pre-COVID-19 (n = 32). Patients during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023) were divided into patients with (n = 16) or without (n = 14) COVID-19 vaccination before TED onset. Magnetic resonance images were evaluated using number of involved extraocular muscles (n-EOM), maximum signal intensity ratio (SIR max) and the inferior rectus (IR) muscle area. Additionally, the ratio of the more enlarged IR muscle area and SIR max divided by that on the other side was calculated (IR ratio, SIR max ratio). TED symmetry was also evaluated based on IR ratios. Although, in more affected orbit, n-EOM were no significant difference, vaccinated showed fewer n-EOM in the less affected orbit. SIR max and IR ratio were significantly higher in vaccinated than others (SIR max ratio; 1.07, 1.16, 1.42, IR ratio; 1.52, 1.38, 2.12, pre-COVID-19, non-vaccinated, vaccinated, respectively). When asymmetric TED was defined as IR ratio of 2 or greater, the proportion of asymmetric were significantly higher in vaccinated (50 %) than others (pre-COVID-19; 13 %, non-vaccinated; 14 %). In less affected IR, the regression line between SIR max and Thyroid-stimulating antibody was located lower in vaccinated than in those without vaccination. After treatment, the vaccinated IR ratio improved and the difference between groups disappeared. COVID-19 vaccinated showed asymmetry. Importantly, asymmetric involvement of vaccinated was reversible by treatment.