Dengue is a systemic viral infection transmitted between humans by Aedes mosquitoes. For some patients, dengue is a life-threatening illness. There are currently no licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics, and substantial vector control efforts have not stopped its rapid emergence and global spread. The contemporary worldwide distribution of the risk of dengue virus infection and its public health burden are poorly known. Here we undertake an exhaustive assembly of known records of dengue occurrence worldwide, and use a formal modelling framework to map the global distribution of dengue risk. We then pair the resulting risk map with detailed longitudinal information from dengue cohort studies and population surfaces to infer the public health burden of dengue in 2010. We predict dengue to be ubiquitous throughout the tropics, with local spatial variations in risk influenced strongly by rainfall, temperature and the degree of urbanization. Using cartographic approaches, we estimate there to be 390 million (95% credible interval 284-528) dengue infections per year, of which 96 million (67-136) manifest apparently (any level of disease severity). This infection total is more than three times the dengue burden estimate of the World Health Organization. Stratification of our estimates by country allows comparison with national dengue reporting, after taking into account the probability of an apparent infection being formally reported. The most notable differences are discussed. These new risk maps and infection estimates provide novel insights into the global, regional and national public health burden imposed by dengue. We anticipate that they will provide a starting point for a wider discussion about the global impact of this disease and will help to guide improvements in disease control strategies using vaccine, drug and vector control methods, and in their economic evaluation.

/pdf/the-global-distribution-and-burden-of-dengue-4d1crnic4u.pdf

The global distribution and burden of dengue

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 and has caused a pandemic of acute respiratory disease, named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (COVID-19), which threatens human health and public safety. In this Review, we describe the basic virology of SARS-CoV-2, including genomic characteristics and receptor use, highlighting its key difference from previously known coronaviruses. We summarize current knowledge of clinical, epidemiological and pathological features of COVID-19, as well as recent progress in animal models and antiviral treatment approaches for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also discuss the potential wildlife hosts and zoonotic origin of this emerging virus in detail. In this Review, Shi and colleagues summarize the exceptional amount of research that has characterized acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since this virus has swept around the globe. They discuss what we know so far about the emergence and virology of SARS-CoV-2 and the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19.

/pdf/characteristics-of-sars-cov-2-and-covid-19-eeqnaghpho.pdf

Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

In addition to being a public physical health emergency, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected global mental health, as evidenced by panic-buying worldwide as cases soared. Little is known about changes in levels of psychological impact, stress, anxiety and depression during this pandemic. This longitudinal study surveyed the general population twice - during the initial outbreak, and the epidemic's peak four weeks later, surveying demographics, symptoms, knowledge, concerns, and precautionary measures against COVID-19. There were 1738 respondents from 190 Chinese cities (1210 first-survey respondents, 861 s-survey respondents; 333 respondents participated in both). Psychological impact and mental health status were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), respectively. IES-R measures PTSD symptoms in survivorship after an event. DASS -21 is based on tripartite model of psychopathology that comprise a general distress construct with distinct characteristics. This study found that there was a statistically significant longitudinal reduction in mean IES-R scores (from 32.98 to 30.76, p  24) for PTSD symptoms, suggesting that the reduction in scores was not clinically significant. During the initial evaluation, moderate-to-severe stress, anxiety and depression were noted in 8.1%, 28.8% and 16.5%, respectively and there were no significant longitudinal changes in stress, anxiety and depression levels (p > 0.05). Protective factors included high level of confidence in doctors, perceived survival likelihood and low risk of contracting COVID-19, satisfaction with health information, personal precautionary measures. As countries around the world brace for an escalation in cases, Governments should focus on effective methods of disseminating unbiased COVID-19 knowledge, teaching correct containment methods, ensuring availability of essential services/commodities, and providing sufficient financial support.

A longitudinal study on the mental health of general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

Recent advances in wet chemical synthesis and biomolecular functionalization of gold nanoparticles have led to a dramatic expansion of their potential biomedical applications, including biosensorics, bioimaging, photothermal therapy, and targeted drug delivery. As the range of gold nanoparticle types and their applications continues to increase, human safety concerns are gaining attention, which makes it necessary to better understand the potential toxicity hazards of these novel materials. Whereas about 80 reports on the in vivo biodistribution and in vitrocell toxicity of gold nanoparticles are available in the literature, there is lack of correlation between both fields and there is no clear understanding of intrinsic nanoparticle effects. At present, the major obstacle is the significant discrepancy in experimental conditions under which biodistribution and toxicity effects have been evaluated. This critical review presents a detailed analysis of data on the in vitro and in vivo biodistribution and toxicity of most popular gold nanoparticles, including atomic clusters and colloidal particles of diameters from 1 to 200 nm, gold nanoshells, nanorods, and nanowires. Emphasis is placed on the systematization of data over particle types and parameters, particle surface functionalization, animal and cell models, organs examined, doses applied, the type of particle administration and the time of examination, assays for evaluating gold particle toxicity, and methods for determining the gold concentration in organs and distribution of particles over cells. On the basis of a critical analysis of data, we arrive at some general conclusions on key nanoparticle parameters, methods of particle surface modification, and doses administered that determine the type and kinetics of biodistribution and toxicity at cellular and organismal levels (197 references).

Biodistribution and toxicity of engineered gold nanoparticles: a review of in vitro and in vivo studies

Objective Since the declaration of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as pandemic, there are reports on the increased prevalence of physical symptoms observed in the general population. We investigated the association between psychological outcomes and physical symptoms among healthcare workers. Methods Healthcare workers from 5 major hospitals, involved in the care for COVID-19 patients, in Singapore and India were invited to participate in a study by performing a self-administered questionnaire within the period of February 19 to April 17, 2020. Healthcare workers included doctors, nurses, allied healthcare workers, administrators, clerical staff and maintenance workers. This questionnaire collected information on demographics, medical history, symptom prevalence in the past month, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) instrument. The prevalence of physical symptoms displayed by healthcare workers and the associations between physical symptoms and psychological outcomes of depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were evaluated. Results Out of the 906 healthcare workers who participated in the survey, 48 (5.3%) screened positive for moderate to very-severe depression, 79 (8.7%) for moderate to extremely-severe anxiety, 20 (2.2%) for moderate to extremely-severe stress, and 34 (3.8%) for moderate to severe levels of psychological distress. The commonest reported symptom was headache (32.3%), with a large number of participants (33.4%) reporting more than four symptoms. Participants who had experienced symptoms in the preceding month were more likely to be older, have pre-existing comorbidities and a positive screen for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD. After adjusting for age, gender and comorbidities, it was found that depression (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.54–5.07, p = 0.001), anxiety (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.36–3.48, p = 0.001), stress (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.27–7.41, p = 0.13), and PTSD (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.12–4.35, p = 0.023) remained significantly associated with the presence of physical symptoms experienced in the preceding month. Linear regression revealed that the presence of physical symptoms was associated with higher mean scores in the IES-R, DASS Anxiety, Stress and Depression subscales. Conclusions Our study demonstrates a significant association between the prevalence of physical symptoms and psychological outcomes among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. We postulate that this association may be bi-directional, and that timely psychological interventions for healthcare workers with physical symptoms should be considered once an infection has been excluded.

/pdf/a-multinational-multicentre-study-on-the-psychological-2yqtzmb85d.pdf

A multinational, multicentre study on the psychological outcomes and associated physical symptoms amongst healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak.

https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(07)03164-0/pdf

Effect of gold nanoparticles on spermatozoa: the first world report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Dear Editor, We read with great interest the recent publication entitled “A Chinese case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) did not show infectivity during the incubation period: based on an epidemiological survey” [1]. Bae concluded that “the epidemiological findings support the claim that the COVID-19 virus does not have infectivity during the incubation period [1].” In fact, a pathogen should not have infectivity during the incubation period or development of disease. However, the exact incubation period of COVID-19 is still unknown. In a recent report by Linton et al. [2], the incubation range was estimated as between 2 days and 14 days with 95% confidence. Exceptional cases might occur with an unusually short or long incubation period. Nevertheless, the reliability of history-taking should also be addressed. How the author was able to confirm the reliability of the patient’s self-reported history is an interesting issue for further discussion. In our country, Thailand, it is not uncommon for patients to disguise their clinical history, which can cause delays in the diagnosis of COVID-19 and exacerbate the local transmission of the disease. pISSN 1975-8375 eISSN 2233-4521

http://jpmph.org/upload/pdf/jpmph-53-2-70.pdf

Letter to the Editor: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Infectivity, and the Incubation Period.

Reliability cannot be achieved in a clinical laboratory through the control of accuracy in the analytical phase of the testing process alone. Indeed a "mistake" can be defined as any defect occuring during the testing process. In the analysis of clinical specimens, there are many possible preanalytical sources of error. Therefore, the application of quality system to laboratory testing requires total quality management throughout the laboratory process, including the preanalytical and postanalytical phases. ISO 9002:1994 is a model for quality assurance in production, installation, and servicing, which includes a number of clauses providing guidance for implementation in clinical laboratories. Our laboratory at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, the largest Thai Red Cross Society hospital, is the first clinical laboratory in Thailand with ISO 9002:1994 certified for the whole unit. In this study, we evaluated the frequency and types of preanalytical mistakes found in our laboratory, by monitoring specimens requested for laboratory analyses from both in-patient and out-patient divisions for 6 months. Among a total of 935,896 specimens for 941,902 analyses, 1,048 findings were confirmed as preanalytical mistakes; this was a relative frequency of 0.11 % (1,048/935,896). A total of 1,240 mistakes were identified during the study period. Comparing the preanalytical mistakes to other mistakes in the laboratory process monitored in the same setting and period, the distribution of mistakes was: preanalytical 84.52 % (1,048 mistakes), analytical 4.35 % (54 mistakes), and postanalytical 11.13 % (138 mistakes). Of 1,048 preanalytical mistakes, 998 (95.2%) originated in the care units. All preanalytical mistakes, except for 12 (1.15 %) relating to the laboratory barcode reading machine, were due to human error. Most mistakes occurred before samples were analysed, either during sampling or preparation for analysis. This suggests that co-operation with clinicians and personnel outside the laboratory is still the key to improvement of laboratory quality.

/pdf/types-and-frequency-of-preanalytical-mistakes-in-the-first-49f8q6qsbm.pdf

Types and frequency of preanalytical mistakes in the first Thai ISO 9002:1994 certified clinical laboratory, a 6 – month monitoring

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/10760296211047229

Dengue After COVID-19 Vaccination: Possible and Might be Missed.

The quantitation of platelets in peripheral blood is a well-recognized tool. Recently, new indices related to erythrocytes and platelet counts have been provided by hematologic analyzers. Concerning the platelet parameter, the three important parameters are plateletcrit (PCT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW). The purpose of the study is to investigate these three parameters to define their expected values and the correlation with the parallel red blood cell parameters, hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volumer (MCV), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Blood samples form 215 volunteers were analyzed for platelet parameters using Technicon H*3. The average (mean +/- SD) values obtained with expected ranges were PCT 0.24 +/- 0.05% (range, 0.23-0.24%), MPV 12.79 +/- 5.91 fL (range, 12.39-13.19 fL), and PDW 46.79 +/- 2.70% (range, 46.61-46.97%). Concerning the correlation between PCT, MPV, and RDW and their parallel red blood cell parameters, there was no significant correlation between PCT and HCT, and between MPV and MCV. However, there was a significant correlation between PDW and RDW. It seems that the anisocytosis of red blood cells and platelets might co-occur. However, these data are basic observations; further in-depth evaluation of the platelet parameters is recommended.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/107602960401000208

Viroj Wiwanitkit

Papers

Effect of gold nanoparticles on spermatozoa: the first world report

Letter to the Editor: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Infectivity, and the Incubation Period.

Types and frequency of preanalytical mistakes in the first Thai ISO 9002:1994 certified clinical laboratory, a 6 – month monitoring

Dengue After COVID-19 Vaccination: Possible and Might be Missed.

Plateletcrit, Mean Platelet Volume, Platelet Distribution Width: Its Expected Values and Correlation With Parallel Red Blood Cell Parameters: