Post COVID-19 condition after Wildtype, Delta, and Omicron variant SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination: pooled analysis of two population-based cohorts

Background Post COVID-19 condition (PCC) is an important complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection, affecting millions worldwide. Further evidence is needed on the risk of PCC after vaccination and infection with newer variants. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of PCC across different variants and vaccination histories. Methods We used pooled data from 1350 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals from two representative population-based cohorts in Switzerland, diagnosed between Aug 5, 2020, and Feb 25, 2022. We descriptively analysed the prevalence and severity of PCC, defined as the presence and frequency of PCC-related symptoms six months after infection, among vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals infected with Wildtype, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2. We used multivariable logistic regression models to assess the association and estimate the risk reduction of PCC after infection with newer variants and prior vaccination. We further assessed associations with the severity of PCC using multinomial logistic regression. To identify groups of individuals with similar symptom patterns and evaluate differences in the presentation of PCC across variants, we performed exploratory hierarchical cluster analyses. Findings We found strong evidence that vaccinated individuals infected with Omicron had a reduced risk of developing PCC compared to non-vaccinated Wildtype-infected individuals (odds ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.24–0.68). The risk among non-vaccinated individuals was similar after infection with Delta or Omicron compared to Wildtype SARS-CoV-2. We found no differences in PCC prevalence with respect to the number of received vaccine doses or timing of last vaccination. The prevalence of PCC-related symptoms among vaccinated, Omicron-infected individuals was lower across severity levels. In cluster analyses, we identified four clusters of diverse systemic, neurocognitive, cardiorespiratory, and musculoskeletal symptoms, with similar patterns across variants. Interpretation The risk of PCC appears to be lowered with infection by the Omicron variant and after prior vaccination. This evidence is crucial to guide future public health measures and vaccination strategies. Funding Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), University of Zurich Foundation, Cantonal Department of Health Zurich, Swiss Federal Office of Public Health Study registrations ISRCTN14990068, ISRCTN1818186

Criterios relevantes para la notificación de posibles donantes de córnea: una revisión integradora

Sintetizar a produção de conhecimento referente aos fatores clínicos e sociológicos necessários para otimizar o processo de notificação de potenciais doadores de córnea. Métodos: Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, a partir da pergunta norteadora: “quais os critérios clínicos e sociodemográficos necessários para eficaz notificação de potenciais doadores de córnea?” Para seleção dos artigos, utilizou-se seis bases de dados eletrônicas na área da saúde com período entre 2010 e 2022, nos idiomas português e inglês. Resultados: Dos 1.266 estudos inicialmente obtidos, excluiu-se 1.266 durante as filtragens, resultando em uma amostra final de 15 estudos. A análise viabilizou as seguintes categorizações: características sociodemográficas e clínicas dos pacientes; causas da não efetivação da doação de córneas; estratégias para aperfeiçoar o processo de doação de córnea. Considerações finais: Os resultados ofereceram critérios norteadores capazes de amparar à construção de documentos para auxílio da efetiva notificação de potenciais doadores de córnea.Objective: To synthesize the production of knowledge regarding the clinical and sociological factors necessary to optimize the notification process of potential corneal donors. Methods: An integrative review was used, based on the guiding question: "What are the clinical and sociodemographic criteria necessary for effective notification of potential corneal donors?" For the selection of articles, six electronic databases in the health area published between 2010 and 2022, in Portuguese and English, were used. Results: Of the 1,266 studies initially obtained, 1,266 were excluded during filtering, resulting in a final sample of 15 studies. The analysis enabled the following categorizations: sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients; causes for non-completion of corneal donation; Strategies to improve the corneal donation process. Final considerations: The results offered guiding criteria capable of supporting the construction of documents to aid in the effective notification of potential corneal donors.Objetivo: Sintetizar la producción de conocimiento sobre los factores clínicos y sociológicos necesarios para optimizar el proceso de notificación de potenciales donantes de córnea. Métodos: Se utilizó una revisión integradora, basada en la pregunta orientadora: "¿Cuáles son los criterios clínicos y sociodemográficos necesarios para la notificación efectiva de potenciales donantes de córnea?" Para la selección de artículos, se utilizaron seis bases de datos electrónicas del área de la salud publicadas entre 2010 y 2022, en portugués e inglés. Resultados: De los 1266 estudios obtenidos inicialmente, 1266 fueron excluidos durante el filtrado, resultando una muestra final de 15 estudios. El análisis permitió las siguientes categorizaciones: características sociodemográficas y clínicas de los pacientes; causas de no finalización de la donación de córnea; Estrategias para mejorar el proceso de donación de córnea. Consideraciones finales: Los resultados ofrecieron criterios orientadores capaces de apoyar la construcción de documentos para auxiliar en la notificación efectiva de potenciales donantes de córnea

Covid-19 Pandemic Situation In The Arab World Till June 11, 2020: Spatial Panorama Obtained Following The Response Plan Implemented

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health emergency of this century. The Arab region is not spared from this scourge. This paper focuses on describing the current epidemiological situation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Arab world, as of June 11, 2020. Methods: An observational study of all laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, reported in each Arab country since the appearance of the first case until June 11, 2020, was carried out. Results: Twenty-two Arab countries have reported a total of 398,954 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 5,241 deaths, with a cumulative incidence of 950 cases per 1,000,000 population and a cumulative mortality rate of 13 deaths per 1,000,000 population. Of all recorded cases, 240,137 (60.19%) have recovered from COVID-19. The highest incidence rate of COVID-19 was observed in Qatar (26,988 cases per 1,000,000 population) and the lowest incidence was recorded in Libya (59 cases), Yemen (21 cases), and Syria (10 cases). Kuwait had the highest mortality rate for COVID-19 (67 deaths per 1,000,000 population). Eight countries had a case fatality rate (CFR) less than 1% (e.g., Bahrain, Oman and Qatar). The highest CFR was observed in Yemen (23.01%). Only three countries were ranked first in terms of remission (Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia). The rate of remission did not exceed 20% in Libya, Mauritania, and Yemen. Conclusion: Some countries were more affected than others in terms of morbidity and mortality. The success of a national response plan against COVID-19 is closely linked to the devotion of health professionals and community engagement

USA v. Ronald Ottaviano

USDC for the District of New Jerse

Individual genes have similar expression levels in many tissues.

<p>Samples replicate one another to some degree, regardless of the conditions under which they are measured, i.e., whether it is actually a biological replicate or not. (A) Liver expression levels within the same experiment are very highly correlated (Spearman’s <i>r</i>_<i>s</i> = 0.976, Pearson’s <i>r</i> = 0.999). (B) Liver expression is moderately correlated to kidney expression within the same experiment (Spearman’s <i>r</i>_<i>s</i> = 0.837, Pearson’s <i>r</i> = 0.894). (C) Liver expression levels in two different experiments are less well correlated than that between tissues (Spearman’s <i>r</i>_<i>s</i> = 0.846, Pearson’s <i>r</i> = 0.537).</p

Co-expression perturbations to pick out samples with high variation.

<p>(A) Expression levels of genes X and Y. (B) Gene X and Y show good correlation (Spearman’s <i>r</i>_<i>s</i> = 0.9). (C) If we add noise to one sample, we see a shift. The noise model is described further in the Materials and Methods section. Briefly, for each gene in a sample, we select a new rank for it to take relative to its expression in other samples, thus sampling from within its empirical distribution. The new rank is limited to one close to the original value, as defined by the noise factor. (D) The noise added to the sample has caused it to be an outlier that is disrupting the co-expression indicated by the otherwise good linear fit. The residuals of the points scores the sample (regressing from the line of best fit), and the (E) scores in aggregate allows us to draw an (F) ROC and calculate an AUROC, testing how well we the outlier was detected. We also calculate a p-value (Wilcoxon test) to compare the distributions of the average AUROCs of the co-expressed pairs and an equal number of random pairs.</p

Low expression levels and high fold changes provide sensitive quality control.

<p>(A) Histogram of fraction of genes poorly replicable and filtered on mean expression (B) or fold change. (C) Plotting the average expression against the fold change to compare gene-gene replicability to the SEQC criteria. The red points are genes that were not well correlated (Pearson’s <i>r</i>< 0.9) with their replicates across conditions. The fraction of these red points across mean expression (log₂ FPKM) is shown in the histogram in panel A, and the fraction of these red points across fold change (log₂) is shown in the panel B. The recommended filters by the SEQC are shown by the dotted blue lines, across both mean and fold change. We see that the fraction of poorly replicated genes drops significantly at the recommended filters–i.e., discarding fold changes less than log₂ 1~2, and discarding the lowly expressing genes (bottom 1/3^rd). The grey lines show the histograms for a given measure (mean expression–A, fold change -B) contingent on the SEQC criterion for the other having already been applied.</p

EGAD: ultra-fast functional analysis of gene networks

Evaluating gene networks with respect to known biology is a common task but often a computationally costly one. Many computational experiments are difficult to apply exhaustively in network analysis due to run-times. To permit high-throughput analysis of gene networks, we have implemented a set of very efficient tools to calculate functional properties in networks based on guilt-by-association methods. EGAD: ( E: xtending ' G: uilt-by- A: ssociation' by D: egree) allows gene networks to be evaluated with respect to hundreds or thousands of gene sets. The methods predict novel members of gene groups, assess how well a gene network groups known sets of genes, and determines the degree to which generic predictions drive performance. By allowing fast evaluations, whether of random sets or real functional ones, EGAD: provides the user with an assessment of performance which can easily be used in controlled evaluations across many parameters. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The software package is freely available at https://github.com/sarbal/EGAD and implemented for use in R and Matlab. The package is also freely available under the LGPL license from the Bioconductor web site (http://bioconductor.org). CONTACT: [email protected] information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online