Social distancing measures for COVID-19 are changing winter season

Health authorities worldwide have adopted measures of social distancing and movement restrictions, in addition to other public health measures to reduce exposure and to suppress interhuman SARS-CoV- 2 transmission. In Italy, a national lockdown with school closure was introduced from March to May 2020. From November 2020, Italy has been divided into zones according to regional epidemiological data, with primary schools reopened, associated with the mandatory use of face masks and different levels of social distance measures. For children with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, the surveillance mechanism for the control of SARS-CoV- 2 infection is based on the performance of a real-time PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab. A diagnostic test has been introduced at the tertiary-level university hospital, Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS \u201cBurlo Garofolo\u201d of Trieste, consisting of a multiple nucleic acid amplification assay for 13 common viral respiratory pathogens on nasopharyngeal swab (Respiratory Flow Chip assay (Vitro, Sevilla, Spain), including SARS-CoV- 2, influenza A and B, adenovirus, other coronaviruses, parainfluenza virus 1\u20134, enteroviruses, bocavirus, metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinoviruses, Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Before routine utilisation, international standard quality control samples for each pathogen were used for test validation, and no cross-detection was found between the different pathogens. Criteria for testing referral did not change during the study period. Weekly variability of the number of total tests performed was due to the normal variations of acute illness. During the last winter season, from September 2020 (week 39) to February 2021 (week 7), 1138 nasopharyngeal swabs were tested for patients younger than 17 years old (figure 1). No influenza A or B nor RSV was detected during this period. The most common pathogen was rhinovirus (n=505), followed by adenoviruses (n=131), other coronaviruses (n=101) and SARS-CoV- 2 (n=57). Our data show that common winter pathogens circulation changed, and influenza virus and RSV did not produce a seasonal epidemic in the 2020\u20132021 winter season. These data suggest that social distancing measures and mask wearing profoundly changed the seasonality of winter paediatric respiratory infections that are mainly spread by respiratory droplets. The reasons why rhinovirus remains the main pathogen despite social distancing and face mask use are still a matter of debate. Similar data showing a decrease of common viral respiratory infections during the winter season have recently been reported in the southern hemisphere.1\u20134 Our data refer to a single institute, covering paediatric population of the Trieste Province (about 230 000 inhabitants), limiting the generalisation of our findings. However, our results highlight the need for continuing surveillance for the delayed spread of such viruses during spring and summer

Low-Level Detection of Poly(amidoamine) PAMAM Dendrimers Using Immunoimaging Scanning Probe Microscopy

Immunoimaging scanning probe microscopy was utilized for the low-level detection and quantification of biotinylated G4 poly(amidoamine) PAMAM dendrimers. Results were compared to those of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and found to provide a vastly improved analytical method for the low-level detection of dendrimers, improving the limit of detection by a factor of 1000 (LOD = 2.5 × 10−13 moles). The biorecognition method is reproducible and shows high specificity and good accuracy. In addition, the capture assay platform shows a promising approach to patterning dendrimers for nanotechnology applications

The Association Between State-Level Health Information Exchange Laws and Hospital Participation in Community Health Information Organizations

Evidence suggests that health information exchange (HIE) is an effective strategy to improve efficiency and quality of care, as well as reduce costs. A complex patchwork of federal and state legislation has developed over time to encourage HIE activity. Hospitals and health systems have adopted various HIE models to meet the requirements of these statutes and regulations. Given the complexity of HIE laws, it is important to understand how these legal levers influence HIE engagement. We combined data from two unique data sources to examine the association between state-level HIE laws and hospital engagement in community HIEs. Our results identified three legal provisions of state laws (HIE authorization, financial & non-financial incentives, opt-out consent) that increased the likelihood of community HIE engagement. Other provisions decreased the likelihood of engagement. This analysis provides foundational evidence about the utility of HIE laws. More research is needed to determine causal relationships

DNA condensation and redissolution: Interaction between overcharged DNA molecules

The effective DNA-DNA interaction force is calculated by computer simulations with explicit tetravalent counterions and monovalent salt. For overcharged DNA molecules, the interaction force shows a double-minimum structure. The positions and depths of these minima are regulated by the counterion density in the bulk. Using two-dimensional lattice sum and free energy perturbation theories, the coexisting phases for DNA bundles are calculated. A DNA-condensation and redissolution transition and a stable mesocrystal with an intermediate lattice constant for high counterion concentration are obtained.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure

UNDERSTANDING THE SCALAR MESON qqˉq\bar q NONET

It is shown that one can fit the available data on the a0(980), f0(980), f0(1300) and K*0(1430) mesons as a distorted 0++ qq bar nonet using very few (5-6) parameters and an improved version of the unitarized quark model. This includes all light two-pseudoscalar thresholds, constraints from Adler zeroes, flavour symmetric couplings, unitarity and physically acceptable analyticity. The parameters include a bare uu bar or dd bar mass, an over-all coupling constant, a cutoff and a strange quark mass of 100 MeV, which is in accord with expectations from the quark model. It is found that in particular for the a0(980) and f0(980) the KK bar component in the wave function is large, i.e., for a large fraction of the time the qq bar state is transformed into a virtual KK bar pair. This KK bar component, together with a similar component of eta' pi for the a0(980) , and eta eta, eta eta' and eta' eta' components for the f0(980), causes the substantial shift to a lower mass than what is naively expected from the qq bar component alone. Mass, width and mixing parameters, including sheet and pole positions, of the four resonances are given, with a detailed pedagogical discussion of their meaning.Comment: 35 pages in plain latex (ZPC in press), 10 figures obtainable from the author ([email protected]) with regular mail or as a large PS fil

Introduction of Probiotic-Based Sanitation in the Emergency Ward of a Children's Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a major threat to public health, especially in the hospital environment, and the massive use of disinfectants to prevent COVID-19 transmission might intensify this risk, possibly leading to future AMR pandemics. However, the control of microbial contamination is crucial in hospitals, since hospital microbiomes can cause healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which are particularly frequent and severe in pediatric wards due to children having high susceptibility. Aim: We have previously reported that probiotic-based sanitation (PCHS) could stably decrease pathogens and their AMR in the hospital environment, reduce associated HAIs in adult hospitals, and inactivate enveloped viruses. Here, we aimed to test the effect of PCHS in the emergency room (ER) of a children's hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Conventional chemical disinfection was replaced by PCHS for 2 months during routine ER sanitation; the level of environmental bioburden was characterized before and at 2, 4, and 9 weeks after the introduction of PCHS. Microbial contamination was monitored simultaneously by conventional culture-based CFU count and molecular assays, including 16S rRNA NGS for bacteriome characterization and microarrays for the assessment of the resistome of the contaminating population. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 was also monitored by PCR. Results and conclusions: PCHS usage was associated with a stable 80% decrease in surface pathogens compared to levels detected for chemical disinfection (P < 0.01), accompanied by an up to 2 log decrease in resistance genes (Pc < 0.01). The effects were reversed when reintroducing chemical disinfection, which counteracted the action of the PCHS. SARS-CoV-2 was not detectable in both the pre-PCHS and PCHS periods. As the control of microbial contamination is a major issue, especially during pandemic emergencies, collected data suggest that PCHS may be successfully used to control virus spread without simultaneous worsening of the AMR concern

Observation of exotic meson production in the reaction π−p→η′π−p \pi^{-} p \to \eta^{\prime} \pi^- p at 18 GeV/c

An amplitude analysis of an exclusive sample of 5765 events from the reaction $\pi^{-} p \to \eta^{\prime} \pi^- p$ at 18 GeV/c is described. The $\eta^{\prime} \pi^-$ production is dominated by natural parity exchange and by three partial waves: those with $J^{PC} = 1^{-+}, 2^{++},$ and $4^{++}$. A mass-dependent analysis of the partial-wave amplitudes indicates the production of the $a_2(1320)$ meson as well as the $a_4(2040)$ meson, observed for the first time decaying to $\eta^{\prime}\pi^-$. The dominant, exotic (non-$q\bar{q})$ $1^{-+}$ partial wave is shown to be resonant with a mass of $1.597 \pm 0.010^{+0.045}_{-0.010}$ GeV/c^2 and a width of $0.340 \pm 0.040 \pm 0.050$ GeV/c^2 . This exotic state, the $\pi_1(1600)$, is produced with a $t$ dependence which is different from that of the $a_2(1320)$ meson, indicating differences between the production mechanisms for the two states.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figure

Interregionalism's impact on regional integration in developing countries: the case of Mercosur

This article examines the impact of interregionalism on deepening regional integration processes in non-European Union (EU) regions, specifically the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). It considers whether ‘capacity-building’ functions of interregionalism are present in EU–Mercosur relations. It argues that although negotiations for an association agreement might have helped Mercosur survive periods of severe crisis in the past, the terms of the agreement under negotiation were not sufficiently attractive to encourage deeper integration in Mercosur. Moreover, interregionalism cannot be expected to compensate for low institutionalization, nor substitute for weak political willingness to deepen integration. Ultimately, Mercosur alone can decide how far it wants to take its regional integration

Analyticity, Crossing Symmetry and the Limits of Chiral Perturbation Theory

The chiral Lagrangian for Goldstone boson scattering is a power series expansion in numbers of derivatives. Each successive term is suppressed by powers of a scale, $\Lambda_\chi$, which must be less than of order $4\pi f/\sqrt{N}$ where $f$ is the Goldstone boson decay constant and $N$ is the number of flavors. The chiral expansion therefore breaks down at or below $4 \pi f/\sqrt{N}$. We argue that the breakdown of the chiral expansion is associated with the appearance of physical states other than Goldstone bosons. Because of crossing symmetry, some ``isospin'' channels will deviate from their low energy behavior well before they approach the scale at which their low energy amplitudes would violate unitarity. We argue that the estimates of ``oblique'' corrections from technicolor obtained by scaling from QCD are untrustworthy.Comment: harvmac, 18 pages (3 figures), HUTP-92/A025, BUHEP-92-18, new version fixes a TeX problem in little mod

S-wave Meson-Meson Scattering from Unitarized U(3) Chiral Lagrangians

An investigation of the s-wave channels in meson-meson scattering is performed within a U(3) chiral unitary approach. Our calculations are based on a chiral effective Lagrangian which includes the eta' as an explicit degree of freedom and incorporates important features of the underlying QCD Lagrangian such as the axial U(1) anomaly. We employ a coupled channel Bethe-Salpeter equation to generate poles from composed states of two pseudoscalar mesons. Our results are compared with experimental phase shifts up to 1.5 GeV and effects of the eta' within this scheme are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure