COVID-19 in congenital heart disease (COaCHeD) study

Background: COVID-19 has caused significant worldwide morbidity and mortality. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is likely to increase vulnerability and understanding the predictors of adverse outcomes is key to optimising care.// Objective: Ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on people with CHD and define risk factors for adverse outcomes.// Methods: Multicentre UK study undertaken 1 March 2020–30 June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected on CHD diagnoses, clinical presentation and outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression with multiple imputation was performed to explore predictors of death and hospitalisation.// Results: There were 405 reported cases (127 paediatric/278 adult). In children (age <16 years), there were 5 (3.9%) deaths. Adjusted ORs (AORs) for hospitalisation in children were significantly lower with each ascending year of age (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.96 (p<0.01)). In adults, there were 24 (8.6%) deaths (19 with comorbidities) and 74 (26.6%) hospital admissions. AORs for death in adults were significantly increased with each year of age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10 (p<0.01)) and with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH; OR 5.99, 95% CI 1.34 to 26.91 (p=0.02)). AORs for hospitalisation in adults were significantly higher with each additional year of age (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.05 (p=0.04)), additional comorbidities (OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.31 to 7.97 (p=0.01)) and genetic disease (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.04 to 7.94 (p=0.04)).// Conclusions: Children were at low risk of death and hospitalisation secondary to COVID-19 even with severe CHD, but hospital admission rates were higher in younger children, independent of comorbidity. In adults, higher likelihood of death was associated with increasing age and PAH, and of hospitalisation with age, comorbidities and genetic disease. An individualised approach, based on age and comorbidities, should be taken to COVID-19 management in patients with CHD

COVID-19 in congenital heart disease (COaCHeD) study

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has caused significant worldwide morbidity and mortality. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is likely to increase vulnerability and understanding the predictors of adverse outcomes is key to optimising care.OBJECTIVE: Ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on people with CHD and define risk factors for adverse outcomes.METHODS: Multicentre UK study undertaken 1 March 2020-30 June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected on CHD diagnoses, clinical presentation and outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression with multiple imputation was performed to explore predictors of death and hospitalisation.RESULTS: There were 405 reported cases (127 paediatric/278 adult). In children (age &lt;16 years), there were 5 (3.9%) deaths. Adjusted ORs (AORs) for hospitalisation in children were significantly lower with each ascending year of age (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.96 (p&lt;0.01)). In adults, there were 24 (8.6%) deaths (19 with comorbidities) and 74 (26.6%) hospital admissions. AORs for death in adults were significantly increased with each year of age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10 (p&lt;0.01)) and with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH; OR 5.99, 95% CI 1.34 to 26.91 (p=0.02)). AORs for hospitalisation in adults were significantly higher with each additional year of age (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.05 (p=0.04)), additional comorbidities (OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.31 to 7.97 (p=0.01)) and genetic disease (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.04 to 7.94 (p=0.04)).CONCLUSIONS: Children were at low risk of death and hospitalisation secondary to COVID-19 even with severe CHD, but hospital admission rates were higher in younger children, independent of comorbidity. In adults, higher likelihood of death was associated with increasing age and PAH, and of hospitalisation with age, comorbidities and genetic disease. An individualised approach, based on age and comorbidities, should be taken to COVID-19 management in patients with CHD.</p

From Cleanroom to Desktop: Emerging Micro-Nanofabrication Technology for Biomedical Applications

This review is motivated by the growing demand for low-cost, easy-to-use, compact-size yet powerful micro-nanofabrication technology to address emerging challenges of fundamental biology and translational medicine in regular laboratory settings. Recent advancements in the field benefit considerably from rapidly expanding material selections, ranging from inorganics to organics and from nanoparticles to self-assembled molecules. Meanwhile a great number of novel methodologies, employing off-the-shelf consumer electronics, intriguing interfacial phenomena, bottom-up self-assembly principles, etc., have been implemented to transit micro-nanofabrication from a cleanroom environment to a desktop setup. Furthermore, the latest application of micro-nanofabrication to emerging biomedical research will be presented in detail, which includes point-of-care diagnostics, on-chip cell culture as well as bio-manipulation. While significant progresses have been made in the rapidly growing field, both apparent and unrevealed roadblocks will need to be addressed in the future. We conclude this review by offering our perspectives on the current technical challenges and future research opportunities

COVID-19 in congenital heart disease (COaCHeD) study

Background COVID-19 has caused significant worldwide morbidity and mortality. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is likely to increase vulnerability and understanding the predictors of adverse outcomes is key to optimising care.Objective Ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on people with CHD and define risk factors for adverse outcomes.Methods Multicentre UK study undertaken 1 March 2020–30 June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected on CHD diagnoses, clinical presentation and outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression with multiple imputation was performed to explore predictors of death and hospitalisation.Results There were 405 reported cases (127 paediatric/278 adult). In children (age &lt;16 years), there were 5 (3.9%) deaths. Adjusted ORs (AORs) for hospitalisation in children were significantly lower with each ascending year of age (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.96 (p&lt;0.01)). In adults, there were 24 (8.6%) deaths (19 with comorbidities) and 74 (26.6%) hospital admissions. AORs for death in adults were significantly increased with each year of age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10 (p&lt;0.01)) and with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH; OR 5.99, 95% CI 1.34 to 26.91 (p=0.02)). AORs for hospitalisation in adults were significantly higher with each additional year of age (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.05 (p=0.04)), additional comorbidities (OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.31 to 7.97 (p=0.01)) and genetic disease (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.04 to 7.94 (p=0.04)).Conclusions Children were at low risk of death and hospitalisation secondary to COVID-19 even with severe CHD, but hospital admission rates were higher in younger children, independent of comorbidity. In adults, higher likelihood of death was associated with increasing age and PAH, and of hospitalisation with age, comorbidities and genetic disease. An individualised approach, based on age and comorbidities, should be taken to COVID-19 management in patients with CHD

A New Boson with a Mass of 125 GeV Observed with the CMS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider

The Higgs boson was postulated nearly five decades ago within the framework of the standard model of particle physics and has been the subject of numerous searches at accelerators around the world. Its discovery would verify the existence of a complex scalar field thought to give mass to three of the carriers of the electroweak force-the W+, W-, and Z 0 bosons-as well as to the fundamental quarks and leptons. The CMS Collaboration has observed, with a statistical significance of five standard deviations, a new particle produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The evidence is strongest in the diphoton and four-lepton (electrons and/or muons) final states, which provide the best mass resolution in the CMS detector. The probability of the observed signal being due to a random fluctuation of the background is about 1 in 3 x 106. The new particle is a boson with spin not equal to 1 and has a mass of about 1.25 giga-electron volts. Although its measured properties are, within the uncertainties of the present data, consistent with those expected of the Higgs boson, more data are needed to elucidate the precise nature of the new particle