Understanding the lived experience of Long Covid: A rapid literature review

Long-Covid (LC), as a patient-defined illness, has rapidly emerged as both a medical and social issue since 2020, drawing headlines in the public and global domain. In the UK, people experiencing ongoing symptoms of Covid after the initial infection came together online to try to make sense and gain recognition of their condition. Academic research into LC is constantly evolving and seeks to understand the illness from the perspective of those suffering from it. We conducted a rapid literature review to explores existing studies into LC (up to August 2021), capturing the narratives of people who have adapted to live with LC. The literature largely focuses on providing an initial understanding of LC, how the illness emerged, and the fluctuating symptoms managed by those with LC. Although the literature is predominantly descriptive and has a lack of focus on the ongoing experiences of LC, narratives of making sense of, managing, and living with the illness over time are brought forward. In this briefing paper, we will present such narratives to shed light on the stories of those living with LC, and further to think more theoretically to understand the lived experiences of LC and their impact on the multifaceted aspects of LC patients’ lives

Understanding and supporting the long-term effects of COVID-19: A report from the Qualitative Long COVID Research Network in the United Kingdom

This report provides a timely summary about fast-evolving qualitative inquiries into Long COVID (LC) in the UK. Based on a survey conducted within a national qualitative LC (QLC) research network comprising 14 teams from across the UK, we aim to explore how the novel public health challenge of LC is being examined and supported across various care settings and how it is experienced among different demographic groups. Evident in the survey findings is the diverse research foci, participant sampling and methodological approaches in response to the complex and pervasive challenges presented by LC. Whilst the multifaceted impacts, diversified lived experiences and health inequalities of LC have been increasingly illuminated by the studies included in our survey, we have also identified a range of knowledge gaps for future research to address, for example carer and healthcare professionals’ experiences, regional disparity in LC responses and international comparison. Ultimately, on behalf of our research network, we aim to enhance QLC research by pooling our findings and expertise to produce further collaborative research outputs on this topic

‘I am just a shadow of who I used to be’—Exploring existential loss of identity among people living with chronic conditions of Long COVID

Identity loss and (re)construction forms a central debate in sociology of chronic illness. Living with chronic/persistent health conditions may raise questions about how disruptions can touch upon and further threaten the very roots of existence, by which people reflexively perceive a coherent and stable sense of ‘being-in-the-world’. Whilst medical sociologists have shown interest in ‘existential loss’ in chronic illness, this question remains largely underexplored. Adopting a qualitative study on Long COVID (LC) as an example, this article illuminates existential identity loss as a deeply painful experience of losing body as a fundamental medium to retain continuity and consistency of one’s narratively constructed identity. Interviews with 80 LC sufferers in the UK revealed that living with persistent and often uncertain symptoms and disruptions can cause the loss of biographical resources and resilience, making it difficult to reflexively understand their own being within the world. Their dynamic responses to LC also highlighted how sufferers’ longing for a narratively coherent self can profoundly shape the ongoing construction of their identity in chronic health conditions. These insights into the complicated and often hard-to-express existential pain of identity loss can also nurture more holistic understandings of and support for LC and chronic illness more broadly

Analysis of the characteristics of DC nozzle arcs in air and guidance for the search of SF6 replacement gas

It is shown that the arc model based on laminar flow cannot predict satisfactorily the voltage of an air arc burning in a supersonic nozzle. The Prandtl mixing length model (PML) and a modified k-epsilon turbulence model (MKE) are used to introduce turbulence enhanced momentum and energy transport. Arc voltages predicted by these two turbulence models are in good agreement with experiments at the stagnation pressure (P 0) of 10 bar. The predicted arc voltages by MKE for P 0  =  13 bar and 7 bar are in better agreement with experiments than those predicted by PML. MKE is therefore a preferred turbulence model for an air nozzle arc. There are two peaks in ρC P of air at 4000 K and 7000 K due, respectively, to the dissociation of oxygen and that of nitrogen. These peaks produce corresponding peaks in turbulent thermal conductivity, which results in very broad radial temperature profile and a large arc radius. Thus, turbulence indirectly enhances axial enthalpy transport, which becomes the dominant energy transport process for the overall energy balance of the arc column at high currents. When the current reduces, turbulent thermal conduction gradually becomes dominant. The temperature dependence of ρC P has a decisive influence on the radial temperature profile of a turbulent arc, thus the thermal interruption capability of a gas. Comparison between ρC P for air and SF6 shows that ρC P for SF6 has peaks below 4000 K. This renders a distinctive arc core and a small arc radius for turbulent SF6, thus superior arc quenching capability. It is suggested, for the first time, that ρC P provides guidance for the search of a replacement switching gas for SF6

An exploration of loss and identity among people living with Long COVID

Identity loss and (re)construction forms a central debate in sociology of chronic illness. People living with chronic/persistent health conditions are often faced with both a ‘broken’ body and a disrupted self-narrative. The loss of the coherence of ongoing life and identity also lies at the heart of the lived experiences of people living with Long COVID (LC). Drawing upon a qualitative study of 80 people with self-identified LC symptoms in the UK, this paper unveils an insightful picture of how our participants lost and also sought to restore their identity as a multi-dimensional, narratively constructed and embodied entity. We found that, as a complex and still largely underexplored health condition, LC could lead to the compounded loss of not only the physical self but also a profound sense of meaning and self-worth. As reported by our participants, identity loss around LC may arise from ongoing bodily disruptions to daily routines and the lack of support and understanding to legitimise their suffering. They often experienced LC as suppressing and existential loss of meaning and being. Their dynamic responses to LC also highlighted how their longing for a narratively coherent self profoundly shaped the ongoing construction of their identity

Understanding and supporting the long-term effects of COVID-19: A report from the Qualitative Long COVID Research Network in the United Kingdom

This report provides a timely summary about fast-evolving qualitative inquiries into Long COVID (LC) in the UK. Based on a survey conducted within a national qualitative LC (QLC) research network comprising 14 teams from across the UK, we aim to explore how the novel public health challenge of LC is being examined and supported across various care settings and how it is experienced among different demographic groups. Evident in the survey findings is the diverse research foci, participant sampling and methodological approaches in response to the complex and pervasive challenges presented by LC. Whilst the multifaceted impacts, diversified lived experiences and health inequalities of LC have been increasingly illuminated by the studies included in our survey, we have also identified a range of knowledge gaps for future research to address, for example carer and healthcare professionals’ experiences, regional disparity in LC responses and international comparison. Ultimately, on behalf of our research network, we aim to enhance QLC research by pooling our findings and expertise to produce further collaborative research outputs on this topic

Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference of the MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society

The MCBIOS 2004 conference brought together regional researchers and students in biology, computer science and bioinformatics on October 7th-9th 2004 to present their latest work. This editorial describes the conference itself and introduces the twelve peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the MCBIOS 2004 Conference. These manuscripts included new methods for analysis of high-throughput gene expression experiments, EST clustering, analysis of mass spectrometry data and genomic analysi