Neurological Complications of COVID-19: Unraveling the Pathophysiological Underpinnings and Therapeutic Implications.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), induced a global pandemic with a diverse array of clinical manifestations. While the acute phase of the pandemic may be waning, the intricacies of COVID-19's impact on neurological health remain a crucial area of investigation. Early recognition of the spectrum of COVID-19 symptoms, ranging from mild fever and cough to life-threatening respiratory distress and multi-organ failure, underscored the significance of neurological complications, including anosmia, seizures, stroke, disorientation, encephalopathy, and paralysis.

Addressing disparities in health outcomes for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and limited English proficiency.

Introduction: There are significant challenges and a lack of data related to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) cancer patients. We compared patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer that required an interpreter.

Methods: Registry data was extracted for advanced pancreatic cancer patients from a single health institution with a comprehensive Transcultural and Language Service (TALS).

Mortality and major postoperative complications within 1 year after vascular surgery: a prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Patients undergoing vascular procedures are prone to developing postoperative complications affecting their short‑term mortality. Prospective reports describing the incidence of long‑term complications after vascular surgery are lacking.

Objectives: We aimed to describe the incidence of complications 1 year after vascular surgery and to evaluate an association between myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) and 1‑year mortality.

Homeostatic NREM sleep and salience network function in adult mice exposed to ethanol during development.

Developmental exposure to ethanol is a leading cause of cognitive, emotional and behavioral problems, with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) affecting more than 1:100 children. Recently, comorbid sleep deficits have been highlighted in these disorders, with sleep repair a potential therapeutic target. Animal models of FASD have shown non-REM (NREM) sleep fragmentation and slow-wave oscillation impairments that predict cognitive performance.

One-year Outcomes after Discharge from Noncardiac Surgery and Association between Predischarge Complications and Death after Discharge: Analysis of the VISION Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: In previous analyses, myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery, major bleeding, and sepsis were independently associated with most deaths in the 30 days after noncardiac surgery, but most of these deaths occurred during the index hospitalization for surgery. The authors set out to describe outcomes after discharge from hospital up to 1 yr after inpatient noncardiac surgery and associations between predischarge complications and postdischarge death up to 1 yr after surgery.

Methods: This study was an analysis of patients discharged after inpatient noncardiac surgery in a large international prospective cohort study across 28 centers from 2007 to 2013 of patients aged 45 yr or older followed to 1 yr after surgery.

Anti-inflammatory Action of BT75, a Novel RARα Agonist, in Cultured Microglia and in an Experimental Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

BT75, a boron-containing retinoid, is a novel retinoic acid receptor (RAR)α agonist synthesized by our group. Previous studies indicated that activation of retinoic acid (RA) signaling may attenuate progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Presently, we aimed to examine the anti-inflammatory effect of BT75 and explore the possible mechanism using cultured cells and an AD mouse model.

The Companion Pandemic to COVID-19: The Use of Informal Practices to Access Public Healthcare Services in the European Union.

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the use of informal payments and personal connections to gain preferential access to public health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose effective policy measures for tackling this phenomenon. Using data from 25,744 patients in the European Union, six different scenarios are analyzed in relation to making informal payments and/or relying on personal connections to access public healthcare services. To evaluate the propensity to engage in informal practices in healthcare, probit regressions with sample selection and predicted probabilities are used.

Informal payments by patients, institutional trust and institutional asymmetry.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the extent of the practice of using informal payments for accessing the services of public clinics or hospitals across Europe and to explain the prevalence of this corrupt practice using the framework of institutional theory. To achieve this, a multi-level mixed-effect logistic regression on 25,744 interviews undertaken in 2020 with patients across 27 European Union countries is conducted. The finding is that the practice of making informal payments remains a prevalent practice, although there are large disparities in the usage of this practice in different European countries.

Evaluating the effectiveness of labor market interventions on reducing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper evaluates whether different labor market policy interventions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been effective in reducing its adverse impacts. We construct a database covering 165 countries and 39 labor market interventions grouped into four pillars: stimulating the economy and jobs (pillar 1); supporting enterprises, employment, and incomes (pillar 2); protecting workers (pillar 3); and social dialogue (pillar 4). The results revealed that measures taken under pillars 1, 2, and 3 have reduced the impacts of the pandemic on economic growth; measures under pillar 4 were significantly associated with reducing its impacts on employment and those under pillar 2 with reducing its impacts on working hours.

Who Purchases From the Informal Economy and Why?

In recent decades scholars have acknowledged that transactions in the informal economy have not vanished with modernization and industrialization as expected but rather remain an important contemporary aspect of overall production and consumption across the world, in both developing and developed countries. Yet little is known about the profile of the consumers in this realm or what drives them to purchase from the informal economy. A systematic review of the literature investigating consumption in the informal economy reveals a severely underdeveloped area of consumer studies with significant gaps in terms of its theoretical approaches, methods and regional coverage.

Fiscal stimulus packages to COVID-19: The role of informality.

In this paper, we use a novel cross-country dataset to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of the shadow economy and fiscal policy responses to the economic crisis induced by the pandemic. The finding is that countries with a relatively larger shadow economy before the pandemic have adopted a smaller fiscal policy package. The results are robust to different econometric specifications, including an instrumental variable estimation.

Optical Genome Mapping and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Microarray: An Integrated Approach for Investigating Products of Conception.

Conventional cytogenetic analysis of products of conception (POC) is of limited utility because of failed cultures, as well as microbial and maternal cell contamination (MCC). Optical genome mapping (OGM) is an emerging technology that has the potential to replace conventional cytogenetic methods. The use of OGM precludes the requirement for culturing (and related microbial contamination).

Institutional Determinants of Informal Payments for Health Services: An Exploratory Analysis across 117 Countries.

Healthcare accessibility and equity remain important issues, as corruption in the form of informal payments is still prevalent in many countries across the world. This study employs a panel data analysis over the 2006-2013 period to explore the role of different institutional factors in explaining the prevalence of informal payments. Covering 117 countries, our findings confirm the significant role of both formal and informal institutions.

Knowing and Unknowing Purchases of Undeclared Healthcare Goods and Services: The Role of Vertical and Horizontal Trust.

Although major advances have been made in relation to explaining the supply side of the informal economy, this is not the case for the demand-side of the informal economy. This study analyses for the first time the purchasers of undeclared goods and services in the healthcare sector. To evaluate the purchase of undeclared healthcare goods and services, logistic regression analysis and robustness tests are used on 3048 interviews in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta.

High-Throughput Next-Generation Sequencing Respiratory Viral Panel: A Diagnostic and Epidemiologic Tool for SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses.

Two serious public health challenges have emerged in the current COVID-19 pandemic namely, deficits in SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring and neglect of other co-circulating respiratory viruses. Additionally, accurate assessment of the evolution, extent, and dynamics of the outbreak is required to understand the transmission of the virus. To address these challenges, we evaluated 533 samples using a high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) respiratory viral panel (RVP) that includes 40 viral pathogens.

Informal Payments by Patients in Central and Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Perspective.

Confronted with a global pandemic, public healthcare systems are under pressure, making access to healthcare services difficult for patients. This provides fertile ground for using illegal practices such as informal payments to gain access. This paper aims to evaluate the use of informal payments by patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and the institutions that affect the prevalence of this practice.

Explaining consumer motives to purchase in the informal economy.

Usually, studies on the informal economy focus mainly upon those working in the informal economy (supply side). However, many exchanges in the informal economy are initiated by purchasers asking how much a good or service costs if paid cash in hand. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to advance understanding of who make purchases in the informal economy and the reasons of the consumers making these purchases (demand side).

Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) in COVID-19: A Tool for SARS-CoV-2 Diagnosis, Monitoring New Strains and Phylodynamic Modeling in Molecular Epidemiology.

This review discusses the current testing methodologies for COVID-19 diagnosis and explores next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and monitoring phylogenetic evolution in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The review addresses the development, fundamentals, assay quality control and bioinformatics processing of the NGS data. This article provides a comprehensive review of the obstacles and opportunities facing the application of NGS technologies for the diagnosis, surveillance, and study of SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases.

Potentiating TMEM16A does not stimulate airway mucus secretion or bronchial and pulmonary arterial smooth muscle contraction.

The calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC) TMEM16A enables chloride secretion across several transporting epithelia, including in the airways. Additional roles for TMEM16A have been proposed, which include regulating mucus production and secretion and stimulating smooth muscle contraction. The aim of the present study was to test whether the pharmacological regulation of TMEM16A channel function, could affect any of these proposed biological roles in the airways.

Association between complications and death within 30 days after noncardiac surgery.

Background: Among adults undergoing contemporary noncardiac surgery, little is known about the frequency and timing of death and the associations between perioperative complications and mortality. We aimed to establish the frequency and timing of death and its association with perioperative complications.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients aged 45 years and older who underwent inpatient noncardiac surgery at 28 centres in 14 countries.

Verdinexor (KPT-335), a Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export, Reduces Respiratory Syncytial Virus Replication .

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of hospitalization of infants and young children, causing considerable respiratory disease and repeat infections that may lead to chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma, wheezing, and bronchitis. RSV causes ∼34 million new episodes of lower respiratory tract illness (LRTI) in children younger than 5 years of age, with >3 million hospitalizations due to severe RSV-associated LRTI. The standard of care is limited to symptomatic relief as there are no approved vaccines and few effective antiviral drugs; thus, a safe and efficacious RSV therapeutic is needed.

Rethinking informal payments by patients in Europe: An institutional approach.

The aim of this paper is to explain informal payments by patients to healthcare professionals for the first time through the lens of institutional theory as arising when there are formal institutional imperfections and asymmetry between norms, values and practices and the codified formal laws and regulations. Reporting a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of the prevalence of informal payments by patients in 28 European countries, a strong association is revealed between the degree to which formal and informal institutions are unaligned and the propensity to make informal payments. The association between informal payments and formal institutional imperfections is then explored to evaluate which structural conditions might reduce this institutional asymmetry, and thus the propensity to make informal payments.

Myocardial Injury After Noncardiac Surgery (MINS) in Vascular Surgical Patients: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Objective: To determine the prognostic relevance, clinical characteristics, and 30-day outcomes associated with myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) in vascular surgical patients.

Background: MINS has been independently associated with 30-day mortality after noncardiac surgery. The characteristics and prognostic importance of MINS in vascular surgery patients are poorly described.

Association of Postoperative High-Sensitivity Troponin Levels With Myocardial Injury and 30-Day Mortality Among Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery.

Importance: Little is known about the relationship between perioperative high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) measurements and 30-day mortality and myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS).

Objective: To determine the association between perioperative hsTnT measurements and 30-day mortality and potential diagnostic criteria for MINS (ie, myocardial injury due to ischemia associated with 30-day mortality).

Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospective cohort study of patients aged 45 years or older who underwent inpatient noncardiac surgery and had a postoperative hsTnT measurement.