Development of a measuring app for systemic sclerosis-related digital ulceration (SALVE: Scleroderma App for Lesion VErification).

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that photographs (in addition to self-reported data) can be collected daily by patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) using a smartphone app designed specifically for digital lesions, and could provide an objective outcome measure for use in clinical trials.

Methods: An app was developed to collect images and patient reported outcome measures (PROMS) including Pain score and the Hand Disability in Systemic Sclerosis-Digital Ulcers (HDISS-DU) questionnaire. Participants photographed their lesion(s) each day for 30 days and uploaded images to a secure repository.

Feasibility study of mobile phone photography as a possible outcome measure of systemic sclerosis-related digital lesions.

Objective: Clinical trials assessing systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related digital ulcers have been hampered by a lack of reliable outcome measures of healing. Our objective was to assess the feasibility of patients collecting high-quality mobile phone images of their digital lesions as a first step in developing a smartphone-based outcome measure.

Methods: Patients with SSc-related digital (finger) lesions photographed one or more lesions each day for 30 days using their smartphone and uploaded the images to a secure Dropbox folder.

Reverse-Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Has High Accuracy for Detecting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Saliva and Nasopharyngeal/Oropharyngeal Swabs from Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Individuals.

Previous studies have described reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) for the rapid detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab and saliva samples. This multisite clinical evaluation describes the validation of an improved sample preparation method for extraction-free RT-LAMP and reports clinical performance of four RT-LAMP assay formats for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Direct RT-LAMP was performed on 559 swabs and 86,760 saliva samples and RNA RT-LAMP on extracted RNA from 12,619 swabs and 12,521 saliva samples from asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals across health care and community settings.

A highly effective reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of simple, rapid and accurate diagnostic testing. This study describes the validation of a new rapid SARS-CoV-2 RT-LAMP assay for use on extracted RNA or directly from swab offering an alternative diagnostic pathway that does not rely on traditional reagents that are often in short supply during a pandemic. Analytical specificity (ASp) of this new RT-LAMP assay was 100% and analytical sensitivity (ASe) was between 1 × 10 and 1 × 10 copies per reaction when using a synthetic DNA target.

Sex differences in math performance: The role of children's approach to schoolwork.

This research examined whether the tendency for girls to outperform boys in the classroom is due to differences in how girls and boys approach schoolwork. In 5th grade and then again in 7th grade, children (N=518) reported on how they approach schoolwork (i.e.