Acute kidney injury and tacrolimus toxicity in a kidney transplant recipient treated with nirmaltrevir/ritonavir: a case report.

Background: Kidney transplant recipients with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection have an increased risk of severe disease and mortality. Nirmaltrevir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) is an effective oral disease-modifying therapy that has been shown to reduce risk of progression to severe disease in high-risk, nonhospitalized adults. However, owing to the potential for serious drug-drug interactions owing to ritonavir-induced inhibition of the CYP3A enzyme, this drug is not suitable option for transplant recipients with mild-moderate severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection.

Exponential decline, ceiling effect, downregulation, and T-cell response in immunoglobulin G antibody levels after messenger RNA vaccine boosters: a case report.

Background: Vaccine protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection reduces gradually over time, requiring administration of updated boosters. However, long-term immune response following up to the sixth dose of the messenger RNA vaccine has not been well studied.

Case Presentation: We longitudinally determined anti-spike protein immunoglobulin G antibody levels in a 69-year-old Japanese man 76 times (first to sixth dose) to investigate their dynamics.

Cardiac findings in a phase II double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of combination therapy (HAZDPac) to treat COVID-19 patients.

Objective: Hydroxychloroquine paired with Azithromycin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc (HAZDPac), was used as a multidrug therapy method to treat COVID-19 illness and superimposed secondary bacterial pneumonia. Concerns have been raised though about such combinations regarding cardiac QTc interval prolongation and risks of arrhythmias, which we set out to address in this study.

Design: We evaluated cardiac safety in a Phase II Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Combination Therapy to Treat COVID-19 Infections study, conducted by ProgenaBiome.

Challenges and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for Health Surveillance in Brazil: reflections on technologies, models, and system organization.

The term "health surveillance" encompasses a wide range of activities, including the monitoring and observation of harms and diseases. We will investigate the most well-known aspect of health surveillance, namely the monitoring of communicable diseases. To illustrate our discussion, we will use the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a case study.

Effects of acute-phase COVID-19-related indicators on pulmonary fibrosis and follow-up evaluation.

Background: Post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis is a significant long-term respiratory morbidity affecting patients' respiratory health. This exploratory study aims to investigate the incidence, clinical characteristics, and acute-phase risk factors for pulmonary fibrosis in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, it evaluates pulmonary function and chest CT outcomes to provide clinical evidence for the early identification of high-risk patients and the prevention of post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis.

Late onset paediatric dacryoadenitis associated with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by histological analysis.

We report a case of chronic dacryoadenitis associated with SARS-CoV-2, confirmed by histological analysis. A previously healthy school-aged boy was admitted to the paediatric department with a 1 month history of both eyebrow swelling and very mild pain in the upper parts of both eyelids. Gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI revealed enlargement of both lacrimal glands.

Torticollis as an early manifestation of basilar invagination in a paediatric patient.

This case report describes the clinical journey of a male patient in early childhood with developmental delay, failure to thrive, worsening right-sided head tilt torticollis and regression of motor skills with spasticity of the lower limbs. The case was complex due to the early onset and gradually worsening symptoms, including a decline in established motor milestones. Genetic testing to investigate the delayed neurodevelopment revealed a variant that did not fully explain the patient's phenotype.

[Localization features of FAP-positive activated stromal cells in fibrosis in patients with new coronavirus infection COVID-19].

Objective: To evaluate the representation and localization of FAP-positive activated stromal cells depending on the severity of fibrotic changes in tissues of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.

Material And Methods: 20 autopsy observations of patients who died from COVID-19 were studied. Immunohistochemical studies were performed using antibodies to CD90, FAP and aSMA and a dual imaging system.

Quantitative Chest CT Analysis: Three Different Approaches to Quantify the Burden of Viral Interstitial Pneumonia Using COVID-19 as a Paradigm.

To investigate the relationship between COVID-19 pneumonia outcomes and three chest CT analysis approaches. Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who underwent chest CT were included and divided into survivors/non-survivors and intubated/not-intubated. Chest CTs were analyzed through a (1) Total Severity Score visually quantified by an emergency (TSS1) and a thoracic radiologist (TSS2); (2) density mask technique quantifying normal parenchyma (DM_Norm 1) and ground glass opacities (DM_GGO1) repeated after the manual delineation of consolidations (DM_Norm2, DM_GGO2, DM_Consolidation); (3) texture analysis quantifying normal parenchyma (TA_Norm) and interstitial lung disease (TA_ILD).

From Binary to Multi-Class Classification: A Two-Step Hybrid CNN-ViT Model for Chest Disease Classification Based on X-Ray Images.

Background/objectives: Chest disease identification for Tuberculosis and Pneumonia diseases presents diagnostic challenges due to overlapping radiographic features and the limited availability of expert radiologists, especially in developing countries. The present study aims to address these challenges by developing a Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system to provide consistent and objective analyses of chest X-ray images, thereby reducing potential human error. By leveraging the complementary strengths of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and vision transformers (ViTs), we propose a hybrid model for the accurate detection of Tuberculosis and for distinguishing between Tuberculosis and Pneumonia.

[Analysis of the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection (long-COVID) in Italy during and after the pandemic emergency and response strategy].

Background: the long-COVID condition is gaining increasing relevance in terms of public health, but few studies have evaluated its impact on use of healthcare resources and the organizational responses of healthcare systems. Although many studies have evaluated case studies of individuals with long-COVID, the clinical spectrum of symptoms is still poorly defined due to the heterogeneity of the populations studied, the variability of the definitions used, and the absence of disease markers. In this context, in 2022, a project was designed and implemented in cooperation between the National Centre for Prevention and Control of the Italian Ministry of Health and the Italian National Health Institute (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS).

Polyphonia: detecting inter-sample contamination in viral genomic sequencing data.

Summary: In viral genomic research and surveillance, inter-sample contamination can affect variant detection, analysis of within-host evolution, outbreak reconstruction, and detection of superinfections and recombination events. While sample barcoding methods exist to track inter-sample contamination, they are not always used and can only detect contamination in the experimental pipeline from the point they are added. The underlying genomic information in a sample, however, carries information about inter-sample contamination occurring at any stage.

Treatment of symptomatic endobronchial hamartoma by bronchoscopy.

Hamartomas are benign tumors characterized by disorganized tissue native to a specific anatomical location. We present the case of a 61-year-old male with a history of COVID-19 infection who presented with a persistent cough. Chest tomography revealed an endobronchial lesion, which led to further investigation with a bronchoscopy.

Observed Prevalence of Congenital Situs Inversus in the United States Before and During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic, 2017-2022.

Background: Reports from China describe an increase in the frequency of fetal situs inversus in 2023 after the country's "zero-Covid" policy was lifted, suggesting an association with maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, a report of birth defects surveillance data from Scandinavia observed no sustained increase during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (2020-2022 vs. 2018-2019).

Lung ultrasound score and diaphragm ultrasound in weaning from mechanical ventilation: are they different in patients with and without COVID-19?

Objective: To compare pre-extubation physiological characteristics and ultrasound variables between patients intubated for COVID-19 compared to a clinical population and those intubated for other reasons.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for more than 48 h. Patients were divided into two groups: those intubated for COVID-19-induced ARDS and those intubated for other clinical reasons.

CPAP delivered via a helmet interface in lightly sedated patients with moderate to severe ARDS: predictors of success outside the ICU.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the outcomes and explore predictors of intubation and mortality in patients with ARDS due to COVID-19 treated with CPAP delivered via a helmet interface and light sedation.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study involving patients with COVID-19-related ARDS who received CPAP using a helmet developed in Brazil (ELMO™), associated with a light sedation protocol in a pulmonology ward. Demographic, clinical, imaging, and laboratory data, as well as the duration and response to the ELMO-CPAP sessions, were analyzed.

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Data Show Increasing Rates of Distant-Stage Breast Cancer at Presentation in U.S. Women.

Background The incidence of distant-stage (metastatic) breast cancer at initial presentation has increased significantly in U.S. women under 40 years of age, but no clear trend in older women has been reported.

Immunophenotyping characteristics and clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients treated with azvudine during the Omicron surge.

Background: Little is known about immunophenotyping characteristics and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients treated with azvudine during the Omicron variant surge.

Methods: This study enrolled patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from December 2022 to February 2023. The primary outcome was defined as all-cause mortality, along with a composite outcome reflecting disease progression.

Changes in macular ganglion cell and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness during recovery from infection with the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in previously hospitalized patients with COVID-19 bilateral pneumonia.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with various systemic complications, including potential impacts on ocular health. Recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may lead to changes in retinal structure, particularly in the neuroretinal and retinal nerve fiber layers (RNFL). This study aimed to examine changes in neuroretinal and RNFL of the optic dics based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 bilateral pneumonia at 2 time points after discharge.

mRNA-encoded fluorescent proteins enable superior organelle labeling for live cell imaging.

Live cell labeling of various organelles is of great demand in the research field of cell biology. However, current approaches often lack an optimal balance between efficiency and versatility. We took advantage of chemical modified mRNA to express various organelle located fluorescent proteins.

Outdoor social distancing behaviors changed during a pandemic: A longitudinal analysis using street view imagery.

Social distancing, defined as maintaining a minimum interpersonal distance (often 6 ft or 1.83 m), is a non-pharmaceutical intervention to reduce infectious disease transmission. While numerous quantitative studies have examined people's social distancing behaviors using mobile phone data, large-scale quantitative analyses of adherence to suggested minimum interpersonal distances are lacking.