Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Sergey Knyazev, Karishma Chhugani, Varuni Sarwal, Ram Ayyala, Harman Singh, Smruthi Karthikeyan, Dhrithi Deshpande, Pelin Icer Baykal, Zoia Comarova, Angela Lu, Yuri Porozov, Tetyana Vasylyeva, Joel O. Wertheim, Braden T. Tierney, Charles Y. Chiu, Ren Sun, Aiping Wu, Malak S. Abedalthagafi, Victoria M. Pak, Shivashankar H. Nagaraj, Adam L. Smith, Pavel Skums, Bogdan Pasaniuc, Andrey Komissarov, Christopher E. Mason, Eric Bortz, Philippe Lemey, Fyodor Kondrashov, Niko Beerenwinkel, Tommy Tsan-Yuk Lam, Nicholas C. Wu, Alex Zelikovsky, Rob Knight, Keith A. Crandall, Serghei Mangul
Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomics and bioinformatics have become crucial tools in public health. They have been used to acquire genomic data that support global health responses, aid in the development of testing methods, and enable the timely tracking of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, the rapid generation and analysis of genomic data present unique technical, scientific, and organizational challenges.
Review
Immunology
Chang Song, Zesong Li, Chen Li, Meiying Huang, Jianhong Liu, Qiuping Fang, Zitong Cao, Lin Zhang, Pengbo Gao, Wendi Nie, Xueyao Luo, Jianhao Kang, Shimin Xie, Jianxin Lyu, Xiao Zhu
Summary: This article reviews the origins, structures, transmission characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and prevention strategies of SARS-CoV-2, as well as the clinical characteristics and challenges faced by COVID-19.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Howard Frumkin
Summary: The built environment plays a significant role in the transmission of COVID-19, with risk factors such as crowding, poverty, and poor indoor air circulation. Long-term implications of the pandemic for the built environment may include changes in building design, increased teleworking, and population shifts away from urban centers. Monitoring and adapting to these changes can help optimize healthy built environments during and after the pandemic.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Whitney S. Brakefield, Nariman Ammar, Olufunto A. Olusanya, Arash Shaban-Nejad
Summary: This study aims to redefine the SDoH taxonomy to accommodate COVID-19, and provide a blueprint and implement a prototype for the Urban Population Health Observatory (UPHO). The research involves collecting and integrating data, calculating measurable indicators, and studying interventions development. The findings will help reduce health disparities, achieve health equity, and improve urban population health.
JMIR PUBLIC HEALTH AND SURVEILLANCE
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sung Eun Choi, Corneliu Sima, Laura Pesquera Colom, Giang T. Nguyen, William Giannobile
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a surveillance COVID-19 testing program in an academic dental institution. The results showed that implementing an adaptive testing cadence based on individual risk status can reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection within the institution. Participation in clinical activities did not pose additional risk compared to other in-person activities.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jozica Sikic, Zrinka Planinic, Vid Matisic, Tea Friscic, Vilim Molnar, Dorijan Jagacic, Lovro Vujicic, Neven Tudoric, Lana Postruzin Grsic, Divo Ljubicic, Dragan Primorac
Summary: SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating worldwide for a year and a half, leading to a vast amount of scientific literature. The cardiovascular system plays a crucial role in infection, and thorough diagnostics and patient monitoring are beneficial for patient recovery.
Article
Immunology
David Leeman, Joe Flannagan, Dimple Chudasama, Kyle Dack, Charlotte Anderson, Gavin Dabrera, Theresa Lamagni
Summary: During September to December 2020, there were 53,430 student case-patients of COVID-19 among university students returning to campus in England, accounting for 2.7% of all cases during that period. The number of student case-patients increased rapidly after the start of the term, mainly driven by cases and outbreaks in student accommodations. Case rates among students aged 18-23 doubled at the beginning of the term in towns with universities. These findings highlight the importance of implementing face-to-face and control measures to reduce virus transmission.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Pediatrics
Sarah E. Messiah, Luyu Xie, Matthew S. Mathew, George L. Delclos, Harold W. Kohl, Jeffrey S. Kahn
Summary: This study retrospectively reviewed COVID-19 surveillance data among children aged 0-19 years in a pediatric healthcare system from March 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, and found that more than a third of children were hospitalized during the three waves of the pandemic in the United States. Children with underlying health conditions were particularly at risk for severe illness and should be monitored for any long-term impacts.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Courtney R. Lane, Norelle L. Sherry, Ashleigh F. Porter, Sebastian Duchene, Kristy Horan, Patiyan Andersson, Mathilda Wilmot, Annabelle Turner, Sally Dougall, Sandra A. Johnson, Michelle Sait, Anders Gonsalves da Silva, Susan A. Ballard, Tuyet Hoang, Timothy P. Stinear, Leon Caly, Vitali Sintchenko, Rikki Graham, Jamie McMahon, David Smith, Lex E. X. Leong, Ella M. Meumann, Louise Cooley, Benjamin Schwessinger, William Rawlinson, Sebastiaan J. van Hal, Nicola Stephens, Mike Catton, Clare Looker, Simon Crouch, Brett Sutton, Charles Alpren, Deborah A. Williamson, Torsten Seemann, Benjamin P. Howden
Summary: This study conducted genomic sequencing of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, Australia, identifying the source of the second wave outbreak and showing the effectiveness of genomic epidemiology in eliminating COVID-19 for a second time. The results indicated that a single incursion from hotel quarantine led to a large outbreak, but strict interventions and decisive public health responses were successful in controlling the spread. Real-time genomic surveillance played a crucial role in shaping public health strategies during the outbreak.
LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Lisa Yamasaki, Meng Ling Moi
Summary: Reinfection cases with a range of clinical symptoms have been reported, requiring confirmation through virus genome sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis provides strong evidence, but challenges remain in defining reinfection.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Valentina Marziano, Giorgio Guzzetta, Alessia Mammone, Flavia Riccardo, Piero Poletti, Filippo Trentini, Mattia Manica, Andrea Siddu, Antonino Bella, Paola Stefanelli, Patrizio Pezzotti, Marco Ajelli, Silvio Brusaferro, Giovanni Rezza, Stefano Merler
Summary: The study assessed the impact of Italy's vaccination program and indicated that vaccination is gradually reducing social distancing restrictions and allowing for societal reopening. Vaccination not only offset the effect of the Delta variant in summer, but also holds the possibility of a return to pre-pandemic society with a coverage exceeding 90%.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Cindy Im, Lalani L. Munasinghe, Jose M. Martinez, William Letsou, Farideh Bagherzadeh-Khiabani, Soudabeh Marin, Yutaka Yasui
Summary: The COVID-19 mortality rate in the United States is positively correlated with the proportion of Black and Hispanic residents at the county level, indicating significant racial disparities. Without this disparity gradient, the US COVID-19 death count would have been significantly lower.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Rocio Diaz Escarcega, Pedram Honarpisheh, Gabriela Delevati Colpo, Hilda W. Ahnstedt, Lucy Couture, Shivanki Juneja, Glenda Torres, Guadalupe J. Ortiz, James Sollome, Natalie Tabor, Bhanu P. Ganesh, H. Alex Choi, Fudong Liu, Louise D. McCullough, Andrey S. Tsvetkov
Summary: The study finds sex differences in metabolism and sexual dimorphism in the correlations between clinical parameters and metabolic profiles in severe COVID-19 patients, providing important knowledge for the development of sex-associated biomarkers and druggable targets for COVID-19 patients.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yongtao Cao, Roland Francis
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the association between SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations and COVID-19 cases at the community-level, and to assess the integration of this data into a wastewater-based epidemiological statistical model for accurate forecasting of COVID-19 infections. The results show that a VAR(1) model estimated with the original data has the strongest forecasting ability, with forecast accuracy for 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks in the future ranging from 8.97% to 21.57%.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Andy Wai Kan Yeung, Emil D. Parvanov, Jaroslaw Olav Horbanczuk, Maria Kletecka-Pulker, Oliver Kimberger, Harald Willschke, Atanas G. Atanasov
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the online searching behavior for different types of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic across different countries. The results showed that the types of masks predominantly searched varied by country, with N95 masks in India, surgical masks in Russia, FFP2 masks in Spain, and cloth masks in France and the United Kingdom. The online searching behavior for masks was influenced by government response stringency but not COVID-19 transmission rate or new cases per million.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
