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There is a paucity of evidence informing our understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected pediatric trauma in Manitoba, Canada. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to analyze the effect of the pandemic on pediatric trauma and its association with patients’
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There is a paucity of evidence informing our understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected pediatric trauma in Manitoba, Canada. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to analyze the effect of the pandemic on pediatric trauma and its association with patients’ demographic characteristics. Pre-pandemic and pandemic patient cohorts were created, and the rates of these injuries were compared by patients’ sex, age, and area of residence. During the pre-pandemic period, ED presentations with an MSK or head injury were lower in patients from rural communities compared to urban communities (RR: 0.68, p < 0.001, RR: 0.51, p < 0.001). Hospitalizations with an MSK or head injury were higher in patients from rural communities (RR: 1.78, p < 0.001, RR: 1.14, p = 0.62). During the pandemic, MSK injury ED presentations (RR: 1.14, p = 0.037) and hospitalizations (RR: 1.78, p < 0.001) were higher in patients from rural communities. Patients from rural communities had a lower rate of head injury ED presentations (RR: 0.81, p < 0.001), but higher hospitalization rate (RR:1.96, p = 0.001). Differences in the rates of pediatric MSK and head injuries could be attributed to the limited healthcare resources in underserved rural communities. Efforts should be made to rectify these inequities to ensure fair access to healthcare for these patients.
Full article
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic substantially altered the epidemiology of respiratory infections. Its impact on the clinical course of influenza in hospitalised children remains insufficiently characterised. Objectives: We aimed to compare the clinical course, complications, and selected laboratory parameters of influenza in children before,
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic substantially altered the epidemiology of respiratory infections. Its impact on the clinical course of influenza in hospitalised children remains insufficiently characterised. Objectives: We aimed to compare the clinical course, complications, and selected laboratory parameters of influenza in children before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This single-centre retrospective study included 553 children hospitalised with laboratory-confirmed influenza between September 2017 and August 2025. Patients were divided into three groups: pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic. Clinical complications and inflammatory markers (CRP, PCT, neutrophil counts) were analysed. Results: Influenza-related complications occurred in 59.5% of patients and were significantly more frequent after the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period (64.3% vs. 52.9%, p = 0.02). Pneumonia was the most common complication across all groups, but its incidence was lowest during the pandemic. Myositis occurred most frequently during the pandemic and appears to coincide with a higher proportion of influenza B infections. No significant differences were observed in CRP, PCT concentrations, or neutropenia rates between groups. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the clinical presentation of influenza in children, with a post-pandemic increase in complications. These findings may reflect delayed access to healthcare and the phenomenon of immunity debt, highlighting the need for continued surveillance and preventive strategies.
Full article
This paper analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain and production, investigating countermeasures for industrial recovery. In particular, the study examines how COVID-19 has affected the raw material supply chain, production, and outages on a real case study, that is, Turkey’s
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This paper analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain and production, investigating countermeasures for industrial recovery. In particular, the study examines how COVID-19 has affected the raw material supply chain, production, and outages on a real case study, that is, Turkey’s Glass-Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipe industry. Using two- and three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), significant negative impacts on the raw material supply chain are identified with 95% confidence. To enhance decision-making, the fuzzy q-rung orthopair set (FQROPS) and entropy-based multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are integrated in the baseline method. Specifically, ANOVA-identified factors, such as cost, supply continuity, production capacity, and risk level, are used as criteria in the MCDM analysis. Entropy determined criteria weights and FQROPS evaluate alternatives based on their proximity to the ideal solution. Findings show that significant disruptions occurred due to the pandemic. In addition, the MCDM analysis reveals that pre-pandemic conditions for key materials, such as fiberglass and resin, were significantly more favorable in terms of cost, supply continuity, production capacity, and risk levels. This integrated approach provides strategic insights for managing supply chains and production in the GRP pipe industry during and after pandemic events.
Full article
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 posed a great global threat and emphasized the urgent need for diagnostic tools that are rapid, reliable, sensitive and capable of real-time monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Recent investigations have identified a potential connection between SARS-CoV-2 infection and gut dysbiosis,
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The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 posed a great global threat and emphasized the urgent need for diagnostic tools that are rapid, reliable, sensitive and capable of real-time monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Recent investigations have identified a potential connection between SARS-CoV-2 infection and gut dysbiosis, highlighting the sophisticated interplay between the virus and the host microbiome. This review article discusses the eminence of nanobiosensors, as state-of-the-art tools, to investigate and clarify the connection between SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and gut microbiome imbalance. Nanobiosensors are uniquely advantageous owing to their sensitivity, selectivity, specificity, and reliable monitoring capabilities, making them well-suited for identifying both viral particles and microbial markers in biological samples. We explored a range of nanobiosensor platforms and their potential use for concurrently monitoring the gut dysbiosis induced by different pathological conditions. Additionally, we explore how advanced sensing technologies can shed light on the mechanisms driving virus-induced dysbiosis, and the implications for disease progression and patient outcomes. The integration of nanobiosensors with microfluidic devices and artificial intelligence algorithms has also been explored, highlighting the potential of developing point-of-care diagnostic tools that provide comprehensive insights into both viral infection and gut health. Utilizing nanotechnology, scientists and healthcare professionals may gain a more profound insight into the complex interaction dynamics between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the gut microenvironment. This could pave the way for enhanced diagnostic and prognostic approaches, treatment courses, and patient care for COVID-19.
Full article
Daily nighttime light (NTL) observations made by remote sensing satellites can monitor human activity at high temporal resolution, but are often constrained by residual physical disturbances. Even in standard products, such as NASA’s Black Marble VNP46A2, factors related to sensor viewing geometry, lunar
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Daily nighttime light (NTL) observations made by remote sensing satellites can monitor human activity at high temporal resolution, but are often constrained by residual physical disturbances. Even in standard products, such as NASA’s Black Marble VNP46A2, factors related to sensor viewing geometry, lunar illumination, atmospheric conditions, and seasonality can introduce noise into daily radiance retrievals. This study develops a locally adaptive framework to diagnose and correct residual disturbances in daily NTL data. By estimating location-specific regression models, we quantify the residual sensitivity of VNP46A2 radiance to multiple disturbance factors and selectively remove statistically significant components. The results show that the proposed approach effectively removes statistically significant residual disturbances from daily NTL data in the VNP46A2 product. An application for COVID-19 containment periods in China demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach, where corrected daily NTL data exhibit enhanced temporal stability and improved interpretability. Further analysis based on event study approaches demonstrates that corrected daily NTL data enable the identification of short-run policy effects that are difficult to detect with lower-frequency indicators. Overall, this study enhances the suitability of daily NTL data for high-frequency socioeconomic applications and extends existing preprocessing approaches for daily NTL observations.
Full article
Human non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) cause a plethora of infections in humans, ranging from mild to severe neurological diseases including aseptic meningitis. NPEVs are the leading cause of aseptic meningitis in both children and adults worldwide. In Russia, reports of NPEV infections have surged,
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Human non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) cause a plethora of infections in humans, ranging from mild to severe neurological diseases including aseptic meningitis. NPEVs are the leading cause of aseptic meningitis in both children and adults worldwide. In Russia, reports of NPEV infections have surged, especially in the post-COVID era starting in 2022, with elevated infection rates into 2023. A comprehensive examination of the whole genome is crucial for understanding the evolution of NPEV genes and for predicting potential outbreaks. This study focused on identifying the circulating NPEV strains in the Ural Federal District and Western Siberia, using Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS) methodologies. Biological samples were collected from (n = 225) patients diagnosed with aseptic meningitis. Bioinformatics analysis targeted the nucleotide sequences of the major capsid protein (partial VP1) gene fragment, and the assembly of whole NPEV genomes. A total of 159 NPEVs were characterized, representing 70.7% of the collected samples. The main capsid variants forming the predominant genotypic profile included E30 (n = 39, 24.3%), E6 (n = 31, 19.3%), and CVA9 (n = 25, 15.6%). Using NGS, we successfully assembled 13 whole genomes for E6, E30, EV-B80, CVA9, CVB5, E11, and EV-A71 and 3 partial genomes for E6 and EV-B87. This molecular-genetic analysis provides contemporary insights into the genotypic composition, circulation patterns, and evolutionary dynamics of the dominant NPEV associated with aseptic meningitis in the Ural Federal District and Western Siberia. The laboratory-based monitoring and epidemiological surveillance for genetic changes and evolutionary studies are important for improving prevention and healthcare.
Full article
The first webinar in the series, held on 17 April 2020, saw both Prof. Dr. Antoine Flahault, Director of the Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Prof. Dr. Evelyne Bischof, Associate Professor, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, China and Research physician, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland speak on this topic.
The second webinar in the series, entitled “Coronaviruses: history, replication, innate immune antagonism”, saw Prof. Dr. Susan R. Weiss, Professor of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania speak on this topic.
WEBINAR 3: Could the COVID-19 Crisis be the Opportunity to Make Cities Carbon Neutral, Liveable and Healthy
The third webinar in this series was presented by Prof. Dr. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, a world leading expert in environmental exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health risk/impact assessment with a strong focus and interest on healthy urban living.
WEBINAR 4: COVID-19 - Global Supply Chains and the SDGs
For the fourth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Max Bergman, Dr. Dorothea Schostok and Prof. Dr. Patrick Paul Walsh gave a presentation on Global Supply Chains and the SDGs.
WEBINAR 5: The New Role of Family Physicians in Times of COVID-19
The fifth webinar of the COVID-19 Series saw Prof. Dr. Christos Lionis discuss the new role of family physicians that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WEBINAR 6: Survey on Symptoms/Signs, Protective Measures, Level of Awareness and Perception Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak among Dentists
In the sixth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Guglielmo Campus and Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia present and discuss the risk and the preventions that can and should be taken by dentists during this pandemic.
WEBINAR 7: Living with COVID-19: An Early Intervention Therapeutic Strategy to Control the Pandemic
The seventh webinar of the COVID-19 series, Dr. Hamid Merchant discussed the different therapeutic strategies that can be adopted in the early stages of the infection.
WEBINAR 8: Impact of COVID-19 on Routine Immunization, Reproduction and Pregnancy Outcome
For the eighth COVID-19 webinar, Prof. Dr. Jon Øyvind Odland discussed the effect that COVID-19 seems to have on pregnant women; whereas Prof. Dr. Giovanni Gabutti discussed the role of routine immunization as a way of fighting COVID-19.
