Internal Tremors and Vibration Symptoms Among People with Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2: A narrative review of patient reports

To introduce the perspective of patients who have PASC with vibrations and tremors as a prominent component, we leveraged the efforts by Survivor Corps, a grassroots COVID-19 patient advocacy group, to gather information from people in their Facebook group suffering from vibrations and tremors. Survivor Corps collected 140 emails and 450 Facebook comments from members. From the emails, we identified 22 themes and 7 broader domains based on common coding techniques for qualitative data and the constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis. Facebook comments were analyzed using Word Clouds to visualize frequency of terms. The respondents’ emails reflected 7 domains that formed the basis of characterizing their experience with vibrations and tremors. These domains were: (1) symptom experience, description, and anatomic location; (2) initial symptom onset; (3) symptom timing; (4) symptom triggers or alleviators; (5) change from baseline health status; (6) experience with medical establishment; and (7) impact on people’s lives and livelihood. There were 22 themes total, each corresponding to one of the broader domains. The Facebook comments Word Cloud revealed that the 10 most common words used in comments were: tremors (64), covid (55), pain (51), vibrations (43), months (36), burning (29), feet (24), hands (22), legs (21), back (20). Overall, these patient narratives described intense suffering, and there is still no diagnosis or treatment available.

Social and Emotional Learning: From Conceptualization to Practical Application in a Global Context

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an effective way to promote positive learning, health, and wellbeing outcomes among children and youth, but the field lacks consensus about which skills and competencies are most important, what they should be called, and how they should be promoted and measured across diverse global contexts. SEL is also referred to by many names, often overlapping with life skills education (LSE) and other initiatives to improve learning, health, and developmental outcomes for children and youth. This chapter begins by describing SEL and its relationship to LSE and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. It then showcases where clarity and cohesion do or do not exist within the field of SEL by exploring how SEL is conceptualized, measured, and promoted in different settings around the world. We draw on data collected over a series of research projects in which we applied a common coding system to SEL frameworks, programs, and measurement/assessment tools in order to identify areas of overlap and divergence between them. The chapter summarizes key findings from these projects while highlighting the need for deeper contextualization and localized research and development and concludes by discussing implications for research and practice.

Electrical Performances of Package Layout for High Speed Networking and Cloud Computing Application

In the present generation, internet with instant data access brings up the demands of high speed Ethernet. Development of 400G Ethernet is currently underway. There are two common coding schemes: non-return-to-zero (NRZ) and pulse-amplitude modulation 4-Level (PAM4). Because NRZ needs signaling in higher Nyquist frequency, which results in higher channel dependent loss, PAM4 has become a popular solution. In this paper, we use 85 Ohm differential signal to explore a way to improve performance in the aspects of insertion loss, return loss and crosstalk for 112Gbps PAM4 application. A 12 layer substrate with low-loss dielectric of ABF-GL102 is used for the study. We scan the gap size of via pad which contributes the impedance discontinuity thus impacts signal integrity. Die bump and BGA pin assignments are the other two key factors in cause of crosstalk.

Population-scale analysis of common and rare genetic variation associated with hearing loss in adults

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the genetic underpinnings of disabling hearing loss, which affects ∼466 million people worldwide, can provide avenues for new therapeutic target development. We performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis of hearing loss with 125,749 cases and 469,497 controls across five cohorts, including UK Biobank, Geisinger DiscovEHR, the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, Mount Sinai’s BioMe Personalized Medicine Cohort, and FinnGen. We identified 53 loci affecting hearing loss risk, 15 of which are novel, including common coding variants in COL9A3 and TMPRSS3. Through exome-sequencing of 108,415 cases and 329,581 controls from the same cohorts, we identified hearing loss associations with burden of rare coding variants in FSCN2 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.14, P = 1.9 × 10−15) and burden of predicted loss-of-function variants in KLHDC7B (OR = 2.14, P = 5.2 × 10−30). We also observed single-variant and gene-burden associations with 11 genes known to cause Mendelian forms of hearing loss, including an increased risk in heterozygous carriers of mutations in the autosomal recessive hearing loss genes GJB2 (Gly12fs; OR = 1.21, P = 4.2 × 10−11) and SLC26A5 (gene burden; OR = 1.96, P = 2.8 × 10−17). Our results suggest that loss of KLHDC7B function increases risk for hearing loss, and show that Mendelian hearing loss genes contribute to the burden of hearing loss in the adult population, suggesting a shared etiology between common and rare forms of hearing loss. This work illustrates the potential of large-scale exome sequencing to elucidate the genetic architecture of common traits in which risk is modulated by both common and rare variation.

SELP Asp603Asn and severe thrombosis in COVID-19 males

Thromboembolism is a frequent cause of severity and mortality in COVID-19. However, the etiology of this phenomenon is not well understood. A cohort of 1186 subjects, from the GEN-COVID consortium, infected by SARS-CoV-2 with different severity was stratified by sex and adjusted by age. Then, common coding variants from whole exome sequencing were mined by LASSO logistic regression. The homozygosity of the cell adhesion molecule P-selectin gene (SELP) rs6127 (c.1807G > A; p.Asp603Asn) which has been already associated with thrombotic risk is found to be associated with severity in the male subcohort of 513 subjects (odds ratio = 2.27, 95% Confidence Interval 1.54–3.36). As the SELP gene is downregulated by testosterone, the odd ratio is increased in males older than 50 (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.53–3.82). Asn/Asn homozygotes have increased D-dimers values especially when associated with poly Q ≥ 23 in the androgen receptor (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.41–7.52). These results provide a rationale for the repurposing of antibodies against P-selectin as adjuvant therapy in rs6127 male homozygotes especially if older than 50 or with an impaired androgen receptor.

SELP Asp603Asn and severe thrombosis in COVID-19 males: implication for anti P-selectin monoclonal antibodies treatment

Thromboembolism is a frequent cause of severity and mortality in COVID-19. However, the etiology of this phenomenon is not well understood. A cohort of 1,186 subjects, from the GEN-COVID consortium, infected by SARS-CoV-2 with different severity were stratified by sex and adjusted by age. Then, common coding variants from whole exome sequencing were mined by LASSO logistic regression. The homozygosity of the cell adhesion molecule P-selectin gene (SELP) rs6127 (c.1807G>A; p.Asp603Asn) which increases platelet activation is found to be associated with severity in the male subcohort of 513 subjects (Odds Ratio= 2.27, 95% Confidence Interval 1.54-3.36). As the SELP gene is downregulated by testosterone, the odd ratio is increased in males older than 50 (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.53-3.82). Asn/Asn homozygotes have increased D-dimers values especially when associated with poly Q≥23 in the androgen receptor (AR) gene (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.41-7.52). These results provide a rationale for the repurposing of antibodies against P-selectin as adjuvant therapy in rs6127 male homozygotes especially if older than 50 or with impaired AR gene.

Common coding of expected value and value uncertainty memories in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia output

Recent evidence implicates both basal ganglia and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) in encoding value memories. However, comparative roles of cortical and basal nodes in value memory are not well understood. Here, single-unit recordings in vlPFC and substantia nigra reticulata (SNr), within macaque monkeys, revealed a larger value signal in SNr that was nevertheless correlated with and had a comparable onset to the vlPFC value signal. The value signal was maintained for many objects (>90) many weeks after reward learning and was resistant to extinction in both regions and to repetition suppression in vlPFC. Both regions showed comparable granularity in encoding expected value and value uncertainty, which was paralleled by enhanced gaze bias during free viewing. The value signal dynamics in SNr could be predicted by combining responses of vlPFC neurons according to their value preferences consistent with a scheme in which cortical neurons reached SNr via direct and indirect pathways.

Space, time and number: common coding mechanisms and interactions between domains

Space, time and number are key dimensions that underlie how we perceive, identify and act within the environment. They are interconnected in our behaviour and brain. In this study, we examined interdependencies between these dimensions. To this end, left- and right-handed participants performed an object collision task that required space–time processing and arithmetic tests that involved number processing. Handedness of the participants influenced collision detection with left-handers being more accurate than right-handers, which is in line with the premise that hand preference guides individual differences as a result of sensorimotor experiences and distinct interhemispheric integration patterns. The data further showed that successful collision detection was a predictor for arithmetic achievement, at least in right-handers. These findings suggest that handedness plays a mediating role in binding information processing across domains, likely due to selective connectivity properties within the sensorimotor system that is guided by hemispheric lateralisation patterns.

Different effects of spatial separation in action and perception

Spatial distance of response keys has been shown to have an effect on nonspatial tasks in that performance improved if the spatial distance increased. Comparably, spatial distance of stimulus features has been shown to have a performance-improving effect in a (partly) spatial task. Here, we combined these two findings in the same task to test for the commonality of the effect of stimulus distance and the effect of response distance. Thus, we varied spatial distance in exactly the same fashion either between stimuli or between responses in a standard Eriksen flanker task. The results show that spatial distance only affected the processing of stimulus features, while it had no effect on the processing of response features. Regarding the idea of common coding of action and perception (Prinz, 1990), stimulus and response processing should be influenced by spatial distance in the same way so that our data might suggest a boundary for the idea of common coding.

Epidemiology of UK Military Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3: future planning for hot climates

IntroductionEpidemiological data captured from military exercises and operations can highlight treatment requirements specific to operating in certain environmental conditions. Such data is invaluable to enable accurate planning for future exercises. Epidemiological data were collected during Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 (SS3) to provide an insight into medical provision requirements for low-tempo military operations in hot, desert climates.MethodEpidemiological data was collected from all consultations conducted during the exercise within the LAND Medical Reception Station, 24 August–14 November 2018, using Epi-NATO surveillance systems.ResultsOf the 1414 total consultations recorded, 759 were first presentations and 665 were follow-up consultations, with 35 referrals made to hospitals. 1348 days of limited duties were given and 258 working days were lost. The most common coding reported for consultations were ‘non-battle non-sport related injuries’, ‘sport related injuries’ and ‘dermatological'.DiscussionThe data highlight the most common cause of injuries and the role of assets such as dental, sexual and mental health services for future deployments. A number of explanations are considered in relation to the patterns identified and the effect on future planning for working in hot climates. Furthermore, Exercise SS3 had reduced numbers of personnel requiring deployed Role 2 or host nation hospital services, which again raises further considerations for future deployments.