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Background and Purpose: The aim was to investigate the neurological complications associated with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) during the 2022 Omicron wave., Methods and Analysis: The medical records of a cohort of people admitted to neurological wards of three participating tertiary centres in Sichuan from 12 December 2022 to 12 January 2023 were reviewed. Demographics and clinical data were obtained and analysed with an interest in COVID-19-related new-onset or worse neurological symptoms. The current data were also compared in two centres with similar data from the same period 12 months earlier., Results: In all, 790 people were enrolled, of whom 436 were positive for COVID-19. Ninety-nine had new onset COVID-related neurological problems, or their known neurological condition deteriorated during the wave. There was a significant difference in demographics from the findings amongst admissions 12 months earlier as there was an increase in the average age, the incidence of encephalitis and encephalopathy, and mortality rates. One hundred and one received COVID-specific antivirals, intravenous glucocorticoids and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. No differences were seen between these and those who did not use them., Conclusion: New-onset neurological conditions, particularly encephalitis and encephalopathy, increased significantly during this period. Deterioration of existing neurological conditions, such as seizure exacerbation, was also observed. A large-scale treatment trial of people with COVID-19 infection presenting with neurological disorders is still needed., (© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)

To prevent disease spreading during the COVID-19 epidemic, Shenzhen adopted lockdown measures in March of 2022. This provided an opportunity to study the response of changes in anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (AVOCs) in Shenzhen to emission reduction and to evaluate the effectiveness of current emission reduction measures. This study analyzed the variety of AVOCs before, during, and after the epidemic lockdown based on the online observation data of pollutants at Lianhua Station in Shenzhen from March 7, 2022 to March 27, 2022. Additionally, the sensitivity of ozone formation and the assessment of the reduction effect of precursors was conducted by an observation based model(OBM). The results showed that:affected by regional influences and the interference of meteorological conditions, the average value of AVOCs in Shenzhen urban areas did not drop significantly during the lockdown period compared to that before the lockdown. However, the peak of AVOCs at the morning peak time under the influence of "sea and land wind" during the epidemic lockdown period dropped by 46% on average compared with that during the non-lockdown period, and the aromatic hydrocarbon component dropped the most by 59%. Additionally, under the influence of continuous easterly wind, or during the accumulation and increase of AVOCs affected by regional transmission, aromatic components also decreased by an average of 25% and 21%, respectively. During the lockdown period of the epidemic in Shenzhen, the O 3 formation in urban areas was still AVOCs-limited. Increasing the emission reduction ratio of AVOCs was the most effective measure to reduce O 3 in the short term. In order to ensure the effectiveness of emission reduction, it was recommended that the coordinated emission reduction ratio of AVOCs and NO x should be greater than 1:2. It was only possible to enter the downward channel of O 3 if the deep emission reduction was more than 60%. This study revealed that the emission reduction of AVOCs during the morning traffic peak during the epidemic lockdown period was conducive to inhibiting the formation of O 3 , whereas the control of NO x would promote it. Strengthening the control of local aromatic hydrocarbon components during the regional impact process could also significantly reduce O 3 production. At this stage, Shenzhen should strengthen the management and control of industrial solvents, especially to reduce the aromatic hydrocarbon components in the solvent source that have a greater impact on the generation of O 3 . Further, Shenzhen should continue to promote the reform of the energy structure of motor vehicles to reduce the emission of VOCs in fuel combustion.

The coronavirus disease 2019 is still continuing and may affect stroke emergency care. We aim to investigate the impact of pandemic on stroke treatment in tertiary stroke centers in western China, and to quantitatively evaluate the worldwide influence with a meta-analysis. The original part was conducted in three tertiary stroke centers in Sichuan province. We compared emergency visits and efficiency of stroke treatment pre-, early, peak and late pandemic. Single-center analysis was further conducted in the largest local hospital and one hospital located close to the epicenter respectively. Relevant studies were searched in PubMed, Ovid Embase and Cochrane Library for English publications from December 2019 to July 2020 for systematic review. Fixed-and random-effect meta-analysis was performed to calculate the overall rates. Totally current original study showed fewer time of hospital admission and significantly higher rates of mechanical thrombectomy during the early and peak epidemic periods, compared with pre-epidemic time. The largest local hospital had significantly higher mechanical thrombectomy rates during the whole crisis and less daily admission during early and peak epidemic periods. The hospital located close to the epicenter presented higher proportions of intravenous thrombolysis since outbreak, and more favorable outcomes after reperfusion therapies than later (all P values <0.05). In meta-analysis, studies reported differences in reperfusion therapies and stroke severity but pooled results were non-significant. Overall, comprehensive measures should be implemented to keep hospital's capacity to deliver high-quality stroke emergency care during the global pandemic. Some key messages were provided for medical practice in the crisis., (© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide and poses a great threat to global health. COVID-19 has also an unneglected effect on migraine patients. Migraine attack frequency is one of the migraine characteristics, and its impact during COVID-19 needs further research. We aimed to evaluate whether migraine attack frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic differed from pre-COVID-19 attack frequency and explore possible influencing factors during the pandemic., Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 187 migraine patients from the Department of Neurology of West China Hospital from October 2019 to December 2019. After the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 157 patients were included. We collected demographic data, clinical characteristics, and epidemiological contact information and followed up on March 2020. Then, paired-samples T-tests, logistic regression and interaction tests were used to analyze the data., Results: We found that the migraine attack frequency was 2.47 ± 1.12 before and 3.54 ± 1.79 during COVID-19 (P<0.0001). Then, we divided patients into two groups based on the difference in migraine attack frequency between the COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 periods and employed logistic regression analysis. In the logistic regression analysis, divorced status (OR = 6.53, P = 0.0453), good sleep pre-COVID-19 and poor sleep during COVID-19 (OR = 3.11, P = 0.0432) had independent effects on migraine attack frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found no interaction in poor sleep during COVID-19 between various subgroups., Conclusion: We found that migraineurs' headache attacks were more frequent during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19 and that increased migraine attack frequency was independently related to divorced status and poor sleep during COVID-19., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Our aim was to clarify the incidence and risk of acute symptomatic seizures in people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). This multicenter retrospective study enrolled people with COVID‐19 from January 18 to February 18, 2020 at 42 government‐designated hospitals in Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic in China; Sichuan province; and Chongqing municipality. Data were collected from medical records by 11 neurologists using a standard case report form. A total of 304 people were enrolled, of whom 108 had a severe condition. None in this cohort had a known history of epilepsy. Neither acute symptomatic seizures nor status epilepticus was observed. Two people had seizurelike symptoms during hospitalization due to acute stress reaction and hypocalcemia, and 84 (27%) had brain insults or metabolic imbalances during the disease course known to increase the risk of seizures. There was no evidence suggesting an additional risk of acute symptomatic seizures in people with COVID‐19. Neither the virus nor potential risk factors for seizures seem to be significant risks for the occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures in COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory parameters, such as respiratory rate (RR), inhalation time (t in), exhalation time (t ex), and their ratio (IER=t in / t ex), are of great importance to indicate clinical differences between healthy people and those with respiratory diseases. Herein, we report a respiration monitoring triboelectric nanogenerator (RM-TENG) with nanofibrous membranes, which can be used as a smart, changeable, self-powered mask filter with high filtration efficiency for monitoring multiple respiratory indices (e.g., RR , t in , t ex , IER). We created a mathematical model to quantitatively analyze the effects of gap distance between two triboelectric layers on the contact area by recording the nanofibers layer's deformation profile with digital image correlation (DIC) tests. The RM-TENG is more sensitive to smaller gap distances between 1 mm and 5 mm because the high specific area of nanofibers can provide a more effective contact area. An RM-TENG built with optimized structure parameters can accurately and consistently detect the above-mentioned respiratory indices with excellent sensing stability for 40 h. The monitored RR and IER have 100% and 93.53% agreement with the real-time RR and IER set on the ventilator, respectively. Furthermore, it has a filtration efficiency of 99 wt% for particle sizes between 0.3 µm and 5 µm. This study introduces a mask filter fabricated with a simple structure with both filtering and sensing capability, which has excellent potential for self-powered health diagnostics. [Display omitted] • A TENG sensor for monitoring respiration is fabricated with two nanofiber layers. • A mathematical model is established to calculate the contact area between the two nanofiber layers. • A medical ventilator is used to examine the accuracy and stability of the TENG sensor. • The TENG attached to a commercial mask can monitor multi-respiratory indices. • The TENG is also an air filter with a filtration efficiency of 99 wt% for the particle size of 0.3–5 µm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]