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Context In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic became a threat to human health and induced global concern. The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes various disorders in the body's systems, and the reproductive system is no exception. Further, the rate of infertile couples is increasing and part of this is related to male infertility. Aims The aim of the present study was to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 infection history on semen quality in men referred to public and private infertility centres. Methods In this research, patients were divided into two groups: 88 men with a history of COVID-19 (Covid+) and 51 men without (Covid-). After semen collection, sperm parameters, fertilisation rate and oxidative stress were investigated. Key results Sperms with normal morphology and mature chromatin in patients with COVID-19 infection history decreased, and seminal oxidative stress and sperm DNA fragmentation were increased; moreover, the fertilisation rate in the Covid+ group decreased in compare to the Covid- group. Conclusion COVID-19 infection increases oxidative stress in the semen, so has a negative effect on some sperm parameters and fertilisation rate. Implications COVID-19 infection impairs semen quality by increasing in oxidative stress, thus reducing the fertility potential.

Our understanding of fungal epidemiology and the burden of antifungal drug resistance in COVID-19-associated candidemia (CAC) patients is limited. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective multicenter study in Iran to explore clinical and microbiological profiles of CAC patients. Yeast isolated from blood, were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and subjected to antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) using the broth microdilution method M27-A3 protocol. A total of 0.6% of the COVID-19 patients acquired CAC (43/6174). Fluconazole was the most widely used antifungal, and 37% of patients were not treated. Contrary to historic candidemia patients, Candida albicans and C. tropicalis were the most common species. In vitro resistance was high and only noted for azoles; 50%, 20%, and 13.6% of patients were infected with azole-non-susceptible (ANS) C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. albicans isolates, respectively. ERG11 mutations conferring azole resistance were detected for C. parapsilosis isolates (Y132F), recovered from an azole-naïve patient. Our study revealed an unprecedented rise in ANS Candida isolates, including the first C. parapsilosis isolate carrying Y132F, among CAC patients in Iran, which potentially threatens the efficacy of fluconazole, the most widely used drug in our centers. Considering the high mortality rate and 37% of untreated CAC cases, our study underscores the importance of infection control strategies and antifungal stewardship to minimize the emergence of ANS Candida isolates during COVID-19., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.)

Colorimetric readout for the detection of infectious diseases is gaining traction at the point of care/need owing to its ease of analysis and interpretation, and integration potential with highly specific loop-mediated amplification (LAMP) assays. However, coupling colorimetric readout with LAMP is rife with challenges including, rapidity, inter-user variability, colorimetric signal quantification, and user involvement in sequential steps of the LAMP assay, hindering its application. To address these challenges, for the first time, we propose a remotely smartphone-operated automated setup consisting of (i) an additively manufactured microfluidic cartridge, (ii) a portable reflected-light imaging setup with controlled epi-illumination (PRICE) module, and (iii) a control and data analysis module. The microfluidic cartridge facilitates sample collection, lysis, mixing of amplification reagents stored on-chip, and subsequent isothermal heating for initiation of amplification in a novel way by employing tunable elastomeric chambers and auxiliary components (heaters and linear actuators). PRICE offers a new imaging setup that captures the colorimetric change of the amplification media over a plasmonic nanostructured substrate in a controlled and noise-free environment for rapid minute-scale nucleic acid detection. The control and data analysis module employs microprocessors to automate cartridge operation in tandem with the imaging module. The different device components were characterized individually and finally, as a proof of concept, SARS-CoV-2 wild-type RNA was detected with a turnaround time of 13 minutes, showing the device's clinical feasibility. The suggested automated device can be adopted in future iterations for other detection and molecular assays that require sequential fluid handling steps.

Deployment of nucleic acid amplification assays for diagnosing pathogens in point-of-care settings is a challenge due to lengthy preparatory steps. We present a molecular diagnostic platform that integrates a fabless plasmonic nano-surface into an autonomous microfluidic cartridge. The plasmonic 'hot' electron injection in confined space yields a ninefold kinetic acceleration of RNA/DNA amplification at single nucleotide resolution by one-step isothermal loop-mediated and rolling circle amplification reactions. Sequential flow actuation with nanoplasmonic accelerated microfluidic colorimetry and in conjugation with machine learning-assisted analysis (using our 'QolorEX' device) offers an automated diagnostic platform for multiplexed amplification. The versatility of QolorEX is demonstrated by detecting respiratory viruses: SARS-CoV-2 and its variants at the single nucleotide polymorphism level, H1N1 influenza A, and bacteria. For COVID-19 saliva samples, with an accuracy of 95% on par with quantitative polymerase chain reaction and a sample-to-answer time of 13 minutes, QolorEX is expected to advance the monitoring and rapid diagnosis of pathogens., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The last pandemic exposed critical gaps in monitoring and mitigating the spread of viral respiratory infections at the point-of-need. A cost-effective multiplexed fluidic device (NFluidEX), as a home-test kit analogous to a glucometer, that uses saliva and blood for parallel quantitative detection of viral infection and body's immune response in an automated manner within 11 min is proposed. The technology integrates a versatile biomimetic receptor based on molecularly imprinted polymers in a core-shell structure with nano gold electrodes, a multiplexed fluidic-impedimetric readout, built-in saliva collection/preparation, and smartphone-enabled data acquisition and interpretation. NFluidEX is validated with Influenza A H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2 (original strain and variants of concern), and achieves low detection limit in saliva and blood for the viral proteins and the anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM), respectively. It is demonstrated that nanoprotrusions of gold electrodes are essential for the fine templating of antibodies and spike proteins during molecular imprinting, and differentiation of IgG and IgM in whole blood. In the clinical setting, NFluidEX achieves 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity by testing 44 COVID-positive and 25 COVID-negative saliva and blood samples on par with the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (p < 0.001, 95% confidence) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)