Real-world evidence on inactivated COVID-19 vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant is limited. The authors of this cohort study analyzed vaccination, surveillance, screening, tracing, and quarantine data to determine the effectiveness of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines against infections, pneumonia, and severe or critical illness caused by the Delta variant.

Introduction Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that investigated the effectiveness of remdesivir for the treatment of Covid‐19 have generated inconsistent evidence. The present study aimed to synthesize available RCT evidence using network meta‐analyses (NMAs). Methods Both blinded and open‐label RCTs in PubMed database from inception to June 7, 2020 that contained “remdesivir”, “Covid‐19”, and “trial” in the abstracts conducted on hospitalized Covid‐19 persons were identified and screened. The studies must have at least one remdesivir arm and evaluated one of the pre‐specified outcomes. The outcomes were clinical improvement between days 10‐15 after randomization and clinical recovery during the follow‐up period. The identified literature was supplemented with relatively recent studies that were known to the researchers if not already included. Frequentist NMAs with random effects were conducted. Results Both 10‐day and 5‐day remdesivir regimens were associated with higher odds of clinical improvement [odds ratio (OR) of 10‐day regimen: 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09 – 1.67); OR of 5‐day regimen: 1.81, CI: 1.32 – 2.45] and higher probabilities of clinical recovery [relative risk (RR) of 10‐day regimen: 1.24, CI: 1.07 – 1.43); RR of 5‐day regimen: 1.47, CI: 1.16 – 1.87] compared with placebo. Conclusions Remdesivir may have clinical benefits among hospitalized Covid‐19 persons. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Various methods for editing specific sites in the Escherichia coli chromosome are available, and gene-size (∼1 kb) integration into a single site or to introduce deletions, short insertions or point mutations into multiple sites can be conducted in a short period of time. However, a method for rapidly integrating multiple gene-size sequences into different sites has not been developed yet. Here, we describe a method and plasmid system that makes it possible to simultaneously insert genes into multiple specific loci of the E. coli genome without the need for chromosomal markers. The method uses a CRISPR-Cas12a system to eliminate unmodified cells by double-stranded DNA cleavage in conjunction with the phage-derived λ-Red recombinases to facilitate recombination between the chromosome and the donor DNA. We achieved the insertion of up to 3 heterologous genes in one round of recombination and selection. To demonstrate the practical application of this gene-insertion method, we constructed a recombinant E. coli producing an industrially useful chemical, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), with high-yield. Moreover, a similar two-plasmid system was built to edit the genome of the extremophile Halomonas bluephagenesis.

Hydrotherapy is widely used for the treatment and rehabilitation of patients, but it can also be applied to prevent diseases in healthy people. This review investigates the health effects of water immersion, a form of hydrotherapy, and the mechanisms by which the properties of water elicit such an effect. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL to identify relevant articles, of which 13 met the inclusion criteria. Various factors of water immersion were investigated in the 13 selected articles, including water temperature, immersion height, and application area. With respect to health effects, warm and cold water immersion affects the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems, respectively. Nine articles focused on the effects of warm water immersion, explaining its thermal effect in relation to changes in disease-related serum substance levels and hemodynamic changes. While the sample population in most studies comprised young adults, two articles applied partial water immersion to the legs of elderly subjects to assess its effect on sleep. Because the water immersion protocols applied in the 13 articles were inconsistent, the health benefits could not be clearly explained. However, we expect the present findings to be beneficial for providing research guidelines for studies on the application of water immersion.

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The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity and eating habits of adolescent smokers with those of adolescent non-smokers in South Korea. This was a secondary analysis of data collected from the 2012 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey. The sample included 72,229 adolescents aged 12 to 18. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between smoking status and physical activity and between smoking status and eating habits, while controlling for other factors. Boys and girls were analyzed separately for all analyses. The proportion of self-reporting smokers was 11%. Surprisingly, girl smokers exercised significantly more frequently than non-smokers. Adolescent smokers were significantly less likely to consume fruits, vegetables, and milk/dairy products, and they ate significantly more fast-food than non-smokers. Health care professionals who plan smoking cessation programs should pay attention to South Korean adolescents' specific characteristics and cultural values in terms of health behavior.

Among males, VLWH are associated with a significant increase in stress, compared with SWH.

Purpose: Transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation (TENS), as a non-invasive modality, has been clinically used as an alternative treatment for children with overactive bladder (OAB). We conducted a pooled analysis to explore the effect of TENS on OAB.Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guideline was followed in this study. The MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases, as well as the reference lists of the retrieved studies, were used to find trials relevant for assessing the use of TENS to treat OAB.Results: Of the 246 records identified, 8 publications were analyzed in our study. Our analysis found that TENS resulted in a greater decrease of wet days/wk, daily voiding frequency, daily incontinence episodes, and daily number of voids than was observed in the control group. Furthermore, TENS-treated patients showed similar visual analogue scale (VAS) scores to patients in the control group, demonstrating that the application of TENS did not increase patients’ discomfort and pain. TENS had a relative advantage in the number of partial responses, but no clear differences were found in frequency of no response or a full response compared to the control group. In urodynamic testing, TENS led to obvious improvements in average voided volume and maximum voided volume in children with OAB.Conclusions: TENS had a remarkable effect on the improvement of urodynamic indexes and objective OAB symptoms without a significant increase in VAS scores for children with OAB.