Our institute is in phased opening process. This week they are allowing "nonessential" workers to come back in the lab and office, while mandating mask wearing and social distancing.
Teleworking is still encouraged.
Just in time for this lab opening, I got a response from editorial office for manuscript revision on Monday (5/11). The comments and revise requests ("major revision") are constructive and manageable (if the lab is open).
On Tuesday (5/12) we ordered some research reagents and asked histopathology staff to prepare some slides. They are for the revision. She cut the slides from paraffin block the next day and gave them to me today (5/14). It really is good to have efficient research support staff on our side.
I came to the lab for 3 days this week to arrange experiments needed for the revision. With all the raw data within reach and all software available in the computer, it is easier to work in the office than from home.
Tomorrow I'll be teleworking for Zoom lab meeting, writing a grant, sending peer review comments, and other things.
My work environment is not really ordinary and is different from most. My work does not rely on meeting with many people in person, which is great for this "pandemic" time. People are vectors for the virus, from the standpoint of public health.
I sure am a lucky one. In coming weeks I'll keep working on the paper revision and necessary experiments (and grant with 6/16 deadline), hoping for getting them done asap.
I certainly hope there is not the second wave coming. But if the patients number rise quickly and ICUs and ERs in hospitals are flooded, they would close the businesses and put people in quarantine again.
Learning from the quick and messy lab closing and quarantine/teleworking, I better be prepared for the bad case scenario (with second lab closing) and make full use of this lab opening time.
"Mind my own business". This attitude can be quite helpful, especially when idle people with free time splash around their cheap opinions so gleefully.
May 6, 2020
Life/Science: preparing for re-opening of research lab in Oklahoma
On 5/5, our institute announced schedule for phased re-opening of research labs.
Although telecommuting is still encouraged, the research labs may open beginning 5/11 Monday, with mandatory mask wearing on campus and other precautions (social distancing, disinfecting, hand washing, etc).
That makes the strict closing from 3/23 to 5/10, exactly 7 weeks.
During the 7 telecommuting weeks, I sent out two manuscripts, initiated a new collaborative project, checked out new papers (sometimes it is difficult to keep up without some system like weekly journal club), was peer-reviewing a few manuscripts by others, is working on a grant (due mid June), is reviewing an ongoing collaborative project, did 6+ Zoom meeting, etc etc.
I'd say, it was productive enough. But it also is about time to get some lab work done for research.
I'd miss the telework environment, writing with my cat on my lap, for a while though.
Judging from those maskless people in Walmart and everywhere else (careless), I do think this re-opening of the state for economic purpose would be followed by second wave (like 1918 Spanish Flu), and possibly re-closing of the lab later this year. I got to prepare for it. Get as much lab data as possible, while initiating projects that are telework friendly, during this Summer.
This "opening" is likely a calm before another storm. Preparations don't go waste. Then, why not?
The state closing have given us precious time and knowledge on the disease. There are drugs being tested or reported effective (or refuted). The knowledge from clinical trials are obtained literally through people's sacrifices.
I started walking and exercising, but no significant weight loss has been observed yet. As of today I weigh about 195lb, and am hoping to lose 10-15lb to be able to move better before the end of Summer. I'll keep working out.
Although telecommuting is still encouraged, the research labs may open beginning 5/11 Monday, with mandatory mask wearing on campus and other precautions (social distancing, disinfecting, hand washing, etc).
That makes the strict closing from 3/23 to 5/10, exactly 7 weeks.
During the 7 telecommuting weeks, I sent out two manuscripts, initiated a new collaborative project, checked out new papers (sometimes it is difficult to keep up without some system like weekly journal club), was peer-reviewing a few manuscripts by others, is working on a grant (due mid June), is reviewing an ongoing collaborative project, did 6+ Zoom meeting, etc etc.
I'd say, it was productive enough. But it also is about time to get some lab work done for research.
I'd miss the telework environment, writing with my cat on my lap, for a while though.
Judging from those maskless people in Walmart and everywhere else (careless), I do think this re-opening of the state for economic purpose would be followed by second wave (like 1918 Spanish Flu), and possibly re-closing of the lab later this year. I got to prepare for it. Get as much lab data as possible, while initiating projects that are telework friendly, during this Summer.
This "opening" is likely a calm before another storm. Preparations don't go waste. Then, why not?
The state closing have given us precious time and knowledge on the disease. There are drugs being tested or reported effective (or refuted). The knowledge from clinical trials are obtained literally through people's sacrifices.
I started walking and exercising, but no significant weight loss has been observed yet. As of today I weigh about 195lb, and am hoping to lose 10-15lb to be able to move better before the end of Summer. I'll keep working out.
April 13, 2020
Life: what's your personal "Coronavirus status"?
Many of us are shut-in for 3+ weeks already. By this time, your personal "Coronavirus status" should have emerged.
The "Coronavirus status"
(1) Uninfected and never infected.
(2) Infected, asymptomatic
(3) Infected, showing symptoms/feeling sick, but mild and manageable
(4) Infected, with severe symptoms/hospitalized
(5) Infected, and died
(6) Infected, but recovered.
(1) Uninfected and never infected.
Try to keep it up. This "stay at home" order is doing great favor for you. Believe it.
(2)-(5)
Infected people. Now you are playing Russian Roulette.
The outcome may be influenced by some factors that include;
Your age, general health, specific health conditions (diabetes, heart disease, asthma, COPD, etc), habits (smoking), environmental factors (exposure to pollution, high exposure to the virus, etc), genetics, other conditions (sleep, rest, diet, stress, etc) ...many of which you have little control over, but for some you do.
Then, you'll be assigned to one of (2) to (5).
If you are (2) "Infected, asymptomatic", you may not even know you are "positive", but you can spread this highly contagious virus to others. Don't.
Stay at home and isolate yourself.
If you are (3) "Infected, showing symptoms/feeling sick, but mild and manageable", you may be worried if this turns worse and kill you or you infect others.
Stay at home and isolate self. Take good care of yourself and try to get well.
If you are (4) "Infected, with severe symptoms/hospitalized", you can not do much here, other than try to hold out.
Doctors and nurses will try their best to help, maybe with experimental drug or new treatment protocol. You fight for your life.
For (5), I am sorry.
People assigned to (2)-(4) will eventually move to (6), in about 2 -3 weeks for mild cases, and in 3-6+ weeks for severe cases.
For (6) "Infected and recovered" people, there are 3 possible courses. At this moment, we do not know, because this virus is new and there are some uncertainties.
(6)-1: If the "recovery" from COVID19 gives you lasting immunity, you are in the clear. You can resume your life.
(6)-2: If the "recovery" from COVID19 does not give you lasting immunity, perhaps due to weak immunogenicity of the virus or the virus' highly mutational nature, you may catch COVID19 again. It is like dealing with common cold. Go back to the beginning. You may (or may not) have a better starting point with your partial immunity.
(6)-3: If the "recovery" from COVID19 is not exactly "recovery" but only a temporal suppression, you can be "positive" again. Like Chickenpox virus keeps living in you and causing Shingles later, or HSV1 causing cold sore, you may be a silent carrier. Clearly more research is needed. [go back to (2)]
Some people in South Korea are reported to have turned back "positive" after their "recovery". They may either got re-infected [(6)-2], or the virus reemerged [(6)-3]. Either way, it is quite concerning. But don't concern yourself too much, if you are not the few who are actively involved in drug research and development.
Tests to detect active virus in your body (PCR, Abbott lab's rapid test) or to detect antibody in your blood (called serologic test, which will tell your immunity status and suggest your infection history) should be more widely available in some time. Soon we will have better understanding on this viral disease and on how to deal with it.
Our institute is pretty much shut down. Leaving animal maintenance to designated "essential" lab people, I have been "teleworking" from home since 3/23, with weekly Zoom lab meeting.
In this condition, what I can do is (a) write research manuscript from existing data, (b) write review manuscript from literature research, (c) outline and write grant from existing preliminary data, (d) do literature research and expand research horizon (like reading papers on virus studies), (e) expand research with collaboration, and /or (f) learn something new (new subject, technology, methods, etc). Plenty enough.
With (a), we sent out a research manuscript to a journal last week, and I am working on the next research manuscript that had been suspended for a while. But if the reviewers request revision and if some new experiment is needed, we'll get stuck, as no lab work is permitted now. Oh well, we'll see.
The "Coronavirus status"
(1) Uninfected and never infected.
(2) Infected, asymptomatic
(3) Infected, showing symptoms/feeling sick, but mild and manageable
(4) Infected, with severe symptoms/hospitalized
(5) Infected, and died
(6) Infected, but recovered.
(1) Uninfected and never infected.
Try to keep it up. This "stay at home" order is doing great favor for you. Believe it.
(2)-(5)
Infected people. Now you are playing Russian Roulette.
The outcome may be influenced by some factors that include;
Your age, general health, specific health conditions (diabetes, heart disease, asthma, COPD, etc), habits (smoking), environmental factors (exposure to pollution, high exposure to the virus, etc), genetics, other conditions (sleep, rest, diet, stress, etc) ...many of which you have little control over, but for some you do.
Then, you'll be assigned to one of (2) to (5).
If you are (2) "Infected, asymptomatic", you may not even know you are "positive", but you can spread this highly contagious virus to others. Don't.
Stay at home and isolate yourself.
If you are (3) "Infected, showing symptoms/feeling sick, but mild and manageable", you may be worried if this turns worse and kill you or you infect others.
Stay at home and isolate self. Take good care of yourself and try to get well.
If you are (4) "Infected, with severe symptoms/hospitalized", you can not do much here, other than try to hold out.
Doctors and nurses will try their best to help, maybe with experimental drug or new treatment protocol. You fight for your life.
For (5), I am sorry.
People assigned to (2)-(4) will eventually move to (6), in about 2 -3 weeks for mild cases, and in 3-6+ weeks for severe cases.
For (6) "Infected and recovered" people, there are 3 possible courses. At this moment, we do not know, because this virus is new and there are some uncertainties.
(6)-1: If the "recovery" from COVID19 gives you lasting immunity, you are in the clear. You can resume your life.
(6)-2: If the "recovery" from COVID19 does not give you lasting immunity, perhaps due to weak immunogenicity of the virus or the virus' highly mutational nature, you may catch COVID19 again. It is like dealing with common cold. Go back to the beginning. You may (or may not) have a better starting point with your partial immunity.
(6)-3: If the "recovery" from COVID19 is not exactly "recovery" but only a temporal suppression, you can be "positive" again. Like Chickenpox virus keeps living in you and causing Shingles later, or HSV1 causing cold sore, you may be a silent carrier. Clearly more research is needed. [go back to (2)]
Some people in South Korea are reported to have turned back "positive" after their "recovery". They may either got re-infected [(6)-2], or the virus reemerged [(6)-3]. Either way, it is quite concerning. But don't concern yourself too much, if you are not the few who are actively involved in drug research and development.
Tests to detect active virus in your body (PCR, Abbott lab's rapid test) or to detect antibody in your blood (called serologic test, which will tell your immunity status and suggest your infection history) should be more widely available in some time. Soon we will have better understanding on this viral disease and on how to deal with it.
Our institute is pretty much shut down. Leaving animal maintenance to designated "essential" lab people, I have been "teleworking" from home since 3/23, with weekly Zoom lab meeting.
In this condition, what I can do is (a) write research manuscript from existing data, (b) write review manuscript from literature research, (c) outline and write grant from existing preliminary data, (d) do literature research and expand research horizon (like reading papers on virus studies), (e) expand research with collaboration, and /or (f) learn something new (new subject, technology, methods, etc). Plenty enough.
With (a), we sent out a research manuscript to a journal last week, and I am working on the next research manuscript that had been suspended for a while. But if the reviewers request revision and if some new experiment is needed, we'll get stuck, as no lab work is permitted now. Oh well, we'll see.
March 26, 2020
Life: Interim Guidance for Management for SARS-CoV2 Infection (COVID-19) in Adults
Let's say you are having mild fever, dullness, dry cough, and unpleasant feeling in your chest, for 3 days.
You have convinced yourself that it's the Corona.
Is it time to panic and run to hospital nearby?
No. Please read on.
On Tuesday (3/24/20) our Department of Medicine chair was circulating "Interim Guidance for Management for SARS-CoV2 Infection (COVID-19) in Adults, Adapted from the University of Washington Treatment Guidelines " for the use of University of Oklahoma physicians.
It is "Interim Guidance" (a provisional manual) for clinicians regarding how to manage COVID19. As COVID19 treatment options are rapidly evolving, the Interim Guideline is subjected to amendments. Some local factors (like test availability and capacity of facility) will influence adherence to the Guideline.
In the Guideline, diagnosis is made by
These "interim guidance" are not quite well-established yet and will be amended often. It really is like building airplane while flying.
You have convinced yourself that it's the Corona.
Is it time to panic and run to hospital nearby?
No. Please read on.
On Tuesday (3/24/20) our Department of Medicine chair was circulating "Interim Guidance for Management for SARS-CoV2 Infection (COVID-19) in Adults, Adapted from the University of Washington Treatment Guidelines " for the use of University of Oklahoma physicians.
It is "Interim Guidance" (a provisional manual) for clinicians regarding how to manage COVID19. As COVID19 treatment options are rapidly evolving, the Interim Guideline is subjected to amendments. Some local factors (like test availability and capacity of facility) will influence adherence to the Guideline.
In the Guideline, diagnosis is made by
(a) Positive nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV2, or
(b) if results are pending, a presumptive case would be defined as respiratory tract infection [fever, sore throat, shortness of breath, cough] with oxygen requirements and with chest X- ray or chest ultrasound findings suggestive of COVID-19
Then they'll move on to evaluate oxygen requirement (followed by rapid pregnancy test for women with childhood potential).
(1) no oxygen requirement, no risk factors -> treat symptomatically
(2) no oxygen requirement, any risk factor ->(virologic test)->Hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin
(3) oxygen requirement ->(chest imaging) ->Hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin (Evaluate eligibility for cytokine blockade)
(3) oxygen requirement ->(chest imaging) ->Hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin (Evaluate eligibility for cytokine blockade)
Hydroxychloroquine is anti-malaria med, being repurposed for the Coronavirus treatment based on early reports from China and France. It's experimental, but choices are limited at this moment.
Azithromycin is antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is often complicated by secondary bacterial infection and bacterial pneumonia.
The Guideline further describes risk factors, baseline evaluation, suggestions and other treatment considerations.
Such as
Avoid systemic steroids
Use of NSAID (e.g., ibuprofen, aspirin) is controversial. Consider Acetaminophen (Tylenol) for fever management
(Apparently, some of inflammation pathways may be being used to resist the virus, so that some anti-inflammatories may be counterproductive. Researchers will figure out the details later.)
(Apparently, some of inflammation pathways may be being used to resist the virus, so that some anti-inflammatories may be counterproductive. Researchers will figure out the details later.)
In short, priority is placed on patients with oxygen requirement (failing lung) with viral test-positive and/or visual pathology with imaging.
If your suspected case is mild, stay put and don't panic. That is what you can read from the guideline. After all, a majority (80% or so, or probably more considering asymptomatic infection may be widespread) do not get to the point of oxygen requirement.
If mild case patients flood clinics and demand resources (manpower, equipment, facility), that will take away the resources from severe-case patients with real need, eventually leading to more deaths.
Besides, hospitals are already a high-risk place for the contagious disease. Do you really want to go there, with only mild case of yours, risking getting and giving the virus?
They are even discussing that X-ray is preferred to CT scan, because CT scanner is much harder to clean/disinfect between uses. Practical concerns.
"Take it seriously" does not mean to run at hospital at the first sign of possible infection, but to make informed and sensible decision.
They are even discussing that X-ray is preferred to CT scan, because CT scanner is much harder to clean/disinfect between uses. Practical concerns.
"Take it seriously" does not mean to run at hospital at the first sign of possible infection, but to make informed and sensible decision.
Hope this helps.
PS1
If your case is turning severe, don't hesitate. Contact your doctor, go to hospital and get help. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), caused by the virus, is no joke.
PS2
You can find this kind of professional manuals, or its "consumer version" online. It is a good source for your research.
An example is one from Johns Hopkins.
https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540747/all/Coronavirus_COVID_19__SARS_CoV_2_
PS2
You can find this kind of professional manuals, or its "consumer version" online. It is a good source for your research.
An example is one from Johns Hopkins.
https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540747/all/Coronavirus_COVID_19__SARS_CoV_2_
These "interim guidance" are not quite well-established yet and will be amended often. It really is like building airplane while flying.
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