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Governments around the world attempted to suppress the spread of COVID-19 using restrictions on social and economic activity. This study presents the first global analysis of job and income losses associated with those restrictions, using Gallup World Poll data from 321,000 randomly selected adults in 117 countries from July 2020 to March 2021. Nearly half of the world’s adult population lost income because of COVID-19, according to our estimates, and this outcome and related measures of economic harm—such as income loss—are strongly associated with lower subjective well-being, financial hardship, and self-reported loss of subjective well-being. Our primary analysis uses a multilevel model with country and month-year levels, so we can simultaneously test for significant associations between both individual demographic predictors of harm and time-varying country-level predictors. We find that an increase of one-standard deviation in policy stringency, averaged up to the time of the survey date, predicts a 0.37 std increase in an index of economic harm (95% CI 0.24–0.51) and a 14.2 percentage point (95% CI 8.3–20.1 ppt) increase in the share of workers experiencing job loss. Similar effect sizes are found comparing stringency levels between top and bottom-quintile countries. Workers with lower-socioeconomic status—measured by within-country income rank or education—were much more likely to report harm linked to the pandemic than those with tertiary education or relatively high incomes. The gradient between harm and stringency is much steeper for workers at the bottom quintiles of the household income distribution than it is for those at the top, which we show with interaction models. Socioeconomic status is unrelated to harm where stringency is low, but highly and negatively associated with harm where it is high. Our detailed policy analysis reveals that school closings, stay-at-home orders, and other economic restrictions were strongly associated with economic harm, but other non-pharmaceutical interventions—such as contact tracing, mass testing, and protections for the elderly were not.

Rapidly emerging infectious and genetic diseases demand robust vertebrate models to investigate pathogenesis and accelerate therapeutic discovery. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) offer substantial translational value owing to their conserved physiology, optical transparency, rapid reproduction, and the presence of orthologs for approximately 70% of human genes and approximately 82% of disease‐associated genes. The integration of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has transformed zebrafish research, enabling efficient generation of targeted knockouts, knockins, and high‐throughput mutagenesis screens. This synergy supports mechanistic dissection and modeling of cardiovascular, oncologic, viral, and other genetic disorders. Despite these advantages, rigorous allele validation, consideration of paralog redundancy, maternal contribution, and off‐target analysis remain essential to ensure translational accuracy. This review summarizes current applications, methodological advances, limitations, and best‐practice recommendations for combining zebrafish models with genome editing to improve understanding and treatment of human diseases. Zebrafish, with high genetic homology to humans, serves as a powerful vertebrate model for disease modeling and drug discovery. Integration of CRISPR/Cas9 technology enables precise genome editing, facilitating the development of translational models for human diseases. This synergistic approach accelerates insights into pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies.

LAMP diagnosis of malaria is simple and cost-effective with acceptable sensitivity and specificity as compared to standard diagnostic modules such as microscopy, RDTs and nested PCR, and thus its deployment for onsite screening of malaria in resource-limited regions is under consideration. However, the requirement of an electricity-operated dry bath and bulky read-out unit is still a major concern. In an effort to simplify this limitation, we have developed a portable LAMP device and fluorescence readout unit which can be used in the rapid point-of-care diagnosis of malaria. We have developed a point-of-care diagnostic LAMP device that is easy to operate by a mobile application, and the results can be quantified with a fluorescent readout unit. The diagnostic performance of the device was evaluated in 90 P . falciparum -infected clinical isolates stored at 4°C for 6-7 years and 10 freshly collected isolates from healthy volunteers. The LOD and quantitative ability of LAMP in estimating parasitemia levels were revealed with laboratory-grown P. falciparum strain (3D7). The LAMP assay performed in our device was exclusive for P. falciparum detection with sensitivity and specificity determined to be 98.89% and 100%, respectively, in clinical isolates. The LOD was documented to be 1 parasite/µl at the cut-off ADC value of 20. Parasite density estimated from ADC values showed concordance with microscopically determined parasite density of the cultured P. falciparum 3D7 strain. The LAMP assay performed in our device provides a possible portable platform for its deployment in the point-of-care diagnosis of malaria. Further validation of the quantitative ability of the assay with freshly collected or properly stored clinical samples of known parasitemia is necessary for field applicability.

Mixing at low Reynolds number is usually due to diffusion and requires longer channel lengths for complete mixing. In order to reduce the mixing lengths, advective flow can be induced by varying the channel geometry. Additionally, in non-newtonian fluids, appropriate modifications to channel geometry can be used to aid the mixing process by capitalizing on their viscoelastic nature. Here we have exploited the advection and viscoelastic effects to implement a planar passive micro-mixer. Microfluidic devices incorporating different blend of mixing geometries were conceived. The optimum design was chosen based on the results of the numerical simulations performed in COMSOL. The chosen design had sudden expansion and contraction along with teeth patterns along the channel walls to improve mixing. Mixing of two different dyes was performed to validate the mixing efficiency. Particle dispersion experiments were also carried out. The results indicated effective mixing. In addition, the same design was also found to be compatible with electrical power free pumping mechanism like suction. The proposed design was then used to carry out on-chip chemical cell lysis with human whole blood samples to establish its use with non-newtonian fluids. Complete lysis of the erythrocytes was observed leaving behind the white blood cells at the outlet.

The Global Flourishing Study (GFS) is an international collaboration to develop a publicly accessible data resource to promote global research on human flourishing. These data include over 200,000 participants from 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries and one territory designed to be nationally representative of the adult population. The GFS is intended as a longitudinal panel study with recruitment and empanelment for Wave 1 occurring between April 2022 and December 2023. Future waves of data collection will invite participants to complete a survey annually. The annual survey covers a robust set of measures on well-being, health, social, economic, political, religious, spiritual, psychological and demographic variables. The current paper describes the sampling methodology and weighting approaches used to project the samples to be nationally representative. Details are provided on interviewer training and data collection, probability and non-probability samples, creating weights, design effects, and future data collection stages.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a serious public health concern whose incidence has been on a rise and is projected by the World Health Organization to be the leading global cause of mortality by 2030. Heart failure (HF) is a complicated syndrome resulting from various CVDs of heterogeneous etiologies and exhibits varying pathophysiology, including activation of inflammatory signaling cascade, apoptosis, fibrotic pathway, and neuro-humoral system, thereby leading to compromised cardiac function. During this process, several biomolecules involved in the onset and progression of HF are released into circulation. These circulating biomolecules could serve as unique biomarkers for the detection of subclinical changes and can be utilized for monitoring disease severity. Hence, it is imperative to identify these biomarkers to devise an early predictive strategy to stop the deterioration of cardiac function caused by these complex cellular events. Furthermore, measurement of multiple biomarkers allows clinicians to divide HF patients into sub-groups for treatment and management based on early health outcomes. The present article provides a comprehensive overview of current omics platform available for discovering biomarkers for HF management. Some of the existing and novel biomarkers for the early detection of HF with special reference to endothelial biology are also discussed.

The Global Flourishing Study is a longitudinal panel study of over 200,000 participants in 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries, spanning all six populated continents, with nationally representative sampling and intended annual survey data collection for 5 years to assess numerous aspects of flourishing and its possible determinants. The study is intended to expand our knowledge of the distribution and determinants of flourishing around the world. Relations between a composite flourishing index and numerous demographic characteristics are reported. Participants were also surveyed about their childhood experiences, which were analyzed to determine their associations with subsequent adult flourishing. Analyses are presented both across and within countries, and discussion is given as to how the demographic and childhood relationships vary by country and which patterns appear to be universal versus culturally specific. Brief comment is also given on the results of a whole series of papers in the Global Flourishing Study Special Collection, employing similar analyses, but with more-specific aspects of well-being. The Global Flourishing Study expands our knowledge of the distribution and determinants of well-being and provides foundational knowledge for the promotion of societal flourishing. The Global Flourishing Study provides a comprehensive view of the distribution and determinants of well-being by assessing domains such as health, happiness, meaning, character, relationships and financial security. Initial findings reveal significant variations in flourishing across countries and demographic groups, with factors such as age, marital status and religious service attendance showing strong associations with well-being.

L. donovani is an intracellular protozoan parasite, that causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and consequently, post-kala azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). Diagnosis and treatment of leishmaniasis is crucial for decreasing its transmission. Various diagnostic techniques like microscopy, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and PCR-based methods are used to detect leishmaniasis infection. More recently, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay has emerged as an ideal diagnostic measure for leishmaniasis, primarily due to its accuracy, speed and simplicity. However, point-of-care diagnosis is still not been tested with the LAMP assay. We have developed a portable LAMP device for the monitoring of Leishmania infection. The LAMP assay performed using our device can detect and amplify as little as 100 femtograms of L. donovani DNA. In a preliminary study, we have shown that the device can also amplify L. donovani DNA present in VL and PKDL patient samples with high sensitivity (100%), specificity (98%) and accuracy (99%), and can be used both for diagnostic and prognostic analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the development and application of a portable LAMP device which has the potential to evolve as a point-of-care diagnostic and prognostic tool for Leishmania infections in future.

Using independently sampled Gallup World Poll survey data from 140 countries, we explored the relationship between interpersonal contact and attitudes toward migrants from a perspective not typically found in the social psychological literature. We hypothesized that respondents who report personally knowing a migrant living in their home country would be more accepting of migrants generally (using a three-item Migrant Acceptance Index (MAI) score) than respondents who do not know a migrant. Results supported our hypothesis in 134 of the 140 countries suggesting that the strong relationship between interpersonal contact and attitudes toward migrants is near-universal. We also quantified migrant acceptance at the country level, finding a wide spectrum of attitudes toward migrants. Low acceptance countries were located primarily in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and high acceptance countries were located in Northern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss these results in the context of interpersonal contact theory (Allport, 1954) and the larger context of global migration.

Dell Computer Corporation, renowned for its \"direct model\" and build-to-order strategy, has identified virtual integration - i.e. real-time collaboration between all the internal steps of its order fulfillment process, as well as seamless sharing of information between the company, its suppliers and its customers - as a means to continue its growth in future.This thesis focuses on a newly commissioned factory, designed as a first step towards virtual integration, to manufacture Dell's high volume corporate desktop line of computers. This factory combines business processes that were previously performed in separate locations. The factory uses a hybrid of localized and centralized decision-making to manage its operations, which proves sub optimal in coordinating decisions throughout the high velocity order fulfillment process.This thesis proposes an alternate approach to managing such an integrated factory via a centralized operations control center, which allows for collaborative decision-making between all the elements of the supply chain. The thesis benchmarks other manufacturing and service industries to understand best practices. The thesis then develops the architecture for Dell's operations center that specifies the business processes managed in the centralized operations center, the facilities aspects that support these business processes, as well as the information technology architecture that enables coordinated decisions. Further, this thesis analyzes and quantifies the financial impact of the proposed solution. It also examines the pertinent organizational aspects at Dell that enables and hinders the corporate vision of virtual integration in the context of the new factory.