- Pandemic Propels Global Effort to Study Rare Vaccine Side Effects
- Biotech Firm Announces Results from First US Trial of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
- Aberdeen's Popular Nuart Street Art Festival to Return in June
- There will be Blood: Filipino Catholic Devotees Re-enact Crucifixion in Brutal Easter Ritual--article with video
- Pear's VR product for postoperative pain granted FDA STeP designation
- FDA authorizes first COVID-19 breathalyzer test, clearing path to 3-minute results
Pandemic Propels Global Effort to Study Rare Vaccine Side Effects
疫情推動全球投入研究罕見的疫苗副作用
Sciences
Scientists in more than 20 countries, on every continent save Antarctica, have started to gather data for the largest ever vaccine safety project. Members of the effort, called the Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN), fruitlessly sought funding after conceiving the project more than 10 years ago. But the mass vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic breathed new life into the project. With the ability to draw on data from more than 250 million people, the network will investigate rare complications linked to COVID-19 vaccines in hopes of improving prediction, treatment, and potentially prevention of these side effects. Gregory Poland, a vaccinologist, says “Studying potential vaccine complications is a very neglected area. Nevertheless, You really need global data in order to understand rare vaccine side effects.” --from Science news
除南極洲外，各大洲的20多個國家的科學家已經開始為有史以來最大的疫苗安全方案收集數據。全球疫苗數據網絡 （GVDN）的成員在10多年前構思該方案後，尋求資金贊助卻無所獲。但 COVID-19疫情期間的大規模疫苗接種賦予該方案新生命。該網絡能採用超過2.5億人的數據，來調查與COVID-19疫苗相關的罕見併發症，以期改善預測、治療和及早預防這些副作用。疫苗學家Gregory Poland說：「研究潛在的疫苗併發症是一個極受忽視的領域；然而，你真的需要全球數據才能了解罕見的疫苗副作用。」 --摘錄翻譯自Science news
Biotech Firm Announces Results from First US Trial of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
生物科技公司公布基因改造蚊子首次在美國的試驗結果
Sciences
Wild A. aegypti mosquitoes can carry viruses such as chikungunya, dengue, Zika and yellow fever, so scientists have sought ways to reduce their populations. Oxitec’s engineered males carry a gene that is lethal to female offspring. If all goes to plan, when released into the environment, the engineered males should mate with wild females, and their female offspring will die before they can reproduce. Male offspring will carry the gene and pass it on to half of their progeny. As each generation mates, more females die, and the A. aegypti population should dwindle. Researchers have completed the first open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States. The results are positive. But larger tests are still needed to determine whether the insects can achieve the ultimate goal of suppressing a wild population of potentially virus-carrying mosquitoes. --from Nature news
野生埃及斑蚊會傳播屈公熱、登革熱、茲卡和黃熱病等病毒，因此科學家們一直在找尋減少其數量的方法。Oxitec改造的雄蚊具有可使雌性後代死亡的基因。若一切如計畫，經改造的雄蚊被釋放到環境中，會與野生雌蚊交配，它們的雌性後代在能繁殖前便會死亡；雄性後代將帶該基因，並傳給其後代的半數。隨著每一代交配，更多雌蚊會死亡，埃及斑蚊數量便會減少。研究人員已在美國完成首次基改蚊野放的研究。結果是正面的，但仍需要更大規模的測試，來確定這些蚊子能否達成抑制潛藏病毒的野蚊數量的最終目標。 --摘錄翻譯自Nature news
Aberdeen's Popular Nuart Street Art Festival to Return in June
亞伯丁著名的Nuart街頭藝術節將在六月回歸
Culture
The annual Nuart street art festival is to return in Aberdeen on June 9th. The popular festival took place for the first time in 2017, with artists from around the world creating eye-catching designs on walls and the sides of buildings. Chief executive Adrian Watson said: "Nuart Aberdeen is a festival unlike any other seen in the city, it has a mass appeal and it inspires people of all ages to enjoy art in their own way at their own pace. The theme for this year will be Reconnect. The festival weekend will feature street art, tours, community workshops and talks. The organizers are appealing to property owners to offer external city center walls that are in good condition, visible to the public and not granite or listed. --from BBC news
Nuart年度街頭藝術節將於6月9日在亞伯丁回歸。這個受歡迎的節慶於2017年首度舉辦，來自全世界的藝術家在牆上及建築物側面創作吸睛的設計。執行長Adrian Watson說：「Nuart Aberdeen在本市是個與眾不同的節慶，它能吸引大眾，並能啟發各年齡層的人以自己的步調、隨心所欲地享受藝術。」今年的主題是重新連接。節慶週末特展包括街頭藝術、旅遊、社區工作坊及講座。主辦單位正呼籲產權所有者提供位於市中心狀況良好、公眾可見、且非花崗岩或政府列管保護的外牆。 --摘錄翻譯自BBC news
There will be Blood: Filipino Catholic Devotees Re-enact Crucifixion in Brutal Easter Ritual
血腥上場：菲律賓天主教狂熱信徒在殘忍的復活節儀式中重現耶穌受難
Culture
Catholic zealots in the Philippines whipped their backs bloody and raw on Good Friday, as the fervently religious country marked Easter with gruesome displays of faith. Scores of men - their faces covered - walked barefoot as they flogged themselves with bamboo whips under a blazing sun near the capital Manila, while others carried wooden crosses as they were beaten, in a ritual frowned upon by the Church. "We do not encourage acts of self flagellations and crucifixions," said Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' public affairs committee. "The suffering and crucifixion of Christ is already enough to save humanity," he explains, adding devotees should instead "confess their sins". --from Euronews, article with video
菲律賓天主教狂熱分子在耶穌受難日鞭打他們背部至鮮血淋漓，這個具宗教熱誠的國家以可怕的行動展現信仰虔誠來慶祝復活節。在一個教會並不贊同的儀式中，許多蒙面的男子於近首都馬尼拉之處，赤腳行走在烈日下，邊拿著竹鞭鞭笞自己，而另有人扛著木製十字架。菲律賓公共事務委員會的天主教主教會議的執行秘書Secillano神父說：「我們不鼓勵自我鞭笞和釘在十字架上的行為。基督受的磨難和刑罰已足夠拯救世人。信徒反而應該要懺悔其罪過。」 --摘錄翻譯自Euronews，原文含影片
Pear's VR product for postoperative pain granted FDA STeP designation
Pear公司用於術後疼痛的VR產品獲得FDA STeP 授權正式名稱
Health
The Food and Drug Administration granted its Safer Technologies Program (STeP) designation to a virtual reality-based treatment being developed by Pear Therapeutics, intended to treat adults with acute and chronic pain after surgery. Pear is looking to expand on its portfolio of digital therapeutics with a treatment for postoperative pain. To date, all of Pear's treatments have been based on smartphone-based modules, but its latest candidate uses a VR headset. The company acquired two digital therapeutics intended to treat acute and chronic pain from Firsthand Technology in 2020. The products use a combination of distraction, physical engagement, mindfulness and biofeedback using wearable sensors for pain relief. --from Medtechdive
美國食品及藥物管理局授權Pear Therapeutics開發的虛擬實境治療法使用正式名稱「安全科技計畫(STeP)」，用以治療成人急性和慢性術後疼痛。Pear希望藉術後疼痛治療擴大數位療法的產品組合。目前Pear的所有治療方法都是以智慧手機模組為基礎，但其最新產品項目則使用VR耳機。該公司於2020年自Firsthand Technology收購了兩種治療急性和慢性疼痛的數位療法。這些產品結合了娛樂、實體參與、正向認知，並使用穿戴式感測器來緩解疼痛之生物反饋。 --摘錄翻譯自Medtechdive
FDA authorizes first COVID-19 breathalyzer test, clearing path to 3-minute results
FDA授權第一個COVID-19呼吸分析儀測試，3分鐘即可獲得結果
Health
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first COVID-19 diagnostic test that detects the virus in breath samples. InspectIR Systems' COVID-19 Breathalyzer provides results within three minutes. The test, which is designed for use by trained operators, detects five volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection using a portable gas chromatography system and a quadrupole mass spectrometer. In a multi-site study of more than 2,000 asymptomatic individuals, the test achieved a sensitivity of 91.2% and specificity of 99.3% versus polymerase chain reaction (PCR), leading the FDA to grant emergency use authorization but advise against using the breathalyzer as the sole basis for treatment decisions. --from Medtechdive
美國食品及藥物管理局已授權第一個檢測呼吸樣本中COVID-19病毒的診斷測試。InspectIR Systems的COVID-19 呼吸分析儀可在3分鐘內提供結果。該測試專為受訓過的操作員使用而設計，使用可攜式氣相層析系統和四極質譜儀偵測與SARS-CoV-2感染相關的五種揮發性有機化合物（VOC）。在一個不同地點的研究中，對2,000多名無症狀個體進行檢測，與聚合酶鏈反應(PCR)相比，該測試靈敏度為91.2%，特異性為99.3%，讓FDA核發緊急使用授權，但也建議不要將呼吸分析儀當作治療決策的唯一依據。 --摘錄翻譯自Medtechdive