Face masks are essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization, recommend that they are used for children aged six years and older. However, parents are increasingly expressing concerns about whether these might be physically harmful. This mini review assessed the evidence. We conducted a narrative review on the effects of mask wearing on physiological variables in children, using PubMed, the Cochrane Library and the World Health Organization COVID-19 Database up to 7 November 2020. The lack of paediatric studies prompted a second search for adult studies. We only found two paediatric studies, published in 2019 and 2020. The 2020 study was not related to COVID-19. Only one study, performed with N95 respirators, collected medical parameters, and this did not suggest any harmful effects of gas exchange. The eight adult studies, including four prompted by the pandemic and one on surgeons, reported that face masks commonly used during the pandemic did not impair gas exchange during rest or mild exercise. International guidelines recommend face masks for children aged six years and older, but further studies are needed to provide evidence-based recommendations for different age groups. International guidelines recommend face masks for children aged six years and older, but further studies are needed to provide evidence-based recommendations for different age groups. The general medical impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) are increasingly appreciated. However, its impact on neurocognitive, psychiatric health and quality of life (QoL) in survivors after the acute phase is poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate neurocognitive function, psychiatric symptoms and QoL in COVID-19 survivors shortly after hospital discharge. This was a cross-sectional analysis of a prospective study of hospitalized COVID-19 survivors followed up for 2months after discharge. A battery of standardized instruments evaluating neurocognitive function, psychiatric morbidity and QoL (mental and physical components) was administered by telephone. Of the 229 screened patients, 179 were included in the final analysis. Amongst survivors, the prevalence of moderately impaired immediate verbal memory and learning was 38%, delayed verbal memory (11.8%), verbal fluency (34.6%) and working memory (executive function) (6.1%), respectively. Moreover, 58.7% of patients had neurocognitive impairment in at least one function. Rates of positive screening for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder were 29.6%, 26.8% and 25.1%, respectively. In addition, 39.1% of the patients had psychiatric morbidity. Low QoL for physical and mental components was detected in 44.1% and 39.1% of patients respectively. Delirium and psychiatric morbidity were associated with neurocognitive impairment, and female gender was related with psychiatric morbidity. Hospitalized COVID-19 survivors showed a considerable prevalence of neurocognitive impairment, psychiatric morbidity and poor QoL in the short term. It is uncertain if these impacts persist over the long term. Hospitalized COVID-19 survivors showed a considerable prevalence of neurocognitive impairment, psychiatric morbidity and poor QoL in the short term. It is uncertain if these impacts persist over the long term. Fetal growth restriction constitutes a major complication of pregnancy. The efficacy of its prenatal identification remains challenging. Recently, placental expression of neuropilin-1 (NRP1) was discovered to be downregulated in fetal growth restriction (FGR) with abnormal umbilical artery (UA) Doppler. A member of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor family, NRP1 has emerged as an important mediator of sprouting angiogenesis. Whereas NRP1 is proangiogenic, soluble NRP1 (sNRP1) is an antagonist to NRP1. However, little is known about sNRP1in normal or abnormal pregnancies. This study tested the hypotheses that sNRP1 would be detectable in maternal circulation, and its concentration would be upregulated in FGR pregnancies compared to those with normal fetal growth, and its upregulation would correlate with the severity of the disease process as assessed by UA Doppler. This was a prospective case-control pilot study involving 40 pregnancies (control 20, study 20) between 24 0/7 and 40 0/7weeks' getal growth, and its potential as a biomarker for fetal growth restriction. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The study demonstrated a significant decrease in maternal plasma soluble NRP1 concentrations in growth restricted pregnancies with fetoplacental circulatory compromise. These findings suggest a possible role of sNRP1 in modulating fetal growth, and its potential as a biomarker for fetal growth restriction. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The many risks associated with opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) have led to questions about use. This is particularly relevant for risk of increased mortality. However, underlying medical conditions of those using opioids may influence mortality findings due to confounding by indication. Similarly, non-opioid analgesics are also associated with an increased risk of mortality, too. We have conducted a systematic review of propensity score matched observational studies comparing mortality associated with opioid use compared to non-opioid analgesics. Clinicaltrials.gov, Google Scholar, MEDLINE and Scopus were searched from inception to July 2020. Propensity score matched observational studies comparing opioids to non-opioid analgesics in real-world settings were analysed. Primary outcome was pooled adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of all-cause death. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/tpx-0005.html Effects were summarized by a random effects model. Four studies with seven study arms and 120,186 patients were analysed. Pooled aHR for all-causes 116. Despite extensive propensity score matchings and sensitivity analyses, all studies could not fully exclude confounding by indication. The potential risk of increased all-cause mortality with opioids should be discussed with patients when considering opioid treatment. An increased all-cause mortality associated with opioid use compared to non-opioid analgesics for CNCP was identified by a systematic review of four propensity score matched cohort studies in real-world settings. The number needed to harm for an additional excess death per 10,000 person-years was 116. Despite extensive propensity score matchings and sensitivity analyses, all studies could not fully exclude confounding by indication. The potential risk of increased all-cause mortality with opioids should be discussed with patients when considering opioid treatment.