Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 36
Filter
1.
Front Neurol ; 14: 1124540, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2298756

ABSTRACT

Anti-contactin-1 (CNTN1) IgG4 antibody-associated nodopathies is an autoimmune antibody-mediated peripheral neuropathy with a unique clinical presentation, pathophysiology, electrophysiology, and therapeutic response. The critical histopathological features are a dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate, a storiform pattern of fibrosis, and obliterative phlebitis. Here, a 62-year-old male patient presented with subacute unilateral limb onset, progressive exacerbation, marked weakness of the extremities, cranial, and autonomic nerve involvement. Neurophysiology showed slowed motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV), prolonged distal motor delay (DML), slowed sensory nerve conduction velocity (SCV), decreased sensory nerve activity potential (SNAP) amplitude, decreased amplitude of bilateral neuromotor conduction, abnormal cutaneous sympathetic response (SSR) in both lower extremities, axonal damage, prolonged F-wave latency, and discrete waves. In the initial phase, there was a response to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and corticosteroids and rituximab were also effective. After 1 year follow-up, the patient improved significantly. This article reports on a patient with nodular disease with anti-contactin-1 (CNTN1) IgG4 antibodies and reviews the literature to improve clinicians' understanding of the disease.

2.
China Tropical Medicine ; 23(1):28-32, 2023.
Article in Chinese | CAB Abstracts | ID: covidwho-2287055

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the relationship between the body mass index (BMI) levels and the negative conversion time of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid in adult coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and the asymptomatic persons. Methods Asymptomatic infected patients and confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to Chengdu Public Health Clinic Center from February 2021 to November 2021 were dynamically included. The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the objects were collected, and the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing of the objects during their hospitalization was continuously monitored, and the negative nucleic acid conversion time was recorded. The t test or Wilcoxon rank sum test, X 2 test or Fisher's exact probability method examine were used to distribute characteristics of each group of variables and the connection between different variables, respectively. Then the variables showed differences in distribution (P < 0.05) between different BMI groups were included in the multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model. Results A total of 253 subjects ranged from 18 to 63 years old, with M(P25, P75) age of 37.0 (30.0, 47.0) years old, were included in this study. The male to female ratio was 4.16 to 1. The BMI was (23.97+or-3.33) kg/m2. 50.59% (128/253) of the objects were overweight or obese, and 78.13% (100/128) were overweight. The negative time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid conversion of all subjects ranged from 1 to 71 days, with M(P25, P75) of 7.0 (2.0, 18.0) days (P < 0.001). The negative time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid conversion of the normal weight or the thin, and the overweight or obese were 5.00 (2.00, 19.00) and 8.00 (2.00, 17.75) days respectively. The results of multivariate Cox's proportional hazards regression model showed that the BMI levels may not be associated with the negative conversion time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid (HR=1.090, 95%CI: 0.843-1.410, P=0.510). Conclusions Adult asymptomatic persons and confirmed COVID-19 patients are mainly middle-aged and young males, and overweight or obesity is relatively common. Overweight or obesity cannot be considered as an independent factor influencing the negative conversion time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid.

4.
Microorganisms ; 10(12)2022 Dec 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2163515

ABSTRACT

The gut microbiome has been shown to play a critical role in maintaining a healthy state. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome is involved in modulating disease severity and potentially contributes to long-term outcomes in adults with COVID-19. Due to children having a significantly lower risk of severe illness and limited sample availability, much less is known about the role of the gut microbiome in children with COVID-19. It is well recognized that the developing gut microbiome of children differs from that of adults, but it is unclear if this difference contributes to the different clinical presentations and complications. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge of the gut microbiome in children with COVID-19, with gut microbiome dysbiosis being found in pediatric COVID-19 but specific taxa change often differing from those described in adults. Additionally, we discuss possible mechanisms of how the gut microbiome may mediate the presentation and complications of COVID-19 in children and the potential role for microbial therapeutics.

5.
Vox Sang ; 117(11): 1332-1344, 2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2118457

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Under the ISBT, the Working Party (WP) for Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology is charged with ratifying blood group systems, antigens and alleles. This report presents the outcomes from four WP business meetings, one located in Basel in 2019 and three held as virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As in previous meetings, matters pertaining to blood group antigen nomenclature were discussed. New blood group systems and antigens were approved and named according to the serologic, genetic, biochemical and cell biological evidence presented. RESULTS: Seven new blood group systems, KANNO (defined numerically as ISBT 037), SID (038), CTL2 (039), PEL (040), MAM (041), EMM (042) and ABCC1 (043) were ratified. Two (039 and 043) were de novo discoveries, and the remainder comprised reported antigens where the causal genes were previously unknown. A further 15 blood group antigens were added to the existing blood group systems: MNS (002), RH (004), LU (005), DI (010), SC (013), GE (020), KN (022), JMH (026) and RHAG (030). CONCLUSION: The ISBT now recognizes 378 antigens, of which 345 are clustered within 43 blood group systems while 33 still have an unknown genetic basis. The ongoing discovery of new blood group systems and antigens underscores the diverse and complex biology of the red cell membrane. The WP continues to update the blood group antigen tables and the allele nomenclature tables. These can be found on the ISBT website (http://www.isbtweb.org/working-parties/red-cell-immunogenetics-and-blood-group-terminology/).


Subject(s)
Blood Group Antigens , COVID-19 , Erythrocytes , Humans , Blood Group Antigens/genetics , Blood Transfusion , Immunogenetics , Pandemics , Erythrocytes/immunology
6.
JMIR Bioinform Biotech ; 3(1): e36660, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2079966

ABSTRACT

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is becoming one of the largest, unprecedented health crises, and chest X-ray radiography (CXR) plays a vital role in diagnosing COVID-19. However, extracting and finding useful image features from CXRs demand a heavy workload for radiologists. Objective: The aim of this study was to design a novel multiple-inputs (MI) convolutional neural network (CNN) for the classification of COVID-19 and extraction of critical regions from CXRs. We also investigated the effect of the number of inputs on the performance of our new MI-CNN model. Methods: A total of 6205 CXR images (including 3021 COVID-19 CXRs and 3184 normal CXRs) were used to test our MI-CNN models. CXRs could be evenly segmented into different numbers (2, 4, and 16) of individual regions. Each region could individually serve as one of the MI-CNN inputs. The CNN features of these MI-CNN inputs would then be fused for COVID-19 classification. More importantly, the contributions of each CXR region could be evaluated through assessing the number of images that were accurately classified by their corresponding regions in the testing data sets. Results: In both the whole-image and left- and right-lung region of interest (LR-ROI) data sets, MI-CNNs demonstrated good efficiency for COVID-19 classification. In particular, MI-CNNs with more inputs (2-, 4-, and 16-input MI-CNNs) had better efficiency in recognizing COVID-19 CXRs than the 1-input CNN. Compared to the whole-image data sets, the efficiency of LR-ROI data sets showed approximately 4% lower accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision (over 91%). In considering the contributions of each region, one of the possible reasons for this reduced performance was that nonlung regions (eg, region 16) provided false-positive contributions to COVID-19 classification. The MI-CNN with the LR-ROI data set could provide a more accurate evaluation of the contribution of each region and COVID-19 classification. Additionally, the right-lung regions had higher contributions to the classification of COVID-19 CXRs, whereas the left-lung regions had higher contributions to identifying normal CXRs. Conclusions: Overall, MI-CNNs could achieve higher accuracy with an increasing number of inputs (eg, 16-input MI-CNN). This approach could assist radiologists in identifying COVID-19 CXRs and in screening the critical regions related to COVID-19 classifications.

7.
JMIR bioinformatics and biotechnology ; 3(1), 2022.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2073355

ABSTRACT

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is becoming one of the largest, unprecedented health crises, and chest X-ray radiography (CXR) plays a vital role in diagnosing COVID-19. However, extracting and finding useful image features from CXRs demand a heavy workload for radiologists. Objective The aim of this study was to design a novel multiple-inputs (MI) convolutional neural network (CNN) for the classification of COVID-19 and extraction of critical regions from CXRs. We also investigated the effect of the number of inputs on the performance of our new MI-CNN model. Methods A total of 6205 CXR images (including 3021 COVID-19 CXRs and 3184 normal CXRs) were used to test our MI-CNN models. CXRs could be evenly segmented into different numbers (2, 4, and 16) of individual regions. Each region could individually serve as one of the MI-CNN inputs. The CNN features of these MI-CNN inputs would then be fused for COVID-19 classification. More importantly, the contributions of each CXR region could be evaluated through assessing the number of images that were accurately classified by their corresponding regions in the testing data sets. Results In both the whole-image and left- and right-lung region of interest (LR-ROI) data sets, MI-CNNs demonstrated good efficiency for COVID-19 classification. In particular, MI-CNNs with more inputs (2-, 4-, and 16-input MI-CNNs) had better efficiency in recognizing COVID-19 CXRs than the 1-input CNN. Compared to the whole-image data sets, the efficiency of LR-ROI data sets showed approximately 4% lower accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision (over 91%). In considering the contributions of each region, one of the possible reasons for this reduced performance was that nonlung regions (eg, region 16) provided false-positive contributions to COVID-19 classification. The MI-CNN with the LR-ROI data set could provide a more accurate evaluation of the contribution of each region and COVID-19 classification. Additionally, the right-lung regions had higher contributions to the classification of COVID-19 CXRs, whereas the left-lung regions had higher contributions to identifying normal CXRs. Conclusions Overall, MI-CNNs could achieve higher accuracy with an increasing number of inputs (eg, 16-input MI-CNN). This approach could assist radiologists in identifying COVID-19 CXRs and in screening the critical regions related to COVID-19 classifications.

8.
Microb Pathog ; 173(Pt A): 105828, 2022 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2069488

ABSTRACT

The ongoing global pandemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 has a significant impact on global health and economy system. In this context, there have been some landmark advances in vaccine development. Over 100 new coronavirus vaccine candidates have been approved for clinical trials, with ten WHO-approved vaccines including four inactivated virus vaccines, two mRNA vaccines, three recombinant viral vectored vaccines and one protein subunit vaccine on the "Emergency Use Listing". Although the SARS-CoV-2 has an internal proofreading mechanism, there have been a number of mutations emerged in the pandemic affecting its transmissibility, pathogenicity and immunogenicity. Of these, mutations in the spike (S) protein and the resultant mutant variants have posed new challenges for vaccine development and application. In this review article, we present an overview of vaccine development, the prevalence of new coronavirus variants and their impact on protective efficacy of existing vaccines and possible immunization strategies coping with the viral mutation and diversity.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Viral Vaccines , Humans , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , COVID-19 Vaccines/genetics , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , COVID-19/prevention & control , Vaccine Development , Antibodies, Viral , Viral Vaccines/genetics , Immunogenicity, Vaccine , Vaccines, Inactivated , Mutation
9.
Agriculture ; 12(8):1159, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2023051

ABSTRACT

How to protect the ecological environment is an important international issue for achieving the sustainable development goals. Using survey data of 2628 farmers in 52 administrative villages in 13 prefecture-level cities of the China Land Economic Survey in 2020, probit and multinomial logistic regression models were used to explore the influence of social capital on farmers’ willingness, behavior and the transformation between willingness and behavior. The results show that: (1) The consistency between farmers’ willingness and behavior is low;90.25% of farmers had the willingness to separate waste, but only 48.49% of farmers had actually classified waste, and only 48.22% of farmers had transformed willingness into behavior. (2) Among the three dimensions of social capital, social network, social norm and social trust, all had positive and significant effects on farmers’ willingness and behavior to separate waste. (3) Social network and social norm had a positive and significant impact on the transformation of farmers’ willingness to separate waste into behavior, but social trust was not significant. The research results confirm that the contradiction between farmers’ intention and behavior of waste separation were generally inconsistent in rural areas. At the same time, the results showed that social capital can promote farmers’ willingness and behavior of waste separation and the transformation from a willingness to behavior, which can provide decision-making reference for how to improve farmers’ high willingness and behavior.

10.
Journal of Tropical Medicine ; 20(5):581-586, 2020.
Article in Chinese | GIM | ID: covidwho-1989751

ABSTRACT

This article reviewed the global research advances of corona virus disguise 2019 (COVID-19) from December 1st, 2019 to February 23rd, 2020, including etiology, clinical characteristics, diatomic and treatment and epidemiology. The main issues that remain unclear had been raised.

11.
BMJ Open ; 12(5): e055333, 2022 05 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1950142

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women remains a major global public health problem with harmful consequences for individuals and society. People's lifestyles have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the prevalence of and relationship between IPV and anxiety and depression in pregnant Chinese women during the pandemic. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: This investigation was conducted in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China from 15 September to 15 December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3434 pregnant women were screened with the Abuse Assessment Screen Questionnaire to evaluate IPV and General Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire to evaluate symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively. Pregnant women with perinatal health records at Shenzhen District Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospitals who consented to participate were enrolled. Women with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, mania or substance dependence and pregnant women who refused to participate were excluded. Data were analysed with the χ2 test and by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of IPV among pregnant women was 2.2%. Mental violence was the most common type of violence (2.2%), followed by physical (0.6%) and sexual (0.7%) violence. The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms was 9.8% and 6.9%, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, there was a statistically significant association between IPV and prenatal anxiety (OR=4.207, 95% CI: 2.469 to 7.166) and depression (OR=3.864, 95% CI: 2.095 to 7.125). CONCLUSIONS: IPV increased the risk of prenatal anxiety and depression in pregnant women in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts should be made by the government and civil society to promote long-lasting antenatal interventions to ensure the safety and protect the mental health of pregnant women.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Intimate Partner Violence , Anxiety/epidemiology , Anxiety Disorders/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Child , China/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Pandemics , Pregnancy , Pregnant Women/psychology , Prevalence , Risk Factors
13.
World J Pediatr ; 18(8): 538-544, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1906548

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Severe acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in children has recently exhibited a global trend of concentrated occurrence. This review aimed to summarize the current available information regarding the outbreak of severe acute hepatitis and introduce our hospital's previous experiences with the diagnosis and treatment of severe acute hepatitis for reference. DATA SOURCES: Websites including the UK Health Security Agency, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, CDC, WHO, and databases including PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase and Web of Science were searched for articles on severe acute hepatitis in children. RESULTS: As of May 26, 2022, a total of 650 cases have been reported in 33 countries; at least 38 (6%) children required liver transplantation, and nine (1%) died. Cases are predominantly aged between 3 and 5 years old, and there are no epidemiological links among them. The common manifestations are jaundice, vomiting and pale stools. Adenovirus tested positive in most cases, and SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses were detected in a few cases, but virus particles were not found in liver tissue. Adenovirus immunohistochemistry showed immunoreactivity in the intrasinusoidal lumen from some liver samples. The hierarchical treatment includes symptomatic and supportive therapy, management of coagulation disorders and hepatic encephalopathy, artificial liver support, and liver transplantation (approximately 6%-10% of cases require liver transplant). CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of this severe acute hepatitis in children is not clear. The clinical features are severe acute hepatitis with significantly elevated liver enzymes. Clinicians need to be alert to children with hepatitis.


Subject(s)
Hepatitis , Acute Disease , Child , Child, Preschool , Hepatitis/diagnosis , Hepatitis/prevention & control , Hepatitis/therapy , Humans
14.
Hum Vaccin Immunother ; 18(5): 2056400, 2022 11 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1806175

ABSTRACT

Given the high level of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, cold-chain workers are considered priority vaccination groups. To date, many studies have reported on the willingness within distinct populations to be vaccinated against COVID-19, whereas it has not been reported among cold-chain workers worldwide. To address this void, we conducted a cross-sectional survey to gather general information, COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), and willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine among cold-chain workers in Shenzhen, China. Binary logistic analyses were conducted to explore the associations between COVID-19-related KAP factors and the willingness for COVID-19 vaccination. Among 244 cold-chain workers, 76% indicated that they were willing to be vaccinated. Knowledge about SARS-CoV-2, comprehending the most effective prevention, understanding the transmission routes, and recognizing the priority vaccination groups were positively associated with willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Regarding attitude factors, perceiving the social harmfulness and severity of COVID-19 were related to a higher willingness to vaccination. Participants considering themselves a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination were more likely to get vaccinated. For practice factors, attaining more knowledge and higher self-reported compliance with maintaining adequate ventilation were also positively associated with the dependent variable. Agreement on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination was the most frequent reason for accepting the COVID-19 vaccine; additionally, concerns about side effects and insufficient understanding of efficacy were the main factors contributing to vaccine refusal. Enhancing KAP levels related to COVID-19 helps promote vaccine acceptance. Health authorities should promptly implement educational activities following the updated vaccine status among cold-chain workers.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19 , Humans , Cross-Sectional Studies , COVID-19/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Vaccination , China
15.
Biomed Pharmacother ; 150: 112997, 2022 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1803595

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the seroreactivity of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and its adverse events among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: A total of 60 SLE patients, 70 RA patients and 35 HCs, who received a complete inactivated COVID-19 vaccine (Vero cells) regimen, were recruited in the current study. Serum IgG and IgM antibodies against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were determined by using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA). RESULTS: There were no significant differences regarding the seroprevalences of IgG and IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and the self-reported vaccination-related adverse events among SLE patients, RA patients and HCs. The inactivated COVID-19 vaccines appeared to be well-tolerated and moderately immunogenic. In addition, case-only analysis indicated that in SLE patients, the disease manifestation of rash and anti-SSA autoantibody were associated with seroprevalence of IgG antibody against SARS-CoV-2, whereas the uses of ciclosporin and leflunomide had influence on the seroprevalence of IgM antibody against SARS-CoV-2. In RA patients, rheumatoid factor (RF) appeared to be associated with the seroprevalence of IgG antibody against SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that the seroprevalences of IgG and IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and vaccination-related adverse effects are similar among SLE, RA and HCs, suggesting that COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for SLE and RA patients to prevent from the pandemic of COVID-19.


Subject(s)
Arthritis, Rheumatoid , COVID-19 , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic , Animals , Antibodies, Viral , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/complications , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , Chlorocebus aethiops , Humans , Immunoglobulin G , Immunoglobulin M , SARS-CoV-2 , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Vaccination , Vero Cells
16.
Front Med (Lausanne) ; 9: 829273, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1715010

ABSTRACT

Detection of serum-specific SARS-CoV-2 antibody has become a complementary means for the identification of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As we already know, the neutralizing antibody titers in patients with COVID-19 decrease during the course of time after convalescence, whereas the duration of antibody responses in the convalescent patients has not been defined clearly. In the current study, we collected 148 serum samples from 37 confirmed COVID-19 cases with different disease severities. The neutralizing antibodies (Nabs), IgM and IgG against COVID-19 were determined by CLIA Microparticle and microneutralization assay, respectively. The time duration of serum titers of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were recorded. Our results indicate that IgG (94.44%) and Nabs (89.19%) can be detected at low levels within 190-266 days of disease onset. The findings can advance knowledge regarding the antibody detection results for COVID-19 patients and provide a method for evaluating the immune response after vaccination.

17.
Front Med (Lausanne) ; 8: 733999, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1551512

ABSTRACT

Background: To explore the differences in clinical manifestations and infection marker determination for early diagnosis of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and influenza (A and B). Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was designed. Patients with COVID-19 and inpatients with influenza at a sentinel surveillance hospital were recruited. Demographic data, medical history, laboratory findings, and radiographic characteristics were summarized and compared between the two groups. The chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables, and Kruskal-Wallis H-test was used for continuous variables in each group. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to differentiate the intergroup characteristics. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the predisposing factors. Results: About 23 patients with COVID-19 and 74 patients with influenza were included in this study. Patients with influenza exhibited more symptoms of cough and sputum production than COVID-19 (p < 0.05). CT showed that consolidation and pleural effusion were more common in influenza than COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that patients with influenza had high values of infection and coagulation function markers, but low values of blood routine and biochemical test markers than patients with COVID-19 (mild or moderate groups) (p < 0.05). In patients with COVID-19, the ROC analysis showed positive predictions of albumin and hematocrit, but negative predictions of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Multivariate analysis revealed that influenza might associate with risk of elevated CRP, PCT, and LDH, whereas COVID-19 might associated with high HBDH. Conclusion: Patients with influenza had more obvious clinical symptoms but less common consolidation lesions and pleural effusion than those with COVID-19. These findings suggested that influenza likely presents with stronger inflammatory reactions than COVID-19, which provides some insights into the pathogenesis of these two contagious respiratory illnesses.

18.
Mol Biomed ; 1(1): 14, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1515460

ABSTRACT

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has attracted extensive drug searching interets for the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Although currently several of clinically used "old" drugs have been repurposed to this new disease for the urgent clinical investigation, there is still great demand for more effective therapies for the anti-infections. Here we report the discovery that an "old" drug Emetine could potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 virus replication and displayed virus entry blocking effect in Vero cells at low dose. In addition, Emetine could significantly reduce the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced interleukin-6 (IL-6) protein level and moderately reduce the tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) protein level in the M1 polarized THP-1 macrophages. In vivo animal pharmacokinetics (PK) study revealed that Emetine was enriched in the lung tissue and had a long retention time (over 12 h). With 1 mg/kg single oral dose, the effective concentration of Emetine in lung was up to 1.8 µM (mice) and 1.6 µM (rats) at 12 h, which is over 200-fold higher than the EC50 of the drug. The potent in vitro antiviral replication efficacy and the high enrichment in target tissue, combining with the well documented safety profiles in human indicate that low dose of Emetine might be a potentially effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 infection therapy. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43556-020-00018-9.

19.
Front Psychol ; 12: 744691, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1477873

ABSTRACT

When a major, sudden infectious disease occurs, people tend to react emotionally and display reactions such as tension, anxiety, fear, depression, and somatization symptoms. Social media played a substantial awareness role in developing countries during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to analyze public opinion regarding COVID-19 and to explore the trajectory of psychological status and online public reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic by examining online content from Weibo in China. This study consisted of three steps: first, Weibo posts created during the pandemic were collected and preprocessed on a large scale; second, public sentiment orientation was classified as "optimistic/pessimistic/neutral" orientation via natural language processing and manual determination procedures; and third, qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to reveal the trajectory of public psychological status and online public reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public psychological status differed in different periods of the pandemic (from December 2019 to May 2020). The newly confirmed cases had an almost 1-month lagged effect on public psychological status. Among the 15 events with high impact indexes or related to government decisions, there were 10 optimism orientation > pessimism orientation (OP) events (2/3) and 5 pessimism orientation > optimism orientation (PO) events (1/3). Among the top two OP events, the high-frequency words were "race against time" and "support," while in the top two PO events, the high-frequency words were "irrationally purchase" and "pass away." We proposed a hypothesis that people developed negative self-perception when they received PO events, but their cognition was developed by how these external stimuli were processed and evaluated. These results offer implications for public health policymakers on understanding public psychological status from social media. This study demonstrates the benefits of promoting psychological healthcare and hygiene activity in the early period and improving risk perception for the public based on public opinion and the coping abilities of people. Health managers should focus on disseminating socially oriented strategies to improve the policy literacy of Internet users, thereby facilitating the disease prevention work for the COVID-19 pandemic and other major public events.

20.
Vaccines (Basel) ; 9(10)2021 Sep 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1444345

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Older individuals with hypertension are at a high risk of being infected with influenza. However, there have been few studies investigating the influenza vaccination status among older people with hypertension. The present work aimed to estimate the vaccination coverage and determine the predictors of seasonal influenza vaccinations among hypertensive patients aged over 60 years in Shenzhen, China. METHOD: The study used data from an online cross-sectional survey that was conducted in Shenzhen City, China, in October 2020. Frequencies and proportions of all the variables including sociodemographic characteristics and health-related information were described and tabulated based on the influenza vaccination status. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors associated with the influenza vaccination. RESULTS: A total of 5216 older people with hypertension aged above 60 years were recruited. Overall, only 4.7% had received an influenza vaccine in the latest influenza season. Using the action toward being vaccinated as the primary outcome, the multivariable regression analysis showed that participants aged over 80 years (aOR 2.957, 95% CI: 1.784-4.900), obtaining higher education levels (aOR 1.424, 95% CI: 1.060-1.914 for high school, aOR 1.681, 95% CI: 1.066-2.650 for college or above), living with a partner (aOR 1.432, 95% CI: 1.068-1.920), using a family doctor (aOR 2.275, 95% CI: 1.744-2.968), and taking a physical examination 1-2 and ≥3 times each year (aOR 2.107, 95% CI: 1.601-2.772 and aOR 2.118, 95% CI: 1.083-4.143, respectively) were more likely to be vaccinated. In contrast, smokers had less likelihood of having the influenza vaccination than non-smokers (aOR 1.829, 95% CI: 1.208-2.767). CONCLUSIONS: The coverage rate of influenza vaccinations is far away from optimistic among older adults with hypertension. Additional works should be undertaken immediately to improve the influenza vaccination status.

SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL