ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the sociodemographic and psychological factors influencing the continuity of treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease under the regular epidemic prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods A total of 277 patients with chronic kidney disease who were admitted to Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University) from Apr. 2020 to Mar. 2021 were enrolled and divided into 3 groups: non-dialysis group (n=102), hemodialysis (HD) group (n=108), and peritoneal dialysis (PD) group (n=67). All patients were investigated by online and offline questionnaires, including self-designed basic situation questionnaire, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and self-rating depression scale (SDS). The general sociodemographic data, anxiety and depression of the 3 groups were compared, and the influence of sociodemographic and psychological factors on the interruption or delay of treatment was analyzed by binary logistic regression model. Results There were significant differences in age distribution, marital status, occupation, medical insurance type, caregiver type, whether there was an urgent need for hospitalization and whether treatment was delayed or interrupted among the 3 groups (all P0.05). The average SAS score of 65 PD patients was 38.15+/-15.83, including 53 (81.5%) patients without anxiety, 7 (10.8%) patients with mild anxiety, and 5 (7.7%) patients with moderate to severe anxiety. The average SAS score of 104 patients in the HD group was 36.86+/-14.03, including 81 (77.9%) patients without anxiety, 18 (17.3%) patients with mild anxiety, and 5 (4.8%) patients with moderate to severe anxiety. There were no significant differences in the mean score of SAS or anxiety severity grading between the 2 groups (both P0.05). The mean SDS scores of 65 PD patients were 53.42+/-13.30, including 22 (33.8%) patients without depression, 21 (32.3%) patients with mild depression, and 22 (33.8%) patients with moderate to severe depression. The mean SDS scores of 104 patients in the HD group were 50.79+/-10.76, including 36 (34.6%) patients without depression, 56 (53.8%) patients with mild depression, and 12 (11.6%) patients with moderate to severe depression. There were no significant differences in mean SDS scores or depression severity grading between the 2 groups (both P0.05). The results of intra-group comparison showed that the incidence and severity of depression were higher than those of anxiety in both groups. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that high school education level (odds ratio OR=5.618, 95% confidence interval CI) 2.136-14.776, P0.01), and unmarried (OR=6.916, 95% CI 1.441-33.185, P=0.016), divorced (OR= 5.588, 95% CI 1.442-21.664, P=0.013), urgent need for hospitalization (OR=8.655, 95% CI 3.847-19.476, P0.01) could positively promote the continuity of treatment in maintenance dialysis patients under the regular epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19. In the non-dialysis group, no sociodemographic and psychological factors were found to be associated with the interruption or delay of treatment (P0.05). Conclusion Education, marital status, and urgent need for hospitalization are correlated with the continuity of treatment in patients with chronic kidney disease on maintenance dialysis.Copyright © 2022, Second Military Medical University Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the sociodemographic and psychological factors influencing the continuity of treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease under the regular epidemic prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods A total of 277 patients with chronic kidney disease who were admitted to Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University) from Apr. 2020 to Mar. 2021 were enrolled and divided into 3 groups: non-dialysis group (n=102), hemodialysis (HD) group (n=108), and peritoneal dialysis (PD) group (n=67). All patients were investigated by online and offline questionnaires, including self-designed basic situation questionnaire, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and self-rating depression scale (SDS). The general sociodemographic data, anxiety and depression of the 3 groups were compared, and the influence of sociodemographic and psychological factors on the interruption or delay of treatment was analyzed by binary logistic regression model. Results There were significant differences in age distribution, marital status, occupation, medical insurance type, caregiver type, whether there was an urgent need for hospitalization and whether treatment was delayed or interrupted among the 3 groups (all P<0.05). The average SAS score of 65 PD patients was 38.15+/-15.83, including 53 (81.5%) patients without anxiety, 7 (10.8%) patients with mild anxiety, and 5 (7.7%) patients with moderate to severe anxiety. The average SAS score of 104 patients in the HD group was 36.86+/-14.03, including 81 (77.9%) patients without anxiety, 18 (17.3%) patients with mild anxiety, and 5 (4.8%) patients with moderate to severe anxiety. There were no significant differences in the mean score of SAS or anxiety severity grading between the 2 groups (both P>0.05). The mean SDS scores of 65 PD patients were 53.42+/-13.30, including 22 (33.8%) patients without depression, 21 (32.3%) patients with mild depression, and 22 (33.8%) patients with moderate to severe depression. The mean SDS scores of 104 patients in the HD group were 50.79+/-10.76, including 36 (34.6%) patients without depression, 56 (53.8%) patients with mild depression, and 12 (11.6%) patients with moderate to severe depression. There were no significant differences in mean SDS scores or depression severity grading between the 2 groups (both P>0.05). The results of intra-group comparison showed that the incidence and severity of depression were higher than those of anxiety in both groups. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that high school education level (odds ratio [OR]=5.618, 95% confidence interval [CI]) 2.136-14.776, P<0.01), and unmarried (OR=6.916, 95% CI 1.441-33.185, P=0.016), divorced (OR= 5.588, 95% CI 1.442-21.664, P=0.013), urgent need for hospitalization (OR=8.655, 95% CI 3.847-19.476, P<0.01) could positively promote the continuity of treatment in maintenance dialysis patients under the regular epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19. In the non-dialysis group, no sociodemographic and psychological factors were found to be associated with the interruption or delay of treatment (P>0.05). Conclusion Education, marital status, and urgent need for hospitalization are correlated with the continuity of treatment in patients with chronic kidney disease on maintenance dialysis.Copyright © 2022, Second Military Medical University Press. All rights reserved.
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IoT devices that connect people without physical contact become more and more important after the COVID-19 impact. However, strange appearances and movements performed by IoT devices (interactive humanoid robots) cause human discomfort, so-called the uncanny valley, preventing widespread use of humanoid IoT devices. On the contrary, a Japanese traditional performing art named Ningyo Joruri (puppet theater) is recognized as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, and the sophisticated puppet motions and its unique music style somehow can avoid causing human discomfort even if the appearance of puppets is close enough to humans. One of the most important factors in empathizing humans with the puppet without uncomfortable is the modulation technique of both music tempo and motion speed known as Jo-Ha-Kyu. In this study, we analyzed Ningyo Joruri based on the Jo-Ha-Kyu mechanism, which is an art concept adopted in the puppet theater to interact with audiences according to modulation of the tempo. First, we obtained puppet movements using motion capture systems with the music. Second, we detected the changing tempo in Ningyo Joruri using the deep learning method to demonstrate the Jo-Ha-Kyu mechanism quantitatively. Finally, we showed the correlation of Jo-Ha-Kyu between Ningyo Joruri music and puppet manipulation techniques in the frequency domain using the Hilbert Huang transform. Our results revealed that low-frequency movements play an important role in synchronizing motion to the tempo of corresponding music, presenting novel knowledge to motion designers for humanoid robots IoT devices. © 2022 IEEE.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is a real shock to society and business and financial markets. The government bond market is an essential part of financial markets, especially in difficult times, because it is a source of government funding. The majority of existing ESG studies report positive impacts on corporate financial performance regarding environmental, social, and governance. Thus, understanding governments’ financial practices and their relevant ESG implications is insufficient. This research aims to value the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different government bond curve sectors. We try to identify the reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in the government bond market and analyze separate tenors of government bond yields in different regions. We have chosen Germany and the United States government bond yields of 10, 5, and 3 years tenor for the analysis. As independent variables, we have chosen daily cases of COVID-19 and daily deaths from COVID-19 at the country and global levels. We used daily data from 02 January 2020–19 March 2021, and divided this period into three stages depending on the COVID-19 pandemic data. We employed the methods of correlation-regression analysis (ordinary least squares and least squares with breakpoints) and VAR-based impulse response functions to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on government bond yields both in the long and short run. Our analysis revealed the impact of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on government bond yields differs depending on the country and the assessment period. The short-term responses vary in direction, strength, and duration;the long-term response of Germany’s yields appeared to be more negative (indicating the decrease of the yields), while the response of the United States yields appeared to be more positive (i.e., increase of yields). Copyright © 2022 Zhou, Teresienė, Keliuotytė-Staniulėnienė, Kanapickiene, Dong and Kaab Omeir.
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Objective To evaluate the prognostic value of extravascular lung water index (EVLWI), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1(sICAM-1) and Krebs yon den lungen-6 (KL-6) in severe pneumonia patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (ARDS). Methods A prospective study was conducted in Respiratory Intensive Care Unit of the Affiliated Zhengzhou Central Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2017 to February 2020. The study included 65 severe pneumonia patients with ARDS, who was performed by measurement of pulse index continuous cardiac output and survived more than 3days after admission. The Extravascular Lung Water Index（EVLWI）, sICAM-1, KL-6 and Oxygenation Index(OI) on 1st, 3rd and 5th day were detected. APACHE Ⅱ score, patient survival events (days) and survival outcome were recorded. Correlation analysis between EVLWI, sICAM-1, KL-6 and OI was performed on the 1st，3rd and 5th day after admission. Independent risk factors of mortality in severe pneumonia patients with ARDS were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn，and the prognostic value of each parameter was assessed finally. Results The PCT, EVLWI, sICAM-1, KL-6 and APACHE Ⅱ score in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group (P<0.05) at RICU admission, and the length of RICU stay was significantly shorter than that in the survival group (P<0.05), while differences in other clinical characteristics between two groups were not statistically significant（P>0.05）. These parameters including levels of EVLWI, sICAM-1, KL-6, Procalcitonin and APACHE Ⅱ score in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group on the 1st，3rd and 5th day (P<0.05), whereas the OI was significantly lower than that of the survival group on the 3rd and 5th day (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that EVLWI, sICAM-1, KL-6 level were significantly related with the mortality of these patients. The levels of sICAM-1, kl-6 and EVLWI on 1st，3rd and 5th day after RICU admission showed a significant negative correlation with OI (P<0.001). Whereas, The levels of sICAM-1, kL-6 on 1st，3rd and 5th day showed a significant positive correlation with EVLWI (P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of sICAM-1, KL-6 combined with EVLWI in prognosis evaluation on 1st，3rd and 5th day were 75.0%，84.4%, 85.0%，66.7%，80.0%，86.7%, respectively. The AUC was 0.864，0.881，0.892 on 1st，3rd and 5th day, respectively (P<0.001), which had a better prognostic value than each of them. Conclusions EVLWI, sICAM-1 and KL-6 were independent risk factors for the prognosis of severe pneumonia patients with ARDS. The combination of EVLWI, sICAM-1 and KL-6 might be important in early predicting the prognosis of the 28d mortality. © 2021 Chinese Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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Objective To predict the epitopes of B cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), and T helper (Th) cells of SARS-CoV-2 by immunoinformatics. Methods The SARS-CoV-2 protein sequences were retrieved from NCBI database and screened, and the sequences with antigenicity >=0.5 and amino acid number >=100 were used for epitopes prediction. The Phyre2 server was used to predict the three-dimensional (3D) structure, the GalaxyRefine system to optimize the 3D structure, and the SWISS-MODEL system to evaluate the accuracy of the optimized structure. The CTL, Th cells, and sequential B-cell antigen peptide prediction was based on the sequences of proteins, and the structural B-cell antigen peptide prediction on the 3D structures of proteins. The cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and Th cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 were predicted by the IEDB database. The sequential B-cell antigen peptide prediction and the structural B-cell antigen peptide prediction were performed by BepiPred-2.0: Sequential B-Cell Epitope Predictor and ElliPro-a structure-based tool for the prediction of epitopes, respectively. Results Twenty seven SARS-CoV-2 protein sequences were obtained from the NCBI database. After removing the proteins with antigenicity <0.5 and amino acid number <100, nine proteins were selected for antigen peptide prediction. Finally, 24 epitopes from CTLs, 20 epitopes from Th cells, and 12 sequential epitopes and 16 structural epitopes from B cells were obtained. Conclusion The epitopes obtained can be used for developing multi-epitope SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Compared with epitopes that only target a single protein, multi-target epitopes have stronger immunogenicity. These epitopes have certain reference value for the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.
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OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to provide currently available information on the potential effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on male fertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a mini-review. Due to the similarity between the COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, we searched for the following keywords: "SARS-CoV, male reproductive system, infertility, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and orchitis". By reviewing and analyzing the literature, we analyzed the influence of temperature on sperm, the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the testes, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the male reproductive system. RESULTS: SARS-CoV-2 enters the body through the ACE2 receptor. The high expression of ACE2 on the surface of spermatogonia and supporting cells in the testes, as well as the immune response caused by COVID-19, can lead to testicular spermatogenesis dysfunction and reduced sperm count. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 infection can affect male reproductive function, and standard treatment strategies should be established in time to help male patients infected with COVID-19.