Investigation on sleep-related cognition of Chinese health care workers during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID pandemic has brought tremendous negative effects on the mental health of health care workers, such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. We conducted this study to evaluate the sleep-related cognition of Chinese health care workers (HCWs) during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic and analyze its association with sleep quality, so as to provide scientific reference for improving sleep of HCWs. Patients and methods: A total of 404 HCWs from Yijishan Hospital of Wuhu City, China were enrolled in the study, selected by randomized cluster sampling in May 2020. We made a questionnaire to collect the general demographic information of the participants. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a brief version of Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS-16) were used to measure sleep quality and sleep-related cognition, respectively. Results: The results showed that 312 HCWs (77.2%) had false beliefs and attitudes about sleep, while only 92 HCWs (22.8%) had correct beliefs about sleep. In addition, we found that those HCWs who were older, married, with a bachelor's degree or higher, nurses, more daily working hours (> 8 h) and monthly night shifts (≥ 5 times), had higher DBAS-16 scores (all p < 0.05). However, we did not find significant differences between men and women in DBAS-16 scores. According to the definition of PSQI, a total of 1/4 of the HCWs are poor sleepers and their DBAS-16 score was higher than good sleepers (t = 7.622, p < 0.001). In the end, we confirmed a positive correlation between sleep cognition and sleep quality (r = 0.392, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study revealed false beliefs and attitudes about sleep were prevalent among HCWs during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, and these false beliefs about sleep were closely correlated to sleep quality. We recommend fighting against these false beliefs about sleep.

Visual detection and differentiation of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus wild-type strains and attenuated vaccine strains using CRISPR/Cas13a-based lateral flow strip.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an enteric coronavirus that causes acute watery diarrhea and vomiting in unweaned piglets. Infections result in high mortality and serious economic losses to the swine industry. PEDV attenuated vaccine does not completely protect against all mutant wild-type strains, and PEDV infection can periodically occur. A sensitive, accurate, and simple detection method for PEDV is needed to reduce the occurrence of the disease. In this study, the CRISPR/Cas13a system was combined with recombinase aided amplification to develop a rapid diagnostic method to distinguish PEDV wild-type strains from attenuated vaccine strains. The method is based on isothermal detection at 37°C. The results are used for visual readout. The assay had high sensitivity and specificity, with a detection limit of 101 copies/µL for the gene of interest, and no cross-reactivity with other pathogens. The Cas13a detection worked well with clinical samples. This visual, sensitive, and specific nucleic acid detection method based on CRISPR/Cas13a should be a powerful tool for detecting PEDV.

Visual detection and differentiation of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus wild−type strains and attenuated vaccine strains using CRISPR/Cas13a-based lateral flow strip

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an enteric coronavirus that causes acute watery diarrhea and vomiting in unweaned piglets. Infections result in high mortality and serious economic losses to the swine industry. PEDV attenuated vaccine does not completely protect against all mutant wild-type strains, and PEDV infection can periodically occur. A sensitive, accurate, and simple detection method for PEDV is needed to reduce the occurrence of the disease. In this study, the CRISPR/Cas13a system was combined with recombinase aided amplification to develop a rapid diagnostic method to distinguish PEDV wild-type strains from attenuated vaccine strains. The method is based on isothermal detection at 37°C. The results are used for visual readout. The assay had high sensitivity and specificity, with a detection limit of 101 copies/μL for the gene of interest, and no cross-reactivity with other pathogens. The Cas13a detection worked well with clinical samples. This visual, sensitive, and specific nucleic acid detection method based on CRISPR/Cas13a should be a powerful tool for detecting PEDV.

Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors in B-cell lymphoma: beyond the antitumour effect.

Targeting B-cell receptor signalling using Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors (BTKis) has become a highly successful treatment modality for B-cell malignancies, especially for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. However, long-term administration of BTKis can be complicated by adverse on- and/or off-target effects in particular cell types. BTK is widely expressed in cells of haematopoietic origin, which are pivotal components of the tumour microenvironment. BTKis, thus, show broad immunomodulatory effects on various non-B immune cell subsets by inhibiting specific immune receptors, including T-cell receptor and Toll-like receptors. Furthermore, due to the off-target inhibition of other kinases, such as IL-2-inducible T-cell kinase, epidermal growth factor receptor, and the TEC and SRC family kinases, BTKis have additional distinct effects on T cells, natural killer cells, platelets, cardiomyocytes, and other cell types. Such mechanisms of action might contribute to the exceptionally high clinical efficacy as well as the unique profiles of adverse effects, including infections, bleeding, and atrial fibrillation, observed during BTKi administration. However, the immune defects and related infections caused by BTKis have not received sufficient attention in clinical studies till date. The broad involvement of BTK in immunological pathways provides a rationale to combine BTKis with specific immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitor or chimeric antigen receptor-T-cell therapy, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diseases. This review discusses and summarises the above-mentioned issues as a reference for clinicians and researchers.

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Association Between Compassion Fatigue and Psychological Resilience From 2008 to 2021.

Aims: A negative association between the lower level of psychological resilience (PR) and increased risk of compassion fatigue (CF) and higher Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stress has been revealed. However, bibliometric studies have not been performed to comprehensively investigate this topic. This study aimed to identify the status and trends in the CF and PR field from 2008 to 2021 and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We identified relevant literature from the Web of Science Core Collection® database using "resilience" and "compassion fatigue" on September 30, 2021. All search results were exported in plain text format for collaboration network analysis, reference-based co-citation analysis, analysis of journals, and keywords-based co-occurrence analysis, which were performed using Citespace® 5.8.R1. Results: A total of 388 publications were identified finally, and there has been an increasing trend in the annual number of publications with light fluctuations. The analysis of journals and keywords indicated that nurses and social workers are the main research targets, and their mental problems are the main research topics. The turnover intention of health care providers has been a research focus, particularly during the COVID-19. Conclusion: The results of the present study help us understand the status of the CF and PR field and its recent developments.

Rapid PCR-Based Nanopore Adaptive Sequencing Improves Sensitivity and Timeliness of Viral Clinical Detection and Genome Surveillance

Nanopore sequencing has been widely used for the real-time detection and surveillance of pathogens with portable MinION. Nanopore adaptive sequencing can enrich on-target sequences without additional pretreatment. In this study, the performance of adaptive sequencing was evaluated for viral genome enrichment of clinical respiratory samples. Ligation-based nanopore adaptive sequencing (LNAS) and rapid PCR-based nanopore adaptive sequencing (RPNAS) workflows were performed to assess the effects of enrichment on nasopharyngeal swab samples from human adenovirus (HAdV) outbreaks. RPNAS was further applied for the enrichment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from nasopharyngeal swab samples to evaluate sensitivity and timeliness. The RPNAS increased both the relative abundance (7.87–12.86-fold) and data yield (1.27–2.15-fold) of HAdV samples, whereas the LNAS increased only the relative abundance but had no obvious enrichment on the data yield. Compared with standard nanopore sequencing, RPNAS detected the SARS-CoV-2 reads from two low-abundance samples, increased the coverage of SARS-CoV-2 by 36.68–98.92%, and reduced the time to achieve the same coverage. Our study highlights the utility of RPNAS for virus enrichment directly from clinical samples, with more on-target data and a shorter sequencing time to recover viral genomes. These findings promise to improve the sensitivity and timeliness of rapid identification and genomic surveillance of infectious diseases.

Mechanism of COVID-19-Related Proteins in Spinal Tuberculosis: Immune Dysregulation.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to investigate the mechanism of immune dysregulation of COVID-19-related proteins in spinal tuberculosis (STB). Methods: Clinical data were collected to construct a nomogram model. C-index, calibration curve, ROC curve, and DCA curve were used to assess the predictive ability and accuracy of the model. Additionally, 10 intervertebral disc samples were collected for protein identification. Bioinformatics was used to analyze differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), including immune cells analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction networks (PPI). Results: The nomogram predicted risk of STB ranging from 0.01 to 0.994. The C-index and AUC in the training set were 0.872 and 0.862, respectively. The results in the external validation set were consistent with the training set. Immune cells scores indicated that B cells naive in STB tissues were significantly lower than non-TB spinal tissues. Hub proteins were calculated by Degree, Closeness, and MCC methods. The main KEGG pathway included Coronavirus disease-COVID-19. There were 9 key proteins in the intersection of COVID-19-related proteins and hub proteins. There was a negative correlation between B cells naive and RPL19. COVID-19-related proteins were associated with immune genes. Conclusion: Lymphocytes were predictive factors for the diagnosis of STB. Immune cells showed low expression in STB. Nine COVID-19-related proteins were involved in STB mechanisms. These nine key proteins may suppress the immune mechanism of STB by regulating the expression of immune genes.

Public Opinion Spread and Guidance Strategy under COVID-19: A SIS Model Analysis

Both the suddenness and seriousness of COVID-19 have caused a variety of public opinions on social media, which becomes the focus of social attention. This paper aims to analyze the strategies regarding the prevention and guidance of public opinion spread under COVID-19 in social networks from the perspective of the emotional characteristics of user texts. Firstly, a model is established to mine text-based emotional tendency based on the Susceptible-Infectious-Susceptible (SIS) model. In addition, a mathematical and simulation analysis of the model is presented. Finally, an empirical study based on the data of microblog contents regarding COVID-19 public opinion in the Sina Weibo platform from January to March 2020 is conducted to analyze the factors that boost and hinder COVID-19 public opinion. The results show that when positive emotion is higher than 0.8, the spread of negative public opinion can be blocked. When the negative emotion and neutral emotion are both below 0.2, the spread of COVID-19 public opinion would be weakened. To accurately guide public opinion on COVID-19, the government authorities should establish a public opinion risk evaluation and an early warning mechanism. Platforms should strengthen public opinion supervision and users should improve their media literacy. The media organizations should insist on positive reporting, improve social cohesion, and guide the trend of public opinion.

Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Was an Independent Factor of the Severity of Spinal Tuberculosis

Purpose. The purpose was to explore the relationship between monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and the severity of spinal tuberculosis. Methods. A total of 1,000 clinical cases were collected, including 496 cases of spinal tuberculosis and 504 cases of nonspinal tuberculosis. Laboratory blood results were collected, including C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (HGB), platelets (PLT), neutrophil count, percentage of neutrophils, lymphocyte count, percentage of lymphocytes, monocyte count, percentage of monocytes, MLR, platelets -to- monocyte ratio (PMR), platelets -to- lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil -to- lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelets -to- neutrophil ratio (PNR). The statistical parameters analyzed by the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to construct the nomogram. The nomogram was assessed by C-index, calibration curve, ROC curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) curve. Results. The C-index of the nomogram in the training set and external validation set was 0.801 and 0.861, respectively. Similarly, AUC was 0.801 in the former and 0.861 in the latter. The net benefit of the former nomogram ranged from 0.1 to 0.95 and 0.02 to 0.99 in the latter nomogram. Furthermore, there was a correlation between MLR and the severity of spinal tuberculosis. Conclusion. MLR was an independent factor in the diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis and was associated with the severity of spinal tuberculosis. Additionally, MLR may be a predictor of active spinal tuberculosis.

The Effects of Investment in Major Construction Projects on Regional Economic Growth Quality: A Difference-In-Differences Analysis Based on PPP Policy

The investment in Major Construction Projects (MCPs) has a counter-cyclical impact on quantitative GDP increases during the recession period. However, its impact on the quality of economic growth is still unknown. Based on the data of prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2017, we construct an economic Quality Growth Index (QGI) including sustainable development factors and take the PPP (Public–Private Partnership projects) policy as a quasi-natural experiment to design a Difference-In-Differences (DID) strategy for the first time to estimate the effects of the MCPs investment on the sustainable development of regional economies. We find that the MCPs investment can significantly improve the quality of regional economic growth. The MCPs investment can improve the quality of regional economic growth by enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship at the regional levels. Our findings may provide empirical evidence to support the policy of increasing investment into infrastructure constructions to promote sustainable development in the current economic recession under the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superoxide Dismutase Prevents SARS-CoV-2-Induced Plasma Cell Apoptosis and Stabilizes Specific Antibody Induction.

The infection of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) seriously threatens human life. It is urgent to generate effective and safe specific antibodies (Abs) against the pathogenic elements of COVID-19. Mice were immunized with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antigens: S ectodomain-1 (CoV, in short) mixed in Alum adjuvant for 2 times and boosted with CoV weekly for 6 times. A portion of mice were treated with Maotai liquor (MTL, in short) or/and heat stress (HS) together with CoV boosting. We observed that the anti-CoV Ab was successfully induced in mice that received the CoV/Alum immunization for 2 times. However, upon boosting with CoV, the CoV Ab production diminished progressively; spleen CoV Ab-producing plasma cell counts reduced, in which substantial CoV-specific Ab-producing plasma cells (sPC) were apoptotic. Apparent oxidative stress signs were observed in sPCs; the results were reproduced by exposing sPCs to CoV in the culture. The presence of MTL or/and HS prevented the CoV-induced oxidative stress in sPCs and promoted and stabilized the CoV Ab production in mice in re-exposure to CoV. In summary, CoV/Alum immunization can successfully induce CoV Ab production in mice that declines upon reexposure to CoV. Concurrent administration of MTL/HS stabilizes and promotes the CoV Ab production in mice.

SWOT Analysis and Preliminary Study on Prevention and Control Management of Temporary Integrated Isolation Ward During COVID-19 Outbreak.

Background: The world faced crises of prevention and control and shortage of medical resources during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) outbreak. The establishment of temporary integrated isolation wards in hospitals, which is universal and representative in China, is one of the most-effective strategies in solving these problems according to China's experiences. Aim: To conduct a preliminary study on the establishment of a temporary integrated isolation ward during the outbreak of COVID-19 and to evaluate related impact. Methods: SWOT analysis was used to analyze the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and risks in the establishment of the temporary integrated isolation ward, and corresponding corrective measures were made according to the analysis results. Findings: The ward has formulated more than 10 related work procedures and prevention and control measures. A total of 93 patients with 18 critically ill patients were admitted for treatment and isolation. They were all evaluated based on established procedures and protocols. Twenty-four supplementary nucleic acid tests were ordered and conducted. One new patient with COVID-19 was confirmed and was successfully transferred to the designated COVID-19 infectious control hospital. There were no missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, no cross-infection of patients, no cluster outbreak, and no infection of medical workers during the entire process. Conclusion: SWOT analysis is helpful in guiding the establishment of a temporary integrated isolation ward and the formulation of prevention and control measures in Hebei General Hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak. It provides the guidance and reference of significance for the establishment of similar types of wards in the future.