Proteomic profiling of epicardial fat in heart failure with preserved versus reduced and mildly reduced ejection fraction.

In order to explore the proteomic signatures of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) related to the mechanism of heart failure with reduced and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF/HFmrEF) and heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a comprehensive proteomic analysis of EAT was made in HFrEF/HFmrEF (n = 5) and HFpEF (n = 5) patients with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry experiments. The selected differential proteins were verified between HFrEF/HFmrEF (n = 20) and HFpEF (n = 40) by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). A total of 599 EAT proteins were significantly different in expression between HFrEF/HFmrEF and HFpEF. Among the 599 proteins, 58 proteins increased in HFrEF/HFmrEF compared to HFpEF, whereas 541 proteins decreased in HFrEF/HFmrEF. Of these proteins, TGM2 in EAT was down-regulated in HFrEF/HFmrEF patients and was confirmed to decrease in circulating plasma of the HFrEF/HFmrEF group (p = 0.019). Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed plasma TGM2 could be an independent predictor of HFrEF/HFmrEF (p = 0.033). Receiver operating curve analysis indicated that the combination of TGM2 and Gensini score improved the diagnostic value of HFrEF/HFmrEF (p = 0.002). In summary, for the first time, we described the proteome in EAT in both HFpEF and HFrEF/HFmrEF and identified a comprehensive dimension of potential targets for the mechanism behind the EF spectrum. Exploring the role of EAT may offer potential targets for preventive intervention of HF.

Integration and Reanalysis of Four RNA-Seq Datasets Including BALF, Nasopharyngeal Swabs, Lung Biopsy, and Mouse Models Reveals Common Immune Features of COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread over the world causing a pandemic which is still ongoing since its emergence in late 2019. A great amount of effort has been devoted to understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19 with the hope of developing better therapeutic strategies. Transcriptome analysis using technologies such as RNA sequencing became a commonly used approach in study of host immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. Although substantial amount of information can be gathered from transcriptome analysis, different analysis tools used in these studies may lead to conclusions that differ dramatically from each other. Here, we re-analyzed four RNA-sequencing datasets of COVID-19 samples including human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, nasopharyngeal swabs, lung biopsy and hACE2 transgenic mice using the same standardized method. The results showed that common features of COVID-19 include upregulation of chemokines including CCL2, CXCL1, and CXCL10, inflammatory cytokine IL-1ß and alarmin S100A8/S100A9, which are associated with dysregulated innate immunity marked by abundant neutrophil and mast cell accumulation. Downregulation of chemokine receptor genes that are associated with impaired adaptive immunity such as lymphopenia is another common feather of COVID-19 observed. In addition, a few interferon-stimulated genes but no type I IFN genes were identified to be enriched in COVID-19 samples compared to their respective control in these datasets. These features are in line with results from single-cell RNA sequencing studies in the field. Therefore, our re-analysis of the RNA-seq datasets revealed common features of dysregulated immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and shed light to the pathogenesis of COVID-19.

Supply Chain Pricing Models Considering Risk Attitudes under Free-Riding Behavior

The free-riding behavior of companies that do not act will bring losses to companies that provide services. A market consists of two secondary supply chains: manufacturers and retailers. Each supply chain can choose to adopt promotional strategies to expand its market demand. This paper constructs the centralized decision-making in the supply chain and the Nash game competition model between supply chains and primarily studies the impact of risk aversion and the free-riding coefficient on supply chain pricing, promotion strategy selection, and expected utility. We show that the supply chain with high-risk aversion has relatively low pricing, but the demand and a total expected utility are high. We also identify that, on the premise of the same risk aversion degree of the two supply chains, when the free-riding coefficient between the chains is small and equal, the supply chain tends to implement the promotion strategy. When consumers have the same preference for the products of two retailers, the pricing of the free-riding supply chain increases with the increase in the free-riding coefficient, while the supply chain with a promotion strategy is the opposite. Based on the numerical results, we further give the optimal one-way free-riding coefficient when the two supply chains have the same degree of risk aversion;when there is a bidirectional free-riding behavior in the market, competition among supply chains gradually tends to the first two scenarios.

Panic, Psycho-Behavioral Responses, and Risk Perception in the Earliest Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.

Background: Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19), a rising global pandemic, has triggered psychological crises among the public. Panic, a severe symptom of mental disorders, is increasing in the public in China and it is urgent to provide research for intervention development. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of public panic in China during the earliest stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the associated psychological behavioral responses and public's risk perception of the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey with convenience sampling was conducted with 2,484 participants nationally from February 11 to February 24, 2020 in China. A self-developed questionnaire was applied to assess the prevalence of public panic and its associated factors. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the risk and protective factors of public panic. Results: There were 23.39% (581/2,484) of the participants who reported experiencing panic during the earliest stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking temperature repeatedly, being nervous in a crowd, being suspicious of infection in the family, being worried about the future, and worries about high infectivity of the COVID-19, lack of effective therapies, and wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the odds of public panic. Whereas, avoiding gatherings during holidays was negatively associated with the odds of public panic. Conclusions: Psycho-behavioral responses were closely associated with public panic during the earliest stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Defusing excessive health-related worries, the guidance of appropriate self-protective behaviors, strengthening of health education in communities, and available treatment for mental disorders should be adopted to monitor the psychological responses and to guide the behaviors of the public.

Contactless Measurement of Vital Signs Using Thermal and RGB Cameras: A Study of COVID 19-Related Health Monitoring.

In this study, a contactless vital signs monitoring system was proposed, which can measure body temperature (BT), heart rate (HR) and respiration rate (RR) for people with and without face masks using a thermal and an RGB camera. The convolution neural network (CNN) based face detector was applied and three regions of interest (ROIs) were located based on facial landmarks for vital sign estimation. Ten healthy subjects from a variety of ethnic backgrounds with skin colors from pale white to darker brown participated in several different experiments. The absolute error (AE) between the estimated HR using the proposed method and the reference HR from all experiments is 2.70±2.28 beats/min (mean ± std), and the AE between the estimated RR and the reference RR from all experiments is 1.47±1.33 breaths/min (mean ± std) at a distance of 0.6-1.2 m.

Delay in the Effect of Restricting Community Mobility on the Spread of COVID-19 During the First Wave in the United States.

BACKGROUND: It remains unclear how changes in human mobility shaped the transmission dynamic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during its first wave in the United States. METHODS: By coupling a Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal model with reported case data and Google mobility data at the county level, we found that changes in movement were associated with notable changes in reported COVID-19 incidence rates about 5 to 7 weeks later. RESULTS: Among all movement types, residential stay was the most influential driver of COVID-19 incidence rate, with a 10% increase 7 weeks ago reducing the disease incidence rate by 13% (95% credible interval, 6%-20%). A 10% increase in movement from home to workplaces, retail and recreation stores, public transit, grocery stores, and pharmacies 7 weeks ago was associated with an increase of 5%-8% in the COVID-10 incidence rate. In contrast, parks-related movement showed minimal impact. CONCLUSIONS: Policy-makers should anticipate such a delay when planning intervention strategies restricting human movement.

Mental Health of Parents and Preschool-Aged Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Harsh Parenting and Child Sleep Disturbances.

In the context of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mental health problems of parents and children have become a public issue. Herein, we explored the association between parental well-being index and child mental health problems during the pandemic and the mediating role of harsh parenting and child sleep disturbances. An online survey was conducted among 16,398 parents of children aged 3-6 years (48.1% girls, Mage = 4.69 years, SDage = 0.75 years) from March 15 to 29, 2020. Child mental health (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ), sleep problems (Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, CSHQ), and parental well-being index (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, WHO-5), and harsh parenting were reported by parents. The results revealed that a higher parental well-being index was associated with lower child mental health problems. Harsh parenting and child sleep problems were significant mediators within the association. This study indicates the association between parental well-being index and child mental health during the pandemic and underlying mechanism, and has important implications for reducing parental and child mental health problems.

Online Learning Performances of Children and Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To investigate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) core symptoms that impair executive function (EF), emotional state, learning motivation, and the family and parenting environment of children and adolescents with ADHD, both with and without severe difficulties. This will be explored within an online learning environment during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 183 ADHD children diagnosed using DSM-V criteria were selected and divided into 2 groups high difficulties during online learning (HDOL) and low difficulties during online learning (LDOL) according to the answer of Home Quarantine Investigation of the Pandemic (HQIP). The participants filled out a set of questionnaires to assess their emotional state and learning motivation, and their parents also filled out the questionnaires about ADHD core symptoms, EF, and family and parenting environment. Compared with ADHD children in the LDOL group, the children in the HDOL group had significant symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, oppositional defiant, behavioral and emotional problems according to the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale (SNAP). They also had more severely impaired EF according to the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), more difficulties and disturbances in the family by the Chinese version of Family Environment Scale (FES-CV), and lower parenting efficacy and satisfaction by Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC). With regard to the self-rating questionnaires of children and adolescents, the HDOL group reported lower learning motivation according to the Students Learning Motivation Scale (SLMS). By Screening for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders and Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRSC), those in HDOL presented more negative emotions. The HDOL group spent significantly more time on both video games and social software per day and significantly less time on multiple activities per week, when compared to those in the LDOL group. This study demonstrated that ADHD children and adolescents with HDOL had more inattention-related behaviors, more severe emotional problems and EF impairment, weaker learning motivation, and poorer family and parenting environment. Meanwhile, digital media use should be supervised and appropriate extracurricular activities should be encouraged by parents and schools.

Influences of digital media use on children and adolescents with ADHD during COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influences of digital media use on the core symptoms, emotional state, life events, learning motivation, executive function (EF) and family environment of children and adolescents diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHOD: A total of 192 participants aged 8-16 years who met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD were included in the study. Children scoring higher than predetermined cut-off point in self-rating questionnaires for problematic mobile phone use (SQPMPU) or Young's internet addiction test (IAT), were defined as ADHD with problematic digital media use (PDMU), otherwise were defined as ADHD without PDMU. The differences between the two groups in ADHD symptoms, EF, anxiety and depression, stress from life events, learning motivation and family environment were compared respectively. RESULTS: When compared with ADHD group without PDMU, the group with PDMU showed significant worse symptoms of inattention, oppositional defiant, behavior and emotional problems by Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale (SNAP), more self-reported anxiety by screening child anxiety-related emotional disorders (SCARED) and depression by depression self-rating scale for children (DSRSC), more severe EF deficits by behavior rating scale of executive function (BRIEF), more stress from life events by adolescent self-rating life events checklist (ASLEC), lower learning motivation by students learning motivation scale (SLMS), and more impairment on cohesion by Chinese version of family environment scale (FES-CV). The ADHD with PDMU group spent significantly more time on both video game and social media with significantly less time spend on physical exercise as compared to the ADHD without PDMU group. CONCLUSION: The ADHD children with PDMU suffered from more severe core symptoms, negative emotions, EF deficits, damage on family environment, pressure from life events, and a lower motivation to learn. Supervision of digital media usage, especially video game and social media, along with increased physical exercise, is essential to the management of core symptoms and associated problems encountered with ADHD.

Analysis of Risk Perceptions and Related Factors Concerning COVID-19 Epidemic in Chongqing, China.

OBJECTIVE: To assess perceptions of risk and related factors concerning COVID-19 epidemic among residents in Chongqing city, China. METHODS: With convenience sampling, a web questionnaire survey was conducted among 476 residents living in Chongqing on February 13rd to 14th in 2020, when citizens just started to get back to work. RESULTS: Residents' estimated perceived risks were (4.63 ± 0.57), (4.19 ± 0.76), (3.23 ± 0.91) and (2.29 ± 0.96) for the infectivity, pathogenicity, lethality and self-rated infection possibility of COVID-19, respectively. Females (OR = 4.234), people with income ≥ 2000 yuan (2000-4999 yuan: OR = 5.052, 5000-9999 yuan: OR = 4.301, ≥ 10,000 yuan: OR = 23.459), the married status (OR = 1.811), the divorced status, widows or widowers (OR = 3.038), people living with families including children (OR = 5.085) or chronic patients (OR = 2.423) had a higher perceived risk level, as well as people who used free media websites (OR = 1.756), community workers (OR = 4.064) or community information platforms (OR = 2.235) as main media information sources. The perceived risk increased by 4.9% for every one-year increase of age. People who used WeChat contacts (OR = 0.196) as the main media information source, reported a lower perceived risk. CONCLUSION: Residents reported a high level of risk perception towards COVID-19 in Chongqing and it was impacted by the population demographic characteristics. Media information sources, including community information platforms and community workers may cause the increase of public risk perceptions.

Mobile field hospitals, an effective way of dealing with COVID-19 in China: sharing our experience.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, China made great progress in controlling the epidemic, and the number of confirmed and suspected cases continues to decrease thanks to the various efforts employed. Mobile field hospitals have played a huge role in the centralized management of patients and they have effectively reduced transmission. This article describes some of our experiences operating mobile field hospitals in order to provide a reference and to better inform countries that are dealing with this crisis.