Four new eudesmane-type and one new eremophilane-type sesquiterpenes from the whole plant of Carpesium abrotanoides L.

The extract of the whole plant of Carpesium abrotanoides L. yielded five new sesquiterpenes including four eudesmanes (1-4) and one eremophilane (5). The new compounds were characterized by spectroscopic analysis especially 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and HRESIMS data. Structurally, both compounds 1 and 2 were sesquiterpene epoxides and 2 owned an epoxy group at C-4/C-15 position to form a spiro skeleton. Compounds 4 and 5 were two sesquiterpenes without lactones and 5 possessed a carboxy group in the molecule. Additionally, all the isolated compounds were preliminarily evaluated for the inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 main protease. As a result, compound 2 showed moderate activity with an IC50 value of 18.79 µM, while other compounds were devoid of noticeable activity (IC50 > 50 µM).

System Threat during a Pandemic: How Conspiracy Theories Help to Justify the System

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have endorsed conspiracy theories about foreign governments yet shown increased trust and support for their own government. Whether there is a potential correlation between these social phenomena and the psychological mechanisms behind them is still unclear. Integrating insights from the existential threat model of conspiracy theories and system justification theory, two experimental studies were conducted to investigate whether belief in out-group conspiracy theories can play a mediating role in the effects of system threat on people's system justification beliefs against the background of the pandemic. The results show that system threat positively predicts individuals' system-justifying belief, and belief in out-group conspiracy theories mediated this relationship.

Qualitative Research on the Training Experiences and Needs of Intensive Care Unit General Nurses Against the Background of Regular Coronavirus Disease 2019 Prevention and Control.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the training experiences and needs of intensive care unit (ICU) general nurses against a background of regular Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prevention and control. Methods: Using the phenomenological method of qualitative research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 ICU nurses. The interview data were analyzed, sorted, summarized, and refined using the content analysis method. Results: The following five themes were extracted from the interviews, based on the training experiences of the nurses: 1) broadening their thinking; 2) discovering their personal shortcomings; 3) gaining self-confidence; 4) calmly facing frontline work; 5) experiencing high assessment pressure. The training needs of the nurses could be summarized into the following four themes: 1) increased training time; 2) improving the assessment mechanism; 3) establishing a normal rotating-shift training system; 4) balancing the teaching levels. Conclusion: Against a background of regular epidemic prevention and control, ICU training for general nurses is of high practical significance and value. Thus, active exploration and research should be conducted to establish perfect training and assessment mechanisms for these nurses. Additionally, training methods that are suitable for clinical needs should be formulated and training systematization and standardization must be promoted.

Epidemic characteristics and spatial analysis of COVID-19 in Zhejiang Province. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To explore the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of confirmed cases of coronavirus disease(COVID-19)in Zhejiang Province and to determine the correlation between number of confirmed cases and geographical demographic factors, so as to provide theoretical basis for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

Epidemiological characteristics and spatial-temporal clustering of COVID-19 in Hebei Province. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and spatial-temporal clustering of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in Hebei Province in order to provide scientific basis for the formulation of prevention and control measures.

Epidemiological characteristics and incubation period of coronavirus disease 2019 in Anhui Province. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and incubation of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)from Jan. 22 to Mar. 8, 2020 in Anhui Province, in order to provide the basis for further understanding of the transmission pattern of COVID-19 and formulating regional control measures.

Clustering distribution of COVID-19 in Wenzhou from January to March 2020 based on spatiotemporal analysis. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To explore the spatiotemporal distribution of COVID-19 in Wenzhou and to provide theoretical basis for the formulation of preventive and control measures.

The long-term consequences of Corona Virus Disease 2019 patients receiving Chinese herbal medicine treatments in acute phase: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In December 2019, the first case of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 viral infection was described in Wuhan. Similar to SARS in 2003, COVID-19 also had a lasting impact. Approximately 76% of patients discharged after hospitalization for COVID-19 had neurological manifestations which could persist for 6 months, and some long-term consequences such as the gradual loss of lung function due to pulmonary interstitial fibrosis could have comprehensive effects on daily quality of life for people who were initially believed to have recovered from COVID-19. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Our comprehensive search strategy developed in consultation with a research librarian. We will search these following electronic databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase, ProQuest, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WANFANG DATA, WHO covid-19 website, and Centers for Disease Control and the Prevention COVID-19 websites of the United States and China. The bias of publication will be confirmed via the P value of Egger test. The quality of studies will be evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: There are no ethical considerations associated with this study protocol for this systematic review which mainly focuses on the examination of secondary data. On completion of this analysis, we will prepare a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021258711.

Global haemostatic tests demonstrate the absence of parameters of hypercoagulability in non-hypoxic mild COVID-19 patients: a prospective matched study.

Severe COVID-19 patients demonstrate hypercoagulability, necessitating thromboprophylaxis. However, less is known about the haemostatic profile in mild COVID-19 patients. We performed an age and gender-matched prospective study of 10 severe and 10 mild COVID-19 patients. Comprehensive coagulation profiling together with Thromboelastography and Clot Waveform Analysis were performed. FBC, PT, APTT, D-dimer, fibrinogen and CWA were repeated every 3 days for both groups and repeat TEG was performed for severe patients up till 15 days. On recruitment, severe patients had markers reflecting hypercoagulability including raised median D-dimer 1.0 µg/mL (IQR 0.6, 1.4) (p = 0.0004), fibrinogen 5.6 g/L (IQR 4.9, 6.6) (p = 0.002), Factor VIII 206% (IQR 171, 203) and vWF levels 265.5% (IQR 206, 321). Mild patients had normal values of PT, aPTT, fibrinogen and D-dimer, and slightly elevated median Factor VIII and von Willebrand factor (vWF) levels. Repeated 3-day assessments for both groups showed declining trends in D-dimer and Fibrinogen. CWA of severe COVID-19 group demonstrated hypercoagulability with an elevated median values of aPTT delta change 78.8% (IQR 69.8, 85.2) (p = 0.001), aPTT clot velocity (min1) 7.8%/s (IQR 6.7, 8.3) (p = 0.001), PT delta change 22.4% (IQR 19.4, 29.5) (p = 0.004), PT min1 7.1%/s (IQR 6.3, 9.0) (p = 0.02), PT clot acceleration (min 2) 3.6%/s2 (IQR 3.2, 4.5) (p = 0.02) and PT clot deceleration (max2) 2.9%/s2 (IQR 2.5, 3.5) (p = 0.02). TEG of severe patients reflected hypercoagulability with significant increases in the median values of CFF MA 34.6 mm (IQR 27.4,38.6) (p = 0.003), CRT Angle 78.9° (IQR 78.3, 80.0) (p = 0.0006), CRT A10 67.6 mm (IQR 65.8, 69.6) (p = 0.007) and CFF A10 32.0 mm (IQR 26.8, 34.0) (p = 0.003). Mild COVID-19 patients had absent hypercoagulability in both CWA and TEG. 2 severe patients developed thromboembolic events while none occurred in the mild COVID-19 group. Mild COVID-19 patients show absent parameters of hypercoagulability in global haemostatic tests while those with severe COVID-19 demonstrated parameters associated with hypercoagulability on the global haemostatic tests together with raised D-Dimer, fibrinogen, Factor VIII and vWF levels.

Inclusive Leadership and Career Sustainability: Mediating Roles of Supervisor Developmental Feedback and Thriving at Work.

Career sustainability is a well-researched issue in academics and other sectors. Technology advancements and COVID-19 have jeopardized career sustainability. Numerous studies have explored the influence of individual characteristics on career sustainability, but few have focused on leadership. In addition, cultural factors must be considered because leadership is rooted in culture. In particular, inclusive leadership reflects traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, based on self-determination social exchange theories, we analyzed the effects of inclusive leadership on career sustainability as well as the roles of thriving at work and supervisor developmental feedback (SDF) in career sustainability. In total, 363 samples were collected from China. The results revealed that inclusive leadership improves career sustainability through SDF and thriving at work. Theoretically, our study fills the research gap and establishes a mechanism and theoretical framework for inclusive leadership and career sustainability. Practically, we offer guidance for enterprises to cultivate inclusive leadership and improve career sustainability.

Estimating the Prevalence of Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases and Their Contribution in Transmission - Using Henan Province, China, as an Example.

Background: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), is now sweeping across the world. A substantial proportion of infections only lead to mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, but the proportion and infectivity of asymptomatic infections remains unknown. In this paper, we proposed a model to estimate the proportion and infectivity of asymptomatic cases, using COVID-19 in Henan Province, China, as an example. Methods: We extended the conventional susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model by including asymptomatic, unconfirmed symptomatic, and quarantined cases. Based on this model, we used daily reported COVID-19 cases from January 21 to February 26, 2020, in Henan Province to estimate the proportion and infectivity of asymptomatic cases, as well as the change of effective reproductive number, R t . Results: The proportion of asymptomatic cases among COVID-19 infected individuals was 42% and the infectivity was 10% that of symptomatic ones. The basic reproductive number R 0 = 2.73, and R t dropped below 1 on January 31 under a series of measures. Conclusion: The spread of the COVID-19 epidemic was rapid in the early stage, with a large number of asymptomatic infected individuals having relatively low infectivity. However, it was quickly brought under control with national measures.

Immune memory in convalescent patients with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19.

It is important to evaluate the durability of the protective immune response elicited by primary infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we systematically evaluated the SARS-CoV-2-specific memory B cell and T cell responses in healthy controls and individuals recovered from asymptomatic or symptomatic infection approximately 6 months prior. Comparatively low frequencies of memory B cells specific for the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike glycoprotein (S) persisted in the peripheral blood of individuals who recovered from infection (median 0.62%, interquartile range 0.48-0.69). The SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific memory B cell response was detected in 2 of 13 individuals who recovered from asymptomatic infection and 10 of 20 individuals who recovered from symptomatic infection. T cell responses induced by S, membrane (M), and nucleocapsid (N) peptide libraries from SARS-CoV-2 were observed in individuals recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and cross-reactive T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 were also detected in healthy controls.

Vicarious traumatization in the general public, members, and non-members of medical teams aiding in COVID-19 control.

Since December 2019, more than 79,000 people have been diagnosed with infection of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A large number of medical staff was sent to Wuhan city and Hubei province to aid COVID-19 control. Psychological stress, especially vicarious traumatization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, should not be ignored. To address this concern, the study employed a total of 214 general public and 526 nurses (i.e., 234 front-line nurses and 292 non-front-line nurses) to evaluate vicarious traumatization scores via a mobile app-based questionnaire. Front-line nurses are engaged in the process of providing care for patients with COVID-19. The results showed that the vicarious traumatization scores for front-line nurses including scores for physiological and psychological responses, were significantly lower than those of non-front-line nurses (P < 0.001). Interestingly, the vicarious traumatization scores of the general public were significantly higher than those of the front-line nurses (P < 0.001); however, no statistical difference was observed compared to the scores of non-front-line nurses (P > 0.05). Therefore, increased attention should be paid to the psychological problems of the medical staff, especially non-front-line nurses, and general public under the situation of the spread and control of COVID-19. Early strategies that aim to prevent and treat vicarious traumatization in medical staff and general public are extremely necessary.