Comparison of Atmospheric Environment in China during Sars and Covid-19 Pandemics

Satellite remote sensing has advantages in monitoring environmental changes during the global pandemics such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS) and the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this paper, the variations of atmospheric environment during SARS and COVID-19 pandemics were calculated and analyzed based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Atmosphere Monthly Global Product. Preliminary results show that: (1) aerosol optical depth is most affected by the pandemics, especially the duration and prevention and control measures;(2) the correlations between the variables of aerosol optical depth, cloud fraction, total column ozone and precipitable water vapor were not very strong during the two pandemics.

Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Atmospheric Environment over China: A Satellite Perspective

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has lasted for more than two years, has had a huge impact on human health and the global economy, as well as the ecological environment. In this study, the variations of atmospheric environment over China from 2019 to 2020 were calculated and analyzed based on the measured total columns of ozone (O-3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA's Aura satellite. The study shows the impact of the epidemic prevention and control measures and the resumption of work and production on atmospheric environment, and demonstrates that satellite remote sensing can play an important role in the monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially its impact on atmospheric environment.

Bioinformatics analysis on structure and function and expression vector construction of SARS-CoV-2 related protein TMPRSS2

Aim Human TMPRSS2 is a transmembrane serine protease.In this paper, the structure and function of the protein were systematically analyzed by bioinformatics, the codon was optimized and the pro- karvotie expression vector was constructed to explore the molecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infecting host cells.Methods The recombinant expression vector pET-22b-TMPRSS2 was generated by molecular cloning technology.The homology, functional sites, subcellular localization, three-dimensional structure and evolutionary characteristics of TMPRSS2 protein were systematically analyzed by using analytical tools such as Protparam, NetPhos3.1, Blast, Clustal X2 and MEGA7.0.Results The prokarvotic expression plas- mid was constructed correctly;TMPRSS2 belongs to medium molecular weight protein, which is composed of 492 amino acid residues.The theoretical isoelectric point is 8.12, the molecular extinction coefficient is 118 145 L * mol~1 * cm"1 , and the half-life is 30 h;TMPRSS2 has 15 potential glycosylation sites and 49 possible phosphorylation sites.It is a transmembrane hydrophilie protein without signal sequenee.In addition, the protein has 13 potential B-cell epitopes and 7 T-eell epitopes.Seeondarv structure analysis showed that random coil accounted for the highest proportion of TMPRSS2 protein ( 0.453 3) , followed by extended strand (0.252 0).Sequence comparison and evolutionary analysis showed that the highest sequence consistency and closest genetic relationship with human TMPRSS2 was Pan troglodytes, followed by gorilla.Conclusions Human-derived TMPRSS2 protein is ev- olutionarilv conserved and functionally important.Hie results of this study can help to reveal the structure and mechanism of action of TMPRSS2 protein, provide ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of COYID-19, and accelerate the research and development process of new drugs targeting TMPRSS2 protein. Copyright © 2022 Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.

Discovery of a novel SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor by a simple and optimized colorimetric screening assay

For rapid discovery of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease (Mpro) inhibitors from a natural product library, a novel colorimetric screening assay was developed. According to the colorimetric principle, the synthetic peptide TSAVLQ-para-nitroanilide (pNA) was used as the Mpro hydrolysis substrate. Subsequently, the working concentration of pNA substrate, Mpro working concentration, hydrolysis time and DMSO tolerance were optimized for the development of a simple and robust colorimetric screening assay. Through these systematic optimizations, we selected 0.4 mumol.L-1 Mpro and 100 mumol.L-1 pNA substrate as the optimal working concentrations in this colorimetric screening assay, and a high Z' factor of 0.9 was achieved. Using this screening assay, natural product ginkgolic acid C13: 0 (GA13: 0) was identified as a novel competitive Mpro inhibitor in vitro. Taken together, we have successfully developed a simple and optimized colorimetric screening assay, which will be vital for the discovery of novel SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. Copyright © 2022, Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. All rights reserved.

[Psychological and behavioral functioning of children and adolescents during long-term home-schooling].

Objective: To study the characteristics and risk factors of psychological and behavioral problems of children and adolescents of different ages and genders in long-term home-schooling during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Further, to provide scientific basis for more targeted psychological intervention and coping strategies in the future. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire was conducted on students aged 6-16 years old in five representative cities of North (Beijing), East (Shanghai), West (Chongqing), South (Guangzhou) and Middle (Wuhan) in China. In this study, the social behavior and psychological abnormalities which was defined as the positive of any dimension were investigated in multiple dimensions during long-term home-schooling. The influencing factors of psycho-behavioral problems were analyzed by Logistic regression, and the confounding factors were corrected with graded multivariable adjustment. Results: A total of 6 906 valid questionnaires were collected including 3 592 boys and 3 314 girls, of whom 3 626 were children (6-11 years old) and 3 280 were adolescents (12-16 years old). The positive detection rate of psychosocial-behavioral problems were 13.0% (900/6 906) totally, 9.6% (344/3 592) in boys and 16.8% (556/3 314) in girls respectively, and 7.3%(142/1 946) in boys aged 6-11, 14.0%(235/1 680) in girls aged 6-11, 12.3%(202/1 646) in boys aged 12-16, 19.6%(321/1 634) in girls aged 12-16 respectively. There were significant differences between the psychological problems group and the non-psychological problems group in gender, parent-offspring conflict, number of close friends, family income change, sedentary time, homework time, screen exposure time, physical activity, dietary problems (χ²=78.851, 285.264, 52.839, 26.284, 22.778, 11.024, 10.688, 36.814, 70.982, all P<0.01). The most common symptoms in boys aged 6-11 years were compulsive activity, schizoid and depression, in girls aged 6-11 years were schizoid/compulsive activity, hyperactivity and social withdrawal, in boys aged 12-16 years were hyperactivity, compulsive activity and aggressive behavior, and in girls aged 12-16 years were schizoid, anxiety/compulsive activity and depression/withdrawal, respectively. After graded multivariable adjustment, besides the common risk factors, homework time and online study time were the risk factors of 6-11 years old groups [boys OR(95%CI): 1.750 (1.32-2.32), 1.214(1.00-1.47), girls: 1.579(1.25-1.99), 1.222(1.05-1.42), all P<0.05], videogames time were the risk factors of 12-16 years old groups [ boys: 2.237 (1.60-3.13), girls: 1.272 (1.00-1.61), all P<0.05]. Conclusions: Some children and adolescents may have psychological and behavioral problems during long-term home-schooling. The psychological and behavioral manifestations differed in age and gender subgroups, which deserve special attention in each subgroups. Schools, families and specialists should actively provide precise psychological support and comprehensive intervention strategies according to special features and risk factors.

The Distribution of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the Intervention Strategies Targeting the Binding Process of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2

SARS-CoV-2, which is similar to SARS-CoV, can bind to human cell surface receptor ACE2 through its S-protein, sequentially infecting human cells such as respiratory epithelial cells or corneal and conjunctival tissues, thereby invading the human body. Recent studies have shown that organs with high expression levels of ACE2 protein, such as kidneys and lungs, are more vulnerable to virus damage. Therefore, lots of efforts have been devoted to the development of drugs targeting the combination of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2. This paper reviewed the most recently published literatures that related to ACE2 and coronavirus infection, with an emphasis on ACE2, especially its distribution in vivo and organ damages of the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as recent progress of drug development targeting the binding process of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2. This paper aimed to shed some light on clinically fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Study on mechanism of Shengmai Injection against novel coronavirus pneumonia based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology

Objective: To explore the potential material basis of Shengmai Injection for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. Methods : The active compounds of Shengmai Injection were screened by TCMSP and BATMAN-TCM database. The action target was predicted by TCMSP and Targetnet online database, and the active component-action target network diagram was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.1;Taking "coronavirus pneumonia" as the keyword, coronavirus-related disease targets were searched in GeneCards database and OMIM database. The common target was selected by intersection with the target of Shengmai Injection as the research target. The common target was imported into STRING database to obtain data, and then the protein-protein interaction network map was constructed in Cytoscape 3.7.1 software;The enrichment analysis of GO function and KEGG pathway was carried out by using R language to predict its action mechanism and construct the "component-target-pathway" network diagram;Molecular docking analysis of key targets was carried out by DiscoveryStudio 2.5 software. Results: A total of 22 active compounds were obtained from Shengmai Injection. They were DNOP, β-sitosterol, angeloylgomisin O, gomisin A, gomisin R, wuweizisu C, interiotherin B, changnanic acid, kadsulactone, kadsulignan B, neokadsuranic acid A, neokadsuranic acid B, neokadsuranic acid C, neokadsuranin, schisanlactone A, schisanlactone E, schizandronic acid, uridine, diosgenin, guanosine, N-trans-feruloyltyramine and stigmasterol. There were 224 corresponding targets and 16 common targets with COVID-19, namely CASP3, CASP8, PTGS2, BCL2, BAX, PRKCA, PTGS1, PIK3CG, F10, NOS3, DPP4, NOS2, TLR9, ACE, ICAM1 and PRKCE. The key targets were CASP3, PTGS2, NOS2, NOS3 and ICAM1. GO functional enrichment analysis showed that there were 771 entries for biological processes, 11 entries for cell composition and 79 items for molecular function. A total of 67 signal pathways were screened by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, which were mainly related to AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, apoptosis-multiple species, p53 signaling pathway, small cell lung cancer, and so on. The results of molecular docking showed that the components with better docking with the key targets were schisanlactone E, stigmasterol and N-trans-feruloyltyramine. Conclusion: The active compounds in Shengmai Injection, such as schisanlactone E, stigmasterol, N-trans-feruloyltyramine, can act on CASP3, PTGS2, NOS2, NOS3 and other targets to regulate multiple signaling pathways for anti-inflammatory, immune regulation, anti-shock and increasing blood oxygen saturation. This may play a role in the treatment of COVID-19.