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2.
biorxiv; 2023.
Preprint in English | bioRxiv | ID: ppzbmed-10.1101.2023.07.11.548309

ABSTRACT

The SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) is an antiviral drug target that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the viral polyproteins pp1a/1ab, releasing the non-structural proteins (nsps) 1-3 that are essential for the coronavirus lifecycle. The LXGG{downarrow}X motif found in pp1a/1ab is crucial for recognition and cleavage by PLpro. We describe molecular dynamics, docking, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations to investigate how oligopeptide substrates derived from the viral polyprotein bind to PLpro. The results reveal how the substrate sequence affects the efficiency of PLpro-catalyzed hydrolysis. In particular, a proline at the P2'; position promotes catalysis, as validated by residue substitutions and mass spectrometry-based analyses. Analysis of PLpro catalyzed hydrolysis of LXGG motif-containing oligopeptides derived from human proteins suggests that factors beyond the LXGG motif and the presence of a proline residue at P2' contribute to catalytic efficiency, possibly reflecting the promiscuity of PLpro. The results will help in identifying PLpro substrates and guiding inhibitor design.

3.
Value in Health ; 26(6 Supplement):S322, 2023.
Article in English | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-20239345

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Many Americans experience continued symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to people who leave the workforce after experiencing COVID, those who remain employed may experience loss of productivity from short-term absences (absenteeism) and reduced productivity while working (presenteeism). We examined reported losses of work productivity among adults who reported physician-identified Long COVID. Method(s): We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of data from National Health and Wellness Survey (May-Aug 2022) respondents. We included employed adults who reported having experienced COVID in the past (no date specified), said their physician identified them as having Long COVID or COVID syndrome, and reported symptoms at the time of survey. Respondents were stratified by their magnitude of activity limitations reported on the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire;we describe responses for the lowest (LT) and highest tertiles (HT). Work productivity (absenteeism, presenteeism, overall work limitations from either absenteeism or presenteeism), and mental health (anxiety via General Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire, depression via Patient Health Questionnaire-9), were compared across tertiles. Result(s): Among 1036 Long COVID respondents meeting inclusion criteria, presenteeism ranged from 24.2% of LT respondents (n=291) to 92.8% of HT respondents (n=304), and absenteeism ranged from 12.7% (LT respondents) to 47.3% (HT respondents). Almost all (99.7%) HT respondents reported their overall work productivity was reduced by 50% or more while 26.7% of LT respondents reported the same. The prevalence of moderate-to-severe depression (92.4% vs. 37.8%) and moderate-to-severe anxiety (84.2% vs. 26.1%) was higher among HT relative to LT (all p<.001). Conclusion(s): Adults with Long COVID exhibit substantial heterogeneity in activity limitations;however, work limitations were substantial in all groups. Our results suggest significant economic impacts of Long COVID through lower productivity among those who remain employed. Further work with a comparison group is important to understand Long COVID-related work impairments, limitations, and disability.Copyright © 2023

4.
Blood ; 141(20): 2470-2482, 2023 05 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20242047

ABSTRACT

Relapse after CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy for large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is commonly ascribed to antigen loss or CAR-T exhaustion. Multiantigen targeting and programmed cell death protein-1 blockade are rational approaches to prevent relapse. Here, we test CD19/22 dual-targeting CAR-T (AUTO3) plus pembrolizumab in relapsed/refractory LBCL (NCT03289455). End points include toxicity (primary) and response rates (secondary). Fifty-two patients received AUTO3 and 48/52 received pembrolizumab. Median age was 59 years (range, 27-83), 46/52 had stage III/ IV disease and median follow-up was 21.6 months. AUTO3 was safe; grade 1-2 and grade 3 cytokine release syndrome affected 18/52 (34.6%) and 1/52 (1.9%) patients, neurotoxicity arose in 4 patients (2/4, grade 3-4), and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis affected 2 patients. Outpatient administration was tested in 20 patients, saving a median of 14 hospital days per patient. Overall response rates were 66% (48.9%, complete response [CR]; 17%, partial response). Median duration of remission (DOR) for CR patients was not reached and for all responding patients was 8.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.0-not evaluable). 54.4% (CI: 32.8-71.7) of CR patients and 42.6% of all responding patients were projected to remain progression-free at ≥12 months. AUTO3 ± pembrolizumab for relapsed/refractory LBCL was safe and delivered durable remissions in 54.4% of complete responders, associated with robust CAR-T expansion. Neither dual-targeting CAR-T nor pembrolizumab prevented relapse in a significant proportion of patients, and future developments include next-generation-AUTO3, engineered for superior expansion in vivo, and selection of CAR binders active at low antigen densities.


Subject(s)
Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse , Receptors, Chimeric Antigen , Humans , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy , Immunotherapy, Adoptive , T-Lymphocytes , Antigens, CD19 , Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 2
5.
Heliyon ; 9(6): e17259, 2023 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20241531

ABSTRACT

Background: Increasing the interval between the first and second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses enhances vaccine immunogenicity, however the optimal timing of the third vaccine is unknown. In this study, we investigated how the time interval between the first and second (V1-V2), or second and third (V2-V3) doses affects immunogenicity after three doses of the BNT162b2 (Comirnaty, Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine. Methods: This is an observational cohort consisting of 360 participants enrolled in the COVID-19 Occupational Risks, Seroprevalence, and Immunity among Paramedics in Canada (CORSIP) study. Immune responses to BA.1 and other variants were measured from serum using an ACE2 competitive binding assay for surrogate SARS-CoV-2 neutralization. We fit a multiple linear regression model to estimate the independent association between both the V1-V2 and V2-V3 intervals and serum SARS-CoV-2 neutralization, while adjusting for age, sex, and the V3-to-blood collection interval. We examined vaccine dosing intervals as continuous variables and categorized them into quartiles. Results: The mean age was 40 years, 45% were female sex (at birth), and the median BA.1 surrogate neutralization was 61% (IQR 38-77%). The multivariate analysis indicated that longer V1-V2 (ß = 0.1292, 95% CI: 0.04807-0.2104) and V2-V3 (ß = 0.2653, 95% CI: 0.2291-0.3015) intervals were associated with increased surrogate neutralization of BA.1. These results were consistent when examining responses against Spike from other SARS-CoV-2 strains. When categorized into V2-V3 quartiles, the first (56-231 days), and second (231-266 days) quartiles demonstrated decreased BA.1 surrogate neutralization compared to the longest V2-V3 quartile (282-329 days). There was no significant difference in surrogate neutralization between the long (266-282 days) and longest (282-329 days) V2-V3 intervals. Conclusion: Longer intervals between first, second and third doses are independently associated with increased immunogenicity for all tested SARS-CoV-2 strains. Increasing the intervals between the second and third vaccine doses up to 8.9 months provided additive benefits increasing the immunogenicity of BNT162b2 vaccine schedules.

6.
Front Psychol ; 14: 1037450, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20239617

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the spread of abundant misinformation by the media, which caused fear and concern. Objective: To determine the association between the pathologies of the mental sphere and the perceptions of fear and exaggeration transmitted by the media with respect to COVID-19 in Latin America. Methodology: The present study has an analytical cross-sectional design that is based on a validated survey to measure fear and exaggeration transmitted by the media and other sources (Cronbach's α: 0.90). We surveyed more than 6,000 people, originally from 12 Latin American countries, who associated this perceived exaggeration with stress, depression, and anxiety (measured through DASS-21, Cronbach's α: 0.96). Results: Social networks (40%) or television (34%) were perceived as the sources that exaggerate the magnitude of the events. In addition, television (35%) and social networks (28%) were perceived as the sources that generate much fear. On the contrary, physicians and health personnel are the sources that exaggerated less (10%) or provoked less fear (14%). Through a multivariate model, we found a higher level of global perception that was associated with whether the participant was older (p = 0.002), had severe or more serious anxiety (p = 0.033), or had stress (p = 0,037). However, in comparison with Peru (the most affected country), there was a lower level of perception in Chile (p < 0.001), Paraguay (p = 0.001), Mexico (p < 0.001), Ecuador (p = 0.001), and Costa Rica (p = 0.042). All of them were adjusted for gender and for those having severe or major depression. Conclusion: There exists an association between some mental pathologies and the perception that the media does not provide moderate information.

8.
Transylvanian Review ; 31:145-157, 2022.
Article in English | Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2328043

ABSTRACT

This article sets out to chart various aspects of the relationship between COVID-19 fake news and the process of translation by analyzing how several English-language deceptive reports were rendered into Romanian. In Romania, the emergence of the novel coronavirus coincided with a surge of interest in the fake news phenomenon among experts, the wider public, and most notably, the country's authorities, which blocked fake news websites temporarily in an effort to combat the infodemic. However, neither the Decree which instituted this measure nor the existing research into the phenomenon distinguishes between original and translated reports, which led to criticism regarding the extent to which the intent to disinform is provable in the case of such articles. In the present essay, the author argues, through case studies, that the higher the level of human input and localization, the higher the chances that a translated fake news report can successfully be proven to be part of a disinformation agenda.

9.
Lecture Notes in Educational Technology ; : 1289-1295, 2023.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2324562

ABSTRACT

Many careers have changed since COVID-19 appeared. In education in particular, the use of ICT tools increased in quite a disorderly manner, and the expansion of these tools opened new opportunities to update the ways of teaching and learning. ICT tools have been used for a long time in education, but they have often been used just as support tools without any academic purpose and without achieving their full potential. If we focus on teaching foreign languages, ICT has given us the opportunity to see and experience other cultures, as well as to live experiences close to a real-life immersion, facilitating the understanding of the use of language and giving everyone a chance to learn in context. This does not only include videos or music;nowadays, we can use and connect many resources including videogames, social media, and blogs, among others. And here is where we can find great potential for development. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to present the plan for a doctoral thesis and its status, as well as some notes on the context, main motivation, literature, and methodology to be used for creating resources that help improve the 21st-century teaching and learning experience. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

10.
International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases ; 130:S10-S10, 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2323405

ABSTRACT

Intro The concept of training immunity originally developed for other diseases has gained attraction during the epidemic. Several clinical trials and epidemiological analyses of populations previously immunized with BCG and other vaccines were the focus of scientific discussions. Here we show the activation of innate immunity markers both at mucosal and systemic levels with a mucosal vaccine CIGB2020 (HeberNasvacTM) containing virus-like particles (HBsAg) and nucleocapsid particle (HBcAg) of the hepatitis B virus. Moreover, the immune potentiating capacity of the HBcAg combined with RBD protein was used to formulate a specific mucosal vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 (MambisaTM). Methods With CIGB 2020 (100µg HBsAg and 100 µg HBcAg) were conducted two proof of concept trials in human volunteers and a Phase I-II open, randomized, and controlled trial in 46 volunteers older than 60 years, symptomatic or close contact of COVID-19 patients. The volunteers were randomly assigned to the treatment group or not treated group. The nasal spray was administered to the treatment group on days 0, 7, and 14 together with daily sublingual administrations. Mucosal and serum samples were collected on days 0, 4, and 8. With MambisaTM vaccine (50µg RBD and 40 µg HBcAg) was conducted one proof of concept trial and a Phase I-II open and randomized trial in 1131 volunteers 19 to 60 years old, evaluating three different devices for nasal administration. All the volunteers gave written informed consent. Findings CIGB2020 activates interferon-induced genes and TLR 3, 7, and 8 at the level of oropharyngeal mucosa and PBMC. Monocyte and lymphocyte populations were also activated. One dose of the MambisaTM vaccine induces high levels of specific IgG. The serum and mucosal antibodies show RBD-ACE2 binding inhibition capacity and neutralization activity. Conclusion Nasal immunization exhibits advantages in inducing immunity at the level of the nasopharyngeal mucosa in addition to the systemic response.

11.
International Journal of Infectious Diseases ; 130(Supplement 2):S9-S10, 2023.
Article in English | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2323404

ABSTRACT

Intro: With the first case of COVID-19 in Cuba on March 11, 2020, the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana began an extensive vaccine program. Two vaccines based on RBD recombinant protein were developed, one for systemic administration "Abdala" and one mucosal vaccine "Mambisa". Abdala received the EUA in July 2021 and "Mambisa" completed its clinical development as a booster dose for convalescent subjects. Method(s): Two doses (25 and 50 microg) and two schedules (0-14-28 and 1-28-56 days) were evaluated in phase I clinical trials with volunteers 19 to 54 years old. The phase II and III clinical trials were also double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled, and included respectively 660 and 48,000 volunteers from 19 to 80 years. The anti-RBD titers were evaluated using a quantitative ELISA system developed at the Center for Immunoassay, Havana Cuba, and ELECSYS system from Roche. The RBD to ACE2 plate-based binding competitive ELISA was performed to determine the inhibitory activity of the anti-RBD polyclonal sera on the binding of the hFc-ACE2 coated plates. The neutralization antibody titers were detected by a traditional virus microneutralization assay (MN50). Finding(s): The Abdala vaccine reached 92.28% efficacy. The epidemic was frankly under control in Cuba after the vaccine introduction having reached the highest levels of cases and mortality in July 2021 with the dominance of the Delta strain. The peak of the Omicron wave, unlike other countries, did not reach half of the cases of the Delta wave with a significant reduction in mortality. The mucosal vaccine candidate "Mambisa" completed its clinical development as a booster dose for convalescent subjects reaching the trial end-point. Conclusion(s): Vaccine composition based on RBD recombinant antigen alone is sufficient to achieve high vaccine efficacy comparable to mRNA and live vaccine platforms. The vaccine also protects against different viral variants including Delta and Omicron strains.Copyright © 2023

12.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ; 11, 2023.
Article in English | Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2325462

ABSTRACT

Wild meat hunting and trade across African savannas is widespread. We interviewed 299 people in rural settlements along the Kenya-Tanzania border to examine impacts of COVID-19 on wild meat consumption and perceptions about wild meat activities associated with zoonotic disease risks. Education level played a key part in understanding COVID-19 transmission. Information about the pandemic was mostly acquired from the media. Nearly all respondents recognized that COVID-19 originated in China. As many as 70% reported no impact of COVID-19 on wild meat consumption;some believed that there was an increase. Over half of the respondents believed that consumption of wild meat leads to food-borne illnesses. Respondents recognized disease risks such as anthrax and brucellosis and accepted that people slaughtering and handling wild meat with open cuts were at greater risk. Ungulates were the most consumed animals, followed by birds, rodents, and shrews. Respondents perceived that hyenas, monkeys, donkeys, and snakes were riskier to eat. More than 90% of the respondents understood that handwashing with soap reduces risks of disease transmission. Country level (11 answers), education and gender (three answers each) and household economy (158 answers) were significant. Country differences were linked to differences in nature legislation;50% of Kenyan respondents believed that wild meat should not be sold because of conservation concerns. Men were more worried about getting COVID-19 from live animals and perceived that wildlife should not be sold because of conservation reasons. Overall, there was a very strong inclination to stop buying wild meat if other meats were less expensive. Our results allow us to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on wild meat-related activities. Differences between countries can frame the attitudes to wild meat since wild meat trade and consumption were found to be country specific.

13.
Nat Chem ; 15(7): 998-1005, 2023 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2324972

ABSTRACT

γ-Amino acids can play important roles in the biological activities of natural products; however, the ribosomal incorporation of γ-amino acids into peptides is challenging. Here we report how a selection campaign employing a non-canonical peptide library containing cyclic γ2,4-amino acids resulted in the discovery of very potent inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). Two kinds of cyclic γ2,4-amino acids, cis-3-aminocyclobutane carboxylic acid (γ1) and (1R,3S)-3-aminocyclopentane carboxylic acid (γ2), were ribosomally introduced into a library of thioether-macrocyclic peptides. One resultant potent Mpro inhibitor (half-maximal inhibitory concentration = 50 nM), GM4, comprising 13 residues with γ1 at the fourth position, manifests a 5.2 nM dissociation constant. An Mpro:GM4 complex crystal structure reveals the intact inhibitor spans the substrate binding cleft. The γ1 interacts with the S1' catalytic subsite and contributes to a 12-fold increase in proteolytic stability compared to its alanine-substituted variant. Knowledge of interactions between GM4 and Mpro enabled production of a variant with a 5-fold increase in potency.


Subject(s)
Amino Acids , COVID-19 , Amino Acids/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Carboxylic Acids , Peptides/chemistry , Protease Inhibitors/chemistry , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Protein Conformation , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism
14.
Respirology ; 28(Supplement 2):214, 2023.
Article in English | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2319657

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Breathlessness is a common symptom in clinical practice and in many prevalent diseases including chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), asthma, heart failure, lung cancers and post COVID-19 syndrome. Understanding patients' experience of living with breathlessness, their expectations of care and self-management needs is essential to support development of health services and resources that meet their needs. Aim(s): To explore the perspectives of patients and their careers, on living with chronic breathlessness, provision and quality of medical care, and accessing information and resources to assist self-management. The study also explored their views on three evidence-based breathlessness patient education materials (PEMs). Method(s): Qualitative study involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 patients living with chronic breathlessness (>=2 weeks) and their careers. Topics explored included: (1) experience living with breathlessness;(2) current medical care experience and their expectations;and (3) self-management resources, needs and views on some current publicly available PEMs. Result(s): Fourteen patients (cardiac, respiratory, and non-cardiorespiratory) and two carers (50% female) were interviewed (mean age 57 years). Twelve main themes were identified - (1) Breathlessness controls their lives, (2) Breathlessness avoidance and the vicious cycle, (3) Coping vs Fatalism, (4) Feeling misunderstood by their surroundings and health providers, (5) Diagnostic delays, misdiagnosis, and knowledge gaps, (6) Discontinuity of care, (7) Focus on pharmacologic management of breathlessness, (8) Demand for choice, non-pharmacologic options and support, (9) Beyond curing disease: symptom relief and improving quality of life as a goal, (10) Being more aware and in control of their disease, (11) Self-management and limited support for it, and (12) Resources they would value. Conclusion(s): Breathlessness remains a neglected condition in Australia. Patients suffer from lack of clinician and community awareness, discontinuity of care, and too few clinical and self-management options.

15.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities ; 2022 May 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2317362

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Recognizing the disproportionate rates of COVID-19 infection and death experienced by Filipinxs in the USA, this study examines whether data disaggregation reveals meaningful differences between Filipinxs, non-Asians, and other groups often aggregated into the problematic "Asian and Pacific Islander" category across a series of social and health variables associated with COVID-19 risk. METHODS: Using data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS, 2017-18; N = 42,330) and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH, 2018-19; N = 135,516), we ran chi-squared tests yielding Wald F-values to compare Filipinxs with other "Asians and Pacific islanders" and non-Asians across 10 social and 4 health-related variables. Health conditions included asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, and high blood pressure. RESULTS: Filipinxs were much more likely to report diabetes (CHIS: 12.6%; NSDUH: 14.4%) than other Asian/PI respondents (8.4%; 8.0%) or non-Asians (10.8%; 10.1%), as well as asthma and high blood pressure. Filipinxs were also disproportionately employed in the healthcare and service occupations (CHIS: 36.7%) in comparison to other Asian/PI respondents (19.0%) and non-Asians (22.4%). DISCUSSION: Across several variables, Filipinxs have less in common with other Asians and Pacific Islanders than with non-Asians. Combining these groups can obscure patterns that affect health and the risks of contracting or dying from COVID-19.

16.
Revista Espanola de Nutricion Comunitaria ; 28(2), 2022.
Article in Spanish | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2306374

ABSTRACT

Background: The aim of this research was to explore how food insecurity affected food behavior prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (year 2018-2019) in a sample of people residing in nine administrative regions of Venezuela. Method(s): 1099 people aged between 17 and 75 years participated, with a majority residing in the Andes, Capital and Central regions of the country. A reduced version of a modified national survey on living conditions (Encovi-2017) composed of 11 questions was administered. Estimates with chi square (chi2) were made to verify associations between the characteristics of the sample (age, region of origin and sex) with the approaches of the administered survey. Result(s): A high degree of food insecurity was observed as people reported concerns about food access (88.95%), or lack of them (55.79%), periods of food deprivation and alteration of eating patterns. Those participants under 21 years were more likely to alter their daily intake pattern (p = 0.01), with women being the most affected in terms of the family running out of food in the last three months (p = 0.020) and if in the last trimester a whole day had gone without eating (p = 0.05). Conclusion(s): The study shows that women and young people under 21 years of age or middle-aged adults and inhabitants of the Capital region turn out to be the people most affected by food insecurity as they consumed less food or ate fewer servings per day. The data reveal a worsening of the food situation.Copyright © 2022 Sociedad Espanola de Nutricion Comunitaria. All rights reserved.

17.
Economic Analysis and Policy ; 78:648-660, 2023.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2299648

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the market persistence and mean reversion properties for corn, bioethanol and gasoline prices in the US biofuel industry, evaluating long memory effects with fractional integration techniques from January 1982 to May 2022 with USDA data. Empirical results show evidence of no mean reversion properties for the prices in the three series though some support of it is found when the differences of bioethanol and gasoline are taken with respect to corn. Thus, external shocks in the original series are expected to remain persistent and would require additional policy measures to recover the original trend. Furthermore, the impact of Covid on the time series has been analyzed by comparing the scenarios pre and post pandemic, finding evidence of no major changes in the integration orders in all the series under analysis. © 2023 Economic Society of Australia, Queensland

18.
Nature Human Behaviour ; 6(2):181-182, 2022.
Article in English | APA PsycInfo | ID: covidwho-2299047

ABSTRACT

Vaccination has been the most successful tool in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Given this success, during mass vaccination campaigns many countries resolved to relax other protective measures such as enforced social (or physical) distancing. However, the continued viral evolution of SARS-CoV-2 raises concerns that vaccine resistance will emerge. Several variants, such as Delta or Omicron, are already partially resistant to current vaccines. Therefore, we sought to quantify the probability of the emergence of vaccine resistance, given the speed and penetrance of vaccination campaigns and given the dynamic social distancing applied (which allows a fixed number of new infections per day to determine the strength of the distancing measures). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

19.
An Sist Sanit Navar ; 44(2): 243-252, 2021 Aug 20.
Article in Spanish | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2291099

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To describe the number of visits (total and per COVID-19) attended by the Spanish hospital emergency departments (EDs) during the first wave of the pandemic (March-April 2020) compared to the same period in 2019, and to calculate the quantitative changes in healthcare activity and investigate the possible influence of hospital size and COVID-19 seroprevalence. METHOD: Cross-sectional study that analyzes the number of visits to Spanish public EDs, reported through a survey of ED chiefs during the study periods. Changes in healthcare activity were described in each autonomous community and com-pared according to hospital size and the provincial impact of the pandemic. RESULTS: A total of 187 (66?%) of the 283 Spanish EDs participated in the study. The total number of patients attended de-creased to 49.2?% (

Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Emergency Service, Hospital , Pandemics , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Seroepidemiologic Studies
20.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol ; 107(10): 3329-3339, 2023 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2295184

ABSTRACT

Pandemics like SARS-Cov-2 very frequently have their origin in different animals and in particular herds of camels could be a source of zoonotic diseases. This study took advantage on a highly sensitive and adaptable method for the fast and reliable detection of viral antibodies in camels using low-cost equipment. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) have high variability in their functionalization with different peptides and proteins. We confirm that 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES)-coated MNP could be functionalized with viral proteins. The protein loading could be confirmed by simple loading controls using FACS-analysis (p < 0.05). Complementary combination of antigen and antibody yields in a significant signal increase could be proven by both FACS and COMPASS. However, COMPASS needs only a few seconds for the measurement. In COMPASS, the phase φn on selected critical point of the fifth higher harmonic (n = 5th). Here, positive sera display highly significant signal increase over the control or negative sera. Furthermore, a clear distinction could be made in antibody detection as an immune response to closely related viruses (SARS-CoV2 and MERS). Using modified MNPs along with COMPASS offers a fast and reliable method that is less cost intensive than current technologies and offers the possibility to be quickly adapted in case of new occurring viral infections. KEY POINTS: • COMPASS (critical offset magnetic particle spectroscopy) allows the fast detection of antibodies. • Magnetic nanoparticles can be adapted by exchange of the linked bait molecule. • Antibodies could be detected in camel sera without washing steps within seconds.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus , Animals , Antibodies, Viral , Camelus , RNA, Viral , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus/genetics , SARS-CoV-2 , Spectrum Analysis , Magnetic Phenomena
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