A Social Cognitive Theory Approach to Understanding Parental Attitudes and Intentions to Vaccinate Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine represents a path towards global health after a worldwide pandemic. Yet, the U.S. response to the vaccination rollout has been politically polarized. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the contextual factors that influence parents' attitudes towards health officials and their intention to vaccinate children, focusing on communication behaviors, personal factors, and geographic locations. We use Bandura's triadic reciprocal determinism (TRD) model which posits reciprocal influence between personal factors, environmental factors, and behaviors. We found that personal factors (having younger children and identifying as Republican partisans), and the behavioral factor of conservative news use were significantly related to more negative attitudes towards health officials and lower vaccination intentions. Conversely, Democrats and liberal news use were significantly related to warmer attitudes and greater vaccination intentions. The environmental factor of geographic location across four states with different partisan dynamics was not significantly related to attitudes and behavioral intentions. Results from a post-hoc analysis show that news media use and partisanship were the strongest correlates of parents' attitudes towards health officials. This evidence points to the politicization of the COVID-19 vaccine being a key consideration regarding vaccine uptake.

Mitochondrial regulation of acute extrafollicular B-cell responses to COVID-19 severity.

BACKGROUND: Patients with COVID-19 display a broad spectrum of manifestations from asymptomatic to life-threatening disease with dysregulated immune responses. Mechanisms underlying the detrimental immune responses and disease severity remain elusive. METHODS: We investigated a total of 137 APs infected with SARS-CoV-2. Patients were divided into mild and severe patient groups based on their requirement of oxygen supplementation. All blood samples from APs were collected within three weeks after symptom onset. Freshly isolated PBMCs were investigated for B cell subsets, their homing potential, activation state, mitochondrial functionality and proliferative response. Plasma samples were tested for cytokine concentration, and titer of Nabs, RBD-, S1-, SSA/Ro- and dsDNA-specific IgG. RESULTS: While critically ill patients displayed predominantly extrafollicular B cell activation with elevated inflammation, mild patients counteracted the disease through the timely induction of mitochondrial dysfunction in B cells within the first week post symptom onset. Rapidly increased mitochondrial dysfunction, which was caused by infection-induced excessive intracellular calcium accumulation, suppressed excessive extrafollicular responses, leading to increased neutralizing potency index and decreased inflammatory cytokine production. Patients who received prior COVID-19 vaccines before infection displayed significantly decreased extrafollicular B cell responses and mild disease. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal an immune mechanism that controls SARS-CoV-2-induced detrimental B cell responses and COVID-19 severity, which may have implications for viral pathogenesis, therapeutic interventions and vaccine development.

[Psychological and behavioral problems in children and adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic: a Scoping review]. / æ–°åž‹å† çŠ¶ç— æ¯’è‚ºç‚Žæµè¡ŒæœŸé—´å„¿ç«¥å’Œé’å°‘å¹´çš„å¿ƒç†è¡Œä¸ºé—®é¢˜ï¼šScoping综述.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the psychological and behavioral problems and related influencing factors in children and adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. METHODS: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched using the method of subject search for articles published up to March 31, 2022, and related data were extracted for Scoping review. RESULTS: A total of 3 951 articles were retrieved, and 35 articles from 12 countries were finally included. Most of the articles were from the journals related to pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, and epidemiology, and cross-sectional survey was the most commonly used research method. Psychological and behavioral problems in children and adolescents mainly included depression/anxiety/stress, sleep disorder, internet behavior problems, traumatic stress disorder, and self-injury/suicide. Influencing factors were analyzed from the three aspects of socio-demographic characteristics, changes in living habits, and ways of coping with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 epidemic, the psychological and behavioral problems of children and adolescents in China and overseas are severe. In the future, further investigation and research can be carried out based on relevant influencing factors to improve the psychological and behavioral problems.

Modeling, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Potential Retinoid-X-Receptor (RXR) Selective Agonists: Analogs of 4-[1-(3,5,5,8,8-Pentamethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahyro-2-naphthyl)ethynyl]benzoic Acid (Bexarotene) and 6-(Ethyl(4-isobutoxy-3-isopropylphenyl)amino)nicotinic Acid (NEt-4IB).

Five novel analogs of 6-(ethyl)(4-isobutoxy-3-isopropylphenyl)amino)nicotinic acid-or NEt-4IB-in addition to seven novel analogs of 4-[1-(3,5,5,8,8-pentamethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)ethynyl]benzoic acid (bexarotene) were prepared and evaluated for selective retinoid-X-receptor (RXR) agonism alongside bexarotene (1), a FDA-approved drug for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Bexarotene treatment elicits side-effects by provoking or disrupting other RXR-dependent pathways. Analogs were assessed by the modeling of binding to RXR and then evaluated in a human cell-based RXR-RXR mammalian-2-hybrid (M2H) system as well as a RXRE-controlled transcriptional system. The analogs were also tested in KMT2A-MLLT3 leukemia cells and the EC50 and IC50 values were determined for these compounds. Moreover, the analogs were assessed for activation of LXR in an LXRE system as drivers of ApoE expression and subsequent use as potential therapeutics in neurodegenerative disorders, and the results revealed that these compounds exerted a range of differential LXR-RXR activation and selectivity. Furthermore, several of the novel analogs in this study exhibited reduced RARE cross-signaling, implying RXR selectivity. These results demonstrate that modification of partial agonists such as NEt-4IB and potent rexinoids such as bexarotene can lead to compounds with improved RXR selectivity, decreased cross-signaling of other RXR-dependent nuclear receptors, increased LXRE-heterodimer selectivity, and enhanced anti-proliferative potential in leukemia cell lines compared to therapeutics such as 1.

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks neutralizing dimeric IgA for enhanced nasal infection and injury (preprint)

Robust severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in nasal turbinate (NT) accounts for high viral transmissibility, yet whether neutralizing IgA antibodies can control it remains unknown. Here, we evaluated receptor binding domain (RBD)-specific monomeric B8-mIgA1 and B8-mIgA2, and dimeric B8-dIgA1 and B8-dIgA2 against intranasal SARS-CoV-2 challenge in Syrian hamsters. These antibodies exhibited comparably potent neutralization against authentic virus by competing with human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor for RBD binding. While reducing viruses in lungs, pre-exposure intranasal B8-dIgA1 or B8-dIgA2 led to 81-fold more infectious viruses and severer damage in NT than placebo. Virus-bound B8-dIgA1 and B8-dIgA2 could engage CD209 as an alternative receptor for entry into ACE2-negative cells and allowed viral cell-to-cell transmission. Cryo-EM revealed B8 as a class II neutralizing antibody binding trimeric RBDs in 3-up or 2-up/1-down conformation. Therefore, RBD-specific neutralizing dIgA engages an unexpected action for enhanced SARS-CoV-2 nasal infection and injury in Syrian hamsters.

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks neutralizing dimeric IgA for enhanced nasal infection and injury (preprint)

Robust severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in nasal turbinate (NT) accounts for high viral transmissibility, yet whether neutralizing IgA antibodies can control it remains unknown. Here, we evaluated receptor binding domain (RBD)-specific monomeric B8-mIgA1 and B8-mIgA2, and dimeric B8-dIgA1 and B8-dIgA2 against intranasal SARS-CoV-2 challenge in Syrian hamsters. These antibodies exhibited comparably potent neutralization against authentic virus by competing with human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor for RBD binding. While reducing viruses in lungs, pre-exposure intranasal B8-dIgA1 or B8-dIgA2 led to 81-fold more infectious viruses and severer damage in NT than placebo. Virus-bound B8-dIgA1 and B8-dIgA2 could engage CD209 as an alternative receptor for entry into ACE2-negative cells and allowed viral cell-to-cell transmission. Cryo-EM revealed B8 as a class II neutralizing antibody binding trimeric RBDs in 3-up or 2-up/1-down conformation. Therefore, RBD-specific neutralizing dIgA engages an unexpected action for enhanced SARS-CoV-2 nasal infection and injury in Syrian hamsters.

Outcomes of atrial fibrillation in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recently, emerging evidence has suggested that atrial fibrillation (AF) has an epidemiological correlation with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the clinical outcomes of AF in COVID-19 remain inconsistent and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of the impact of AF on the prognosis of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched for eligible studies as of March 1, 2021. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the associations between AF (preexisting and new-onset) and in-hospital mortality, post-discharge mortality, and ventilator use. RESULTS: A total of 36 individual studies were incorporated into our meta-analysis. The combined results revealed that preexisting AF was associated with increased in-hospital mortality (pooled OR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.60-2.67; p < 0.001), post-discharge mortality (pooled OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.24-5.83; p < 0.05), and ventilator utilization (pooled OR: 4.53; 95% CI: 1.33-15.38; p < 0.05) in patients with COVID-19. In addition, our data demonstrated that new-onset AF during severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection was significantly correlated with increased mortality (pooled OR: 2.38; 95% CI: 2.04-2.77; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of AF is correlated with adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, which deserves increased attention and should be managed appropriately to prevent adverse outcomes.

Maternal mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on breastfeeding women and to identify predictors of maternal mental health and coping. METHODS: Mothers aged ≥ 18 years with a breast-fed infant ≤ 18 months of age during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China, completed a questionnaire. Descriptive analysis of lockdown consequences was performed and predictors of these outcomes were examined using stepwise linear regression. RESULTS: Of 2233 participants, 29.9%, 20.0% and 34.7% felt down, lonely, and worried, respectively, during the lockdown; however, 85.3% felt able to cope. Poorer maternal mental health was predicted by maternal (younger age, higher education) and infant (older age, lower gestation) characteristics, and social circumstances (husband unemployed or working from home, receiving advice from family, having enough space for the baby, living close to a park or green space). Conversely, better maternal mental health was predicted by higher income, employment requiring higher qualifications, more personal space at home, shopping or walking > once/week and lack of impact of COVID-19 on job or income. Mothers with higher education, more bedrooms, fair division of household chores and attending an online mother and baby group > once/week reported better coping. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight maternal characteristics and circumstances that predict poorer mental health and reduced coping which could be used to target interventions in any future public health emergencies requiring social restrictions.

Expression Profiles of Plasma IFN Signaling-Related miRNAs (ISR-miRNAs) at the Acute and Recovery Phase of COVID-19 (preprint)

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought major harm and challenges to the world. Although many studies have suggested that IFN-I could affect the life cycle of the virus by regulating the expression level of microRNAs, the expression characteristics of plasma IFN-I signaling-related miRNAs at the acute and recovery phase of COVID-19 remain unclear.MethodsDemographic characteristics and fasting blood samples were collected from the acute and recovery phases of 29 COVID-19 patients and 29 healthy controls matched by age (± 5years) and gender (1:1). Expression levels of 12 IFN signaling-related miRNAs were analyzed using RT-qPCR. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG antibody in the convalescent plasma samples was detected using competitive ELISA.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, patients with COVID-19 presented increased levels of miR-29b-3p (~ 5.91-fold), miR-497-5p (~ 2.28-fold), and miR-1246 (~ 7.97-fold), and decreased expression levels of miR-186-5p (~ 6.39-fold) and miR-15a-5p (~ 3.26-fold) at the acute phase of infection. However, the expression levels of miR-29b-3p and miR-1246, which significantly elevated at the acute phase, were not different between individuals at the recovery phase and healthy controls. The expression levels of miR-30b-5p, miR-497-5p, miR-409-3p and miR-548c-5p in convalescent plasma samples were significantly lower than those in healthy controls. However, the concentration of miR-186-5p in the convalescent plasma samples was significantly higher than that in healthy controls and patients with acute infection. Furthermore, competitive ELISA results showed that the plasma level of miR-497-5p at the acute phase positively correlated with RBD-IgG antibody response (r=0.48, P=0.038).ConclusionsThe present study firstly reported that timely and appropriate regulation of IFN signaling-related miRNA expression plays a critical role during both acute and recovery phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, the circulating miR-497-5p level was positively correlated to RBD-IgG antibody response in COVID-19 patients.

Activating Community Resilience: The Emergence of COVID-19 Funds Across the United States

This article draws upon concepts of community resilience to explore the antecedents of community philanthropic organizations? response to COVID-19. Although the pandemic is a global threat, responses have been local. We test a model of community resilience activation in the context of the emergence of local COVID-19 funds. We find that a philanthropic organization?s capacity to act in a crisis and respond to the needs of the community depends on the stock of community capitals and organizational capacity. The importance of economic, cultural, and political factors in predicting the emergence of a fund raises important questions about disparities in resilience along class and race lines and the role of political ideology in shaping perceptions of crises. Our research contributes to our understanding of community philanthropic organizations? capacity to activate community resources during a crisis.

Tailoring Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials by Structural Engineering for Chemical and Biological Sensing

Atomically-thin two-dimensional (2D) nanostructure, an emerging class of nanomaterials, has achieved tremendous progress in the past decade and will remain a significant research topic in the near future. Apart from the discoveries of various 2D nanomaterials, remarkable attentions have been paid to the rational design and alteration of architectures based on pristine 2D materials to meet demands of next-generation functional applications in the near term. Herein, this review intends to provide an instant survey over the recent key advances on the structural engineering strategies of 2D nanomaterial-based architectures for new sensing capabilities and opportunities. Through intrinsic or extrinsic alterations, the pristine 2D nanostructures of some unique intrinsic properties could be modified and functionalized in a predictable pattern to overcome existing drawbacks and obtain synergistic abilities, demonstrating a great potential in promoting sensing device performance. In parallel with the review of latest development of structural engineering strategies and related highly functionalized sensor devices including sensing capabilities towards Covid-19 antigens, the underlying mechanisms of these designs are revealed to offer a unique insight in understandings of architecture design and property tailoring for boosting new sensing capabilities and performances.

[Analysis on formula of Mongolian medicine for prevention of COVID-19].

The epidemic situation of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) is developing rapidly in the world, and the influence is serious. In this study, the prescription of Mongolian medicine to prevent new type of COVID-19 was investigated. Based on the second edition and the third edition of COVID-19 Mongolian Medicine Prevention and Treatment Guidance Program issued by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Health Commission, using Excel 2007, SPSS Modeler 18, SPSS Statistics 25, Cytoscape 3.7.1 statistical software as a tool, the association rules analysis and cluster analysis of Mongolian medicine included in the standard were carried out. Among the 45 prophylactic prescriptions included in the standard, a total of 34 high-frequency drugs using frequency ≥5 were used, of which Carthami Flos(21 times, 4.46%), Chebulae Fructus(20 times, 4.26%), Moschus(13 times, 2.77%), Myristicae Semen(12 times, 2.55%), Santali Albi Lignum(12 times, 2.55%), and Bovis Calculus(12 times, 2.55%) were the most common. The main drugs for the prevention of COVID-19 were Liang(13 times, 38.23%), Wen(9 times, 26.47%), the flavor was Ku(20 times, 34.48%), Xin(13 times, 22.41%), Gan(11 times, 18.97%), the most used drugs treating hot evil(99 times, 32.46%), treatment of "Heyi" drugs(51 times, 16.72%), treatment of "Badagan" drugs(40 times, 13.11%), treatment of "sticky" drugs(37 times, 12.13%), and a cough, eliminating phlegm and antiasthmatic(31 times, 10.16%), the association rule analysis found that the highest association intensity of the drug pair combination of 11. Clustering analysis using the cluster analysis of inter-group join method found a total of 8 categories. In this study, 45 prescriptions of Mongolian medicine for the prevention of COVID-19 were collec-ted and further analyzed, hoping to provide new ideas for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Clinical features and laboratory findings of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized patients (preprint)

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a new emerging public health crisis to the world. However, data are still limited on the clinical features and laboratory findings in COVID-19 patients.Methods: Medical records including demographics characteristics, clinical features, laboratory findings and radiological materials of 66 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were collected between Jan 23 and Mar 9, 2020. Symptoms/signs with potential association with the disease severity were analyzed.Results: Of 66 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the male-to-female ratio was 44:22. There were eight cases potentially exposed to one single patient. The most common initial symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection were fever (77.3%) and cough (74.2%). Compared to those with non-severe infection, the severe patients were more likely to be older (62.6 ± 15.1 vs 46.9 ± 13.3 years. P = 0.001) and with more infected lobes. As the results shown, higher initial (on admission) and peak (during hospitalization) counts of lymphocyte were inversely associated with the severe SARS-CoV-2 infection (both OR: 0.01 every 1´109/L decrease). However, the elevated initial neutrophil counts (OR: 1.63 every 1´109/L increase), initial and peak levels of LDH (OR: 1.02 and 1.01 every 1 U/L increase), peak levels of CRP (OR: 1.03 every 1 mg/L increase), AST (OR: 1.06 every 1 U/L increase) and ALT (OR: 1.02 every 1 U/L increase) were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity.Conclusion: Our present study indicated that fever and cough were the most common initial symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the virus could be efficiently spread by person-to-person transmission. In addition, lymphocyte and neutrophil counts, and serum levels of AST, ALT, CRP and LDH should be useful for the evaluation on COVID-19 severity.

Analysis of dynamic disturbance in blood coagulation function of 261 patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (preprint)

Background: With the spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the world, a rising number of studies have been conducted on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19. However, studies about the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on coagulation function are rare. Hence, we aimed to assess the differences and dynamic changes of blood coagulation function in ordinary, severe and critical patients with COCID-19. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. Clinical information, including age, routine blood and blood coagulation function, was collected from medical records of COVID-19 patients from January 24 to March 25, 2020 in Huangshi, Hubei Province. According to new pneumonia diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 (trial version seventh), the patients were divided into ordinary, severe and critical groups. Results: 261 COVID-19 patients (186 ordinary, 45 severe and 30 critical ones) were enrolled. Average age in critical group (71.47±11.48 years) was the oldest of three subgroups. At admission, statistically differences could be observed for D-dimer, FDP, Platelet and lymphocyte count among three subgroups (P<0.05). During hospitalization, the peak values of coagulation and valley values of blood routine were monitored, and there were significant differences among ordinary, severe and critical patients in D-dimer (0.26±0.46, 1.39±1.51 and 2.89±1.68 mg/L), FDP (3.29±5.52, 23.68±39.07 and 56.11±49.94 μg/ml), platelet [(164±55.53), (171±69.96) and (84±57.80) ×109/L)] and lymphocyte counts [(1.10±0.46), (0.65±0.35) and (0.55±0.31) ×109/L)], respectively (P<0.001). In the critical group, D-dimer and FDP were significantly increased, while platelet count and lymphocyte count were obviously decreased. D-dimer and FDP in the course of disease in severe/critical groups showed a first upward and then downward trend. Conclusions: Close monitoring of coagulation function could help predict the severity of COVID-19, and guide treatment.