Contribution of Rumination and Psychological Resilience to Post-Traumatic Growth of Front-Line Healthcare Workers in Mobile Cabin Hospitals Under Normalized Epidemic Prevention and Control Requirements (preprint)

To understand the level of post-traumatic growth (PTC) and influencing factors among front-line healthcare workers (HCWs) working in mobile cabin hospitals treating patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) under the Normalized Epidemic Prevention and Control Requirements adopted in China. A random sampling method was used to select 540 HCWs of the Chongqing-aid-Shanghai medical team from April to May 2022 as the study participants. Participants completed a general information questionnaire, the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory-Chinese version (PTGI-C), the Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Chinese Event Related Rumination Inventory (C-ERRI). Our study results showed that 83.15% were nurses and 78.89% were women among the 540 included HCWs. ​ The average scores for PTG (62.25±16.73) and psychological resilience (64.22±15.38) were at moderate levels, and the average score for rumination was low (21.62±10.77). Pearson correlation analysis showed that CD-RISC and C-ERRI scores were positive with the PTGI-C score (r=0.528, 0.316, P<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis identified psychological training or intervention during the COVID-19 epidemic (β=2.353, P=0.044), psychological resilience (β=0.525, P<0.001) and deliberate rumination (β=0.732, P<0.001) as factors significantly associated with the PTG of front-line HCWs, which together explained 36.8% of the total variance in PTG (F[5,539]=63.866, P<0.001). In general,psychological resilience and deliberate rumination can promote PTG among HCWs and can be improved by strengthening psychological training and interventions for HCWs working under the Normalized Epidemic Prevention and Control Requirements.

Latent Class Analysis of Healthcare Workers' Job Demands in Mobile Cabin Hospitals In China (preprint)

Owing to the outbreak of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Shanghai, China, partitioned dynamic closure and control management plans were implemented on March 28, 2022. This created huge emergency pressure on Shanghai’s medical and healthcare systems. However, the job needs and classification of frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) in mobile cabin hospitals are unknown. In this study, we investigated the job demands of 1223 frontline HCWs working in mobile cabin hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic (May 25, 2022 to June 9, 2022). We performed latent class analysis to identify classification features of job demands. A binary multivariate logistic regression model was used to explore the influencing factors of latent class. The total mean job demand score was 132.26 (SD = 9.53), indicating a high level of job demand. A two-class model provided the best fit. The two classes were titled “middle-demand group” (17.66%) and “high-demand group” (82.34%). A regression analysis suggested that female HCWs, HCWs satisfied with the doctor/nurse–patient relationship, HCWs who believed that the risk of working in mobile cabin hospitals was high, and HCWs without physical discomfort during the pandemic were more likely to be in the “high-demand group”. Characteristics of the “high-demand group” subtype suggest that attention should be paid to the physical condition of frontline HCWs and the job demands of female HCWs. Managers should strengthen the training of HCWs in terms of their communication skills as well as their knowledge and technical skills to aid epidemic prevention and control.

Peptidomic analysis of mycobacterial secreted proteins enables species identification

Pulmonary disease arising from slow‐growing mycobacterial infections has emerged as an increasingly prevalent clinical concern over the past two to three decades. Proteins belonging to the family of ESAT‐6 secretion (Esx) systems play critical roles in the virulence of most pathogenic mycobacterial species and are associated with drug resistance. However, no clinical applications can detect and discriminate the expression of species‐specific variants of these proteins in clinical samples, such as early growth cultures, for rapid diagnosis of specific mycobacterial infections, which may require distinct interventions. Conventional immunoassay approaches are not suitable for this purpose due to the significant degree of conservation of Esx proteins among species. Herein we describe the development of a novel immunoprecipitation‐coupled mass spectrometry assay that can distinguish Esx proteins that are expressed by slow‐growing mycobacterial species commonly detected in clinical isolates. This approach uses custom antibodies raised against single semi‐conserved peptide regions in M. tuberculosis (Mtb) EsxB and EsxN to capture corresponding peptides from protein orthologs of mycobacteria associated with human respiratory infections, including Mtb, M. avium, M. intracellulare, M. kansasii, M. gordonae, and M. marinum, to detect these species in standard clinical cultures at the first sign mycobacterial growth to allow rapid disease diagnosis.

Global view on virus infection in non-human primates and implications for public health and wildlife conservation.

Viruses can be transmitted from animals to humans (and vice versa) and across animal species. As such, host-virus interactions and transmission have attracted considerable attention. Non-human primates (NHPs), our closest evolutionary relatives, are susceptible to human viruses and certain pathogens are known to circulate between humans and NHPs. Here, we generated global statistics on VI-NHPs based on a literature search and public data mining. In total, 140 NHP species from 12 families are reported to be infected by 186 DNA and RNA virus species, 68.8% of which are also found in humans, indicating high potential for crossing species boundaries. The top 10 NHP species with high centrality in the NHP-virus network include two great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus) and eight Old World monkeys (Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, M. leonina, Papio cynocephalus, Cercopithecus ascanius, C. erythrotis, Chlorocebus aethiops, and Allochrocebus lhoesti). Given the wide distribution of Old World monkeys and their frequent contact with humans, there is a high risk of virus circulation between humans and such species. Thus, we suggest recurring epidemiological surveillance of NHPs, specifically Old World monkeys that are in frequent contact with humans, and other effective measures to prevent potential circulation and transmission of viruses. Avoidance of false positives and sampling bias should also be a focus in future work.