ABSTRACT
This study investigates problems related to COCOA, which is a smartphone app officially provided by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) that is designed to notify users when they have been in close contact with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive persons, and thus help the government and healthcare organizations contain the spread of the virus. The information we have obtained thus far indicates that poor utilization rates of the app are due to significant program flaws, which caused the initial usage to be sluggish, as well as the failures of various health centers to adequately provide polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for COCOA notification recipients, which exacerbated sluggishness issues. Furthermore, a related survey revealed that although the government provides an integrated data system called the Health Center Real-time Information-sharing System on COVID-19 (Japanese abbreviation HER-SYS), information on fever outpatients (hospital names, locations, consultation times, presence or absence of PCR testing, etc.) corresponding to each local government is still not fully available. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Background and Aim: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2). Recently, some reports indicate that the severity of COVID-19 is associated with periodontal disease. SARS-CoV-2 host cell entry is mediated by viral spike protein binding to the host angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and its cleavage by transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are expressed in the oral cavity including periodontal pocket epithelium, tongue and saliva glands. Therefore, we hypothesized that inhibiting these two factors may prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects of general ingredients in commercially available toothpaste and mouthwash on SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: We evaluated the effects of 30 toothpaste and mouthwash ingredients on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-ACE2 interaction and TMPRSS2 protease activity using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an in vitro enzyme activity assay, respectively. We also investigated whether the ingredients were in the presence of saliva. In addition, the binding state of each ingredient to the inhibitor-binding site of ACE2 or TMPRSS2 was evaluated by molecular docking simulation to understand the mechanisms involved. Results: Sodium tetradecene sulfonate, sodium N-lauroyl-N-methyltaurate, sodium N-lauroylsarcosinate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and copper gluconate inhibited both spike protein-ACE2 interaction and TMPRSS2 activity. Furthermore, these ingredients also showed inhibitory effects on both spike protein-ACE2 interaction and TMPRRS2 activity in the presence of saliva. Molecular docking simulations suggested that these ingredients could bind to the inhibitor-binding site of ACE2. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that five ingredients in commercial toothpaste and mouthwash could inhibit the entry points of SARSCoV- 2 and could help to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to examine the relationship between telecommuting and the regional cumulative COVID-19 incidence. This was a cross-sectional study analyzing 13,468 office workers. The participant groups, according to the level of cumulative COVID-19 incidence by prefecture, were used as the predictor variable, and telecommuting frequency and preference were used as outcomes. We employed an ordinal logistic regression analysis. In regions with a high cumulative COVID-19 incidence, the proportion of participants who telecommuted more than 2 days per week was 34.7%, which was approximately 20% higher than in other regions. Telecommuting preference was stronger in areas with higher COVID-19 influence. However, in other regions, the proportion of participants who did not want to telecommute was higher than that of those who wanted to telecommute. We found that telecommuting frequency and preference were higher in regions with high cumulative COVID-19 incidence.