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1.
Front Public Health ; 11: 1161339, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2319926

ABSTRACT

Background: A sharp rise in household consumption of disinfectants triggered by COVID-19 pandemic has generated tremendous environmental burden and risks of disinfectant emissions in the post-pandemic period. To address this emerging challenge, replacing highly hazardous disinfectants with more environmental friendly alternatives has been accepted as an inherently effective solution to environment issues posed by disinfectant emerging contaminants. However, no study has yet been done to explore the potential customers' attitudes and the market prospect of environmental friendly disinfectants until now. Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted from January to March, 2022, among resident volunteers in China, to explore the practices, knowledge and attitudes of the public regarding environmental friendly disinfectants for household use. Results: Among a total of 1,861 Chinese residents finally included in the analyses, 18% agreed or strongly agreed that they paid special attention to the environmental certification label on the product, and only bought the environmental certified disinfectant products; 16% and 10% were using environmental friendly disinfectants for hand sanitization and environmental disinfection, respectively. The mean self-assessed and actual knowledge scores were 2.42 ± 1.74 and 2.12 ± 1.97, respectively, out of a total of 5. Participants having good practices of consuming environmental friendly disinfectants achieved higher knowledge scores. Residents' overall attitudes toward the development, consumption and application of environmental friendly disinfectants were very positive. "Possible conflict between disinfection effectiveness and environmental factor of disinfectants in a context of severe COVID-19 pandemic" was considered as the most important barrier jeopardizing the participants' usage intention for environmental friendly disinfectants. Conclusions: These data suggested most residents of China had a positive attitude, poor knowledge and practices toward environmental friendly disinfectants. More should be done to enhance the residents' environmental knowledge levels about disinfectants, and to further develop and promote disinfectant products with both excellent disinfection activity and environmentally friendly attributes.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Disinfectants , Humans , COVID-19/prevention & control , Pandemics , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Cross-Sectional Studies , China
2.
Natl Sci Rev ; 10(5): nwac034, 2023 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2311829

ABSTRACT

The onset of various kidney diseases has been reported after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination. However, detailed clinical and pathological features are lacking. We screened and analyzed patients with newly diagnosed kidney diseases after inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in Peking University First Hospital from January 2021 to August 2021, and compared them with the reported cases in the literature. We obtained samples of blood, urine and renal biopsy tissues. Clinical and laboratory information, as well as light microscopy, immunostaining and ultrastructural observations, were described. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and nucleoprotein were stained using the immunofluorescence technique in the kidney biopsy samples. SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies were tested using magnetic particle chemiluminescence immunoassay. The study group included 17 patients with a range of conditions including immune-complex-mediated kidney diseases (IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy and lupus nephritis), podocytopathy (minimal change disease and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis) and others (antineutrophil-cytoplasmic-antibody-associated vasculitis, anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis, acute tubulointerstitial nephritis and thrombotic microangiopathy). Seven patients (41.18%) developed renal disease after the first dose and ten (58.82%) after the second dose. The kidney disease spectrum as well as clinicopathological features are similar across different types of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. We found no definitive evidence of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein or nucleoprotein deposition in the kidney biopsy samples. Seropositive markers implicated abnormal immune responses in predisposed individuals. Treatment and follow-up (median = 86 days) showed that biopsy diagnosis informed treatment and prognosis in all patients. In conclusion, we observed various kidney diseases following SARS-CoV-2 vaccine administration, which show a high consistency across different types of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Our findings provide evidence against direct vaccine protein deposition as the major pathomechanism, but implicate abnormal immune responses in predisposed individuals. These findings expand our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine renal safety.

3.
Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology ; 15, 2021.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2306052

ABSTRACT

This double-blind field study tested the effectiveness of a baby-eyes image in promoting healthcare workers' hand-hygiene compliance in a hospital setting. Adults are inclined to take care of babies and aspire to be their role models;therefore, they should wash their hands thoroughly when being watched by babies. Participants were healthcare workers from the obstetrical and neonatology units of a women's hospital in Hangzhou. We recorded and coded 3,360 hours and 10,325 hand-hygiene events over a five-week period—from 16 October to 20 November 2018. Three types of stickers, depicting baby eyes, adult eyes, or flowers, were placed above handwashing basins to compare hand-hygiene behavior between the three conditions. Each condition continued for one week, and experimenters interchanged the stickers in each unit to control for the location and sequence effects. Participants in the baby-eyes condition (72.9%) were more likely to use sanitizer than those in the flowers condition (69.4%;χ2 = 9.74, p < .01, φc = 0.034). Moreover, participants in the baby-eyes condition were more likely to use sanitizer than those in the adult-eyes condition (70.8%);however, the difference only trended towards significance (χ2 = 2.38, p = .066, φc = 0.023). The mean handwashing time between the three conditions was significant (Welch's F(2, 3488.436) = 3.50, p < .05, η2 = 0.001). Washing time in the baby-eyes condition (17.41 ± 12.02) was significantly longer than in the adult-eyes condition (16.36 ± 11.47;p < .05). The presence of a baby-eyes image promoted hand-hygiene compliance in the hospital environment. This finding can be adopted to change public health behaviors. It also holds theoretical implications that enhance our understanding of how being monitored by children can enhance responsible behaviors.

4.
Sci China Life Sci ; 2023 Apr 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2297189

ABSTRACT

Protein-biomolecule interactions play pivotal roles in almost all biological processes. For a biomolecule of interest, the identification of the interacting protein(s) is essential. For this need, although many assays are available, highly robust and reliable methods are always desired. By combining a substrate-based proximity labeling activity from the pupylation pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the streptavidin (SA)-biotin system, we developed the Specific Pupylation as IDEntity Reporter (SPIDER) method for identifying protein-biomolecule interactions. Using SPIDER, we validated the interactions between the known binding proteins of protein, DNA, RNA, and small molecule. We successfully applied SPIDER to construct the global protein interactome for m6A and mRNA, identified a variety of uncharacterized m6A binding proteins, and validated SRSF7 as a potential m6A reader. We globally identified the binding proteins for lenalidomide and CobB. Moreover, we identified SARS-CoV-2-specific receptors on the cell membrane. Overall, SPIDER is powerful and highly accessible for the study of protein-biomolecule interactions.

5.
Social Behavior and Personality ; 51(2):1-13, 2023.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2285973

ABSTRACT

Attention, particularly mind wandering, has garnered research interest because of the development of technologies that empower a person to focus on several tasks simultaneously. This study investigated the mediating roles of resilience and academic burnout in the relationship between the Internet addiction and mind wandering of Chinese adolescents. Participants were 2,335 adolescents who anonymously completed questionnaires on Internet addiction, resiliency, academic burnout, and mind wandering. We used descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling for data analysis. The results showed that Internet addiction was positively and directly associated with mind wandering, and that there was also an indirect effect via resilience, academic burnout, and a sequential mediating effect of resilience and academic burnout. These results highlight the importance of resiliency as a construct in explaining mind wandering and have implications as regards the necessary steps to prevent mind wandering in adolescents.

6.
Lancet Reg Health West Pac ; 3: 100041, 2020 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2262964

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a worldwide pandemic and affected more than 227 countries or territories, resulting in more than 25 million cases with over 0•85 million deaths, as of September 2, 2020. Taiwan has been successful in countering the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the potential risk for asymptomatic infections and the prevalence rates remain unknown. We aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Taiwan via serologically testing hospital patients with neither symptoms indicative of nor positive nucleic acid test for SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: Residual specimens from laboratory blood tests for outpatient and emergency department patients visiting a medical centre in Taipei, Taiwan, within one week in May and another in July, 2020, were collected. We used Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Assay to screen and further validated cases with high cutoff index by a confirmatory ELISA assay. We also analysed antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 along disease progression in four nucleic acid test confirmed COVID-19 patients. FINDINGS: Blood samples from a total of 14,765 patients were tested. The unweighted seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 0•07% [95% CI, 0•04%-0•13%]; after weighting with the population demographics of Taiwan, the estimated overall seroprevalence was 0•05% [95% CI, 0•02%-0•10%]. Furthermore, based on data of the four COVID-19 cases, the seroconversion dates for IgM were as early as 9 days and that for IgG 11 days after symptoms onset. INTERPRETATION: We screened the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a small-scale population-based study and observed an approximately 0•05% seroprevalence of COVID-19, indicating that the current containment protocols emphasising mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing and mandatory quarantine for all incomers are effective in Taiwan. FUNDING: Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

7.
Frontiers in public health ; 11, 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2263380

ABSTRACT

Agricultural product trade along the Belt and Road (B&R) is an important part of the international food security system, the vulnerabilities of which have been highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the complex network analysis, this study analyzes the characteristics of agricultural products trade network along the B&R. It also combines the effects of COVID-19 with the import trade volume of agricultural products in countries along the B&R to build a risk supply model of agricultural products. The results show that: (1) In 2021, the spatial correlation structure of agricultural products trade along the B&R became increasingly sparse, and the network connectivity and density also decreased. (2) The network showed obvious scale-free distribution characteristics and obvious heterogeneity. Five communities emerged under the influence of the core node countries, but the formation of community in 2021 had obvious geopolitical characteristics. (3) Under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of countries with medium-risk and high-risk level along the route facing external dependence risk (REDI), import concentration risk (RHHI) and COVID-19 epidemic risk (RRICI) increased in 2021, and the number of countries with extremely low-risk level decreased. (4) The dominant risk type of external supply of agricultural products along the route changed from compound risk type in 2019 to epidemic risk in 2021. Hence, the results can be expected to prevent external risk impact from reducing excessive concentration of agricultural products trade and excessive dependence on the external market.

8.
Front Public Health ; 11: 1122081, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2263381

ABSTRACT

Agricultural product trade along the Belt and Road (B&R) is an important part of the international food security system, the vulnerabilities of which have been highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the complex network analysis, this study analyzes the characteristics of agricultural products trade network along the B&R. It also combines the effects of COVID-19 with the import trade volume of agricultural products in countries along the B&R to build a risk supply model of agricultural products. The results show that: (1) In 2021, the spatial correlation structure of agricultural products trade along the B&R became increasingly sparse, and the network connectivity and density also decreased. (2) The network showed obvious scale-free distribution characteristics and obvious heterogeneity. Five communities emerged under the influence of the core node countries, but the formation of community in 2021 had obvious geopolitical characteristics. (3) Under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of countries with medium-risk and high-risk level along the route facing external dependence risk (REDI), import concentration risk (RHHI) and COVID-19 epidemic risk (RRICI) increased in 2021, and the number of countries with extremely low-risk level decreased. (4) The dominant risk type of external supply of agricultural products along the route changed from compound risk type in 2019 to epidemic risk in 2021. Hence, the results can be expected to prevent external risk impact from reducing excessive concentration of agricultural products trade and excessive dependence on the external market.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Pandemics , Agriculture
9.
Biomed Pharmacother ; 156: 113807, 2022 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2285976

ABSTRACT

Since the end of 2019, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has triggered a pneumonia epidemic, posing a significant public health challenge in 236 countries, territories, and regions worldwide. Clinically, in addition to the symptoms of pulmonary infection, many patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections, especially those with a critical illness, eventually develop multiple organ failure in which damage to the kidney function is common, ultimately leading to severe consequences such as increased mortality and morbidity. To date, three coronaviruses have set off major global public health security incidents: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2. Among the diseases caused by the coronaviruses, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been the most impactful and harmful. Similar to with SARS-CoV-2 infections, previous studies have shown that kidney injury is also common and prominent in patients with the two other highly pathogenic coronaviruses. Therefore, in this review, we aimed to comprehensively summarize the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of these three pandemic-level infections, provide a deep analysis of the potential mechanism of COVID-19 in various types of kidney diseases, and explore the causes of secondary kidney diseases of SARS-CoV-2, so as to provide a reference for further research and the clinical prevention of kidney damage caused by coronaviruses.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Pandemics , Kidney
10.
Int J Mol Sci ; 23(21)2022 Oct 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2269364

ABSTRACT

The central nervous system (CNS) controls and regulates the functional activities of the organ systems and maintains the unity between the body and the external environment. The advent of co-culture systems has made it possible to elucidate the interactions between neural cells in vitro and to reproduce complex neural circuits. Here, we classified the co-culture system as a two-dimensional (2D) co-culture system, a cell-based three-dimensional (3D) co-culture system, a tissue slice-based 3D co-culture system, an organoid-based 3D co-culture system, and a microfluidic platform-based 3D co-culture system. We provide an overview of these different co-culture models and their applications in the study of neural cell interaction. The application of co-culture systems in virus-infected CNS disease models is also discussed here. Finally, the direction of the co-culture system in future research is prospected.


Subject(s)
Cell Culture Techniques , Organoids , Coculture Techniques , Cell Culture Techniques/methods , Neurons , Cell Communication
11.
Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy. Part A, Physical Sciences ; : 45139.0, 2023.
Article in English | Europe PMC | ID: covidwho-2240822

ABSTRACT

Clinical importance Novel coronavirus disease is spread worldwide with considerable morbidity and mortality and presents an enormous burden on worldwide public health. Due to the non-stationarity and complicated nature of novel coronavirus waves, it is challenging to model such a phenomenon. Few mathematical models can be used because novel coronavirus data are generally not normally distributed. This paper describes a novel bio-system reliability approach, particularly suitable for multi-regional environmental and health systems, observed over a sufficient period of time, resulting in a reliable long-term forecast of novel coronavirus infection rate. Traditional statistical methods dealing with temporal observations of multi-regional processes do not have the advantage of dealing efficiently with extensive regional dimensionality and cross-correlation between infection rate and mortality. Objective To determine extreme novel coronavirus death rate probability at any time in any region of interest. Traditional statistical methods dealing with temporal observations of multi-regional processes do not have the advantage of dealing efficiently with extensive regional dimensionality and cross-correlation between different regional observations. Design Apply modern novel statistical methods directly to raw clinical data. Setting Multicenter, population-based, medical survey data based bio statistical approach. Main outcome and measure Due to the non-stationarity and complicated nature of novel coronavirus, it is challenging to model such a phenomenon. Few mathematical models can be used because novel coronavirus data are generally not normally distributed. This paper describes a novel bio-system reliability approach, particularly suitable for multi-country environmental and health systems, observed over a sufficient period of time, resulting in a reliable long-term forecast of extreme novel coronavirus death rate probability. Conclusions and relevance The suggested methodology can be used in various public health applications, based on their clinical survey data.

12.
J Mater Cycles Waste Manag ; : 1-14, 2022 Oct 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2246170

ABSTRACT

Based on the medical waste quantity and patient data during the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China, this study used scenario analysis to quantitatively analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of medical waste generation during the pandemics. First, the results show that the estimated medical waste per capita reached 15.4 kg/day if only patients were considered in Scenario 1, while the figures were reduced to 3.2 kg/day in Scenario 2 and 2.5 kg/day in Scenario 3 when the effects of both the patient type and the number of medical staffs were considered. The estimated results also demonstrated that the per capita medical waste related to the epidemic showed the characteristics of a U-shaped and trailing phenomenon over time. Then, the amount of medical waste related to the COVID-19 generated that generated due to COVID-19 was estimated in Hubei, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Henan and Hunan provinces under Scenario 2 and Scenario 3. The results indicated that the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of five provinces show the significant differences, and the patient type has a remarkable influence on the generation of medical waste. Finally, a novel decomposition-ensemble approach was designed to make a better short-term forecasting effect for future medical waste generation in different provinces. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10163-022-01523-5.

13.
Travel Behaviour and Society ; 31:386-398, 2023.
Article in English | ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-2234830

ABSTRACT

Vehicle on-demand and shared services (VDSS), such as Uber, Lyft, Didi and Car2go, have experienced rapid growth over the last decade. While these emerging mobility services have advantages, such as serving as an alternative mode for public transit, it remains unclear to what extent the services are adopted by different user groups, particularly in the context of first and last-mile mobility and how demand varies in different periods. To fill this research gap, we conducted a comprehensive travel survey of 1,420 railway passengers in China, to examine how VDSS were utilized for the first and last-mile connection with train stations. Using binary and multinomial logit modeling analysis, the study shows that the attitude toward VDSS was influenced by various factors and the outcomes varied substantially before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the research findings, we recommend that transportation planning and operation agencies should add ride-sourcing waiting and car-sharing parking sites at railway stations to further improve their advantages of flexibility and convenience. Meanwhile, attention should be paid to maintaining a healthy, safe and relaxed riding environment to facilitate VDSS usage. The equity issue of VDSS should also be addressed through strategies, such as providing special discounts or subsidies to certain lower-income user groups so that wider social groups may also enjoy such services. In terms of mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, further attention should be paid to improving a healthy and clean riding environment in VDSS to reduce the risk to public health.

14.
Medicine (Baltimore) ; 102(3): e32690, 2023 Jan 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2229509

ABSTRACT

We built a closed-loop management model for patients with fever in a county-level medical community and explored the role of this model in post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic prevention and control. The subjects included 83,791 patients with fever treated in designated hospitals between February 2020 and April 2021. A pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital management system for patients with fever in the county-level medical community was established to allow the closed-loop management of these patients. SPSS software (version 13.0) was used to analyze the methods of visiting the hospital, nucleic acid detection in the hospital, and location of the patients after the hospital visit. Chi-square tests were used to compare the methods of visiting and location after hospital visits between patients with and without an epidemiological history. The number of patients with fever in the fever clinic showed a logarithm change (R2 = 0.4710), accompanied by seasonal changes. The number of fever patients with an epidemiological history decreased logarithmically monthly (R2 = 0.8876). Among patients with fever, 99.64% sought medical treatment on their own, with relatively low proportions undergoing home quarantine and requiring centralized quarantine special vehicles. After visiting the fever clinics, 98.56% of patients isolated at home or were monitored, with small proportions of patients requiring hospital admission or centralized isolation. However, the proportions of patients with home and centralized isolation with epidemiology were relatively high, accounting for 20.55% and 27.40% of cases, respectively. Compared to the overall population of patients with fever, the difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 48.881, P = .000). The establishment of a closed-loop management model for patients with fever in a county-level medical community strengthened the management of these patients. No local cases occurred in Beilun District between March 2020 and April 2021. In the post-COVID-19 era, all medical institutions in the county-level medical community strengthened infectious disease pre-examination and triage and promoted the formation of a strategic pattern of initial diagnosis at the grassroots level, 2-way referral, upper and lower linkage, and joint epidemic prevention. This management was more conducive to COVID prevention and control by hierarchical management according to the presence or absence of an epidemiological history.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Pandemics/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Quarantine , Hospitals
15.
Journal of Educational Computing Research ; 60(2):455-480, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1892105

ABSTRACT

This paper reports an immersive virtual reality lab (iVRLab) training environment that offers college students an immersive and embodied experience in engineering lab work. The iVRLab provides a simple and safe environment for students to learn the complex lab operations to process and prepare silicon wafers. It features highly embodied interactions congruent to the actual body movements to manipulate the lab devices and materials in the physical world. Fourteen college students participate the lab training and the study results reveal positive learning effects, confidence levels of accomplishment, and embodied experiences. Students' cognitive load is also measured, and its relationship with the embodied experiences is examined and discussed. The study offers a reference for peer researchers and practitioners for the design and implementation of immersive VR systems for engineering lab training. It also sketches a complementary approach during the time like the pandemic to practicing authentic lab work without having to be in a real classroom or laboratory.

16.
Medicine ; 102(3), 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2207528

ABSTRACT

We built a closed-loop management model for patients with fever in a county-level medical community and explored the role of this model in post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic prevention and control. The subjects included 83,791 patients with fever treated in designated hospitals between February 2020 and April 2021. A pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital management system for patients with fever in the county-level medical community was established to allow the closed-loop management of these patients. SPSS software (version 13.0) was used to analyze the methods of visiting the hospital, nucleic acid detection in the hospital, and location of the patients after the hospital visit. Chi-square tests were used to compare the methods of visiting and location after hospital visits between patients with and without an epidemiological history. The number of patients with fever in the fever clinic showed a logarithm change (R2 = 0.4710), accompanied by seasonal changes. The number of fever patients with an epidemiological history decreased logarithmically monthly (R2 = 0.8876). Among patients with fever, 99.64% sought medical treatment on their own, with relatively low proportions undergoing home quarantine and requiring centralized quarantine special vehicles. After visiting the fever clinics, 98.56% of patients isolated at home or were monitored, with small proportions of patients requiring hospital admission or centralized isolation. However, the proportions of patients with home and centralized isolation with epidemiology were relatively high, accounting for 20.55% and 27.40% of cases, respectively. Compared to the overall population of patients with fever, the difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 48.881, P = .000). The establishment of a closed-loop management model for patients with fever in a county-level medical community strengthened the management of these patients. No local cases occurred in Beilun District between March 2020 and April 2021. In the post-COVID-19 era, all medical institutions in the county-level medical community strengthened infectious disease pre-examination and triage and promoted the formation of a strategic pattern of initial diagnosis at the grassroots level, 2-way referral, upper and lower linkage, and joint epidemic prevention. This management was more conducive to COVID prevention and control by hierarchical management according to the presence or absence of an epidemiological history.

17.
J Ethnopharmacol ; 307: 116202, 2023 May 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2210768

ABSTRACT

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Asarum heterotropoides f. mandshuricum (Maxim.) Kitag. (AH) is widely used to treat influenza, COVID-19, allergic rhinitis, headache, toothache, rheumatoid arthritis, and peptic ulcer. However, its clinical use is controversial due to the concern of aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) caused by its component aristolochic acid analogs (AAs). AIM OF THE STUDY: The chronic toxicity of AH decoction and its main components AA IVa (AA-IVa) and aristolactam I (AL-I) was evaluated in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: AAs contents in AH were quantitated by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. A parallel design was employed to examine the potential chronic toxicity of AH decoction at doses equivalent to 0.5, 1.6, and 5.0 g/kg AH (approximately 10-100 times the clinical doses for humans) and its major AA components at doses equivalent to that in 5.0 g/kg AH to mice after consecutive daily oral administration for 12 and 24 weeks, and at 32 weeks after withdrawal for 8 weeks. RESULTS: AH crude herb contained 2.18 µg/g of AA-I, 48.49 µg/g of AA-IVa, and 14.0 µg/g of AL-I. AH decoction contained 5.45 µg/g of AA-IVa and 2.71 µg/g of AL-I. None of AA-II and AA-IIIa were detected in AH. After long-term administration of AH decoction and its major components AA-IVa and AL-I, mice showed no signs of illness or body weight changes. In addition, biochemical and pathohistological examinations showed that long-term administration of AH decoction and its major components AA-IVa and AL-I did not alter 1) serum levels of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine, and urea nitrogen, 2) renal tissue mRNA expression of kidney injury molecule 1 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, and 3) pathological morphology in the mouse liver, kidney, stomach, and bladder. CONCLUSIONS: AH has no obvious toxicity to mice and is relatively safe when it is used in the form of decoction. AA-IVa and AL-I, the two major AAs in AH, are not toxic to mice at the dose equivalent to that in the high dose of AH decoction. Considering the limited toxicological data on AH, we recommend that AH decoction medication should not overdose and the duration should not be too long.


Subject(s)
Aristolochic Acids , Asarum , COVID-19 , Humans , Mice , Animals , Asarum/chemistry , COVID-19/metabolism , Kidney/pathology
18.
J Med Virol ; 95(1): e28411, 2023 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2173197

ABSTRACT

A series of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) was launched in Beijing, China, on January 24, 2020, to control coronavirus disease 2019. To reveal the roles of NPIs on the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), respiratory specimens collected from children with acute respiratory tract infection between July 2017 and Dec 2021 in Beijing were screened by capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR (CEMP) assay. Specimens positive for RSV were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genotyped by G gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis using iqtree v1.6.12. The parallel and fixed (paraFix) mutations were analyzed with the R package sitePath. Clinical data were compared using SPSS 22.0 software. Before NPIs launched, each RSV endemic season started from October/November to February/March of the next year in Beijing. After that, the RSV positive rate abruptly dropped from 31.93% in January to 4.39% in February 2020; then, a dormant state with RSV positive rates ≤1% from March to September, a nearly dormant state in October (2.85%) and November (2.98%) and a delayed endemic season in 2020, and abnormal RSV positive rates remaining at approximately 10% in summer until September 2021 were detected. Finally, an endemic RSV season returned in October 2021. There was a game between Subtypes A and B, and RSV-A replaced RSV-B in July 2021 to become the dominant subtype. Six RSV-A and eight RSV-B paraFix mutations were identified on G. The percentage of severe pneumonia patients decreased to 40.51% after NPIs launched. NPIs launched in Beijing seriously interfered with the endemic season of RSV.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections , Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human , Respiratory Tract Infections , Child , Humans , Infant , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/epidemiology , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/prevention & control , Beijing/epidemiology , Phylogeny , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human/genetics , Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
19.
Intensive Crit Care Nurs ; 76: 103394, 2023 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2179283

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of video visitation on intensive care patients' and family members' outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: This is a randomised controlled trial. SETTING: An adult intensive care unit in a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China. METHODS: A total of 121 adults, who were >18 years of age, conscious, able to communicate verbally, and admitted to the intensive care unit for over 24 hours were randomised into the intervention (video visitation) (n = 65) and control (n = 56) Groups. A total of 98 family members participated. Patient primary outcomes included anxiety and depression, measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Secondary outcomes included patient delirium and family anxiety assessed using the Confusion Assessment Method scale and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, respectively; and patient and family satisfaction, measured using a questionnaire routinely used in the hospital. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in patients' anxiety (t = 1.328, p = 0.187) and depression scores (t = 1.569, p = 0.119); and no statistically significant differences in delirium incidence between the groups (7.7 % vs 7.1 %, p > 0.05). There were no significant differences in changes in family members' anxiety scores (t = 0.496, p = 0.621). A statistically significant difference in satisfaction was found between the two group patients (86.1 % vs 57.2 % of patients were satisfied with using video visitation, p < 0.05), and the result of family members' satisfaction was also statistically significant (88 % vs 62.5 % of family members were satisfied with using video visitation, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Video visitation did not seem to influence anxiety, but the use of video visitation can improve the patient and their family members' satisfaction. Future research is needed to determine the feasibility of embedding video visitation into routine practice, and the optimal frequency and length of video visitation in relation to patients' and family members' outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Video visitation improved patient and family members' satisfaction. Therefore, clinicians should consider using video visitation when face to face visit is restricted. Video visVitation did not reduce patient anxiety significantly in this study maybe because the average length of intensive care stay was too short. Future research is needed on its effect on long term intensive care patients.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Delirium , Adult , Humans , Pandemics , Visitors to Patients , Family , Critical Care , Intensive Care Units
20.
Virol J ; 20(1): 4, 2023 01 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2196351

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Under the pressure of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the prevalence of human adenovirus (HAdV) was monitored before and after NPIs launched on Jan 24, 2020 in pediatric patients in Beijing, China. METHODS: Respiratory samples collected from children hospitalized with acute respiratory infections from Jan 2015 to Dec 2021 were screened by direct immunofluorescence test or capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR assay. The hexon, penton base, and fiber genes were amplified from HAdV positive specimens, then sequenced. For HAdV typing, phylogenetic trees were built by MEGA X. Then clinical data of HAdV positive cases were collected. All data were evaluated using SPSS Statistics 22.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 16,097 children were enrolled and 466 (2.89%, 466/16,097) were HAdV-positive. The positive rates of HAdV varied, ranging from 4.39% (151/3,438) in 2018 to1.25% (26/2,081) in 2021, dropped from 3.19% (428/13,408) to 1.41% (38/2,689) from before to after NPIs launched (P < 0.001). There were 350 cases typed into nine types of species B, C, or E and 34 recorded as undetermined. Among them, HAdV-B3 (51.56%, 198/384) was the most prevalent types from 2015 to 2017, and HAdV-B7 (29.17%, 112/384) co-circulated with HAdV-B3 from 2018 to 2019. After NPIs launched, HAdV-B3 and B7 decreased sharply with HAdV-B7 undetected in 2021, while HAdV-C1 became the dominant one and the undetermined were more. CONCLUSIONS: The endemic pattern of HAdV changed in Beijing because of the NPIs launched for COVID-19. Especially, the dominant types changed from HAdV-B to HAdV-C.


Subject(s)
Adenovirus Infections, Human , Adenoviruses, Human , COVID-19 , Respiratory Tract Infections , Child , Humans , Beijing/epidemiology , Adenoviruses, Human/genetics , Phylogeny , Adenovirus Infections, Human/epidemiology , Adenovirus Infections, Human/prevention & control , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , China/epidemiology , Respiratory Tract Infections/epidemiology , Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
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