Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Pregnant Women and Related Perinatal Outcomes.

To evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety and depression symptoms in pregnant women and their relationship with pregnancy outcomes, 1087 pregnant women completed online questionnaires. Anxiety symptoms were measured using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality. Univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the association between depression and anxiety symptoms, participants' characteristics, and pregnancy outcomes. Of the 986 pregnant women who were included in this study, the rates of anxiety symptoms and depressive tendencies were 13.4% and 18.3%, respectively. Sleep disorder ((Adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 4.166; 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.797−6.205), time spent paying attention to the epidemic per day (≥1 h/d AOR = 1.568; 95% CI: 1.052−2.338), and the time spent with their spouses (Increase AOR = 0.629; 95% CI: 0.409−0.967) were associated with the risk of anxiety. Sleep disorder (AOR = 3.839; 95% CI: 2.718−5.432) and educational level (bachelor's degree or above AOR = 1.833; 95% CI: 1.004−3.345) were associated with the risk of depression. Psychological status was not correlated with the pregnancy outcomes (p > 0.05). Anxiety and depression symptoms were common among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention should be paid to manage their risk factors.

Research on the Influence Mechanism of Intention to Proximity Travel under the COVID-19.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought increasing attention to proximity travel. This mode of travel is a convenient travel setup for both tourists and neighboring destinations. With the help of the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB), this study investigates the influence of tourists' perception of epidemic risk on their intentions for proximity travel during the normalization of epidemic prevention and control. This study takes Shenzhen, China as the research area, and carried out the investigation in the context of normalization of the epidemic in China. A total of 489 pieces of valid sample data were collected through questionnaire surveys. Statistical analysis software, such as SPSS26.0 and AMOS23.0, were used to analyze the collected data information quantitatively, including descriptive statistical analysis, reliability and validity test, CFA and SEM. The results showed that attitude, subjective norms, positive anticipated emotions, and perceptual behavior control have significant positive effects on travel desire. Travel desire has a significant positive impact on travel intention, whereas negative anticipated emotions have no significant effect on travel desire. Meanwhile, the epidemic risk perception has a significant positive effect on attitudinal travel desire and travel intention. Under the background of the COVID-19, the stronger that the epidemic risk is perceived by tourists, the more the desire and intention to proximity travel are enhanced.

The dose- and time-dependent effectiveness and safety associated with COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to provide guidance for clinical treatment and increase public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. METHODS: The Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, ClinicalKey, and other COVID-19 datasets were searched from December 2019 to May 2022. Case-control studies and prospective cohort studies of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and safety in pregnant women were included. RESULTS: From day 11 to day 13, after the first dose of the COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccine, the effectiveness was 54% (95% confidence interval: 0.33-0.69). On days 14 to 27, the effectiveness was 59%. There was a 14% increase in vaccine effectiveness 28 days after the first dose was given. The inactivated vaccines showed similar effectiveness. The proportions of placental abruptions, postpartum hemorrhages, miscarriages, stillbirths, premature births, and small for gestational age infants were not significantly different between vaccinated and nonvaccinated pregnant women. Fatigue and fever were also not associated with pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Our findings affirm that the effectiveness varies for different types of vaccines and is significantly and positively correlated with time in the pregnant population. COVID-19 vaccines have also been deemed safe for pregnant women. Thus, we developed a comprehensive understanding of the role of vaccines in pregnant women.

A review of disposable facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic: A focus on microplastics release.

The COVID-19 epidemic seriously threats the human society and provokes the panic of the public. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are widely utilized for frontline health workers to face the ongoing epidemic, especially disposable face masks (DFMs) to prevent airborne transmission of coronavirus. The overproduction and massive utilization of DFMs seriously challenge the management of plastic wastes. A huge amount of DFMs are discharged into environment, potentially induced the generation of microplastics (MPs) owing to physicochemical destruction. The MPs release will pose severe contamination burden on environment and human. In this review, environmental threats of DFMs regarding to DFMs fate in environment and DFMs threats to aquatic and terrestrial species were surveyed. A full summary of recent studies on MPs release from DFMs was provided. The knowledge of extraction and characterizations of MPs, the release behavior, and potential threats of MPs derived from DFMs was discussed. To confront the problem, feasible strategies for control DFMs pollution were analyzed from the perspective of source control and waste management. This review provides a better understanding the threats, fate, and management of DFMs linked to COVID-19 pandemic.

Virus-induced p38 MAPK activation facilitates viral infection.

Rationale: Many viral infections are known to activate the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. However, the role of p38 activation in viral infection and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. The role of virus-hijacked p38 MAPK activation in viral infection was investigated in this study. Methods: The correlation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and p38 activation was studied in patient tissues and primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Coimmunoprecipitation, GST pulldown and confocal microscopy were used to investigate the interaction of p38α and the HCV core protein. In vitro kinase assays and mass spectrometry were used to analyze the phosphorylation of the HCV core protein. Plaque assays, quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting, siRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 were used to determine the effect of p38 activation on viral replication. Results: HCV infection was associated with p38 activation in clinical samples. HCV infection increased p38 phosphorylation by triggering the interaction of p38α and TGF-ß activated kinase 1 (MAP3K7) binding protein 1 (TAB1). TAB1-mediated p38α activation facilitated HCV replication, and pharmaceutical inhibition of p38α activation by SB203580 suppressed HCV infection at the viral assembly step. Activated p38α interacted with the N-terminal region of the HCV core protein and subsequently phosphorylated the HCV core protein, which promoted HCV core protein oligomerization, an essential step for viral assembly. As expected, SB203580 or the HCV core protein N-terminal peptide (CN-peptide) disrupted the p38α-HCV core protein interaction, efficiently impaired HCV assembly and impeded normal HCV replication in both cultured cells and primary human hepatocytes. Similarly, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection also activated p38 MAPK. Most importantly, pharmacological blockage of p38 activation by SB203580 effectively inhibited SFTSV, HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: Our study shows that virus-hijacked p38 activation is a key event for viral replication and that pharmacological blockage of p38 activation is an antiviral strategy.