Human mobility and COVID-19 transmission: a systematic review and future directions

Without a widely distributed vaccine, controlling human mobility has been identified and promoted as the primary strategy to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. Many studies have reported the relationship between human mobility and COVID-19 transmission by utilizing the spatial-temporal information of mobility data from various sources. To better understand the role of human mobility in the pandemic, we conducted a systematic review of articles that measure the relationship between human mobility and COVID-19 in terms of their data sources, mathematical models, and key findings. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, we selected 47 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection up to September 2020. Restricting human mobility reduced the transmission of COVID-19, although the effectiveness and stringency of policy implementation vary temporally and spatially across different stages of the pandemic. We call for prompt and sustainable measures to control the pandemic. We also recommend researchers 1) to enhance multi-disciplinary collaboration;2) to adjust the implementation and stringency of mobility-control policies in corresponding to the rapid change of the pandemic;3) to improve mathematical models used in analysing, simulating, and predicting the transmission of the disease;and 4) to enrich the source of mobility data to ensure data accuracy and suability. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Annals of GIS is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Mesenchymal stem cell treatment improves outcome of COVID-19 patients via multiple immunomodulatory mechanisms.

The infusion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) potentially improves clinical symptoms, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We conducted a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled (29 patients/group) phase II clinical trial to validate previous findings and explore the potential mechanisms. Patients treated with umbilical cord-derived MSCs exhibited a shorter hospital stay (P = 0.0198) and less time required for symptoms remission (P = 0.0194) than those who received placebo. Based on chest images, both severe and critical patients treated with MSCs showed improvement by day 7 (P = 0.0099) and day 21 (P = 0.0084). MSC-treated patients had fewer adverse events. MSC infusion reduced the levels of C-reactive protein, proinflammatory cytokines, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and promoted the maintenance of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. To explore how MSCs modulate the immune system, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing analysis on peripheral blood. Our analysis identified a novel subpopulation of VNN2+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor-like (HSPC-like) cells expressing CSF3R and PTPRE that were mobilized following MSC infusion. Genes encoding chemotaxis factors - CX3CR1 and L-selectin - were upregulated in various immune cells. MSC treatment also regulated B cell subsets and increased the expression of costimulatory CD28 in T cells in vivo and in vitro. In addition, an in vivo mouse study confirmed that MSCs suppressed NET release and reduced venous thrombosis by upregulating kindlin-3 signaling. Together, our results underscore the role of MSCs in improving COVID-19 patient outcomes via maintenance of immune homeostasis.

Clinical value of laboratory indicators for predicting disease progression and death in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: As early prediction of severe illness and death for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is important, we aim to explore the clinical value of laboratory indicators in evaluating the progression and prognosis of patients with COVID-19. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Hospital-based study in China. PARTICIPANTS: Adult patients with COVID-19 from December 15, 2019 to March 15, 2020. END POINT: Disease severity and mortality. METHODS: Clinical data of 638 patients with COVID-19 were collected and compared between severe and non-severe groups. The predictive ability of laboratory indicators in disease progression and prognosis of COVID-19 was analysed using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The survival differences of COVID-19 patients with different levels of laboratory indicators were analysed utilising Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: 29.8% (190/638) of patients with COVID-19 progressed to severe. Compared with patients with no adverse events, C reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and D-dimer were significantly higher in severe patients with adverse events, such as acute myocardial injury, respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, multiple organ dysfunction syndromes and death (all p<0.05). The multivariate logistic analysis suggested that CRP, NLR and D-dimer were independent risk factors for the disease progression of COVID-19 (all p<0.05). The model combining all of them owned the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) predicting disease progression and death of COVID-19, with AUC of 0.894 (95% CI 0.857 to 0.931) and 0.918 (95% CI 0.873 to 0.962), respectively. Survival analysis suggested that the patients with a high level of CRP, NLR or D-dimer performed shorter overall survival time (all p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of CRP, NLR and D-dimer could be an effective predictor for the aggravation and death in patients with COVID-19. The abnormal expression of these indicators might suggest a strong inflammatory response and multiple adverse events in patients with severe COVID-19.

Clinical predictors of COVID-19 disease progression and death: Analysis of 214 hospitalised patients from Wuhan, China.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has spread rapidly worldwide and has been declared a pandemic. OBJECTIVES: To delineate clinical features of COVID-19 patients with different severities and prognoses and clarify the risk factors for disease progression and death at an early stage. METHODS: Medical history, laboratory findings, treatment and outcome data from 214 hospitalised patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to Eastern Campus of Renmin Hospital, Wuhan University in China were collected from 30 January 2020 to 20 February 2020, and risk factors associated with clinical deterioration and death were analysed. The final date of follow-up was 21 March 2020. RESULTS: Age, comorbidities, higher neutrophil cell counts, lower lymphocyte counts and subsets, impairment of liver, renal, heart, coagulation systems, systematic inflammation and clinical scores at admission were significantly associated with disease severity. Ten (16.1%) moderate and 45 (47.9%) severe patients experienced deterioration after admission, and median time from illness onset to clinical deterioration was 14.7 (IQR 11.3-18.5) and 14.5 days (IQR 11.8-20.0), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed increased Hazards Ratio of disease progression associated with older age, lymphocyte count <1.1 × 109/L, blood urea nitrogen (BUN)> 9.5 mmol/L, lactate dehydrogenase >250 U/L and procalcitonin >0.1 ng/mL at admission. These factors were also associated with the risk of death except for BUN. Prediction models in terms of nomogram for clinical deterioration and death were established to illustrate the probability. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide insights for early detection and management of patients at risk of disease progression or even death, especially older patients and those with comorbidities.

The Relationship Between Diabetes Mellitus and COVID-19 Prognosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that first appeared in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread throughout the world. We aimed to understand the relationship between diabetes mellitus and the prognosis of COVID-19. METHODS: Demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiologic, treatments, complications, and clinical outcomes data were extracted from electronic medical records and compared between diabetes (n = 84) and nondiabetes (n = 500) groups. Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox analysis were applied to determine the risk factors for the prognosis of COVID-19. RESULTS: Compared with nondiabetic patients, diabetic patients had higher levels of neutrophils (P = .014), C-reactive protein (P = .008), procalcitonin (P < .01), and D-dimer (P = .033), and lower levels of lymphocytes (P = .032) and albumin (P = .035). Furthermore, diabetic patients had a significantly higher incidence of bilateral pneumonia (86.9%, P = .020). In terms of complications and clinical outcomes, the incidence of respiratory failure (36.9% vs 24.2%, P = .022), acute cardiac injury (47.4% vs 21.2%, P < .01), and death (20.2% vs 8.0%, P = .001) in the diabetes group was significantly higher than that in the nondiabetes group. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that COVID-19 patients with diabetes had a shorter overall survival time. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that diabetes (hazard ratio 2.180, P = .031) was an independent risk factor for COVID-19 prognosis. In subgroup analysis, we divided diabetic patients into insulin-required and non-insulin-required groups according to whether they needed insulin, and found that diabetic patients requiring insulin may have a higher risk of disease progression and worse prognosis after the infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of COVID-19. More attention should be paid to the prevention and treatment for diabetic patients, especially those who require insulin therapy.