COVID-19-Associated Disease Course Is Shortened in Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis Patients Receiving Dupilumab Treatment: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Previous studies suggest that allergic diseases may be a protective factor in SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, data regarding the impact of dupilumab, a widely used immunomodulatory medication, on COVID-19 in an allergic population are very limited. To investigate the incidence and severity of COVID-19 among moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) patients treated with dupilumab, a retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients with moderate-to-severe AD who presented at the Department of Allergy of Tongji Hospital from 15 January 2023 to 31 January 2023. Healthy individuals matched for gender and age were also enrolled as a control. All subjects were asked about their demographic characteristics, past medical history, COVID-19 vaccination history, and medications, as well as the presence and duration of individual COVID-19-related symptoms. A total of 159 moderate-to-severe AD patients and 198 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. Among the AD patients, 97 patients were treated with dupilumab, and 62 patients did not receive any biologicals or systemic treatments (topical treatment group). The proportions of people who were not infected with COVID in the dupilumab treatment group, topical treatment group and healthy control group were 10.31%, 9.68% and 19.19%, respectively (p = 0.057). There was no significant difference in COVID-19-related symptom scores among all groups (p = 0.059). The hospitalization rates were 3.58% in the topical treatment group and 1.25% in the healthy control group, and no patient was hospitalized in the dupilumab treatment group (p = 0.163). Compared with healthy control group and topical treatment group, the dupilumab treatment group had the shortest COVID-19-associated disease duration (dupilumab treatment group, 4.15 ± 2.85 d vs. topical treatment group, 5.43 ± 3.15 d vs. healthy control group, 6.09 ± 4.29 d; p = 0.001). Among the AD patients treated with dupilumab for different times, there was no appreciable difference (<0.5 year group, 5 ± 3.62 d vs. 0.5-1 year group, 4.84 ± 2.58 d vs. >1 year group, 2.8 ± 1.32 d; p = 0.183). Dupilumab treatment shortened the duration of COVID-19 in patients with moderate-to-severe AD. AD patients can continue their dupilumab treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploration of symptom clusters during hemodialysis and symptom network analysis of older maintenance hemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Symptom networks can provide empirical evidence for the development of personalized and precise symptom management strategies. However, few studies have established networks of symptoms experienced by older patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Our goal was to examine the type of symptom clusters of older maintenance hemodialysis patients during dialysis and construct a symptom network to understand the symptom characteristics of this population. METHODS: The modified Dialysis Symptom Index was used for a cross-sectional survey. Network analysis was used to analyze the symptom network and node characteristics, and factor analysis was used to examine symptom clusters. RESULTS: A total of 167 participants were included in this study. The participants included 111 men and 56 women with a mean age of 70.05 ± 7.40. The symptom burdens with the highest scores were dry skin, dry mouth, itching, and trouble staying asleep. Five symptom clusters were obtained from exploratory factor analysis, of which the clusters with the most severe symptom burdens were the gastrointestinal discomfort symptom cluster, sleep disorder symptom cluster, skin discomfort symptom cluster, and mood symptom cluster. Based on centrality markers, it could be seen that feeling nervous and trouble staying asleep had the highest strength, and feeling nervous and feeling irritable had the highest closeness and betweenness. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodialysis patients have a severe symptom burden and multiple symptom clusters. Dry skin, itching, and dry mouth are sentinel symptoms in the network model; feeling nervous and trouble staying asleep are core symptoms of patients; feeling nervous and feeling irritable are bridge symptoms in this symptom network model. Clinical staff can formulate precise and efficient symptom management protocols for patients by using the synergistic effects of symptoms in the symptom clusters based on sentinel symptoms, core symptoms, and bridge symptoms.

Isolation, identification and genetic evolution analysis of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus SNJ-P strain in Sichuan Province

Purpose: To investigate the epidemic variation of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) strains in Sichuan Province, and to analyze the causes of poor vaccination effect. Methods: Piglet intestinal samples were collected from a pig farm in Sichuan Province for PCR detection, virus purification, determination of virus titer and virus infection experiments. Whole genome sequencing of isolated strains was determined. The S gene sequence of the isolated strain was compared with the strains from other regions and vaccine strains, and the phylogenetic tree was established. The amino acid site variation of S protein between the isolated strain and the classical vaccine strain CV777 was compared. Results: A PEDV strain was successfully isolated and named as PEDV SNJ-P. The determination of virus titer was 1..107.5/100 L. Animal infection experiments showed that the isolated strain could cause diarrhea, dehydration and other symptoms and lead to death in piglets. Genome sequencing and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the whole gene of PEDV SNJ-P strain was 28003 bp, and the genotype of the strain was S non-INDEL type. The strains were closely related to the strains of PEDV-WS, CH/JLDH/2016 and CH/HNLH/2015 isolated from China, and were relatively distant with the same type vaccine strain, and were far from the classical vaccine strain. Compared with the classical vaccine strain CV777, the S protein of SNJ-P strain had multiple amino acid mutations, deletions and insertions. Conclusion: Due to the continuous variation of strains, SNJ-P strain is far from the vaccine strain, and the current vaccines cannot provide effective protection. The results of this study are expected to provide reference for the study of PEDV strains and vaccine development in China.

RVG Peptide-Functionalized Favipiravir Nanoparticle Delivery System Facilitates Antiviral Therapy of Neurotropic Virus Infection in a Mouse Model.

Neurotropic viruses severely damage the central nervous system (CNS) and human health. Common neurotropic viruses include rabies virus (RABV), Zika virus, and poliovirus. When treating neurotropic virus infection, obstruction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) reduces the efficiency of drug delivery to the CNS. An efficient intracerebral delivery system can significantly increase intracerebral delivery efficiency and facilitate antiviral therapy. In this study, a rabies virus glycopeptide (RVG) functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) packaging favipiravir (T-705) was developed to generate T-705@MSN-RVG. It was further evaluated for drug delivery and antiviral treatment in a VSV-infected mouse model. The RVG, a polypeptide consisting of 29 amino acids, was conjugated on the nanoparticle to enhance CNS delivery. The T-705@MSN-RVG caused a significant decrease in virus titers and virus proliferation without inducing substantial cell damage in vitro. By releasing T-705, the nanoparticle promoted viral inhibition in the brain during infection. At 21 days post-infection (dpi), a significantly enhanced survival ratio (77%) was observed in the group inoculated with nanoparticle compared with the non-treated group (23%). The viral RNA levels were also decreased in the therapy group at 4 and 6 dpi compared with that of the control group. The T-705@MSN-RVG could be considered a promising system for CNS delivery for treating neurotropic virus infection.

Moving the Needle: Association Between a Vaccination Reward Lottery and COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Louisiana.

OBJECTIVE: On June 17, 2021, Louisiana launched a lottery campaign to reward residents who received a COVID-19 vaccination. We investigated the association between the lottery and vaccination uptake by characteristics of parishes. METHODS: We constructed an interrupted time series based on daily parish-level data on COVID-19 vaccinations to analyze the association with the lottery. We used recursive partitioning to separate vaccination uptake due to the Delta variant from vaccination uptake due to the lottery and limited our study period to May 25 through July 20, 2021. We performed subanalyses that grouped parishes by political affiliation, hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status to detect heterogeneous responses to the lottery by these characteristics. We ran models separately for parishes in the top and bottom tertiles of each sociodemographic indicator and used a z test to check for differences. RESULTS: The lottery was associated with an additional 1.03 (95% CI, 0.61-1.45; P < .001) first doses per parish per day. Comparing lottery impacts between top and bottom tertiles, we found significantly larger associations in parishes with lower vaccine hesitancy rates, higher percentage of Hispanic population, higher median annual household income, and more people with a college degree. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the lottery was associated with increased COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Louisiana. However, larger associations were observed in parishes with an already higher likelihood of accepting vaccines, which raises equity issues about the opportunity created by the lottery and its effectiveness as a long-term behavioral incentive.

Impact of vaccination on kinetics of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by Serum live neutralization test based on a prospective cohort.

How much the vaccine contributes to the induction and development of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) of breakthrough cases relative to those unvaccinated-infected cases is not fully understood. We conducted a prospective cohort study and collected serum samples from 576 individuals who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 Delta strain infection, including 245 breakthrough cases and 331 unvaccinated-infected cases. NAbs were analyzed by live virus microneutralization test and transformation of NAb titer. NAbs titers against SARS-CoV-2 ancestral and Delta variant in breakthrough cases were 7.8-fold and 4.0-fold higher than in unvaccinated-infected cases, respectively. NAbs titers in breakthrough cases peaked at the second week after onset/infection. However, the NAbs titers in the unvaccinated-infected cases reached their highest levels during the third week. Compared to those with higher levels of NAbs, those with lower levels of NAbs had no difference in viral clearance duration time (P>0.05), did exhibit higher viral load at the beginning of infection/maximum viral load of infection. NAb levels were statistically higher in the moderate cases than in the mild cases (P<0.0001). Notably, in breakthrough cases, NAb levels were highest longer than 4 months after vaccination (Delta strain: 53118.2 U/mL), and lowest in breakthrough cases shorter than 1 month (Delta strain: 7551.2 U/mL). Cross-neutralization against the ancestral strain and the current circulating isolate (Omicron BA.5) was significantly lower than against the Delta variant in both breakthrough cases and unvaccinated-infected cases. Our study demonstrated that vaccination could induce immune responses more rapidly and greater which could be effective in controlling SARS-CoV-2.

Translational Control of COVID-19 and Its Therapeutic Implication.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19, which has broken out worldwide for more than two years. However, due to limited treatment, new cases of infection are still rising. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the basic molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 to control this virus. SARS-CoV-2 replication and spread depend on the recruitment of host ribosomes to translate viral messenger RNA (mRNA). To ensure the translation of their own mRNAs, the SARS-CoV-2 has developed multiple strategies to globally inhibit the translation of host mRNAs and block the cellular innate immune response. This review provides a comprehensive picture of recent advancements in our understanding of the molecular basis and complexity of SARS-CoV-2 protein translation. Specifically, we summarize how this viral infection inhibits host mRNA translation to better utilize translation elements for translation of its own mRNA. Finally, we discuss the potential of translational components as targets for therapeutic interventions.

Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in Omicron breakthrough cases with inactivated vaccination: Role in inferring the history and duration of infection.

Background: The quantitative level and kinetics of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in individuals with Omicron breakthrough infections may differ from those of vaccinated individuals without infection. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the difference in NAb levels to distinguish the breakthrough cases from the post-immunized population to identify early infected person in an outbreak epidemic when nasal and/or pharyngeal swab nucleic acid real-time PCR results were negative. Methods: We collected 1077 serum samples from 877 individuals, including 189 with Omicron BA.2 breakthrough infection and 688 post-immunized participants. NAb titers were detected using the surrogate virus neutralization test, and were log(2)-transformed to normalize prior to analysis using Student's unpaired t-tests. Geometric mean titers (GMT) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Linear regression models were used to identify factors associated with NAb levels. We further conducted ROC curve analysis to evaluate the NAbs' ability to identify breakthrough infected individuals in the vaccinated population. Results: The breakthrough infection group had a consistently higher NAb levels than the post-immunized group according to time since the last vaccination. NAb titers in the breakthrough infection group were 6.4-fold higher than those in the post-immunized group (GMT: 40.72 AU/mL and 6.38 AU/mL, respectively; p<0.0001). In the breakthrough infection group, the NAbs in the convalescent phase were 10.9-fold higher than in the acute phase (GMT: 200.48 AU/mL and 18.46 AU/mL, respectively; p<0.0001). In addition, the time since infection, booster vaccination, and the time since last vaccination were associated with log(2)-transformed NAb levels in the breakthrough infection group. ROC curve analysis showed that ROC area was largest (0.728) when the cut-off value of log(2)-transformed NAb was 6, which indicated that NAb levels could identify breakthrough infected individuals in the vaccinated population. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the NAb titers of Omicron BA.2 variant breakthrough cases are higher than in the post-immunized group. The difference in NAb levels could be used to identify cases of breakthrough infection from the post-immunized population in an outbreak epidemic.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients with COVID-19-A Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a well-established treatment for patients with chronic lung disease; however, its role in patients with COVID-19 has not been systematically studied. We provide a protocol outlining the methods and analyses that will be used in the systematic review. METHODS: The methodology of this systematic review protocol has been filed in PROSPERO under the registration number CRD42022301418. Five electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, and CNKI databases) will be searched from 2019 to 28 July 2022, using pre-determined search terms. Eligibility criteria will be defined using a PICOS framework. Pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life will be the primary outcomes. Quantitative findings will be narratively synthesized, whilst argument synthesis combined with refutational analysis will be employed to synthesize qualitative data. RESULTS: The results will be presented by both meta-analysis and qualitative analysis. CONCLUSION: This protocol describes what will be the first systematic review to conduct a worldwide assessment of the effect of PR in patients with COVID-19. Because this is a systematic review and meta-analysis, no ethical approval is needed. The systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated both electronically and in print.

Research progress and hotspot of the artificial intelligence application in the ultrasound during 2011-2021: A bibliometric analysis.

Ultrasound, as a common clinical examination tool, inevitably has human errors due to the limitations of manual operation. Artificial intelligence is an advanced computer program that can solve this problem. Therefore, the relevant literature on the application of artificial intelligence in the ultrasonic field from 2011 to 2021 was screened by authors from the Web of Science Core Collection, which aims to summarize the trend of artificial intelligence application in the field of ultrasound, meanwhile, visualize and predict research hotspots. A total of 908 publications were included in the study. Overall, the number of global publications is on the rise, and studies on the application of artificial intelligence in the field of ultrasound continue to increase. China has made the largest contribution in this field. In terms of institutions, Fudan University has the most number of publications. Recently, IEEE Access is the most published journal. Suri J. S. published most of the articles and had the highest number of citations in this field (29 articles). It's worth noting that, convolutional neural networks (CNN), as a kind of deep learning algorithm, was considered to bring better image analysis and processing ability in recent most-cited articles. According to the analysis of keywords, the latest keyword is "COVID-19" (2020.8). The co-occurrence analysis of keywords by VOSviewer visually presented four clusters which consisted of "deep learning," "machine learning," "application in the field of visceral organs," and "application in the field of cardiovascular". The latest hot words of these clusters were "COVID-19; neural-network; hepatocellular carcinoma; atherosclerotic plaques". This study reveals the importance of multi-institutional and multi-field collaboration in promoting research progress.

Carbon Emission Variations for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles after Coronavirus Disease 19: An Empirical Case in Chongqing, China

Owing to the lockdowns associated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic, carbon emissions were significantly reduced. However, the accurate impacts on the personal transport sector since then remain unclear. To further investigate the influence of sudden public health emergencies on actual carbon emissions from personal electric vehicles, this paper examined the travel patterns and corresponding carbon emissions of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) operating in Chongqing, China, before and after COVID-19. The results revealed that the pandemic has reshaped the travel patterns of vehicle drivers, with a 9 % reduction in the postpandemic fleet average daily travel mileage. Currently, the total daily carbon emissions of a PHEV with a range of 80 km (PHEV80) are 6.24 kg, which is 13 % lower than emissions from conventional vehicles and 32 % higher than those from electric battery-powered vehicles before the pandemic. Since COVID-19, there has been a 24 % decrease in carbon emissions from PHEV80 vehicles for the fleet and a 30 % maximum increase for individuals. Furthermore, considering the integration of 50 % renewable energy into China’s power grid by 2025, PHEVs can better mitigate the fluctuations in carbon emissions associated with sudden public health emergencies compared with conventional vehicles.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Adenovirus Coinfection Cause Pediatric Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Consolidation is one complication of pediatric severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) that can respond poorly to conservative medical treatment. We investigated the pathogens that cause pediatric SCAP including cases with persistent consolidation that need bronchoscopy intervention. Alveolar lavage fluid (ALF) samples collected from cases admitted to Children's Hospital of Fudan University with SCAP during January 2019 to March in 2019 were retrospectively tested by the RespiFinder 2SMART multiplex PCR (multi-PCR) assay targeting 22 respiratory pathogens. A total of 90 cases and 91 samples were enrolled; 80.0% (72/90) of the cases had pulmonary consolidation and/or atelectasis. All samples were positive with targeted pathogens tested by multi-PCR, and 92.3% (84/91) of the samples were co-detected with pathogens. Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) and adenovirus (ADV) as the two dominant pathogens, with the positive rates of 96.7% (88/91) and 79.1% (72/91), respectively. Most of the samples were positive with MP and ADV simultaneously. As a control, 78.0% (71/91) of the samples were positive by conventional tests (CT), in which MP had the detection rate of 63.9% (55/86) by a traditional real-time PCR assay, while ADV were positive in 13.1% (12/91) of the samples by a direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA). In cases with persistent pulmonary consolidation, the positive rates of pathogens by multi-PCR and CT were 100% (72/72) and 81.9% (59/72), respectively. There were no significant differences of MP or ADV positive rates between cases with and without pulmonary consolidation. MP and ADV most prevalent in pediatric SCAP cases required fiberscope intervention, and presented with coinfections dominantly. IMPORTANCE Pathogens that cause pediatric severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) requiring bronchoscopy intervention are understudied. Through this study, we explore the etiology of SCAP form alveolar lavage fluid (ALF) samples by the RespiFinder 2SMART multi-PCR assay. It is observed that high mixed detection rates of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and adenovirus in ALF samples collected from hospitalized SCAP children experienced bronchoscopy intervention. Eighty percent of the cases had pulmonary consolidation and/or atelectasis. The presence of possible coinfection of these two pathogens might contribute to poor clinical anti-infection response. The results of this study might be helpful for the selection of clinical strategies for the empirical treatment of such pediatric SCAP cases.

Application of Nanopore Sequencing in the Detection of Foodborne Microorganisms.

Foodborne pathogens have become the subject of intense interest because of their high incidence and mortality worldwide. In the past few decades, people have developed many methods to solve this challenge. At present, methods such as traditional microbial culture methods, nucleic acid or protein-based pathogen detection methods, and whole-genome analysis are widely used in the detection of pathogenic microorganisms in food. However, these methods are limited by time-consuming, cumbersome operations or high costs. The development of nanopore sequencing technology offers the possibility to address these shortcomings. Nanopore sequencing, a third-generation technology, has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, real-time sequencing, and low turnaround time. It can be widely used in the rapid detection and serotyping of foodborne pathogens. This review article discusses foodborne diseases, the principle of nanopore sequencing technology, the application of nanopore sequencing technology in foodborne pathogens detection, as well as its development prospects.

Translational Control of COVID-19 and Its Therapeutic Implication

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19, which has broken out worldwide for more than two years. However, due to limited treatment, new cases of infection are still rising. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the basic molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 to control this virus. SARS-CoV-2 replication and spread depend on the recruitment of host ribosomes to translate viral messenger RNA (mRNA). To ensure the translation of their own mRNAs, the SARS-CoV-2 has developed multiple strategies to globally inhibit the translation of host mRNAs and block the cellular innate immune response. This review provides a comprehensive picture of recent advancements in our understanding of the molecular basis and complexity of SARS-CoV-2 protein translation. Specifically, we summarize how this viral infection inhibits host mRNA translation to better utilize translation elements for translation of its own mRNA. Finally, we discuss the potential of translational components as targets for therapeutic interventions.

A Consumer Segmentation Study of Nutrition Information Seeking and Its Relation to Food Consumption in Beijing, China.

The aim of this study is to identify consumer groups based on nutrition information-seeking behavior and how it relates to food consumption. Although the Chinese public can now access nutrition information through different channels, research on the segmentation of homogeneous consumer groups seeking nutrition information is lacking. This study closes this research gap and, in doing so, also shows how information seeking is related to dietary behavior. A questionnaire was sent out to a stratified random sample in Beijing, resulting in 448 responses. A cluster analysis using hierarchical methods was conducted, identifying four distinct consumer groups: Multi-Channel (27.43%), Mass Media (20.57%), Moderate (27.88%), and Uninterested (24.12%). The four segments differed significantly concerning food consumption frequencies, food literacy, and sociodemographic characteristics. Consumers who were more involved in nutrition information tended to eat healthier. Our findings indicate that nutrition information is worth promoting, but this kind of intervention is not a cure-all. Targeted interventions should focus on uninterested populations by providing non-informational nudging strategies to promote healthy eating behaviors. This study contributes to the identification of meaningful profiles for targeted interventions, particularly as regards uninterested or unreached consumers.

A critical discourse analysis of news reports on COVID-19 in People's Daily and the New York Times (analisis wacana kritis laporan berita tentang COVID-19 di People's Daily dan the New York Times)

Critical Discourse Analysis aims to explore the ideology implicit in the discourse, thereby exposing the injustice, discrimination and prejudice in the discourse. The sudden epidemic has become the world's biggest event in 2020. Such international news is a special public discourse, and the discourse system and ideology displayed by various countries are different. This paper uses Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Framework and Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar as analysis tools, and selects 12 reports from the People’s Daily and The New York Times on the COVID-19 epidemic for Critical Discourse Analysis. After analysis, it is found that People’s Daily and The New York Times both use a lot of negative and derogatory terms, the difference in the focus of the media coverage of the two countries reflects the ideological difference caused by the cultural difference. Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Three-dimensional Model, Systemic Functional Grammar, COVID-19 Analisis Wacana Kritis bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi ideologi yang tersirat dalam wacana, sehingga mengungkap ketidakadilan, diskriminasi, dan prasangka dalam wacana. Pandemi mendadak ini menjadi peristiwa terbesar dunia pada tahun 2020. Berita internasional semacam itu merupakan wacana publik yang khusus, dan sistem wacana serta ideologi yang ditampilkan oleh berbagai negara berbeda-beda. Makalah ini menggunakan three-dimensional model Fairclough dan systemic functional grammar Halliday sebagai alat analisis, dan memilih 12 laporan dari People's Daily dan The New York Times tentang epidemi COVID-19 untuk Analisis Wacana Kritis. Setelah dilakukan analisis, ditemukan bahwa People’s Daily dan The New York Times sama-sama banyak menggunakan istilah-istilah negatif dan merendahkan, perbedaan fokus pemberitaan media kedua negara tersebut mencerminkan perbedaan ideologis yang diakibatkan oleh perbedaan budaya tersebut. Kata kunci: Analisis Wacana Kritis, Three-dimensional Model, Systemic Functional Grammar, COVID-19

ALBUVIRTIDE AGAINST COMMON TYPE COVID-19

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of albuvir-tide (ABT) in the treatment of patients with Corona-virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study was conducted in 22 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections in the Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu from February to April, 2020. All patients intravenously received 320 mg of ABT on Day 1, 2, 3, 8 in addition to standard care. The primary endpoint was a coronavirus-negative result and the pneumonia was alleviated in patients. It showed that the average age of the patients was 48.2 ± 18.0 years old, and 10 of them (45.5%) were male. The most common symptoms were cough (81.8%), expectoration (72.7%o), fever (27.3%), while no abnormal blood cell count was observed among these patients. The CT examination showed that 6 patients (27.3%) with unilateral pneumonia and 15 of them (68.2%) with bilateral pneumonia, confirmed by massive patchy shadows and ground glass opacities within patient lungs. After the ABT treatment, the cough, expectoration and fever were relieved by 33.3%, 43.8% and 100%, respectively. The mean body temperature recovery time was 2.5 days (range, 1-4 days). The alleviated pneumonia was seen in 14 patients (63.6%) by CT scanning after day 8. Based on nasopharyngeal sampling, the COVID-19 RNA was negatively detected in 14 of 22 patients after 8 days of ABT treatment. Meanwhile, no obvious adverse events occurred during and after treatment. The results showed that ABT presents a favorable clinical response in patients infected with COVID-19.

Functionalized Nanoparticles in Prevention and Targeted Therapy of Viral Diseases With Neurotropism Properties, Special Insight on COVID-19.

Neurotropic viruses have neural-invasive and neurovirulent properties to damage the central nervous system (CNS), leading to humans' fatal symptoms. Neurotropic viruses comprise a lot of viruses, such as Zika virus (ZIKV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), rabies virus (RABV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Effective therapy is needed to prevent infection by these viruses in vivo and in vitro. However, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) usually prevents macromolecules from entering the CNS, which challenges the usage of the traditional probes, antiviral drugs, or neutralizing antibodies in the CNS. Functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) have been increasingly reported in the targeted therapy of neurotropic viruses due to their sensitivity and targeting characteristics. Therefore, the present review outlines efficient functionalized NPs to further understand the recent trends, challenges, and prospects of these materials.

Human urinary kallidinogenase in acute ischemic stroke: A single-arm, multicenter, phase IV study (RESK study).

AIMS: Human urinary kallidinogenase (HUK) has shown favorable efficacies in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treatment. We sought confirmation of the safety and efficacy of HUK for AIS in a large population. METHODS: RESK study enrolled patients with AIS of anterior circulation to receive HUK infusion. The primary endpoint was the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs). Secondary endpoints assessed neurological and functional improvements and stroke recurrent rate. RESULTS: Of 1206 eligible patients, 1202 patients received at least one dose of HUK infusion and 983 (81.5%) completed the study. The incidence of treatment-emergent AEs and serious AEs were 55.99% and 2.41%, respectively. Pre-specified AEs of special interest occurred in 21.71% of patients, but the majority were mild and unrelated to therapy. Hypertension, age, treatment time, and drug combination were identified to be associated with drug-related blood pressure reduction. Neurological and functional evaluations revealed favorable outcomes from baseline to post-treatment assessment. The cumulative recurrence rate of stroke was 2.50% during the 90-day assessment. CONCLUSION: HUK had an acceptable safety and tolerability profile in AIS patients. Besides, HUK demonstrated the neurological and functional improvements in AIS, further confirming its clinical efficacy in a real-world large population.