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ISG20 inhibits viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 invasion;however, details of its expression and regulation with viral susceptibility remain to be elucidated. The present study analyzed ISG20 expression, isoform information, survival rate, methylation patterns, immune cell infiltration, and COVID-19 outcomes in healthy and cancerous individuals. Cordycepin (CD) and N6, N6-dimethyladenosine (m62A) were used to treat cancer cells for ISG20 expression. We revealed that ISG20 mRNA expression was primarily located in the bone marrow and lymphoid tissues. Interestingly, its expression was significantly increased in 11 different types of cancer, indicating that cancer patients may be less vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among them, higher expression of ISG20 was associated with a long OS in CESC and SKCM, suggesting that ISG20 may be a good marker for both viral prevention and cancer progress. ISG20 promoter methylation was significantly lower in BLCA, READ, and THCA tumor tissues than in the matched normal tissues, while higher in BRCA, LUSC, KIRC, and PAAD. Hypermethylation of ISG20 in KIRC and PAAD tumor tissues was correlated with higher expression of ISG20, suggesting that methylation of ISG20 may not underlie its overexpression. Furthermore, ISG20 expression was significantly correlated with immune infiltration levels, including immune lymphocytes, chemokine, receptors, immunoinhibitors, immunostimulators, and MHC molecules in pan-cancer. STAD exhibited the highest degree of ISG20 mutations;the median progression-free survival time in months for the unaltered group was 61.84, while it was 81.01 in the mutant group. Isoforms ISG20-001 and ISG20−009 showed the same RNase_T domain structure, demonstrating the functional roles in tumorigenesis and SARS-CoV-2 invasion inhibition in cancer patients. Moreover, CD and m62A increase ISG20 expression in various cancer cell lines, implying the antiviral/anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic potential. Altogether, this study highlighted the value of combating cancer by targeting ISG20 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and small molecules extracted from traditional Chinese medicines, such as CD, may have potential as anti-SARS-CoV-2 and anticancer agents by promoting ISG20 expression.
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ObjectivesTo determine the association of general practitioner (GP) contact with depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in China.DesignIn April 2020, a follow-up survey was conducted on the basis of a baseline survey conducted between October 2018 and May 2019.SettingThe survey was embedded in the Stanford Wellness Living Laboratory-China (WELL China) study, an ongoing prospective community-based cohort study during 2018–2019.ParticipantsThe survey was conducted by telephone interview among 4144 adult urban residents participating in the WELL China study at baseline. We collected information on sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms and GP contact during the lockdown period (February to March 2020).Primary and secondary outcome measuresDepressive symptoms were measured using the WHO-Five Well-being Index, comprising five questionnaire items that briefly indicate psychological well-being. Logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between GP contact and depressive symptoms.ResultsIn total, 3356 participants responded to the survey;203 were excluded owing to missing data on depressive symptoms, leaving 3153 participants in the present study. During lockdown, 449 participants had GP contact. GP contact was significantly negatively associated with prevalent depressive symptoms (OR, 0.67;95% CI 0.51 to 0.89;p<0.01) and incident depressive symptoms (OR 0.68;95% CI 0.51 to 0.93;p<0.05). Stratified analysis showed a significant negative association between depressive symptoms and GP contact in individuals who were 45–64 years old (p<0.01), had a middle or high education (p<0.01) and had self-reported non-communicable diseases (p<0.05).ConclusionsContact with GPs during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns may have a negative association with depressive symptoms in community-dwelling populations. Given the possibility of further surges in COVID-19 infections, GPs’ contact in the community should be enhanced.
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Stock and flow diagrams are widely used in epidemiology to model the dynamics of populations. Although tools already exist for building these diagrams and simulating the systems they describe, we have created a new package called StockFlow, part of the AlgebraicJulia ecosystem, which uses ideas from category theory to overcome notable limitations of existing software. Compositionality is provided by the theory of decorated cospans: stock and flow diagrams can be composed to form larger ones in an intuitive way formalized by the operad of undirected wiring diagrams. Our approach also cleanly separates the syntax of stock and flow diagrams from the semantics they can be assigned. We consider semantics in ordinary differential equations, although others are possible. As an example, we explain code in StockFlow that implements a simplified version of a COVID-19 model used in Canada.
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COVID-19ABSTRACT
[Background] Front-line medical staff are an important group in fighting against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and their mental health should not be ignored. [Objective] This study investigates the current situation and influencing factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among front-line anti-epidemic medical staff during COVID-19 epidemic. [Methods] Medical staff who had participated in fighting against the COVID-19 epidemic wereselected from three grade III Class A hospitals and four grade II Class A hospitals in a city of Hubei Province by convenient sampling method in May 2020. The survey was conducted online using the Post-traumatic Stress Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) as the main survey tool to investigate current situation and characteristics of PTSD among these participants. A total of 1120 questionnaires were collected, of which 1071 were valid, and the effective rate was 95.6%. [Results] Of the 1071 participants, the average age was (32.59±5.21) years;the ratio of male to female was 1: 5.02;the ratio of doctor to nurse was 1:5.8;nearly 70% participants came from grade III Class A hospitals;married participants accounted for 75.4%;most of them held a bachelor degree or above (86.5%);members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) accounted for 22.9%;50.9% had junior titles;the working years were mainly 5−10 years (42.8%);more than 80.0% participants volunteered to join the front-line fight;95.1% participants received family support;43.0% participated in rescue missions;78.1% participants fought the epidemic in their own hospitals;more than 60% participants considered the workload was greater than before;34.4% participants fought in the front-line for 2−4 weeks, and 23.5% participants did for more than 6 weeks. There were 111 cases of positive PTSD syndromes (PCL-C total score ≥38) with an overall positive rate of 10.4%, and the scores of reexperience [1.40 (1.00, 1.80)] and hypervigilance [1.40 (1.00, 2.00)] were higher than the score of avoidance [1.14 (1.00, 2.57)]. The results of univariate analysis revealed that PTSD occurred differently among participants grouped by age, political affiliation, working years, anti-epidemic activities location, accumulated working hours in fighting against COVID-19, having child parenting duty, voluntariness, family support, whether family members participated in front-line activities, and rescue mission assignment (P<0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that the incidence rates of reporting PTSD syndromes in medical personnel aged 31−40 years (OR=0.346, 95%CI: 0.164−0.730) and aged 41 years and above (OR=0.513, 95%CI: 0.319-0.823) were lower than that in those aged 20−30 years;the incidence rates of reporting PTSD syndromes in medical staff who were CPC members (OR=0.499, 95%CI: 0.274−0.909), volunteered to participate (OR=0.584, 95%CI: 0.360−0.945), and received family support (OR=0.453, 95%CI: 0.222-0.921) were lower than those did not (P<0.05);the incidence rates of reporting PTSD syndromes among medical workers who had child parenting duty (OR=2.372, 95%CI: 1.392−4.042), whose family members participated in front-line activities (OR=1.709, 95%CI: 1.135−2.575), and who participated in rescue missions (OR=1.705, 95%CI: 1.133-2.565) were higher than those who did not (P<0.05). [Conclusion] The positive PTSD syndrome rate is 10.4% in the front-line anti-epidemic medical staff. Age, political affiliation, voluntariness, family support, having child parenting duty, with a family members participating in the fight, and rescue mission assignment are the influencing factors of PTSD.
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While the immunogenicity of inactivated vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has been characterized in several well-conducted clinical trials, real-world evidence concerning immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) raised by such vaccines is currently missing. Here, we comprehensively characterized various parameters of SARS-CoV-2-specific cellular and humoral immune responses induced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in 126 individuals under real-world conditions. After two doses of vaccination, S-receptor binding domain IgG (S-RBD IgG) and neutralizing antibody (NAb) were detected in 87.06% (74/85) and 78.82% (67/85) of individuals, respectively. Female participants developed higher concentrations of S-RBD IgG and NAb compared to male vaccinees. Interestingly, a longer dosing interval between the first and second vaccination resulted in a better long-term SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD IgG response. The frequencies of CD4+ T cells that produce effector cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α) in response to stimulation with peptide pools corresponding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S), nucleocapsid (N) or membrane (M) protein were significantly higher in individuals received two doses of vaccine than those received one dose of vaccine and unvaccinated individuals. S, N, or M-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were detectable in 95.83% (69/72) and 54.16% (39/72) of double-vaccinated individuals, respectively. The longitudinal analysis demonstrated that CD4+ T cell responses recognizing S, N, and M waned quickly after a single vaccine dose, but were boosted and became more sustained following a second dose. Overall, we provide a comprehensive characterization of immune responses induced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in real-world settings, suggesting that both humoral and cellular SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity are elicited in the majority of individuals after two doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines.
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Objective@#To describe the epidemiological characteristics of a cluster of COVID-19 cases reported in Baodi district of Tianjin as of 18 February, 2020, which might be associated with the exposure in a local department store, and provide suggestions for prevention and control strategy development.@* Methods@#The basic characteristics, time and area distributions, clinical manifestations, epidemiological history and transmission mode of the COVID-19 cases associated with the department store exposure were analyzed.@* Results@#A total of 40 COVID-19 cases were associated with the department store exposure, accounting for 75.47% of the total confirmed cases (53 cases) reported in Baodi district. The cases were mainly at the age of 60 years or older (35.00%) and farmers (40.00%). The main clinical manifestations included fever (95.00%), cough (35.00%), and diarrhea (15.00%). The proportion of confirmed severe cases was 32.50%. The incidence curve showed that the incidence peak occurred on 31 January, 2020. Among the 40 cases, 6(15.00%) were department store employees, 19(47.50%) were customers and 15(37.50%) were close contacts (secondary cases). The first case occurred on 21 January, 2020, this case was a department store employee who had a purchasing history at whole sale markets in other provinces and cities before the onset, and 3 employees were still on duty after symptom onsets. The median of the incubation period of customer cases was 6 days, and the median of the interval between onset and medical treatment of customer cases was 7 days.@* Conclusion@#This was a cluster epidemic of COVID-19, which might be associated with the exposure in the department store. By now, the current prevention and control measures have achieved satisfied effects.
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Objective: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the medical advice seeking of Chinese children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Materials and Methods: An anonymous online questionnaire survey was conducted in 17 pediatric nephropathy diagnosis and treatment centers in China. The questions collected basic information on the patients and their parents and data on changes in the approach to medical treatment and their needs in the context of the outbreak etc. This is a Multicenter Cross-section Study. Results: A total of 735 valid questionnaires were collected. 555 patients (75.5%) and their parents said that the outbreak had a significant influence on their medical treatment: 264 patients (47.6%) said that it would be delayed by 2 to 4 weeks and 199 patients (35.9%) by 4 to 8 weeks. 510 patients (84.16%) hoped to get in touch with specialists through online consultation, and 528 patients (84.5%) hoped that online consultation could be implemented and that medication could be delivered to them.. A total of 458 patients (62.3%) said that their greatest concern was that the CKD would be aggravated or that they would experience a relapse; only 203 patients were infected by 2019-nCoV. A total of 313 patients (42.5%) experienced anxiety and thus required the intervention of psychologists. Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the medical treatment of children with CKD. Online consultation, medication delivery and psychological counselling are the greatest needs reported by patients and their families and could especially provide solutions for the management of low income children with CKD in remote rural areas in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic.