Rapid, sensitive detection of intact SARS-CoV-2 using DNA nets and a smartphone-linked fluorimeter

We report a single-step, room-temperature, 5-10 minute SARS-CoV-2 saliva self-monitoring method that overcomes the limitations of existing approaches through the use of fluorophore-releasing Designer DNA Nanostructures (DDNs) that bind with the multivalent pattern of spike proteins on the exterior intact virions and an inexpensive smartphone-linked, pocket-size fluorimeter, called a "V-Pod” for its resemblance to an Apple AirPod™ headphone case. We characterize the V-Pod fluorimeter performance and the DDN-based assay to demonstrate a clinically relevant detection limit of 104 virus particles/mL for pseudo-typed WT SARS-CoV-2 and 105 virus particles/mL for real pathogenic variants, including Delta, Omicron, and D614g. © 2023 SPIE.

Epidemic characteristics analysis of COVID-19 cluster in Huizhou, Guangdong

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 cluster epidemic in Huizhou from January to February in 2020, and we provide experience and reference for the prevention and control of cluster epidemic. Methods Descriptive epidemiology was used to analyze the clusters of COVID-19 in Huizhou city. Results From January to February in 2020, a total of 19 COVID-19 cluster outbreaks were reported in Huizhou. The most common cluster outbreaks were in Huidong county (8 cases), Boluo county (3 cases) and Huiyang district (3 cases). There were 59 cases involved in 19 outbreaks, among which 46 were confirmed cases, and 13 were asymptomatic infected. The sex ratio of male to female was 0.84: 1, the age was 1-85 years old. The 19 cases of outbreaks were all caused by imported cases, among which 13 cases were imported from Wuhan (68.4%), 3 cases were imported from Hubei province except Wuhan (15.8%), and 3 cases were imported from other provinces and cities (15.8%). There were 13 cases (68.4%) in the first generation, and 6 cases (31.6%) in the second generation. Events exposed place were variety, including 3 (15.8%) simple family exposure, 13 (68.4%) joint exposure, exposure family, 1 (5.26%) of the joint exposure, family exposure, family dinners, 1 (5.26%) of the joint exposure, family exposure, exposure (hotel) exposed in public places, 1 (5.26%) of the collective unit (workplace) exposure. Conclusion All the COVID - 19 cluster outbreaks in Huizhou city were caused by imported cases, most of which occurred in the family and were caused by families living together and eating together. As the number of people returning to work, production and school increases, various prevention and control measures should be implemented in key areas, key populations and key places to prevent the outbreak from rebounding.Copyright © China Tropical Medicine 2021.

Rashes caused by arbidol in a patient with novel coronavirus pneumonia.

A 50-year-old male patient with agitated depression and hyperlipemia received oral amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium 0.5 g once daily and 2 lopinavir and ritonavir tablets twice daily for novel coronavirus infection, based on previous drugs including quetiapine, clonazepam, and atorvastatin calcium. After 3 days, lopinavir and ritonavir was changed to oral arbidol 200 mg, thrice daily due to suspicious drug interaction. After taking arbidol for 3 days, the patient developed red papules on the whole body. Considering that it might be related to amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium, the drug was stopped and loratadine was given. But the rashes were aggravated. Considering that the drug eruption was caused by arbidol, arbidol was discontinued and the rashes subsided in a large area the next day. Then vitamin C injection, calcium gluconate injection, and ribavirin were added. After 5 days, the rashes subsided completely. After 17 days, the patient recovered from pneumonia.Copyright © 2020 by the Chinese Medical Association.

A practical guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating the mindfulness-based well-being group for international students

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated societal upheavals further aggravated pre-existing vulnerabilities of the international student population. In this article, an online mindfulness-based group intervention—mindfulness-based well-being group for international students is described. A practical guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating the MBWIS group is outlined. © 2023 by the American Counseling Association.

Biomedicine Big Data-Trends and Prospect

This forward-looking reviewfocuses on the development and applications for Biomedicine Big Data (BMBD), and its role in the engineering system for data management, scientific and technological research and development, as well as in social and economic transformation. The review starts with an elaboration on the complex connotations of BMDB from the inter-disciplinary point of view. It then explores the implications of BMDB in sectors such as life science research, medical and health institutions, and biotechnology and bio-medicine industries in connection with the challenges and opportunities faced by social and economic development. The recent COVID-19 outbreak is used as an illustrative case study. The review ends with an analysis of a decade of BMBD practice, both domestically and abroad, with suggestions for policy-making and solutions to tacklemajor challenges from China's perspective. It is hoped that anyBMBD-related institutions, including administrative, academic, industrial, financial and social organizations, practitioners and users will benefit from this insightful summary drawn from the past decades ofBMBDpractice. Any critical comments and constructive suggestions are sincerely welcomed by the authors. © Publishing House of Electronics Industry 2021.

Marketing strategy of characteristic agricultural products under the background of ‘internet +'

At the beginning of 2020, affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, large-scale gathering activities and offline purchasing activities are difficult to operate normally. As a result, the contactless online sales model of farm produce e-business has attracted wide attention of consumers because it avoids direct contact between people and reduces the risk of infection among users. The E-Marketing link of characteristic farm produce can reflect the good advantages of ‘Internet +' era. For merchants, they can provide better services to customers through the Internet, thus enhancing their purchasing power. According to the unique attributes and categories of farm produce and other labels, combined with KNN (K-nearest neighbour) algorithm, this paper builds a marketing model of characteristic farm produce to improve the accuracy of farm produce recommendation, so as to realise the accurate marketing of characteristic farm produce under the background of ‘Internet +'. Experimental results show that the recall rate of the algorithm is 97.21% and the accuracy rate is 95.34%. Therefore, the precision marketing system model of e-business farm produce designed in this paper has high precision in predicting consumers' purchase intention, and can be used as decision-making basis for enterprises in its precision marketing. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Integration of a hybrid scan approach and in-house high-resolution MS2 spectral database for charactering the multicomponents of Xuebijing Injection

Xuebijing (XBJ) Injection is a reputable patent Chinese medicine widely used to cure sepsis, among the Chinese ″Three Medicines and Three Prescriptions″ solution to fight against COVID-19. We were aimed to achieve the comprehensive multicomponent characterization from the single drugs to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, by integrating powerful data acquisition and the in-house MS2 spectral database searching. By ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS), a hybrid scan approach (HDMSE-HDDDA) was developed, while the HDMSE data for five component drugs and 56 reference compounds were acquired and processed to establish an in-house MS2 spectral database of XBJ. Good resolution of the XBJ components was accomplished on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 column within 24 min, while a fit-for-purpose HDMSE-HDDDA approach was elaborated in two ionization modes for enhanced MS2 data acquisition. XBJ MS2 spectral library was thus established on the UNIFITM platform involving rich structure-related information for the chemicals from five component drugs. We could identify or tentatively characterize 294 components from XBJ, involving 81 flavonoids, 51 terpenoids, 42 phthalides, 40 organic acids, 13 phenylpropanoids, seven phenanthrenequinones, six alkaloids, and 54 others. In contrast to the application of conventional MS1 library, this newly established strategy could demonstrate superiority in the accuracy of identification results and the characterization of isomers, due to the more restricted filtering/matching criteria. Conclusively, the integration of the HDMSE-HDDDA hybrid scan approach and the in-house MS2 spectral database can favor the efficient and more reliable multicomponent characterization from single drugs to the TCM formula. © 2022 The Author(s)

Fast and direct identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants via 2D InSe field-effect transistors

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and new variants emerge, the development of more efficient identification approaches of variants is urgent to prevent continuous outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2. Field-effect transistors (FETs) with two-dimensional (2D) materials are viable platforms for the detection of virus nucleic acids (NAs) but cannot yet provide accurate information on NA variations. Herein, 2D Indium selenide (InSe) FETs were used to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants. The device's mobility and stability were ensured by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3. The resulting FETs exhibited sub-fM detection limits ranging from 10(-14) M to 10(-)(8) M. The recognition of single-nucleotide variations was achieved within 15 min to enable the fast and direct identification of two core mutations (L452R, R203M) in Delta genomes (p < .01). Such capability originated from the trap states in oxidized InSe (InSe1-xOx) after ALD, resulting in traps-involved carrier transport responsive to the negative charges of NAs. In sum, the proposed approach might highly provide epidemiological information for timely surveillance of the COVID pandemic.

V-Pods: Rapid, Sensitive Detection of Intact SARS-CoV-2 using DNA Nets and a Smartphone-Linked Fluorimeter

Rapid, simple, inexpensive, and sensitive self-testing for SARS-CoV-2 is expected to be an important element of controlling the ongoing COVID pandemic. We report a novel approach in which saliva is mixed at room temperature with a Designer DNA Nanostructure (DDN) engineered to create a net-like structure that positions an array of highly specific nucleic acid aptamer-quencher locks at the locations of the trimeric spike proteins. When the spike proteins selectively unlock aptamers on the DDN, fluorescent reporter molecules are unquenched, generating an intense and easily measured optical signal. The fluorescence intensity, proportional to the virus concentration, is detected by a battery-powered palmsized fluorimeter, whose functions are managed wirelessly with a Bluetooth-linked smartphone. Because the single-step, room temperature, test is performed in a conventional 0.2 mL PCR tube that is inserted into the fluorimeter, which resembles an Apple AirPodsT headphone case, we call the technology (DDN+fluorimeter+App) a "V-Pod." We show that DDNs are highly specific only for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in both its initial form as well as common variants. The approach achieves a detection limit of 10,000 genome copies/mL, consistent with laboratory-based PCR, while requiring only one reagent and a 5-10 minute incubation time with saliva. Because DDNs are inexpensively synthesized, structurally stable nucleic acid constructs, and the V-Pod instrument is comprised of inexpensive electronic and photonic components, the approach offers potential for rapid self-monitoring of viral infection with integrated capability for contact tracing and interaction with health services.

BIM-based optimization of passenger flow organization in urban rail transit stations during the epidemic prevention and control phase

As a high-density crowd collection and dispersal carrier,rail transit is characterized by airtight confinement, which will provide an suitable environment for the potential spread of coronavirus disease. The virus distribution inside stations needs to be analyzed in order to adopt effective passenger flow organization strategies to reduce the risk of virus infection inside stations. With the help of aerodynamic principle, according to the virus transmission theory, the BIM simulation technology has been used to simulate the air flow direction of a certain station of Wuhan metro using Fluent software to qualitatively analyze the station's virus-prone gathering area and provide reference for station daily disinfection.The daily passenger flow organization of the station has been simulated considering the social force model.Comparing the overlap between the concentrated area of passenger flow density and the virus-prone area,a targeted imrovement plan of passenger flow organization has been proposed. The improvement measures have been verified quantitatively by two evaluation indexes: the average dwell time and virus susceptibility in pedestrian stations. The results show the effectiveness in reducing the probability of virus infection of passengers traveling in the station by disabling the station vending machines, reducing the number of passengers in the station, increasing the escalator rate, and optimizing the flow lines of passengers entering and exiting the station. The simulation results can provide inspiration and reference for normalized epidemic prevention in the daily operation of rail transit. © 2021 IEEE

Risk Factors of Ftal Outcome of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19

Background. Few studies reported the risk factors of fatal outcome of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to identify the independent risk factors associated with fatal outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods. The clinical data of 109 consecutive COVID-19 patients including 40 (36.7%) common cases and 69 (63.3%) severe cases were included and analyzed. Results: Multivariate regression analysis indicated that platelets (PLT, OR, 0.988;95% CI, 0.978-0.998;P=0.017) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR, 1.047;95% CI, 1.026-1.068;P<0.001) levels were the independent risk factors of fatal outcome in COVID-19 patients. The optimal cut-off value of PLT counts for predicting fatal outcome was 161x109/L with the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.824 (95% CI, 0.739-0.890). The optimal cut-off value of CRP for the prediction of fatal outcome was 46.2 mg/L with the AUROC of 0.954 (95% CI, 0.896-0.985). The CRP levels had higher predictive values for fatal outcome than PLT (P=0.016). The cumulative survival rate was significantly higher in patients with PLT>161x10(9)/L compared with patients with PLT <= 161x10(9)/L (89.4% vs. 12.5%, log-rank test chi(2)=72.17;P<0.001). Survival rate of COVID-19 patients was prominently higher in CRP <= 46.2 mg/L patients compared with patients with CRP>46.2 mg/L (95.9% vs. 22.9%, log-rank test chi(2)=77.85;P<0.001). Conclusions. PLT counts and CRP levels could predict fatal outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with relatively high accuracy.

Research advance on the important role of selenoprotein in human health

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for animal and human health. Se deficiency and Se excessive intake can lead to severe symptoms and are related to diseases. Se is mainly combined with protein in the form of selenocysteine (Sec) and selenomethionine (Se-Met) in the human body. Generally, proteins formed by incorporating Sec into them are called selenoproteins, while proteins bound in other forms are called Se-containing proteins. Selenoprotein is the main form of Se to exert its biological functions in the human body, and Se deficiency could reduce the content and activity of selenoproteins and disturb the normal physiological function. Researches on the relationship between selenoproteins and human health have received increasing attention, and a comprehensive understanding of the function of selenoproteins is helpful to explain the effects of Se on human health. Although the functions of selenoproteins are not yet fully understood, the critical role of many selenoproteins in human health has been revealed increasingly. So far, 25 kinds of selenoproteins have been found in the human body, and this review focuses on the structure and biological function of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and iodothyronine deiodinase (ID) families and their relationship with diseases. It shows that selenoproteins such as GPX, TrxR and ID families have biological functions of regulating cell oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, antioxidant defense, immune response and inflammatory response. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and DNA methylation in the promoter region of selenoprotein are related to the risk of diseases. Selenoproteins play a vital role in the pathogenesis and prevention of diseases such as tumors, cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis (OA), Keshan disease (KSD), Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), and corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through their genetic and epigenetic forms. This research will provide clues and basis for further revealing the role of Se and selenoprotein in human health and screening to prevent disease targets. However, due to the complexity and unknown biological functions of selenoproteins, the mechanism of selenoproteins in resisting diseases and promoting human health is still worthy of further exploration and research.

A mindfulness-based well-being group for international students in higher education: A pilot study

With an increasing number of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education, they were reported to have severe mental health issues, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It is critical to provide evidence-based mental health services to help them cope with those issues and promote mental health and the overall well-being of international students. In this article, we utilized a randomized controlled trial to pilot-test the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based well-being group for international students (MBWIS) in improving participants’ overall well-being and mental health. The results indicated that the MBWIS not only improves international students’ trait mindfulness but also increases positive mental health as well as decreases their overall psychological distress and perceived discrimination. Related findings and implications for counselors and university personnel, including how to implement MBWIS in mental health facilities, are discussed within the existing literature. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Counseling & Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Counseling Association (ACA)

Acupoint selection rules for acupoint application in lung diseases in the post-epidemic era

Objective: To summarize the rules of acupoint selection of acupoint application to prevent and treat lung diseases under the background the post-epidemic era using data-mining technology. Method: The CNKI, Wanfang database, and VIP database were searched for clinical study articles on lung diseases treated by acupoint application published in the past 5 years. Data-eligible papers were extracted to establish a database of acupoint application for lung disease using Microsoft Excel 2019, with the goal of analyzing the frequency of acupoints, acupoint-meridian association, acupoint-location association, specific acupoint frequency, and cluster analysis. Association rules, consisting of acupoints with an application frequency of ≥ 10, were devised by the Apriori algorithm to explore the correlation between acupoint groups and to analyze the rules of the compatibility of acupoint prescriptions. Results: A total of 229 eligible papers met our inclusion criteria. Forty-seven acupoints were applied, for a total frequency of acupoints of 1,035 times. Among these, acupoints for lung diseases were primarily distributed in the back-and-waist and chest-and-abdomen areas. From the analysis of the association rules, we obtained four groups of acupoint association rules based on acupoint clusters with a frequency ≥ 10 and found that Feishu (BL 13), Tiantu (CV 22), Dazhui (GV 14), Dingchuan (EX-B1), and Danzhong (CV 17) constitute the core acupoints of prescriptions for clinical acupoint application to prevent and treat lung diseases. Conclusion: It is clearly shown that the core acupoints are relatively concentrated and that the selected acupoints were mainly locally selected, which could be a matching reference for the long-term prevention and treatment of lung diseases, including COVID-19.

How reliable are phonetic data collected remotely? Comparison of recording devices and environments on acoustic measurements

The COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge to phonetic research. On-site collection of speech data is difficult, if not impossible. The advancement of technology in mobile devices and online conference platforms offers the opportunity to collect data remotely. This paper aims to answer the question of how reliable speech data collected remotely are based on controlled speech. Seven devices, including smartphones and laptops, were used to record speech simultaneously, locally or on the cloud using ZOOM, both in a sound-attenuated lab and a conference room. Common acoustic measurements were made on these recordings. Local recordings proved to be reliable in duration, but not for recordings made on the cloud. Different devices have comparable performances in F0 and F1. The values acquired by different devices differ a lot for F2 and higher formants, spectral moments, and voice quality measures. These differences can lead to erroneous interpretation of segmental and voice quality contrasts. The recordings made remotely by smartphones and locally using ZOOM can be useful in studying prosody, but should be used with care for segments. Copyright © 2021 ISCA.

Regulation of SARS CoV-2 host factors in the kidney and heart in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy: Effects of salt, ARB, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, and SGLT-2 blocker

Background: Host factors such as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the transmembrane protease, serine subtype 2 (TMPRSS2) are important factors for SARSCoV-2 infection. Clinical and pre-clinical studies demonstrated that RAAS-blocking agents can be safely used during a SARS-CoV-2 infection but it is unknown if DPP-4 inhibitors or SGLT2-inhibitors may promote COVID-19 by increasing the host viral entry enzymes ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Methods: We investigated telmisartan, linagliptin and empagliflozin induced effects on renal and cardiac expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and key enzymes involved in RAAS (REN, AGTR2, AGT) under high-salt conditions in a non-diabetic experimental 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) model. In the present study, the gene expression of Ace2, Tmprss2, Ren, Agtr2 and Agt was assessed with qRT-PCR and the protein expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 with immunohistochemistry in the following experimental groups: Sham+normal diet (ND)+placebo (PBO);5/6Nx+ND+ PBO;5/6Nx+2% salt-diet (HSD)+PBO;5/6Nx+HSD+telmisartan;5/6Nx+HSD+linagliptin;5/6Nx+HSD+empagliflozin. Results: In the kidney the expression of Ace2 was not altered on mRNA level under disease and treatment conditions. The renal TMPRSS2 levels (mRNA and protein) was not affected, whereas the cardiac level was significantly increased in 5/6 Nx rats. Intriguingly, the elevated TMPRSS2 protein expression in the heart was significantly normalized after treatment with telmisartan, linagliptin and empagliflozin. Conclusions: Overall, our study indicated that there is no upregulation regarding host factors potentially promoting SARS CoV-2 virus entry into host cells when the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin, telmisartan and the DPP4 blocker linagliptin are used. The results obtained in a preclinical, experimental non-diabetic kidney failure model need confirmation in ongoing interventional clinical trials.

The mitigating role of blockchain-enabled supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose Although there have been considerable discussions on the business value of adopting blockchain in supply chains, it is unclear whether such blockchain-enabled supply chains (BESCs) can help firms mitigate the negative impact resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to answer this important question. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct an event study to quantify the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare the differences in such effects between treatment firms that have adopted BESCs and matched control firms that have not adopted BESCs. The authors also perform a regression analysis to examine how the role of BESCs in mitigating COVID-19's negative impact varies across firms with different levels of supply chain leanness and complexity. The analysis is based on 88 treatment firms and 88 matched control firms, all of which are publicly listed on the US stock markets. Findings The test results suggest that although both the treatment and control firms are negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect is less negative for the treatment firms compared to the control firms, demonstrating the role of BESCs in mitigating the negative impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the mitigating role of BESCs is more pronounced for firms with lean and complex supply chains. Originality/value This study is among the first to provide empirical evidence on the mitigating role of BESCs during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of adopting blockchain in supply chains with high uncertainties and disruption risks.