IDDF2023-ABS-0032 Active inflammatory bowel disease is associated with severe covid-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

IDDF2023-ABS-0032 Figure 1 IDDF2023-ABS-0032 Figure 2 IDDF2023-ABS-0032 Figure 3 IDDF2023-ABS-0032 Figure 4COVID-19 outcomes in moderate-severe vs mild or quiescent IBD[Figure omitted. See PDF]ConclusionsPatients with IBD, particularly UC had an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19. Active IBD is associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes, and the risk is increased with the disease activity of IBD.

System dynamics modeling and robustness analysis for capital-constrained supply chain under disruption

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore mitigation measures for cash flow interruption during the epidemic and provide decision support to ensure the regular operation and robustness of the supply chain (SC).Design/methodology/approachConsidering the scenarios of production capacity and demand disruption during the epidemic, the authors adopt system dynamics (SD) to construct a three-echelon SC financial system consisting of a core manufacturer, a capital-constrained retailer and the customer. In different interruption scenarios, through the decision adjustments of stakeholders, the differences in performance are compared to explore solutions for SC robust optimization.FindingsThe results show that partial credit guarantee (PCG) could solve cash flow interruption and maintain the regular operation of the SC. During epidemic, with the product price increases, the revenue of stakeholders and the robustness are generally negatively correlated. But when the manufacturer's production capacity is fully interrupted, increasing product price is the right decision for the retailer and could simultaneously promote performance and robustness.Originality/valueThis paper primarily focuses on the PCG under the cash flow interruption caused by epidemics. The authors adopt the supply chain finance (SCF) theory and SD method to supplement and expand existing research on interruption management of SC. It is a pioneering study to explore the robustness of the SC financial system under disruptions.

Comparative transcriptomic analyzes of human lung epithelial cells infected with wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and its variant with a 12-bp missing in the E gene.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus that caused a global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To elucidate the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 replication and immunogenicity, we performed a comparative transcriptome profile of mRNA and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human lung epithelial cells infected with the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type strain (8X) and the variant with a 12-bp deletion in the E gene (F8). In total, 3,966 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 110 differentially expressed lncRNA (DE-lncRNA) candidates were identified. Of these, 94 DEGs and 32 DE-lncRNAs were found between samples infected with F8 and 8X. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyzes revealed that pathways such as the TNF signaling pathway and viral protein interaction with cytokine and cytokine receptor were involved. Furthermore, we constructed a lncRNA-protein-coding gene co-expression interaction network. The KEGG analysis of the co-expressed genes showed that these differentially expressed lncRNAs were enriched in pathways related to the immune response, which might explain the different replication and immunogenicity properties of the 8X and F8 strains. These results provide a useful resource for studying the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Comparative transcriptomic analyzes of human lung epithelial cells infected with wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and its variant with a 12-bp missing in the E gene

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus that caused a global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To elucidate the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 replication and immunogenicity, we performed a comparative transcriptome profile of mRNA and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human lung epithelial cells infected with the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type strain (8X) and the variant with a 12-bp deletion in the E gene (F8). In total, 3,966 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 110 differentially expressed lncRNA (DE-lncRNA) candidates were identified. Of these, 94 DEGs and 32 DE-lncRNAs were found between samples infected with F8 and 8X. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyzes revealed that pathways such as the TNF signaling pathway and viral protein interaction with cytokine and cytokine receptor were involved. Furthermore, we constructed a lncRNA-protein-coding gene co-expression interaction network. The KEGG analysis of the co-expressed genes showed that these differentially expressed lncRNAs were enriched in pathways related to the immune response, which might explain the different replication and immunogenicity properties of the 8X and F8 strains. These results provide a useful resource for studying the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The Robust Emergency Medical Facilities Location-Allocation Models under Uncertain Environment: A Hybrid Approach

In emergency medical facilities location, the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system plays an obvious role in the rational allocation of medical resources and improving the use efficiency of medical resources. However, few studies have investigated the operational mechanism of hierarchical medical systems in uncertain environments. To address this research gap, this paper proposes a hybrid approach for emergency medical facilities' location-allocation. In the first stage, in order to concentrate on the utilization of medical resources, we choose alternative facility points from the whole facilities through the entropy weight method (EWM). In the second stage, uncertainty sets are used to describe the uncertain number of patients at emergency medical points more accurately. We propose a robust model to configure large base hospitals based on the robust optimization method. Furthermore, the proposed robust models are applied to the emergency management of Huanggang City under COVID-19. The results show that the optimal emergency medical facility location-allocation scheme meets the actual treatment needs. Simultaneously, the disturbance ratio and uncertainty level have a significant impact on the configuration scheme.

Relational Victimization and Video Game Addiction among Female College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Social Anxiety and Parasocial Relationship.

Video game addiction, a common behavioral problem among college students, has been more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, females' video game usage has also attracted considerable research attention. Against this background and under the perspective of social interaction, this study aimed to examine the relationship between relational victimization and video game addiction among female college students, as well as its underlying mechanism-the mediating roles of social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters. Female college students (N = 437) were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires voluntarily in June 2022. Through the mediating effect analysis, the results found that (1) relational victimization was positively associated with female college students' video game addiction; (2) social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters could independently mediate this relation; (3) social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters were also the serial mediators in this association. These findings not only expand previous studies by revealing the social motivation of video game usage and the underlying mechanism accounting for video game addiction, but also provide basis and guidance for the prevention and intervention of video game addiction in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investigation of public health emergency core capacity of district-level disease prevention and control institutions under normalized epidemic prevention and control

Objective: Based on the investigation of the core capacity development of health emergency response of Shanghai disease prevention and control institutions after the COVID-19 pandemic, to analyze the shortcomings of health emergency response capacity of Shanghai disease prevention and control institutions, and to put forward suggestions to improve the core capacity of Shanghai's disease prevention and control system in the face of public health emergencies.

Immunogenicity and immune-persistence of the CoronaVac or Covilo inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine: a 6-month population-based cohort study.

Background: Owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the emergency use of different types of COVID-19 vaccines, there is an urgent need to consider the effectiveness and persistence of different COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: We investigated the immunogenicity of CoronaVac and Covilo, two inactivated vaccines against COVID-19 that each contain inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The levels of neutralizing antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2 and the inhibition rates of neutralizing antibodies to pseudovirus, as well as the immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM responses towards the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2 at 180 days after two-dose vaccination were detected. Results: The CoronaVac and Covilo vaccines induced similar antibody responses. Regarding neutralizing antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2, 77.9% of the CoronaVac vaccine recipients and 78.3% of the Covilo vaccine recipients (aged 18-59 years) seroconverted by 28 days after the second vaccine dose. Regarding SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, 97.1% of the CoronaVac vaccine recipients and 95.7% of the Covilo vaccine recipients seroconverted by 28 days after the second vaccine dose. The inhibition rates of neutralizing antibody against a pseudovirus of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant were significantly lower compared with those against a pseudovirus of wildtype SARS-CoV-2. Associated with participant characteristics and antibody levels, persons in the older age group and with basic disease, especially a chronic respiratory disease, tended to have lower anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroconversion rates. Conclusion: Antibodies that were elicited by these two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines appeared to wane following their peak after the second vaccine dose, but they persisted at detectable levels through 6 months after the second vaccine dose, and the effectiveness of these antibodies against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was lower than their effectiveness against wildtype SARS-CoV-2, which suggests that attention must be paid to the protective effectiveness, and its persistence, of COVID-19 vaccines on SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Blockchain and crypto-exposed US companies and major cryptocurrencies: The role of jumps and co-jumps

We examine whether the occurrence of jumps in the return of major cryptocurrencies increases the likelihood of jumps in the stock returns of blockchain and crypto-exposed US companies. We use two criteria to identify the US stocks with blockchain and cryptocurrency exposure;i) text search and ii) membership in the blockchain indices. We first detect that both asset classes are subject to jump behaviour. Then, we employ logistic regressions and show that the occurrence of jumps in some cryptocurrencies increases the probability of jumps in several blockchain and crypto-exposed companies. The co-jumping behaviour is not affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Screening of Gene Expression Markers for Corona Virus Disease 2019 Through Boruta_MCFS Feature Selection.

Since the first report of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan, China in December 2019, a global outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been aroused. In the prevention of this disease, accurate diagnosis of COVID-19 is the center of the problem. However, due to the limitation of detection technology, the test results are impossible to be totally free from pseudo-positive or -negative. Improving the precision of the test results asks for the identification of more biomarkers for COVID-19. On the basis of the expression data of COVID-19 positive and negative samples, we first screened the feature genes through ReliefF, minimal-redundancy-maximum-relevancy, and Boruta_MCFS methods. Thereafter, 36 optimal feature genes were selected through incremental feature selection method based on the random forest classifier, and the enriched biological functions and signaling pathways were revealed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Also, protein-protein interaction network analysis was performed on these feature genes, and the enriched biological functions and signaling pathways of main submodules were analyzed. In addition, whether these 36 feature genes could effectively distinguish positive samples from the negative ones was verified by dimensionality reduction analysis. According to the results, we inferred that the 36 feature genes selected via Boruta_MCFS could be deemed as biomarkers in COVID-19.

Efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids in treatment of COVID-19: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Novel coronavirus pneumonia is a novel kind of highly contagious disease without any specific drugs. Considering the successful experience of antiviral therapy combined with glucocorticoids (GCs) in severe acute respiratory syndrome, this study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of GCs in treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: A cohort of 42 patients with COVID-19 admitted to The First Hospital of Jiaxing from January 4, 2020, to February 16, 2020, were included and grouped into a test group (n=20) and control group (n=22) based on their therapeutic regimens. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between patients in the two groups. Conventional treatment (antiviral therapy) was given to patients in both groups, while an additional hormone drug (GCs) was used in patients in the test group. Indices including body temperature, blood routine indices [white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte, monocyte, and C-reactive protein (CRP)], blood biochemical indices [alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)], and complications were recorded during the treatment. Time to achieve negative virus nucleic acid (nCoV-RNA) testing, and hospital stays were also observed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: All included patients completed the trial. After treatment, superior therapeutic efficacy was achieved in patients in the test group, with body temperature dropping more significantly with a much shorter recovery time compared to the control group (P=0.0412). Simultaneously, the percentage of patients with abnormal blood routine indices (WBC), monocyte, and (CRP) in the test group was reduced more sharply, while no noticeable difference was observed in the number of patients who developed abnormal blood biochemical indices during treatment between the two groups. Additionally, a shorter duration of hospital stays was found in the test group relative to the control group (14.84±8.76 vs. 18.25±7.42 days, P>0.05). Patients who received GCs had a shorter recovery time for body temperature and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Hormonotherapy with GCs can accelerate the recovery time for body temperature as well as inflammation in patients with COVID-19. It deserves promotion and application in the clinical treatment of coronavirus disease as a form of adjuvant medicine. The ongoing focus of research is on long-term adverse events in GCs.

Practical and psychological challenges faced by Wuhan graduates after COVID-19 was controlled.

Introduction: This study seeks to understand the reality and psychological difficulties faced by university graduates in Wuhan after the COVID-19 epidemic was controlled. Methods: A total of 6,417 graduate students were surveyed through an online questionnaire from late May to early June 2020. The questionnaire asked questions on depression, anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal behavior. In addition, self-administered epidemic-related questionnaires consisting of eight items were collected from university graduates. Results: Participants' positive detection rates for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal behavior are 13.4%, 8.3%, 4.4%, and 12.1%, respectively. The three biggest challenges faced by graduates are future development, economic difficulties, and employment problems. Conclusion: The detectable rate of depression, anxiety, and insomnia is low, and the detectable rate of suicide symptoms should be given more attention. The biggest problem of this group is their future development, and what they want to solve the most is the economic difficulty.

Public Health Graduates' Perceptions of the Educational Environment Measured by the DREEM.

Objective: Students' perceptions of the educational environment have a significant impact on their behavior and academic progress. This study aims to measure medical graduates' perception of the educational environment within the School of Public Health at Wuhan University in China. Methods: The survey was conducted by emails sent to 119 graduates, and 93 valid questionnaires were returned. The DREEM was used to assess the medical graduates' satisfaction with the educational environment. Results: The average score on the scale was 126.02 (±18.27). The scoring rate of the areas ranged between 61.06 and 67.11%. The area with the highest score was "perception of teachers." The area with the lowest score was "academic self-perception." No difference was found between genders. Except for "perception of atmosphere," the total scores and other areas showed differences in graduation time. Conclusion: The educational environment at the School of Public Health at Wuhan University was satisfactory. The program contributed to the graduates' later careers. The information obtained in this study identified some areas for improvement.

Clinical efficacy and mechanism of mesenchymal stromal cells in treatment of COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious epidemic disease that has seriously affected human health worldwide. To date, however, there is still no definitive drug for the treatment of COVID-19. Cell-based therapies could represent a new breakthrough. Over the past several decades, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have proven to be ideal candidates for the treatment of many viral infectious diseases due to their immunomodulatory and tissue repair or regeneration promoting properties, and several relevant clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 have been registered internationally. Herein, we systematically summarize the clinical efficacy of MSCs in the treatment of COVID-19 based on published results, including mortality, time to symptom improvement, computed tomography (CT) imaging, cytokines, and safety, while elaborating on the possible mechanisms underpinning the effects of MSCs, to provide a reference for subsequent studies.

Safety, mucosal and systemic immunopotency of an aerosolized adenovirus-vectored vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques.

Mucosal immunity provides a potential for preventing initial infection and stopping subsequent transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we examined the safety and immunogenicity of a replication-defective adenovirus type-5 vectored vaccine (Ad5-nCov) encoding SARS-CoV-2 spike protein delivered by nebulization inhalation in rhesus macaques. The vaccine-associated clinical pathology and toxicity were not observed in the NHP model. The extensive safety study indicated that Ad5-nCoV was mainly confined to the organs related to respiratory system and was rapidly cleared away from the system. Our results showed that Ad5-nCoV delivered by inhalation robustly elicited both systematic and mucosal immune responses against SARS-nCoV-2 and variants. Thus, Ad5-nCoV inhalation may provide an effective, safe and non-invasive vaccination strategy for the control of SARS-CoV-2.

Development of a Recombinant RBD Subunit Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.

The novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) pandemic is a great threat to human society and now is still spreading. Although several vaccines have been authorized for emergency use, only one recombinant subunit vaccine has been permitted for widespread use. More subunit vaccines for COVID-19 should be developed in the future. The receptor binding domain (RBD), located at the S protein of SARS-CoV-2, contains most of the neutralizing epitopes. However, the immunogenicity of RBD monomers is not strong enough. In this study, we fused the RBD-monomer with a modified Fc fragment of human IgG1 to form an RBD-Fc fusion protein. The recombinant vaccine candidate based on the RBD-Fc protein could induce high levels of IgG and neutralizing antibody in mice, and these could last for at least three months. The secretion of IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-10 in the RBD-stimulated splenocytes of immunized mice also increased significantly. Our results first showed that the RBD-Fc vaccine could induce both humoral and cellular immune responses and might be an optional strategy to control COVID-19.

Pharmacokinetics-based identification of pseudoaldosterogenic compounds originating from Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots (Gancao) after dosing LianhuaQingwen capsule.

LianhuaQingwen capsule, prepared from an herbal combination, is officially recommended as treatment for COVID-19 in China. Of the serial pharmacokinetic investigations we designed to facilitate identifying LianhuaQingwen compounds that are likely to be therapeutically important, the current investigation focused on the component Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots (Gancao). Besides its function in COVID-19 treatment, Gancao is able to induce pseudoaldosteronism by inhibiting renal 11ß-HSD2. Systemic and colon-luminal exposure to Gancao compounds were characterized in volunteers receiving LianhuaQingwen and by in vitro metabolism studies. Access of Gancao compounds to 11ß-HSD2 was characterized using human/rat, in vitro transport, and plasma protein binding studies, while 11ß-HSD2 inhibition was assessed using human kidney microsomes. LianhuaQingwen contained a total of 41 Gancao constituents (0.01-8.56 µmol/day). Although glycyrrhizin (1), licorice saponin G2 (2), and liquiritin/liquiritin apioside (21/22) were the major Gancao constituents in LianhuaQingwen, their poor intestinal absorption and access to colonic microbiota resulted in significant levels of their respective deglycosylated metabolites glycyrrhetic acid (8), 24-hydroxyglycyrrhetic acid (M2D; a new Gancao metabolite), and liquiritigenin (27) in human plasma and feces after dosing. These circulating metabolites were glucuronized/sulfated in the liver and then excreted into bile. Hepatic oxidation of 8 also yielded M2D. Circulating 8 and M2D, having good membrane permeability, could access (via passive tubular reabsorption) and inhibit renal 11ß-HSD2. Collectively, 1 and 2 were metabolically activated to the pseudoaldosterogenic compounds 8 and M2D. This investigation, together with such investigations of other components, has implications for precisely defining therapeutic benefit of LianhuaQingwen and conditions for its safe use.

Pulmonary artery trunk enlargement on admission as a predictor of mortality in in-hospital patients with COVID-19.

PURPOSE: To describe the prognostic value of pulmonary artery (PA) trunk enlargement on the admission of in-hospital patients with severe COVID-19 infection by unenhanced CT image. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In-hospital patients confirmed COVID-19 from January 18, 2020, to March 7, 2020, were retrospectively enrolled. PA trunk diameters on admission and death events were collected to calculate the optimum cutoff using a receiver operating characteristic curve. According to the cutoff, the subjects on admission were divided into two groups. Then the in-hospital various parameters were compared between the two groups to assess the predictive value of PA trunk diameter. RESULTS: In the 180 enrolled in-hospital patients (46.99 ± 14.95 years; 93 (51.7%) female, 14 patients (7.8%) died during their hospitalization. The optimum cutoff PA trunk diameter to predict in-hospital mortality was > 29 mm with a sensitivity of 92.59% and a specificity of 91.11%. Kaplan-Meier survival curves for PA trunk diameter on admission showed that a PA trunk diameter > 29 mm was a significant predictor of subsequent death (log-rank < 0.001, median survival time of PA > 29 mm was 28 days). CONCLUSION: PA trunk enlargement can be a useful predictive factor for distinguishing between mild and severe COVID-19 disease progression.