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INTRODUCTION: The diagnosis of COVID-19 is normally based on the qualitative detection of viral nucleic acid sequences. Properties of the host response are not measured but are key in determining outcome. Although metabolic profiles are well suited to capture host state, most metabolomics studies are either underpowered, measure only a restricted subset of metabolites, compare infected individuals against uninfected control cohorts that are not suitably matched, or do not provide a compact predictive model. OBJECTIVES: Here we provide a well-powered, untargeted metabolomics assessment of 120 COVID-19 patient samples acquired at hospital admission. The study aims to predict the patient's infection severity (i.e., mild or severe) and potential outcome (i.e., discharged or deceased). METHODS: High resolution untargeted UHPLC-MS/MS analysis was performed on patient serum using both positive and negative ionization modes. A subset of 20 intermediary metabolites predictive of severity or outcome were selected based on univariate statistical significance and a multiple predictor Bayesian logistic regression model was created. RESULTS: The predictors were selected for their relevant biological function and include deoxycytidine and ureidopropionate (indirectly reflecting viral load), kynurenine (reflecting host inflammatory response), and multiple short chain acylcarnitines (energy metabolism) among others. Currently, this approach predicts outcome and severity with a Monte Carlo cross validated area under the ROC curve of 0.792 (SD 0.09) and 0.793 (SD 0.08), respectively. A blind validation study on an additional 90 patients predicted outcome and severity at ROC AUC of 0.83 (CI 0.74-0.91) and 0.76 (CI 0.67-0.86). CONCLUSION: Prognostic tests based on the markers discussed in this paper could allow improvement in the planning of COVID-19 patient treatment.
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COVID-19/blood , Chromatography, Liquid/methods , Metabolomics/methods , Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods , Aged , Biomarkers/blood , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, the incidence of mental health problems in perinatal women has been high, and particularly prominent in China which was the first country affected by COVID-19. This paper aims to investigate the current situation and the related factors of maternal coping difficulties after discharge during COVID-19. METHODS: General information questionnaires (the Perinatal Maternal Health Literacy Scale, Postpartum Social Support Scale and Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale-New Mother Form) were used to investigate 226 puerperal women in the third week of puerperium. The influencing factors were analyzed by single factor analysis, correlation and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The total score of coping difficulties after discharge was 48.92 ± 12.05. At the third week after delivery, the scores of health literacy and social support were 21.34 ± 5.18 and 47.96 ± 12.71. There were negative correlations among health literacy, social support and coping difficulties after discharge (r = -0.34, r = -0.38, P < 0.001). Primipara, family income, health literacy and social support were the main factors influencing maternal coping difficulties after discharge. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, puerperal women in a low- and middle-income city had moderate coping difficulties after discharge and were affected by many factors. To meet the different needs of parturients and improve their psychological coping ability, medical staff should perform adequate assessment of social resources relevant to parturients and their families when they are discharged, so they can smoothly adapt to the role of mothers.
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COVID-19 , Pregnancy , Humans , Female , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Patient Discharge , Aftercare , Postpartum Period/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Mothers/psychologyABSTRACT
Background New HIV (Human immune deficiency virus) infections are continuously increasing in China and it remains a huge challenge to blood donation. As access to health services has affected by COVID-19 (Corona virus disease 2019) pandemic, a drop in new diagnoses (especially HIV) was observed worldwide. Methods During 2013–2021, 735,247 specimens from unpaid blood donors collected by Shenzhen Blood Center underwent ELISA (Enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay) and NAT (Nucleic acid test). Samples with reactivity results were sent to the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention for WB (Western blot). All data were statistically analyzed by the Chi-Square test. Results From 2013 to 2021, the prevalence of HIV among male blood donors was higher than in females (P < 0.01). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of HIV among repeat blood donors decreased significantly compared to 2019 (P < 0.05), and the characteristics of blood donors changed in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2021. Conclusion The high proportion of female blood donors would help prevent HIV from getting into the blood supply. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the demographics of blood donors as well as the prevalence of HIV among repeat blood donors. An increased number of repeat blood donors can help decrease the risk of HIV transfusion transmission during the epidemic.
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Background There are no guidelines on dietary supplements for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Therefore, we would like to analyze and discuss the above confusion through the bibliometric analysis Methods On 3 September 2022, we conducted a search of all relevant literature retrieved from the WOS core collection database from 2019 to 2022. CiteSpace software is used to build the visual co-occurrence network Results In the study of “COVID-19 and Dietary Supplements”, the total of 170 authors published 855 articles in 451 journals. Several distinct core author groups were formed by Wang, Grant, Singh, Zhu, and other authors with numerous publications. The majority of the publications came from the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The United States of America had the highest number of publications. By analyzing keyword clusters, we found that the research focus was dietary supplements (vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin C), mechanisms (ferritin, specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), oxidative stress), research methods (clinical trials), and the prevention and treatment strategies (lockdown) of COVID-19 Conclusions vitamin D is the mainstream dietary supplement for COVID-19. There are still numerous controversies that deserve further discussion. Such as whether the use of vitamin D or TCM offers benefits, and whether the addition of dietary supplements during the lockdown measures can help prevent COVID-19 infection.
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Background:During the unpredictable and long-term COVID-19 epidemic lockdown (Shanghai, April 2022 to May 2022), a large number of patients with post-stroke dysfunction exercised at home, without going to specialized rehabilitation institutions for systematic rehabilitation treatment. To date, there are few relevant studies on the effect of home exercise in patients with post-stroke dysfunction in the case of long-term COVID-19 epidemic lockdown. Methods: First, we collected the factors that might affect the post-stroke sensorimotor dysfunction during the long-term lockdown. The evaluation indicators of post-stroke sensorimotor dysfunction before and after the long-term lockdown were recorded. Second, we analyzed the recovery effect of sensorimotor dysfunction in post-stroke patients who can only rely on home exercise during the long-term lockdown. Third, we sequentially performed univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses to see which factors might influence post-stroke sensorimotor dysfunction during the long-term lockdown. Results: We report the results of a retrospective single-center cohort study of 104 post-stroke sensorimotor dysfunction patients. For post-stroke sensory dysfunction, patients with shorter disease courses or personalized home exercise programs recovered better. For post-stroke motor dysfunction, patients with younger age, shorter disease courses, or personalized home exercise programs recovered better. For post-stroke balance dysfunction and ADL dysfunction, patients with shorter disease courses recovered better. Conclusion:During the unpredictable and long-term COVID-19 epidemic lockdown, patients with post-stroke sensorimotor dysfunction who had personalized home exercise programs had better recovery of sensorimotor dysfunction than those who did not have personalized home exercise programs. Trial registration: This trial was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ChiCTR2200063781; 16 September, 2022).
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COVID-19 , Stroke , Sexual Dysfunction, PhysiologicalABSTRACT
Integrative oncology has developed for about 20 years in some countries; however, integrative oncology is still a relative new term for most China's oncologists. Thus, it is essential to summarize the experience and expertise, share details of differing existing models and discuss future perspectives to help define and guide practice in integrative oncology in China. This study presents a summary of the basic characteristics, status, and challenges of integrative oncology in China, and also reports on China's integrative physicians' service delivery, clinical practice and research patterns of integrative oncology by an online national survey, including 405 oncologists. It is easy for cancer patients to access to integrative therapies in China. Public funding is sufficient for integrative oncology in China, and services are often provided through general hospitals and academic hospitals. Most (95.3%) of oncologists showed a positive attitude toward the development of integrative oncology. More than half (55.6%) of the oncologists worried about the influence on integrative oncology of COVID-19, especially for routine treatment, follow-up and holding seminars. We found that integrative oncology in China has swiftly developed in recent years. However, we suggest that standard diagnosis and treatment patterns and national professional guidelines should be set up as soon as possible.
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COVID-19 , Integrative Oncology , Oncologists , China , Humans , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
We describe 4 cases of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia among medical staff in a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) screening ward, as well as the experience of dealing with this nosocomial infection event. Atypical pneumonia, in addition to COVID-19, should be considered when clustering cases occur, even during a COVID-19 pneumonia pandemic.
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COVID-19 , Chlamydophila psittaci , Pneumonia, Mycoplasma , Chlamydophila psittaci/genetics , Cluster Analysis , Humans , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) is the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019. Angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the SARSCoV binding site and is ubiquitously expressed in endothelial cells of several organs, with the highest levels in the cardiovascular system, kidney and lungs. A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 (ADAM17) is involved in ectodomain shedding of ACE2. In the present study, reversetranscriptionquantitative PCR, transfection, TUNNEL assay, dualluciferase activity assay and western blotting were conducted to investigate the effects of microRNA (miR)283p on ADAM17dependent shedding of the ACE2 ectodomain following treatment with the spike protein (Sprotein) of SARSCoV2. It was found that miR283p was significantly downregulated in 293T cells treated with 100 ng/ml of Sprotein for 24 h at 37ËC, which led to upregulation of ADAM17. In addition, the expression of ADAM17 and miR283p were negatively correlated based on Pearson's correlation test in 293T cells treated with Sprotein for 24 h. Overexpression of miR283p and inhibition of ADAM17 regulated 293T cell viability, apoptosis and ACE2 ectodomain shedding. It was also demonstrated that ADAM17 was the target gene of miR283p and that miR283p negatively regulated ADAM17 expression. Notably, the inhibition of ADAM17 expression blocked the effects of miR283p inhibitor on proliferation, apoptosis and ACE2 ectodomain shedding in 293T cells treated with Sprotein. The findings of the present study suggested that miR283p inhibits ADAM17dependent ACE2 ectodomain shedding in 293T cells treated with the Sprotein of SARSCoV2, which suggested the potential therapeutic role of miR283p mimic in the prevention and treatment of patients with SARSCoV2.
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ADAM17 Protein/metabolism , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/chemistry , COVID-19/immunology , Gene Expression Profiling , MicroRNAs/physiology , Apoptosis , COVID-19/virology , Cell Proliferation , Cell Survival , Gene Expression Regulation, Viral , HEK293 Cells , Humans , MicroRNAs/antagonists & inhibitors , Protein DomainsABSTRACT
Coronavirus diseases-2019 (COVID-19) is becoming increasing serious and major threat to public health concerns. As a matter of fact, timely testing enhances the life-saving judgments on treatment and isolation of COVID-19 infected individuals at possible earliest stage which ultimately suppresses spread of infectious diseases. Many government and private research institutes and manufacturing companies are striving to develop reliable tests for prompt quantification of SARS-CoV-2. In this review, we summarize existing diagnostic methods as manual laboratory-based nucleic acid assays for COVID-19 and their limitations. Moreover, vitality of rapid and point of care serological tests together with emerging biosensing technologies has been discussed in details. Point of care tests with characteristics of rapidity, accurateness, portability, low cost and requiring non-specific devices possess great suitability in COVID-19 diagnosis and detection. Besides, this review also sheds light on several preventive measures to track and manage disease spread in current and future outbreaks of diseases.
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BACKGROUND: Since December 2019, China has experienced a public health emergency from the coronavirus disease, which has become a pandemic and is impacting the care of cancer patients worldwide. This study evaluated the impact of the pandemic on colorectal cancer (CRC) patients at our center and aimed to share the lessons we learned with clinics currently experiencing this impact. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data on CRC patients admitted between January 1, 2020 and May 3, 2020; the control group comprised patients admitted between January 1, 2019 and May 3, 2019. RESULTS: During the pandemic, outpatient volumes decreased significantly, especially those of nonlocal and elderly patients, whereas the number of patients who received chemotherapy and surgery remained the same. During the pandemic, 710 CRC patients underwent curative resection. The proportion of patients who received laparoscopic surgeries was 49.4%, significantly higher than the 39.5% during the same period in 2019. The proportion of major complication during the pandemic was not significantly different from that of the control group. The mean hospital stay was significantly longer than that of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: CRC patients confirmed to be infection-free can receive routine treatment. Using online medical counseling and appropriate identification, treatment and follow-up can be effectively maintained. Adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy should not be discontinued. Endoscopic polypectomy, elective, palliative, and multidisciplinary surgeries can be postponed, while curative surgery should proceed as usual. For elderly CRC patients, endoscopic surgery and neoadjuvant radiotherapy are recommended.
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COVID-19/epidemiology , Colorectal Neoplasms/surgery , Colorectal Neoplasms/therapy , Aged , China/epidemiology , Humans , Pandemics , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Tyrosine phosphorylation of secretion machinery proteins is a crucial regulatory mechanism for exocytosis. However, the participation of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in different exocytosis stages has not been defined. Here we demonstrate that PTP-MEG2 controls multiple steps of catecholamine secretion. Biochemical and crystallographic analyses reveal key residues that govern the interaction between PTP-MEG2 and its substrate, a peptide containing the phosphorylated NSF-pY83 site, specify PTP-MEG2 substrate selectivity, and modulate the fusion of catecholamine-containing vesicles. Unexpectedly, delineation of PTP-MEG2 mutants along with the NSF binding interface reveals that PTP-MEG2 controls the fusion pore opening through NSF independent mechanisms. Utilizing bioinformatics search and biochemical and electrochemical screening approaches, we uncover that PTP-MEG2 regulates the opening and extension of the fusion pore by dephosphorylating the DYNAMIN2-pY125 and MUNC18-1-pY145 sites. Further structural and biochemical analyses confirmed the interaction of PTP-MEG2 with MUNC18-1-pY145 or DYNAMIN2-pY125 through a distinct structural basis compared with that of the NSF-pY83 site. Our studies thus provide mechanistic insights in complex exocytosis processes.
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Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Non-Receptor , Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases , Peptides , Phosphorylation , Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases/metabolism , Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Non-Receptor/metabolismABSTRACT
Small and microenterprises are most affected during the COVID-19 epidemic period. Despite the government introducing many preferential policies, financing for small and microenterprises is still difficult. Based on evolutionary game theory and Matlab r2017b software, this paper discusses the causes of financing problems from two aspects. By taking loan amount, loan interest rate, guarantee value, and intermediary business income as variables, the research shows that banks not only pay attention to the comprehensive return of small and microenterprises but also pay more attention to the coverage of loan principal and interest by the value of collateral. Relying on collateral for credit is still the main way, and the lack of collateral causes financing difficulties of small and microenterprises. Accordingly, this paper puts forward the countermeasures and suggestions to improve the guarantee compensation mechanism and innovate the financing mode.
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BACKGROUND: The antiviral effects of Novaferon, a potent antiviral protein drug, on COVID-19 was evaluated in the laboratory, and in a randomized, open-label, parallel-group trial. METHODS: In the laboratory, Novaferon's inhibition of viral replication in cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 entry into healthy cells was determined. Antiviral effects of Novaferon in COVID-19 patients with treatment of Novaferon, Novaferon plus Lopinavir/Ritonavir, or Lopinavir/Ritonavir were evaluated. The primary endpoint was the SARS-CoV-2 clearance rates on day six of treatment, and the secondary endpoint was the time to SARS-CoV-2 clearance. RESULTS: Novaferon inhibited viral replication (EC50=1.02ng/ml), and prevented viral infection (EC50=0.10ng/ml). Results from the 89 enrolled COVID-19 patients showed that both Novaferon and Novaferon plus Lopinavir/Ritonavir groups had significantly higher viral clearance rates on day six than Lopinavir/Ritonavir group (50.0% vs. 24.1%, p=0.0400, and 60.0% vs. 24.1%, p=0.0053). The median time to viral clearance was six days, six days, and nine days for three groups, respectively, a 3-day reduction in both the Novaferon and Novaferon plus Lopinavir/Ritonavir groups compared with the Lopinavir/Ritonavir group. CONCLUSIONS: Novaferon exhibited anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects in vitro and in COVID-19 patients. These data justify further evaluation of Novaferon. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Number ChiCTR2000029496 at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/).