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2.
Front Public Health ; 11: 1170085, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20231258

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The study aimed to identify potential risk factors for family transmission and to provide precautionary guidelines for the general public during novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) waves. Methods: A retrospective cohort study with numerous COVID-19 patients recruited was conducted in Shanghai. Epidemiological data including transmission details, demographics, vaccination status, symptoms, comorbidities, antigen test, living environment, residential ventilation, disinfection and medical treatment of each participant were collected and risk factors for family transmission were determined. Results: A total of 2,334 COVID-19 patients participated. Compared with non-cohabitation infected patients, cohabitated ones were younger (p = 0.019), more commonly unvaccinated (p = 0.048) or exposed to infections (p < 0.001), and had higher rates of symptoms (p = 0.003) or shared living room (p < 0.001). Risk factors analysis showed that the 2019-nCov antigen positive (OR = 1.86, 95%CI 1.40-2.48, p < 0.001), symptoms development (OR = 1.86, 95%CI 1.34-2.58, p < 0.001), direct contact exposure (OR = 1.47, 95%CI 1.09-1.96, p = 0.010) were independent risk factors for the cohabitant transmission of COVID-19, and a separate room with a separate toilet could reduce the risk of family transmission (OR = 0.62, 95%CI 0.41-0.92, p = 0.018). Conclusion: Patients showing negative 2019-nCov antigen tests, being asymptomatic, living in a separate room with a separate toilet, or actively avoiding direct contact with cohabitants were at low risk of family transmission, and the study recommended that avoiding direct contact and residential disinfection could reduce the risk of all cohabitants within the same house being infected with COVID-19.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , Quarantine , Retrospective Studies , China/epidemiology , Risk Factors
3.
BMC Cardiovasc Disord ; 22(1): 473, 2022 11 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2277245

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) has emerged as an increasingly diagnosed cause of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which is easily missed or delayed. The effective use of coronary angiography (CAG) and advanced intracoronary imaging examinations in STEMI patients has led to increased detection of SCAD. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59-year-old woman with acute angina pectoris was diagnosed with STEMI detected by electrocardiography combined with measurement of myocardial enzymes. Due to the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, she was first given thrombolytic therapy after excluding contraindications according to the requirements of the current consensus statement; however, subsequently, both the symptoms of ongoing chest pain and the electrocardiographic results indicated the failure of thrombolytic therapy, so the intervention team administered rescue percutaneous coronary intervention treatment under third-grade protection. CAG confirmed total occlusion in the distal left anterior descending (LAD) artery, with thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) 0 flow, whereas the left circumflex and right coronary arteries appeared normal, with TIMI 3 flow. Intravenous ultrasound (IVUS) was further performed to investigate the causes of occlusion, which verified the absence of atherosclerosis but detected SCAD with intramural haematoma. During the operation, the guidewire reached the distal end of the LAD artery smoothly, the balloon was dilated slightly, and the reflow of TIMI blood could be seen by repeated CAG. During the follow-up period of one and a half years, the patient complained of occasional, slight chest tightness. The repeated CAG showed that the spontaneous dissection in the LAD artery had healed well, with TIMI 3 flow. The repeated IVUS confirmed that the SCAD and intramural haematoma had been mostly resorbed and repaired. CONCLUSION: This was a case of failed STEMI thrombolysis in our hospital during the outbreak of COVID-19. This case indicates that doctors need to consider the cause of the disease when treating STEMI patients, especially patients without traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Moreover, CAG and intracoronary imaging examinations should be actively performed to identify the aetiology and improve the treatment success rate.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Myocardial Infarction , ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnostic imaging , ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/etiology , ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/therapy , COVID-19/complications , Myocardial Infarction/therapy , Coronary Angiography/adverse effects , Thrombolytic Therapy/adverse effects , Hematoma/complications
4.
Am J Infect Control ; 2022 Nov 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2276102

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate potential viral contamination on the surfaces of personal protective equipment (PPE) in COVID-19 wards. METHODS: Face shields, gloves, the chest area of PPE and shoe soles were sampled at different time points. The samples were tested for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by PCR, and the cycle threshold (CT) values were recorded. RESULTS: The positive rate was 74.7% (239/320) for all PPE specimens. The CT values of the samples were ranked in the following order: face shields > chests > gloves > shoe soles (37.08±1.38, 35.48±2.02, 34.17±1.91 and 33.52±3.16, respectively; P for trend < .001). After disinfection, the CT values of shoe soles decreased compared with before disinfection (32.78±3.47 vs. 34.3±2.61, P = .037), whereas no significant effect of disinfection on the CT values of face shields, chests and gloves was observed. After disinfection, the CT values of specimens collected from shoe soles gradually increased; before disinfection, the CT values of shoe sole specimens were all less than 35. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 can attach to the surfaces of the PPE of healthcare professionals in COVID-19 wards, especially the shoe soles and undisinfected gloves. Shoe soles had the highest SARS-CoV-2 loads among all tested PPE items.

5.
researchsquare; 2023.
Preprint in English | PREPRINT-RESEARCHSQUARE | ID: ppzbmed-10.21203.rs.3.rs-2717720.v1

ABSTRACT

Background Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was reported to reduce susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection by downregulating farnesoid X receptor (FXR) -ACE2 signaling. However, we found a different story in real-world clinical studies.Objectives We attempted to verify whether UDCA can effectively prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission or have positive therapeutic effects in a real-world clinical study.Methods We performed a retrospective study, collected and assessed clinical presentation and laboratory data on patients with liver diseases infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variant BA.5.2 who had been treated with or without UDCA.Results Treatment with UDCA did not prevent infection with the Omicron sub-variant BA.5.2, failed in reducing the duration of infection and hardly mitigated the severity of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the severity of liver diseases, especially TBil, ALP, γ-GT, liver cirrhosis and Child-Pugh classification, should be considered as risk factors for severe COVID-19 in chronic hepatic patients.Conclusion UDCA failed to show inhibitory effects against SARS-CoV-2 infection in complex clinical settings. The regulatory mechanism of the novel UDCA-FXR-ACE2 pathway needs to be further investigated in real-world clinical studies.


Subject(s)
Atherosclerosis , COVID-19 , Liver Cirrhosis , Liver Diseases
6.
Int J Ophthalmol ; 16(1): 10-15, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2204526

ABSTRACT

AIM: To compare the feature of ocular trauma between normalized period and the COVID-19 epidemic period in China, and to provide a profile for eye injuries in special times in future. METHODS: This is a multi-center cross-sectional study with 30 participated hospitals involving the China Ocular Trauma Society members. All hospitalized cases who visited the Ophthalmology Department in participated hospitals with eye injuries during the normalized period (2019) and the COVID-19 epidemic period (2020) were included in this study. Demographic characteristic of cases, date of injury, sites and types of injury were collected. RESULTS: This study involved 13 525 (61 cases with both eyes) injured cases. There were 7269 (53.74%) eye-injured cases and 6256 (46.26%) eye-injured cases in 2019 and 2020 separately. Compared with 2019, the incidence of ocular trauma in retirees, housewives and unemployed increased with year-on-year of 4.96%, 102.67%, and 11.64% among all occupations. In 2020, the incidence of eye injuries decreased in all injury sites except for an increase in home (30.29% year-on-year). The incidence of mechanical eye injuries decreased, while that of non-mechanical eye injuries (chemical/thermal/radiation) increased (47.45% year-on-year). There were 255 (3.51%, 255/7269) and 376 (6.01%, 376/6256) non-mechanical injured cases in 2019 and 2020 (Pearson Chi2=47.33, P<0.001) separately. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 epidemic period, the total cases of ocular trauma decrease but the proportion of non-mechanical ocular trauma increase. Penetrating is still the highest proportion among all types of mechanical ocular trauma. From a preventive point of view, protection for retired persons, housewives and unemployed persons should be improved during public health events period.

7.
Industrial Crops and Products ; 188:115598, 2022.
Article in English | ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-2031362

ABSTRACT

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a medicinal plant commonly used in China and other parts of East Asia. A high flavonoid content endows it with multiple beneficial biological activities that have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-COVID19 properties. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been recognized as effective artificial lights to enhance plant growth and the accumulation of secondary metabolites for commercial plant production. However, little is known regarding the effects of LEDs on S. baicalensis. Here, we explored the effects of monochromatic blue light (B, 460 nm), monochromatic red light (R, 660 nm), white light (CK), and different combinations of R and B (R9B1, R7B3, R5B5, R3B7, and R1B9) on the growth of, and flavonoid accumulation in S. baicalensis. The results revealed that under R:B ratios of 9:1 or 7:3, the whole plant and roots of S. baicalensis seedlings had a higher biomass and flavonoid content. Targeted metabolomics analysis showed that 48 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were verified between different groups, and the number of upregulated DEMs, particularly flavonoids, were higher in the R9B1 and R7B3 groups compared with the CK. Transcriptome data identified 1412 and 1508 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the R9B1 and R7B3 groups, respectively, in contrast to the CK. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that DEGs in both the R9B1 and R7B3 groups were primarily enriched in the phenylpropane biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, flavonoid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, galactose metabolism, cartenoid biosynthesis, zeatin biosynthesis, and nitrogen metabolism pathways. The qRT-PCR results showed that SbPAL, SbCLL-7, SbCHI, SbFNS, and SbOMT encoding enzymes for the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were significantly upregulated in S. baicalensis, which was consistent with the transcriptome data. Finally, based on correlation analysis between the main flavonoids in S. baicalensis and the genes encoding transcription factors and enzymes for the flavonoid metabolism pathway, a co-expression network map was developed, which provided a basis for the mining of light responsive genes related to flavonoids biosynthesis in S. baicalensis. This is the first report to articulate how the combination of red light and blue light influences the growth and secondary metabolism of S. baicalensis.

8.
American Journal of Occupational Therapy ; 76:1-1, 2022.
Article in English | CINAHL | ID: covidwho-1975189

ABSTRACT

Date Presented 04/01/2022 This preliminary study uses a quantitative correlational research method to determine the relationship of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to stroke survivors' perceived social support and self-efficacy. Results indicate statistically significant positive correlations between perceived social support and self-efficacy with a negative correlation between the impact of COVID-19 and perceived social support. OT interventions can focus on enhancing friendship-based social support to benefit stroke survivors. Primary Author and Speaker: Yan-hua Huang Additional Authors and Speakers: Crystal Solano, Sarah Nakamura, Justin Navarro, Nataliya Pinchuk, Michelle Vuong

9.
American Journal of Occupational Therapy ; 76:1-1, 2022.
Article in English | CINAHL | ID: covidwho-1975188

ABSTRACT

Date Presented 03/31/2022 This quantitative survey study measured stress, engagement in meaningful activities, self-efficacy, quality of life, and coping among women with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the time of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences on all measures except engagement. These findings suggest a potential need for specialized OT support for women with ASD that may be especially desired when adapting to changes during and after COVID-19. Primary Author and Speaker: Yan-hua Huang Additional Authors and Speakers: Annika Lin, Teresa Lam, Alexandra Krizek, Jaclyn Ingram

10.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci ; 63(6): 16, 2022 06 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1956961

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of lysozyme, an antimicrobial enzyme found in tears that protects the eye against pathogens, on pseudotyped severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection through corneal epithelial cells. Methods: The expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2) in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) was measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The altered expression of the pro-inflammatory molecules induced by spike protein and lysozyme was analyzed by RT-PCR. Cell toxicity was tested by CCK8 assay. The cell entry of SAR-CoV-2 in HCECs and primary rabbit corneal epithelial cells (RbCECs) was detected by luciferase assay. Results: ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were highly expressed in HCECs. The spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 stimulated a robust inflammatory response in HCECs, characterized by increased secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules, including IL-6, TNF-α, iNOS, and MCP-1, and pretreatment with lysozyme in HCECs markedly decreased the production of proinflammatory molecules induced by spike proteins. In addition, the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α enhanced the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into HCECs, which can be mitigated by pretreatment with lysozyme. Conclusions: In this study, we analyzed the susceptibility of human corneal epithelial cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection and suggested the protective effects of lysozyme on SARS-CoV-2 infection.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , COVID-19 , Animals , Antiviral Agents , Epithelial Cells/metabolism , Humans , Inflammation/metabolism , Muramidase/metabolism , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A , Rabbits , SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism
11.
Comput Intell Neurosci ; 2022: 9083436, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1775019

ABSTRACT

With the development of information technology, online music education has become a mainstream education method. Especially after the outbreak of COVID-19, music teachers have to teach through online. Therefore, an online music education system that can improve the quality of teaching is particularly important. Multiuser detection algorithms and artificial intelligence have important applications in many fields, and the field of music online education is no exception. This paper takes the music teaching of the music distance teaching unit as the goal and conducts sufficient research on the educational subjects such as teachers, students, and administrators. And with the help of the SCMA system multiuser detection algorithm and artificial intelligence technology, the system analysis and design method is used to analyze and design the music teaching function system. The system module involves basic information management, student music assignments, online courses, and other levels, providing an excellent educational system design example for music online education. The conclusion analysis shows that the music online education system based on SCMA system multiuser detection algorithm and artificial intelligence designed in this paper can significantly improve the audience's music learning efficiency and has obvious benefits to the student group.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Education, Distance , Music , Artificial Intelligence , Education, Distance/methods , Humans , Online Systems
12.
Infect Dis Poverty ; 10(1): 140, 2021 Dec 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1639437

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Reaching optimal vaccination rates is an essential public health strategy to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to simulate the optimal vaccination strategy to control the disease by developing an age-specific model based on the current transmission patterns of COVID-19 in Wuhan City, China. METHODS: We collected two indicators of COVID-19, including illness onset data and age of confirmed case in Wuhan City, from December 2, 2019, to March 16, 2020. The reported cases were divided into four age groups: group 1, ≤ 14 years old; group 2, 15 to 44 years old; group 3, 44 to 64 years old; and group 4, ≥ 65 years old. An age-specific susceptible-exposed-symptomatic-asymptomatic-recovered/removed model was developed to estimate the transmissibility and simulate the optimal vaccination strategy. The effective reproduction number (Reff) was used to estimate the transmission interaction in different age groups. RESULTS: A total of 47 722 new cases were reported in Wuhan City from December 2, 2019, to March 16, 2020. Before the travel ban of Wuhan City, the highest transmissibility was observed among age group 2 (Reff = 4.28), followed by group 2 to 3 (Reff = 2.61), and group 2 to 4 (Reff = 1.69). China should vaccinate at least 85% of the total population to interrupt transmission. The priority for controlling transmission should be to vaccinate 5% to 8% of individuals in age group 2 per day (ultimately vaccinated 90% of age group 2), followed by 10% of age group 3 per day (ultimately vaccinated 90% age group 3). However, the optimal vaccination strategy for reducing the disease severity identified individuals ≥ 65 years old as a priority group, followed by those 45-64 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 85% of the total population (nearly 1.2 billion people) should be vaccinated to build an immune barrier in China to safely consider removing border restrictions. Based on these results, we concluded that 90% of adults aged 15-64 years should first be vaccinated to prevent transmission in China.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , China , Cities , Humans , Middle Aged , SARS-CoV-2 , Vaccination , Young Adult
13.
Front Public Health ; 9: 774237, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1581112

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To investigate the association of myopia and other risk factors with anxiety and depression among Chinese university freshmen during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Tianjin Medical University from October 2020 to December 2020. Ophthalmic examination of the eyes was performed by an experienced ophthalmologist. Detailed information on depression, anxiety, and other risk factors was collected via the Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale. Results: The overall prevalence of anxiety and depression in our study was 10.34 and 25.13%, respectively. The prevalence of myopia and high myopia as 92.02 and 26.7%, respectively. There were significant associations between anxiety and spectacle power [odds ratios (OR) = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81-0.98, P = 0.019], sphere equivalent (OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81- 0.98, P = 0.025), sleep time (OR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.35-0.79, P = 0.002), and body mass index (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.86-0.99, P = 0.047). In the multivariable linear regression models, spectacle power (ß = -0.43; 95% CI: -0.68 to -0.19, P = 0.001) and sphere equivalent (ß = -0.36; 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.11, P = 0.005) were negatively associated with anxiety scores, whereas axial length (ß = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.02-1.07, P = 0.044) was positively correlated with anxiety scores. Every 1 h decrease in sleep time was associated with a 0.12-point increase in depression score. Conclusion: Myopia was associated with anxiety and anxiety scores. The greater the degree of myopia, the higher the anxiety score. However, myopia was not found to be associated with depression. The results highlight the importance of providing psychological support to students with myopia during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Myopia , Anxiety/epidemiology , China/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/epidemiology , Humans , Myopia/epidemiology , Pandemics , Risk Factors , SARS-CoV-2 , Universities
14.
Journal of Building Engineering ; : 103246, 2021.
Article in English | ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-1433566

ABSTRACT

According to the discussion of the design method and operational effect for Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, this paper summarized the design control points of indoor and outdoor environment of COVID-19 emergency hospital. Based on the design of Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, this paper analyzed and discussed the site design, building layout, three-zones and two-passages, the design scheme of the ventilation and air conditioning system for negative pressure ward and negative pressure isolation ward, air distribution, as well as some other key designs for COVID-19 emergency hospital. The design points were summarized and refined. The design methods and technology requirements of the COVID-19 emergency hospital were provided in this study, such as ventilation and air conditioning system setting, ventilation quantity of wards, pressure gradient control measures among different areas, upper and lower air distribution, filter setting mode and distance of air inlet and outlet, which could benefit to provide references for the design of similar projects in the future.

15.
Drug Evaluation Research ; 43(4):613-619, 2020.
Article in Chinese | GIM | ID: covidwho-1352920

ABSTRACT

2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia is an acute infectious pneumonia outbreak at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province. It belongs to the category of "epidemic disease" in TCM. Early intervention of traditional Chinese medicine has played an important role in this epidemic situation.In each stage, it has shown the advantages of treatment, accumulated rich experience, and initially formed a set of mechanism of Chinese medicine to prevent and treat acute infectious diseases. This article summarizes the classical prescriptions during each period of the disease, the screening methods of effective prescriptions and the clinical studies that have been carried out. This article can preliminarily showed the active part of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia.

16.
biorxiv; 2021.
Preprint in English | bioRxiv | ID: ppzbmed-10.1101.2021.08.13.456190

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) issued a significant and urgent threat to global health. The exact animal origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains obscure and understanding its host range is vital for preventing interspecies transmission. Previously, we have assessed the target cell profiles of SARS-CoV-2 in pets, livestock, poultry and wild animals. Herein, we expand this investigation to a wider range of animal species and viruses to provide a comprehensive source for large-scale screening of potential virus hosts. Single cell atlas for several mammalian species (alpaca, hamster, hedgehog, chinchilla etc.), as well as comparative atlas for lung, brain and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for various lineages of animals were constructed, from which we systemically analyzed the virus entry factors for 113 viruses over 20 species from mammalians, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Conserved cellular connectomes and regulomes were also identified, revealing the fundamental cell-cell and gene-gene cross-talks between these species. Overall, our study could help identify the potential host range and tissue tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and a diverse set of viruses and reveal the host-virus co-evolution footprints.


Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
17.
Jianzhu Jieneng = Construction Conserves Energy ; 49(6):92, 2021.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1342707

ABSTRACT

Ward protection unit is the basic isolation unit of infectious disease hospital, and it is the basic element of physical isolation. The isolation of airflow depends on the reasonable setting of ventilation and air conditioning system. For the COVID-19 emergency hospital, the design of ventilation and air conditioning system in its ward protection unit is very important and is an important means to control the air transmission route. Based on the design of Wuhan Huoshenshan hospital, starting from the principles and objectives of protection unit design, this paper focuses on the analysis of system division and air distribution, protection unit pressure difference control, ventilation calculation, filter and outdoor fan setting, etc., and discusses the ventilation and air conditioning design of each area in the protection unit item by item. Finally, the differences between the COVID-19 emergency hospital and the conventional infectious disease hospital in ventilation and air conditioning design are compared, and the design method and technical requirements are summarized, hoping to provide reference for similar engineering design.

18.
biorxiv; 2021.
Preprint in English | bioRxiv | ID: ppzbmed-10.1101.2021.07.20.452903

ABSTRACT

Civets are small mammals belonging to the family Viverridae. The masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) served as an intermediate host in the bat-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003. Because of their unique role in the SARS outbreak, civets were suspected as a potential intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, the etiological pathogen of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides their susceptibility to coronaviruses, civets can also be infected by other viruses, such as canine distemper viruses, parvoviruses, influenza viruses, etc. Regarding the ecological and economical role of civets, it is vital to evaluate the potential threats from different pathogens to these animals. Receptor binding is a necessary step for virus entry into host cells. Understanding the distribution of receptors of various viruses provides hints to their potential tissue tropisms. Herein, we characterized the cell atlas of five important organs (the frontal lobe, lung, liver, spleen and kidney) of masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) and described the expression profiles of receptor associated genes of 132 viruses from 25 families, including 16 viruses from 10 families reported before that can attack civets and 116 viruses with little infection record.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
19.
Clin Lab ; 67(7)2021 Jul 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1310227

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was discovered in 2019 and spread around the world in a short time. SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have been rapidly developed and quickly applied to clinical testing of COVID-19. Aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of four NAAT assays. METHODS: Limit of detection (LOD), precision, accuracy, analytical specificity and analytical interference studies on four NAATs (Daan, Sansure, Hybribio, and Bioperfectus) were performed according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute protocols and guidelines. The four NAATs were compared using 46 clinical samples. RESULTS: The LOD of the N gene for Daan, Sansure, and Hybribio was 500 copies/mL, and that for Bioperfectus was 1,000 copies/mL. The LOD of the ORF1ab gene for Daan, Bioperfectus, and Hybribio was 3,000 copies/mL, and that for Sansure was 2,000 copies/mL. A good precision was shown at the concentration above 20% of the LOD for all four NAATs, with all individual coefficients of variation below 3.6%. Satisfactory results were also observed in the accuracy, analytical specificity, and analytical interference tests. The results of the comparison test showed that Daan, Sansure, and Hybribio NAATs could detect the samples with a specificity of 100% (30/30) and a sensitivity of 100% (16/16), whereas Bioperfectus NAAT detected the samples with a specificity of 100% (30/30) and a sensitivity of 81.25% (13/16). However, no significant difference in sensitivity was found between Bioperfectus NAAT and the three other NAATs (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The four SARS-CoV-2 NAATs showed comparable performance, with the LOD of the N gene lower than the LOD of the ORF1ab gene.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Clinical Laboratory Services , Humans , Limit of Detection , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques , SARS-CoV-2 , Sensitivity and Specificity
20.
Case Rep Womens Health ; 31: e00321, 2021 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1213126

ABSTRACT

The effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first trimester on the pregnant woman and the fetus remain unclear. We describe the complete follow-up of a pregnant woman with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first trimester. The woman tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in nasopharyngeal swabs in her seventh week of gestation and was admitted to a local hospital for treatment. Although the woman had a BMI above 28 and a total gestational weight gain of 21 kg, no pregnancy complications or severe complications related to SARS-CoV-2 were reported. An ultrasound scan identified no fetal abnormalities at 22 weeks. The pregnancy ended at term (37 weeks), and the newborn's birth weight was 3100 g. Placental insufficiency was revealed by placental histology examination but this appeared not to be related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In-situ hybridisation and immunohistochemical tests for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, spike protein 1, and nucleocapsid proteins were negative. However, ACE-2 was positive in samples of the placenta, umbilical cord and fetal membrane. The baby was followed up through to 10 days after birth and grew normally. Our results suggest that asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first trimester of pregnancy might not have significant harmful effects on the mother and the developing fetus. This finding may be of interest to the general public, midwives and general practitioners. However, large population studies are needed to confirm our findings.

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