Nanotechnology for ultrafast nucleic acid amplification

Nucleic acid detection has been one of the most valued tools in point-of-care diagnostics from life science, agriculture, food safety and environmental surveillance, because of its high sensitivity, great specificity and simple operation. Since polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were discovered, more and more researchers attach importance to exploring ultrafast nucleic acid amplification methods for further expediting the process of detection and curbing infectious diseases' high spread rate, especially after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide pandemic event. Nowadays, nanotechnology as one of the most cutting-edge technologies has aroused growing attention. In this review, we describe new advances in nanotechnology research for ultrafast nucleic acid amplification. We have introduced commonly used nanotechnologies, namely nanofluidics, nanoporous materials, nanoparticles and so on. Recent advances in these nanotechnologies for ultrafast sample pretreatments, accelerated enzymatic amplification and rapid heating/cooling processes was summarized. Finally, challenges and perspectives for the future applications of ultrafast nucleic acid amplification are presented.

Using Internet Search Data to Forecast COVID-19 Trends: A Systematic Review

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) at the end of 2019, many scientific groups have been working towards solutions to forecast outbreaks. Accurate forecasts of future waves could mitigate the devastating effects of the virus. They would allow healthcare organizations and governments to alter public intervention, allocate healthcare resources accordingly, and raise public awareness. Many forecasting models have been introduced, harnessing different underlying mechanisms and data sources. This paper provides a systematic review of forecasting models that utilize internet search information. The success of these forecasting models provides a strong support for the big-data insight of public online search behavior as an alternative signal to the traditional surveillance system and mechanistic compartmental models.

A prospective study to evaluate the agreement of high-risk human papillomavirus detections by vaginal self-sampling and physician-sampling

Introduction/BackgroundVarious human papillomavirus (HPV) testing using physician-collected cervical samples have been approved for cervical screening. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need of self-sampling test for high-risk patients who are unwilling to participate routine screening program. The aim of clinical trial is to introduce a new ‘Hygeia Touch Self Sampling Kit for Women’ and evaluate the agreement of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) detections between vaginal self-sampling via Kit by patients and physician-collected cervical sampling.MethodologyWomen aged 21–65 years without hysterectomy were enrolled by stratification: normal population and participants with Pap smear ≥ASCUS or cervical biopsy ≥ CIN 1 (ratio=1:10). All the participants had video-guided self-collected vaginal sampling, then physician-collected cervical sampling. The hrHPV types include types16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68. The primary endpoint is to evaluate the agreement of hrHPV detection between self-sampling via Kit and physician-cervical sampling using Cohen’s kappa statistic, and the sensitivity and specificity of detection methods were also compared.ResultsThere were 1170 eligible participants. For the detection of hrHPV and any specific HPV type of 27 types, the concordance between self-collected sampling and physician was high (Cohen’s kappa 0.75, 95% CI 0.72–0.79 and 0.75, 95% CI 0.71–0.79, respectively). The detection rate of ≥ cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 (CIN2+) via HPV testing between self-collected vaginal samples and physician-collected cervical samples were similar in sensitivity (85% vs 89%, relative accuracy 95%), specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Two participants had mild anxiety and seven participants had mild perineal pain, and the symptoms subsided after sampling. The adverse event is 0.7%.ConclusionThese results demonstrate good agreement for detecting hrHPV and HPV between self-collected vaginal swabs and physician sampled cervical specimens in detecting CIN2+ lesions.

Factors associated with negative conversion of viral RNA in hospitalized children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Shanghai, China:a retrospective analysis (preprint)

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the related risk factors and potential predictors of SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative conversion by describing the dynamics of viral shedding in infected children admitted to two hospitals from Shanghai during Omicron variant outbreak. Methods: This retrospective cohort included laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from Shanghai between March 28 and May 31, 2022. Clinical characteristics, personal vaccination, household vaccination rates were collected through electronic health records and telephone interviews. Results: The total of 603 pediatric cases confirmed with COVID-19 was included in this study. Both Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to filter independent factors for the duration to viral RNA negative conversion. Data on cases re-detected SARS-CoV-2after showing negative results on RT-PCR test (intermittent negative status) were also analyzed. The median duration of virus shedding was 12(Interquartile Qange,IQR: 10-14) days. The severity of clinical outcome, personal vaccination-2doses, household vaccination rates, abnormal defecation were factors indecently affecting negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, suggesting that patient who had abnormal defecation or with more severe condition would delay virological clearance, while patient accepted 2 doses vaccination or with higher household vaccination rates would accelerate virological clearance. Loss of appetite (Odds Ratio (OR) :5.343; 95%CI: 3.307-8.632) and abnormal defecation (OR:2.840; 95%CI: 1.736-4.645) were significantly associated with intermittent negative status. Conclusion: These findings could provide clues for early identification of pediatric patients with prolonged viral shedding, enriching the evidence for development of prevention and control strategies especially the vaccination policies for children and adolescents.

Factors associated with negative conversion of viral RNA in hospitalized children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Shanghai, China (preprint)

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to identify the related risk factors and potential predictors of SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative conversion by describing the dynamics of viral shedding in infected children admitted to two hospitals from Shanghai during Omicron variant outbreak. Methods: This retrospective cohort included laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from Shanghai between March 28 and May 31, 2022. Clinical characteristics, personal vaccination, household vaccination rates were collected through electronic health records and telephone interviews. Results: The total of 603 pediatric cases confirmed with COVID-19 was included in this study. Both Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to filter independent factors for the duration to viral RNA negative conversion. Data on cases re-detected SARS-CoV-2 after showing negative results on RT-PCR test (intermittent negative status) were also analyzed. The median duration of virus shedding was 12(Interquartile Qange,IQR: 10-14) days. The severity of clinical outcome, personal vaccination-2doses, household vaccination rates, abnormal defecation were factors indecently affecting negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, suggesting that patient who had abnormal defecation or with more severe condition would delay virological clearance, while patient accepted 2 doses vaccination or with higher household vaccination rates would accelerate virological clearance. Loss of appetite (Odds Ratio (OR) :5.343; 95%CI: 3.307-8.632) and abnormal defecation (OR:2.840; 95%CI: 1.736-4.645) were significantly associated with intermittent negative status. Conclusion: These findings could provide clues for early identification of pediatric patients with prolonged viral shedding, enriching the evidence for development of prevention and control strategies especially the vaccination policies for children and adolescents.

A case-case study on the effect of primary and booster immunization with China-produced COVID-19 vaccines on prevention of pneumonia and viral load among vaccinated persons infected by Delta and Omicron variants.

Using a three-prefecture, two-variant COVID-19 outbreak in Henan province in January 2022, we evaluated the associations of primary and booster immunization with China-produced COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 pneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 viral load among persons infected by Delta or Omicron variant. We obtained demographic, clinical, vaccination, and multiple Ct values of infections ≥3 years of age. Vaccination status was either primary series ≥180 days prior to infection; primary series <180 days prior to infection, or booster dose recipient. We used logistic regression to determine odds ratios (OR) of Delta and Omicron COVID-19 pneumonia by vaccination status. We analysed minimum Ct values by vaccination status, age, and variant. Of 826 eligible cases, 405 were Delta and 421 were Omicron cases; 48.9% of Delta and 19.0% of Omicron cases had COVID-19 pneumonia. Compared with full primary vaccination ≥180 days before infection, the aOR of pneumonia was 0.48 among those completing primary vaccination <180 days and 0.18 among booster recipients among these Delta infections. Among Omicron infections, the corresponding aOR was 0.34 among those completing primary vaccination <180 days. There were too few (ten) Omicron cases among booster dose recipients to calculate a reliable OR. There were no differences in minimum Ct values by vaccination status among the 356 Delta cases or 70 Omicron cases. COVID-19 pneumonia was less common among Omicron cases than Delta cases. Full primary vaccination reduced pneumonia effectively for 6 months; boosting six months after primary vaccination resulted in further reduction. We recommend accelerating the pace of booster dose administration.

The Positive Psychological Capital and its Influencing Factors among University Students during the COVID-19 pandemic (preprint)

Background: Little research has been done on the mental health of western Chinese university students during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This work aims to fill the gap by gaining insight into the positive psychological capital and its influencing factors among university students in western China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted in college students from a medical school. Participants were surveyed anonymously using a general information questionnaire and the Positive Psychological Capital Scale. The key factors and models affecting the psychological capital were obtained by using the gradual regression method. If P < 0.05, the difference would be considered statistically significant. Results: The total score of positive psychological capital among university students in western China was 118.51±16.91, Taking the psychological capital as the dependent variable, gender and grade as the independent variables, the key factors and models affecting the psychological capital were obtained by using the gradual regression method.The results showed that the P-value of each influencing factor was <0.05. The key influencing factors of psychological capital of college students were gender and and place of residence. Conclusion: The overall positive psychological capital of college students in western China was in good condition during the pandemic, with large room for improvement though. Gender and Residence were independent influencing factors on the positive psychological capital.

The Role of the Vascular Niche in Organ Fibrosis and COVID-19-Related Organ Damage and the Countermeasures adopted by Chinese and Western Medicine

The vascular niche is a microenvironment located around capillaries and is mainly composed of endothelial cells, pericytes, macrophages, lymphocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, and hematopoietic stem cells. Studies have found that the vascular niche not only functions to regulate cell growth and differentiation in normal tissues, but also has an important role in regulating fibrosis in various organs and tissues in disease states. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease that broke out in 2019, caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, which results in pulmonary inflammation, systemic multi-organ damage, and an inflammatory cytokine storm. Recently, the vascular niche has been found to play a role in COVID-19-related multi-organ damage. In this review, we introduce the important role of the vascular niche in organ fibrosis and COVID-19-related organ damage, summarize some of the cellular signaling pathways in the vascular niche that promote fibrosis, and discuss the treatment of organ fibrosis in Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.

The Correlation Between Brain Performance Capacity and COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Survey and Canonical Correlation Analysis (preprint)

ObjectiveTo generate a concept of brain performance capacity (BPC) with sleep, fatigue and mental workload as evaluation indicators and to analyze the correlation between BPC and the impact of COVID-19. MethodsA cluster sampling method was adopted to randomly select 259 civil air crew members. The measurements of sleep quality, fatigue and mental workload (MWL) were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) and NASA Task Load Index. The impact of COVID-19 included 7 dimensions scored on a Likert scale. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was conducted to examine the relationship between BPC and COVID-19. ResultsA total of 259 air crew members participated in the survey. Participants average PSQI score was 7.826 (SD = 3.796), with 49.8% reporting incidents of insomnia, mostly of a minor degree. Participants MFI was an average 56.112 (SD = 10.040), with 100% reporting some incidence of fatigue, mainly severe. The weighted mental workload (MWL) score was an average of 43.084 (SD = 17.543), with reports of mostly a mid-level degree. There was a significant relationship between BPC and COVID-19, with a canonical correlation coefficient of 0.507 (P=0.000), an eigenvalue of 0.364 and a contribution rate of 69.1%. All components of the BPC variable set: PSQI, MFI and MWL contributed greatly to BPC, with absolute canonical loadings of 0.790, 0.606 and 0.667, respectively; the same was true for the COVID-19 variable set, with absolute canonical loadings ranging from 0.608 to 0.951. ConclusionMultiple indicators to measure BPC and the interrelationship of BPC and COVID-19 should be used in future research to gain a comprehensive understanding of anti-epidemic measures to ensure victory in the battle against the spread of the disease.

Factors Associated With the Use of Telehealth in Middle-Aged and Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted the adoption and use of telehealth, particularly in the early months of the pandemic. However, people with diverse characteristics may, or may not, be able to use telehealth, presenting digital divide in health care and potential health equity-related issues. This study aimed to assess the use of telehealth among middle-aged and older adults during COVID-19, and to explore factors associated with their telehealth utilization. We used publicly available data from the California Health Interview Survey collected during January 2019 and December 2020 (N=15, 279;mean age= 64.23±11.59;female: 52.7%). Approximately 11.0% of the sample used telehealth at least once. Bivariate and multivariate logistical regression analyses found that, compared with non-users, telehealth users were more likely to be having higher numbers of chronic conditions, with self-reported mental distress, living in urban areas, born in the US, with higher English proficiency, higher education, and having higher incomes. Age, race/ethnicity, and gender were not significantly correlated with telehealth usage. Logistic regression revealed that having mental distress (OR=1.48, 95% CI=1.29-1.71, p<0.01), more chronic conditions (OR=1.48, 95% CI=1.29-1.71, p<0.001) and living in an urban area (OR=1.93, 95% CI=1.36-2.74, p<0.001) were independently related to telehealth use. These findings suggest that telehealth, while being beneficial during the pandemic, might also introduce new challenges that exacerbate existing health inequity and disparities. Policy and community-based interventions are needed to promote the use of telehealth among middle-aged and older adults with diverse characteristics.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on complications and mortality of patients with cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess changes in cardiovascular disease severity, types, postoperative complications and prognosis during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore possible influencing factors. METHODS: A total of 422 patients were enrolled in this study, and hospitalization and short-term follow-up data were retained. The patient population included 273 men and 149 women. Patients had a median (IQR) age of 54 (45-62) years and were divided into an observation group (130) and a control group (292), primarily according to severity of disease, disease types, baseline indexes, biochemical indexes, cardiac function indexes, complications and prognosis. RESULTS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the same period last year, there was a significant increase in patients with aortic dissection (27.69% vs 5.82%), a significant decrease in patients with valvular heart disease (43.08% vs 66.78%), and significantly increased emergency admission (50.00% vs 21.23%) and severity (54.62% vs 27.40%). Family company (76.37% vs 64.62%) was decreased, EuroSCORE [6.5 (2-9) vs 2 (0-5)] score, Pro-BNP [857.50 (241.00-2222.50) vs 542.40 (113.45-1776.75)] ng/L, six months mortality rate (18.46% vs 8.90%), and postoperative complications, including infected patients, atelectasis, pulmonary edema, and so on were increased, with longer length of stay in the ICU and hospital in COVID-19 pandemic. Survival analysis curve further demonstrated that it had an impact on the deaths of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Through ROC analysis of the death factors of patients, it was concluded that Family company affected the death of patients, and the area under the curve was 0.654 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that the admission rate of critically ill patients with cardiovascular disease, complications of cardiac surgery, and short-term mortality of patients all exhibited a short-term increase, family company may be a risk factors for short-term mortality, that may be related to public pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines: landscape of global studies and potential risks.

ABSTRACT: With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the importance of vaccines in epidemic prevention and public health has become even more obvious than ever. However, the emergence of multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants worldwide has raised concerns about the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines. Here, we review the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccine candidates in five platforms and the latest clinical trial results of them. In addition, we further discuss future directions for the research and development of the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines. We also summarize the serious adverse events reported recently after the large-scale vaccination with the current COVID-19 vaccines, including the thromboembolism caused by the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Research on Business Environment Risk Governance Based on Occupational Claims: 1784 Cases of Food Safety Disputes

There are disputes on the legal acceptance of occupational claims and the risk of occupational claim spoiling business environment is skyrocketing. How to manage the risk of occupational claims in the business environment is the subject of urgent research, especially COVID-19 is ravaging the world and the risk of economic crisis is increasing dramatically. In this study, we collected 1784 cases of food occupational claims from the Chinese legal documents website. Using Excel, Review Manager 5.0 and SPSS 19.0, the number of cases prosecuted as “consumers” were obtained by means of textual analysis, and the development process was directly influenced by occupational claims, with 2017 as a great value point (watershed);the rate of losing occupational claim cases has been climbing since 2018;and the risk of losing occupational claims is higher than that of true meaningful consumer advocacy cases (Z = 6.99, p < 0.001), and in 2019, the risk of losing a case was 33.34 times higher than that of an ordinary consumer. The proportion of occupational claims in the total number of food safety disputes is positively correlated with official protective behavior;the failure rate of occupational claims is positively correlated with official regulatory behavior. The results show that occupational claims are being reexamined by society;the continued rise in the number of unsuccessful occupational claims cases indicates a lack of regulatory guidance for their profit-making behavior, the existence of malicious reporting complaints against business behavior, damage to the business environment, and a certain lack of legality. Therefore, it is proposed that laws and regulations should be in line with international standards, highlight the legal thinking and the concept of the rule of law, return to the original legislative intent, and build a five-in-one mechanism of “consumers, operators, media, government, and justice” to coordinate the management of occupational claims, crack down on occupational claims, and contribute to the creation of a good business environment.

A metacognitive approach to reconsidering risk perceptions and uncertainty: understand information seeking during COVID-19. (Special Issue: Communicating risk and uncertainty in the face of COVID-19.)

The study examined the psychological drivers of information-seeking behaviors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Employing a two-wave (from April 16, 2020, to April 27, 2020) survey design (N = 381), the study confirmed that both risk perceptions and uncertainty were important antecedents to information seeking and that their effects were linked to emotional appraisals of the risk situation. Findings revealed nuanced relationships between these two constructs and emotional appraisals. Danger appraisal was positively associated with perceived susceptibility and susceptibility uncertainty but negatively related to severity uncertainty;hope appraisal depended on the interaction between uncertainty and risk perceptions. Implications of the study findings on risk and health communication were discussed.

Patients With A High-Risk Common Type COVID-19 Pneumonia May Be the Optimal Time for Methylprednisolone Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study (preprint)

Background: The optimal timing of corticosteroid treatment for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pneumonia is uncertain. We evaluated the clinical outcomes of methylprednisolone therapy (MPT) for patients with a high-risk common type(HRCT) COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: We conducted a multi-centre retrospective cohort study in northeast China. A comparison was performed between the standard treatment (SDT) group and the SDT+MPT group to determine the efficacy of methylprednisolone in treating HRCT COVID-19 pneumonia. Results: We collected the medical records of 403 patients with HRCT COVID-19 pneumonia (127 in the SDT+MPT group and 276 in the SDT group). None of the patients had received mechanical ventilation or died. Further, there had been no side-effects associated with of MPT. Patients in the SDT+MPT group treated with methylprednisolone received an intravenous injection for a median interval of five days (interquartile range of three to seven days). The trends in lymphocyte count, C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, lactic acid dehydrogenase, respiratory rate, SpO2, PaO2, D-dimer and body temperature were similar between the SDT+MPT and SDT groups. The results for the SDT+MPT group seems to be faster improved than the SDT group; however, the results were not statistically significant. Clinical outcomes revealed that the average hospitalisation days and the rate of progression to severe type COVID-19 pneumonia in both the SDT+MPT group and the SDT group were present in 14.56±0.57days vs 16.55±0.3days(p=0.0009) and 21.26%(27/127) vs 32.4%(89/276)(p=0.0254), respectively. The 16-day nucleic acid negative rate was higher in the SDT+MPT group than the SDT group, 81.73% (104/127) vs 65.27% (180/276) (p = 0.0014). Conclusions: MPT effectively prevents patients with HRCT COVID-19 pneumonia from progressing to the severe stage. Therefore, patients with HRCT may be the optimal timing for MPT.Funding Statement: 1.The National Key Laboratory of Sponsored by Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease (Project Funding Number：SKLRD-OP-201902)” 2.The National Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Water Environment Full Funds. (Project Funding Number：ESK201602.)Declaration of Interests: We have not any conflict of interests to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval by the institutional ethics board of the Qun'li branch of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University and Kang'an Hospital of Mudanjiang was obtained for the analysis and summary of clinical data from COVID-19-infected inpatients.

Recovery from respiratory failure after 49-day extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in a critically ill patient with COVID-19: case report.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory failure is a life-threatening complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related acute respiratory distress syndrome. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in COVID-19 might offer promise based on our clinical experience. However, few critically ill cases with COVID-19 have been weaned off ECMO. CASE SUMMARY: A 66-year-old Chinese woman presented with fever (38.9°C), cough, dyspnoea, and headache. She had lymphopenia (0.72 × 109/L) and computed tomography findings of ground-glass opacities. Subsequently, she was confirmed to have respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. She was intubated after transfer to the intensive care unit due to respiratory failure and heart failure. However, her condition continued to deteriorate rapidly. Veno-veno ECMO was undertaken for respiratory and cardiac support due to refractory hypoxemic respiratory failure and bradyarrhythmia (45 b.p.m.). During hospitalization, she was also administered anti-viral treatment, convalescent plasma therapy, and continuous renal replacement therapy. She was maintained on ECMO before she had fully recovered from the condition that necessitated ECMO use and had a negative test for the nucleic acids of SARS-CoV-2 twice. Forty-nine days later, this patient was weaned from ECMO. At the most recent follow-up visit (3 months after weaning from ECMO), she received respiratory and cardiac rehabilitation and did not complain of any discomfort. DISCUSSION: As far as we know, the longest duration of ECMO treatment in this critical case with COVID-19 is supportive of ECMO as the most aggressive form of life support and the last line of defence during the COVID-19 epidemic.

How should colorectal surgeons practice during the COVID-19 epidemic? A retrospective single-centre analysis based on real-world data from China.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 is currently of global concern. Cancer patients are advised to stay at home in case of potential infection, which may cause delays of routine diagnosis and necessary treatment. How colorectal surgeons should manage this during the epidemic remains a big challenge. The objective of the study is to evaluate the feasibility of routine colorectal surgery during coronavirus disease 2019 and to offer some Chinese recommendations to colorectal surgeons throughout the world. METHODS: A total of 166 patients receiving colorectal surgery from 20 December 2019 to 20 March 2020 at Department of General Surgery in Chinese General Hospital of People's Liberation Army were enrolled, and further divided into two groups based on before or after admission date of 20 January 2020. Clinicopathologic data such as hospital stay and economic data such as total costs were collected and analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: Longer hospital stay, higher proportion of non-local patients and more hospitalization cost were found in the post-20 January group (special-time group) (P < 0.001; P < 0.05; P < 0.05, respectively). Apart from this, no difference existed with regard to baseline demographical data such as age, sex and height, as well as clinicopathological data such as previous history, surgery time, operation extent and TNM staging. CONCLUSIONS: This real-world study indicated that performing colorectal surgery during coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic might be safe and feasible based on comprehensive screening and investigation. We have summarized several recommendations here, hoping to help surgeons from related departments across the world.

Obesity Is Associated with Severe Disease and Mortality in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (preprint)

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to global research with the aim of predicting which people are at greatest risk of developing severe disease and dying. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the associations between obesity and the severity of and mortality due to COVID-19. Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases for studies evaluating the associations of obesity with COVID-19 . Odd risks (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random- or fixed-effects models. Results: Thirty-eight studies involving 621502 patients were included. Compared with nonobese patients, obese patients had a significantly increased risk of infection (OR 3.19, 95% CI 1.45-7.03; I2 = 98.3%), hospitalization (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.61-1.95; I2 = 43.8%), clinically severe disease (OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.99-4.16; I2 = 49.9%), mechanical ventilation (OR 1.66, 95% CI1.42-1.94; I2 = 41.3%), intensive care unit (ICU) (OR 2.06, 95% CI1.49-2.85; I2 = 71.4%), and mortality (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.18-1.85; I2 = 80.8%). Conclusion: Patients with obesity may have a greater risk of developing severe COVID-19 and dying. Therefore, it is important to increase awareness of these associations with obesity in COVID-19 patients.

High-Quality Inorganic Chemistry Teaching During COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronainrus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced chemistry teaching from traditional classrooms to online courses worldwide. Herein, we will share some experiences of our online teaching of inorganic chemistry. First, we investigated various teaching platforms and adjusted the online teaching approaches for helping students to be more comfortable with online teaching. During the online class, attention was paid specifically to making the teaching process more topic-focused. This also prompted teachers to interact with students and give feedback in a timely manner. With the student-centered strategy and advanced network technology, we encouraged students to consult literature reports to better digest what they have learned in class and expand their knowledge, thus leading to higher teaching quality and promoting the cultivation of their talents. The overall processes are evaluated by examination, and finally, key points after one-semester online teaching are summarized to further improve future teaching quality This work provides some rational guidelines toward high-quality online teaching for teachers and could readily expand to courses other than inorganic chemistry.

Induction of the Antiviral Immune Response and Its Circumvention by Coronaviruses

Some coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses of human and veterinary medical importance. The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory symptoms coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), associated with the current global pandemic, is characterized by pneumonia, lymphopenia, and a cytokine storm in humans that has caused catastrophic impacts on public health worldwide. Coronaviruses are known for their ability to evade innate immune surveillance exerted by the host during the early phase of infection. It is important to comprehensively investigate the interaction between highly pathogenic coronaviruses and their hosts. In this review, we summarize the existing knowledge about coronaviruses with a focus on antiviral immune responses in the respiratory and intestinal tracts to infection with severe coronaviruses that have caused epidemic diseases in humans and domestic animals. We emphasize, in particular, the strategies used by these coronaviruses to circumvent host immune surveillance, mainly including the hijack of antigen-presenting cells, shielding RNA intermediates in replication organelles, 2′-O-methylation modification for the evasion of RNA sensors, and blocking of interferon signaling cascades. We also provide information about the potential development of coronavirus vaccines and antiviral drugs.