A Spike-destructing human antibody effectively neutralizes Omicron-included SARS-CoV-2 variants with therapeutic efficacy.

Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are important assets to fight COVID-19, but most existing nAbs lose the activities against Omicron subvariants. Here, we report a human monoclonal antibody (Ab08) isolated from a convalescent patient infected with the prototype strain (Wuhan-Hu-1). Ab08 binds to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) with pico-molar affinity (230 pM), effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern (VOCs) including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Mu, Omicron BA.1 and BA.2, and to a lesser extent for Delta and Omicron BA.4/BA.5 which bear the L452R mutation. Of medical importance, Ab08 shows therapeutic efficacy in SARS-CoV-2-infected hACE2 mice. X-ray crystallography of the Ab08-RBD complex reveals an antibody footprint largely in the ß-strand core and away from the ACE2-binding motif. Negative staining electron-microscopy suggests a neutralizing mechanism through which Ab08 destructs the Spike trimer. Together, our work identifies a nAb with therapeutic potential for COVID-19.

Elevated ubiquitination contributes to protective immunity against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.

BACKGROUND: The crosstalk between the ubiquitin-proteasome and the immune system plays an important role in the health and pathogenesis of viral infection. However, there have been few studies of ubiquitin activation in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. METHODS: We investigated the effect of ubiquitination on SARS-CoV-2 infection and patient prognosis by integrating published coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) multi-transcriptome data and bioinformatics methods. RESULTS: The differential expression of COVID-19 samples revealed changed ubiquitination in most solid and hollow organs, and it was activated in lymphatic and other immune tissues. In addition, in the respiratory system of COVID-19 patients, the immune response was mainly focused on the alveoli, and the expression of ubiquitination reflected increasing immune infiltration. Ubiquitination stratification could significantly differentiate patients' prognosis and inflammation levels through the general transcriptional analysis of the peripheral blood of patients with COVID-19. Moreover, high ubiquitination levels were associated with a favourable prognosis, low inflammatory response, and reduced mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit. Moreover, high ubiquitination promoted a beneficial immune response while inhibiting immune damage. Finally, prognostic stratification and biomarker screening based on ubiquitination traits played an important role in clinical management and drug development. CONCLUSION: Ubiquitination characteristics provides new ideas for clinical intervention and prognostic guidance for COVID-19 patients.

Static and dynamic behaviors of granular soil reinforced by disposable face-mask chips

The stock of disposable face masks has climbed steadily due to COVID-19, which results in an urgent worldwide environmental problem. This investigation aims to assess the potential of using waste mask chips (MC) as reinforcement in granular soil. To evaluate the mechanical properties of the mask chips - granular soil mixture (MSM), a series of monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests with different confining pressures and MC contents are conducted. Then, the shear behavior of MSM is quantified from both static (strength, stiffness, dilatancy) and dynamic (energy absorption capacity, resilient modulus, deformation) perspectives. Furthermore, based on the static and dynamic indexes, the effects of adding MC into granular soil are comprehensively analyzed. All experimental results indicate that the MSMs exbibit an increase of shear strength and a reduction of shear-induced volumetric dilation, but a decrease in stiffness. The addition of MC also leads to an increase in energy absorption but will not affect the cumulative strain of MSMs. Thus, MC has great potential to be used in the embankment construction of road and railway, backfill or reclamation construction, and so on. In addition, the influence of mask chip content on mechanical behaviors of MSM can be considered in current constitutive models for further engineering calculation and design relating to of MSMs. This experimental study provides a new perspective and thought on the recycling of waste face masks in civil engineering.

Safety survey by clinical pharmacists on COVID-19 vaccination from a single center in China.

This study explored the safety of COVID-19 vaccine (Aikewei) and the role of clinical pharmacists in the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 2305 hospital employees in Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, China received the COVID-19 vaccine. The whole process of vaccination was monitored by clinical pharmacists, and the occurrence, types, severity of adverse reactions were recorded in detail. Through the investigation and analysis on the safety of COVID-19 vaccination of the 2305 people, the important role and value of clinical pharmacists in the vaccination process was elaborated. Common adverse reactions included local pain, dizziness and fatigue, with the incidence rates of 2.09%, 0.67% and 0.49%, respectively. Others such as headache, nausea, skin itching, cough, palpitation, dry mouth, hand anesthesia, local induration, muscle soreness, local rash, and chill had incidence rates of less than 0.30%. Three cases of serious adverse events that occurred in this vaccination returned to normal after treatment, with no subsequent discomfort. Clinical pharmacists played an important role in the safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccination. The safety of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is good. Most of the common adverse reactions were mild and tolerable, with generally low incidence. The work of clinical pharmacists is important and can be expanded in the future to ensure the safety of vaccination and to provide better health care service.

Potential adverse drug reactions of chloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19

Context: Since December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has broken out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Due to the highly pathogenic and infectious characteristics, COVID-19 spread across China and later globally and became a severe pandemic. To date, there have been no efficacious specialized drugs to treat COVID-19. The China-issued Diagnosis and Treatment of Pneumonia Caused by Novel Coronavirus (Trial version 6) added the chloroquine phosphate to the antiviral treatment protocol for infected adults. Evidence Acquisition: In this review, government documents and authoritative guidelines on COVID-19 were collected from the official website of organizations related to health and medicine. Research articles related to chloroquine and its application for COVID-19 treatment were searched and acquired from the PubMed platform. Facts and data related to the use of chloroquine were summarized in several parts.