Immunization technologies: Time to consider new preventative solutions for respiratory syncytial virus infections.

New technologies for the prevention of infectious diseases are emerging to address unmet medical needs, in particular, the use of long-acting monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to prevent Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract disease in infants during their first RSV season. The lack of precedent for mAbs for broad population protection creates challenges in the assessment of upcoming prophylactic long-acting mAbs for RSV, with associated consequences in legislative and registration categorization, as well as in recommendation, funding, and implementation pathways. We suggest that the legislative and regulatory categorization of preventative solutions should be decided by the effect of the product in terms of its impact on the population and health-care systems rather than by the technology used or its mechanism of action. Immunization can be passive and active, both having the same objective of prevention of infectious diseases. Long-acting prophylactic mAbs work as passive immunization, as such, their recommendations for use should fall under the remit of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups or other relevant recommending bodies for inclusion into National Immunization Programs. Current regulations, policy, and legislative frameworks need to evolve to embrace such innovative preventative technologies and acknowledge them as one of key immunization and public health tools.

Multi-scale risk assessment and mitigations comparison for COVID-19 in urban public transport: A combined field measurement and modeling approach.

The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused an unparalleled disruption to daily life. Given that COVID-19 primarily spreads in densely populated indoor areas, urban public transport (UPT) systems pose significant risks. This study presents an analysis of the air change rate in buses, subways, and high speed trains based on measured CO2 concentrations and passenger behaviors. The resulting values were used as inputs for an infection risk assessment model, which was used to quantitatively evaluate the effects of various factors, including ventilation rates, respiratory activities, and viral variants, on the infection risk. The findings demonstrate that ventilation has a negligible impact on reducing average risks (less than 10.0%) for short-range scales, but can result in a reduction of average risks by 32.1%-57.4% for room scales. When all passengers wear masks, the average risk reduction ranges from 4.5-folds to 7.5-folds. Based on our analysis, the average total reproduction numbers (R) of subways are 1.4-folds higher than buses, and 2-folds higher than high speed trains. Additionally, it is important to note that the Omicron variant may result in a much higher R value, estimated to be approximately 4.9-folds higher than the Delta variant. To reduce disease transmission, it is important to keep the R value below 1. Thus, two indices have been proposed: time-scale based exposure thresholds and spatial-scale based upper limit warnings. Mask wearing provides the greatest protection against infection in the face of long exposure duration to the omicron epidemic.

Correcting vaccine misinformation on social media: Effect of social correction methods on vaccine skeptics' intention to take COVID-19 vaccine

This study identifies the effect of six social correction methods on vaccine skeptics' intention to take COVID-19 vaccine. In April–May 2021, we conducted a 3 (corrector on Twitter: ordinary person vs medical doctor vs nurse) × 2 (correction strategy: priming vs rebuttal) + 1 (control: misinformation only) between-subjects online experiment with 569 vaccine skeptics in the United States. Results show that exposure to priming-based corrections performed by a corrector, regardless of their expertise, is positively associated with intention to take COVID-19 vaccine if the information shared by the corrector is perceived to be trustworthy. This is evident among those with high or moderate vaccine skepticism. What is only evident among those with moderate vaccine skepticism is that exposure to corrections using priming (any corrector) or rebuttal (ordinary person or medical doctor) is positively associated with intention to take COVID-19 vaccine if the respondents perceived that the corrector was an expert. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Media & Society is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Safety and immunogenicity of heterologous boosting with orally aerosolised or intramuscular Ad5-nCoV vaccine and homologous boosting with inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV or CoronaVac) in children and adolescents: a randomised, open-label, parallel-controlled, non-inferiority, single-centre study.

BACKGROUND: Heterologous booster immunisation with orally administered aerosolised Ad5-nCoV vaccine (AAd5) has been shown to be safe and highly immunogenic in adults. Here, we aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of heterologous booster immunisation with orally administered AAd5 in children and adolescents aged 6-17 years who had received two doses of inactivated vaccine (BBIBP-CorV or CoronaVac). METHODS: We did a randomised, open-label, parallel-controlled, non-inferiority study to assess the safety and immunogenicity of heterologous booster immunisation with AAd5 (0·1 mL) or intramuscular Ad5-nCoV vaccine (IMAd5; 0·3 mL) and homologous booster immunisation with inactivated vaccine (BBIBP-CorV or CoronaVac; 0·5 mL) in children (aged 6-12 years) and adolescents (aged 13-17 years) who had received two doses of inactivated vaccine at least 3 months earlier in Hunan, China. Children and adolescents who were previously immunised with two-dose BBIBP-CorV or CoronaVac were recruited for eligibility screening at least 3 months after the second dose. A stratified block method was used for randomisation, and participants were stratified by age and randomly assigned (3:1:1) to receive AAd5, IMAd5, or inactivated vaccine. The study staff and participants were not masked to treatment allocation. Laboratory and statistical staff were masked during the study. In this interim analysis, adverse events within 14 days and geometric mean titre (GMT) of serum neutralising antibodies on day 28 after the booster vaccination, based on the per-protocol population, were used as the primary outcomes. The analysis of non-inferiority was based on comparison using a one-sided 97·5% CI with a non-inferiority margin of 0·67. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05330871, and is ongoing. FINDINGS: Between April 17 and May 28, 2022, 436 participants were screened and 360 were enrolled: 220 received AAd5, 70 received IMAd5, and 70 received inactivated vaccine. Within 14 days after booster vaccination, vaccine-related adverse reactions were reported: 35 adverse events (in 13 [12%] of 110 children and 22 [20%] of 110 adolescents) in 220 individuals in the AAd5 group, 35 (in 18 [51%] of 35 children and 17 [49%] of 35 adolescents) in 70 individuals in the IMAd5 group, and 13 (in five [14%] of 35 children and eight [23%] of 35 adolescents) in 70 individuals in the inactivated vaccine group. Solicited adverse reactions were also reported: 34 (13 [12%] of 110 children and 21 [10%] of 110 adolescents) in 220 individuals in the AAd5 group, 34 (17 [49%] of 35 children and 17 [49%] of 35 adolescents) in 70 individuals in the IMAd5 group, and 12 (five [14%] of 35 children and seven [20%] of 35 adolescents) in 70 individuals in the inactivated vaccine group. The GMTs of neutralising antibodies against ancestral SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 (Pango lineage B) in the AAd5 group were significantly higher than the GMTs in the inactivated vaccine group (adjusted GMT ratio 10·2 [95% CI 8·0-13·1]; p<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: Our study shows that a heterologous booster with AAd5 is safe and highly immunogenic against ancestral SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 in children and adolescents. FUNDING: National Key R&D Program of China.

Pilot genome-wide association study of antibody response to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Vaccines are a key weapon against the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. However, there are inter-individual differences in immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and genetic contributions to these differences have barely been investigated. Here, we performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) of antibody levels in 168 inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine recipients. A total of 177 SNPs, corresponding to 41 independent loci, were identified to be associated with IgG, total antibodies or neutral antibodies. Specifically, the rs4543780, the intronic variant of FAM89A gene, was associated with total antibodies level and was annotated as a potential regulatory variant affecting gene expression of FAM89A, a biomarker differentiating bacterial from viral infections in febrile children. These findings might advance our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms driving immunity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

American ginseng with different processing methods ameliorate immunosuppression induced by cyclophosphamide in mice via the MAPK signaling pathways.

This study aimed to clarify the effects of two processed forms of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) on immunosuppression caused by cyclophosphamide (CTX) in mice. In the CTX-induced immunosuppressive model, mice were given either steamed American ginseng (American ginseng red, AGR) or raw American ginseng (American ginseng soft branch, AGS) by intragastric administration. Serum and spleen tissues were collected, and the pathological changes in mice spleens were observed by conventional HE staining. The expression levels of cytokines were detected by ELISA, and the apoptosis of splenic cells was determined by western blotting. The results showed that AGR and AGS could relieve CTX-induced immunosuppression through the enhanced immune organ index, improved cell-mediated immune response, increased serum levels of cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-2) and immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, and IgM), as well as macrophage activities including carbon clearance and phagocytic index. AGR and AGS downregulated the expression of BAX and elevated the expression of Bcl-2, p-P38, p-JNK, and p-ERK in the spleens of CTX-injected animals. Compared to AGS, AGR significantly improved the number of CD4+CD8-T lymphocytes, the spleen index, and serum levels of IgA, IgG, TNF-α, and IFN-γ. The expression of the ERK/MAPK pathway was markedly increased. These findings support the hypothesis that AGR and AGS are effective immunomodulatory agents capable of preventing immune system hypofunction. Future research may investigate the exact mechanism to rule out any unforeseen effects of AGR and AGS.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of peptidomimetic benzothiazolyl ketones as 3CLpro inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2.

A series of peptidomimetic compounds containing benzothiazolyl ketone and [2.2.1] azabicyclic ring was designed, synthesized and evaluated in the hope of obtaining potent oral 3CLpro inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic properties. Among the target compounds, 11b had the best enzymatic potency (IC50 = 0.110 µM) and 11e had the best microsomal stability (t1/2 > 120 min) and good enzyme activity (IC50 = 0.868 µM). Therefore, compounds 11b and 11e were chosen for further evaluation of pharmacokinetics in ICR mice. The results exhibited that the AUC(0-t) of 11e was 5143 h*ng/mL following single-dose oral administration of 20 mg/kg, and the F was 67.98%. Further structural modification was made to obtain compounds 11g-11j based on 11e. Among them, 11j exhibited the best enzyme inhibition activity against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro (IC50 = 1.646 µM), the AUC(0-t) was 32473 h*ng/mL (20 mg/kg, po), and the F was 48.1%. In addition, 11j displayed significant anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity (EC50 = 0.18 µM) and low cytotoxicity (CC50 > 50 µM) in Vero E6 cells. All of the above results suggested that compound 11j was a promising lead compound in the development of oral 3CLpro inhibitors and deserved further research.

A MOF/DNA luminescent sensing platform for detection of potential COVID-19 biomarkers and drugs.

COVID-19 has afflicted people's lives worldwide. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important COVID-19 biomarker in human body fluids that can be used as a reference to monitor COVID-19 in real-time and therefore to reduce the risk of virus transmission. On the other hand, oseltamivir is a potential COVID-19 curing drug, but its overuse easily leads to hazardous side effects, calling for its real time monitoring in body fluids. For these purposes, a new yttrium metal-organic framework (Y-MOF) has been synthesized, in which the 5-(4-(imidazole-1-yl)phenyl)isophthalic linker contains a large aromatic backbone capable of strongly interacting with DNA sequences through π-π stacking interactions, which makes it appealing to build a unique sensor based on DNA functionalized MOFs. The MOF/DNA sequence hybrid luminescent sensing platform presents excellent optical properties associated with a high Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency. Furthermore, to construct a dual emission sensing platform, a 5'-carboxylfluorescein (FAM) labeled DNA sequence (S2) with a stem-loop structure that can specifically interact with IL-6 has been associated with the Y-MOF. The resulting Y-MOF@S2 exhibits an efficient ratiometric detection of IL-6 in human body fluids with an extremely high Ksv value 4.3 × 108 M-1 and a low detection limit (LOD) of 70 pM. Finally, the Y-MOF@S2@IL-6 hybrid platform allows the detection of oseltamivir with high sensitivity (Ksv value is as high as 5.6 × 105 M-1 and LOD is 54 nM), due to the fact that oseltamivir can disconnect the loop stem structure constructed by S2, leading to a strong quenching effect towards Y-MOF@S2@IL-6. The nature of the interactions between oseltamivir and Y-MOF has been elucidated using density functional theory calculations while the sensing mechanism for the dual detection of IL-6 and oseltamivir has been deciphered based on luminescence lifetime tests and confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Hydroxychloroquine induces long QT syndrome by blocking hERG channel

In March 2022, more than 600 million cases of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and about 6 million deaths have been reported worldwide. Unfortunately, while effective antiviral therapy has not yet been available, chloroquine (CQ)/hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been considered an option for the treatment of COVID-19. While many studies have demonstrated the potential of HCQ to decrease viral load and rescue patients' lives, controversial results have also been reported. One concern associated with HCQ in its clinical application to COVID-19 patients is the potential of causing long QT interval (LQT), an electrophysiological substrate for the induction of lethal ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Yet, the mechanisms for this cardiotoxicity of HCQ remained incompletely understood. Adult New Zealand white rabbits were used for investigating the effects of HCQ on cardiac electrophysiology and expression of ion channel genes. HEK-293T cells with sustained overexpression of human-ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) K+ channels were used for whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of hERG K+ channel current (IhERG). Quantitative RT-PCR analysis and Western blot analysis were employed to determine the expression of various genes at mRNA and protein levels, respectively. electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings revealed that HCQ prolonged QT and RR intervals and slowed heart rate in rabbits. Whole-cell patch-clamp results showed that HCQ inhibited the tail current of hERG channels and slowed the reactivation process from inactivation state. HCQ suppressed the expression of hERG and hindered the formation of the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90)/hERG complex. Moreover, the expression levels of connexin 43 (CX43) and Kir2.1, the critical molecular/ionic determinants of cardiac conduction thereby ventricular arrythmias, were decreased by HCQ, while those of Cav1.2, the main Ca2+ handling proteins, remained unchanged and SERCA2a was increased. HCQ could induce LQT but did not induce arrhythmias, and whether it is suitable for the treatment of COVID-19 requires more rigorous investigations and validations in the future. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Frigid Zone Medicine is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of covalent peptidomimetic 3CL protease inhibitors containing nitrile moiety.

In this paper, a series of peptidomimetic SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitors with new P2 and P4 positions were synthesized and evaluated. Among these compounds, 1a and 2b exhibited obvious 3CLpro inhibitory activities with IC50 of 18.06 nM and 22.42 nM, respectively. 1a and 2b also showed excellent antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro with EC50 of 313.0 nM and 170.2 nM, respectively, the antiviral activities of 1a and 2b were 2- and 4-fold better than that of nirmatrelvir, respectively. In vitro studies revealed that these two compounds had no significant cytotoxicity. Further metabolic stability tests and pharmacokinetic studies showed that the metabolic stability of 1a and 2b in liver microsomes was significantly improved, and 2b had similar pharmacokinetic parameters to that of nirmatrelvir in mice.

Protecting public's wellbeing against COVID-19 infodemic: The role of trust in information sources and rapid dissemination and transparency of information over time.

Objectives: This study examined how trust in the information about COVID-19 from social media and official media as well as how the information was disseminated affect public's wellbeing directly and indirectly through perceived safety over time. Methods: Two online surveys were conducted in China, with the first survey (Time1, N = 22,718) being at the early stage of the pandemic outbreak and the second one (Time 2, N = 2,901) two and a half years later during the zero-COVID policy lockdown period. Key measured variables include trust in official media and social media, perceived rapid dissemination and transparency of COVID-19-related information, perceived safety, and emotional responses toward the pandemic. Data analysis includes descriptive statistical analysis, independent samples t-test, Pearson correlations, and structural equation modeling. Results: Trust in official media, perceived rapid dissemination and transparency of COVID-19-related information, perceived safety, as well as positive emotional response toward COVID-19 increased over time, while trust in social media and depressive response decreased over time. Trust in social media and official media played different roles in affecting public's wellbeing over time. Trust in social media was positively associated with depressive emotions and negatively associated with positive emotion directly and indirectly through decreased perceived safety at Time 1. However, the negative effect of trust in social media on public's wellbeing was largely decreased at Time 2. In contrast, trust in official media was linked to reduced depressive response and increased positive response directly and indirectly through perceived safety at both times. Rapid dissemination and transparency of COVID-19 information contributed to enhanced trust in official media at both times. Conclusion: The findings highlight the important role of fostering public trust in official media through rapid dissemination and transparency of information in mitigating the negative impact of COVID-19 infodemic on public's wellbeing over time.

Experiences of maintaining awake prone positioning in non-intubated patients with COVID-19: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patient compliance is crucial to maintaining the awake prone position, which has been found to be intolerable by several patients. Addressing patients' compliance while being treated with awake prone positioning and prolonging its duration may be prerequisites for further research. AIMS: This study was conducted to explore the personal experiences of non-intubated patients during the implementation of awake prone positioning. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a qualitative study recruiting a purposive sample of twelve adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were previously treated with awake prone positioning. They were recruited from an intermediate care unit (that provides pre- and post-intensive care) in a COVID-19-designated hospital in Nanjing, China from July 15, 2021, to September 20, 2021. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and then analysed using Colaizzi's phenomenological method. RESULTS: Content analysis of the interviews revealed two main themes, each containing three and four sub-themes, respectively, as follows: (1) barriers to the implementation of awake prone positioning, including (i) generalised discomfort, (ii) a lack of both understanding and trust, and (iii) low satisfaction with the implementation plan; (2) factors promoting the implementation of awake prone positioning, including (i) health education and supervision, (ii) self-motivation and support from healthcare staff and family members, (iii) finding a comfortable position and having access to entertainment, and (iv) symptom improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare staff should clarify the mechanism underlying the effectiveness of the awake prone position to patients to eliminate any doubts that they may have. Psychological support and appropriate supervision should be emphasised. Pain relief programmes should also be established, including the use of a comfortable prone posture in conjunction with access to entertainment. Finally, individualised awake prone positioning protocols should be formulated according to patients' living habits and attempted in combination with out-of-bed activities. These measures may help to enhance the experience and compliance of patients undergoing the treatment. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: For future instances involving the implementation of awake prone positioning, several measures should be established and implemented alongside it, including a health education programme, supervision programme, support system, and pain relief programme. Personalisation should also be considered during its implementation. These measures may help to enhance the compliance of patients and prolong the duration of the awake prone position.

The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: The observation during the initial period of the cancellation of the "Dynamic Zero Policy" in mainland China.

AIMS: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against all-cause death in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: Subjects were patients with T2DM who were administered by general practitioner (GP). Use electronic exchange platform to obtain the information on COVID-19 vaccination, all-cause deaths and risk factors. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the odd ratio (OR) and 95% CI for the association between COVID-19 vaccination and mortality. The vaccine effectiveness (VE) was calculated as (1- adjusted OR) × 100%. RESULTS: A total of 26,916 subjects had 53.81%, 17.65%, and 23.43% coverage for the booster, full, and partial COVID-19 vaccination, reported 328 deaths and a mortality of 1.2%. The adjusted OR (95%CI) was 0.85(0.60-1.21) for those received partial vaccination, 0.31(0.22-0.43) for those received full vaccination, and 0.12(0.08-0.18) for those received booster vaccination, compared to the unvaccinated individuals. The VE (95%CI) was 88.00%(82.30-91.80) of booster vaccination, 69.30%(56.60-78.30) of full vaccination, and 17.60%(-17.10-42.00) of partial vaccination. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccination could effectively prevent the all-cause death in patients with T2DM during the omicron variant outbreak period, after the cancellation of the "Dynamic Zero Policy" in mainland China.

Short Communication: Stellate Ganglion Blockade for Persistent Olfactory and Gustatory Symptoms Post-COVID-19.

One hundred ninety-five patients presenting with post-COVID symptomology, including parosmia and dysgeusia, underwent reversible stellate ganglion blockade. Stellate ganglion blockade was performed at an outpatient facility, and patients were evaluated via survey at seven days post-injection. Of the 195 participants, ages ranged from 18-69 years of age with the breakdown of sexes being females n = 157 and males n = 38. The most significant finding was a reported improvement in olfaction post-injection in 87.4% of subjects. The effectiveness of this novel treatment for post-COVID is promising and warrants further investigation.

Predictive value of fasting blood glucose and TG/HDL-C ratio in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19

Objective: To investigate the predictive values of fasting blood glucose and triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19. Methods: A total of 39 non-diabetic patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Xi'an from December 2021 to January 2022 were included. And 34 health examination subjects from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University were matched as health control according to their propensity score. The clinical characteristics and laboratory test results between groups were compared, and the predictive value of fasting glucose and TG/HDL-C in non-diabetic COVID-19 patients was analyzed by logistic regression and receiver operating curve (ROC). Results: COVID-19 patients were either mild (30 cases) or common type (9 cases) with mild symptoms and good clinical prognosis. The median age was 29.0 (20.0, 49.0) years, 24 (61.5%) were males. Fasting blood glucose (4.30+or-0.47 mmol/L) and HDL-C [1.07 (0.86, 1.30) mmol/L] levels in COVID-19 patients were significantly lower than healthy controls [5.15+or-0.70 mmol/L, 2.24 (1.77, 3.05) mmol/L], the differences were statistically significant (t=6.277, P < 0.001;Z=6.026, P < 0.001). However, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) [2.40 (1.81, 2.91) mmol/L] and TG/HDL-C [0.91 (0.54, 1.52)] in COVID-19 patients were significantly increased compared to healthy controls [1.11 (0.99, 1.30) mmol/L, 0.54 (0.33, 0.90)], and the differences were statistically significant (Z=-6.271, -2.801, all P < 0.005). Logistic regression analysis showed that fasting blood glucose on admission could be an independent protective factor (OR:0.020, 95% CI: 0.003 ~ 0.150) and elevated TG/HDL-C be a risk factor (OR:4.802, 95% CI: 1.249 ~ 18.460) for COVID-19 infection among non-diabetic populations. The ROC curve showed that fasting blood glucose and TG/HDL-C were good at predicting the risk of COVID-19, and the area under the curve (AUC) were 0.871 and 0.708, respectively, and was 0.895 when combined. Conclusion: Decreased fasting blood glucose and elevated TG/HDL-C would be risk factors for COVID-19 infection in the non-diabetic population, and both have good predictive value for the incidence of COVID-19.

STG-Net: A COVID-19 prediction network based on multivariate spatio-temporal information.

The modern urban population features a high population density and a fast population flow, and COVID-19 has strong transmission ability, long incubation period, and other characteristics. Considering only the time sequence of COVID-19 transmission cannot effectively respond to the current epidemic transmission situation. The distance between cities and population density information also have a significant impact on the transmission of the virus. Currently, cross-domain transmission prediction models do not fully exploit the time-space information and fluctuation trend of data, and cannot reasonably predict the trend of infectious diseases by integrating time-space multi-source information. To solve this problem, this paper proposes the COVID-19 prediction network (STG-Net) based on multivariate spatio-temporal information, which introduces the Spatial Information Mining module (SIM) and the Temporal Information Mining module (TIM) to mine the spatio-temporal information of the data in a deeper level, and uses the slope feature method to further mine the fluctuation trend of the data. Also, we introduce the Gramian Angular Field module (GAF), which converts one-dimensional data into two-dimensional images, further enhancing the network's feature mining capability in the time and feature dimension, ultimately combining spatiotemporal information to predict daily newly confirmed cases. We tested the network on datasets from China, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and Netherlands. The experimental results show that STG-Net has better prediction performance than existing prediction models, with an average decision coefficient R2 of 98.23% on the datasets from five countries, as well as good long- and short-term prediction ability and overall good robustness.

Rapid and Accurate Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Using an iPad-Controlled, High-Throughput, Portable, and Multiplex Hive-Chip Platform (HiCube).

Rapid and accurate detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is one of the most effective measures to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, there is still lack of an ideal detection platform capable of high sample throughput, portability, and multiplicity. Herein, by combining Hive-Chip (capillary microarray) and reverse transcriptional loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), we developed an iPad-controlled, high-throughput (48 samples at one run), portable (smaller than a backpack), multiplex (monitoring 8 gene fragments in one reaction), and real-time detection platform for SARS-CoV-2 detection. This platform is composed of a portable Hive-Chip device (HiCube; 32.7 × 29.7 × 20 cm, 5 kg), custom-designed software, and optimized Hive-Chips. RT-LAMP primers targeting seven SARS-CoV-2 genes (S, E, M, N, ORF1ab, ORF3a, and ORF7a) and one positive control (human RNase P) were designed and prefixed in the Hive-Chip. On-chip RT-LAMP showed that the limit of detection (LOD) of SARS-CoV-2 synthetic RNAs is 1 copy/µL, and there is no cross-reaction among different target genes. The platform was validated by 100 clinical samples of SARS-CoV-2, and the results were highly consistent with those of the traditional real-time PCR assay. In addition, on-chip detection of 6 other respiratory pathogens showed no cross-reactivity. Overall, our platform has great potential for fast, accurate, and on-site detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Exploring the relationship between exposure to COVID-19 and donations during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating roles of emotions and risk perception.

Objective: Public emergency events like the COVID-19 pandemic are special occasions that need immediate massive funding from public donations. Thus, understanding the determinants of donation behaviors under public emergencies is important for both researchers and practitioners. This study investigated the effect of personal and local exposure to incidences of COVID-19 on donation behaviors. Specifically, we examined the mediating effects of risk perception and emotions on the relationship between exposure to COVID-19 and donation behaviors. Methods: The data were from a survey distributed in China between March 20 and 30th, 2020. Participants' donation choice at the end of the survey was used to measure their donation behaviors. Participants' emotions, risk perception, and personal exposure were assessed in the questionnaire. Local exposure was the 30-day confirmed cases obtained from the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. A total of 8,720 participants (Mean age = 28.91, 43.6% females) completed the online survey. Results: Based on the results from the mediation analysis, we found that people with stronger positive and negative emotions, higher risk perception, and more personal exposure to COVID-19 were more likely to donate. Furthermore, the effects of both personal and local exposure on donations are mediated by risk perception and negative emotion. Both higher personal and local exposure led to stronger negative emotions and higher risk perception, which in turn led to more donation behaviors. Discussion: This study extends our knowledge of donation behaviors during public emergencies. Our results suggest that policymakers and charity organizations should elicit stronger emotions and risk perception by exposing the severity of the disaster in advertisements to promote donations.