Identification of Key Genes Related to Immune Cells in Patients with COVID-19 Via Integrated Bioinformatics-Based Analysis.

COVID-19 has spread all over the world which poses a serious threat to social economic development and public health. Despite enormous progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the specific mechanism and biomarker related to disease severity or prognosis have not been clarified yet. Our study intended to further explore the diagnostic markers of COVID-19 and their relationship with serum immunology by bioinformatics analysis. The datasets about COVID-19 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected via the limma package. Then, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to identify the critical module associated with the clinic status. The intersection DEGs were processed for further enrichment analysis. The final diagnostic genes for COVID-19 were selected and verified through special bioinformatics algorithms. There were significant DEGs between the normal and COVID-19 patients. These genes were mainly enriched in cell cycle, complement and coagulation cascade, extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction, and the P53 signaling pathway. As much as 357 common intersected DEGs were selected in the end. These DEGs were enriched in organelle fission, mitotic cell cycle phase transition, DNA helicase activity, cell cycle, cellular senescence, and P53 signaling pathway. Our study also identified CDC25A, PDCD6, and YWAHE were potential diagnostic markers of COVID-19 with the AUC (area under curve), 0.958 (95% CI 0.920-0.988), 0.941(95% CI 0.892-0.980), and 0.929 (95% CI 0.880-0.971). Moreover, CDC25A, PDCD6, and YWAHE were correlated with plasma cells, macrophages M0, T cells CD4 memory resting, T cells CD8, dendritic cells, and NK cells. Our study discovered that CDC25A, PDCD6, and YWAHE can be used as diagnostic markers for COVID-19. Moreover, these biomarkers were also closely associated with immune cell infiltration, which plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and progression of COVID-19.

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.

Characterization and Evaluation of the Pathogenicity of a Natural Gene-Deleted Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus in China

Porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus is the major pathogen that causes fatal diarrhea in newborn piglets. In this study, a TGEV strain was isolated from the small intestine of diarrhea piglets in Sichuan Province, China, and designated SC2021. The complete genomic sequence of TGEV SC2021 was 28561 bp, revealing a new natural deletion TGEV strain. Based on phylogenetic analyses, TGEV SC2021 belonged to the Miller cluster and was closely related to CN strains. The newborn piglets orally challenged with TGEV SC2021 showed typical watery diarrhea. In addition, macro and micropathological changes in the lungs and intestines were observed. In conclusion, we isolated a new natural deletion virus strain and confirmed that the virus strain has high pathogenicity in newborn piglets. Moreover, macroscopic and microscopic lesions were observed in the lungs and intestines of all TGEV SC2021-infected piglets. In summary, we isolated a new natural deletion TGEV strain and demonstrated that the natural deletion strain showed high pathogenicity in newborn piglets. These data enrich the diversity of TGEV strains and help us to understand the genetic evolution and molecular pathogenesis of TGEV.

Novel insight into the underlying dysregulation mechanisms of immune cell-to-cell communication by analyzing multitissue single-cell atlas of two COVID-19 patients.

How does SARS-CoV-2 cause lung microenvironment disturbance and inflammatory storm is still obscure. We here performed the single-cell transcriptome sequencing from lung, blood, and bone marrow of two dead COVID-19 patients and detected the cellular communication among them. Our results demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 infection increase the frequency of cellular communication between alveolar type I cells (AT1) or alveolar type II cells (AT2) and myeloid cells triggering immune activation and inflammation microenvironment and then induce the disorder of fibroblasts, club, and ciliated cells, which may cause increased pulmonary fibrosis and mucus accumulation. Further study showed that the increase of T cells in the lungs may be mainly recruited by myeloid cells through ligands/receptors (e.g., ANXA1/FPR1, C5AR1/RPS19, and CCL5/CCR1). Interestingly, we also found that certain ligands/receptors (e.g., ANXA1/FPR1, CD74/COPA, CXCLs/CXCRs, ALOX5/ALOX5AP, CCL5/CCR1) are significantly activated and shared among lungs, blood and bone marrow of COVID-19 patients, implying that the dysregulation of ligands/receptors may lead to immune cell's activation, migration, and the inflammatory storm in different tissues of COVID-19 patients. Collectively, our study revealed a possible mechanism by which the disorder of cell communication caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection results in the lung inflammatory microenvironment and systemic immune responses across tissues in COVID-19 patients.

Potato Processing Industry in China: Current Scenario, Future Trends and Global Impact.

Potatoes play an important role in ensuring food security. During the COVID-19 epidemic, consumption of processed potato products decreased, and consumption of fresh potatoes increased. China is the world's largest potato producer with more than 4.81 million hectares of area under potato production and 90.32 million metric tonnes of potatoes produced in 2018. This accounts for 27.36% of the world's planting area and 24.53% of the world's potato production. The proportion of potatoes processed in China was about 12% in 2017, mostly dominated by starch production. However, the recent policy of the Chinese government to popularise potato as a staple food has created new markets for processed potato products other than starch. A very few reports have analysed these future trends of the rapidly growing Chinese potato processing industry and its impact within and outside China. This paper provides an overview of the latest developments with a focus on processed potato products such as potato chips, French fries and dehydrated potatoes, and also, due to the unique Chinese diet culture, it highlights the need for more scientific research dedicated towards the development of novel potato-based healthy foods.

3044 Cases reveal important prognosis signatures of COVID-19 patients.

Critical patients and intensive care unit (ICU) patients are the main population of COVID-19 deaths. Therefore, establishing a reliable method is necessary for COVID-19 patients to distinguish patients who may have critical symptoms from other patients. In this retrospective study, we firstly evaluated the effects of 54 laboratory indicators on critical illness and death in 3044 COVID-19 patients from the Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan, China. Secondly, we identify the eight most important prognostic indicators (neutrophil percentage, procalcitonin, neutrophil absolute value, C-reactive protein, albumin, interleukin-6, lymphocyte absolute value and myoglobin) by using the random forest algorithm, and find that dynamic changes of the eight prognostic indicators present significantly distinct within differently clinical severities. Thirdly, our study reveals that a model containing age and these eight prognostic indicators can accurately predict which patients may develop serious illness or death. Fourthly, our results demonstrate that different genders have different critical illness rates compared with different ages, in particular the mortality is more likely to be attributed to some key genes (e.g. ACE2, TMPRSS2 and FURIN) by combining the analysis of public lung single cells and bulk transcriptome data. Taken together, we urge that the prognostic model and first-hand clinical trial data generated in this study have important clinical practical significance for predicting and exploring the disease progression of COVID-19 patients.

A Polysaccharide-RBD-Fc-Conjugated COVID-19 Vaccine, SCTV01A, Showed High Immunogenicity and Low Toxicity in Animal Models.

We previously developed a polysaccharide--RBD-conjugated nanoparticle vaccine which induced protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in a mouse model. Here, we newly developed a vaccine, SCTV01A, by chemically conjugating recombinant SARS-CoV-2 RBD-Fc and PPS14 (Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype type 14 capsular polysaccharide). The immunogenicity and toxicity of SCTV01A were evaluated in animal models. The PPS14 conjugation enhanced the immunogenicity of RBD-Fc in C57BL/6 mice whether formulated with SCT-VA02B or Alum adjuvant. SCTV01A also induced high opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) against S. pneumoniae serotype 14. In addition, SCTV01A stimulated potent neutralizing titers in rhesus macaques and effectively reduced lung inflammation after SARS-CoV-2 infection with neither antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) nor vaccine-enhanced diseases (VED) phenomenon. Importantly, the long-term toxicity study of SCTV01A in rhesus macaques did not cause any abnormal toxicity and was tolerated at the highest tested dose (120 µg). The existing immunogenicity and toxicological evaluation results have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of SCTV01A, which will be a promising and feasible vaccine to protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

[Effects of vaccination status on the disease severity of patients with coronavirus disease 2019].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of 2019 novel coronavirus inactivated vaccine on the disease severity of patients with Delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 704 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 infected with Delta variant who were older than 18 years old and admitted in the coronavirus disease 2019 designated hospital of Yangzhou (Subei Hospital New Area Branch) from July 2021 to September 2021. They were divided into severe (severe, critical) group and non-severe (light, ordinary) group according to the clinical characteristics of patients. According to the vaccination status, they were divided into 0-dose group, 1-dose group and 2-dose group. We evaluated the effects of vaccination on the severity of the disease and the production of antibodies, and analyzed the influencing factors leading to the severe group of coronavirus disease 2019. RESULTS: The proportion of severe group in the 2-dose vaccinated group was significantly lower than that in the 1-dose vaccinated group and 0-dose vaccinated group [3.02% (7/232) vs. 9.48% (22/232), 15.83% (38/240), P < 0.05]. The time from onset to admission (day: 1.97±1.66 vs. 2.66±2.70), age (years: 45.3±12.2 vs. 63.6±17.0), direct bilirubin [DBil (µmol/L): 3.70±1.83 vs. 5.30±5.13], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH (U/L): 240.69±74.29 vs. 256.30±85.18], creatinine [SCr (µmol/L): 63.38±19.86 vs. 70.23±25.43], interleukin-6 [IL-6 (ng/L): 7.32 (1.54, 17.40) vs. 18.38 (8.83, 33.43)], creatine kinase [CK (U/L): 66.00 (43.00, 99.75) vs. 78.00 (54.50, 144.00)] and D-dimer [mg/L: 0.30 (0.08, 0.49) vs. 0.41 (0.23, 0.69)] of patients in the 2-dose group were significantly lower than those in the 0-dose group (all P < 0.05), while platelet [PLT (×109/L): 176.69±60.25 vs. 149.25±59.07], white blood cell count [WBC (×109/L): 5.43±1.77 vs. 5.03±1.88] and lymphocyte [LYM (×109/L): 1.34±0.88 vs. 1.17±0.50] were significantly higher than those in the 0-dose group (all P < 0.05). The titer of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the 2-dose group was significantly higher than those in the 1-dose group and 0-dose group on the 10th day after admission [U/L: 130.94 (92.23, 326.31), 113.18 (17.62, 136.20), 117.85 (33.52, 156.73), both P < 0.05], and higher than 0-dose group on the 16th day [U/L: 156.12 (120.32, 167.76) vs. 126.52 (61.34, 149.57), P < 0.05]. The proportion of complete 2-dose vaccination [10.45% (7/67) vs. 35.32% (225/637)], LYM (×109/L: 1.09±0.32 vs. 1.25±0.56) and PLT (×109/L: 138.55±68.03 vs. 166.93±59.70) in the severe group were significantly lower than those in the non-severe group (P < 0.05), while the time from onset to admission (day: 3.01±2.99 vs. 2.25±2.09), the length of hospital stay (day: 28±18 vs. 16±6), male proportion [77.61% (52/67) vs. 34.54% (220/637)], age (years: 69.13±12.63 vs. 52.28±16.53), DBil [µmol/L: 4.20 (3.18, 6.65) vs. 3.60 (2.80, 4.90], LDH (U/L: 310.61±98.33 vs. 238.19±72.14), SCr (µmol/L: 85.67±38.25 vs. 65.98±18.57), C-reactive protein [CRP (µmol/L): 28.12 (11.32, 42.23) vs. 8.49 (2.61, 17.58)], IL-6 [ng/L: 38.38 (24.67, 81.50) vs. 11.40 (4.60, 22.07)], CK [U/L: 140.00 (66.00, 274.00) vs. 72.80 (53.00, 11.00)] and the D-dimer [mg/L: 0.46 (0.29, 0.67) vs. 0.35 (0.19, 0.57)] in the severe group were significantly higher than those in the non-severe group (all P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the odds ratio (OR) of severe group was 0.430 (P = 0.010) in the 1-dose group and the 2-dose group compared with the 0-dose group. However, the risk of severe group was 0.381-fold in the 2-dose group compared with the 0-dose group [OR = 0.381, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.121-1.199] which was not statistically significant, when the age was included in the regression analysis (P > 0.05). PLT (OR = 0.992, 95%CI was 0.986-0.998) were protective factors, but older than 60 years old (OR = 3.681, 95%CI was 1.637-8.278), CK (OR = 1.001, 95%CI was 1.000-1.001), IL-6 (OR = 1.006, 95%CI was 1.002-1.010), SCr (OR = 1.020, 95%CI was 1.007-1.033) were risk factors for severe group (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the 0-dose vaccinated patients, the coronavirus disease 2019 patients infected with delta variant and fully vaccinated with 2-dose 2019 novel coronavirus inactivated vaccine had lower level of IL-6, SCr, CK and D-dimer, and higher PLT, LYM and IgG titer, who were not easy to develop into the severe condition.

Isolation of a Novel Bat Rhabdovirus with Evidence of Human Exposure in China.

Bats are well-recognized reservoirs of zoonotic viruses. Several spillover events from bats to humans have been reported, causing severe epidemic or endemic diseases including severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), SARS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV), henipaviruses, and filoviruses. In this study, a novel rhabdovirus species, provisionally named Rhinolophus rhabdovirus DPuer (DPRV), was identified from the horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) in Yunnan province, China, using next-generation sequencing. DPRV shedding in the spleen, liver, lung, and intestinal contents of wild bats with high viral loads was detected by real-time quantitative PCR, indicating that DPRV has tropism for multiple host tissues. Furthermore, DPRV can replicate in vitro in multiple mammalian cell lines, including BHK-21, A549, and MA104 cells, with the highest efficiency in hamster kidney cell line BHK-21, suggesting infectivity of DPRV in these cell line-derived hosts. Ultrastructure analysis revealed a characteristic bullet-shaped morphology and tightly clustered distribution of DPRV particles in the intracellular space. DPRV replicated efficiently in suckling mouse brains and caused death of suckling mice; death rates increased with passaging of DPRV in suckling mice. Moreover, 421 serum samples were collected from individuals who lived near the bat collection site and had fever symptoms within 1 year. DPRV-specific antibodies were detected in 20 (4.75%) human serum samples by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Furthermore, 10 (2.38%) serum samples were DPRV positive according to plaque reduction neutralization assay, which revealed potential transmission of DPRV from bats to humans and highlighted the potential public health risk. Potential vector association with DPRV was not found with negative viral RNA in bloodsucking arthropods. IMPORTANCE We identified a novel rhabdovirus from the horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus thomasi) in China with probable infectivity in humans. DPRV was isolated in vitro from several mammalian cell lines, indicating wide host tropism, excluding bats, of DPRV. DPRV replicated in the brains of suckling mice, and the death rate of suckling mice increased with passaging of DPRV in vivo. Serological tests indicated the possible infectivity of DPRV in humans and the potential transmission to humans. The present findings provide preliminary evidence for the potential risk of DPRV to public health. Additional studies with active surveillance are needed to address interspecies transmission and determine the pathogenicity of DPRV in humans.

COVID-19 Knowledge and Pandemic-Associated Distress Among the Hospital Pharmacist Workforce in China.

BACKGROUND: The unprecedented disruption brought about by the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had produced tremendous influence on the practice of pharmacy. Sufficient knowledge of pharmacists was needed to deal with the epidemic situation; however, outbreak also aggravated psychological distress among health-care professionals. Therefore, this study aimed to determine knowledge about the pandemic and related factors, prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among hospital pharmacists of Xinjiang Province, China. METHODS: An anonymous online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted by means of WeChat, a popular social media platform in China, February 23-27, 2020, during the COVID-19 outbreak. The survey questionnaire consisted of 4 parts, including informed consent section, demographic section, knowledge about COVID-19, and assessment of overall mental health through World Health Organization's Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). A score of 8 or above on SRQ-20 was used as cutoff to classify the participant as in psychological distress. SRQ-20 score and related knowledge score were used as dependent variables, demographic characteristics (such as gender, age, monthly income, etc.) were used as independent variables, and univariate binary logistic regression was used to screen out the variables with P < 0.05. Then, the filtered variables were used as independent variables, and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze associations with sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 and psychological distress. RESULTS: A total of 365 pharmacists participated in the survey, fewer than half (35.1%; n = 128) of pharmacists attained a score of 6 or greater (out of 10) in overall disease knowledge, and most were able to select effective disinfectants and isolation or discharge criteria. In the multivariable model, age ages 31-40 (odds ratio [OR] = 3.25; P < 0.05), ages 41-50 (OR = 2.96; P < 0.05) versus >50 (referent); primary place of practice in hospitals: drug supply (OR = 4.00; P < 0.01), inpatient pharmacy (OR = 2.06, P < 0.01), clinical pharmacy (OR = 2.17, P < 0.05) versus outpatient pharmacy (referent); monthly income Renminbi (RMB, China's legal currency) 5000-10,000 (OR = 1.77; P < 0.05) versus < 5000 (referent); contact with COVID-19 patients or suspected cases (OR = 2.27; P < 0.01); access to COVID-19 knowledge remote work+ on-site work (OR = 6.07; P < 0.05), single on-site work (OR = 6.90; P < 0.01) versus remote work (referent) were related to better knowledge of COVID-19. Research found that 18.4% of pharmacists surveyed met the SRQ-20 threshold for distress. Self-reported history of mental illness (OR = 3.56; P < 0.05) and working and living in hospital versus delay in work resumption (OR = 2.87; P < 0.01) were found to be risk factors of psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Further training of COVID-19 knowledge was required for pharmacists. As specific pharmacist groups were prone to psychological distress, it was important for individual hospitals and government to consider and identify pharmacists' needs and take steps to meet their needs with regard to pandemic and other work-related distress.

Effects of Stressors of COVID-19 on Chinese College Students' Problematic Social Media Use: A Mediated Moderation Model.

Purpose: Isolation policies are long-term and strictly enforced in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media might be widely used for communication, work, understanding the development of the epidemic, etc. However, these behaviors might lead to problematic social media use. The present study investigated the effect of stressors of COVID-19 on problematic social media use, as well as the internal mechanisms involved. Methods: One thousand three hundred seventy-three Chinese college students (M age = 19.53, SD age = 1.09) were recruited randomly from four grades who completed Coronavirus Stress Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale, Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Assessment Questionnaire, and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale. Results: Stressors of COVID-19 were positively related to problematic social media use. The link between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use was mediated by fear of missing out. Additionally, the association between fear of missing out and problematic social media use, as well as the association between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use were moderated by regulatory emotional self-efficacy. Conclusion: The current findings reveal the mechanism that may be used to reduce the likelihood of problematic social media use in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. To prevent and intervene in problematic social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study stressed the importance of decreasing the fear of missing out and enhancing regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

Characterization of RNA G-quadruplexes in porcine epidemic diarrhea virus genome and the antiviral activity of G-quadruplex ligands.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), an enteropathogenic coronavirus, has catastrophic impacts on the global pig industry. However, there are still no anti-PEDV drugs with accurate targets. G-quadruplexes (G4s) are non-canonical secondary structures formed within guanine-rich regions of DNA or RNA, and have attracted great attention as potential targets for antiviral strategy. In this study, we reported two putative G4-forming sequences (PQS) in S and Nsp5 genes of PEDV genome based on bioinformatic analysis, and identified that S-PQS and Nsp5-PQS were enabled to fold into G4 structure by using circular dichroism spectroscopy and fluorescence turn-on assay. Furthermore, we verified that both S-PQS and Nsp5-PQS PQS could form G4 structure in live cells by immunofluorescence microscopy. In addition, G4-specific compounds, such as TMPyP4 and PDS, could significantly inhibit transcription, translation and proliferation of PEDV in vitro. Importantly, these compounds exert antiviral activity at the post-entry step of PEDV infection cycle, by inhibiting viral genome replication and protein expression. Lastly, we demonstrated that TMPyP4 can inhibit reporter gene expression by targeting G4 structure in Nsp5. Taken together, these findings not only reinforce the presence of viral G-quadruplex sequences in PEDV genome but also provide new insights into developing novel antiviral drugs targeting PEDV RNA G-quadruplexes.

Impact of vaccination on kinetics of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by Serum live neutralization test based on a prospective cohort.

How much the vaccine contributes to the induction and development of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) of breakthrough cases relative to those unvaccinated-infected cases is not fully understood. We conducted a prospective cohort study and collected serum samples from 576 individuals who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 Delta strain infection, including 245 breakthrough cases and 331 unvaccinated-infected cases. NAbs were analyzed by live virus microneutralization test and transformation of NAb titer. NAbs titers against SARS-CoV-2 ancestral and Delta variant in breakthrough cases were 7.8-fold and 4.0-fold higher than in unvaccinated-infected cases, respectively. NAbs titers in breakthrough cases peaked at the second week after onset/infection. However, the NAbs titers in the unvaccinated-infected cases reached their highest levels during the third week. Compared to those with higher levels of NAbs, those with lower levels of NAbs had no difference in viral clearance duration time (P>0.05), did exhibit higher viral load at the beginning of infection/maximum viral load of infection. NAb levels were statistically higher in the moderate cases than in the mild cases (P<0.0001). Notably, in breakthrough cases, NAb levels were highest longer than 4 months after vaccination (Delta strain: 53118.2 U/mL), and lowest in breakthrough cases shorter than 1 month (Delta strain: 7551.2 U/mL). Cross-neutralization against the ancestral strain and the current circulating isolate (Omicron BA.5) was significantly lower than against the Delta variant in both breakthrough cases and unvaccinated-infected cases. Our study demonstrated that vaccination could induce immune responses more rapidly and greater which could be effective in controlling SARS-CoV-2.

Identification of key genes related to immune cells in patients with COVID-19 via Integrated Bioinformatics-Based Analysis (preprint)

Background COVID-19 has spread all over the world which poses a serious threat to social economic development and public health. Despite enormous progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the specific mechanism and biomarker related to disease severity or prognosis have not been clarified yet. Our study intended to further explore the diagnostic markers of COVID-19 and their relationship with serum immunology by bioinformatics analysis.Methods The datasets about COVID-19 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected via the limma package. Then, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to identify the critical module associated with the clinic status. The intersection DEGs were processed for further enrichment analysis. The final diagnostic genes for COVID-19 were selected and verified through special bioinformatics algorithms.Results There were significant DEGs between the normal and COVID-19 patients. These genes were mainly enriched in cell cycle, complement and coagulation cascade, extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction, and the P53 signalling pathway. As much as 358 common intersected DEGs were selected in the end. These DEGs were enriched in organelle fission, mitotic cell cycle phase transition, DNA helicase activity, cell cycle, cellular senescence, and P53 signalling pathway. Our study also identified CDC25A, PDCD6, and YWAHE were potential diagnostic markers of COVID-19 with the AUC (area under curve), 0.958 (95% CI: 0.920–0.988), 0.941(95% CI: 0.892 − 0.980), and 0.929(95% CI: 0.880 − 0.971). Moreover, CDC25A, PDCD6, and YWAHE were correlated with plasma cells, macrophages M0, T cells CD4 memory resting, T cells CD8, dendritic cells, and NK cells.Conclusions Our study discovered that CDC25A, PDCD6 and YWAHE can be used as diagnostic markers for COVID-19. Moreover, these biomarkers were also closely associated with immune cell infiltration, which plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and progression of COVID-19.

Clinical characteristics and short-term mortality of 102 hospitalized hemodialysis patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 omicron BA.2.2.1 variant in Shanghai, China.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze clinical features and short-term mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron BA.2.2.1 variant. Methods: In a retrospective single-center case series, 102 consecutive hospitalized HD patients infected with the coronavirus omicron variant were assessed at Pudong Hospital in Shanghai, China, from April 6 to April 18, 2022; the final date of follow-up was May 16, 2022. Clinical, laboratory, chest CT, and treatment data were collected and analyzed. The association between these factors and all-cause mortality was studied using univariate and multivariate analyses. The relationship between lymphocyte count and short-term mortality was based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess overall survival. Results: In total, 102 patients were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: HD patients with pneumonia (N = 46) and without pneumonia (N = 56). Of the 102 patients, 12 (11.8%) died. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that all-cause mortality was correlated with lymphocyte counts and type B natriuretic peptide (BNP), C-reactive protein (CRP), and D-dimer levels (P < 0.05). The cut-off value of lymphocyte counts was 0.61 × 109/L for all-cause mortality. The overall survival rate was significantly different between HD patients with and without pneumonia (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Lymphocyte counts are important for the prediction of short-term mortality in HD patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. HD patients with lung involvement have poorer survival rates than those without lung involvement.

Genetic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from cross-border trucks and containers in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China

Kashgar is a prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. China. Kashgar Prefecture (KP) is a land-cargo port connecting China with central Asian countries and Europe. Frequent transportation of cargo has increased the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) introduction into China, which has increased the pressure on coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) prevention and control. In November 2020, an imported virus-induced COVID-19 outbreak occurred in KP. To investigate the genetic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 that contaminated the trucks and containers, and the potential of border rapid logistics system to serve as carriers for SARS-CoV-2 transmission, thirty-five SARS-CoV-2-positive nucleic-acid samples collected from KP cross-border trucks and containers from 6-10 November 2020 were subjected into SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing and comparative analyses. The results showed that the median (minimum to maximum) Ct value of ORF1ab was 37.64 (28.91-39.81) . and that of the N gene was 36.50 (26.35-39.30), and the median (minimum to maximum) of the reads mapping ratio to SARS-CoV-2 was 51.95% (0.86%-99.31%), which indicated low viral loads in these environmental samples. Eighteen of 35 samples had genomic coverage >70%. According to the Pango nomenclature, 18 SARS-CoV-2 sequences belonged to six lineages (B.1, B.I.1, B.1.9. B.1.1.220, B.1.153 and B.1.465), three of which (B.I. B.1.1 and 8.1.153) were found in case samples from the same period of four China-neighboring countries. Analyses of nucleotide mutations and phylogenetic trees showed that the genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 collected from the same location were similar. Four of 18 sequences were in a sub-lineage with the representative strain of COVID-19 outbreak in KP, one of which had 1 or 2 differences in nucleotide mutation sites with the strain that caused the COVID-19 outbreak in KP, which indicated high homology in the viral genome. We showed that cross-border trucks and containers were contaminated by various genotypes of SARS-CoV-2 from other countries during the outbreak in KP. and in which contained the parental virus of the KP cases. These trucks and containers served as carriers for SARS-CoV-2 introduction from other countries to cause local transmission. Our results provide important references for COVID-19 prevention-and-control strategies in border ports and tracing of outbreak sources in China.

Potato Processing Industry in China: Current Scenario, Future Trends and Global Impact

  Potatoes play an important role in ensuring food security. During the COVID-19 epidemic, consumption of processed potato products decreased, and consumption of fresh potatoes increased. China is the world’s largest potato producer with more than 4.81 million hectares of area under potato production and 90.32 million metric tonnes of potatoes produced in 2018. This accounts for 27.36% of the world’s planting area and 24.53% of the world’s potato production. The proportion of potatoes processed in China was about 12% in 2017, mostly dominated by starch production. However, the recent policy of the Chinese government to popularise potato as a staple food has created new markets for processed potato products other than starch. A very few reports have analysed these future trends of the rapidly growing Chinese potato processing industry and its impact within and outside China. This paper provides an overview of the latest developments with a focus on processed potato products such as potato chips, French fries and dehydrated potatoes, and also, due to the unique Chinese diet culture, it highlights the need for more scientific research dedicated towards the development of novel potato-based healthy foods.

Mobilized thermal energy storage for clean heating in carbon neutrality era: A perspective on policies in China

Mobilized thermal energy storage (M−TES) is a promising technology to transport heat without the limitation of pipelines, therefore suitable for collecting distributed renewable or recovered resources. In particular, the M−TES can be flexibly used for the emergency heating in the COVID-19 era. Though the M−TES has been commercializing in China, there is not any specific regulation or standard for M−TES systems. Therefore, this paper summarizes and discusses the existing regulations and policies concerning M−TES in the aspects of facility manufacture and operation, road transportation, and financial support and guidance. Furthermore, the suggestions were presented including necessary consensus on the development of M−TES among different departments, consideration of local conditions when drafting or revising regulations and policies, sufficient investment, or subsidy on the R&D of M−TES, and qualification recognition of M−TES companies and staffs.

15-Month Health Outcomes and the Related Risk Factors of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients From Onset: A Cohort Study.

Objective: The long-term impact of COVID-19 on patient health has been a recent focus. This study aims to determine the persistent symptoms and psychological conditions of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 15 months after onset, that patients first developed symptoms. The potential risk factors were also explored. Methods: A cohort of COVID-19 patients discharged from February 20, 2020 to March 31, 2020 was recruited. Follow-ups were conducted using validated questionnaires and psychological screening scales at 15 months after onset to evaluate the patients' health status. The risk factors for long-term health impacts and their associations with disease severity was analyzed. Findings: 534 COVID-19 patients were enrolled. The median age of the patients was 62.0 years old (IQR 52.0-70.0) and 295 were female (55.2%). The median time from onset to follow-up was 460.0 (451.0-467.0) days. Sleep disturbance (18.5%, 99/534) and fatigue (17.2%, 92/534) were the most common persistent symptoms. 6.4% (34/534) of the patients had depression, 9.2% (49/534) were anxious, 13.0% (70/534) had insomnia and 4.7% (25/534) suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multivariate adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that glucocorticoid use during hospitalization (OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.12-11.44) was significantly associated with an increased risk of fatigue. The OR values for anxiety and sleep disorders were 2.36 (95% CI 1.07-5.20) and 2.16 (95% CI 1.13-4.14) in females to males. The OR value of PTSD was 25.6 (95% CI 3.3-198.4) in patients with persistent symptoms to those without persistent symptoms. No significant associations were observed between fatigue syndrome or adverse mental outcomes and disease severity. Conclusions: 15-month follow-up in this study demonstrated the need of extended rehabilitation intervention for complete recovery in COVID-19 patients.