Analyze of factors and prognosis of eyes lost to follow-up in retinal vein occlusive disease patients receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy.

BACKGROUND: Patients with macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) who received at least one intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy (VEGF) and lost to follow-up (LTFU) for more than six months were analyzed to investigate the factors contributing to the LTFU and the prognosis. METHOD: This was a retrospective, single-center study to analyze the causes and prognosis of LTFU over six months in RVO-ME patients treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections at our institution from January 2019 to August 2022 and to collect patients' baseline characteristics along with the number of injections before LTFU, primary disease, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before LTFU and after return visit, central macular thickness (CMT), months before LTFU and after LTFU, reasons for LTFU, and complications, to analyze the factors affecting visual outcome at a return visit. RESULTS: This study included 125 patients with LTFU; 103 remained LTFU after six months, and 22 returned after LTFU. The common reason for LTFU was "no improvement in vision" (34.4%), followed by "transport inconvenience" (22.4%), 16 patients (12.8%) were unwilling to visit the clinic, 15 patients (12.0%) had already elected to seek treatment elsewhere, 12 patients (9.6%) were not seen in time due to the 2019-nCov epidemic, and 11 patients (8.8%) cannot do it due to financial reasons. The number of injections before LTFU was a risk factor for LTFU (P < 0.05). LogMAR at the initial visit (P < 0.001), CMT at the initial visit (P < 0.05), CMT before the LTFU (P < 0.001), and CMT after the return visit (P < 0.05) were influential factors for logMAR at the return visit. CONCLUSION: Most RVO-ME patients were LTFU after anti-VEGF therapy. Long-term LTFU is greatly detrimental to the visual quality of patients; thus, the management of RVO-ME patients in follow-up should be considered.

Analyze of factors and prognosis of eyes lost to follow-up in retinal vein occlusive disease patients receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy (preprint)

Background:Patients with macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) who received at least one intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy (VEGF) and lost to follow-up (LTFU) for more than six months were analyzed to investigate the factors contributing to the LTFU and the prognosis. Method: This was a retrospective, single-center study to analyze the causes and prognosis of LTFU over six months in RVO-ME patients treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections at our institution from January 2019 to August 2022 and to collect patients' baseline characteristics along with the number of injections before LTFU, primary disease, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before LTFU and after return visit, central macular thickness (CMT), months before LTFU and after LTFU, reasons for LTFU, and complications, to analyze the factors affecting visual outcome at a return visit. Results: This study included 125 patients with LTFU; 103 remained LTFU after six months, and 22 returned after LTFU. The common reason for LTFU was "no improvement in vision" (34.4%), followed by "transport inconvenience" (22.4%), 16 patients (12.8%) were unwilling to visit the clinic, 15 patients (12.0%) had already elected to seek treatment elsewhere, 12 patients (9.6%) were not seen in time due to the 2019-nCov epidemic, and 11 patients (8.8%) cannot do it due to financial reasons. The number of injections before LTFU was a risk factor for LTFU (P < 0.05). LogMAR at the initial visit (P< 0.001), CMT at the initial visit (P< 0.05), CMT before the LTFU (P< 0.001), and CMT after the return visit (P< 0.05) were influential factors for logMAR at the return visit. Conclusion:Most RVO-ME patients were LTFU after anti-VEGF therapy. Long-term LTFU is greatly detrimental to the visual quality of patients; thus, the management of RVO-ME patients in follow-up should be considered.

Volatility spillover across Chinese carbon markets: Evidence from quantile connectedness method

The paper investigates the volatility spillover across China's carbon emission trading (CET) markets using the connectedness method based on the quantile VAR framework. The non-linear result shows strong volatility spillover effects in upper quantiles, resulting from major economic and political events. This is in accordance with the risk contagion hypothesis that volatility of carbon price returns is affected by the shocks of economic fundamentals and spills over to other pilots. Guangdong and Shanghai are the most significant contributors to volatility transmission because of their high liquidity and active markets. Hubei CET pilot has shifted from transmitter to receiver since the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the pairwise directional connectedness, geographical location and similar market attribute also matter in volatility transmission. This provides implications for policymakers and investors to attach importance to risk management given the quantile-based method rather than the average shocks.

COVID-19 burnout, resilience, and psychological distress among Chinese college students.

Background: Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Chinese college students have spent 3 years dealing with infection prevention. Some students have undergone quarantine due to the detection of new variants of COVID-19 and the rise in cases. This study examines pandemic-related isolation and its psychological impact on Chinese college students and explores the relationships among COVID-19 burnout, resilience, and psychological distress in Chinese college students during the pandemic. Methods: The COVID-19 Burnout Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory were used to investigate 388 college students from Nanjing City, China. All participants were enrolled in university after 2019, and they participated in the survey voluntarily via the Internet. Participants were divided into two groups (isolated group vs. non-isolated group) based on whether or not they had been isolated. Results: (1) Significantly lower scores were found for all factors in the isolated group; (2) COVID-19 burnout significantly negatively predicted resilience and significantly positively predicted psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms), while resilience significantly negatively predicted psychological distress; and (3) Resilience mediated the relationship between COVID-19 burnout and psychological distress. Conclusion: Isolation is a risk factor for psychological distress related to COVID-19. Resilience can buffer psychological distress and help improve Chinese college students' wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neutralizing breadth of antibodies targeting diverse conserved epitopes between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 (preprint)

Antibody therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19 has been highly successful while faces a challenge of the recent emergence of the Omicron variant which escapes the majority of existing SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs). Here, we successfully generated a panel of SARS-CoV-2/SARS-CoV cross-neutralizing antibodies by sequential immunization of the two pseudoviruses. Of which, nAbs X01, X10 and X17 showed broadly neutralizing breadths against most variants of concern (VOCs) and X17 was further identified as a Class 5 nAb with undiminished neutralization against the Omicron variant. Cryo-EM structures of three-antibody in complex with the spike proteins of prototyped SARS-CoV-2, Delta, Omicron and SARS-CoV defined three non-overlapping conserved epitopes on the receptor-binding domain (RBD). The triple antibody cocktail exhibited enhanced resistance to viral escape and effective protection against the infection of Beta variant in hamsters. Our finding will aid the development of both antibody therapeutics and broad vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants.

The Psychological Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Pregnant Women in China.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been reported to have negative psychological impact on mental health. Nonetheless, there are few studies investigating the impacts on pregnant women. This study investigated the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women, and the associated risk factors that moderated this impact. Methods and Materials: A total of 2,798 pregnant participants were recruited from the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were used to assess depression, generalized anxiety disorder and insomnia, respectively, during and before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess psychological stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, over one third of pregnant participants reported mild depression, around 20% experienced mild generalized anxiety, about one third reported problems with sleeping, and more than 15% felt mild psychological stress. The occurrence of psychological problems was significantly higher during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared to before the outbreak. The previously described pattern that pregnant women in the first trimester are more likely to report depression, and those in the third trimester are more likely to report insomnia and psychological stress, was also recognized in our study population. Mental health issues existing before the outbreak were risk factors, while family support was a protective factor in the occurrence of the measured mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Our data suggest pregnant women's mental health is inevitably affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pregnant women in the first and third trimester and those who experienced mental issues before the outbreak may be particularly affected.

Alternations of cesarean section rates in a non-infected population after the outbreak of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study.

The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19) could be sources of anxiety among pregnant women and health care workers, which might affect the decision making on the mode of delivery. The aim of this study was to explore whether the cesarean section rates had significantly increased after the outbreak of COVID-19. We analyzed the labor data with cesarean rates in a tertiary maternity center during COVID-19 epidemic months from January to March in 2020, compared with pre-epidemic parallel months in 2019 by using Z-score test for proportions. Even though none of the staff or patient suffered with COVID-19 in the hospital, we found the cesarean section rates slightly increased in a non-infected population after the outbreak of COVID-19. Obstetricians should beware of the possible effects of COVID-19 on the mode of delivery.

Psychological impact in non-infectious disease specialists who had direct contact with patients with COVID-19

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has become a pandemic. Obstetricians and midwives, among other medical staff, are tackling COVID-19 and are under immense psychological stress. Aims We aimed to survey the mental health of non-infectious disease specialist staff, specifically obstetricians and midwives, working in officially designated hospitals treating patients with COVID-19. Method: A nationwide online survey was conducted from 7 March to 17 March 2020 investigating the mental health of obstetricians and midwives (who were not themselves infected with COVID-19) working in hospitals treating patients with COVID-19. We used the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and the 7-item Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to assess their symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia. Results: A total of 885 (41.6%), 609 (28.6%) and 729 (34.3%) obstetricians and midwives reported depression (PHQ-9 >= 5), anxiety (GAD-7 >= 5) and insomnia (ISI >= 8), respectively, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of whether or not they had direct contact with patients with COVID-19, obstetricians and midwives were more likely to report mild and moderate depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with before the pandemic. Those who had direct contact with patients with COVID-19 were more likely to report depression and insomnia than those who did not. Those who had sufficient protective equipment or training were less likely to report depression, anxiety and insomnia than those who did not. Conclusions: Our data suggest that non-infectious disease specialist staff have experienced varying, but increased levels of depression, anxiety and insomnia during this COVID-19 pandemic, which could be reduced by sufficient levels of protective equipment and occupational COVID-19 workplace training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychological impact in non-infectious disease specialists who had direct contact with patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has become a pandemic. Obstetricians and midwives, among other medical staff, are tackling COVID-19 and are under immense psychological stress. AIMS: We aimed to survey the mental health of non-infectious disease specialist staff, specifically obstetricians and midwives, working in officially designated hospitals treating patients with COVID-19. METHOD: A nationwide online survey was conducted from 7 March to 17 March 2020 investigating the mental health of obstetricians and midwives (who were not themselves infected with COVID-19) working in hospitals treating patients with COVID-19. We used the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and the 7-item Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to assess their symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia. RESULTS: A total of 885 (41.6%), 609 (28.6%) and 729 (34.3%) obstetricians and midwives reported depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 5), anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 5) and insomnia (ISI ≥ 8), respectively, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of whether or not they had direct contact with patients with COVID-19, obstetricians and midwives were more likely to report mild and moderate depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with before the pandemic. Those who had direct contact with patients with COVID-19 were more likely to report depression and insomnia than those who did not. Those who had sufficient protective equipment or training were less likely to report depression, anxiety and insomnia than those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that non-infectious disease specialist staff have experienced varying, but increased levels of depression, anxiety and insomnia during this COVID-19 pandemic, which could be reduced by sufficient levels of protective equipment and occupational COVID-19 workplace training.

Ecological damage of submerged macrophytes by fresh cyanobacteria (FC) and cyanobacterial decomposition solution (CDS)

To investigate the deleterious ecological effects of cyanobacteria on submerged macrophytes, this study investigated the effects of different concentrations of fresh cyanobacteria (FC) and cyanobacteria decomposition solution (CDS) on an experimental group of submerged macrophytes (Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara and Myriophyllum verticillatum Linn.). The results showed that FC and CDS not only lead to decrease in biomass and significant changes in enzyme activity and chlorophyll content in tissue, but also affected the permeability of cell membranes. The extent of damage was in the order CDS >FC, and the comprehensive stress resistance of Vallisneria natans (2.994) was more than that of Myriophyllum verticillatum (2.895). In addition, semi-permeable membranes can reduce plant damage by FC and CDS, but cannot completely prevent it. FC and CDS mainly affected the relative distribution of microbial genera on the surface of aquatic plants (p <0.05). Furthermore, CDS caused irreversible damage to plant cells and induced programmed cell death (PCD) of plants to accelerate their decline. Therefore, FC and CDS may be one of the main reasons for the decline in submerged vegetation. This study provides a scientific basis for evaluating the harmful effects of cyanobacteria on submerged macrophytes.

Computational Evaluation of the COVID-19 3c-like Protease Inhibition Mechanism, and Drug Repurposing Screening (preprint)

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 outbreak is now a global threat with over a million diagnosed cases and more than 70 thousand deaths. Specific treatments and effective drugs regarding such disease are in urgent need. To contribute to the drug discovery against COVID-19, we performed computational study to understand the inhibition mechanism of the COVID-19 3c-like protease, and search for possible drug candidates from approved or experimental drugs through drug repurposing screening against the DrugBank database. Two novel computational methods were applied in this study. We applied the “Consecutive Histogram Monte Carlo” (CHMC) sampling method for understanding the inhibition mechanism from studying the 2-D binding free energy landscape. We also applied the “Movable Type” (MT) free energy method for the lead compound screening by evaluating the binding free energies of the COVID-19 3c-like protease – inhibitor complexes. Lead compounds from the DrugBank database were first filtered using ligand similarity comparison to 19 published SARS 3c-like protease inhibitors. 70 selected compounds were then evaluated for protein-ligand binding affinities using the MT free energy method. 4 drug candidates with strong binding affinities and reasonable protein-ligand binding modes were selected from this study, i.e. Enalkiren (DB03395), Rupintrivir (DB05102), Saralasin (DB06763) and TRV-120027 (DB12199).