Chemical composition and therapeutic mechanism of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction in the treatment of COVID-19 by network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamic analysis.

Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction (XBCQD), a classic traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat COVID-19 in China with remarkable curative effect. However, the chemical composition and potential therapeutic mechanism is still unknown. Here, we used multiple open-source databases and literature mining to select compounds and potential targets for XBCQD. The COVID-19 related targets were collected from GeneCards and NCBI gene databases. After identifying putative targets of XBCQD for the treatment of COVID-19, PPI network was constructed by STRING database. The hub targets were extracted by Cytoscape 3.7.2 and MCODE analysis was carried out to extract modules in the PPI network. R 3.6.3 was used for GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis. The effective compounds were obtained via network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis. Drug-likeness analysis and ADMET assessments were performed to select core compounds. Moreover, interactions between core compounds and hub targets were investigated through molecular docking, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations and MM-PBSA calculations. As a result, we collected 638 targets from 61 compounds of XBCQD and 845 COVID-19 related targets, of which 79 were putative targets. Based on the bioinformatics analysis, 10 core compounds and 34 hub targets of XBCQD for the treatment of COVID-19 were successfully screened. The enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG indicated that XBCQD mainly exerted therapeutic effects on COVID-19 by regulating signal pathways related to viral infection and inflammatory response. Meanwhile, the results of molecular docking showed that there was a stable binding between the core compounds and hub targets. Moreover, MD simulations and MM-PBSA analyses revealed that these compounds exhibited stable conformations and interacted well with hub targets during the simulations. In conclusion, our research comprehensively explained the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway intervention mechanism of XBCQD in the treatment of COVID-19, which provided evidence and new insights for further research.

Dysregulation of Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection with Delayed Viral Clearance.

Asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 is a major concern in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many questions concerning asymptomatic infection remain to be answered, for example, what are the differences in infectivity and the immune response between asymptomatic and symptomatic infections? In this study, based on a cohort established by the Wuchang District Health Bureau of Wuhan in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan in 2019, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the clinical, virological, immunological, and epidemiological data of asymptomatic infections. The major findings of this study included: 1) the asymptomatic cohort enrolled this study exhibited low-grade but recurrent activity of viral replication; 2) despite a lack of overt clinical symptoms, asymptomatic infections exhibited ongoing innate and adaptive immune responses; 3) however, the immune response from asymptomatic infections was not activated adequately, which may lead to delayed viral clearance. Given the fragile equilibrium between viral infection and host immunity, and the delayed viral clearance in asymptomatic individuals, close viral monitoring should be scheduled, and therapeutic intervention may be needed.

Worldwide Research Trends on Artemisinin: A Bibliometric Analysis From 2000 to 2021.

Objective: Artemisinin is an organic compound that comes from Artemisia annua. Artemisinin treatment is the most important and effective method for treating malaria. Bibliometric analysis was carried out to identify the global research trends, hot spots, scientific frontiers, and output characteristics of artemisinin from 2000 to 2021. Methods: Publications and their recorded information from 2000 to 2021 were retrieved through the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Using VOSviewer and Citespace, the hotspots and trends of studies on artemisinin were visualized. Results: A total of 8,466 publications were retrieved, and for the past 22 years, the annual number of publications associated with artemisinin kept increasing. The United States published most papers. The H-index and number of citations of the United States ranked first. The University of Oxford and MALARIA JOURNAL were the most productive affiliation and journal, respectively. A paper written by E.A. Ashley in 2011 achieved the highest global citation score. Keywords, such as "malaria," "artesunate," "plasmodium-falciparum," "in-vitro," "artemisinin resistance," "plasmodium falciparum," "resistance," and "artemether-lumefantrine," appeared most frequently. The research on artemisinin includes clinical research and animal and cell experiments. Conclusion: The biosynthesis, drug resistance mechanism, and combination of artemisinin have become more popular than before. Studies on artemisinin treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been carried out, and good research results have been obtained.

The Impact of the Closure of the Live Poultry Market due to COVID-19 on the Avian Influenza Virus in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China.

This article aims to understand the changes in the detection rates of H5, H7, and H9 subtypes of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in the live poultry markets (LPMs) in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19. From 2019 to 2020, we monitored the LPM and collected specimens, using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technology to detect the nucleic acid of type A AIV in the samples. The H5, H7, and H9 subtypes of influenza viruses were further classified for positive results. We analyzed 1,959 samples before and after the outbreak and found that the positive rates of avian influenza A virus (39.69%) and H9 subtype (30.66%) after the outbreak were significantly higher than before the outbreak (26.84% and 20.90%, respectively; P < 0.001). In various LPMs, the positive rate of H9 subtypes has increased significantly (P ≤ 0.001). Positive rates of the H9 subtype in duck, fecal, daub, and sewage samples, but not chicken samples, have increased to varying degrees. This study shows that additional measures are needed to strengthen the control of AIVs now that LPMs have reopened after the relaxing of COVID-19-related restrictions.

Pivotal role of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in improving survival outcome of stage I non-small cell lung cancer in day surgery patients.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, has high morbidity rates. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) as day surgery makes surgical treatment ideally in time with the same quality of medical care. This study aimed to assess the safety of stage I NSCLC patients who underwent VATS at a day surgery center. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and tumor features of VATS patients at a single center, West China Hospital, from June 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020. Patients fulfilled all inclusion criteria, did not meet any exclusion criteria and underwent wedge resection, segmentectomy, or lobectomy with systematic lymph node dissection. RESULTS: The median patient age was 43 (range, 19-67) years. Of the 209 patients, most were women. A total of 108 (51.7%) patients underwent segmentectomy, 87 (41.6%) lobectomy, and 14 (6.7%) wedge resection with systematic lymph node dissection. According to the AJCC/UICC eighth edition of lung cancer stage grouping, stages IA, IA1, IA2, and IA3 were 195 (93.3%), 122 (58.4%), 50 (23.9%), and one (0.5%), respectively. A total of 36 (17.2%) patients were stage 0. Adenocarcinoma was predominantly the postoperative pathological diagnosis, as only 14 (6.7%) were benign. A total of 201 (96.17%) patients were discharged without a chest tube. The most common chief complaints were cough, incisional pain, and shortness of breath. No severe complications or life-threatening emergencies were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The day surgery mode of VATS for stage I NSCLC is safe and feasible, which makes surgical treatment ideally in time for stage I NSCLC patients with the same quality of medical care.

Case Report: A Re-Positive Case of SARS-CoV-2 Associated With Glaucoma.

The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has already become a global threat to the human population. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Ocular abnormalities have been reported in association with COVID-19, but the nature of the impairments was not specified. Here, we report a case of a female patient diagnosed with glaucoma on re-hospitalization for ocular complications two months after being discharged from the hospital upon recovery from COVID-19. Meanwhile, the patient was found re-positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract. The infection was also diagnosed in the aqueous humor through immunostaining with antibodies against the N protein and S protein of SARS-CoV-2. Considering the eye is an immune-privileged site, we speculate that SARS-CoV-2 survived in the eye and resulted in the patient testing re-positive for SARS-CoV-2.