ABSTRACT
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more firms than ever before have enabled their employees to work from home. Based on a representative firm survey in Germany, surveying 2.000 firms per month throughout the course of the pandemic (October 2020 until June 2022), this paper provides suggestive evidence concerning the effects of working from home (WFH) at different points in time during the pandemic and discusses implications for the future of work. We assess the potential of WFH in Germany to be 25–30% of private-sector employees. On the firm side, we find that higher WFH use is positively related to business success during the crisis, with increased employee productivity and employees working more hours when remote being possible mechanisms. Larger firms in particular are open towards expanding their WFH offerings in the future. During the pandemic, firms have experienced that WFH has worked well in many respects (e.g., productivity of employees, quality of work performed) and, for the future, they are willing to facilitate WFH in order to give their employees more flexibility, and to be considered an attractive employer. However, working on site brings advantages (e.g., communication, cooperation and onboarding of new employees) firms will not want to sacrifice, pointing towards a hybrid model of work.
ABSTRACT
Introdução: A macroglobulinemia de Waldenstrom (MW) é uma patologia linfoproliferativa neoplásica maligna das células plasmáticas e linfócitos B, normalmente responsável pela síntese das cadeias pesadas de imunoglobulinas. Diferente da leucemia linfoblástica aguda, os linfócitos mantêm a capacidade de se diferenciar e amadurecer em células plasmáticas. A MW possui características que variam de células linfoides maduras a plasmócitos. Imunofenotipagem de células obtidas a partir da medula óssea, dos linfonodos ou do sangue periférico de pacientes com essa doença mostram IgM citoplasmática detectável em células plasmáticas e imunoglobulina superficial na maioria dos linfócitos. Objetivo: Apresentar um caso de MW. Material e métodos: Revisão de prontuáriros médicos e literatura. Descrição do caso: Paciente do sexo masculino, 61 anos, apresentou epistaxe de grande volume com repetição, fadiga e astenia, além de perda de 15 quilos em 6 meses. Na admissão hospitalar apresentava os seguintes exames: anemia com hemoglobina 5,4 g/dL, hemácias de 1,45 milhão/mm3, plaquetopenia (87.000/mm3), presença de esplenomegalia importante, roleaux eritrocitário, esplenomegalia e linfonodomegalia abdominal. Solicitada avaliação com hematologista por paciente referir repetidas anemias ao longo da vida e histórico de transfusões de repetição. Seguem os resultados da investigação com especialisgta: Mielograma apresentou células linfoides de tamanho pequeno e aspecto maduro, algumas apresentando aspecto plasmocitoide. Imunofenotipagem de sangue periférico com CD20/CD38, CD38, CD200, CD19/CD200 positivo fraco;CD19, CD45, CD45/CD22, KAPPA, CD20: positivo de alta intensidade;KAPPA cito- plasmático e CD43 positivo. Dosagem de Imunoglobulinas: IgM 10.100 mg/dL, IgG 242 mg/dL e IgA 91,5 mg/dL. Pico monoclonal IgM/Lambda na imunofixação sérica. Exame de Coombs direto negativo. Como terapêutica, iniciou-se Ciclofosfamida associado a Rituximabe. O paciente evoluiu ao óbito devido ao Covid-19 durante a internação. Discussão: A MW é uma neoplasia rara, sendo que o paciente deste relato enquadra-se na idade média do diagnóstico de MW, que ocorre em torno dos 60 anos, maioria do sexo masculino. Grande parte dos pacientes apresenta sintomas como fadiga, fraqueza e sangramento (principalmente epistaxe). Outras manifestações como perda de peso, distúrbios visuais e fenômeno de Raynaud são menos comuns. Ao exame físico, encontra-se rotineiramente hepatoesplenomegalia e linfadenopatia. Proteinúria de Bence Jones está presente em um quarto de todos os pacientes com MW, devido a uma lesão predominantemente glomerular com depósitos de IgM e material amiloide. A função plaquetária está prejudicada pelo revestimento de plaquetas com IgM, e alguns pacientes podem apresentar defeitos da cascata de coagulação. Os níveis de IgM são marcadamente aumentados, e a crioglobulina pode ser detectada em alguns pacientes. O tratamento deve ser individualizado de acordo com as manifestações clínicas de cada paciente e seu curso clínico é variável. Causas de morte relacionam-se geralmente a hiperviscosidade, anemia, hemorragia, trombose e infecções, sendo que neste caso a infecção por Covid-19 atuou como fator definidor. Conclusão: É oportuno o relato de um caso de MW devido a raridade de seu diagnóstico e importância de estabelecer diagnóstico diferencial com doenças de maior prevalência.
ABSTRACT
Background: The two FDA approved mRNA-based SARS-CoV2 vaccines have shown >90% efficacy at preventing COVID and eliciting protective immunity in nearly all healthy individuals. However, the extent of vaccine induced antibody and T cell immunity in immunocompromised patients is not well known. Our study objective is to determine if patients with hematologic malignancies treated with B-cell targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies can mount antibody and T cell immune responses to SARS-CoV2 vaccines. A prospective single-center study to evaluate the SARS-CoV2 immune responses in immunocompromised individuals (COVAX Study) was initiated at University of Pennsylvania following the IRB guidelines. The study enrolled 8 healthy adults,12 patients are in remission after treatment (average of 40.6 months) with CART cells targeting either CD19 or CD19+CD22 and received both doses of SARS-CoV2 vaccine. Methods and Results: Serology to SARS-CoV2 spike-receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG, RBD-IgA, RBD-IgM and spike-specific T cell responses were measured prior to vaccination and serially up to 28 days after booster vaccination. RBD-IgG and RBD-IgA were detected in 8/8 and 7/8 healthy subjects compared to 5/12 and 2/12 CART patients, respectively (Figure A). In the CART cohort, several patients who demonstrated an induction of RBD-IgG (57.2/uL +/- 20.2) compared to those who were RBD-IgG-negative (9/uL +/- 10.1, ANOVA with multiple comparisons test p=0.017) have higher level of circulating B cells. No association was found with time since CART infusion, age, disease type, or vaccine manufacturer. All 8 healthy subjects demonstrated induction of SARS-Cov2 spike-specific CD4 + T cell immunity compared to 7 out of 11 CART patients (Figure B). RBD-IgG responses were not correlated with CD4 + T cell activation (Pearson correlation, R=0.21, p=0.53). Indeed, 3 CART patients demonstrated robust CD4 + T cell activation despite absence of antibody induction. Overall, 8/12 CART patients demonstrated induction of either or both humoral and T cell immune responses. Conclusions: We show that immune responses to SARS-CoV2 mRNA vaccines are induced in majority of patients who have been treated with CART therapies targeting B-cell lineage antigens. Induction of vaccine-specific antibody was strongly associated with the level of circulating B cells. However, in CART cohort patients despite severe humoral immune deficiency, strong CD4 + T cell responses were observed suggestive of a sufficient protective immunity. [Formula presented] Disclosures: Frey: Novartis: Research Funding;Sana Biotechnology: Consultancy;Kite Pharma: Consultancy;Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Garfall: Amgen: Honoraria;CRISPR Therapeutics: Research Funding;GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria;Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding;Novartis: Research Funding;Tmunity: Research Funding. Porter: American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy: Honoraria;Genentech: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months;ASH: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;DeCart: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Kite/Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;National Marrow Donor Program: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding;Tmunity: Patents & Royalties;Wiley and Sons Publishing: Honoraria. June: AC Immune, DeCART, BluesphereBio, Carisma, Cellares, Celldex, Cabaletta, Poseida, Verismo, Ziopharm: Consultancy;Tmunity, DeCART, BluesphereBio, Carisma, Cellares, Celldex, Cabaletta, Poseida, Verismo, Ziopharm: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company;Novartis: Patents & Royalties.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral respiratory disease that has been spreading across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a public health emergency. The treatment of COVID-19 has been hampered due to the lack of effective therapeutic efforts. Main Protease (Mpro) is a key enzyme in the viral replication cycle and its non-specificity to human protease makes it a potential drug target. Cyperus rotundus Linn, which belongs to the Cyperaceae family, is a traditional herbal medicine that has been widely studied for its antiviral properties. In this study, a computational approach was used to screen natural compounds from C. rotundus Linn using BIOVIA Discovery Suite and novel potential molecules against Mpro of SARS-CoV-2 were predicted. Molecular docking was performed using LibDock protocol and selected ligands were further subjected to docking analysis by CDOCKER. The docking scores of the selected ligands were compared with standard antiretroviral drugs such as lopinavir and ritonavir to assess their binding potentials. Interaction pharmacophore analysis was then performed for the compounds exhibiting good binding scores to evaluate their protein-ligand interactions. The selected protein-ligand complexes were subjected to molecular dynamics simulation for 50 ns. Results of binding free energy analysis revealed that two compounds-ß-amyrin and stigmasta-5,22-dien-3-ol-exhibited the best binding interactions and stability. Finally, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) studies were performed to understand the pharmacokinetic properties and safety profile of the compounds. The overall results indicate that the phytochemicals from Cyperus rotundus Linn, namely ß-amyrin and stigmasta-5,22-dien-3-ol, can be screened as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Cyperus , Humans , Molecular Docking Simulation , Peptide Hydrolases , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The number of confirmed cases of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19 continues to escalate with over 70 million confirmed cases and over 1.6 million confirmed deaths. Severe-to-critical COVID-19 is associated with a dysregulated host immune response to the virus, which is thought to lead to pathogenic immune dysregulation and end-organ damage. Presently few effective treatment options are available to treat COVID-19. Leronlimab is a humanized IgG4, kappa monoclonal antibody that blocks C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5). It has been shown that in patients with severe COVID-19 treatment with leronlimab reduces elevated plasma IL-6 and chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), and normalized CD4/CD8 ratios. We administered leronlimab to 4 critically ill COVID-19 patients in intensive care. All 4 of these patients improved clinically as measured by vasopressor support, and discontinuation of hemodialysis and mechanical ventilation. Following administration of leronlimab there was a statistically significant decrease in IL-6 observed in patient A (p=0.034) from day 0-7 and patient D (p=0.027) from day 0-14. This corresponds to restoration of the immune function as measured by CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio. Although two of the patients went on to survive the other two subsequently died of surgical complications after an initial recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection.