Functional Textile Materials for Blocking COVID-19 Transmission.

The outbreak of COVID-19 provided a warning sign for society worldwide: that is, we urgently need to explore effective strategies for combating unpredictable viral pandemics. Protective textiles such as surgery masks have played an important role in the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic, while revealing serious challenges in terms of supply, cross-infection risk, and environmental pollution. In this context, textiles with an antivirus functionality have attracted increasing attention, and many innovative proposals with exciting commercial possibilities have been reported over the past three years. In this review, we illustrate the progress of textile filtration for pandemics and summarize the recent development of antiviral textiles for personal protective purposes by cataloging them into three classes: metal-based, carbon-based, and polymer-based materials. We focused on the preparation routes of emerging antiviral textiles, providing a forward-looking perspective on their opportunities and challenges, to evaluate their efficacy, scale up their manufacturing processes, and expand their high-volume applications. Based on this review, we conclude that ideal antiviral textiles are characterized by a high filtration efficiency, reliable antiviral effect, long storage life, and recyclability. The expected manufacturing processes should be economically feasible, scalable, and quickly responsive.

Immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in solid organ transplant recipients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at increased risks of morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in SOT recipients. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases were searched for eligible reports published from 1 December 2019 to 31 May 2022. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included reports evaluating the humoral immune response (HIR) or cellular immune response rate in SOT recipients after the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. PARTICIPANTS: SOT recipients who received COVID-19 vaccines. ASSESSMENT OF RISK OF BIAS: We used the Newcastle-Ottawa scale to assess bias in case-control and cohort studies. For randomised-controlled trials, the Jadad Scale was used. METHODS: We used a random-effects model to calculate the pooled rates of immune response with 95% CI. We used a risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI for a comparison of immune responses between SOT and healthy controls. RESULTS: A total of 91 reports involving 11 886 transplant recipients (lung: 655; heart: 539; liver: 1946; and kidney: 8746) and 2125 healthy controls revealed pooled HIR rates after the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd COVID-19 vaccine doses in SOT recipients were 9.5% (95% CI, 7-11.9%), 43.6% (95% CI, 39.3-47.8%) and 55.1% (95% CI, 44.7-65.6%), respectively. For specific organs, the HIR rates were still low after 1st vaccine dose (lung: 4.4%; kidney: 9.4%; heart: 13.2%; liver: 29.5%) and 2nd vaccine dose (lung: 28.4%; kidney: 37.6%; heart: 50.3%; liver: 64.5%). CONCLUSIONS: A booster vaccination enhances the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in SOT; however, a significant share of the recipients still has not built a detectable HIR after receiving the 3rd dose. This finding calls for alternative approaches, including the use of monoclonal antibodies. In addition, lung transplant recipients need urgent booster vaccination to improve the immune response.

Impact of Innate Immunity, Endothelial Damage, and Metabolic Biomarkers on COVID-19 Severity and Mortality.

In this study, abnormal levels of myeloid activation, endothelial damage, and innate immune markers were associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), while higher levels of metabolic biomarkers (irisin, leptin) demonstrated a protective effect. These data support a model for COVID-19 immunopathogenesis linking robust inflammation and endothelial damage in metabolically predisposed individuals.

Decoy Nanozymes Enable Multitarget Blockade of Proinflammatory Cascades for the Treatment of Multi-Drug-Resistant Bacterial Sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction characterized by severe systemic inflammatory response to infection. Effective treatment of bacterial sepsis remains a paramount clinical challenge, due to its astonishingly rapid progression and the prevalence of bacterial drug resistance. Here, we present a decoy nanozyme-enabled intervention strategy for multitarget blockade of proinflammatory cascades to treat multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacterial sepsis. The decoy nanozymes (named MCeC@MΦ) consist mesoporous silica nanoparticle cores loaded with CeO2 nanocatalyst and Ce6 photosensitizer and biomimetic shells of macrophage membrane. By acting as macrophage decoys, MCeC@MΦ allow targeted photodynamic eradication of MDR bacteria and realize simultaneous endotoxin/proinflammatory cytokine neutralization. Meanwhile, MCeC@MΦ possess intriguing superoxide dismutase and catalase-like activities as well as hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity and enable catalytic scavenging of multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS). These unique capabilities make MCeC@MΦ to collaboratively address the issues of bacterial infection, endotoxin/proinflammatory cytokine secretion, and ROS burst, fully cutting off the path of proinflammatory cascades to reverse the progression of bacterial sepsis. In vivo experiments demonstrate that MCeC@MΦ considerably attenuate systemic hyperinflammation and rapidly rescue organ damage within 1 day to confer higher survival rates (>75%) to mice with progressive MDR Escherichia coli bacteremia. The proposed decoy nanozyme-enabled multitarget collaborative intervention strategy offers a powerful modality for bacterial sepsis management and opens up possibilities for the treatment of cytokine storm in the COVID-19 pandemic and immune-mediated inflammation diseases.

MENA Energy Trends, Global Energy Warming, and COVID-19 Crisis: An Investigation Analysis from Oil, Gas, Regional Economy, and Labor Productivity

With the complex presence of important natural reserves, energy is considered as the main key ingredient to facilitate economic development in the Middle East, GCC, and Maghreb regions. Expectations for a rapidly growing economy in the next decade will likely cause an increase in the fraction of energy consumed domestically, limiting what is available for export. Considered as the home of global oil and gas reserves, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the cornerstone of the global energy architecture, and the global low-carbon energy transition poses critical questions to MENA oil and gas producers. Unfortunately, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeps across the world, growth in the MENA region was projected to fall to 2.8% in 2020, lower than the growth rates during the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2015 oil price shock. Before the coronavirus (COVID-2019), the sharp drop in oil and gas prices that began in 2015 fostered MENA hydrocarbon producers to launch ambitious economic reform programs in all regions. The main goal of these programs was not only to increase the diversification of investment sectors to boost national and regional economies but also to encourage the development of the nonhydrocarbon sector. This article argues for a new challenge investigation and analysis to figure out with current MENA policy options and future prospects, as well as the present impact of COVID-19, in addition to the public policies that encourage diversification economy sector to avoid entire dependence on oil and gas in export are dressed. It also deals with the investigation of the pressing need to create job opportunities for a large and youthful population and the new definition of the possibility of the world moving more aggressively towards low-carbon integration. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Mathematical Problems in Engineering is the property of Hindawi Limited 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.)

Impact of innate immunity, endothelial damage, and metabolic biomarkers on COVID-19 severity and mortality

In this study, abnormal levels of myeloid activation, endothelial damage and innate immune markers were associated with severe COVID-19, while higher levels of metabolic biomarkers (irisin, leptin), demonstrated a protective effect. These data support a model for COVID-19 immunopathogenesis linking robust inflammation and endothelial damage in metabolically-predisposed individuals.

An Inexpensive CRISPR-Based Point-of-Care Test for the Identification of Meat Species and Meat Products.

The growing demand for and supply of meat and meat products has led to a proportional increase in cases of meat adulteration. Adulterated meat poses serious economic and health consequences globally. Current laboratory methods for meat species identification require specialized equipment with limited field applications. This study developed an inexpensive, point-of-care Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)-CRISPR/Cas12a colorimetric assay to detect meat species using a Texas Red-labelled single-strand (ssDNA) reporter. As low as 1.0 pg/µL of the porcine NADH4, the chicken NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) and the duck D-loop genes was detectable under white, blue and ultraviolet light. The test turnaround time from DNA extraction to visualization was approximately 40 min. The assay accurately detected pure and mixed-meat products in the laboratory (n = 15) and during a pilot point-of-care test (n = 8) in a food processing factory. The results are 100% reproducible using lateral flow detection strips and the real-time PCR detection instrument. This technology is fully deployable and usable in any standard room. Thus, our study demonstrates that this method is a straightforward, specific, sensitive, point-of-care test (POCT) adaptable to various outlets such as customs, quarantine units and meat import/export departments.

Detection of Four Porcine Enteric Coronaviruses Using CRISPR-Cas12a Combined with Multiplex Reverse Transcriptase Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay.

Porcine enteric coronaviruses have caused immense economic losses to the global pig industry, and pose a potential risk for cross-species transmission. The clinical symptoms of the porcine enteric coronaviruses (CoVs) are similar, making it difficult to distinguish between the specific pathogens by symptoms alone. Here, a multiplex nucleic acid detection platform based on CRISPR/Cas12a and multiplex reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) was developed for the detection of four diarrhea CoVs: porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), and swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV). With this strategy, we realized a visual colorimetric readout visible to the naked eye without specialized instrumentation by using a ROX-labeled single-stranded DNA-fluorescence-quenched (ssDNA-FQ) reporter. Our method achieved single-copy sensitivity with no cross-reactivity in the identification and detection of the target viruses. In addition, we successfully detected these four enteric CoVs from RNA of clinical samples. Thus, we established a rapid, sensitive, and on-site multiplex molecular differential diagnosis technology for porcine enteric CoVs.

The effect of opening window position on aerosol transmission in an enclosed bus under windless environment Note: This paper is part of the special topic, Flow and the Virus

The potential risk of spreading a virus during bus transportation motivates us to understand the aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and seek effective ways to protect passengers in a bus. In this paper, a typical scenario in which the virus spreads in a bus under a windless environment is numerically studied for further understanding of the spreading characteristics of aerosol transmission in an enclosed space. The air flow in the bus and the spreading processes of droplets with different open windows configurations are obtained and analyzed. The variations of droplet concentration in the air with time are examined and analyzed. In addition, the transient droplet concentration deposited on the passengers is also counted to analyze the potential contact transmission. The results indicate that opening a window next to an infected person shows an unsatisfactory performance in limiting droplet spreading range and reducing droplet concentration, eventually leading to a high risk of infection by aerosol transmission following contact transmission. In addition, opening multiple windows also shows an unsatisfactory result for removing droplets in a bus since the turbulence flow accelerates the spreading speed and expands the spreading range. In contrast, the droplets are removed from the indoor space of the bus quickly if a window is opened in the row in front of the infected person, which is beneficial for reducing aerosol and contact transmission in the bus. Furthermore, it is strongly recommended to avoid sitting in the row in front of the infected person where the highest droplet concentration can be observed.

Virus transmission from urinals.

A virus-laden particle movement from urinal flushing is simulated. Similar to the toilet-induced flushing, results indicate that the trajectory of the particles triggered by the urinal flushing manifests an external spread type. Even more alarmingly, the particle can reach 0.84 m (man's thigh) in 5.5 s when compared with the diffusion performance of the toilet-induced one (around 0.93 m in 35 s). A more violent climbing tendency is discovered in this Letter. Wearing masks should be made mandatory in public washrooms, and anti-diffusion improvements of facilities in public washrooms are urgently needed, especially in the current "SARS-CoV-2" crisis.