Social media use for coping with stress and psychological adjustment: A transactional model of stress and coping perspective.

Introduction: The psychological well-being of individuals has become an essential issue during the global pandemic. As a pervasive activity for individuals to pull through COVID-19, social media use may play a role in psychological well-being. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and coping, the current study investigated the relationships between COVID-19-related stressors and the use of social media to facilitate specific coping strategies. We further investigated how social media coping strategies impact users' psychological adjustment. Methods: We collected the data from 641 quarantined residents through a two-wave survey that was conducted in two cities in China during government-mandated lockdowns. Results: The results showed that perceived COVID-19 stress was related to the intensity of social media use for problem-focused coping, socioemotional coping, and mental disengagement. In addition, individuals' psychological adjustment was positively associated with social media use for socioemotional coping and mental disengagement while negatively related to problem-focused coping. Age was also found to be a moderator of the relationship between socioemotional coping and psychological adjustment. Discussion: To relieve pandemic-related stress, individuals can actively utilize social media to implement various coping strategies. However, coping activities with social media may not always induce psychological benefits. By revealing the different levels of psychological adjustment among social media users with specific coping strategies, the current research enriched the literature on the effects of social media use on mental health. Findings from this study suggest the need for the prudent use of social media to cope with public health crises.

Coagulopathy in COVID-19 and anticoagulation clinical trials.

Severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has caused a global pandemic of a scale unprecedented in the modern era. People infected with SARS-CoV-2 can be asymptomatic, moderate symptomatic or develop severe COVID-19. Other than the typical acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 also develop a distinctive systemic coagulopathy, known as COVID-19-associated coagulopathy (CAC), which is different from sepsis-related forms of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Endotheliopathy or endotheliitis are other unique features of CAC. The endothelial cell perturbation can further increase the risk of thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge on COVID-19 coagulopathy and the possible mechanisms for the condition. We also discuss the results of clinical trials testing methods for mitigating thrombosis events in COVID-19 patients.

[Preparation and immungenicity of recombinant protein containing intramolecular adjuvant in SARS-CoV-2 RBD domain].

A fusion protein containing a tetanus toxin peptide, a tuftsin peptide and a SARS-CoV-2S protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) was prepared to investigate the effect of intramolecular adjuvant on humoral and cellular immunity of RBD protein. The tetanus toxin peptide, tuftsin peptide and S protein RBD region were connected by a flexible polypeptide, and a recombinant vector was constructed after codon optimization. The recombinant S-TT-tuftsin protein was prepared by prokaryotic expression and purification. BALB/c mice were immunized after mixed with aluminum adjuvant, and the humoral and cellular immune effects were evaluated. The recombinant S-TT-tuftsin protein was expressed as an inclusion body, and was purified by ion exchange chromatography and renaturated by gradient dialysis. The renaturated protein was identified by Dot blotting and reacted with serum of descendants immunized with SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine. The results showed that the antibody level reached a plateau after 35 days of immunization, and the serum antibody ELISA titer of mice immunized with recombinant protein containing intramolecular adjuvant was up to 1:66 240, which was significantly higher than that of mice immunized with S-RBD protein (P < 0.05). At the same time, the recombinant protein containing intramolecular adjuvant stimulated mice to produce a stronger lymphocyte proliferation ability. The stimulation index was 4.71±0.15, which was significantly different from that of the S-RBD protein (1.83±0.09) (P < 0.000 1). Intramolecular adjuvant tetanus toxin peptide and tuftsin peptide significantly enhanced the humoral and cellular immune effect of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein RBD domain, which provideda theoretical basis for the development of subunit vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.

mRNA cancer vaccines: Advances, trends and challenges.

Patients exhibit good tolerance to messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, and the choice of encoded molecules is flexible and diverse. These vaccines can be engineered to express full-length antigens containing multiple epitopes without major histocompatibility complex (MHC) restriction, are relatively easy to control and can be rapidly mass produced. In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has generated enthusiasm for mRNA vaccine research and development. Based on the above characteristics and the development of mRNA vaccines, mRNA cancer vaccines have become a research hotspot and have undergone rapid development, especially in the last five years. This review analyzes the advances in mRNA cancer vaccines from various perspectives, including the selection and expression of antigens/targets, the application of vectors and adjuvants, different administration routes, and preclinical evaluation, to reflect the trends and challenges associated with these vaccines.

Plasmonic/magnetic nanoarchitectures: From controllable design to biosensing and bioelectronic interfaces.

Controllable design of the nanocrystal-assembled plasmonic/magnetic nanoarchitectures (P/MNAs) inspires abundant methodologies to enhance light-matter interactions and control magnetic-induced effects by means of fine-tuning the morphology and ordered packing of noble metallic or magnetic building blocks. The burgeoning development of multifunctional nanoarchitectures has opened up broad range of interdisciplinary applications including biosensing, in vitro diagnostic devices, point-of-care (POC) platforms, and soft bioelectronics. By taking advantage of their customizability and efficient conjugation with capping biomolecules, various nanoarchitectures have been integrated into high-performance biosensors with remarkable sensitivity and versatility, enabling key features that combined multiplexed detection, ease-of-use and miniaturization. In this review, we provide an overview of the representative developments of nanoarchitectures that being built by plasmonic and magnetic nanoparticles over recent decades. The design principles and key mechanisms for signal amplification and quantitative sensitivity have been explored. We highlight the structure-function programmability and prospects of addressing the main limitations for conventional biosensing strategies in terms of accurate selectivity, sensitivity, throughput, and optoelectronic integration. State-of-the-art strategies to achieve affordable and field-deployable POC devices for early multiplexed detection of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 has been covered in this review. Finally, we discuss the urgent yet challenging issues in nanoarchitectures design and related biosensing application, such as large-scale fabrication and integration with portable devices, and provide perspectives and suggestions on developing smart biosensors that connecting the materials science and biomedical engineering for personal health monitoring.

Resilience mediates the association between alexithymia and stress in Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Evidence indicates that medical students have had high rates of mental health problems, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could be affected by alexithymia-a marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment and interpersonal relationships-and stress. However, psychological resilience might relieve alexithymia and stress levels. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the role of resilience in alexithymia and stress in medical students. Methods: A total of 470 medical students completed online and offline surveys, including the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the College Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ). The data of five participants were excluded because of a lack of integrity. Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare group differences in the CD-RISC scores among categorical variables. Spearman correlation analysis was employed to evaluate the associations between resilience and alexithymia and between resilience and stress. Mediation analysis was used to test the mediating effect of resilience between alexithymia and stress. Results: Of the medical students considered in the analysis, 382 (81.28%) were female and 88 (18.72%) were male. There was a significant negative correlation between the TAS-20 scores and the total and subtotal CD-RISC scores (p<0.001). The CSSQ scores also significantly negatively correlated with the total and subtotal CD-RISC scores (p<0.001). Resilience mediated the relationship between alexithymia and stress (total effect=1.044 7, p<0.001). The indirect effect of alexithymia significantly impacted stress through resilience (effect=0.167 0, 95% CI: 0.069 to 0.281). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that resilience might effectively reduce alexithymia and stress. They also contributed to a better understanding of the mediating effects of resilience on alexithymia and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence from these results encourages universities to focus on improving students' resilience.

Resilience mediates the association between alexithymia and stress in Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background Evidence indicates that medical students have had high rates of mental health problems, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could be affected by alexithymia—a marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment and interpersonal relationships—and stress. However, psychological resilience might relieve alexithymia and stress levels. Aims This study aimed to investigate the role of resilience in alexithymia and stress in medical students. Methods A total of 470 medical students completed online and offline surveys, including the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the College Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ). The data of five participants were excluded because of a lack of integrity. Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare group differences in the CD-RISC scores among categorical variables. Spearman correlation analysis was employed to evaluate the associations between resilience and alexithymia and between resilience and stress. Mediation analysis was used to test the mediating effect of resilience between alexithymia and stress. Results Of the medical students considered in the analysis, 382 (81.28%) were female and 88 (18.72%) were male. There was a significant negative correlation between the TAS-20 scores and the total and subtotal CD-RISC scores (p<0.001). The CSSQ scores also significantly negatively correlated with the total and subtotal CD-RISC scores (p<0.001). Resilience mediated the relationship between alexithymia and stress (total effect=1.044 7, p<0.001). The indirect effect of alexithymia significantly impacted stress through resilience (effect=0.167 0, 95% CI: 0.069 to 0.281). Conclusions Our findings suggest that resilience might effectively reduce alexithymia and stress. They also contributed to a better understanding of the mediating effects of resilience on alexithymia and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence from these results encourages universities to focus on improving students' resilience.

The Impact of Mixed Emotions on Consumer Improvisation Behavior in the Environment of COVID-19: The Moderating Effect of Tightness-Looseness Culture.

Organizations and individuals are unprepared for an unexpected outbreak of COVID-19. While most of the literature focuses on improvised reactions at the organizational level, this paper focuses on understanding improvised reactions at the individual level. This paper draws on previous research applying improvisation to the field of consumer behavior and introduces consumer knowledge acquisition as a mediating variable and tightness-looseness culture as a moderating variable from the perspective of mixed emotions of awe and anxiety to explain the mechanism of consumers with mixed emotions of awe and anxiety on improvisation behavior based on the environment of a COVID-19 outbreak. Data from 330 participants in Study 1 examined the effect of mixed emotions of awe and anxiety on improvisation behavior through knowledge acquisition, and data from 434 participants in Study 2 examined the moderating effect of relaxed culture. The findings suggest that consumers with mixed emotions report a higher willingness to acquire knowledge and report higher levels of improvisational behavior. Consumers behaved differently in different environments. Consumers with mixed emotions responded more strongly to improvisation in the loose-culture environment than in the tight-culture environment, and the mixed emotions of awe and anxiety had a positive effect on individual consumers' improvisational behavior through the mediating role of knowledge acquisition.

A C-terminal glutamine recognition mechanism revealed by E3 ligase TRIM7 structures.

The E3 ligase TRIM7 has emerged as a critical player in viral infection and pathogenesis. However, the mechanism governing the TRIM7-substrate association remains to be defined. Here we report the crystal structures of TRIM7 in complex with 2C peptides of human enterovirus. Structure-guided studies reveal the C-terminal glutamine residue of 2C as the primary determinant for TRIM7 binding. Leveraged by this finding, we identify norovirus and SARS-CoV-2 proteins, and physiological proteins, as new TRIM7 substrates. Crystal structures of TRIM7 in complex with multiple peptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 proteins display the same glutamine-end recognition mode. Furthermore, TRIM7 could trigger the ubiquitination and degradation of these substrates, possibly representing a new Gln/C-degron pathway. Together, these findings unveil a common recognition mode by TRIM7, providing the foundation for further mechanistic characterization of antiviral and cellular functions of TRIM7.

The psychological impact of COVID-19 outbreak on medical staff and the general public.

To assess the psychological effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on medical staff and the general public. During the outbreak of COVID-19, an internet-based questionnaire included The Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the impact of the pandemic situation on the mental health of medical staff and general population in Wuhan and its surrounding areas. Among the 1493 questionnaires completed, 827 (55.39%) of these were men, and 422 (28.27%) of these were medical personnel. The results suggest that the outbreak of COVID-19 has affected individuals significantly, the degree of which is related to age, sex, occupation and mental illness. There was a significant difference in PSS-10 and IES-R scores between the medical staff and the general population. The medical staff showed higher PSS-10 scores (16.813 ± 4.87) and IES-R scores (22.40 ± 12.12) compared to members of the general population PSS-10 (14.80 ± 5.60) and IES-R scores (17.89 ± 13.08). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the SDS scores of medical staff (44.52 ± 12.36) and the general public (43.08 ± 11.42). In terms of the need for psychological assistance, 50.97% of interviewees responded that they needed psychological counseling, of which medical staff accounted for 65.87% and non-medical staff accounted for 45.10%. During the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, great attention should be paid to the mental health of the population, especially medical staff, and measures such as psychological intervention should be actively carried out for reducing the psychosocial effects.

Evaluation of temperature resistance of non chemical crosslinked double-tailed hydrophobically associating polymer fracturing fluid

The global spread of COVID-19 continues, industrial raw material production is being tested, and the fracturing cost of oil and gas fields continues to rise, posing new challenges to polymer fracturing fluids. A new hydrophobic association polymer PDMA1 with a double tailed monomer structure was synthesized inside this study. Fourier infrared spectroscopy, Electron microscope scanning, Fluorescence spectroscopy, and polymer viscoelasticity were used to investigate the polymer's basic properties. Finally, using molecular dynamics simulation tools, the network structure of PDMA1 was discovered to be more temperature resistant than that of HPAM. PDMA1 has larger hydrodynamic dimensions than HPAM at the same temperature, its radius of gyration is more than HPAM, and its viscosity is greater than HPAM under the same conditions. This provides an additional avenue of investigation for temperature-resistant hydrophobically associating polymers.

Covalently Engineered Protein Minibinders with Enhanced Neutralization Efficacy against Escaping SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

The rapid emergence and spread of escaping mutations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has significantly challenged our efforts in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. A broadly neutralizing reagent against these concerning variants is thus highly desirable for the prophylactic and therapeutic treatments of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We herein report a covalent engineering strategy on protein minibinders for potent neutralization of the escaping variants such as B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) through in situ cross-linking with the spike receptor binding domain (RBD). The resulting covalent minibinder (GlueBinder) exhibited enhanced blockage of RBD-human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (huACE2) interaction and more potent neutralization effect against the Delta variant than its noncovalent counterpart as demonstrated on authentic virus. By leveraging the covalent chemistry against escaping mutations, our strategy may be generally applicable for restoring and enhancing the potency of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and other rapidly evolving viral targets.

Postmortem high-dimensional immune profiling of severe COVID-19 patients reveals distinct patterns of immunosuppression and immunoactivation.

A complete diagnostic autopsy is the gold-standard to gain insight into Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis. To delineate the in situ immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, here we perform comprehensive high-dimensional transcriptional and spatial immune profiling in 22 COVID-19 decedents from Wuhan, China. We find TIM-3-mediated and PD-1-mediated immunosuppression as a hallmark of severe COVID-19, particularly in men, with PD-1+ cells being proximal rather than distal to TIM-3+ cells. Concurrently, lymphocytes are distal, while activated myeloid cells are proximal, to SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens, consistent with prevalent SARS-CoV-2 infection of myeloid cells in multiple organs. Finally, viral load positively correlates with specific immunosuppression and dendritic cell markers. In summary, our data show that SARS-CoV-2 viral infection induces lymphocyte suppression yet myeloid activation in severe COVID-19, so these two cell types likely have distinct functions in severe COVID-19 disease progression, and should be targeted differently for therapy.

Preparation of different fragments of SARS-co V-2 urine protein and its application in fluorescent layer system

Expression and purification of different fragments of the new coronavirus nucleocapsid (N) protein, establish a new coronavirus total antibody fluorescence immunochromatographic method and evaluate the influence of different protein fragments on the method. Using bioinformatics technology to analyze, synthesize, express and purify the N protein sequence, prepare different N protein fragments;use 1-ethyl-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (1-( 3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) method of fluorescent microspheres coupled with antigen was established to establish a sandwich fluorescence chromatography antibody detection method, and the performance was evaluated respectively. In the prepared 4 N protein fragments, the full-length N protein (N419) is preferably coated, and N412 is labeled with 0.5mol/L NaCl as the optimal combination;the 91-120th amino acid (N412) of the N-terminus of the N antigen is deleted It can reduce 87.5% of non-specific interference;the linear range is 0.312-80U/L, the lowest detection limit is 0.165U/L, and the accuracy is above 95%. The fluorescence immunochromatographic detection method for total antibodies of the new coronavirus established by pairing the N protein fragments has a total coincidence rate of 98% compared with the Guangzhou Wanfu test strip. The improvement provides experimental basis and reference.

An interpretable machine learning model based on a quick pre-screening system enables accurate deterioration risk prediction for COVID-19.

A high-performing interpretable model is proposed to predict the risk of deterioration in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The model was developed using a cohort of 3028 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and exhibiting common clinical symptoms that were internally verified (AUC 0.8517, 95% CI 0.8433, 0.8601). A total of 15 high risk factors for deterioration and their approximate warning ranges were identified. This included prothrombin time (PT), prothrombin activity, lactate dehydrogenase, international normalized ratio, heart rate, body-mass index (BMI), D-dimer, creatine kinase, hematocrit, urine specific gravity, magnesium, globulin, activated partial thromboplastin time, lymphocyte count (L%), and platelet count. Four of these indicators (PT, heart rate, BMI, HCT) and comorbidities were selected for a streamlined combination of indicators to produce faster results. The resulting model showed good predictive performance (AUC 0.7941 95% CI 0.7926, 0.8151). A website for quick pre-screening online was also developed as part of the study.

[Preparation of different fragments of SARS-CoV-2 N protein and its application in fluorescence chromatography].

Different fragments of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein were expressed and purified, and a fluorescence immunochromatography method for detection of SARS-CoV-2 total antibody was established. The effect of different protein fragments on the performance of the method was evaluated. The N protein sequence was analyzed by bioinformatics technology, expressed in prokaryotic cell and purified by metal ion affinity chromatography column. Different N protein fragments were prepared for comparison. EDC reaction was used to label fluorescence microsphere on the synthesized antigen to construct sandwich fluorescence chromatography antibody detection assay, and the performance was systemically evaluated. Among the 4 prepared N protein fragments, the full-length N protein (N419) was selected as the optimized coating antigen, N412 with 0.5 mol/L NaCl was used as the optimal combination; deleting 91-120 amino acids from the N-terminal of N412 reduced non-specific signal by 87.5%. the linear range of detection was 0.312-80 U/L, the limit of detection was 0.165 U/L, and the accuracy was more than 95%. A fluorescence immunochromatographic detection method for analysis of SARS-CoV-2 total antibody was established by pairing N protein fragments. The detection result achieved 98% concordance with the commercially available Guangzhou Wanfu test strip, which is expected to be used as a supplementary approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2. The assay could also provide experimental reference for improving the performance of COVID-19 antibody detection reagents.

A collaborative robot for COVID-19 oropharyngeal swabbing.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has increased mortality and morbidity world-wide. Oropharyngeal swabbing is a well-known and commonly used sampling technique for COVID-19 diagnose around the world. We developed a robot to assist with COVID-19 oropharyngeal swabbing to prevent frontline clinical staff from being infected. The robot integrates a UR5 manipulator, rigid-flexible coupling (RFC) manipulator, force-sensing and control subsystem, visual subsystem and haptic device. The robot has strength in intrinsically safe and high repeat positioning accuracy. In addition, we also achieve one-dimensional constant force control in the automatic scheme (AS). Compared with the rigid sampling robot, the developed robot can perform the oropharyngeal swabbing procedure more safely and gently, reducing risk. Alternatively, a novel robot control schemes called collaborative manipulation scheme (CMS) which combines a automatic phase and teleoperation phase is proposed. At last, comparative experiments of three schemes were conducted, including CMS, AS, and teleoperation scheme (TS). The experimental results shows that CMS obtained the highest score according to the evaluation equation. CMS has the excellent performance in quality, experience and adaption. Therefore, the proposal of CMS is meaningful which is more suitable for robot-sampling.

Pneumonia Patients Caused by Co-infection With SARS-CoV-2 and Human Adenovirus in China.

Objectives: To data, no patients with obvious epidemiological relationship co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens have been reported. Here, we investigated 10 patients caused by co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and human adenovirus (HAdV), resulting in third-generation transmission. Materials and Methods: From Jan 15, 2020, we enrolled 10 patients with pneumonia in Hunan Province, China. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory investigation results from these patients were analyzed. An epidemiological investigation was performed to assess whether patient infections were linked using conventional methods and metagenomic sequencing. Results: The presence of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and HAdV was determined via RT-PCR and metagenomic sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 and HAdV genomes clustered together, with similar genetic relationships. The first patient likely became co-infected during meetings or travel in Wuhan. The patient transmitted the virus via dinners and meetings, which resulted in four second-generation cases. Then, a second-generation case transmitted the virus to her family members or relatives via presymptomatic transmission. Conclusions: This study described an example of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and HAdV in pneumonia patients, which caused third-generation cases and inter-regional transmission via meetings, household interactions, and dinner parties. We also observed the persistent and presymptomatic transmission of co-infection, which has the potential to make the continued control of the COVID-19 pandemic challenging. Continuous surveillance is needed to monitor the prevalence, infectivity, transmissibility, and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 co-infection with other pathogens to evaluate its real risk.

Multi respiratory pathogens detected in COVID-19 patients and their family members in Haidian district, Beijing

Objective: To analyze the infection status of common respiratory pathogens in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and their family members in Haidian district of Beijing and compare the disease severity between the COVID-19 patients with co-infections and the COVID-19 patients only infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Multi-biomarker is an early-stage predictor for progression of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread widely in the communities in many countries. Although most of the mild patients could be cured by their body's ability to self-heal, many patients quickly progressed to severe disease and had to undergo treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). Thus, it is very important to effectively predict which patients with mild disease are more likely to progress to severe disease. A total of 72 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Shandong Provincial Public Health Clinical Center and 1141 patients included in the published papers were enrolled in this study. We determined that the combination of interleukin-6 (IL-6), Neutrophil (NEUT), and Natural Killer (NK) cells had the highest prediction accuracy (with 75% sensitivity and 95% specificity) for progression of COVID-19 infection. A binomial regression equation that accounted for a multiple risk score for the combination of IL-6, NEUT, and NK was also established. The multiple risk score is a good indicator for early stratification of mild patients into risk categories, which is very important for adjusting the treatment plan and preventing death.