Validating Social Service Robot Interaction Trust (SSRIT) Scale in Measuring Consumers' Trust Toward Interaction With Artificially Intelligent (AI) Social Robots With a Chinese Sample of Adults

Research on consumers' trust toward interaction with Artificially Intelligent (AI) social robots in service delivery has gained much more interest due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. However, this topic has not been widely invesgiated in China. To provide a psychometrically sound instrument in diverse cultural contexts, this study was to validate a scale of Social Service Robot Interaction Trust (SSRIT) that measures consumers' trust toward interaction with AI social robots in service delivery in a Chinese sample of adults. The results showed that the Chinese version of the SSRIT was validated with reliability and validity, suggesting that the Chinese version of the SSRIT could be used as an effective tool to assess trust in AI social robots in service delivery within the Chinese context. The implications of the findings were also discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)

A novel type of facultative and plasminogen independent thrombolytic enzyme from the ancient marine organism, Sipunculus nudus (preprint)

Thrombotic diseases have become a leading threat to global health, especially in the post-COVID-19 era. Current thrombolytic drugs are highly dependent on the activation of the human plasminogen. Herein we disclose a novel facultative and plasminogen independent thrombolytic enzyme (snFPITE) from Sipunculus nudus, which could completely dissolve fibrin(ogen) into ultra-small molecule fragments without leaving any undegradable D-dimer. Furthermore, it cleaves the plasminogen to form a new fibrinolytic-active agent (Flaa) rather than the conventional plasmin. Mechanistically, snFPITE activates the plasminogen and degrades fibrin(ogen) at multiple cleavage sites, and this plasminogen activation and fibrin(ogen) degradation are inhibited by plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and α2-antiplasmin through a unique competitive inhibition mechanism. On the other hand, up to 29 snFPITE candidate sequences have been identified by mass spectroscopy, molecular cloning and genome sequencing, including 10 of which that have been functionally verified. This novel thrombolytic enzyme pool might be valuable for the rapid development of powerful and efficient thrombolytic drugs in the near future.

Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of Threats of Artificial Intelligence Scale (TAI) in Chinese adults.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used in fields such as medical treatment, while the threat of artificial intelligence has also received extensive attention. However, this topic has been only limitedly explored in China. To provide a measurement tool for AI threat research in China, this study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the Threats of Artificial Intelligence Scale (TAI) in two Chinese samples of adults (N1 = 654, N2 = 1483). Results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggested that the one-factor model of TAI as the best fitting model. Furthermore, the Chinese TAI was significantly related to Positive and Negative Affect Scale and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, proving good criterion-related validity of the Chinese TAI. In sum, this study suggested the Chinese version of the TAI as a reliable and effective tool in assessing AI threat in the Chinese context. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Effect of BCG Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Based on previous studies, we found that Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination may play a role in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate this protective effect. We searched the Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, BioRxiv, and MedRxiv databases for studies that evaluated the relationship between BCG vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 disease. The quality of all included studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data tools. Review Manager (Version 5.3) was used to conduct all the data analyses. A total of eight studies were ultimately included in our meta-analysis. Our primary analysis found a significantly lower SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the BCG vaccination group compared to the control group, with an odds ratio of 0.61, (95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.95, P = 0.03; I2 = 31%, and P = 0.21, respectively). Our study indicates that BCG vaccination can protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, there is insufficient evidence that BCG vaccination can reduce the severity of COVID-19.

Development of DNA Vaccine Candidate against SARS-CoV-2.

Despite the existence of various types of vaccines and the involvement of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains the most challenging health threat in this century. Along with the increased transmissibility, new strains continue to emerge leading to the need for more vaccines that would elicit protectiveness and safety against the new strains of the virus. Nucleic acid vaccines seem to be the most effective approach in case of a sudden outbreak of infection or the emergence of a new strain as it requires less time than any conventional vaccine development. Hence, in the current study, a DNA vaccine encoding the trimeric prefusion-stabilized ectodomain (S1+S2) of SARS-CoV-2 S-protein was designed by introducing six additional prolines mutation, termed HexaPro. The three-dose regimen of designed DNA vaccine immunization in mice demonstrated the generation of protective antibodies.

Autopsy results from a COVID-19 patient treated in a tropical area, and a review of the epidemiological history.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an urgent need to produce accurate and sensitive tests. However, there have been instances where a positive nucleic acid test turns negative after treatment, and then positive again. This case report describes such an instance from the tropical region of Hainan, China. The patient was a 61-year-old female who went to Hainan on vacation from Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Symptoms appeared 9 d after arriving in Hainan, and it was confirmed that the nucleic acid test was positive after 4 repeats. Her condition declined rapidly, her heart stopped beating, and she was admitted in a coma to the ICU. After treatment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus nucleic acid test of several nasopharyngeal swabs were negative, and tests on whole blood, anal swabs, and urine were also negative. Later, however, nucleic acid tests on a lower respiratory tract sputum swab and lower respiratory tract lavage fluid were positive. An autopsy examination was carried out 12 h after her death, and multi-organ secretions were extracted for nucleic acid testing. The SARS-CoV-2 virus nucleic acid was only detected in the swabs from the end of the bronchus, which was confirmed by the visualization of the coronavirus by electron microscopy. Autopsy confirmed that the damage was mainly concentrated in the lungs and immune organs and tissues throughout the body. Epidemiology indicated that none of the people she came into contact with after arriving in Hainan, including close contacts, were infected. This is in sharp contrast to the highly contagious virus in Wuhan in the temperate zone during the same period. This case report indicates: (1) The high temperatures in tropical areas may have an impact on the spread and harm of COVID-19, and (2) The reason why nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 was initially negative and then positive after treatment may be related to the survival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in deep lung tissues.

Novel nucleocapsid protein-targeting phenanthridine inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unprecedented in human history. As a major structural protein, nucleocapsid protein (NPro) is critical to the replication of SARS-CoV-2. In this work, 17 NPro-targeting phenanthridine derivatives were rationally designed and synthesized, based on the crystal structure of NPro. Most of these compounds can interact with SARS-CoV-2 NPro tightly and inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Compounds 12 and 16 exhibited the most potent anti-viral activities with 50% effective concentration values of 3.69 and 2.18 µM, respectively. Furthermore, site-directed mutagenesis of NPro and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) assays revealed that 12 and 16 target N-terminal domain (NTD) of NPro by binding to Tyr109. This work found two potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 bioactive compounds and also indicated that SARS-CoV-2 NPro-NTD can be a target for new anti-virus agents.