A comprehensive overview on the transmission, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of SARS-CoV-2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a single positive-strand RNA virus that is responsible for the current pandemic that the world has been facing since 2019. The primary route of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is through respiratory tract transmission. However, other transmission routes such as fecal-oral, vertical transmission, and aerosol-eye also exist. In addition, it has been found that the pathogenesis of this virus involves the binding of the virus's S protein to its host cell surface receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, which results in the subsequent membrane fusion that is required for SARS-CoV-2 to replicate and complete its entire life. The clinical symptoms of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 can range from asymptomatic to severe. The most common symptoms seen include fever, dry cough, and fatigue. Once these symptoms are observed, a nucleic acid test is done using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. This currently serves as the main confirmatory tool for COVID-19. Despite the fact that no cure has been found for SARS-CoV-2, prevention methods such as vaccines, specific facial mask, and social distancing have proven to be quite effective. It is imperative to have a complete understanding of the transmission and pathogenesis of this virus. To effectively develop new drugs as well as diagnostic tools, more knowledge about this virus would be needed.

Classic Signaling Pathways in Alveolar Injury and Repair Involved in Sepsis-Induced ALI/ARDS: New Research Progress and Prospect.

Sepsis is a common critical clinical disease with high mortality that can cause approximately 10 million deaths worldwide each year. Acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common clinical complication of sepsis, which occurs primarily as diffuse alveolar injury, hypoxemia, and respiratory distress. The mortality rate of ALI/ARDS is as high as 30%-40%, which greatly endangers human health. Due to the unclear pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS, its treatment is still a worldwide problem. At present, clinical treatment mainly relies on lung-protective ventilation, prone position ventilation, and fluid management. However, there is a lack of effective and specific treatment measures. In recent years, domestic and foreign scholars have committed to basic research on ALI/ARDS, trying to further clarify its pathogenesis and find new targets and methods for the treatment of ALI/ARDS. In this review, we summarize the signaling pathways related to alveolar injury and repair in sepsis-induced ALI/ARDS and their latest research progress. They include the NF-κB, JAK2/STAT3, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), mTOR, and Notch signaling pathways. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of these signaling pathways in sepsis-induced ALI/ARDS may provide new targets and ideas for the clinical treatment of this disease.

Understanding people's participation in online charities: a dual-process approach of trust and empathic concern

PurposeThe rapid development of the Internet in China has profoundly affected the country's charities, which many people support through online donations (e.g. providing financial help) and charity information forwarding (a new behavior of participating in online charities via social media). However, the development of online charities has been accompanied by many problems, such as donation fraud and fake charity information, which adversely affect social kindness. The purpose of this paper is to understand people's online donation and forwarding behaviors and to explore the mechanisms of such behaviors from the perspectives of cognitive-based trust and emotional-based empathic concern.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed a research model based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model. The researchers obtained 287 valid samples via a scenario-based experimental survey and conducted partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the model.FindingsThe results indicated that (1) online donation intention is motivated by rational-based trust and emotional-based empathic concern;(2) online charity information forwarding is triggered only when trust is built, and there is no significant correlation between empathic concern and forwarding intention;and (3) content quality, initiator credibility, and platform reputation are three critical paths to promote trust;in addition, an individual's empathic concern can be motivated by the emotional appeal.Originality/valueThis study highlights the different mechanisms of donation and forwarding behaviors and provided theoretical measures for motiving trust and empathic concern in the online context to promote people's participation in online charity.

Peripheral blood CD4+ cell counts but not CD3+ and CD8+ cell counts are reduced in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

BACKGROUND: The world is facing the global spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). T cell-induced immune responses during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection have rarely been reported. METHODS: We use cell counting chips and PCR arrays to offer the first insights into the T cell involved in the course of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. All consecutive patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection treated at the designated hospital between January 2020 and February 2020 were recruited for the study, and cases were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. Baseline characteristics for inpatients were prospectively collected and analyzed. RESULTS: 96 patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection in our center were screened for inclusion in the study. The median age of the patients was 39.0 years, and 47 (49.0%) were female. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only the CD4+ cell counts were significantly lower in the infection group and slightly higher in the control group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed good discrimination power between subjects with and subjects without infection. LIMITATIONS: This is a single-center study of patients with a specific ethnic background and lacks a mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: These findings imply the importance of CD4+ T cells (but not CD8+ and CD3+ T cells) in SARS-CoV-2 infection associated pneumonia and indicate that CD4+ T cells might be important for the control of SARS-CoV-2.