Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
• From Clinical Trials
• From PubMed
• From Patent Search

From Preprints

• Combined Impact of Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination on Antibody Presence -

  As COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly and vaccine uptake stagnates, questions remain about the amount of SARS- CoV-2 antibodies present in the population induced by either SARS-CoV-2 infection, by a COVID-19 vaccine, or both. The TEXAS Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey (CARES) is a statewide seroprevalence program which utilizes the Roche S-test to detect antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the Roche N-test to detect antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, to monitor the combined impact of prior infection and the COVID-19 vaccine. The current sample size having both S- and N-test data and reported vaccination status is 8,846. Participants with prior infection (i.e.  N+) and with either partial or full vaccination have the highest proportion of those showing the maximum value of the S-test (80.95% and 83.07%, respectively). Using a permutation test, there is no statistically significant difference between the median S-test value for those that have had prior infection and are partially vaccinated versus those that have had prior infection and are fully vaccinated. These groups both show significantly higher median amount compared to the other three groups: N+/not vaccinated, N-/partially vaccinated, and N-/fully vaccinated (all p-values < 0.0001). Unvaccinated individuals with prior infection have one of the lowest median S-test values. For participants with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and a COVID-19 vaccine, the median S-test value is high and is not statistically different between those who are partially vaccinated and those who are fully vaccinated.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Combined Impact of Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination on Antibody Presence
• Robust immune response to the BNT162b mRNA vaccine in an elderly population vaccinated 15 months after recovery from COVID-19 -

  Knowledge about the impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection of the elderly on mRNA vaccination response is needed to appropriately address the need for booster vaccination in this vulnerable population. To address this, we investigated antibody and genomic immune responses in 16 elderly (avg. 81 yrs.) individuals that had received a single booster dose of BNT162b vaccine 15 months after recovering from COVID-19. Spike-specific IgG antibody levels increased in each of the study participants from an average of 710 U/ml prior to the vaccination to more than 40,000 U/ml within ten weeks after the vaccination. In contrast, anti-spike-specific IgG antibody levels averaged 2,190 U/ml in 14 healthy SARS-CoV-2-naive individuals (avg. 58 yrs.) ten weeks after the second dose of BNT162b. RNA-seq conducted on PBMCs demonstrated the activation of interferon-activated genetic programs in both cohorts within one day. Unlike their transient induction in the younger naive population, persistent activity and the initiation of additional cell cycle regulated programs were obtained in the older COVID-19 recovered population. Here we show that the elderly, a high-risk population, can mount a strong antibody and a persistent molecular immune response upon receiving a single dose of mRNA vaccine 15 months after recovery from COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Robust immune response to the BNT162b mRNA vaccine in an elderly population vaccinated 15 months after recovery from COVID-19
• Nationwide trends in COVID-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations in the United States -

  Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a promising technology for population-level surveillance of COVID-19 disease. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is shed in the stool of infected individuals and aggregated in public sewers, where it can be quantified to provide information on population-level disease incidence that is unbiased by access to clinical testing. In this study, we present results from the largest nationwide wastewater monitoring system in the United States reported to date. We profile 55 locations with at least six months of sampling and highlight their wastewater data from April 2020 through May 2021. These locations represent over 12 million individuals across 19 states. Samples were collected approximately weekly by wastewater treatment utilities as part of a regular wastewater surveillance service and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 concentrations using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 (copies/mL) were normalized to pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a stable and persistent indicator of feces concentrations in wastewater. Here, we show that wastewater data reflects temporal and geographic trends in clinical COVID-19 cases, demonstrating that wastewater surveillance is a feasible approach for nationwide population-level monitoring of COVID-19 disease. We also provide key lessons learned from our broad-scale implementation of wastewater-based epidemiology, which can be used to inform wastewater-based epidemiology approaches for future emerging diseases. With an evolving epidemic and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, wastewater-based epidemiology can serve as an important passive surveillance approach to detect changing dynamics or resurgences of the virus.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Nationwide trends in COVID-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations in the United States
• Enhanced Detection of Recently Emerged SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern in Wastewater -

  SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding in stool enabled wastewater surveillance for the genetic material of the virus. With the emergence of novel variants of concern and interest it becomes increasingly important to track arrival and spread of these variants. However, most current approaches rely on the manually curated lists of mutations phenotypically associated with the variants of concern. The resulting data has many overlaps between distinct variants leading to less specific characterization of complex sample mixtures that result from wastewater monitoring. In our work we propose a simple and specific method for characterization of wastewater samples by introducing the concept of quasi-unique mutations. Our approach is data driven and results in earlier detection and higher resolution of variants of concern emergence patterns in wastewater data.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Enhanced Detection of Recently Emerged SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern in Wastewater
• A randomized controlled trial of inhaled ciclesonide for outpatient treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 infections -

  Importance Systemic corticosteroids are commonly used in the treatment of severe COVID-19. However, their role in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate disease is less clear. The inhaled corticosteroid ciclesonide has shown early promise as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Objective To determine whether the inhaled steroid ciclesonide is efficacious in patients with high risk for disease progression and can reduce the incidence of long-term COVID-19 symptoms or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2. Design This was a phase III, multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of ciclesonide metered-dose inhaler (MDI) for the treatment of non-hospitalized participants with symptomatic COVID-19 infection. Patients were screened from June 11, 2020 to November 3, 2020. Setting The study was conducted at 10 centers throughout the U.S. public and private, academic and non-academic sites were represented among the centers. Participants Participants were randomly assigned to ciclesonide MDI 160 μg per actuation, two actuations twice a day (total daily dose 640 μg) or placebo for 30 days. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary endpoint was time to alleviation of all COVID-19 related symptoms (cough, dyspnea, chills, feeling feverish, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell) by Day 30. Secondary endpoints included subsequent emergency department visits or hospital admissions for reasons attributable to COVID-19. Results 413 participants were screened and 400 (96.9%) were enrolled and randomized (197 in the ciclesonide arm and 203 in the placebo arm). The median time to alleviation of all COVID-19-related symptoms was 19.0 days (95% CI: 14.0, 21.0) in the ciclesonide arm and 19.0 days (95% CI: 16.0, 23.0) in the placebo arm. There was no difference in resolution of all symptoms by Day 30 (odds ratio [OR] 1.28, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.97). Participants treated with ciclesonide had fewer subsequent emergency department visits or hospital admissions for reasons attributable to COVID-19 (OR 0.18, 95% CI: 0.04 - 0.85). No subjects died during the study. Conclusions and Relevance Ciclesonide did not achieve the primary efficacy endpoint of time to alleviation of all COVID-19-related symptoms. Future studies of inhaled steroids are needed to explore their efficacy in patients with high risk for disease progression and in reducing the incidence of long-term COVID-19 symptoms or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: A randomized controlled trial of inhaled ciclesonide for outpatient treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 infections
• Safety and efficacy of the mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in five groups of immunocompromised patients and healthy controls in a prospective open-label clinical trial -

  Background: Patients with immunocompromised disorders have mainly been excluded from clinical trials of vaccination against COVID-19. Thus, the aim of this prospective clinical trial was to investigate the safety and efficacy after two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination in five selected groups of immunocompromised patients and healthy controls. Methods: 539 study subjects (449 patients and 90 controls) were included in the clinical trial. The patients had either primary (n=90), or secondary immunodeficiency disorders due to human immunodeficiency virus infection (n=90), allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation/chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (n=90), solid organ transplantation (SOT) (n=89), or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (n=90). The primary endpoint was seroconversion rate two weeks after the second dose. The secondary endpoints were safety and documented SARS-CoV-2 infection. Findings: Adverse events were generally mild, but one case of fatal suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction occurred. 72.2% of the immunocompromised patients seroconverted compared to 100% of the controls (p=0.004). Lowest seroconversion rates were found in the SOT (43.4%) and CLL (63.3%) patient groups with observed negative impact of treatment with mycophenolate mofetil and ibrutinib, respectively. Interpretation: The results showed that the mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine was safe in immunocompromised patients. The rate of seroconversion was substantially lower than in healthy controls, with a wide range of rates and antibody titres among predefined patient groups and subgroups. This clinical trial highlights the need for additional vaccine doses in certain immunocompromised patient groups and/or subgroups to improve immunity.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Safety and efficacy of the mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in five groups of immunocompromised patients and healthy controls in a prospective open-label clinical trial
• Understanding a national increase in COVID-19 vaccination intention: a mixed methodological approach -
  Recently the Netherlands saw a substantial increase in pro-COVID-19 vaccination intention (48 to 75%). Using qualitative methods we identified vaccination beliefs and contextual factors informing this increase. Quantitative methods confirm that intentions were a function of beliefs: people with stronger intention to vaccinate were motivated most by protecting others and reopening society, those reluctant were mostly concerned by (unknown long-term) side effects. We demonstrate that belief shifts track intentional shifts, and offer insights for improving pro-vaccination campaigns.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Understanding a national increase in COVID-19 vaccination intention: a mixed methodological approach
• Psychological correlates of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among Polish respondents – a snapshot study before the start of the massive vaccination campaign -
  Background: COVID-19 vaccines are being recognized as a way to stop the ongoing pandemic. However, for this method to be effective, it requires a high level of people’s willingness to be vaccinated. In this context, measuring the psychological aspects of attitudes towards vaccination against COVID-19 when the vaccine was developed but not yet distributed was of interest. Method: In a study conducted on a sample of 468 Polish participants, we measured attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine in the context of such variables as fear of COVID, the general tendency to conspiracy ideation and conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19, knowledge about vaccines, attitudes towards science, previous protective behaviors during a pandemic, perceived infectability and germ avoidance. We also tested the association of attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine with participants’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, gender, age, and level of education. Results: The analyses revealed correlations between attitudes towards the vaccine with most of the variables studied. A regression model with predictors such as fear of COVID, attitudes towards science, and conspiracy beliefs related to COVID-19 explained 46% of the variance of the attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Male participants were more positive about the COVID-19 vaccine than female participants. Attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine were not related to personal experiences of the pandemic, the age, and the level of education of participants. Conclusion: The obtained results show the importance of psychological aspects concerning attitudes towards vaccination, which can be considered in designing preventive public interventions.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Psychological correlates of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among Polish respondents – a snapshot study before the start of the massive vaccination campaign
• An open label, adaptive, phase 1 trial of high-dose oral nitazoxanide in healthy volunteers: an antiviral candidate for SARS-CoV-2 -

  Repurposing approved drugs may rapidly establish effective interventions during a public health crisis. This has yielded immunomodulatory treatments for severe COVID-19, but repurposed antivirals have not been successful to date because of redundancy of the target in vivo or suboptimal exposures at studied doses. Nitazoxanide is an FDA approved antiparasitic medicine, that physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling has indicated may provide antiviral concentrations across the dosing interval, when repurposed at higher than approved doses. Within the AGILE trial platform (NCT04746183) an open label, adaptive, phase 1 trial in healthy adult participants was undertaken with high dose nitazoxanide. Participants received 1500mg nitazoxanide orally twice-daily with food for 7 days. Primary outcomes were safety, tolerability, optimum dose and schedule. Intensive pharmacokinetic sampling was undertaken day 1 and 5 with Cmin sampling on day 3 and 7. Fourteen healthy participants were enrolled between 18th February and 11th May 2021. All 14 doses were completed by 10/14 participants. Nitazoxanide was safe and well tolerated with no significant adverse events. Moderate gastrointestinal disturbance (loose stools) occurred in 8 participants (57.1%), with urine and sclera discolouration in 12 (85.7%) and 9 (64.3%) participants, respectively, without clinically significant bilirubin elevation. This was self-limiting and resolved upon drug discontinuation. PBPK predictions were confirmed on day 1 but with underprediction at day 5. Median Cmin was above the in vitro target concentration on first dose and maintained throughout. Nitazoxanide administered at 1500mg BID with food was safe and well tolerated and a phase 1b/2a study is now being initiated in COVID-19 patients.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: An open label, adaptive, phase 1 trial of high-dose oral nitazoxanide in healthy volunteers: an antiviral candidate for SARS-CoV-2
• The anticipated artificial increase in life expectancy from COVID-19 -

  In 2020, life expectancy in the United States decreased by an estimated 1.5 years. Due to mortality displacement during the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy could soon rebound to above its pre-pandemic baseline. We estimated the size and duration of this artificial rise in life expectancy through 2030. We found that this rebound could persist for years and will likely be most pronounced in minority populations who suffered the highest rates of mortality during the pandemic. Accounting for this artificial rebound will be critical to avoid funneling resources away from populations that still urgently need them.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The anticipated artificial increase in life expectancy from COVID-19
• A Global Experiment on Motivating Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic -
  Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e. a controlling message) compared to no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly-internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message reduced feelings of defiance relative to the controlling message. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly-internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing: Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A Global Experiment on Motivating Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Trauma Spillover in Social Networks -
  Internet searches indicative of mental disorders rose in US counties when more people died of or fell ill with COVID-19 in other places— inside and outside US borders— with which they had strong ties over social media. Casualties within counties or in their vicinity, the stringency of COVID-19 response policies, and the seasonality of affective disorders do not account for the association; nor do characteristics fixed to counties or time. Social ties as defined by migration confirm the association. The results merit attention because internet search behavior predicts emergency department visits.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Trauma Spillover in Social Networks
• Determinants of Indonesian MSME Exports and Their Performance during the Covid-19 Pandemic -
  MSME proved resilient to crises, but its performance did not improve. Indonesian MSMEs when compared to other countries have low export competitiveness. The Covid-19 pandemic has weakened more than 50% of MSMEs. The research objectives are to analyze the simultaneous and partial effect of the rupiah against the US dollar exchange rate, the growth of MSME, investment, and bank credit on the export of MSME products; analyze the influence of MSME exports on GDP growth; and analyze the effect of MSME exports on employment; and to find out the export performance of MSME during the Covid-19 pandemic. Survey research with technical analysis of OLS Multiple Regression data on secondary data for the 2010-2020 quarter. Research results are: 1) Stability of the Rupiah/USD exchange rate, growth in the number of MSMEs, increased investment, and increased bank lending to the MSME sector as well as controlled inflation rates had a very significant impact on increasing exports of MSME products; 2) Exports of MSME products contribute greatly to GDP and have an impact on increasing people’s per capita income; 3) The increasing export value of MSME products encourages MSME entrepreneurs to continue to increase their productivity so that this sector can absorb a significant workforce; 4) MSME’s performance in the Covid-19 pandemic was shown by the decline in the value of exports and employment, but the number, investment, credit, and contribution to GDP continued to increase until the end of 2020.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Determinants of Indonesian MSME Exports and Their Performance during the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Streamlined use of protein structures in variant analysis -
  Motivation: Variant analysis is a core task in bioinformatics that requires integrating data from many sources. This process can be helped by using 3D structures of proteins, which can provide a spatial context that can provide insight into how variants affect function. Many available tools can help with mapping variants onto structures; but each has specific restrictions, with the result that many researchers fail to benefit from valuable insights that could be gained from structural data. Results: To address this, we have created a streamlined system for incorporating 3D structures into variant analysis. Variants can be easily specified via URLs that are easily readable and writable, and use the notation recommended by the Human Genome Variation Society (HGVS). For example, ‘https://aquaria.app/SARS- CoV-2/S/?N501Y’ specifies the N501Y variant of SARS-CoV-2 S protein. In addition to mapping variants onto structures, our system provides summary information from multiple external resources, including COSMIC, CATH-FunVar, and PredictProtein. Furthermore, our system identifies and summarizes structures containing the variant, as well as the variant-position. Our system supports essentially any mutation for any well-studied protein, and uses all available structural data - including models inferred via very remote homology - integrated into a system that is fast and simple to use. By giving researchers easy, streamlined access to a wealth of structural information during variant analysis, our system will help in revealing novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying protein function in health and disease. Availability: Our resource is freely available at the project home page (https://aquaria.app). After peer review, the code will be openly available via a GPL version 2 license at https://github.com/ODonoghueLab/Aquaria. PSSH2, the database of sequence-to-structure alignments, is also freely available for download at https://zenodo.org/record/4279164.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Streamlined use of protein structures in variant analysis
• Risk perception and personal responsibility during COVID-19: An experimental study of the role of imperative vs reasoning-based communication for self-isolation attitudes -
  Individual decision-making about social distancing, self-quarantine and self-isolation is crucial in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. In the rapidly evolving pandemic, little is known about how different government communication strategies may systematically affect people’s attitudes to staying home or going out, nor the extent to which people perceive and process the risk of different scenarios. In this study, we report results from a sample of 581 participants (residing in the United Kingdom), and we examine the degree to which participants’ attitudes regarding the permissibility of leaving one’s home are (1) sensitive to different levels of risk of viral transmission in specific scenarios, (2) sensitive to communication framings that are either imperative or that invite reasoning about scenarios, or (3) creating “loopholes” for themselves when scenarios are framed with reference to the participants themselves rather than in general terms. We find that participants’ attitudes to social distancing are sensitive to the level of risk of transmission, and that when scenarios are framed in imperative terms, rather than when their reasoning is encouraged, participants have more impermissive attitudes to going out in Minimal Risk scenarios, with a trend of decreased permissiveness more generally; for self-loopholes, more research is needed to determine if participants make exceptions for themselves. Thus, subject to the limitations of this study, during phases where it is important to promote self-isolation for all scenarios, including those perceived to be low risk, imperative communication may be best.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Risk perception and personal responsibility during COVID-19: An experimental study of the role of imperative vs reasoning-based communication for self-isolation attitudes

From Clinical Trials

• High-dose Intravenous Vitamin C (HDIVC) as Adjuvant Therapy in Critical Patients With Positive COVID-19. A Pilot Randomized Controlled Dose-comparison Trial. - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: High doses of intravenous vitamin C;   Drug: Dextrose 500 mL
  Sponsor:   Hugo Galindo
  Not yet recruiting

• Developing and Testing a COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Intervention - Condition:   COVID-19 Vaccination
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Moving to COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Intervention
  Sponsors:   VA Office of Research and Development;   VA Bedford Healthcare System
  Not yet recruiting

• Study on Safety and Clinical Efficacy of AZVUDINE in Initial Stage COVID-19 Patients (SARS-CoV-2 Infected) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: AZVUDINE;   Drug: AZVUDINE placebo
  Sponsors:   HRH Holdngs Limited;   GALZU INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH, TEACHING, APPLIED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Brazil;   SANTA CASA DE MISERICORDIA DE CAMPOS HOSPITAL (SCMCH), Brazil;   UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DO NORTE FLUMINENSE (UENF), Brazil
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Morbidity in Healthcare Workers and Vitamin D Supplementation - Condition:   COVID-19 Respiratory Infection
  Intervention:   Drug: Vitamin D
  Sponsor:   Federal State Budgetary Institution, V. A. Almazov Federal North-West Medical Research Centre, of the Ministry of Health
  Completed

• Text Message Nudges for COVID-19 Vaccination - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Text message
  Sponsor:  
  Ascension South East Michigan
  Not yet recruiting

• A Pilot Study of a PhysiOthErapy-based Tailored Intervention for Long Covid - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Physiotherapy
  Sponsors:  
  University of Calgary;   Alberta Health Services
  Not yet recruiting

• Quercetin in the Prevention of Covid-19 Infection - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: Quercetin;   Combination Product: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Azienda di Servizi alla Persona di Pavia
  Completed

• A Study to Evaluate Change in Viral Load After OPN-019 in Adults With COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Drug: OPN-019
  Sponsor:   Optinose US Inc.
  Recruiting

• Physical Activity and Smell Trainings to Help Individuals With Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Recover From Persistent Smell and Taste Impairments - A Pilot Study - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Physical activity;   Other: Smell training
  Sponsor:   Université de Montréal
  Not yet recruiting

• Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Lot Consistency of a Recombinant Coronavirus-Like Particle COVID-19 Vaccine - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: CoVLP formulation
  Sponsor:  
  Medicago
  Not yet recruiting

• Evaluation of the Efficacy, Safety and Immunogenicity of Inactivated COVID 19 Vaccine(TURKOVAC) in Healthy Population of 18 and 64 Years of Age (Both Inclusive):a Randomized, Double-blind, Phase IIb Clinical Trial - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Biological: Triple dose vaccination by inactivated Covid19 vaccine
  Sponsors:   Health Institutes of Turkey;   TC Erciyes University;   Kocak Farma;   Mene Research
  Not yet recruiting

• Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation in Long COVID-19 Patients With Persistent Breathlessness and Fatigue - Condition:   COVID-19 Respiratory Infection
  Intervention:  
  Other: Cardiopulmonary exercise training
  Sponsor:   Louis Bherer
  Recruiting

• Clinical Trial on Sequential Immunization of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (CHO Cells) and Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cells) in Population Aged 18 Years and Above - Conditions:   COVID-19 Pneumonia;   Coronavirus Infections
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (CHO cell);   Biological: COVID-19 vaccine (Vero cells)
  Sponsors:  
  National Vaccine and Serum Institute, China;   China National Biotec Group Company Limited;   Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd
  Not yet recruiting

• Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 - Conditions:   Covid19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:  
  Diagnostic Test: Buccal Swab- Copan flocked swab;   Diagnostic Test: Standard of Care COVID-19 swab
  Sponsors:   University of Calgary;   Health Canada
  Not yet recruiting

• Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Colchicine Tablets in Patients With COVID-19 - Conditions:   Covid19;   Colchicine
  Interventions:   Drug: Colchicine Tablets;   Drug: Standard therapy
  Sponsors:   Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center;   Kunming Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease antagonizes interferon-beta production by facilitating the degradation of IRF3 - The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is a great threat to global public health. However, the relationship between the viral pathogen SARS-CoV-2 and host innate immunity has not yet been well studied. The genome of SARS-CoV-2 encodes a viral protease called 3C-like protease. This protease is responsible for cleaving viral polyproteins during replication. In this investigation, 293T cells were transfected with SARS-CoV-2 3CL and then infected with Sendai virus (SeV) to induce the RIG-I like receptor…

• Potential role of flavonoids against SARS-CoV-2 induced diarrhea - COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can lead to massive inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract causing severe clinical symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 infects lungs after binding its spike proteins with alveolar angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and it also triggers inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. SARS-CoV-2 invades the gastrointestinal tract by interacting with Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) that induces the expression of ACE2. The influx of ACE2 facilitates cellular binding of…

• Diverse effects of clarithromycin and proposal of its clinical application for treating COVID-19 as a repurposing drug - Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has been declared a pandemic, which is a serious threat to human health. The disease was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Until now, several vaccines and a few drugs have been approved for the prevention and treatment for COVID-19. Recently, the effect of some macrolides including clarithromycin (CAM) on COVID-19 has attracted attention. CAM is known to have diverse effects including immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive effects, autophagy inhibition, steroid…

• Probenecid inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in vivo and in vitro - Effective vaccines are slowing the COVID-19 pandemic, but SARS-CoV-2 will likely remain an issue in the future making it important to have therapeutics to treat patients. There are few options for treating patients with COVID-19. We show probenecid potently blocks SARS-CoV-2 replication in mammalian cells and virus replication in a hamster model. Furthermore, we demonstrate that plasma concentrations up to 50-fold higher than the protein binding adjusted IC(90) value are achievable for 24 h…

• Decreased HD-MIR2911 absorption in human subjects with the SIDT1 polymorphism fails to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication - No abstract

• Potential of herbal products in prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Literature review - The COVID-19 epidemic is the greatest pandemic that human kind experienced for decades, with high morbidity and mortality. Despite recent development of vaccines there is still many severe cases of COVID-19. Unfortunately there is still no standardized therapies and treatment of severe cases is very challenging. The aim of this study is to indicate if herbs administered alone or as a complementary therapy could be used as prophylaxis or treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Over 85% of patients…

• Supporting newly graduated medical doctors in managing COVID-19: An evaluation of a Massive Open Online Course in a limited-resource setting - INTRODUCTION: Newly graduated medical doctors in their internships are positioned to strengthen the front line in combating COVID-19. We developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to equip them with adequate knowledge for COVID-19 management. This paper aims to analyze the MOOC and evaluate participant satisfaction and increase in knowledge after completing the course.

• Tie2 activation protects against prothrombotic endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 - Endothelial dysfunction accompanies the microvascular thrombosis commonly observed in severe COVID-19. Constitutively, the endothelial surface is anticoagulant, a property maintained at least in part via signaling through the Tie2 receptor. During inflammation, the Tie2 antagonist angiopoietin-2 (Angpt-2) is released from endothelial cells and inhibits Tie2, promoting a prothrombotic phenotypic shift. We sought to assess whether severe COVID-19 is associated with procoagulant endothelial…

• Pan-3C Protease Inhibitor Rupintrivir Binds SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease in a Unique Binding Mode - Rupintrivir targets the 3C cysteine proteases of the picornaviridae family, which includes rhinoviruses and enteroviruses that cause a range of human diseases. Despite being a pan-3C protease inhibitor, rupintrivir activity is extremely weak against the homologous 3C-like protease of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the crystal structures of rupintrivir were determined bound to enterovirus 68 (EV68) 3C protease and the 3C-like main protease (M^(pro)) from SARS-CoV-2. While the EV68 3C…

• Remdesivir and EIDD-1931 Interact with Human Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporters 1 and 2: Implications for Reaching SARS-CoV-2 Viral Sanctuary Sites - Equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) are present at the blood-testis barrier (BTB), where they can facilitate antiviral drug disposition to eliminate a sanctuary site for viruses detectable in semen. The purpose of this study was to investigate ENT-drug interactions with three nucleoside analogs remdesivir, molnupiravir and its active metabolite, EIDD-1931 and four non-nucleoside molecules repurposed as antivirals for COVID-19. The study used 3D pharmacophores for ENT1 and ENT2…

• Identifying FDA-approved drugs with multimodal properties against COVID-19 using a data-driven approach and a lung organoid model of SARS-CoV-2 entry - CONCLUSIONS: Small clinical studies reported that general statin use, and specifically, atorvastatin use, are associated with protective effects against COVID-19. Our study corroborrates these findings and supports the investigation of atorvastatin in larger clinical studies. Ultimately, our framework demonstrates one promising way to fast-track the identification of compounds for COVID-19, which could similarly be applied when tackling future pandemics.

• Development of Effective Therapeutic Molecule from Natural Sources against Coronavirus Protease - The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M^(pro)) is one of the molecular targets for drug design. Effective vaccines have been identified as a long-term solution but the rate at which they are being administered is slow in several countries, and mutations of SARS-CoV-2 could render them less effective. Moreover, remdesivir seems to work only with some types of COVID-19 patients. Hence, the continuous investigation of new treatments for this disease is pivotal. This study investigated the inhibitory role…

• Phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 Orf9b Regulates Its Targeting to Two Binding Sites in TOM70 and Recruitment of Hsp90 - SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is the causative agent of the COVID19 pandemic. The SARS- CoV-2 genome encodes for a small accessory protein termed Orf9b, which targets the mitochondrial outer membrane protein TOM70 in infected cells. TOM70 is involved in a signaling cascade that ultimately leads to the induction of type I interferons (IFN-I). This cascade depends on the recruitment of Hsp90-bound proteins to the N-terminal domain of TOM70. Binding of Orf9b to TOM70…

• Structural Insight into the Binding of Cyanovirin-N with the Spike Glycoprotein, M(pro) and PL(pro) of SARS-CoV-2: Protein-Protein Interactions, Dynamics Simulations and Free Energy Calculations - The emergence of COVID-19 continues to pose severe threats to global public health. The pandemic has infected over 171 million people and claimed more than 3.5 million lives to date. We investigated the binding potential of antiviral cyanobacterial proteins including cyanovirin-N, scytovirin and phycocyanin with fundamental proteins involved in attachment and replication of SARS-CoV-2. Cyanovirin-N displayed the highest binding energy scores (-16.8 ± 0.02 kcal/mol, -12.3 ± 0.03 kcal/mol and…

• In silico evaluation of COVID-19 main protease interactions with honeybee natural products for discovery of high potential antiviral compounds - This research investigates antiviral potential of extracted honeybee products against COVID-19 main protease (Mpro) by computational methods. The crystal structure of COVID-19 Mpro was obtained from the protein data bank. Six synthetic drugs with antiviral properties were used as control samples in order to compare the results with those of natural ligands. The six honeybee components, namely 3,4,5-Tricaffeoylquinic acid, Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, (E)-2’-Geranyl-3’,4’,7-Trihydroxyflavanone,…

From Patent Search

• MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE TO ANALYSE THE CONDITION OF COVID-19 PATIENTS BASED ON THEIR SATURATION LEVELS - - link

• A HERB BASED COMPOSITION ANTI VIRAL MEDICINE FOR TREATMENT OF SARS COV 2 AND A METHOD FOR TREATING A PERSON INFECTED BY THE SARS COV 2 VIRUS - A Herbal composition, viz., PONNU MARUNTHU essentially comprising of ALLUIUM CEPA extract. [concentrated to 30%] 75%, SAPINDUS MUKOROSSI - extract [Optimised] 10%, CITRUS X LIMON - extract in its natural form 05 TRACYSPERMUM AMMI (L) – extract 07%,ROSA HYBRIDA - extract 03%, PONNU MARUNTHU solution 50 ml, or as a capsulated PONNU MARUNTHU can be given to SARS cov2 positive Patients, three times a day that is ½ an hour before food; continued for 3 days to 5 days and further taking it for 2 days if need be there; It will completely cure a person. When the SARS cov2 test shows negative this medicine can be discontinued. This indigenous medicine and method for treating a person inflicted with SARS COV 2 viral infection is quite effective in achieving of much needed remedy for the patients and saving precious lives from the pangs of death and ensuring better health of people. - link

• Anti-Sars-Cov-2 Neutralizing Antibodies - - link

• Expression Vector for Anti-Sars-Cov-2 Neutralizing Antibodies - - link

• DEVELOPMENT OF CNN SCHEME FOR COVID-19 DISEASE DETECTION USING CHEST RADIOGRAPH - - link

• SARS-COV-2 BINDING PROTEINS - - link

• COVID-19胸部CT图像识别方法、装置及电子设备 - 本申请涉及一种COVID‑19胸部CT图像识别方法、装置及电子设备。所述方法获取COVID‑19的胸部CT图像，并针对胸部CT图像的特点，构建新冠肺炎CT识别网络，对该网络进行训练得到COVID‑19胸部CT图像识别模型，并利用该模型对待测CT图像进行分类。采用空洞卷积、深度卷积以及点卷积算子，减少冗余参数；采用并行结构连接方式，实现多尺度特征融合、降低模型复杂度；采用下采样方式，使用最大模糊池化以减少锯齿效应，保持信号的平移不变性；采用通道混洗操作，减少参数量与计算量，提高分类准确率，引入坐标注意力机制，使空间坐标信息与通道信息被关注，抑制不重要的信息，以解决资源匹配问题。 - link

• A PROCESS FOR PREPARING MONTELUKAST SODIUM FOR TREATING COVID 19 PATIENTS - - link

• IDENTIFICATION OF ANTI-COVID 19 AGENT SOMNIFERINE AS INHIBITOR OF MPRO & ACE2-RBD INTERACTION - - link

• 一种脂质化合物及包含其的脂质载体、核酸脂质纳米粒组合物和药物制剂 - 本发明属于基因治疗技术领域，具体涉及一系列脂质化合物及包含其的脂质载体、核酸脂质纳米粒组合物和药物制剂。本发明提供的具有式（I）结构的化合物，可与其它脂质化合物共同制备脂质载体，展现出pH响应性，对核酸药物的包封效率高，大大提升了核酸药物在体内的递送效率；而且，可根据核酸药物需要富集的器官而选用特定结构的脂质化合物作为脂质载体，具有良好的市场应用前景。 - link