Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Factors associated with teenage pregnancies during the Covid-19 period in Pakwach district, Northern Uganda: a case-control study -

  Abstract Background: Teenage pregnancy rates have globally decreased over the years, but remain high, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Among girls aged 15-19, teenage pregnancy remains the leading cause of death and a significant barrier to education and productivity. Its prevalence underscores concern about the sexual and reproductive health of youth. However, limited data exist regarding factors contributing to its rise during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. This study explores the factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Pakwach district during this period. Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study, enrolling 362 teenage girls aged 10-19 years, divided into two groups: 181 pregnant teenagers and 181 not pregnant teenagers. We collected exposure data from both groups using questionnaires to evaluate factors associated with teenage pregnancy. The study period covered March 2020 to January 2021, coinciding with lockdown measures. Results: During the COVID-19 lockdown, teenage pregnancies were only associated with having exclusively female peers (AOR 3.0, 95% CI: 0.1-104.4). Conversely, having a Radio/TV at home (AOR 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.6), age at first sexual encounter (AOR 0.1, 95% CI: 0.03-0.9), considering teenage pregnancy as sexual abuse (AOR 0.1, 95% CI: 0.02-0.4), feeling comfortable asking questions during consultations (AOR 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2-1.3), and ensuring sufficient privacy during consultations were protective against teenage pregnancy. Conclusion: The factors contributing to increased teenage pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic were consistent with long-standing contextual factors associated with teenage pregnancy. The lockdown environment may have slightly exacerbated these factors, but no direct association was observed. Only having female peers was linked to teenage pregnancy during the lockdown. Conversely, having access to a radio/TV at home and other healthcare system-related factors offered protection. Therefore, interventions should prioritize providing comprehensive information on the risks of teenage pregnancy during any lockdown scenario.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Factors associated with teenage pregnancies during the Covid-19 period in Pakwach district, Northern Uganda: a case-control study
• How COVID-19 continues to affect contraception in Scotland: a retrospective analysis of Scottish prescribing data between 2016 and 2023. -

  Background In Scotland, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women9s access to contraception are unknown. Globally, COVID-19 restrictions have led to a shift to telehealth service delivery alongside a reduction in contraceptive provision. Research into whether the effects of COVID-19 on contraception have abated after restrictions have been lifted is lacking. Methods This is a retrospective longitudinal study of prescribing data from the Scottish Health and Social Care Open Data repository (https://www.opendata.nhs.scot) between January 2016 and January 2023. Contraceptives were extracted and categorised using truncated British National Formulary codes and analysed using R. Contraceptive provision was compared across four periods: pre-COVID-19 (01/01/2016-23/03/2020), lockdown (24/03/2020-9/05/2020 & 05/01/2021-26/04/2021), restrictions (30/05/2020-04/01/2021 & 27/04/2021-30/04/2022), and post-COVID-19 (01/05/2022-01/01/2023). Results During lockdowns, contraceptive prescribing in Scotland decreased by 82.90% of pre-COVID-19 levels. This trend was more severe for long-acting reversible contraception which fell to 11.80% of pre-COVID-19 prescriptions. After COVID-19, the level of contraceptive prescribing has risen to 108.23% of its pre- pandemic level. Large increases in subcutaneous medroxyprogesterone acetate (499.05%), progestogen- only pills (125.07%), the patch (165.09%), levonorgestrel-IUS (112.54%), and ulipristal acetate emergency contraception prescribing (357.97%). Conversely, combined oral contraceptive pills (75.04%), Cu-IUD (83.63%), the implant (81.10%), and levonorgestrel emergency contraception (67.42%) prescribing has decreased. Conclusions COVID-19 vastly decreased contraceptive prescribing during lockdowns in Scotland. Post-COVID-19, changes in contraceptive prescribing within Scottish general practices are reported, with implications for health policy and service delivery planning.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: How COVID-19 continues to affect contraception in Scotland: a retrospective analysis of Scottish prescribing data between 2016 and 2023.
• Proximal immune-epithelial progenitor interactions drive chronic tissue sequelae post COVID-19 -
  The long-term health effects of SARS-CoV-2, termed Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), are quickly evolving into a major public health concern, but the underlying cellular and molecular etiology remain poorly defined. There is growing evidence that PASC is linked to abnormal immune responses and/or poor organ recovery post-infection. However, the exact processes linking non-resolving inflammation, impaired tissue repair, and PASC are still unclear. In this report, we utilized a cohort of respiratory PASC patients with viral infection-mediated pulmonary fibrosis and a clinically relevant mouse model of post-viral lung sequelae to investigate the pathophysiology of respiratory PASC. Using a combination of imaging and spatial transcriptomics, we identified dysregulated proximal interactions between immune cells and epithelial progenitors unique to respiratory PASC but not acute COVID-19 or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Specifically, we found a central role for lung-resident CD8+ T cell-macrophage interactions in maintaining Krt8hi transitional and ectopic Krt5+ basal cell progenitors, and the development of fibrotic sequelae after acute viral pneumonia. Mechanistically, CD8+ T cell derived IFN-{gamma} and TNF stimulated lung macrophages to chronically release IL-1{beta}, resulting in the abnormal accumulation of dysplastic epithelial progenitors in fibrotic areas. Notably, therapeutic neutralization of IFN-{gamma} and TNF, or IL-1{beta} after the resolution of acute infection resulted in markedly improved alveolar regeneration and restoration of pulmonary function. Together, our findings implicate a dysregulated immune-epithelial progenitor niche in driving respiratory PASC and identify potential therapeutic targets to dampen chronic pulmonary sequelae post respiratory viral infections including SARS-CoV-2.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Proximal immune-epithelial progenitor interactions drive chronic tissue sequelae post COVID-19
• Lysosomal TMEM106B interacts with galactosylceramidase to regulate myelin lipid metabolism -
  TMEM106B is an endolysosomal transmembrane protein not only associated with multiple neurological disorders including frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and hypomyelinating leukodystrophy but also potentially involved in COVID-19. Additionally, recent studies have identified amyloid fibrils of C-terminal TMEM106B in both aged healthy and neurodegenerative brains. However, so far little is known about physiological functions of TMEM106B in the endolysosome and how TMEM106B is involved in a wide range of human conditions at molecular levels. Here, we performed lipidomic analysis of the brain of TMEM106B-deficient mice. We found that TMEM106B deficiency significantly decreases levels of two major classes of myelin lipids, galactosylceramide and its sulfated derivative sulfatide. Subsequent co-immunoprecipitation assay showed that TMEM106B physically interacts with galactosylceramidase. We also found that galactosyceramidase activity was significantly increased in TMEM106B-deficient brains. Thus, our results reveal a novel function of TMEM106B interacting with galactosyceramidase to regulate myelin lipid metabolism and have implications for TMEM106B-associated diseases.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Lysosomal TMEM106B interacts with galactosylceramidase to regulate myelin lipid metabolism
• Towards mitigating health inequity via machine learning: a nationwide cohort study to develop and validate ethnicity-specific models for prediction of cardiovascular disease risk in COVID-19 patients -

  Background Emerging data-driven technologies in healthcare, such as risk prediction models, hold great promise but also pose challenges regarding potential bias and exacerbation of existing health inequalities, which have been observed across diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and COVID-19. This study addresses the impact of ethnicity in risk prediction modelling for cardiovascular events following SARS-CoV-2 infection and explores the potential of ethnicity-specific models to mitigate disparities. Methods This retrospective cohort study utilises six linked datasets accessed through National Health Service (NHS) England9s Secure Data Environment (SDE) service for England, via the BHF Data Science Centre9s CVD-COVID-UK/COVID-IMPACT Consortium. Inclusion criteria were established, and demographic information, risk factors, and ethnicity categories were defined. Four feature selection methods (LASSO, Random Forest, XGBoost, QRISK) were employed and ethnicity-specific prediction models were trained and tested using logistic regression. Discrimination (AUROC) and calibration performance were assessed for different populations and ethnicity groups. Findings Several differences were observed in the models trained on the whole study cohort vs ethnicity-specific groups. At the feature selection stage, ethnicity-specific models yielded different selected features. AUROC discrimination measures showed consistent performance across most ethnicity groups, with QRISK-based models performing relatively poorly. Calibration performance exhibited variation across ethnicity groups and age categories. Ethnicity-specific models demonstrated the potential to enhance calibration performance for certain ethnic groups. Interpretation This research highlights the importance of considering ethnicity in risk prediction modelling to ensure equitable healthcare outcomes. Differences in selected features and asymmetric calibration across ethnicities underscore the necessity of tailored approaches. Ethnicity-specific models offer a pathway to addressing disparities and improving model performance. The study emphasises the role of data-driven technologies in either alleviating or exacerbating existing health inequalities. Keywords Prediction, machine learning, electronic health records, bias, ethnicity.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Towards mitigating health inequity via machine learning: a nationwide cohort study to develop and validate ethnicity-specific models for prediction of cardiovascular disease risk in COVID-19 patients
• The assembly of neutrophil inflammasomes during COVID-19 is mediated by type I interferons -

  The severity of COVID-19 is linked to excessive inflammation. Neutrophils represent a critical arm of the innate immune response and are major mediators of inflammation, but their role in COVID-19 pathophysiology remains poorly understood. We conducted transcriptomic profiling of neutrophils obtained from patients with mild and severe COVID-19, as well as from SARS-CoV-2 infected mice, in comparison to non-infected healthy controls. In addition, we investigated the inflammasome formation potential in neutrophils from patients and mice upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. Transcriptomic analysis of polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs), consisting mainly of mature neutrophils, revealed a striking type I interferon (IFN-I) gene signature in severe COVID-19 patients, contrasting with mild COVID-19 and healthy controls. Notably, low-density granulocytes (LDGs) from severe COVID-19 patients exhibited an immature neutrophil phenotype and lacked this IFN-I signature. Moreover, PMNs from severe COVID-19 patients showed heightened nigericin-induced caspase1 activation, but reduced responsiveness to exogenous inflammasome priming. Furthermore, IFN-I emerged as a priming stimulus for neutrophil inflammasomes, which was confirmed in a COVID-19 mouse model. These findings underscore the crucial role of neutrophil inflammasomes in driving inflammation during severe COVID-19. Altogether, these findings open promising avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions to mitigate the pathological processes associated with the disease.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The assembly of neutrophil inflammasomes during COVID-19 is mediated by type I interferons
• Trajectories and correlates of poor mental health in India over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic: a nation-wide survey -

  Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had large impacts on mental health; however, most existing evidence is focused on the initial lockdown period and high-income contexts. By assessing trajectories of mental health symptoms in India over two years, we aim to understand the effect of later time periods and pandemic characteristics on mental health in a lower-middle income context. Methods: We used data from the Real-Time Insights of COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India) cohort study (N=3,662). We used covariate-adjusted linear regression models with generalized estimating equations to assess associations between mental health (PHQ-4 score) and pandemic periods as well as pandemic characteristics (COVID-19 cases and deaths, government stringency, self-reported financial impact, COVID-19 infection in the household) and explored effect modification by age, gender, and rural/urban residence. Results: Mental health symptoms dropped immediately following the lockdown period but rose again during the delta and omicron waves. Associations between mental health and later pandemic stages were stronger for adults 45 years of age and older (p<0.001). PHQ-4 scores were significantly and independently associated with all pandemic characteristics considered, including estimated COVID-19 deaths (PHQ-4 difference of 0.041 SD units; 95% Confidence Interval 0.030 - 0.053), government stringency index (0.060 SD units; 0.048 - 0.072), self-reported major financial impacts (0.45 SD units; 0.41-0.49), and COVID-19 infection in the household (0.11 SD units; 0.07-0.16). Conclusion: While the lockdown period and associated financial stress had the largest mental health impacts on Indian adults, the effects of the pandemic on mental health persisted over time, especially among middle-age and older adults. Results highlight the importance of investments in mental health supports and services to address the consequences of cyclical waves of infections and disease burden due to COVID-19 or other emerging pandemics.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Trajectories and correlates of poor mental health in India over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic: a nation-wide survey
• Neonatal outcomes after proteomic biomarker-guided intervention: the AVERT PRETERM TRIAL -

  1. Background Vaginal progesterone, low dose aspirin and care management (comprising increased outreach and education) has been shown to reduce the rate of prematurity in select populations, but identifying at-risk pregnancies has been problematic. 2. Objective(s) Test the hypothesis that screening singleton, non-anomalous pregnancies lacking traditional clinical risk factors with a validated blood test for preterm birth risk prediction, then targeting those with elevated risk for preventive treatment, would improve neonatal outcomes as compared to a large historical population. 3. Study Design The study took place from June 2018-September 2020 at ChristianaCare Hospital (Newark, DE). Singleton non-anomalous pregnancies with no history of preterm birth were enrolled in a prospective study arm and followed through neonatal hospital discharge. Participants were screened using a serum proteomic test for spontaneous preterm birth risk during a gestational age window spanning 19 1/7-20 6/7 weeks. Pregnancies identified by the test to be at elevated risk for preterm birth (≥16.0%, approximately twice the U.S. population risk) were offered aspirin 81 mg daily, open-label vaginal progesterone 200 mg daily and care management. We compared outcomes for women who screened either low-risk or higher-risk accepting treatment with those in a historical study arm of 10,000 pregnancies. Our co-primary outcomes were neonatal hospital length of stay and an ordinal neonatal morbidity index score based on the occurrence of grade III/IV interventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis (Bell stage II/III), respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity (stage III), sepsis, and neonatal death or neonatal intensive care unit length of stay. Cox proportional hazards survival analysis and ordinal logistic regression were utilized to evaluate outcomes and control for population differences. 4. Results A total of 1463 women were screened and tested before research operations were ceased due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, and three women were subsequently deemed ineligible after screening. Of these, 34.72% (507/1460) were deemed high-risk, with 56.41% (286/507) accepting intervention and 43.59% (221/507) forgoing intervention. The remaining 65.3% (953/1460) were designated as low-risk. Women in the prospective arm were older, more obese, more likely to have hypertension and smoke, and less likely to use opioids compared to women in the historical arm. The primary analyses found that neonates in the prospective arm were discharged from the hospital earlier (P=0.01; hazard ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.70) and had lower neonatal morbidity index scores (P=0.031; odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.67-0.98). Average neonatal hospital length of stay decreased by 21%, and severe neonatal morbidity (neonatal morbidity index ≥3) was reduced on average by 18%. 5. Conclusions Identifying singleton, non-anomalous pregnancies lacking traditional risk factors with a validated proteomic blood test for preterm birth risk and providing treatment to those at risk resulted in improved neonatal outcomes compared to controls in a racially diverse cohort. This test-and-treatment strategy shows promise for ameliorating the impacts of premature birth among individuals in this previously unidentified patient population.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Neonatal outcomes after proteomic biomarker-guided intervention: the AVERT PRETERM TRIAL
• Determinants of de novo B cell responses to drifted epitopes in post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infections -

  Vaccine-induced immunity may impact subsequent de novo responses to drifted epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 variants, but this has been difficult to quantify due to the challenges in recruiting unvaccinated control groups whose first exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is a primary infection. Through local, statewide, and national SARS-CoV-2 testing programs, we were able to recruit cohorts of individuals who had recovered from either primary or post-vaccination infections by either the Delta or Omicron BA.1 variants. Regardless of variant, we observed greater Spike-specific and neutralizing antibody responses in post-vaccination infections than in those who were infected without prior vaccination. Through analysis of variant-specific memory B cells as markers of de novo responses, we observed that Delta and Omicron BA.1 infections led to a marked shift in immunodominance in which some drifted epitopes elicited minimal responses, even in primary infections. Prior immunity through vaccination had a small negative impact on these de novo responses, but this did not correlate with cross-reactive memory B cells, arguing against competitive inhibition of naive B cells. We conclude that dampened de novo B cell responses against drifted epitopes are mostly a function of altered immunodominance hierarchies that are apparent even in primary infections, with a more modest contribution from pre-existing immunity, perhaps due to accelerated antigen clearance.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Determinants of de novo B cell responses to drifted epitopes in post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infections
• Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Those Up-to-Date and Not Up-to-Date on COVID-19 Vaccination by US CDC Criteria -

  Background. The CDC recently defined being 9up-to-date9 on COVID-19 vaccination as having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 bivalent vaccine. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk of COVID-19 among those 9up-to-date9 and 9not up-to-date9. Methods. Employees of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, in employment when the COVID-19 bivalent vaccine first became available, and still employed when the XBB lineages became dominant, were included. Cumulative incidence of COVID-19 since the XBB lineages became dominant was compared across the 9up-to-date9 and 9not up-to-date9 states, by treating COVID-19 bivalent vaccination as a time-dependent covariate whose value changed on receipt of the vaccine. Risk of COVID-19 by vaccination status was also evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression adjusting for propensity to get tested for COVID-19, age, sex, most recent prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, and number of prior vaccine doses. Results. COVID-19 occurred in 1475 (3%) of 48 344 employees during the 100-day study period. The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was lower in the 9not up-to-date9 than the 9up-to-date9 state. On multivariable analysis, being 9up-to-date9 was not associated with lower risk of COVID-19 (HR, 1.05; 95% C.I., 0.88-1.25; P-value, 0.58). Results were very similar when those 65 years and older were only considered 9up-to-date9 after 2 doses of the bivalent vaccine. Conclusions. Since the XBB lineages became dominant, adults 9up-to-date9 on COVID-19 vaccination by the CDC definition do not have a lower risk of COVID-19 than those 9not up-to-date9, bringing into question the value of this risk classification definition.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Those Up-to-Date and Not Up-to-Date on COVID-19 Vaccination by US CDC Criteria
• Effectiveness of Canadian travel restrictions in reducing burden of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern -

  Evaluating travel restriction effectiveness in mitigating infectious disease burden is critical for informing public health policy. Here, we quantify where and when variants of SARS-CoV-2 were introduced into Canada to evaluate the extent to which travel restrictions averted viral introductions and COVID-19 case burden. Our results suggest that, across SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern subject to travel restrictions, at least 281 introductions were prevented, accounting for an averted burden of approximately 44,064 cases. This corresponds to approximately 441 averted hospitalizations, 24 averted deaths, and cost savings to Canadian health care systems of approximately $11.2 million Canadian dollars. Travel restrictions were found to be most effective when implemented rapidly during exponential case growth in the focal source and when global circulation was limited. Our analyses reveal that COVID-19 travel restrictions mitigated case burdens and highlight their value in future pandemic response.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Effectiveness of Canadian travel restrictions in reducing burden of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern
• Bayesian Framework for Moderated Mediation Using Covid-19-caused Natural Experiment: Modeling Home Advantage in Soccer -
  Observational studies are being used more and more in psychology and medicine since they provide a wealth of data for real-world issues. Their biggest drawback is the lack of falsification due to the control mechanisms of control conditions being unavailable. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the isolation policies related to it have provided an environment in which researchers can use natural experimental design to establish causal pathways in phenomena. Here we demonstrate how Covid-19-related changes can be used to investigate causal effects behind Home Advantage (HA), a robust phenomenon in which sport teams are more successful when they play in front of their fans. HA theories assume that the crowd support spurs home players to better performance and biases referees, and that these two factors in turn influence the result. Covid-19 has provided the perfect control condition for disentangling the causal links of the HA as sport teams have played at home but without the presence of fans. Using our newly developed Home Advantage Mediated (HAM) model, which considers all individual factors and their interrelations simultaneously instead of in isolation as was previously the case, we demonstrate how Covid-19 enables us to disentangle the processes behind the HA phenomenon. Besides throwing new (modeling) light on one of the most robust phenomena in sport, our paper also provides information about the practical implementation of mediation and moderated mediation mixed-effects models in the Bayesian framework. Similar implementations can be adapted in other medical and social science fields.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Bayesian Framework for Moderated Mediation Using Covid-19-caused Natural Experiment: Modeling Home Advantage in Soccer
• Revising Home Advantage in Sport – Home Advantage Mediation (HAM) Model -
  Home Advantage (HA) is a robust phenomenon in which sport teams or individuals are more successful when they play in front of their fans. There are a number of causes of HA, but most theories assume that the crowd support spurs home players to better performance and biases referees, and that these two factors in turn influence the result. The interest in HA has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic as most competitions were taking place behind closed doors, a perfect control condition for disentangling the causal effects behind HA. Despite the presence of useful conceptual frameworks, most previous research has focused on investigating isolated individual factors. Here we review our newly developed Home Advantage Mediated (HAM) model, which considers all individual factors and their interrelations simultaneously. HAM assumes that the crowd effects are mediated through other relevant factors, such as referee bias and team performance. Most importantly, HAM can be formally expressed as a mediation model, a technique widely employed in social sciences for investigating causal pathways. We demonstrate how researchers can use HAM to model the HA in European football and how moderating variables, such as Covid-19 and absence of fans, can be incorporated in the model to disentangle the processes behind the HA phenomenon. Besides throwing new (modeling) light on one of the most robust phenomena in sport, we also provide information about practical implementation of mediation and moderated mediation models in the Bayesian framework. Similar implementations can be adapted for use in other sport science domains.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Revising Home Advantage in Sport – Home Advantage Mediation (HAM) Model
• The Effect of COVID-19 on Home Advantage in High- and Low-Stake Situations: Evidence from the European National Football Competitions -
  The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly altered the way sporting events are observed. With the absence or limited presence of spectators in stadiums, the traditional advantage enjoyed by home teams has diminished considerably. This underscores the notion that the support of home fans can often be considered a key factor of the home advantage (HA) phenomenon, wherein teams perform better in front of their own supporters. However, the impact of reduced attendance on games with higher stakes, as opposed to low-stakes friendly matches, remains uncertain. In this study, we investigate the recently concluded European football championship (EURO 20), wherein several teams had the advantage of playing at home in high-stakes games with only one-third of the stadium capacity filled. Firstly, we demonstrate that the Covid-19 restrictions, leading to reduced fan attendance, resulted in a nearly 50% decrease in HA compared to the HA exhibited by the same teams during the qualification stage preceding EURO 20, even after accounting for team strength. Secondly, we show that while low-stakes friendly matches generally exhibit a smaller overall HA compared to high-stakes games, the absence of fans led to a similar reduction in HA during the low-stakes matches. Utilizing the recently developed Home Advantage Mediated (HAM) model (Bilalić et al., 2021, Scientific Reports, 21558), we were able to attribute the reduction in both high- and low-stakes games to poorer team performance, with no significant contribution from referee bias.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The Effect of COVID-19 on Home Advantage in High- and Low-Stake Situations: Evidence from the European National Football Competitions
• Home Advantage during the COVID-19 Pandemic in European football -
  The home advantage (HA) is a robust phenomenon in soccer whereby the home team wins more games and scores more goals than the away team. One explanation is that the home crowd spurs on home team performance and causes the referee to unconsciously favour the home team. The Covid-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to assess this explanation for HA, as European soccer leagues played part of the 2019/2020 season with crowds present and concluded with crowds absent. Using multi-level modelling we compared team performance and referee decisions pre-Covid (crowd present) and post-Covid (crowd absent) across 9,528 games from 15 leagues in 11 countries. HA (goals scored and points gained) was significantly reduced post pandemic, which reflected the inferior performance of the home team. In addition, referees awarded significantly fewer sanctions against the away teams, and home teams created significantly fewer attacking opportunities when they played without fans.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Home Advantage during the COVID-19 Pandemic in European football

From Clinical Trials

• A 2nd Generation E1/E2B/E3-Deleted Adenoviral COVID-19 Vaccine: The TCELLVACCINE TRIAL - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: hAd5-S-Fusion+N-ETSD;   Biological: Placebo (0.9% (w/v) saline)
  Sponsor:   ImmunityBio, Inc.
  Completed

• Additional Recombinant COVID-19 Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunogenicity in Immunosuppressed Populations - Conditions:   Immunosuppression;   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: NVX-CoV2372
  Sponsors:   University of Wisconsin, Madison;   Novavax
  Not yet recruiting

• Reducing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Hispanic Parents - Conditions:   Vaccine-Preventable Diseases;   COVID-19 Pandemic;   Health-Related Behavior;   Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice;   Narration
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Baseline surveys;   Behavioral: Digital Storytelling Intervention;   Behavioral: Information Control Intervention
  Sponsors:   Arizona State University;   Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
  Not yet recruiting

• Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Recovered From COVID-19 Pneumonia - Condition:   Bronchoalveolar Lavage
  Intervention:   Procedure: Bronchoalveolar Lavage
  Sponsors:   Mohamed Abd Elmoniem Mohamed;   Marwa Salah Abdelrazek Ghanem;   Mohammad Khairy El-Badrawy;   Tamer Ali Elhadidy;   Dalia Abdellateif Abdelghany
  Completed

• Evaluation of Safety and Immunogenicity of a SARS-CoV-2(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) Booster Vaccine (LEM-mR203) - Conditions:   COVID-19 Infection;   COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Reaction
  Interventions:   Biological: LEM-mR203;   Biological: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Lemonex
  Not yet recruiting

• Phase I Safety Study of B/HPIV3/S-6P Vaccine Via Nasal Spray in Adults - Condition:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Intervention:   Biological: B/HPIV3/S-6P
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health;   National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  Recruiting

• A Study to Determine the Tolerability of Intranasal LMN-301 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: LMN-301
  Sponsor:   Lumen Bioscience, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Nursing Students - Condition:   Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
  Intervention:   Other: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group
  Sponsor:   Necmettin Erbakan University
  Active, not recruiting

• Long COVID Immune Profiling - Conditions:   Long COVID;   POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome;   Autonomic Dysfunction
  Interventions:   Diagnostic Test: IL-6;   Diagnostic Test: cytokines (IL-17, and IFN-ɣ);   Behavioral: Compass 31
  Sponsors:   Vanderbilt University Medical Center;   American Heart Association
  Not yet recruiting

• A Study of Healthy Microbiome, Healthy Mind - Conditions:   Critical Illness;   COVID-19;   PICS;   Cognitive Impairment;   Mental Health Impairment;   Weakness, Muscle;   Dysbiosis
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Fermented Food Diet
  Sponsor:   Mayo Clinic
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• Current understanding of nucleoside analogs inhibiting the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase - Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) has become a main target for antiviral therapeutics due to its essential role in viral replication and transcription. Thus, nucleoside analogs structurally resemble the natural RdRp substrate and hold great potential as inhibitors. Until now, extensive experimental investigations have been performed to explore nucleoside analogs to inhibit the RdRp, and…

• Ebselen: A Review on its Synthesis, Derivatives, Anticancer Efficacy and Utility in Combating SARS-COV-2 - Ebselen is a selenoorganic chiral compound with antioxidant properties comparable to glutathione peroxidase. It is also known as 2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one. In studies examining its numerous pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, and anti-Alzheimer’s, ebselen has demonstrated promising results. This review’s primary objective was to emphasize the numerous synthesis pathways of ebselen and their efficacy in fighting cancer. The data were collected…

• Molnupiravir: an antiviral drug against COVID-19 - SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, has caused numerous deaths worldwide and poses significant challenges. Researchers have recently studied a new antiviral drug called molnupiravir for treating COVID-19. This review examines the causes and immunopathogenesis of COVID-19, as well as the role of molnupiravir in its treatment. Molnupiravir is a prodrug of β-D-N4-hydroxyctytidine (NHC) and has demonstrated activity against various viruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and…

• Overreactive macrophages in SARS-CoV-2 infection: The effects of ACEI - Among various factors influencing the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, macrophage overactivation is considered the main cause of the cytokine storm that leads to severe complications of COVID-19. Moreover, the increased expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), an obligatory entry receptor of the coronavirus, caused by treatment with ACE inhibitors (ACEI) lowered overall confidence in the safety of these drugs. However, analysis of the course of coronavirus infection in…

• Omics data analysis reveals common molecular basis of small cell lung cancer and COVID-19 - The impact of COVID-19 infection on individuals with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) poses a serious threat. Unfortunately, the molecular basis of this severe comorbidity has yet to be elucidated. The present study addresses this gap utilizing publicly available omics data of COVID-19 and SCLC to explore the key molecules and associated pathways involved in the convergence of these diseases. Findings revealed 402 genes, that exhibited differential expression patterns in SCLC patients and also play…

• Whole genome CRISPR screening strategy to identify genes contributing to SARS-CoV-2 spike and VSV-G mediated entry - Understanding the cellular host factors that promote and inhibit viral entry is important for identifying viral countermeasures. CRISPR whole-genome screens can be used to rapidly discover host factors that contribute to or impair viral entry. However, when using live viruses and cellular lethality for selection, these screens can identify an overwhelming number of genes without specificity for the stage of the viral infection cycle. New screening methods are needed to identify host machinery…

• On a path toward a broad-spectrum anti-viral: inhibition of HIV-1 and coronavirus replication by SR kinase inhibitor harmine - RNA processing plays a key role in gene expression, allowing for increased protein diversity and functional complexity. Consequently, modulating RNA processing can impact gene function. Given HIV-1’s reliance on host RNA processing machinery for viral protein production/replication, modulators of this process could serve as novel anti-virals to complement and/or enhance existing therapies. In this study, screening of several serine-arginine-rich (SR) kinase inhibitors for their impact on HIV-1…

• Association between levels of IgG antibodies from vaccines and Omicron symptomatic infection among children and adolescents in China - CONCLUSION: The risk of developing a symptomatic infection can be predicted independently by tertiles of IgG antibodies to wild-type SARS-CoV-2 antigens. High IgG levels can inhibit viral replication, vastly reduce the risk of symptomatic infections and promote a virus-negative conversion, especially when IgG quantitative detection was ≥3.44 S/CO, a potential threshold for protection and booster strategy in the future. More data and research are needed in the future to validate the predictive…

• Identification of essential genes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection as potential drug target candidates with machine learning algorithms - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires the fast discovery of effective treatments to fight this worldwide concern. Several genes associated with the SARS-CoV-2, which are essential for its functionality, pathogenesis, and survival, have been identified. These genes, which play crucial roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection, are considered potential therapeutic targets. Developing drugs against these essential genes to inhibit their regular functions could be a good approach…

• Identification of motif-based interactions between SARS-CoV-2 protein domains and human peptide ligands pinpoint antiviral targets - The virus life cycle depends on host-virus protein-protein interactions, which often involve a disordered protein region binding to a folded protein domain. Here, we used proteomic peptide phage display (ProP-PD) to identify peptides from the intrinsically disordered regions of the human proteome that bind to folded protein domains encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Eleven folded domains of SARS-CoV-2 proteins were found to bind 281 peptides from human proteins, and affinities of 31 interactions…

• Broadly neutralizing antibodies derived from the earliest COVID-19 convalescents protect mice from SARS-CoV-2 variants challenge - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported three years ago, when a group of individuals were infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, based on which vaccines were developed. Here, we develop six human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from two elite convalescents in Wuhan and show that these mAbs recognize diverse epitopes on the receptor binding domain (RBD) and can inhibit the infection of SARS-CoV-2 original strain and variants of concern (VOCs) to varying degrees, including…

• Suramin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphoprotein genome packaging function - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is fading, however its etiologic agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues posing - despite the availability of licensed vaccines - a global health threat, due to the potential emergence of vaccine-resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants. This makes the development of new drugs against COVID-19 a persistent urgency and sets as research priority the validation of novel therapeutic targets within the SARS-CoV-2 proteome….

• Inhalable dry powder containing remdesivir and disulfiram: Preparation and in vitro characterization - The respiratory tract, as the first and most afflicted target of many viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, seems to be the logical choice for delivering antiviral agents against this and other respiratory viruses. A combination of remdesivir and disulfiram, targeting two different steps in the viral replication cycle, has showed synergistic activity against SARS-CoV-2 in-vitro. In this study, we have developed an inhalable dry powder containing a combination of remdesivir and disulfiram utilizing the…

• MICROVASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL ACTIVATION/DYSFUNCTION AND DYSREGULATION OF THE ANGIOPOIETIN-TIE2 SYSTEM IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF LIFE-THREATENING INFECTIONS - Microvascular endothelial activation/dysfunction has emerged as an important mechanistic pathophysiological process in the development of morbidity and mortality in life-threatening infections. The angiopoietin-Tie2 system plays an integral role in the regulation of microvascular endothelial integrity. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), produced by platelets and pericytes, is the cognate agonistic ligand for Tie2, promoting endothelial quiescence and inhibiting microvascular leak. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2),…

• Prime editor-mediated functional reshaping of ACE2 prevents the entry of multiple human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants - The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the host angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to meditate its entry and is the primary target for vaccine development. Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 keeps evolving and the latest Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and XBB have gained exceptional immune evasion potential through mutations in their spike proteins, leading to sharply reduced efficacy of current spike-focused vaccines and therapeutics. Compared with the fast-evolving spike protein, targeting host ACE2…

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