The Covid-19 pandemic as well as other recent natural emergencies have put the spotlight on emergency planning. One important aspect is that natural disasters or emergencies often lead to indirect deaths and studying the behavior of indirect deaths during emergencies can guide emergency planning. While many studies have implied a large number of indirect deaths in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria; the specific causes of these deaths have not being carefully studied. In this paper, we use a semiparametric model and mortality data to evaluate cause of death trends. Our model adjusts for cause of death effect potentially varying over time while also inferring on how long excess deaths occurred. From September 2017 to March 2018, after adjusting for intra-annual variability and population displacement, we find evidence of significant excess deaths due to Alzheimer9s/Parkinson, heart disease, sepsis, diabetes, renal failure, and pneumonia & influenza. In contrast, for the same time period we find no evidence of significant excess deaths due to cancer, hypertension, respiratory diseases, cerebrovascular disease, suicide, homicide, falling accidents and traffic accidents.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, long-term immunity against SARS-CoV-2 will be globally important. Official weekly cases have not dropped below 2 million since September of 2020, and continued emergence of novel variants have created a moving target for our immune systems and public health alike. The temporal aspects of COVID-19 immunity, particularly from repeated vaccination and infection, are less well understood than short-term vaccine efficacy. In this study, we explore the impact of combined vaccination and infection, also known as hybrid immunity, and the timing thereof on the quality and quantity of antibodies produced by a cohort of 96 health care workers. We find robust neutralizing antibody responses among those with hybrid immunity against all variants, including Omicron BA.2, and we further found significantly improved neutralizing titers with longer vaccine-infection intervals up to 400 days. These results indicate that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses undergo continual maturation following primary exposure by either vaccination or infection for at least 400 days after last antigen exposure. We show that neutralizing antibody responses improved upon secondary boosting with greater impact seen after extended intervals. Our findings may also extend to booster vaccine doses, a critical consideration in future vaccine campaign strategies.
The SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and is plaguing the world since the end of 2019. Different lineages have been discovered ever since and the Gamma lineage, which started the second wave of infections, was first described in Brazil, one of the most affected countries by pandemic. Describing the viral genome and how the virus behaves is essential to contain its propagation and to the development of medications and vaccines. Therefore, this study analyzed SARS-CoV-2 sequenced genomes from Esteio city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. We also comparatively analyzed genomes of the two first years of the pandemic from Rio Grande do Sul state for understanding their genomic and evolutionary patterns. The phylogenomic analysis showed monophyletic groups for Alpha, Gamma, Delta and Omicron, as well as for other circulating lineages in the state. Molecular evolutionary analysis identified several sites under adaptive selection in membrane and nucleocapsid proteins which could be related to a prevalent stabilizing effect on membrane protein structure, as well as majoritarily destabilizing effects on C-terminal nucleocapsid domain.
BACKGROUND This study has assessed a new Anti-COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Nasal Spray (SA58) for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS We conducted an efficacy study in adults aged 18 years and older within three days of exposure to a SARS-CoV-2 infected individual. Recruited participants were randomized in a ratio of 3:1 to receive SA58 or placebo. Primary endpoints were laboratory-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 within study period. FINDINGS A total of 1,222 participants were randomized and dosed (SA58, n=901; placebo, n=321). Median of follow-up was 2.25 days and 2.79 days for SA58 and placebo, respectively. Adverse events occurred in 221 of 901 (25%) and 72 of 321 (22%) participants with SA58 and placebo, respectively, with no significant difference (P=0.49). All adverse events were mild in severity. Laboratory-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 developed in 7 of 824 participants (0.22 per 100 person-days) in the SA58 group vs 14 of 299 (1.17 per 100 person-days) in the placebo group, resulting in an estimated efficacy of 80.82% (95%CI 52.41%-92.27%). There were 32 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positives (1.04 per 100 person-days) in the SA58 group vs 32 (2.80 per 100 person-days) in the placebo group, resulting in an estimated efficacy of 61.83% (95%CI 37.50%-76.69%). A total of 21 RT-PCR positive samples were sequenced. 21 lineages of SARS-CoV-2 variants were identified, and all were the Omicron variant BF.7. INTERPRETATION SA58 Nasal Spray showed favorable efficacy and safety in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection or symptomatic COVID-19 in healthy adult workers who had exposure to SARS-CoV-2 within 72 hours.
Importance: The negative health-related effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection may include increased risk for self-directed violence. Objective: To assess suicide attempts and other self-directed violence risk among US Veterans with a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to matched uninfected Veterans. Design, Setting, and Participants: Using a target trial emulation design supported by comprehensive electronic health records from the US Veterans Health Administration, Veterans who had a positive PCR test between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 were matched with non-infected comparators. Monthly matching was anchored to first positive PCR test for each patient. Groups were followed for one-year thereafter. Exposure: Positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR. Main Outcomes and Measures: Suicide attempts and self-directed violence documented in electronic health records by a VHA provider. Hazard ratios (HR) for time to first suicide attempt and self-directed violence (separate models) for the infected versus comparator group were measured using Cox regression models. Analyses were performed for short-term (days 1-30), long-term (days 31-365) and one-year (days 1-365) and further stratified by age and prior self-directed-violence history. Sensitivity analyses included censoring to address comparators crossing over by later testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. Results: Among the 1,190,974 Veterans included, during the one-year period after the index date; 3,078 (0.258%) had a suicide attempt and 2,887 (0.242%) had self-directed violence. Regardless of follow-up duration, the HRs for suicide attempts and self-directed violence were higher for the infected group. For suicide attempts, short-term HR=2.54 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 2.05 to 3.15), long-term HR=1.30 (CI: 1.19 to 1.43) and one-year HR= 1.41 (CI: 1.30, 1.54). For self-directed violence, short-term HR=1.94 (CI: 1.51 to 2.49), long-term HR=1.32 (CI: 1.20 to 1.45), and one-year HR=1.38 (CI:1.26, 1.51). Conclusions and Relevance: In matched cohorts, Veterans who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test had a higher risk of suicide attempt and self-directed violence that were greatest within the first 30 days and present for at least one year following. These findings highlight the importance of assessing patient experiences of suicide attempt and other forms of self-directed violence during different time periods post-infection to identify opportunities to augment prevention efforts and support those affected.
SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) arise against the backdrop of increasingly heterogeneous human connectivity and population immunity. Through a large-scale phylodynamic analysis of 115,622 Omicron genomes, we identified >6,000 independent introductions of the antigenically distinct virus into England and reconstructed the dispersal history of resulting local transmission. Travel restrictions on southern Africa did not reduce BA.1 importation intensity as secondary hubs became major exporters. We explored potential drivers of BA.1 spread across England and discovered an early period during which viral lineage movements mainly occurred between larger cities, followed by a multi-focal spatial expansion shaped by shorter distance mobility patterns. We also found evidence that disease incidence impacted human commuting behaviours around major travel hubs. Our results offer a detailed characterisation of processes that drive the invasion of an emerging VOC across multiple spatial scales and provide unique insights on the interplay between disease spread and human mobility.
With the ongoing evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, variant-adapted vaccines are likely to be required. Given the challenges of conducting clinical trials against a background of widespread infection-induced immunity, updated vaccines are likely to be adopted based on immunogenicity data. We extended a modelling framework linking immunity levels and protection and fitted the model to vaccine effectiveness data from England for three vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca AZD1222, Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2, Moderna mRNA-1273) and two variants (Delta and Omicron) to predict longer-term effectiveness against mild disease, hospitalisation and death. We use these model fits to predict the effectiveness of the Moderna bivalent vaccine (mRNA1273.214) against the Omicron variant using immunogenicity data. Our results suggest sustained protection against hospitalisation and death from the Omicron variant over the first six months following boosting with the monovalent vaccines but a gradual waning to moderate protection after 1 year (median predicted vaccine effectiveness at 1 year in 65+ age group: AZD1222 38.9%, 95% CrI 31.8%-46.8%; BNT162b2 53.3%, 95% CrI 49.1%-56.9%; mRNA-1273 60.0%, 95% CrI 56.0%-63.6%). Furthermore, we predict almost complete loss of protection against mild disease over this period (mean predicted effectiveness at 1 year 7.8% for AZD1222, 13.2% for BNT162b2 and 16.7% for mRNA-1273). Switching to a second booster with the bivalent mRNA1273.214 vaccine against Omicron BA.1/2 is predicted to prevent nearly twice as many hospitalisations and deaths over a 1-year period compared to administering a second booster with the monovalent mRNA1273 vaccine. Ongoing production and administration of variant-specific vaccines are therefore likely to play an important role in protecting against severe outcomes from the ongoing circulation of SARS-CoV-2.
The ongoing novel COVID-19 global pandemic is one of the health emergencies in 21st century after hundred years of Spanish flu that affected almost all the countries in the world. The objective of this study is to generate STM and LTM real-time out of sample forecasts of the future COVID-19 confirmed and death cases respectively for the top five mostly affected countries in the world namely USA, India, Brazil, Russia and UK. As of January 17, 2021, it has caused a pandemic outbreak with more than 94.5 million confirmed cases and more than 2 million reported deaths worldwide. Due to extreme robust behaviour in the univariate time series data, forecasting of both COVID-19 confirmed and death cases has become the exigent task for the government officials, healthcare workers, economists, corporate leaders, government, decision makers, public-policy makers, and scientific experts to allocate health resources. To solve this problem different hybrid approaches are applied which eliminate both linear and non-linear errors of the time series datasets and the predictions of for these countries will be practical to act as forewarning for all.
Background: A recombinant, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, SII-NVX-CoV2373 was manufactured in India and evaluated in Indian children and adolescents to assess safety and immunogenicity. Methods: This was a Phase 2/3 observer-blind, randomized, controlled study in children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 years. Participants were randomly assigned in 3:1 ratio to receive two doses of SII-NVX-CoV2373 or placebo on day 1 and day 22. Solicited adverse events (AEs) were collected for 7 days after each vaccination. Unsolicited AEs were collected for 35 days following first dose and serious AEs (SAEs) and adverse events of special interest (AESI) were collected throughout the study. Anti S IgG and neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 were measured at baseline, day 22, day 36 and day 180. Variant immune responses were assessed in a subset of participants at baseline, day 36 and day 180. Primary objectives were to demonstrate non-inferiority of SII-NVX-CoV2373 in each pediatric age group (12 to 17 years and 2 to 11 years, separately) to that in adults in terms of ratio of titers of both anti-S IgG and neutralizing antibodies 14 days after the second dose (day 36). Non-inferiority was to be concluded if the lower bound of 95% CI of the ratio was >0.67. Results: A total of 920 children and adolescents (460 in each age cohort; 12 to 17 years and 2 to 11 years) were randomized and vaccinated. The demographic and baseline characteristics between the two groups were comparable in both age groups. After the second dose, there were more than 100-fold rise in anti-S IgG GMEUs and more than 84-fold rise in neutralizing antibodies GMTs from baseline in the participants who received SII-NVX-CoV2373. The GMTs in both age groups were non-inferior to those observed in Indian adults. The seroconversion rate was ≥ 98% (anti-S IgG) and ≥ 97.9% (neutralizing antibodies) in both age groups, respectively. Similar findings were seen in the baseline seronegative participants. SII-NVX-CoV2373 also showed robust responses against various variants of concern. Injection site pain, tenderness, swelling, erythema and fever, headache, malaise, fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, nausea and vomiting were the common solicited adverse events which were transient and resolved without any sequelae. Throughout the study, only two causally unrelated SAEs and no AESI were reported. Conclusion: SII-NVX-CoV2373 has been found safe and well tolerated in children and adolescents of 2 to 17 years. The vaccine was highly immunogenic and the immune response was non-inferior to that in adults.
Objective: This study aimed to identify demographic characteristics of test participants and changes in testing participation over time in a community pandemic-response program launched in a college town in California, USA. Methods: We described overall testing participation, identified demographic characteristics of frequent testers, and evaluated changes in testing participation over four different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A total of 770,165 tests were performed between November 18, 2020, and June 30, 2022, among 89,924 residents of Yolo County (41.1% of population), with significant participation from racially/ethnically diverse participants and across age groups. Most positive cases (49.9%) were captured during Omicron, which also corresponds to the period with the highest daily participation (895 per 100K population). The proportion of participants which we considered “frequent testers” (28.9% vs. 39.7%, p<0.0001) and individuals that tested once (39.5% vs. 47.9%, p<0.0001) increased significantly from Delta to Omicron. Women (58.8%), participants of age 19-34 years (38.8%), and White (53.2%) tested more frequently throughout the program. The proportion of tests conducted among Latinos remained steady around 18% over time, with the exception of the post-Omicron period (13%). Conclusion: The unique features of a pandemic response program that supported community-wide access to free asymptomatic testing provides a unique opportunity to evaluate adherence to testing recommendations, and testing trends over time. Identification of individual and group-level factors associated with testing behaviors is essential to improve access and protect communities at-large.
Introduction: The COVID 19 pandemic was highlighted by a rise in hospital admissions secondary to respiratory decompensation. This was accompanied by an increase in ICU admissions, endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. As a consequence, tracheostomies became essential in preventing complications of prolonged intubation and to facilitate weaning from sedation and mechanical ventilation. With the lack of international consensus on tracheostomy technique and optimal timing, we present our experience with 377 percutaneous tracheostomies performed on critically ill COVID 19 patients. Objective: To report the outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID 19 who underwent percutaneous tracheostomy during a period of 24 months. Methods: A retrospective single-center electronic chart review was performed on all ICU patients who underwent percutaneous tracheostomy after respiratory failure secondary to COVID 19 between March 2020 to March 2022. Results: A total of 377 percutaneous tracheostomies were performed. The mean duration between intubation and percutaneous tracheostomy was 17.4 days (3 to 61). The study included 222 males (59%) and 155 females (41%). The mean age of patients was 56.2 years (17-94), with a mean BMI was 31.3 (14 to 68). The commonest comorbidities among patients were diabetes mellitus (50%) and hypertension (48%). Complications were encountered in 85 cases (23%), with the commonest overall complication being minor bleeding. 203 patients (54%) were weaned from sedation. The mean duration between tracheostomy and weaning from sedation was 7.5 days (1 to 47 days). 156 patients (41%) were weaned from MV. The mean duration between tracheostomy and weaning from MV was 12.9 days (1 to 58 days). There was a total of 236 (63%) deaths reported during the period of this study. No deaths were attributable to the surgical procedure. Conclusion: Percutaneous tracheostomy can be safely performed in patients with COVID 19. With lack of conclusive objective data regarding the optimal timing for tracheostomy, we recommend that tracheostomy be performed as soon as possible after the 7th day endotracheal intubation. Key Words: Percutaneous tracheostomy, COVID 19, Critically ill, ICU
Background: There is limited information on the role of individuals in different age groups in propagating SARSCoV2 epidemics driven by the Omicron variants. In France, vaccination coverage for the 2nd booster for COVID19 is limited and largely restricted to persons aged over 60y. Methods: We examined the role of individuals in different age groups in propagating four waves of the Omicron epidemic in France using previously developed methodology based on the relative risk (RR) statistic that measures, for each age group, the change in the proportion of that age group among all COVID19 cases before the peak of an epidemic wave vs. after the peak of an epidemic wave. Higher value of the RR statistic for a given age group suggests a disproportionate depletion of susceptible individuals in that age group during the ascent period of the epidemic (due to increased contact rates and/or susceptibility to infection). Results: For the Spring wave (March 14 through May 15), the highest RR estimate belonged to children aged 10 to 19y (RR=1.92 (95% CI (1.18,3.12)), followed by adults aged 40 to 49y (RR=1.45 (1.09,1.93)) and children aged 0 to 9y (RR=1.31 (0.98,1.74)). For the Summer wave (June 27 through Aug. 21), the highest RR estimate belong to children aged 0 to 9y (RR=1.61 (1.13,2.30)) followed by children aged 10 to 19y (RR=1.46 (0.72,2.93)) and adults aged 20 to 29y (RR=1.43 (0.91,2.23)). For the Autumn wave (Sep. 18 through Nov. 12), the highest RR estimate belonged to children aged 10 to 19y (RR=1.64 (0.72,3.73)), followed by adults aged 30 to 39y (RR=1.35 (0.8,2.27)) and 20 to 29y (RR=1.21 (0.66,2.22)). For the Autumn - Winter Wave (Nov. 22 through Dec. 29), the highest RR estimate belonged to persons aged 30 to 39y (RR=1.47 (0.8,2.67)), followed by persons aged 40 to 49y (RR= 1.29 (0.81,2.07)) and persons aged over 80y (RR= 1.27 (1.07,1.5)). Conclusions: Increasing booster vaccination coverage for COVID19 for all adults, as possibly for children should help mitigate the spread of Omicron infection in the community. The estimate for the RR statistic in persons aged over 80y for the Autumn - Winter Omicron wave suggests that additional effort should be considered for preventing the spread of Omicron infection in elderly persons, including in Long-Term Care facilities.
A Clinical Study to Assess Preliminary Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of HH-120 Nasal Spray in COVID-19 Patients - Condition: Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)
Intervention: Biological: HH-120 Nasal Spray
Sponsor: Beijing Ditan Hospital
Recruiting
Efficacy and Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Antibody SA58 Nasal Spray to Prevent Infection in High-risk Populations - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Drug: SA58 Nasal Spray
Sponsor: Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.
Recruiting
Efficacy and Safety of SA58 Nasal Spray in Close Contact With COVID-19 People - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: SA58 Nasal Spray; Drug: Placebo
Sponsors: Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.; Beijing Ditan Hospital
Recruiting
Immunogenicity and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine in Population Aged 18 Years and Above - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: One dose group; Biological: Two doses group; Biological: Aged 18-59 years; Biological: Aged 60 years old and above
Sponsors: Guangzhou Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.; Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
Immunogenicity of Heterologous Versus Homologous Prime Boost Schedule With mRNA and Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: CoronaVac/CoronaVac; Biological: CoronaVac/BNT162b2
Sponsor: Institut Pasteur de Tunis
Completed
Immunogenicity and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine as a Booster Vaccination in Population Aged 18 Years and Above - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CHO Cell) LYB001; Biological: ZF2001
Sponsors: Guangzhou Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.; Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
The KIN-FAST Trial (KIN001 For Accelerated Symptoms Termination) in Non Hospitalized Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: KIN001; Drug: KIN001-Placebo
Sponsor: Kinarus AG
Recruiting
The Application of Ursodeoxycholic Acid for the Prevention of Novel Coronavirus Infections - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Drug: Ursodeoxycholic acid
Sponsor: Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital
Not yet recruiting
Sars-COV-2 Immunity in immunoCOmpromised Populations - Conditions: SARS CoV 2 Infection; COVID-19
Intervention: Diagnostic Test: Humoral immunity
Sponsors: Maria Goossens; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium; Mensura EDPB; Erasme hospital
Not yet recruiting
Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetic Characteristics Evaluation on GST-HG171 Tablets - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: GST-HG171; Drug: placebo of GST-HG171
Sponsor: Fujian Akeylink Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Recruiting
Benefits of an Aerobic and Strength Rehabilitation Program With Post- SARS-CoV-2 Patients Moderate-severe - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Other: Aerobic plus strength group; Other: Aerobic group
Sponsor: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de la Fundación Jiménez Díaz
Not yet recruiting
The Effect of Amantadine on Post-COVD-19 Fatigue - Condition: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
Intervention: Drug: Amantadine
Sponsor: Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Not yet recruiting
Enhanced External Counterpulsation to Treat Long COVID Fatigue - Condition: Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
Intervention: Procedure: Enhanced external counterpulsation
Sponsor: Sheba Medical Center
Not yet recruiting
Effectiveness of Rapid Antigen Testing of Students for COVID-19 in Reducing Absences From Schools in Bangladesh - Condition: School Absenteeism
Intervention: Diagnostic Test: Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) for COVID-19
Sponsors: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh; Columbia University
Completed
Jing Si Herbal Tea for Long-Coronavirus Disease(COVID) Gut-brain Interaction - Conditions: Healthy Subjects; COVID-19 Pneumonia; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Jing Si Herbal Tea Liquid Packet; Dietary Supplement: Jing Si Herbal Tea Liquid Packet Placebo
Sponsor: Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital
Not yet recruiting
Targeting Spike Glycans to Inhibit SARS-CoV2 Viral Entry - SARS-CoV-2 Spike harbors glycans which function as ligands for lectins. Therefore, it should be possible to exploit lectins to target SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit cellular entry by binding glycans on the Spike protein. Burkholderia oklahomensis agglutinin (BOA) is an antiviral lectin that interacts with viral glycoproteins via N-linked high mannose glycans. Here, we show that BOA binds to the Spike protein and is a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry at nanomolar concentrations. Using a variety…
Data-driven drug discovery for drug repurposing - To improve the decreased efficiency of drug discovery and development, drug repurposing (also called drug repositioning) has been expected, that it is a strategy for identifying new medical indications for approved, investigational or suspended drugs. Particularly, according to the rapid expansion of medical and life science data and the remarkable technological progress of AI technology in recent years, the approach of computational drug repurposing has been attracted as one of the applications…
Endogenous G-quadruplex-forming RNAs inhibit the activity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase - Replication of RNA viruses is catalysed by virus-specific polymerases, which can be targets of therapeutic strategies. In this study, we used a selection strategy to identify endogenous RNAs from a transcriptome library derived from lung cells that interact with the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2. Some of the selected RNAs weakened the activity of RdRp by forming G-quadruplexes. These results suggest that certain endogenous RNAs, which potentially form G-quadruplexes, can…
Prospective mode of action of Ivermectin: SARS-CoV-2 - The well-known anti-helminthic drug ivermectin (IVM) has been established as an example of drug repurposing for the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Various study has been done to understand the inhibitory mechanism of IVM against SARS-CoV-2 targets. Broadly, IVM has been categorized as a host-directed agent and the proposed mechanism involves inhibition of the IMPα/ß1-mediated nuclear import of viral proteins. In addition, in vitro/in vivo and molecular docking/dynamic simulation studies…
Circulating microRNAs as emerging regulators of COVID-19 - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global pandemic that has high incidence rates, spreads rapidly, and has caused more than 6.5 million deaths globally to date. Currently, several drugs have been used in the clinical treatment of COVID-19, including antivirals (e.g., molnupiravir, baricitinib, and remdesivir), monoclonal antibodies (e.g., etesevimab and tocilizumab), protease inhibitors…
The ability of low- and High-SES schools to inhibit learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic - The study examined whether the pandemic-induced digital distance learning affected the ability of educational units to inhibit learning losses and whether their SES compositions modified those effects. By applying random-intercept multinomial regression models to educational units’ average test scores comparing the 2019-2021 period to the 2017-2019 period based on data from the National Assessment of Basic Competencies in Hungary, the results indicated that educational units were less likely to…
Evaluation of a series of nucleoside analogs as effective anticoronaviral-2 drugs against the Omicron-B.1.1.529/BA.2 subvariant: A repurposing research study - Mysterious evolution of a new strain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the Omicron variant, led to a new challenge in the persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) battle. Objecting the conserved SARS-CoV-2 enzymes RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and 3’-to-5’ exoribonuclease (ExoN) together using one ligand is a successful new tactic to stop SARS-CoV-2 multiplication and COVID-19 progression. The current comprehensive study investigated most nucleoside…
A snake venom-analog peptide that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 and papain-like protease displays antithrombotic activity in mice arterial thrombosis model, without interfering with bleeding time - CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the antithrombotic activity of the peptide (p-BthTX-I)(2) K possibly by kallikrein inhibition, suggesting its strong biotechnological potential.
Diagnostic performance between in-house and commercial SARS-CoV-2 serological immunoassays including binding-specific antibody and surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) - This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between in-house and commercial binding-specific IgG antibodies and between in-house and commercial SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus neutralization tests (sVNT). Samples from healthcare workers who received vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 were tested for RBD-specific antibody, S-specific antibody, and in-house ELISA, commercial sVNT, and in-house sVNT, against wild-type SARS-CoV-2. Three hundred and five samples were included in the analysis. The correlation…
Comparison of humoral immunogenicity in solid organ transplant recipients after third-dose mRNA vaccine with homologous or heterologous schedules: An observational study - CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the schedule, the neutralization inhibition rate against the Omicron variant was poor; therefore, additional preventive measures are required in such high-risk populations.
New insights into the mucosal immune pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy from the perspective of COVID-19 vaccination - Large-scale SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is one of the key strategies to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there are increasing reports of IgA nephropathy following COVID-19 vaccination. The clinical manifestation, treatment and prognostic effects are different in IgAN patients who have had an onset after the first and second dose of vaccination, as well as new and recurrent IgAN patients. These conditions bring about a relatively important window for understanding the pathogenesis of IgAN. Gd-IgA1…
Ginkgolides and bilobalide for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19: potential mechanisms of action - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible degenerative illness of the central nervous system with characteristic histological alterations, known as amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Aggregation of plaques and tangles in the brain induces neurotoxicity and synaptic dysfunction, eventually contributing to neuronal cell death and neurodegeneration. Recent studies have revealed that COVID-19 has a great impact on the development of AD, directly or indirectly, by facilitating the…
Identification of potent COVID-19 main protease inhibitors by loading of favipiravir on Mg12O12 and Zn12O12 nanoclusters: an in silico strategy for COVID-19 treatment - Pandemic new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) virus has increased throughout the world. There is no effective treatment against this virus until now. Since its appearance in Wuhan, China in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 becomes the largest challenge the world is opposite today, including the discovery of an antiviral drug for this virus. Several viral proteins have been prioritized as SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug targets, among them the papain-like protease (PLpro) and the…
Exploring the binding capacity of lactic acid bacteria derived bacteriocins against RBD of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant by molecular simulations - The changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome have resulted in the emergence of new variants. Some of the variants have been classified as variants of concern (VOC). These strains have higher transmission rate and improved fitness. One of the prevalent were the Omicron variant. Unlike previous VOCs, the Omicron possesses fifteen mutations on the spike protein’s receptor binding domain (RBD). The modifications of spike protein’s key amino acid residues facilitate the virus’ binding capability against…
A bibliometric analysis of autophagy in lung diseases from 2012 to 2021 - CONCLUSION: The study of autophagy in lung diseases is still in the development stage. The information published in these articles has helped researchers understand further the hot spots and development trends in the field more and learn about the collaboration network information regarding authors, countries, and institutions, as well as the paper citation correlation. More studies have been performed to gain deeper insights into the pathogenesis of autophagy by focusing on the links and…