Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Prediction of residue-specific contributions to binding and thermal stability using yeast surface display -
  Accurate prediction of residue burial as well as quantitative prediction of residue-specific contributions to protein stability and activity is challenging, especially in the absence of experimental structural information. This is important for prediction and understanding of disease causing mutations, and for protein stabilization and design. Using yeast surface display of a saturation mutagenesis library of the bacterial toxin CcdB, we probe the relationship between ligand binding and expression level of displayed protein, with in vivo solubility in E.coli and in vitro thermal stability. We find that both the stability and solubility correlate well with the total amount of active protein on the yeast cell surface but not with total amount of expressed protein. We coupled FACS and deep sequencing to reconstruct the binding and expression mean fluorescent intensity of each mutant. The reconstructed mean fluorescence intensity (MFIseq) was used to differentiate between buried site, exposed non active-site and exposed active-site positions with high accuracy. The MFIseq was also used as a criterion to identify destabilized as well as stabilized mutants in the library, and to predict the melting temperatures of destabilized mutants. These predictions were experimentally validated and were more accurate than those of various computational predictors. The approach was extended to successfully identify buried and active-site residues in the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting it has general applicability.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Prediction of residue-specific contributions to binding and thermal stability using yeast surface display
• COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu Vaccination Hesitancy: Links to Personality and General Intelligence in a Large, UK Cohort -
  Vaccines are a powerful and relatively safe tool to protect against a range of serious diseases. Nonetheless, a sizeable minority of people express ‘vaccination hesitancy’. Accordingly, understanding the bases of this hesitancy represents a significant public health challenge. In the present study we sought to examine the role of Big Five personality traits and general intelligence as predictors of vaccination hesitancy, across two vaccination types, in a large (N= 9667) sample of UK adults drawn from the Understanding Society longitudinal household study. We found that lower general intelligence was associated with COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccination hesitancy, and lower neuroticism was associated with COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy. Although the self-reported reasons for being vaccine hesitant indicated a range of factors were important to people, lower general intelligence was associated with virtually all of these reasons. In contrast, Big 5 personality traits showed more nuanced patterns of association. These findings provide important insights into vaccination hesitancy and help to reconcile some of the inconsistencies found in previous literature.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu Vaccination Hesitancy: Links to Personality and General Intelligence in a Large, UK Cohort
• EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF AROGYA KASHAYAM-20 IN COVID-19 CASES - A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY -
  Introduction: The characteristic clinical features of Covid-19 disease range between asymptomatic to mild-moderate symptoms. Studies suggest that a large population (80%) presents its asymptomatic or milder form. Remaining 20 percent, owing to severity of the diseases, need hospital-based care. Many treatment protocols and strategies have been promoted and recommended by authorities including WHO, but nothing has actually been finalized till date. The present study was planned to evaluate the effectiveness of an Ayurvedic formulation viz. Arogya Kashayam-20 in the hospitalized cases of Covid-19. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of Arogya Kashayam-20 in the cases of COVID-19 particularly the negative conversion of RTPCR in 10 days duration. Material and Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at COVID-19 Care Center, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College & Institute, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh with a sample size of 112 participants, aged between 16 to 60 years of either sex. Participants were divided in two groups viz. group A and B. Both the groups received Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), vitamin C and Zinc as per the prevailing ICMR guidelines and group ‘A’ received additionally Arogya Kashayam-20 for 10 days. Outcome measure of the study was to see the negative conversion RT-PCR test after intervention period of 10 days. CTRI Registration: CTRI/2020/06/026221. Results: Among the 60 cases registered in study group (group A), 51 cases (85.00%) were reported with negative RTPCR on 10th day. Out of 52 cases registered in control group (group B); 39 cases (75.00%) were tested negative RTPCR on 10th day. In both the groups all the cases were discharged asymptomatically on 10th day as per the prevailing ICMR guidelines. No ADR/AE observed during the intervention period. Conclusion: The study observes that the add on intervention group has a better outcome in terms of RT-PCR negative reports after 10 days comparing to the control group.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF AROGYA KASHAYAM-20 IN COVID-19 CASES - A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY
• Social cohesion at the outset of COVID-19 predicts later vaccination intentions -
  Vaccination intentions are widely regarded as individual decision, resting upon individuals’ attitudes and beliefs about the disease and their own health. In this research, we provide evidence that group factors, and more precisely, social cohesion — a multidimensional concept that encompasses one’s sense of connectedness to, and interrelations within, a group — can help us understand COVID-19 vaccination intentions. Using a representative sample of 3026 Australians, we first found evidence for the multidimensional structure of social cohesion, as a concept that includes positive social relations, social identification, and trust in government. Second, social cohesion assessed early in the COVID-19 pandemic predicted greater vaccination intention and lower perceived risk of vaccination four months later, after controlling for a series of demographic (i.e., sex, age, income) and health-related factors (i.e., subjective health; perceived risk; having been diagnosed with COVID-19). These results suggest that investments in social cohesion could have substantial and unexpected downstream benefits.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Social cohesion at the outset of COVID-19 predicts later vaccination intentions
• Territorial strategy of medical units for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in the metropolitan area of Mexico City: analysis of mobility, accessibility and marginalization -
  The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an exponential increase in the demand for medical care worldwide. In Mexico, the COVID Medical Units (CMU) conversion strategy was implemented. Objective. To evaluate the CMU coverage strategy in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) by territory. Materials. The CMU directory was used, as were COVID-19 infection and movement statistics and 2020 Mexican census information at the urban geographic area scale. The degree of urban marginalization by geographic area was also considered. Method. Using descriptive statistics and the calculation of a CMU accessibility index, population aggregates were counted based on coverage radii. In addition, two regression models are proposed to explain 1) the territorial and temporal trend of COVID-19 infections in the MCMA and 2) the movement of the COVID-infected population to medical units. Results. The findings of the evaluation of the CMU strategy were 1) in the MCMA, COVID-19 followed a pattern of contagion from the urban center to the periphery; 2) given the growth in the number of cases and the overload of medical units, the population traveled greater distances to seek medical care; 3) after the CMU strategy was evaluated at the territory level, it was found that 9 out of 10 inhabitants had a CMU located approximately 7 kilometers away; and 4) at the metropolitan level, the lowest level of accessibility to the CMU was recorded for the population with the highest levels of marginalization: those residing in the urban periphery.

• A novel Pan-viral prophylaxis strategy using vaccine adjuvant CAF09b protects against influenza virus infection -
  The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic caused a massive health and societal crisis, although the fast development of effective vaccines reduced some of the impact. To prepare for future pandemics, a pan-viral prophylaxis could be used to control the initial virus outbreak in the period prior to vaccine approval. The liposomal vaccine adjuvant CAF09b contains the TLR3 agonist polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, which induces a type I interferon (IFN-I) response and an antiviral state in the affected tissues. When testing CAF09b as a potential pan-viral prophylaxis, we observed that intranasal administration of CAF09b to mice resulted in an influx of innate immune cells into the nose and lungs and upregulation of IFN-I related gene expression. When CAF09b was administered prior to challenge with mouse-adapted influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 virus, it protected from severe disease, although virus was still detectable in the lungs. However, when CAF09b was administered after influenza challenge, the mice had a similar disease course to controls. In conclusion, CAF09b may be a suitable candidate as a pan-viral prophylactic treatment for epidemic viruses, but must be administered prior to virus exposure to be effective.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A novel Pan-viral prophylaxis strategy using vaccine adjuvant CAF09b protects against influenza virus infection
• S100A8 and S100A9, biomarkers of SARS-Cov-2-infected patients, suppress HIV replication in primary macrophages -
  S100A8 and S100A9 are members of the Alarmin family; these proteins are abundantly expressed in neutrophils and form a heterodimer complex. Recently, both proteins were identified as novel biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2 infection and were shown to play key roles in inducing an aggressive inflammatory response by mediating the release of large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines, called the cytokine storm. Although co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 in people living with HIV-1 may result in an immunocompromised status, the role of the S100A8/A9 complex in HIV-1 replication in primary T cells and macrophages is still unclear. Here, we evaluated the roles of the proteins in HIV replication to elucidate their functions. We found that the complex had no impact on virus replication in both cell types; however, the subunits of S100A8 and S100A9 inhibits HIV in macrophages. These findings provide important insights into the regulation of HIV viral loads during SARS-CoV-2 co-infection.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: S100A8 and S100A9, biomarkers of SARS-Cov-2-infected patients, suppress HIV replication in primary macrophages
• Professional practice for COVID-19 risk reduction among health care workers : a Cross-Sectional Study with Matched Case-Control Comparison -

  Abstract Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are particularly exposed to COVID-19 and therefore it is paramount to study preventive measures in this population. Aim: To investigate socio-demographic factors and professional practice associated with the risk of COVID-19 among HCWs in health establishments in Normandy, France Methods: A cross-sectional and 3 case-control studies were conducted in order to explore the possible risk factors that lead to SARS-CoV2 transmission within HCWs, based on an online questionnaire. The case-control studies focused on risk factors associated with care of COVID-19 patients, care of non COVID-19 patients and contacts between colleagues. Findings: Among 2,058 respondents, respectively 1,363 (66.2%) and 695 (33.8%) in medical and medico-social establishments, 301 (14.6%) reported having been infected by SARS-CoV2. When caring for COVID-19 patients, HCWs who declared wearing respirators, either for all patient care (ORa 0.39; 95% CI: 0.29-0.51) or only when exposed to aerosol- generating procedures (ORa 0.56; 95% CI: 0.43-0.70), had a lower risk of infection compared with HCWs who declared wearing mainly surgical masks. During care of non COVID-19 patients, wearing mainly a respirator was associated with a higher risk of infection (ORa 1.84; 95% CI: 1.06-3.37). An increased risk was also found for HCWs who changed uniform in workplace changing rooms (ORa 1.93; 95% CI: 1.63-2.29). Conclusion: Correct use of PPE adapted to the situation and risk level is essential in protecting HCWs against infection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Professional practice for COVID-19 risk reduction among health care workers : a Cross-Sectional Study with Matched Case-Control Comparison
• The challenges of developing biosensors for clinical assessment: a review -
  Emerging research in biosensors has attracted much attention worldwide, particularly in re-sponse to the recent pandemic outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Neverthe-less, initiating research in biosensing applied to the diagnostic of diseases is still challenging for researchers, either from the preferences of biosensor platforms, selection of biomarkers, detection strategies, and other aspects (e.g., cutoff values) to fulfill the clinical purpose. There are two sides to the development of a diagnostic tool: the biosensor development side and the clinical side. From the development side, the research engineers seek the typical characteristics of a biosensor: sensitivity, selectivity, linearity, stability, and reproducibility. On the other side are the physicians that expect a diagnostic tool that provides fast acquisition of patient in-formation to obtain an early diagnostic or an efficient patient stratification, which conse-quently allows making assertive and efficient clinical decisions. The development of diagnostic devices always involves assay developer researchers, working as pivots to bridge both sides, which role is to find detection strategies suitable to the clinical needs. First, by understanding the intended use of the technology and its basic principle; second, the preferable type of test: qualitative or quantitative, sample matrix challenges, biomarker(s) threshold (cutoff value), and if the system requires a mono or multiplex assay format. This review highlights the challenges for the development of biosensors for clinical assessment and its broad application in multidisciplinary fields. This review paper highlights the following biosensor technologies: magnetoresistive (MR)-based, transistor- based, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and op-tical-based biosensors. Its working mechanisms are discussed with their pros and cons. The article also gives an overview of the most critical parameters that are optimized by developing a diagnostic tool.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The challenges of developing biosensors for clinical assessment: a review
• Food Security Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Following a Cohort of Vermonters During the First Year -

  Objective: This study assessed changes in household food insecurity throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort of Vermonters and examined the socio-demographic characteristics associated with increased odds of experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic. Design: We conducted three online surveys with a cohort of Vermonters between March 2020 and March 2021 to collect longitudinal data on food security, food access, and job disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security was measured using the USDA six-item module. We used t-tests and chi-square tests to determine statistically significant differences between groups and multivariate logistic regression models to determine the factors correlated with food insecurity. Participants: 441 adults (18 years and older) Setting: Vermont, United States Results: Food insecurity rates increased significantly during the pandemic and remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic. Nearly a third (31.6%) of respondents experienced food insecurity at some point during the first year of the pandemic. Certain demographic groups were at significantly higher odds of experiencing food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic including households with children (OR 5.1, p < 0.01), women (OR 7.3, p < 0.05), BIPOC/Hispanic respondents (OR 10.4, p < 0.05), and households experiencing a job disruption (OR 4.6, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The prevalence of food insecurity increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained higher than pre-pandemic levels a year after the pandemic began. Odds of experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic vary based on socio-demographic factors.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Food Security Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Following a Cohort of Vermonters During the First Year
• Multireader Evaluation of Radiologist Performance for COVID-19 Detection on Emergency Department Chest Radiographs -

  Background Chest radiographs (CXR) are frequently used as a screening tool for patients with suspected COVID-19 infection pending reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results, despite recommendations against this. We evaluated radiologist performance for COVID 19 diagnosis on CXR at the time of patient presentation in the Emergency Department (ED). Materials and Methods We extracted RT PCR results, clinical history, and CXRs of all patients from a single institution between March and June 2020. 984 RT PCR positive and 1043 RT-PCR negative radiographs were reviewed by 10 emergency radiologists from 4 academic centers. 100 cases were read by all radiologists and 1927 cases by 2 radiologists. Each radiologist chose the single best label per case: Normal, COVID 19, Other Infectious, Other Noninfectious, Non diagnostic, and Endotracheal Tube. Cases labeled with endotracheal tube or non-diagnostic were excluded. Remaining cases were analyzed for label distribution, clinical history, and inter-reader agreement. Results 1727 radiographs (732 RT PCR positive, 995 RT PCR negative) were included from 1,594 patients (51.2% male, 48.8% female, age 59 +/- 19 years). For 89 cases read by all readers, there was poor agreement for RT PCR positive (Fleiss Score 0.36) and negative (Fleiss Score 0.46) exams. Agreement between two readers on 1,638 cases was 54.2% (373/688) for RT- PCR positive cases and 71.4% (679/950) for negative cases. Agreement was highest for RT PCR negative cases labeled as Normal (50.4%, n= 479). Reader performance did not improve with clinical history or time between CXR and RT-PCR result. Conclusion At the time of presentation to the emergency department, emergency radiologist performance is non- specific for diagnosing COVID 19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Multireader Evaluation of Radiologist Performance for COVID-19 Detection on Emergency Department Chest Radiographs
• Effect of the third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine in quantitative SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers in healthcare workers -

  Background: Vaccination is our main strategy to control SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given a decrease in the quantitative SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers three months following the second BNT162b2 dose, healthcare workers got a third booster dose after six months of completing the original scheme. This study aimed to analyze quantitative SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers and safety of the third dose. Material and methods: A prospective longitudinal cohort study included healthcare workers who received a third booster dose after six months of the complete BNT162b2 regimen. We assessed the quantitative SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers 21-28 days after the first and second dose, three months after the complete scheme, 1-7 days following the third dose, and 21-28 days after the boost. Results: The cohort comprised 168 non-immunocompromised participants of 41(10) years old, 67% being women. The third dose was associated with increasing the quantitative antibody titers, regardless of previous SARS-CoV-2 history. In negative SARS-CoV-2 history, the median (IQR) antibody titers increased from 379 (645.4) to 2960 (2010), while in positive SARS-CoV-2 history, from 590 (1262) to 3090 (2080). The third dose had less number of total side effects compared to the other two shots. The most common side effect after the third BNT162b2 shot was pain at the injection site (n=82, 84.5%), followed by tiredness (n=45, 46.4%), with a mild severity (n=36, 37.1%). Tiredness, myalgias, arthralgias, fever, and adenopathy were proportionally higher following the third dose than the two-dose regimen (p<0.05). Conclusion: The third dose applied after six months of the original BNT162b2 regimen provided a good humoral immune response by elevating the quantitative SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers. The booster dose was well tolerated with no severe side effects after the additional BNT162b2 dose.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Effect of the third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine in quantitative SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers in healthcare workers
• Impaired Neutralizing Antibody Response to COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines in Cancer Patients -

  There is currently a critical need to determine the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for immunocompromised patients. In this study, we determined the neutralizing antibody response in 160 cancer patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), lung cancer, breast cancer, and various non-Hodgkin9s lymphomas (NHL), after they received two doses of mRNA vaccines. Serum from 46 mRNA vaccinated health care workers (HCWs) served as healthy controls. We discovered that (1) cancer patients exhibited reduced neutralizing antibody titer (NT50) compared to HCWs; (2) CLL and NHL patients exhibited the lowest NT50 levels, with 50-60% of them below the detection limit; (3) mean NT50 levels in patients with CLL and NHL was ~2.6 fold lower than those with solid tumors; and (4) cancer patients who received anti-B cell therapy exhibited significantly reduced NT50 levels. Our results demonstrate an urgent need for novel immunization strategies for cancer patients against SARS-CoV-2, particularly those with hematological cancers and those on anti-B cell therapies.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Impaired Neutralizing Antibody Response to COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines in Cancer Patients
• Long-range regulatory effects of Neandertal DNA in modern humans -
  The admixture between modern humans and Neandertals has resulted in ~2% of the genomes of present-day non-Africans still being composed of Neandertal DNA. Association studies have shown that introgressed DNA still significantly influences skin and hair traits, immunity and behavioral phenotypes in people today. Several of the phenotype-associated archaic variants had links to regulatory effects as well. In general, analyses of allele-specific expression, regulatory sequence composition and cis-eQTL have demonstrated a significant contribution of this introgressed DNA to the transcriptomic landscape in people today. However, little is known about the impact of Neandertal DNA on trans-eQTLs
• long-range regulatory effects that have been shown to explain ~20% of expression variation. Here, we used blood eQTL results from >30,000 individuals from eQTLGen Consortium. The cohort size allowed for a robust identification of trans-eQTLs and in addition enabled quantifying the role of transcription factors (TF) in mediating long-range regulatory effects. In our study we used this information to (i) annotate trans-eQTLs that are linked to Neandertal variants and (ii) predict long-range regulatory effects that are induced by Neandertal DNA by screening for the predicted target genes of TFs that are cis-eQTLs linked to Neandertal variants. We show that both trans-eQTL-associated Neandertal variants and those predicted to have long-range regulatory effects affect genes in genomic regions devoid of Neandertal DNA. In addition, both types of variants included candidates for local adaptation and show associations with autoimmune disorders, a severe Covid-19 phenotype, blood cell type composition and anthropometric measures. Our results suggest that the regulatory reach of Neandertal DNA goes beyond the 40% of genomic sequence that it still covers in present-day non-Africans and that via this mechanism Neandertal DNA additionally influences the phenotypic variation in people today.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Long-range regulatory effects of Neandertal DNA in modern humans
• Central Banking and Inequalities: Old Tropes and New Practices -
  This paper presents a critical analysis of the stance taken on inequality by two central banks since 2015: the Bank of Canada (BoC) and the Federal Reserve (Fed). The analysis is informed by a computer-assisted discourse analysis of how central bankers from the two institutions position themselves when it comes to issues of inequality. We observe that the position on inequality of the two central banks has changed in recent years and continues to do so. We argue that the stance on inequality taken by the BoC and the Fed suffers from a number of both inconsistencies and shortcomings. On the one hand, the BoC and the Fed claim that monetary policy instruments are too blunt to target specific sectors of the economy. On the other hand, with their response to COVID-19, they have demonstrated that such targeting is possible after all.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Central Banking and Inequalities: Old Tropes and New Practices

From Clinical Trials

• Randomized Study to Evaluate Intranasal Dose of STI-2099 (COVI-DROPS™) in Outpatient Adults With Mild COVID-19 Infection - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: COVI-DROPS;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• Efficacy and Safety of Apixaban in COVID-19 Coagulopathy Patients With Respiratory Severity Under Critical Care - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: Apixaban
  Sponsors:  
  Scotmann Pharmaceuticals;   Rawalpindi Medical College
  Not yet recruiting

• Immunogenicity and Safety of Heterologous and Homologous Boosting With ChAdOx1-S and CoronaVac or a Formulation of SCB-2019 (COVID-19) - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Biological: ChAdOx1-S COVID-19 Vaccine(Fiocruz/Oxford- AstraZeneca);   Biological: CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech);   Biological: Adjuvanted Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 TrimericS- protein Subunit Vaccine (SCB-2019 - Clover)
  Sponsors:   D’Or Institute for Research and Education;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;   Instituto Fernandes Figueira
  Not yet recruiting

• Tocilizumab Versus Baricitinib in Patients With Severe COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Tocilizumab;   Drug: Baricitinib
  Sponsor:   University Hospital of Patras
  Recruiting

• The Efficacy and Safety of Pyramax in Mild to Moderate COVID-19 Patients (Phase3) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Pyramax;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:  
  Shin Poong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
  Recruiting

• Efficacy of Home Inspiratory Muscle Training in Post-covid-19 Patients: a Randomized Clinical Trial - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Device: Inspiratory muscle training
  Sponsor:  
  Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
  Recruiting

• Effectiveness of Using Interactive Consulting System to Enhance Decision Aids of COVID-19 Vaccination - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Device: Chatbot
  Sponsor:   Sun Yat- sen University
  Recruiting

• Impact of Nudges on Downloads of COVID-19 Exposure Notification Smartphone Apps: A Randomized Trial - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Self-Benefit/Social Norm;   Behavioral: Self- Benefit/No Social Norm;   Behavioral: Other Benefit/Social Norm;   Behavioral: Other Benefit/No Social Norm
  Sponsors:   University of Pennsylvania;   Pennsylvania Department of Health
  Completed

• Efficacy, Safety, and Immunogenicity Study of the Recombinant Two-component COVID-19 Vaccine (CHO Cell) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant two-component COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell);   Biological: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Jiangsu Rec-Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Cardiovascular Assessment in Patient Recovered From COVID-19 and Recovery of Autonomic Nervous System in Association With the Severity of the Disease - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: Non invasive cardiovascular monitoring with CNAP device of arterial pressure, ECG and respiratory activity
  Sponsor:   IRCCS Policlinico S. Donato
  Recruiting

• Safety and Efficacy of KOVIR (TD0068) in the Combination Regimen With Background Treatment in COVID-19 Patients (KOVIR) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: KOVIR (TD0068) oral capsule;   Dietary Supplement: Placebo oral capsule
  Sponsors:   Sunstar Joint Stock Company;   Vietstar Biomedical Research
  Recruiting

• A Safety and Tolerability Study of BDB-001 in Mild, Moderate COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: BDB-001 injection
  Sponsors:  
  Staidson (Beijing) Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd;   Beijing Defengrui Biotechnology Co. Ltd
  Completed

• Acetylsalicylic Acid in COVID-19 (ASA-SARS) - Conditions:   SARS-CoV2 Infection;   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Barcelona Institute for Global Health;   Hospital Universitario de Torrejón,Madrid;   Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor;   Fundació Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau;   Hospital del Mar;   Hopsital Central de Maputo, Mozambique
  Not yet recruiting

• Pulmonary Function in Patients Recovering From COVID19 Infection : a Pilot Study - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: diaphragm ultrasonography
  Sponsor:   University Hospital, Limoges
  Not yet recruiting

• Safety and Immunogenicity Study of Booster Vaccination With Medium-dosage or High-dosage SARS-CoV-2 Inactivated Vaccine for Prevention of COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: High-dosage SARS-CoV-2 vaccine;   Biological: Medium-dosage SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
  Sponsor:   Sinovac Biotech Co., Ltd
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces abnormal inflammatory blood clots neutralized by fibrin immunotherapy - Blood clots are a central feature of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and can culminate in pulmonary embolism, stroke, and sudden death. However, it is not known how abnormal blood clots form in COVID-19 or why they occur even in asymptomatic and convalescent patients. Here we report that the Spike protein from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to the blood coagulation factor fibrinogen and induces structurally abnormal blood clots with heightened…

• Antibody-mediated broad sarbecovirus neutralization through ACE2 molecular mimicry - Understanding broadly neutralizing sarbecovirus antibody responses is key to developing countermeasures effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants and future spillovers of other sarbecoviruses. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a human monoclonal antibody, designated S2K146, broadly neutralizing viruses belonging to all three sarbecovirus clades known to utilize ACE2 as entry receptor and protecting therapeutically against SARS-CoV-2 beta challenge in hamsters. Structural and…

• Adverse Effects of Metformin From Diabetes to COVID-19, Cancer, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Aging: Is VDAC1 a Common Target? - Metformin has been used for treating diabetes mellitus since the late 1950s. In addition to its antihyperglycemic activity, it was shown to be a potential drug candidate for treating a range of other diseases that include various cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetic kidney disease, neurodegenerative diseases, renal diseases, obesity, inflammation, COVID-19 in diabetic patients, and aging. In this review, we focus on the important aspects of mitochondrial dysfunction in energy metabolism…

• COVID-19 disease and malignant cancers: The impact for the furin gene expression in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 - Furin is a proprotein convertase that activates different kinds of regulatory proteins, including SARS-CoV-2 spike protein which contains an additional furin-specific cleavage site. It is essential in predicting cancer patients’ susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and the disease outcomes due to varying furin expressions in tumor tissues. In this study, we analyzed furin’s expression, methylation, mutation rate, functional enrichment, survival rate and COVID-19 outcomes in normal and cancer tissues…

• Receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein efficiently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection and attachment to mouse lung - COVID-19, caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, poses a serious global threat. It was first reported in 2019 in China and has now dramatically spread across the world. It is crucial to develop therapeutics to mitigate severe disease and viral spread. The receptor-binding domains (RBDs) in the spike protein of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV have shown anti- viral activity in previous reports suggesting that this domain has high potential for development as therapeutics. To evaluate the potential…

• Identification of novel TMPRSS2 inhibitors for COVID-19 using e-pharmacophore modelling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics studies - SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly around the world and continues to have a massive global health effect, contributing to an infectious respiratory illness called coronavirus infection-19 (COVID-19). TMPRSS2 is an emerging molecular target that plays a role in the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection; hence, inhibiting its activity might be a target for COVID-19. This study aims to use many computational approaches to provide compounds that could be optimized into clinical…

• Transparent Air Filters with Active Thermal Sterilization - The worldwide proliferation of COVID-19 poses the urgent need for sterilizable and transparent air filters to inhibit virus transmission while retaining ease of communication. Here, we introduce copper nanowires to fabricate transparent and self-sterilizable air filters. Copper nanowire air filter (CNAF) allowed visible light penetration, thereby can exhibit facial expressions, helpful for better communication. CNAF effectively captured particulate matter (PM) by mechanical and electrostatic…

• Engineering Extracellular Vesicles Enriched with Palmitoylated ACE2 as COVID-19 Therapy - Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a key receptor present on cell surfaces that directly interacts with the viral spike (S) protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is proposed that inhibiting this interaction can be promising in treating COVID-19. Here, the presence of ACE2 in extracellular vesicles (EVs) is reported and the EV-ACE2 levels are determined by protein palmitoylation. The Cys141 and Cys498 residues on ACE2 are S-palmitoylated by zinc…

• Current treatment strategies for COVID-19 (Review) - The spread of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) emerged suddenly at the end of 2019 and the disease came to be known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19). To date, there is no specific therapy established to treat COVID‑19. Identifying effective treatments is urgently required to treat patients and stop the transmission of SARS‑CoV‑2 in humans. For the present review, >100 publications on therapeutic agents for COVID‑19, including in vitro and in vivo…

• Niclosamide for Covid-19: bridging the gap - CONCLUSIONS: NCL has anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory effects by modulating the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inhibition of NF-κB /NLRP3 inflammasome and mTOR signaling pathway. NCL has an anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect via interruption of viral life-cycle and/or induction of cytopathic effect. Prospective clinical studies and clinical trials are mandatory to confirm the potential role of NCL in patients with Covid-19 concerning the severity and clinical outcomes.

• A review on protective roles and potential mechanisms of metformin in diabetic patients diagnosed with COVID-19 - The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is currently the leading threat to public health and a huge challenge to the healthcare systems across the globe and caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Obesity, a state of chronic inflammation, and diabetes mellitus are risk factors for severe SARS-CoV-2. Metformin is one of the most commonly used antidiabetic medications that displayed immunomodulatory activity through AMP-activated protein kinase. Metformin has…

• SARS-CoV-2 promotes RIPK1 activation to facilitate viral propagation - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the ongoing global pandemic that poses substantial challenges to public health worldwide. A subset of COVID-19 patients experience systemic inflammatory response, known as cytokine storm, which may lead to death. Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) is an important mediator of inflammation and cell death. Here, we examined the interaction of RIPK1-mediated…

• Visible blue light inhibits infection and replication of SARS-CoV-2 at doses that are well-tolerated by human respiratory tissue - The delivery of safe, visible wavelengths of light can be an effective, pathogen-agnostic, countermeasure that would expand the current portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 intervention strategies beyond the conventional approaches of vaccine, antibody, and antiviral therapeutics. Employing custom biological light units, that incorporate optically engineered light-emitting diode (LED) arrays, we harnessed monochromatic wavelengths of light for uniform delivery across biological surfaces. We demonstrated that…

• Preclinical characterization of an intravenous coronavirus 3CL protease inhibitor for the potential treatment of COVID19 - COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has become a global pandemic. 3CL protease is a virally encoded protein that is essential across a broad spectrum of coronaviruses with no close human analogs. PF-00835231, a 3CL protease inhibitor, has exhibited potent in vitro antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 as a single agent. Here we report, the design and characterization of a phosphate prodrug PF-07304814 to enable the delivery and projected sustained systemic exposure in human of PF-00835231 to…

• Proton-pump inhibitor use is not associated with severe COVID-19-related outcomes: a propensity score-weighted analysis of a national veteran cohort - No abstract

From Patent Search

• 휴대용 자화 육각수물 발생기 - 본인의 발명은, 사람의 신체에서 육각수물 생성에는 한계가 있으며, 동맥혈관, 정맥혈관 내부 혈액은 수분이 약 90% 이며, 건강한 성인이면, 육각수 물은 약 62% 이며, COVID-19 환자, 사고의 부상, 17만개의 질병, 질환으로 조직세포가 손상되면 자기 신체수복을 위해서 육각수 물을 평소보다 많이 흡수 하면서 동반 산소부족 상태가 되며, 육각수물 보충 없이 산소 호흡기를 사용하면 심각한 후유증이 발병 할 수 있다.

육각수물 부족 상태를 해결하기 위해서, 객관적인 과학적으로 네오디뮴(원자번호 = 60) 3.000 가우스의 자기장을 이용하여서 육각수 물을 62% ~ 80% 이상, 상시 유지 시켜주는 제조 방법이며, 휴대용으로 항시 착용 가능하다. 결론은 COVID-19, 질병, 질환의 근본적인 원인은, 육각수물 부족 상태가 되면 동반 산소 부족 상태가 되면서, 염증 -> 통증 -> 극심한 통증 -> 석회화, 섬유화, 암 까지 발병 한다. - link

• 휴대용 자화 육각수물 발생기 - 본인의 발명은, 사람의 신체에서 육각수 생성에는 한계가 있으며, 동맥혈관, 정맥혈관 내부 혈액은 수분이 90% 이며, 육각수물은 약 62% 이며, COVID-19, 사고 부상, 질병, 질환으로 조직세포가 손상되면 자기 신체수복을 위해서 육각수물을 평소보다 많이 흡수하면서 산소부족 상태가 되며, 육각수 보충 없이 산소호흡기를 사용하면 심각한 후유증이 발병 할 수 있다 육각수물 부족 상태를 해결하기 위해서, 객관적인 과학적으로 네오디뮴(원자번호 = 60) 3.000 가우스의 자기장을 이용하여서 육각수물을 62% ~ 80% 상시 유지 시켜주는 제조 방법이며, 휴대용으로 항시 착용 가능하다. 결론은 COVID-19, 질병, 질환의 근본적인 원인은, 육각수물 부족 상태가 되면 동반 산소 부족 상태가 되면서, 염증 -> 통증 -> 극심한 통증 -> 석회화, 섬유화, 암 까지 발병 한다. - link

• 用于检测新冠病毒的配对抗体及其应用 - 本发明涉及一种用于检测新冠病毒的配对抗体及其应用，其包括第一检测抗体和第二检测抗体；第一检测抗体具有如SEQ ID NO:1~3所示的轻链互补决定区，以及如SEQ ID NO:4~6所示的重链互补决定区，第二检测抗体具有如SEQ ID NO:7~9所示的轻链互补决定区，以及如SEQ ID NO:10~12所示的重链互补决定区。本发明筛选得到具有上述互补决定区序列的配对抗体，其识别N蛋白的不同表位，且由于两种抗体识别的是N蛋白非核酸结合区域，不会受核酸负电荷干扰，对核酸抗原表现出了兼容性，具有较好的稳定性，同时上述配对抗体具有较高的亲和力，病毒N蛋白检测灵敏度高。 - link

• 抗KL-6双特异性抗体及基因、重组载体、药物、试剂盒 - 本发明公开了抗KL‑6双特异性抗体或其变体、或其功能性片段，所述抗KL‑6双特异性抗体或其变体、或其功能性片段包括抗PTS域和抗SEA域，所述抗PTS域的重链可变区的CDR1、CDR2和CDR3分别具有SEQ ID NO.1~3所示的氨基酸序列。本发明还提供了基因、重组载体、药物、试剂盒。本发明的抗KL‑6双特异性抗体或其变体、或其功能性片段用于与KL‑6蛋白特异性结合，基因、重组载体用于抗KL‑6双特异性抗体的制备，药物用于治疗KL‑6蛋白引起的相关疾病，试剂盒用于KL‑6蛋白的定量检测。 - link

• 基于决策树模型与逻辑回归模型组合的感染筛查方法 - 本发明公开了一种基于决策树模型与逻辑回归模型组合的感染筛查方法，其检测操作方便，可提高感染筛查准确性，该方法基于生命体征监护仪实现，生命体征监护仪与远程数据服务平台通信连接，远程数据服务平台依据临床数据进行感染筛查，该方法包括：通过生命体征监护仪检测获取用户临床数据，将临床数据随机划分为训练集、测试集，将训练集均分为两份：训练集A、训练集B，基于训练集A构建决策树模型，同时，对训练集A进行特征选择，将关键特征向量作为已构建的决策树模型的输入，获取新构造特征向量，基于组合特征向量，构造逻辑回归模型，基于决策树模型和逻辑回归模型组合，对测试集进行预测分类，获取分类结果。 - link

• 病毒中和抗体与非中和抗体联合检测方法、检测卡及应用 - 一种病毒中和抗体与非中和抗体联合检测方法、检测卡及其应用，通过病毒受体结合蛋白夹心法原理检测中和抗体，其为通过提前设置病毒受体结合蛋白和能阻断中和抗体与其结合的作为配体的蛋白所形成的复合物，将靶向受体蛋白的非中和抗体提前捕获，保证后续通过夹心法检测中和抗体的特异性。解决了现有技术中中和抗体检测灵敏度低、特异性差以及不能区分中和抗体与非中和抗体的问题，提供了一种简便、快速、灵敏度高、特异性高的病毒中和抗体与非中和抗体联合检测方法、检测卡及其应用。 - link

• 广谱抗冠状病毒和流感病毒及口腔致病菌复合IgY及其制剂 - 本发明提供一种广谱抗冠状病毒IgY和广谱抗流感病毒IgY以及抗口腔致病菌IgY及其组合抗体和制剂。本发明提供制备广谱抗冠状病毒IgY和广谱抗流感病毒IgY以及抗口腔致病菌IgY及其组合抗体和制剂的方法。广谱抗冠状病毒IgY和广谱抗流感病毒IgY可结合保守的抗原表位，达到广谱中和效果，解决新冠病毒和流感病毒变异的问题。本发明将广谱抗新冠病毒IgY和广谱抗流感病毒IgY以及抗口腔致病菌IgY及其组合抗体制成系列制剂，包括牙膏和口含片以及潄口水和其它日用品、口鼻喷雾剂、消毒剂、洗手液、粉剂、片剂、糖果、滴鼻剂、滴眼剂、口服剂、胶囊剂，应用于防治新冠和流感以及口腔疾病的药物、消毒产品、保健品和医疗器械中。 - link

• 스몰 RNA 검출 방법 - 본 발명은 스몰(small) RNA의 분석 및 검출 방법에 관한 것이다. 특히, 본 발명은 짧은 염기서열의 RNA까지 분석이 가능하면서도 높은 민감도 및 정확도로 정량적 검출까지 가능하여 감염증, 암 등 여러 질환의 진단 용도로도 널리 활용될 수 있다. - link

• SARS-CoV2潜在突变位点的筛选方法及其应用 - 本发明涉及生物信息学和生物医药技术领域，尤其是SARS‑CoV2潜在突变位点的筛选方法，包括：1）下载得到SARS‑CoV2的基因序列，对下载的序列进行快速注释文件和序列比对，从全基因组序列中提取出所有编码基因的序列；2）计算出每个位点的突变频率，筛选出高频率的突变热点，再结合毒株的采样时间和地理分布信息，筛选出在种群中具有显著选择优势的突变位点；3）下载已有的编码基因对应蛋白质的三级结构信息；4）根据预测的B细胞和T细胞表位，筛选位于免疫表位上或其附近的突变位点，评估其对宿主免疫反应的可能影响，鉴定出SARS‑CoV‑2在流行传播中基因组上潜在的可能和病毒感染及宿主适应相关的关键变异位点。 - link

• 健康智能检测方法、装置、电子设备及可读存储介质 - 本申请公开了一种健康智能检测方法、装置、电子设备及可读存储介质，其方法包括获取音频信号，并对所述音频信号进行预处理，得到检测信号；将所述检测信号转化为矩阵数字矩阵；将得到的矩阵数字矩阵作为检测样本，输入健康智能检测模型中，以获取检测结果；其中，所述健康智能检测模型是采用迁移学习和卷积神经网络对训练样本进行训练得到的。本申请由于卷积神经网络各组件或部分组件基于迁移学习进行了重新训练，显著提升了对人们健康检测的准确度；且本申请中的健康智能检测模型为分类模型，计算量小，可将其部署于人们的移动终端中，使用方便，极大程度上提升了用户的使用感受。 - link