Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
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From Preprints

• Prioritization preferences for COVID-19 vaccination are consistent across five countries -
  Vaccination against COVID-19 is making progress globally, but vaccine doses remain a rare commodity in many parts of the world. Policymakers have defined criteria to regulate who gets priority access to the vaccination, such as age, health complications, or those who hold system-relevant jobs. We explore public preferences about vaccine allocation using a survey that was fielded in five countries from September to December 2020 (Brazil, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United States). We measure preferences using ranking and forced-choice tasks. We find that the public agrees with expert guidelines in giving priority to healthcare workers and people with medical preconditions. However, they also consider those signing up early for vaccination and citizens of the country to be more deserving of priority access to vaccination than later-comers and non-citizens. These results hold across measures, countries, and sociodemographic subgroups.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Prioritization preferences for COVID-19 vaccination are consistent across five countries
• (PREPRINT PAPER) A Moderated Mediation Model of Self-Construal, Social Trust, and Compliance on Covid-19 Public Health Regulation: A Cross-country Analysis -
  To address the global Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world require on the collective cooperation of their citizens to comply with public health regulation. Earlier studies examined the extent to which self-construal has an impact on individual compliance to law. However, existing literature has paid little significant attention to behavioural outcome of self-construal in the pandemic context across countries and cultures. The aim of this study was;

1. to determine whether interdependent self-construal predicts compliance of Covid-19 public health regulation, 2) to examine if the association was mediated by individual social trust, and 3) to test whether these associations were moderated by respondent’s country of residence (US x Indonesia). General adult respondents from US (N=231) and Indonesia (N=440) were voluntary participated in a survey measuring their trust to the government, interdependent self-construal orientation and compliance toward Covid-19 public health regulation. While our moderated mediation model involving respondent’s country residence did not support the hypothesis, the mediation analysis demonstrated significant association between interdependent self-construal and compliance via social trust. Our additional simple moderation analysis on direct effect of interdependent self-construal and compliance showed significant findings. Further, theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed in the following paper.
   🖺 Full Text HTML: (PREPRINT PAPER) A Moderated Mediation Model of Self-Construal, Social Trust, and Compliance on Covid-19 Public Health Regulation: A Cross-country Analysis

• ‘Feeling Fat’ Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining the Role of Emotion Dysregulation in the Body Displacement Hypothesis -
  ‘Feeling fat,’ the somatic experience of being overweight not entirely explained by objective weight, may occur due to the projection of negative affect onto the body. Individuals may manage ‘feeling fat’ via eating pathology (e.g., binge eating or dietary restriction) rather than address the source of negative affect. Thus, ‘feeling fat’ may occur in the absence of adaptive emotion regulation strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative affect widely and may potentially contribute to the experience of ‘feeling fat’ and eating pathology among individuals with emotion dysregulation. This study examined whether emotion dysregulation moderates ‘feeling fat’s role as a mechanism underlying the relationship between COVID-19-related distress and eating pathology. This uniqueness of this model to eating pathology was investigated by comparing effects for binge eating and dietary restriction versus anxiety, depression, and problematic alcohol use. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze questionnaire data from 877 participants (77.3% women). ‘Feeling fat’ explained significant variance in the relationship between COVID-19-related distress and both binge eating and restriction. Emotion dysregulation moderated the strength of these relationships. However, ‘feeling fat’s role in the relationship between pandemic-related distress and negative psychological outcomes was not unique to eating pathology and did not vary based upon emotion dysregulation. Individuals with elevated emotion dysregulation are more likely to report eating pathology, but not other outcomes, when experiencing increased ‘feeling fat’. In contrast, ‘feeling fat’ underlies the relationship between COVID-19-related distress and transdiagnostic psychological outcomes, meaning ‘feeling fat’ should be considered a risk for psychopathology beyond eating disorders.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: ‘Feeling Fat’ Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining the Role of Emotion Dysregulation in the Body Displacement Hypothesis
• Risk perception and behaviour change after personal vaccination for COVID-19 in the USA -
  Although vaccines are crucial for giving pandemic-stricken societies the confidence to return to socioeconomic normalcy, vaccination may also induce laxity in personal protective behaviours (e.g., handwashing, facemask use). We use the quasi-experimental context of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout across the United States to quantify the impact of different stages of personal vaccination on people’s risk perceptions, daily activities, and risk mitigation behaviours, which we measure in a three-wave national panel study (N wave-1 = 7,358, N wave-2 = 3,000, N wave-3 = 2,345) from March to June, 2021, and validate using vaccination, infection, and human mobility data. Socializing rebounded after only partial vaccination. After full vaccination, communal activities recovered; however, the propensity for protective behaviours declined. The effects were heterogenous depending on vaccination level, demographics, and infection history. We further use a utility theory framework to model risk-value trade-offs and risk-construction for different behaviours.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Risk perception and behaviour change after personal vaccination for COVID-19 in the USA
• Humoral and cellular immune memory to four COVID-19 vaccines -
  Multiple COVID-19 vaccines, representing diverse vaccine platforms, successfully protect against symptomatic COVID-19 cases and deaths. Head-to-head comparisons of T cell, B cell, and antibody responses to diverse vaccines in humans are likely to be informative for understanding protective immunity against COVID-19, with particular interest in immune memory. Here, SARS-CoV-2-spike-specific immune responses to Moderna mRNA-1273, Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2, Janssen Ad26.COV2.S and Novavax NVX-CoV2373 were examined longitudinally for 6 months. 100% of individuals made memory CD4+ T cells, with cTfh and CD4-CTL highly represented after mRNA or NVX-CoV2373 vaccination. mRNA vaccines and Ad26.COV2.S induced comparable CD8+ T cell frequencies, though memory CD8+ T cells were only detectable in 60-67% of subjects at 6 months. Ad26.COV2.S was not the strongest immunogen by any measurement, though the Ad26.COV2.S T cell, B cell, and antibody responses were relatively stable over 6 months. A differentiating feature of Ad26.COV2.S immunization was a high frequency of CXCR3+ memory B cells. mRNA vaccinees had substantial declines in neutralizing antibodies, while memory T cells and B cells were comparatively stable over 6 months. These results of these detailed immunological evaluations may also be relevant for vaccine design insights against other pathogens.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Humoral and cellular immune memory to four COVID-19 vaccines
• Identification of a Novel SARS-CoV-2 Delta-Omicron Recombinant Virus in the United States -
  Recombination between SARS-CoV-2 virus variants can result in different viral properties (e.g., infectiousness or pathogenicity). In this report, we describe viruses with recombinant genomes containing signature mutations from Delta and Omicron variants. These genomes are the first evidence for a Delta-Omicron hybrid Spike protein in the United States.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Identification of a Novel SARS-CoV-2 Delta-Omicron Recombinant Virus in the United States
• More severe pneumonitis in children predicts the need for admission and elevation of some but not all markers of severe Covid-19. -

  Unlike most other viral pneumonitis, SARS-CoV-2 often causes hyperferritinemia, elevations in D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), transaminases, troponin, CRP, and other inflammatory markers. We questioned (1) if the severity of pneumonitis observed on lung ultrasound was associated with hospitalization and (2) could lung ultrasound be used to stratify which children needed blood tests? Methods We did a retrospective cross-sectional review of children aged between 14 days and 21 years of age being evaluated for Covid-19 in our pediatric emergency department from 30/November/2019 to 14/August/2021 who had had a point-of-care lung ultrasound. Lung ultrasounds were categorized using a 6-point ordinal scale. We used logistic regression to estimate the adjusted effect of lung ultrasound on hospital admission. We performed ordinary least square regression for the association between lung ultrasound severity and laboratory abnormalities. We adjusted these using propensity score derived inverse probability weighting to account for the non-random decision to obtain laboratory investigations. Results We identified 500 point-of-care lung ultrasounds of which 427 could be assigned a severity category. Increasing lung ultrasound severity was associated with increased hospital admission OR 1.36( 95% CI 1.08, 1.72.) Ferritin, LDH, transaminases, and D-dimer, but not CRP or troponin were significantly associated with more than moderately severe lung ultrasounds. D-Dimer, CRP, and troponin were sometimes elevated even when lung ultrasound was normal. Conclusion Severity of pneumonitis was associated with hospital admission. Ferritin, LDH, transaminases, and D-dimer were increased in more than moderately severe pneumonitis but lung ultrasound did not predict elevation of other markers.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: More severe pneumonitis in children predicts the need for admission and elevation of some but not all markers of severe Covid-19.
• Evaluation of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test in subjects infected with Omicron using different specimens -

  Community testing is a crucial tool for the early identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission control. The emergence of the highly mutated Omicron variant (B.1.1.259) raised concerns about its primary site of replication, impacting sample collection, and its detectability by rapid antigens tests. We tested the Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test (Ag-RDT) performance using nasal, oral, and saliva specimens for COVID-19 diagnosis in 192 symptomatic individuals, using RT-qPCR from nasopharyngeal samples as control. Variant of Concern (VOC) investigation was determined by the 4Plex SARS-CoV-2 screening kit. SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate was 66.2%, with 99% of the positive samples showing an amplification profile consistent with that of the Omicron variant. Nasal Ag-RDT showed higher sensitivity (89%) than oral (12.6%) and saliva (22.1%) Ag-RDTs. Our data showed the good performance of the Ag-RDT in a pandemic scenario dominated by the Omicron VOC. Furthermore, our data also demonstrated that nasal specimens perform better than oral and saliva ones for Omicron Ag-RDT detection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Evaluation of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test in subjects infected with Omicron using different specimens
• Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Seychelles, 2020-2021 -

  By 31st December 2021, Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, had confirmed 24,788 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first SARS-CoV-2 cases in Seychelles were reported on 14th March 2020, but cases remained low until January 2021, when a surge of SARS-CoV-2 cases was observed on the islands. Here, we investigated the potential drivers of the surge by genomic analysis 1,056 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected in Seychelles between 14th March 2020 and 31st December 2021. The Seychelles genomes were classified into 32 Pango lineages, 1,042 of which fell within four variants of concern i.e., Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omicron. Sporadic of SARS-CoV-2 detected in Seychelles in 2020 were mainly of lineage B.1 (Europe origin) but this lineage was rapidly replaced by Beta variant starting January 2021, and which was also subsequently replaced by the Delta variant in May 2021 that dominated till November 2021 when Omicron cases were identified. Using ancestral state reconstruction approach, we estimated at least 78 independent SARS-CoV-2 introduction events into Seychelles during the study period. Majority of viral introductions into Seychelles occurred in 2021, despite substantial COVID-19 restrictions in place during this period. We conclude that the surge of SARS-CoV-2 cases in Seychelles in January 2021 was primarily due to introduction of the more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants into the islands.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Seychelles, 2020-2021
• Use of an extended KDIGO definition to diagnose acute kidney injury in patients with COVID-19: A multinational study of the ISARIC cohort -

  Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common and significant problems in patients with COVID-19. However, little is known about the incidence and impact of AKI occurring in the community or early in the hospital admission. The traditional KDIGO definition can fail to identify patients for whom hospitalization coincides with recovery of AKI as manifested by a decrease in serum creatinine (sCr). We hypothesized that an extended KDIGO definition, adapted from the International Society of Nephrology 0by25 studies, would identify more cases of AKI in patients with COVID-19 and that these may correspond to community-acquired AKI with similarly poor outcomes as previously reported in this population.   Methods and Findings: All individuals in the ISARIC cohort admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection from February 15th, 2020, to February 1st, 2021, were included in the study. Data was collected and analysed for the duration of a patient’s admission. Incidence, staging and timing of AKI were evaluated using a traditional and extended KDIGO (eKDIGO) definition which incorporated a commensurate decrease in serum creatinine. Patients within eKDIGO diagnosed with AKI by a decrease in sCr were labelled as deKDIGO. Clinical characteristic and outcomes – intensive care unit (ICU) admission, invasive mechanical ventilation and in-hospital death

• were compared for all three groups of patients. The relationship between eKDIGO AKI and in-hospital death was assessed using survival curves and logistic regression, adjusting for disease severity and AKI susceptibility. 75,670 patients from 54 countries were included in the final analysis cohort. Median length of admission was 12 days (IQR 7, 20). There were twice as many patients with AKI identified by eKDIGO than KDIGO (31.7 vs 16.8%). Those in the eKDIGO group had a greater proportion of stage 1 AKI (58% vs 36% in KDIGO patients). Peak AKI occurred early in the admission more frequently among eKDIGO than KDIGO patients. Compared to those without AKI, patients in the eKDIGO group had worse renal function on admission, more in-hospital complications, higher rates of ICU admission (54% vs 23%) invasive ventilation (45% vs 15%) and increased mortality (38% vs 19%). Patients in the eKDIGO group had a higher risk of in- hospital death than those without AKI (adjusted OR: 1.78, 95% confidence interval: 1.71-1.8, p-value < 0.001).  Mortality and rate of ICU admission were lower among deKDIGO than KDIGO patients (25% vs 50% death and 35% vs 70% ICU admission) but significantly higher when compared to patients with no AKI (25% vs 19% death and 35% vs 23% ICU admission) (all p values < 5x10-5). Limitations include ad hoc sCr sampling, exclusion of patients with less than two sCr measurements, and limited availability of sCr measurements prior to initiation of acute dialysis.   Conclusions: The use of an extended KDIGO definition to diagnose AKI in this population resulted in a significantly higher incidence rate compared to traditional KDIGO criteria. These additional cases of AKI appear to be occurring in the community or early in the hospital admission and are associated with worse outcomes than those without AKI.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Use of an extended KDIGO definition to diagnose acute kidney injury in patients with COVID-19: A multinational study of the ISARIC cohort
• A 16-Month Longitudinal Investigation of Risk and Protective Factors for Mental Health Outcomes Throughout Three National Lockdowns and a Mass Vaccination Campaign: Evidence from a Weighted Israeli Sample During COVID-19 -

  Background. The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing global crisis, with a multitude of factors that affect mental health worldwide. Here, we explore potential predictors for the emergence and maintenance of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the general population in Israel. Methods. Across the span of 16 months, 2,478 people completed a repeated self-report survey which inquired psychiatric symptoms and pandemic related stress factors (PRSF). PRSF were divided into four clusters of environmental stressors: financial, health-related, fatigue and sense of protection by authorities. We applied mixed-effects linear models to assess how each stressor contributes to depression, anxiety and PTSS at each time point, alongside a longitudinal exploration among participants who completed at least two consecutive surveys (n=400). Results. Fatigue was the strongest predictor for depression, anxiety and PTSS at all time points (standardized β between 0.28-0.60, p<.0001), and predicted deterioration overtime (β between 0.22-0.36, p<.0001). Financial concerns associated with depression and anxiety at all time points (β between 0.13-0.26, p<.01), and with their deterioration overtime (β between 0.16-0.18, p<.0001), while health related concerns were uniquely associated with anxiety and PTSS at all time points (β between 0.14-0.29, p<.01) and their deterioration (β between 0.11-0.16, p<.001), but not with depression. Improvement in sense of protection overtime associated with decrease in depression and anxiety (β between -0.09 to -0.16, p<.01). Conclusions. Our findings accentuate the multitude of risk factors for psychiatric morbidity during COVID-19, and the dynamics in their association with different aspects of psychopathology at various time points.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: A 16-Month Longitudinal Investigation of Risk and Protective Factors for Mental Health Outcomes Throughout Three National Lockdowns and a Mass Vaccination Campaign: Evidence from a Weighted Israeli Sample During COVID-19
• The outcome of Gynecologic Cancer Patients With The Covid-19 Infection: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis -

  Objective: Cancer is comorbidity, which can lead to progressive worsening of Covid-19 with increased mortality. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis to get evidence of adverse outcomes of Covid-19 in gynecologic cancer. Methods: Searches through PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and medRxiv to find articles on the outcome of gynecologic cancer with Covid-19 (24 July 2021-19 February 2022). Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool used to evaluate the quality of included studies. Pooled odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI), random-effects model were presented. This study registered to PROSPERO (CRD42021256557). Results: We accepted 49 studies with (1994 gynecologic cancer with Covid-19). Covid-19 infection was lower in gynecologic cancer vs hematologic cancer (OR 0.71, CI 0.56-0.89, p 0.003). Severe Covid and death were lower in gynecologic cancer vs lung and hematologic cancer (OR 0.36, CI 0.16-0.80, p 0.01), (OR 0.26, CI 0.10-0.67 p 0.005), (OR 0.52, CI 0.43-0.63, p <0.0001), (OR 0.65, CI 0.49-0.87, p 0.003) respectively. Increased Covid death is seen in gynecologic cancer vs breast, non-covid cancer, and non cancer covid (OR 1.51, CI 1.20-1.90, p 0.0004), (OR 12.21, CI 8.39- 17.77, p <0.0001), (OR 3.06, CI 2.32-4.04, p <0.0001) respectively. Conclusion: Gynecologic cancer had increased Covid-19 adverse outcomes compared to non-cancer, breast cancer, non- metastatic, and Covid-19 negative population. Gynecologic cancer had lowered Covid-19 adverse outcomes compared to other cancer types, lung cancer, and hematologic cancer. Lack of age and comorbidities stratification due to limited data were limitations. These findings may aid health policies and services during the ongoing global pandemic.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The outcome of Gynecologic Cancer Patients With The Covid-19 Infection: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis
• Robust and durable prophylactic protection conferred by RNA interference in preclinical models of SARS-CoV-2 -
  RNA interference is a natural antiviral mechanism that could be harnessed to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection by targeting and destroying the viral genome. We screened lipophilic small-interfering RNA (siRNA) conjugates targeting highly conserved regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and identified leads targeting outside of the spike-encoding region capable of achieving [≥]3-log viral reduction. Serial passaging studies demonstrated that a two-siRNA combination prevented development of resistance compared to a single-siRNA approach. A two-siRNA combination delivered intranasally protected Syrian hamsters from weight loss and lung pathology by viral infection upon prophylactic administration but not following onset of infection. Together, the data support potential utility of RNAi as a prophylactic approach to limit SARS-CoV-2 infection that may help combat emergent variants, complement existing interventions, or protect populations where vaccines are less effective. Most importantly, this strategy has implications for developing medicines that may be valuable in protecting against future coronavirus pandemics.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Robust and durable prophylactic protection conferred by RNA interference in preclinical models of SARS-CoV-2
• Stability and expression of SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein mutations -
  Protein fold stability likely plays a role in SARS-CoV-2 S-protein evolution, together with ACE2 binding and antibody evasion. While few thermodynamic stability data are available for S-protein mutants, many systematic experimental data exist for their expression. In this paper, we explore whether such expression levels relate to the thermodynamic stability of the mutants. We studied mutation-induced SARS-CoV-2 S-protein fold stability, as computed by three very distinct methods and eight different protein structures to account for method- and structure-dependencies. For all methods and structures used (24 comparisons), computed stability changes correlate significantly (99% confidence level) with experimental yeast expression from the literature, such that higher expression is associated with relatively higher fold stability. Also significant, albeit weaker, correlations were seen for ACE2 binding. The effect of thermodynamic fold stability may be direct or a correlate of amino acid or site properties, notably the solvent exposure of the site. Correlation between computed stability and experimental expression and ACE2 binding suggests that functional properties of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein mutant space are largely determined by a few simple features, due to underlying correlations. Our study lends promise to the development of computational tools that may ideally aid in understanding and predicting SARS-CoV-2 S-protein evolution.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Stability and expression of SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein mutations
• 15-month follow-up of anti-spike receptor binding domain (RBD) SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthcare workers in Boston, MA -

  Over 15-months we found that anti-spike RBD SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentrations follow different trends with combinations and permutations of COVID-19 infection and vaccination among healthcare workers in Boston, MA. A majority of HCWs remain well above the positivity threshold for anti-spike RBD IgG antibodies for at least 9 months following vaccination regardless of infection history. Of interest, those with COVID-19 infection before vaccination had significantly higher median serum antibody concentrations in comparison to HCWs with no prior infection at each follow- up timepoint. These findings further support what is known regarding the decline in serum antibody concentrations following natural infection and vaccination, adding knowledge of serum antibodies up to 15 months post infection and 11 months post vaccination.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: 15-month follow-up of anti-spike receptor binding domain (RBD) SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthcare workers in Boston, MA

From Clinical Trials

• Effect of Bronchipret on Antiviral Immune Response in Patients With Mild COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: Bronchipret
  Sponsors:   Dr. Frank Behrens;   Bionorica SE
  Recruiting

• Evaluating Public Health Interventions to Improve COVID-19 Testing Among Underserved Populations - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Public Health Intervention Package
  Sponsors:   Kathleen Fairfield;   MaineHealth
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Serologic Strategies for Skilled Nursing Facilities - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: Cohorting
  Sponsors:   NYU Langone Health;   Brown University;   National Institute on Aging (NIA)
  Recruiting

• Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine Betuvax-CoV-2 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Betuvax-CoV-2;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Human Stem Cell Institute, Russia;   Betuvax LLC;   CEG BIO LLC
  Active, not recruiting

• COVID-19 Volumetric Quantification on Computer Tomography Using Computer Aided Diagnostics - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: CAD analysis
  Sponsors:  
  Bogdan Bercean;   Pius Brinzeu Timisoara County Emergency Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Impacts of COVID-19 on Young Adults - Condition:   Post COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: Evaluation of Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Impacts of COVID-19 on Young Adults
  Sponsor:   Istanbul Arel University
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape Trial (COVAIL Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: mRNA-1273;   Biological: mRNA-1273.351;   Other: Sodium Chloride, 0.9%
  Sponsor:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
  Not yet recruiting

• Early High-Titre Convalescent Plasma in Clinically Vulnerable Individuals With Mild COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: COVID-19 convalescent and vaccinated plasma;   Other: Current standard of care
  Sponsors:   Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besancon;   Deutsches Rotes Kreuz DRK-Blutspendedienst Baden-Wurttemberg-Hessen;   NHS Blood and Transplant
  Not yet recruiting

• Efficacy of TCM Capsules Lian Hua Qing Wen Jiao Nang in Mild COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Other: TCM intervention;   Other: Placebo intervention
  Sponsor:   Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution
  Not yet recruiting

• Trial to Study the Efficacy and Safety of BEJO Red Ginger in COVID-19 Patients With Mild Symptoms - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: BEJO Red Ginger Extract;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Research Center for Chemistry, National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia;   National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia;   RSDC Wisma Atlet;   PT. Bintang Toedjoe
  Recruiting

• Safety and Pharmacokinetics of FBR-002 for the Treatment of Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in Need of Supplemental Oxygen and at Risk of Severe Outcome - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: FBR-002;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:  
  Fab’entech
  Not yet recruiting

• A Community-based Study of Spikogen®, a Protein-subunit Covid-19 Vaccine - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: Advax-CpG55.2 adjuvanted recombinant spike protein
  Sponsors:   Professor Nikolai Petrovsky;   Australian Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Institute;   Tasmanian Eye Institute
  Not yet recruiting

• **Safety and Immune Response of Adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Beta Variant RBD Recombinant Protein (DoCo-Pro-RBD-1

• MF59®) and mRNA (MIPSCo-mRNA-RBD-1) Vaccines in Healthy Adults** - Condition:   SARS-CoV-2
  Interventions:   Biological: Adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 beta variant RBD recombinant protein vaccine (DoCo-Pro-RBD-1 + MF59);   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 beta variant RBD mRNA vaccine;   Other: Normal Saline
  Sponsors:   University of Melbourne;   Southern Star Research
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Hyper Coagulability Care by LLLT - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Radiation: Low level laser Therapy;   Other: Circulatory exercises
  Sponsor:   Cairo University
  Recruiting

• PROSPECTIVE OPEN LABEL CLINICAL TRIAL TO ADMINISTER A BOOSTER DOSE OF PFIZER/BIONTECH OR MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINE IN HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS - Conditions:   SARS CoV 2 Infection;   COVID-19
  Interventions:  
  Biological: Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2);   Biological: Moderna
  Sponsor:  
  DHR Health Institute for Research and Development
  Recruiting

From PubMed

• Molnupiravir: a lethal mutagenic drug against rapidly mutating SARS-CoV-2 - A narrative review - Broad-spectrum antiviral agents targeting viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) are expected to be a key therapeutic strategy in the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its future variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19. Molnupiravir is a nucleoside analog that in vivo experiments have been reported to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Clinical trials of molnupiravir as…

• Efficacy and Safety of Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine in Patients with Severe COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial - During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, unauthorized drugs were widely used. Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine are drugs that inhibit viral replication in vitro and that have been used in several medical centers. This clinical trial analyzes their efficacy in hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19. Methods: This a controlled, clinical, randomized, double-blind trial that included hospitalized patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia, without severe respiratory failure. Patients…

• Characterization, molecular modeling and pharmacology of some 2-hydroxychalcone derivatives as SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor - This work presented the microwave assisted synthesis of six new 2́-hydroxychalcones and their characterization based on FTIR, UV-Vis, ¹H-NMR, and mass spectral analysis. Quantum chemical studies confirmed the structures of prepared chalcones. Antioxidant, in vitro antimicrobial and in silico antiviral studies have been performed to evaluate their biological performance. Results of molecular docking of prepared 2́-hydroxychalcones against SARS-CoV-2 (7BQY) main protease disclosed their inhibition…

• 3D-printed graphene polylactic acid devices resistant to SARS-CoV-2: Sunlight-mediated sterilization of additive manufactured objects - Additive manufacturing has played a crucial role in the COVID-19 global emergency allowing for rapid production of medical devices, indispensable tools for hospitals, or personal protection equipment. However, medical devices, especially in nosocomial environments, represent high touch surfaces prone to viral infection and currently used filaments for 3D printing can’t inhibit transmission of virus [1]. Graphene-family materials are capable of reinforcing mechanical, optical and thermal…

• Parsing the role of NSP1 in SARS-CoV-2 infection - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the ongoing coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite its urgency, we still do not fully understand the molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and its ability to antagonize innate immune responses. SARS-CoV-2 leads to shutoff of cellular protein synthesis and over-expression of nsp1, a central shutoff factor in coronaviruses, inhibits cellular gene translation. However, the diverse molecular mechanisms…

• Discovery and functional interrogation of SARS-CoV-2 protein-RNA interactions - The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The betacoronvirus has a positive sense RNA genome which encodes for several RNA binding proteins. Here, we use enhanced crosslinking and immunoprecipitation to investigate SARS-CoV-2 protein interactions with viral and host RNAs in authentic virus-infected cells. SARS-CoV-2 proteins, NSP8, NSP12, and nucleocapsid display distinct preferences to specific regions in the RNA viral genome, providing…

• Accelerating PERx Reaction Enables Covalent Nanobodies for Potent Neutralization of SARS-Cov-2 and Variants - The long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic and increasing SARS-CoV-2 variants demand effective drugs for prophylactics and treatment. Protein-based biologics offer high specificity yet their noncovalent interactions often lead to drug dissociation and incomplete inhibition. Here we developed covalent nanobodies capable of binding with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein irreversibly via proximity-enabled reactive therapeutic (PERx) mechanism. A novel latent bioreactive amino acid FFY was designed and genetically…

• Allosteric binders of ACE2 are promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents - The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous health, economic, and social consequences. Vaccines have been successful in reducing rates of infection and hospitalization, but there is still a need for an acute treatment for the disease. We investigate whether compounds that bind the human ACE2 protein can interrupt SARS-CoV-2 replication without damaging ACE2’s natural enzymatic function. Initial compounds were screened for binding to ACE2 but little interruption of ACE2 enzymatic activity. This set…

• Targeting an evolutionarily conserved “E-L-L” motif in the spike protein to develop a small molecule fusion inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 - As newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to pose major threats to global human health and economy, identifying novel druggable antiviral targets is the key towards sustenance. Here, we identify an evolutionary conserved E-L-L motif present within the HR2 domain of all human and non-human coronavirus spike (S) proteins that play a crucial role in stabilizing the post-fusion six-helix bundle (6-HB) structure and thus, fusion-mediated viral entry. Mutations within this motif reduce the fusogenicity…

• Immunization with recombinant accessory protein-deficient SARS-CoV-2 protects against lethal challenge and viral transmission - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a worldwide Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite high efficacy of the authorized vaccines, protection against the surging variants of concern (VoC) was less robust. Live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) have been shown to elicit robust and long-term protection by induction of host innate and adaptive immune responses. We sought to develop a COVID-19 LAV by generating 3 double open reading frame (ORF)-deficient…

• Effect of insilico predicted and designed potential siRNAs on inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 in HEK-293 cells - CONCLUSION: The data generated from this study indicates the significance of in silico prediction and narrow down the potential siRNA’ against SARS-CoV-2, and molecular docking investigation offered the effective siRNAs binding with the target. Finally, it is concluded that the online bioinformatics approach provided the prediction and selection of siRNAs with better antiviral efficacy. The siRNA-3 was observed to be the best for reduction of viral RNA in cells.

• Incidence and risk factors for hyperkalaemia in patients treated for COVID-19 with nafamostat mesylate - WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Nafamostat mesylate (NM) is used clinically in combination with antiviral drugs to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19). One of the adverse events of NM is hyperkalaemia due to inhibition of the amiloride- sensitive sodium channels (ENaC). The incidence and risk factors for hyperkalaemia due to NM have been studied in patients with pancreatitis but not in COVID-19. COVID-19 can be associated with hypokalaemia or hyperkalaemia, and SARS- CoV-2 is thought to inhibit…

• Influence of psychiatric diseases and psychiatric medication to the severity of clinical outcome of COVID-19 - Initially, it had been assumed that in cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection comorbidity with psychiatric disorders worsens clinical outcomes. This was attributed to patients’ poor overall health conditions, concomitant illnesses and unhealthy lifestyles. However, only schizophrenia is in a statistically significant correlation with very serious conditions leading to death, possibly as a result of underlying immune dysfunctions. Clozapine (an antipsychotic used in therapy of treatment resistant…

• Reduced DMPC and PMPC in lung surfactant promote SARS-CoV-2 infection in obesity - CONCLUSIONS: The reduced DMPC and PMPC in lung surfactant may promote SARS-CoV-2 infection. Increasing DMPC and PMPC in lung surfactant could be an innovative strategy for preventing and treating severe COVID-19 disease in obesity.

• Specific Flavonoids and Their Biosynthetic Pathway in Scutellaria baicalensis - Scutellaria baicalensis, is one of the most traditional medicinal plants in the Lamiaceae family, and has been widely used to treat liver and lung complaints and as a complementary cancer treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. The preparation from its roots, called “Huang Qin,” is rich in specialized flavones such as baicalein, wogonin, and their glycosides which lack a 4’-hydroxyl group on the B ring (4’-deoxyflavones), with anti-tumor, antioxidant, and antiviral activities. Baicalein has…

From Patent Search

• MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE TO ANALYZE THE WORK PRESSURE OF PARAMEDICAL STAFF DURING COVID 19 - Machine learning technique to analyse the work pressure of paramedical staff during covid 19 is the proposed invention that focuses on identifying the stress levels of paramedical staff. The invention focuses on analysing the level of stress that is induced on the paramedical staff especially during pandemic. - link

• CBD Covid 19 Protection - - link

• METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPLEMENTING IMPROVED GENERALIZED FUZZY PEER GROUP WITH MODIFIED TRILATERAL FILTER TO REMOVE MIXED IMPULSE AND ADAPTIVE WHITE GAUSSIAN NOISE FROM COLOR IMAGES - ABSTRACTMETHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPLEMENTING IMPROVED GENERALIZED FUZZY PEER GROUP WITH MODIFIED TRILATERAL FILTER TO REMOVE MIXED IMPULSE AND ADAPTIVE WHITE GAUSSIAN NOISE FROM COLOR IMAGESThe present invention provides a new approach is proposed that includes fuzzy-based approach and similarity function for filtering the mixed noise. In a peer group, the similarity function was adaptive to edge information and local noise level, which was utilized for detecting the similarity among pixels. In addition, a new filtering method Modified Trilateral Filter (MTF) with Improved Generalized Fuzzy Peer Group (IGFPG) is proposed to remove mixed impulse and Adaptive White Gaussian Noise from Color Images. The modified trilateral filter includes Kikuchi algorithm and loopy belief propagation to solve the inference issues on the basis of passing local message. In this research work, the images were collected from KODAK dataset and a few real time multimedia images like Lena were also used for testing the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. - link

• A STUDY ON MENTAL HEALTH, STRESS AND ANXIETY AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS DURING COVID-19 - SARS-Cov-2 virus causes an infectious disease coronavirus(COVID-19).The Students life is made harder by COVID-19.The human reaction that happens normally to everyone through physical or emotional tension is stress. Feeling of angry, nervous and frustration caused through any thought or events leads to stress. As college closures and cancelled events, students are missing out on some of the biggest moments of their young lives as well as everyday moments like chatting with friend, participating in class and cultural programme. For students facing life changes due to the outbreak are feeling anxious, isolated and disappointed which lead them to feel all alone. We like to take the help of expert adolescent psychologist to find out the techniques to practice self-care and look after their mental health. We would like to find out whether techniques used reduce the anxiety and stress among Engineering Students. - link

• A METHOD FOR THE TREATMENT OF COVID-19 INFECTIONS WITH PALMITOYLETHANOLAMIDE - - link

• CONNECTING A TUTOR WITH A STUDENT - A system and a method for connecting a tutor with a student in real time. Initially, the system receives a student profile. Further, the system receives a question from the student. Furthermore, the system synthesizes the question based on a set of predefined machine learning model. Subsequently, the system determines a cohort of the students from the set of the cohort of the students. The cohort of the students is determined based on the one or more parameters related to the question. Further, the system identifies a tutor assigned to the cohort of the students. Subsequently, the system notifies the tutor in real time. Further, the system receives an acknowledgement from the tutor within a predefined time. Finally, the system connects the tutor with the student in real time when the acknowledgement is the positive acknowledgement. - link

• A CENTRAL TRANSACTION AUTHENTIC SYSTEM FOR OTP VERIFICATION - The present invention relates to a central transaction authentic system (100) for OTP verification. The system (100) comprises one or more user display units (102), one or more financial units (104), an account deposit unit (106), an OTP authentication unit (108) and a service server unit (110). The central transaction authentic system (100) for OTP verification work as Anti-money laundering measure. The system (100) also helpful for minimizing rate of cybercrime. The central transaction authentic system (100) for OTP verification that can neutralize digital financial fraud. The present invention provides a central transaction authentic system (100) for OTP verification that can monitor and analyze every transaction and customer interaction across its customer base for suspicious and potentially criminal activity. - link

• FORMULATIONS AND METHOD FOR PREPARATION OF HERBAL MEDICATED TRANSPARENT SOAP - ABSTRACTFORMULATIONS AND METHOD FOR PREPARATION OF HERBAL MEDICATED TRANSPARENT SOAPThe present invention provides formulations for herbal medicated transparent soaps and method of preparation of the same. Transparent soaps are prepared by saponification of mixture of non-edible oils to get the desired consistency and cleaning action. Nonvolatile alcohols and other transparency promoters are used to get good transparency and binding properties. Herbal extracts of different herbs are added to get medicated properties. - link

• POOL CAMPUS PLACEMENT INTERACTIVE APP FOR INDUSTRY ACADEMIA - In recent days students complete the studies through online and find difficult in getting placement. Since the COVID has stopped the Industries/Companies to conduct campus interview and direct recruitment throughout India. This leads to huge unemployment and companies lack in finding the correct person for their job. To overcome this issue it is proposed to develop an application where recruiters can easily conduct their recruitment process. This app integrates the student’s database and the Industry/company database. This model helps the recruiter to choose the eligible student from the huge database instead of a group of students from a particular University/college. There are many benefits like faster recruitment process, many students finding their dream job, HR process the interview from the remote location, entire process is in online, no need to travel and accommodate a place for rent. The entire process is recorded and saved as a report, this ensures 100 % genuine and no space for malpractice. - link

• SOCIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR MOBILE ROBOTS IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT TECHNOLOGY - The emergency department (ED) is a safety-critical environment in which healthcare workers (HCWs) are overburdened, overworked, and have limited resources, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to address this problem is to explore the use of robots that can support clinical teams, e.g., to deliver materials or restock supplies. However, due to EDs being overcrowded, and the cognitive overload HCWs experience, robots need to understand various levels of patient acuity so they avoid disrupting care delivery. In this invention, we introduce the Safety-Critical Deep Q-Network (SafeDQN) system, a new acuity-aware navigation system for mobile robots. SafeDQN is based on two insights about care in EDs: high-acuity patients tend to have more HCWs in attendance and those HCWs tend to move more quickly. We compared SafeDQN to three classic navigation methods, and show that it generates the safest, quickest path for mobile robots when navigating in a simulated ED environment. We hope this work encourages future exploration of social robots that work in safety-critical, human-centered environments, and ultimately help to improve patient outcomes and save lives. Figure 1. - link