Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Being cut off from social identity resources has shaped loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal interview study with medically vulnerable older adults from the United Kingdom -
  Older adulthood is often a time of identity change arising from physical decline and social isolation which can increase loneliness. These effects are thought to be exacerbated by public health threats such as COVID-19 which disproportionately restrict older adults, though research has yet to fully explore how this occurs. We used a Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) interview approach to follow nine vulnerable older adults (Mage=79.4) for fourteen months through 2019 and 2020 in order to understand their unfolding experiences of pandemic-related isolation. A theoretically guided thematic analysis found that participants initially experienced “Threatened Social Contact” due to age-related vulnerabilities which reduced their ability to manage “Being Categorised as a Vulnerable Older Person”. Consequently, participants experienced a “Restriction in Ability to Gain or Maintain Identities” leading to “Undermining of Reciprocal Support” and “Wellbeing hindered by Loneliness-Related Fears”. Findings highlighted that COVID-19 exacerbates existing negative age-related categorisations, contributing to a loss of reciprocal support in older adulthood. More generally, interventions to ameliorate loneliness among older adults would benefit from explicitly addressing ageism as well as enhancing group-based connectedness.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Being cut off from social identity resources has shaped loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal interview study with medically vulnerable older adults from the United Kingdom
• Lack of antiviral activity of probenecid in Vero E6 cells and Syrian golden hamsters: a need for better understanding of inter-lab differences in preclinical assays. -
  Antiviral interventions are urgently required to support vaccination programmes and reduce the global burden of COVID-19. Prior to initiation of large-scale clinical trials, robust preclinical data in support of candidate plausibility are required. The speed at which preclinical models have been developed during the pandemic are unprecedented but there is a vital need for standardisation and assessment of the Critical Quality Attributes. This work provides cross-validation for the recent report demonstrating potent antiviral activity of probenecid against SARS- CoV-2 in preclinical models (1). Vero E6 cells were pre-incubated with probenecid, across a 7-point concentration range, or control media for 2 hours before infection with SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2/Human/Liverpool/REMRQ0001/2020, Pango B; MOI 0.05). Probenecid or control media was then reapplied and plates incubated for 48 hours. Cells were fixed with 4% v/v paraformaldehyde, stained with crystal violet and cytopathic activity quantified by spectrophotometry at 590 nm. Syrian golden hamsters (n=5 per group) were intranasally inoculated with virus (SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant B.1.617.2; 103 PFU/hamster) for 24 hours prior to treatment. Hamsters were treated with probenecid or vehicle for 4 doses. Hamsters were ethically euthanised before quantification of total and sub-genomic pulmonary viral RNAs. No inhibition of cytopathic activity was observed for probenecid at any concentration in Vero E6 cells. Furthermore, no reduction in either total or sub-genomic RNA was observed in terminal lung samples from hamsters on day 3 (P > 0.05). Body weight of uninfected hamsters remained stable throughout the course of the experiment whereas both probenecid- (6 - 9% over 3 days) and vehicle-treated (5 - 10% over 3 days) infected hamsters lost body weight which was comparable in magnitude (P > 0.5). The presented data do not support probenecid as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral. These data do not support use of probenecid in COVID-19 and further analysis is required prior to initiation of clinical trials to investigate the potential utility of this drug.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Lack of antiviral activity of probenecid in Vero E6 cells and Syrian golden hamsters: a need for better understanding of inter-lab differences in preclinical assays.
• Soluble signal inhibitory receptor on leukocytes-1 is released from activated neutrophils by proteinase 3 cleavage -
  Signal inhibitory receptor on leukocytes-1 (SIRL-1) is an immune inhibitory receptor expressed on human granulocytes and monocytes which dampens antimicrobial functions. We previously showed that sputum neutrophils from infants with severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis have decreased SIRL-1 surface expression compared to blood neutrophils, and that SIRL-1 surface expression is rapidly lost from in vitro activated neutrophils. This led us to hypothesize that activated neutrophils lose SIRL-1 by ectodomain shedding. Here, we developed an ELISA and measured the concentration of soluble SIRL-1 (sSIRL-1) in RSV bronchiolitis and hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which are both characterized by neutrophilic inflammation. In line with our hypothesis, sSIRL-1 concentration was increased in sputum compared to plasma of RSV bronchiolitis patients, and in serum of hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to control serum. In addition, we show that in vitro activated neutrophils release sSIRL-1 by proteolytic cleavage, which can be prevented by proteinase 3 inhibition. Finally, we found that SIRL-1 shedding is prevented by extracellular adherence protein (Eap) from S. aureus. Notably, we recently showed that SIRL-1 is activated by PSM3 from S. aureus, suggesting that S. aureus may counteract SIRL-1 shedding to benefit from preserved inhibitory function of SIRL-1. In conclusion, we are the first to report that SIRL-1 is released from activated neutrophils by proteinase 3 cleavage and that endogenous sSIRL-1 protein is present in vivo.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Soluble signal inhibitory receptor on leukocytes-1 is released from activated neutrophils by proteinase 3 cleavage
• A predictive model for hospitalization and survival to COVID-19 in a retrospective population-based study -

  The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly transmissible and has been responsible for a pandemic associated with a high number of deaths. The clinical management of patients and the optimal use of resources are two important factors in reducing this mortality, especially in scenarios of high incidence. To this end, it is necessary to develop tools that allow early triage of patients with the minimal use of diagnostic tests and based on readily accessible data, such as electronic medical records. This work proposes the use of a machine learning model that allows the prediction of mortality and risk of hospitalization using simple demographic characteristics and comorbidities, using a COVID-19 dataset of 86867 patients. In addition, we developed a new method designed to deal with data imbalance problems. The model was able to predict with high accuracy (89-93%, ROC-AUC = 0.94) the patient9s final status (expired/discharged) and with medium accuracy the risk of hospitalization (71-73%, ROC-AUC = 0.75). These models were obtained by assembling and using easily obtainable clinical characteristics (2 demographic characteristics and 19 predictors of comorbidities). The most relevant features of these models were the following patient characteristics: age, sex, number of comorbidities, osteoarthritis, obesity, depression, and renal failure.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: A predictive model for hospitalization and survival to COVID-19 in a retrospective population-based study
• SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence in the Okinawa Main Island and remote islands in Okinawa, Japan, 2020-2021. -

  We estimated the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG in different island groups in Okinawa and described its changes over time. A cross-sectional sero-survey was repeated in three distinct periods between July 2020 and February

2021. A total of 2683 serum samples were collected from six referral medical centers, each covering a separate region in Okinawa. Patients who visited the emergency department for any reason and underwent blood collection were eligible for the study. Samples were analyzed using an FDA-authorized two-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocol. The case detection ratio was computed by dividing the seroprevalence by the attack rate obtained from publicly available surveillance data. In the main island, the seroprevalence was 0.0% (0/392, 95% CI: 0.0-0.9), 0.6% (8/1448, 0.2-1.1), and 1.4% (8/582, 0.6-2.7) at the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd sero-survey, respectively. In the remote islands, the seroprevalence was 0.0% (0/144, 95% CI: 0.0-2.5) and 1.6% (2/123, 0.2-5.8) at the 2 nd and 3 rd survey, respectively. The overall case detection ratios at the 3 rd survey were 2.7 (95% CI: 1.3-5.3) in the main island and 2.8 (0.7-11.1) in the remote islands. The highest age-specific case detection ratio was observed in people aged 20-29 years (8.3, 95% CI: 3.3-21.4) in the main island and in those aged 50-59 years (14.1, 2.1-92.7) in the remote islands. The low seroprevalence at the latest survey suggested that a large-scale epidemic had not yet occurred in Okinawa by February
2022. The case detection ratios imply that the cumulative number of incident cases in Okinawa should be 2-3 times higher than that reported by routine surveillance. The ratio was particularly high in young people probably due to a frequent asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 disease in this age group. To accurately measure the scale of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is crucially important to conduct a sero-survey targeting the young.
      🖺 Full Text HTML: SARS- CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence in the Okinawa Main Island and remote islands in Okinawa, Japan, 2020-2021.

• Optimal vaccination with time-varying based on immunity barrier in Hunan Province, China -

  The current outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is already causing a serious disease burden worldwide, this paper analyzed data of a delta variant Covid-19 outbreak in Hunan, China, and proposed an optimal dose- wise dynamical vaccinating process based on local contact pattern and vaccine coverage that minimize the accumulative cases in a certain future time interval. The optimized result requires an immediate vaccination to that none vaccinated at age group 30 to 39, which is coherent to the prevailing strategies. The dose-wise optimal vaccinating process can be directive for countries or regions where vaccines are not abundant. We recommend that vaccination should be further intensified to increase the coverage of booster shots, thus effectively reducing the spread of COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Optimal vaccination with time- varying based on immunity barrier in Hunan Province, China
• Vaccine Breakthrough Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta or Omicron (BA.1) Variant Leads to Distinct Profiles of Neutralizing Antibody Responses -

  There is increasing evidence that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among vaccinated individuals is variant- specific, suggesting that protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 may differ by variant. We enrolled vaccinated (n =

39. and unvaccinated (n = 11) individuals with acute, symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Delta or Omicron infection and performed SARS-CoV-2 viral load quantification, whole-genome sequencing, and variant-specific antibody characterization at the time of acute illness and convalescence. Viral load at the time of infection was inversely correlated with antibody binding and neutralizing antibody responses. Increases in antibody titers and neutralizing activity occurred at convalescence in a variant-specific manner. Across all variants tested, convalescent neutralization titers in unvaccinated individuals were markedly lower than in vaccinated individuals. For individuals infected with the Delta variant, neutralizing antibody responses were weakest against BA.2, whereas infection with Omicron BA.1 variant generated a broader response against all circulating variants, including BA.2.
    🖺 Full Text HTML: Vaccine Breakthrough Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta or Omicron (BA.1) Variant Leads to Distinct Profiles of Neutralizing Antibody Responses

• Evidence of co-infection during Delta and Omicron variants of concern co-circulation, weeks 49-2021 to 02-2022, France -

  We report evidence of Delta/Omicron SARS-CoV-2 co-infections during the fifth wave of COVID-19 pandemics in France for 7 immunocompetent and epidemiologically unrelated patients. These co-infections were detected by PCR assays targeting SARS-CoV-2 S-gene mutations K417N and L452R and confirmed by whole genome sequencing which allowed the proportion estimation of each subpopulation. For 2 patients, the analyses of longitudinal samples collected 7 to 11 days apart showed that Delta or Omicron can outcompete the other variant during dual infection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Evidence of co-infection during Delta and Omicron variants of concern co-circulation, weeks 49-2021 to 02-2022, France
• Sexual Desire in the Time of COVID-19: How COVID-Related Stressors are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships -
  The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting social distancing measures have caused widespread social and economic disruptions, resulting in spikes in unemployment and financial instability, along with drastic changes to people’s ability to feel socially connected. Many of the changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are risk factors for depressive symptoms, which are associated with lower levels of sexual desire. The current research (N = 4,993) examined whether responses to external stressors brought on by COVID-19 (i.e., financial concern, worry, loneliness, stress) were associated with sexual desire among a multi-national sample of people in relationships (Studies 1-2), and whether this association was, in part, due to reports of depressive symptoms (Study 2). In the period immediately following the onset of the pandemic, more financial concern (Study 1) and worry (Study 2) were associated with higher sexual desire, while other factors, like stress (Studies 1-2), were associated with lower desire. We also followed a subset of participants every two weeks during the initial stages of the pandemic and at times when people reported greater stress, loneliness, financial strain, or worry than their average, they reported greater depressive symptoms, which, was in turn, associated with lower sexual desire. Results suggest that the social isolation and stress resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has mixed associations with sexual desire at the onset of the pandemic. But over time, when people report heightened COVID-related stressors, they tend to report lower sexual desire for their partner, in part because these stressors are associated with more depressive symptoms.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Sexual Desire in the Time of COVID-19: How COVID-Related Stressors are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships
• Amplification of Olfactory Signals by Anoctamin 9 is Essential for Mammalian Olfaction: a Risk Factor for the Covid-19-associated Anosmia -
  Sensing smells of foods, prey, or predators determines animal survival. Olfactory sensory neurons in the olfactory epithelium (OE) detect odorants, where cAMP and Ca2+ play a significant role in transducing odorant inputs to electrical activity. Here we show Anoctamin 9, a cation channel activated by cAMP/PKA pathway, is expressed in the OE and amplifies olfactory signals. Ano9-deficient mice had reduced olfactory behavioral sensitivity, electro-olfactogram signals, and neural activity in the olfactory bulb. In line with the difference in olfaction between birds and other vertebrates, chick ANO9 failed to respond to odorants, whereas chick CNGA2, a major transduction channel, showed greater responses to cAMP. Importantly, single-cell transcriptome data from Covid-19 patients revealed that Ano9 transcripts were markedly suppressed among genes in the olfactory signal pathway. The signal amplification by ANO9 is essential for mammalian olfactory transduction, whose downregulation may be a risk factor for the olfactory dysfunction in Covid-19 patients.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Amplification of Olfactory Signals by Anoctamin 9 is Essential for Mammalian Olfaction: a Risk Factor for the Covid-19-associated Anosmia
• Pegylated-interferon-λ treatment-induced peripheral interferon stimulated genes are associated with SARS-CoV-2 viral load decline despite delayed T cell response in older individuals -

  Interferons (IFNs) are antiviral cytokines induced very early after SARS-CoV-2 infection and are crucial for viral clearance, shaping immunity, and preventing the development of severe COVID-19. We previously demonstrated that a single injection of peginterferon-lambda1 (PEG-IFN-λ1) accelerated viral clearance in COVID-19 patients. To determine if the rapid viral decline was mediated by enhanced immunity, we assessed in vivo responses to PEG-IFN-λ1 by single cell RNA sequencing and measured SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody responses between placebo and PEG-IFN-λ1-treated patients. PEG-IFN-λ1 treatment induced interferon stimulated genes in peripheral immune cells expressing IFNLR1, with plasmacytoid dendritic cells having the greatest response, followed by B cells. PEG-IFN-λ1 did not significantly affect SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels in plasma or the magnitude or functionality of virus-specific T cells. However, we identified a delayed T cell response in older adults, suggesting that PEG-IFN-λ1 can overcome the delay in adaptive immunity to accelerate viral clearance in patients most at risk for severe disease. Taken together, PEG-IFN-λ1 offers an early COVID-19 treatment option for outpatients to boost innate antiviral defenses without dampening peripheral SARS- CoV-2 adaptive immunity.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Pegylated-interferon-λ treatment-induced peripheral interferon stimulated genes are associated with SARS-CoV-2 viral load decline despite delayed T cell response in older individuals
• Vaccine effectiveness and duration of protection against symptomatic and severe Covid-19 during the first year of vaccination in France -

  Background SARS–CoV–2 continues to spread despite fast vaccine rollout, which could be attributed to waning immunity or to a reduced protection against some variants. A thorough characterization of vaccine protection and its duration in time is needed to inform vaccination policies and enhance public trust. Methods We matched three national databases with exhaustive information on screening, vaccination and hospitalizations in France over the year 2021. We performed a two-step analysis to estimate vaccine effectiveness against severe forms of Covid-19 in people aged 50 years or over, combining: (i) a test-negative case–control design to assess vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infections; and (ii) a survival analysis to assess the additional protection against severe outcomes (hospitalizations and inpatient deaths) in infected individuals. Results We found a high vaccine effectiveness in people aged 50 years or more, reaching 82% against symptomatic infections and 94% against severe outcomes, after a full vaccination scheme. Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infections strongly decreased over time, dropping to 53% after six months, but remained high against severe forms (90% after six months). The booster dose allowed restoring high protection levels. Vaccine protection and its evolution in time, showed little difference against the variants that circulated prior to December 2021 in France, including the Delta variant. Conclusion Though vaccine immunity decreases over time, vaccination remains crucial to provide individual protection against severe diseases. This decline can be reversed by the injection of a booster dose.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Vaccine effectiveness and duration of protection against symptomatic and severe Covid-19 during the first year of vaccination in France
• Using next generation matrices to estimate the proportion of cases that are not detected in an outbreak -

  Contact tracing, where exposed individuals are followed up to break ongoing transmission chains, is a key pillar of outbreak response for infectious disease outbreaks. Unfortunately, these systems are not fully effective, and infections can still go undetected as people may not remember all their contacts or contacts may not be traced successfully. A large proportion of undetected infections suggests poor contact tracing and surveillance systems, which could be a potential area of improvement for a disease response. In this paper, we present a method for estimating the proportion of infections that are not detected during an outbreak. Our method uses next generation matrices that are parameterized by linked contact tracing data and case line-lists. We validate the method using simulated data from an individual-based model and then investigate two case studies: the proportion of undetected infections in the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in New Zealand during 2020 and the Ebola epidemic in Guinea during 2014. We estimate that only 5.26% of SARS- CoV-2 infections were not detected in New Zealand during 2020 (95% credible interval: 0.243 - 16.0%) but depending on assumptions 39.0% or 37.7% of Ebola infections were not detected in Guinea (95% credible intervals: 1.69 - 87.0% or 1.7

• 80.9%).
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Using next generation matrices to estimate the proportion of cases that are not detected in an outbreak
• Mycophenolic Acid: Repurposing approach with CoV-DrugX Pipeline -
  Background: Millions of people have been infected and thousands of people have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. B.1.1.529 (Omicron) is a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, and on November 26th, WHO designated B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern. The search for an effective and appropriate drug to treat COVID-19 continues to be a major challenge. In this study, we look into whether a mycophenolic acid drug can be repurposed for COVID-19. Mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active immunosuppressive form of the prodrug mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), is a common component of immunosuppressive regimens for organ transplant recipients. Mycophenolic acid inhibits the coronaviral papain-like protease, and a deeper understanding of how it works could aid in the development of new anti-SARS-CoV-2 medicines. Methods: The CoV-DrugX pipeline contains 13 distinct sorts of modules that specify 13 different properties to explain whether this medicine can be repurposed for COVID-19 or not; these modules were built using several methodologies such as biological and chemical information, target-based, docking-based, symptom-based, target-based, and circuit-based. Based on an analysis of modules in the DrugX pipeline, we describe the effectiveness of mycophenolic acid for repurposing in COVID-19. Results and conclusions: We found that the mycophenolic acid had the highest binding affinity (-8.2 Kcal/Mol) with Nucleocapsid protein (Npro). Based on deep learning modules that utilize chemo-informatics properties, we reported that the mycophenolic acid drug had similar features to COVID-19. Mycophenolic acid interacted with COVID-19 targets as well, and it caused symptoms similar to COVID-19. The mycophenolic acid drug received a SI score of 7 (sum of all categorical values of all modules) and a Pi score of 0.56 (total executed tools run/SI score) from the DrugX pipeline. Mycophenolic acid received a score of 0 in four modules, a score of 1 in seven modules (100 percent), and a score between 0 and 1 in two modules out of a total of thirteen modules. Mycophenolic acid predicts a high score, indicating its potential repurposing for COVID-19.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Mycophenolic Acid: Repurposing approach with CoV-DrugX Pipeline
• Identification of captopril drug as a repurposable therapeutic candidate for COVID-19 treatment -
  Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic more than 265 million people are infected with more than 5 million deaths across the world. On November 26 WHO designated B.1.1.529 (omicron) as a variant of concern. The search for an effective and appropriate drug to manage COVID-19 remains a big challenge. Here we investigate whether a captopril drug can be repurposed for COVID-19. The first angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor is captopril. To cure heart failure and high blood pressure, captopril is used alone or in combination with other drugs. The COVID-19 S protein binds strongly to the angiotensin-converting-enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, an enzyme that physiologically counteracts renin-angiotensin- aldosterone system activity while also acting as a receptor for the COVID-19 virus. Methods: Using machine learning approaches, We have implemented a multi-modal pipeline (DrugX), containing 14 modules that were constructed using different approaches like chemical information, target-based, docking-based, symptom-based, target-based, and circuit- based to check whether a drug is repurposed for COVID-19. Here, we describe the effectiveness of the captopril drug for repurposing in COVID-19 based on the analysis of modules of the DrugX pipeline. Results and conclusion: We reported that the captopril drug had similar features to COVID-19 medication based on deep learning modules that utilize chemoinformatics properties. The drug captopril also showed the interaction with COVID-19 targets, and it reported similar symptoms as COVID-19. The study concludes that captopril regulates UP/DOWN gene expression of the ACE2 gene. The DrugX pipeline gave a SI score of 8 (sum of all categorical values of all modules) and a Pi score of 0.57 (total executed tools run/SI score) to the captopril drug. Out of 14 modules, captopril obtained a score of 0 in 6 modules and 1 in 8 modules (100%). The captopril drug predicts a high score indicating its repurposing properties for COVID-19.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Identification of captopril drug as a repurposable therapeutic candidate for COVID-19 treatment

From Clinical Trials

• EPIC-Peds: Study of Oral PF-07321332 (Nirmatrelvir)/Ritonavir in Nonhospitalized COVID-19 Pediatric Patients at Risk for Severe Disease - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: nirmatrelvir;   Drug: ritonavir
  Sponsor:   Pfizer
  Not yet recruiting

• Anti-inflammatory Drug Algorithm for COVID-19 Home Treatment - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Recommended treatment schedule;   Drug: Usual care
  Sponsors:   Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research;   Family physicians
  Not yet recruiting

• Transcranial Direct Stimulation for Persistent Fatigue Treatment Post-COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Device: Active tDCS;   Device: Sham tDCS
  Sponsor:   Hospital San Carlos, Madrid
  Not yet recruiting

• Evaluation of Full Versus Fractional Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine Given as a Booster for the Prevention of COVID 19 in Adults in Mongolia- Mongolia, Indonesia, Australia Coronavirus (MIACoV). - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Tozinameran - Standard Dose;   Biological: Tozinameran - Fractional Dose
  Sponsors:   Murdoch Childrens Research Institute;   Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations;   PATH;   The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
  Not yet recruiting

• Effect of Combined Use of Ivermectin and Colchicine in COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Ivermectin + colchicine;   Drug: Colchicine
  Sponsor:   Ain Shams University
  Recruiting

• Vale+ Tu Salud: Corner-Based Randomized Trial to Test a Latino Day Laborer Program Adapted to Prevent COVID 19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: COVID-19 Group Problem Solving;   Behavioral: Control Group-standard of care
  Sponsors:   The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston;   National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
  Not yet recruiting

• A Phase III, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of TD0069 Capsule as a Combination Regimen With Standard Treatment for Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: TD0069 hard capsule;   Drug: TD0069 Placebo
  Sponsors:   Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company;   Clinical Training Company
  Recruiting

• Efficacy of the Infusion of Donor Plasma in SARS CoV 2 Infection - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: convalescent plasma infusion covid 19
  Sponsor:   Hospital Galdakao-Usansolo
  Terminated

• Nebulised Heparin in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Intervention:   Drug: Unfractionated heparin
  Sponsor:   Lady Reading Hospital, Pakistan
  Not yet recruiting

• Nutrition and LOComotoric Rehabilitation in Long COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: Intervention group
  Sponsors:  
  Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel;   Vrije Universiteit Brussel
  Not yet recruiting

• Immuno-bridging and Broadening Study of a Whole, Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine BBV152 in Healthy Adults - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: BBV152
  Sponsor:   Ocugen
  Active, not recruiting

• Reparixin as add-on Therapy to Standard of Care to Limit Disease Progression in Adult Patients With COVID-19. - Conditions:   COVID-19 Pneumonia;   Sars-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:   Drug: Reparixin;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Dompé Farmaceutici S.p.A
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Prevention Trial: Effect of Prophylactic Use of TAFFIX™ on Infection Rate by SARS-COV-2 VIRUS (COVID-19). - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
  Intervention:   Device: TaffiX™
  Sponsor:   Nasus Pharma
  Completed

• A Phase III Trial to Assess the Safety and Immunogenicity of a HIPRA’s Candidate Booster Vaccination Against COVID-19. - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Acute Respiratory Disease
  Intervention:  
  Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine 40 ug/dose
  Sponsor:   Hipra Scientific, S.L.U
  Recruiting

• An Open-label, Randomized, Parallel-arm Study Investigating the Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Administration of Pamrevlumab Versus Standard of Care in Patients With COVID-19 - Conditions:   COVID-19 Respiratory Infection;   COVID-19 Pneumonia;   Covid19
  Intervention:  
  Drug: Pamrevlumab
  Sponsor:   Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS
  Completed

From PubMed

• Antiviral Effect of Selenomethionine on Porcine Deltacoronavirus in Pig Kidney Epithelial Cells - Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging porcine intestinal coronavirus in recent years, which mainly causes different degrees of vomiting and diarrhea in piglets and has caused great harm to the swine husbandry worldwide since its report. Selenium is an essential trace element for organisms and has been demonstrated to have antiviral effects. In this study, pig kidney epithelial (LLC-PK) cells were used to study the antiviral activity of selenomethionine (Se-Met) (2, 4, 8, and 16 μM)…

• Role of Dexamethasone and Methylprednisolone Corticosteroids in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Hospitalized Patients: A Review - The WHO announced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic disease globally on March 11, 2020, after it emerged in China. The emergence of COVID-19 has lasted over a year, and despite promising vaccine reports that have been produced, we still have a long way to go until such remedies are accessible to everyone. The immunomodulatory strategy has been kept at the top priority for the research agenda for COVID-19. Corticosteroids have been used to modulate the immune response in a wide…

• Evaluation of a commercial ELISA as alternative to plaque reduction neutralization test to detect neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 - High-throughput detection of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 presents a valuable tool for vaccine trials or investigations of population immunity. We evaluate the performance of the first commercial surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT, GenScript Biotech) against SARS-CoV-2 plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) in convalescent and vaccinated individuals. We compare it to five other ELISAs, two of which are designed to detect neutralizing antibodies. In 491 pre-vaccination…

• Association between FIASMA psychotropic medications and reduced risk of intubation or death in individuals with psychiatric disorders hospitalized for severe COVID-19: an observational multicenter study - The acid sphingomyelinase (ASM)/ceramide system may provide a useful framework for better understanding SARS-CoV-2 infection and the repurposing of psychotropic medications functionally inhibiting the acid sphingomyelinase/ceramide system (named FIASMA psychotropic medications) against COVID-19. We examined the potential usefulness of FIASMA psychotropic medications in patients with psychiatric disorders hospitalized for severe COVID-19, in an observational multicenter study conducted at Greater…

• Network pharmacology-based predictions of active components and pharmacological mechanisms of Artemisia annua L. for the treatment of the novel Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that A. annua may prevent and inhibit the inflammatory processes related to COVID-19.

• HDAC inhibition as neuroprotection in COVID-19 infection - The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible of COVID-19 affecting millions of humans around the world. COVID-19 shows diverse clinical symptoms (fever, cough, fatigue, diarrhea, body aches, headaches, anosmia and hyposmia). Approximately 30% of the patients with COVID-19 showed neurological symptoms, these going from mild to severe manifestations including headache, dizziness, impaired consciousness, encephalopathy, anosmia, hypogeusia, hyposmia, psychology and psychiatry among others. The neurotropism…

• Trace element homeostasis in the neurological system after SARS-CoV-2 infection: Insight into potential biochemical mechanisms - CONCLUSION: Trace elements play important roles in viral infections, such as helping to activate immune cells, produce antibodies, and inhibit virus replication. However, the relationship between trace elements and virus infections is complex since the specific functions of several elements remain largely undefined. Therefore, there is still a lot to be explored to understand the biochemical mechanisms involved between trace elements and viral infections, especially in the brain.

• In silico analysis highlighting the prevalence of BCL2L1 gene and its correlation to miRNA in human coronavirus (HCoV) genetic makeup - The ongoing pandemic that resulted from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), had been spiraling out of control with no known antiviral drugs or vaccines. Due to the extremely serious nature of the disease, it has claimed many lives, with a mortality rate of 3.4% declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 3, 2020. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the regulatory nature of the proteins…

• Anti-inflammatory and anti-viral actions of anionic pulmonary surfactant phospholipids - Pulmonary surfactant is a mixture of lipids and proteins, consisting of 90% phospholipid, and 10% protein by weight, found predominantly in pulmonary alveoli of vertebrate lungs. Two minor components of pulmonary surfactant phospholipids, phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylinositol (PI), are present within the alveoli at very high concentrations, and exert anti-inflammatory effects by regulating multiple Toll like receptors (TLR2/1, TLR4, and TLR2/6) by antagonizing cognate…

• ACE2-Fc fusion protein overcomes viral escape by potently neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern - COVID-19, an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, emerged globally in early 2020 and has remained a serious public health issue. To date, although several preventative vaccines have been approved by FDA and EMA, vaccinated individuals increasingly suffer from breakthrough infections. Therapeutic antibodies may provide an alternative strategy to neutralize viral infection and treat serious cases; however, the clinical data and our experiments show that some FDA-approved monoclonal…

• Rapid and Quantitative In Vitro Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies and Nanobodies - Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies have shown promising results as potential therapeutic agents for COVID-19. Identifying such antibodies and nanobodies requires evaluating the neutralization activity of a large number of lead molecules via biological assays, such as the virus neutralization test (VNT). These assays are typically time- consuming and demanding on-lab facilities. Here, we present a rapid and quantitative assay that evaluates the neutralizing efficacy of an antibody…

• Complement Activation via the Lectin and Alternative Pathway in Patients With Severe COVID-19 - Complement plays an important role in the direct defense to pathogens, but can also activate immune cells and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, in critically ill patients with COVID-19 the immune system is inadequately activated leading to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and acute kidney injury, which is associated with higher mortality. Therefore, we characterized local complement deposition as a sign of activation in both lungs and kidneys from patients with severe…

• Modulation of Innate Antiviral Immune Response by Porcine Enteric Coronavirus - Host’s innate immunity is the front-line defense against viral infections, but some viruses have evolved multiple strategies for evasion of antiviral innate immunity. The porcine enteric coronaviruses (PECs) consist of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV), and swine acute diarrhea syndrome-coronavirus (SADS-CoV), which cause lethal diarrhea in neonatal pigs and threaten the swine industry worldwide. PECs…

• Correlated sequence signatures are present within the genomic 5’UTR RNA and NSP1 protein in coronaviruses - The 5’UTR part of coronavirus genomes plays key roles in the viral replication cycle and the translation of the viral mRNAs. The first 75-80 nucleotides, also called the leader sequence, are identical for the genomic mRNA and for the subgenomic mRNAs. Recently, it was shown that cooperative actions of a 5’UTR segment and the non-structural protein NSP1 are essential for both the inhibition of host mRNAs and for specific translation of viral mRNAs. Here, sequence analyses of both the 5’UTR RNA…

• SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 encodes for an HLA-E-stabilizing peptide that abrogates inhibition of NKG2A-expressing NK cells - Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells that contribute to host defense against virus infections. NK cells respond to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro and are activated in patients with acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, by which mechanisms NK cells detect SARS-CoV-2-infected cells remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the Non-structural protein 13 of SARS-CoV-2 encodes for a peptide that is presented by human leukocyte…

From Patent Search

• 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

• 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

• 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

• A MACHINE LEARNING BASED SYSTEM FOR DETECTING OMICRON VARIANT FROM A GENOME SEQUENCE AND METHOD THEREOF - The present invention discloses a machine learning based system for detecting omicron variant from a genome sequence and method thereof. The system includes, but not limited to, a processing unit having a memory unit and a machine learning interface embedded on it for validating a variant-induced changes in the one or more condition-specific cell variables are combined to output a single numerical variant score for each of the one or more variants, the variant score computed by one of outputting the score for a fixed condition; summing the variant-induced changes across conditions; computing the maximum of the absolute variant-induced changes across conditions. - link

• A SYSTEM BASED ON DEEP LEARNING FOR ANALYZING DELAYED ENHANCEMENT MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TO IDENTIFY COVID 19 AND METHOD THEREOF - The present invention discloses a system based on deep learning for analyzing delayed enhancement magnetic resonance imaging to identify COVID 19 and method thereof. The method and system include, but not limited to, a processing unit adapted to process the data based on deep learning data modelling in the magnetic resonance imaging associated with the digital image scanning system for diagnosis COVID 19 with the spatial resolution that each frame is deposited is 256 * 256, and being creating that level and vertical resolution respectively are 256 pixels (pixel), the read/write address that the read/write address of each image element, which is controlled by processing unit and forms circuit and finishes; And the data that will be stored in memory are input to a real-time microcontroller, it is characterized in that: analyze and compare by the Multi-source Information Fusion analytical system by using the real-time microcontroller to deliver the D/A changer then, digital signal is become analogue signal output. - link

• 用于体外诊断的新型冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白抗体 - 本发明提供了一种用于体外诊断的新型冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白抗体或抗原结合片段。所提供的抗体包括重链可变区和轻链可变区，重链可变区包括SEQ ID NO:11、12和13所示的CDR序列，轻链可变区包括SEQ ID NO:14、15和16所示的CDR序列。所提供的抗体用于新型冠状病毒的体外检测，具有极高的灵敏度和特异性。 - link

• 用于体外诊断的新型冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白抗体 - 本发明提供了一种用于体外诊断的新型冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白抗体或抗原结合片段。所提供的抗体包括重链可变区和轻链可变区，重链可变区包括SEQ ID NO:1、2和3所示的CDR序列，轻链可变区包括SEQ ID NO:4、5和6所示的CDR序列。所提供的抗体用于新型冠状病毒的体外检测，具有极高的灵敏度和特异性。 - link