Background: The vaccines developed in 2020-2021 against the SARS-CoV-2 virus were designed to prevent severity and deaths due to COVID-19. However, estimates of the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns in achieving these goals remain a methodological challenge. In this work, we developed a Bayesian statistical model to estimate the number of deaths and hospitalisations avoided by vaccines in older adults in Brazil. Methods: We fit a linear model to predict the number of deaths and hospitalisations in older adults as a function of vaccination coverage and of casualties in younger adults. We then used this model to perform counterfactual analysis, simulating alternative scenarios without vaccination or with earlier vaccination roll-out. We estimated direct effects of COVID-19 vaccination by computing the difference between hypothetical and realised scenarios. Results: We estimated that more than 165 thousand individuals above 60 y.o. were not hospitalised due to COVID-19 in the first seven months of the vaccination campaign. An additional contingent of 100 thousand hospitalisations could have been avoided if vaccination had started earlier. We also estimated that more than 75 thousand lives were saved by vaccination in the period analysed for the same age group, and that additional 48 thousand lives could have been saved had the Brazilian Government started the vaccination programme earlier. Conclusions: Our estimates provide a lower bound for vaccination impacts in Brazil, demonstrating the importance of preventing suffering and loss of the older adults Brazilians. Once vaccines were approved, an early vaccination roll-out could have saved many more lives, especially when facing a pandemic.
Globally, there have been more than 404 million cases of SARS-CoV-2, with 5.8 million confirmed deaths, as of February 2022. South Africa has experienced four waves of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, with the second, third, and fourth waves being driven by the Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants, respectively. A key question with the emergence of new variants is the extent to which they are able to reinfect those who have had a prior natural infection. We developed two approaches to monitor routine epidemiological surveillance data to examine whether SARS-CoV-2 reinfection risk has changed through time in South Africa, in the context of the emergence of the Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529) variants. We analyze line list data on positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 with specimen receipt dates between 04 March 2020 and 31 January 2022, collected through South Africa9s National Notifiable Medical Conditions Surveillance System. Individuals having sequential positive tests at least 90 days apart were considered to have suspected reinfections. Our routine monitoring of reinfection risk included comparison of reinfection rates to the expectation under a null model (approach 1) and estimation of the time-varying hazards of infection and reinfection throughout the epidemic (approach 2) based on model-based reconstruction of the susceptible populations eligible for primary and second infections. 105,323 suspected reinfections were identified among 2,942,248 individuals with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 who had a positive test result at least 90 days prior to 31 January 2022. The number of reinfections observed through the end of the third wave in September 2021 was consistent with the null model of no change in reinfection risk (approach 1). Although increases in the hazard of primary infection were observed following the introduction of both the Beta and Delta variants, no corresponding increase was observed in the reinfection hazard (approach 2). Contrary to expectation, the estimated hazard ratio for reinfection versus primary infection was lower during waves driven by the Beta and Delta variants than for the first wave (relative hazard ratio for wave 2 versus wave 1: 0.71 (CI95: 0.60-0.85); for wave 3 versus wave 1: 0.54 (CI95: 0.45-0.64)). In contrast, the recent spread of the Omicron variant has been associated with an increase in reinfection hazard coefficient. The estimated hazard ratio for reinfection versus primary infection versus wave 1 was 1.75 (CI95: 1.48-2.10) for the period of Omicron emergence (01 November 2021 to 30 November 2021) and 1.70 (CI95: 1.44-2.04) for wave 4 versus wave 1. Individuals with identified reinfections since 01 November 2021 had experienced primary infections in all three prior waves, and an increase in third infections has been detected since mid-November 2021. Many individuals experiencing third infections had second infections during the third (Delta) wave that ended in September 2021, strongly suggesting that these infections resulted from immune evasion rather than waning immunity. Population-level evidence suggests that the Omicron variant is associated with substantial ability to evade immunity from prior infection. In contrast, there is no population-wide epidemiological evidence of immune escape associated with the Beta or Delta variants. This finding has important implications for public health planning, particularly in countries like South Africa with high rates of immunity from prior infection. Further development of methods to track reinfection risk during pathogen emergence, including refinements to assess the impact of waning immunity, account for vaccine-derived protection, and monitor the risk of multiple reinfections will be an important tool for future pandemic preparedness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 350 million cases and over five million deaths globally. From these numbers, over 10 million cases and over 200 thousand deaths have occurred on the African continent as of 22 January
Having a complete and reliable list of risk factors from routine laboratory blood test for COVID-19 disease severity and mortality is important for patient care and hospital management. It is common to use meta-analysis to combine analysis results from different studies to make it more reproducible. In this paper, we propose to run multiple analyses on the same set of data to produce a more robust list of risk factors. With our time-to-event survival data, the standard survival analysis were extended in three directions. The first is to extend from tests and corresponding p-values to machine learning and their prediction performance. The second is to extend from single-variable to multiple- variable analysis. The third is to expand from analyzing time-to-decease data with death as the event of interest to analyzing time-to-hospital-release data to treat early recovery as a meaningful event as well. Our extension of the type of analyses leads to ten ranking lists. We conclude that 20 out of 30 factors are deemed to be reliably associated to faster-death or faster-recovery. Considering correlation among factors and evidenced by stepwise variable selection in random survival forest, 10~15 factors seem to be able to achieve the optimal prognosis performance. Our final list of risk factors contain calcium, white blood cell and neutrophils count, urea and creatine, d-dimer, red cell distribution widths, age, ferritin, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase, lymphocyte, basophils, anemia related factors (hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), sodium, potassium, eosinophils, and aspartate aminotransferase.
Billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, dramatically reducing SARS-CoV-2 incidence and severity in some settings. Many studies suggest vaccines provide a high degree of protection against infection and disease, but precise estimates vary and studies differ in design, outcomes measured, dosing regime, location, and circulating virus strains. Here we conduct a systematic review of COVID-19 vaccines through February 2022. We included efficacy data from Phase 3 clinical trials for 15 vaccines undergoing WHO Emergency Use Listing evaluation and real-world effectiveness for 8 vaccines with observational studies meeting inclusion criteria. Vaccine metrics collected include protection against asymptomatic infection, any infection, symptomatic COVID-19, and severe outcomes including hospitalization and death, for partial or complete vaccination, and against variants of concern Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron. We additionally review the epidemiological principles behind the design and interpretation of vaccine efficacy and effectiveness studies, including important sources of heterogeneity.
Using Portuguese diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) data we analysed the dynamics of the COVID-19 hospitalisation in Portugal, with the ultimate goal of estimating parameters to be used in COVID-19 mathematical modelling. After processing the data, corresponding to the period between March 2020 and the end of March 2021, an exploratory analysis was conducted, in which the length of stay (LoS) in hospital care, the time until death (TuD), the number of admissions and mortality count were estimated and described with respect to the age and gender of the patients, but also by region of admission and evolution over time. The median and mean of LoS was estimated to be 8 and 12.5 days (IQR:4-15) for non- ICU patients and for ICU patients as 18 and 24.3 days (IQR:11-30). % The percentage of patients that, during their hospitalisation, required ICU care was determined to be 10.9%. In-hospital mortality of non-ICU patients (22.6%) and of ICU patients (32.8%) were also calculated. In a visual exploratory analysis we observed that they changed with time, age group, gender and region. Various univariable probability distributions were fitted to the LoS and TuD data, using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) but also maximum goodness-of-fit estimation (MGE) to obtain the distribution parameters.
Objective: To evaluate the magnitude and durability of the effect of vaccination on the case fatality rate (CFR) for COVID-19 infection. Design: Multivariate modeling of data from electronic medical records Setting: 130 medical centers of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Participants: 339,772 patients with COVID-19 confirmed by nucleic acid amplification testing as of September 30, 2021 Methods: The primary outcome was death within 60 days of the diagnosis. Patients were considered vaccinated if they had completed a full series >= 14 days prior to diagnosis. Cases presenting in July - September of 2021 were considered to have the delta variant. Logistic regression was used to derive adjusted odds ratios (OR) for vaccination and infection with delta versus earlier variants. Models were adjusted for demographic traits, standard comorbidity indices, selected clinical terms, and 3 novel parameters representing all prior diagnoses, all prior vital signs/ baseline laboratory tests, and current outpatient treatment. Patients with a delta infection were divided into 8 cohorts based upon the time from vaccination to diagnosis (in 4-week blocks). A common model for COVID death was used to estimate the odds of death for each vaccine cohort relative to all unvaccinated patients. Results: 9.1% of subjects had been fully vaccinated, and 21.5% were presumed to have the delta variant. 18,120 patients (5.33%) died within 60 days of their diagnoses. The adjusted OR for delta infection was 1.87 +/- 0.05 which corresponds to a relative risk of 1.78. The overall adjusted OR for prior vaccination was 0.280 +/- 0.011 corresponding to a relative risk of 0.291. The study of vaccine cohorts with a delta infection showed that the raw CFR rose steadily after 10-14 weeks. However, the OR for vaccination remained stable for 10-34 weeks. Conclusions: Our study confirms that delta is substantially more lethal than earlier variants and that vaccination is an effective means of preventing COVID death. After adjusting for major selection biases, we found no evidence that the benefits of vaccination on CFR declined over 34 weeks.
Background: pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) is a complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in children that resembles Kawasaki syndrome and poses children at high risk of cardiorespiratory instability and/or cardiac damage. This study aims to describe the clinical presentation and outcomes of patients with PIMS in Mexico City. Methods: this was an observational study (May 1, 2020, to September 30,
In this randomized, observer-blinded, phase 2/3 study, we assessed S-268019-b, a recombinant spike protein vaccine. We analyzed the noninferiority of S 268019-b (n=103), versus tozinameran (n=103), when given as a booster ≥6 months after the 2-dose tozinameran regimen in Japanese adults without prior COVID-19 infection. Interim results showed that S-268019-b was noninferior to tozinameran in co-primary endpoints: geometric mean titer (GMT) (126.42 versus 108.20; adjusted-GMT ratio [95% CI], 1.17 [0.96-1.42]; noninferiority P-value, <0.0001) and seroresponse rate (both 100%; noninferiority P-value, 0.0004) for neutralizing antibodies on day 29. Both vaccines elicited anti-spike protein immunoglobulin G antibodies, and produced T-cell response (n=30/group) and neutralized Delta and Omicron pseudovirus variants (n=24/group) in subgroups. Most participants reported low-grade reactogenicity on days 1 and 2, the most frequent being fatigue, fever, myalgia, and injection-site pain. No serious adverse events were reported. S-268019-b safety and robust immunogenicity as a booster, supporting its use as COVID-19 booster vaccine. Keywords: booster, clinical trial, neutralization test, SARS-CoV-2, recombinant spike protein, immunization JRCT ID: jRCT2031210470
SARS-CoV-2 remains an acute threat to human health, endangering hospital capacities worldwide. Many studies have aimed at informing pathophysiologic understanding and identification of disease indicators for risk assessment, monitoring, and therapeutic guidance. While findings start to emerge in the general population, observations in high- risk patients with complex pre-existing conditions are limited. To this end, we biomedically characterized quantitative proteomics in a hospitalized cohort of COVID-19 patients with mild to severe symptoms suffering from different (co)-morbidities in comparison to both healthy individuals and patients with non-COVID related inflammation. Deep clinical phenotyping enabled the identification of individual disease trajectories in COVID-19 patients. By the use of this specific disease phase assignment, proteome analysis revealed a severity dependent general type-2 centered host response side-by-side with a disease specific antiviral immune reaction in early disease. The identification of phenomena such as neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and a pro-coagulatory response together with the regulation of proteins related to SARS-CoV-2-specific symptoms by unbiased proteome screening both confirms results from targeted approaches and provides novel information for biomarker and therapy development. Graphical Abstract. Sars- CoV-2 remains a challenging threat to our health care system with many pathophysiological mechanisms not fully understood, especially in high-risk patients. Therefore, we characterized a cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with multiple comorbidities by quantitative plasma proteomics and deep clinical phenotyping. The individual patient9s disease progression was determined and the subsequently assigned proteome profiles compared with a healthy and a chronically inflamed control cohort. The identified disease phase and severity specific protein profiles revealed an antiviral immune response together with coagulation activation indicating the formation of NETosis side-by-side with tissue remodeling related to the inflammatory signature .
Introduction The high proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections that have remained undetected presents a challenge to tracking the progress of the pandemic and estimating the extent of population immunity. Methods We used residual blood samples from women attending antenatal care services at three hospitals in Kenya between August 2020 and October 2021and a validated IgG ELISA for SARS-Cov-2 spike protein and adjusted the results for assay sensitivity and specificity. We fitted a two-component mixture model as an alternative to the threshold analysis to estimate of the proportion of individuals with past SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results We estimated seroprevalence in 2,981 women; 706 in Nairobi, 567 in Busia and 1,708 in Kilifi. By October 2021, 13% of participants were vaccinated (at least one dose) in Nairobi, 2% in Busia. Adjusted seroprevalence rose in all sites; from 50% (95%CI 42-58) in August 2020, to 85% (95%CI 78-92) in October 2021 in Nairobi; from 31% (95%CI 25-37) in May 2021 to 71% (95%CI 64-77) in October 2021 in Busia; and from 1% (95% CI 0-3) in September 2020 to 63% (95% CI 56-69) in October 2021 in Kilifi. Mixture modelling, suggests adjusted cross- sectional prevalence estimates are underestimates; seroprevalence in October 2021 could be 74% in Busia and 72% in Kilifi. Conclusions There has been substantial, unobserved transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Nairobi, Busia and Kilifi Counties. Due to the length of time since the beginning of the pandemic, repeated cross-sectional surveys are now difficult to interpret without the use of models to account for antibody waning.
Background Vaccination is a key tool to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Israel, COVID-19 vaccines became available to adults in December 2020 and to 5 to 11 year old children in November 2021. Ahead of the vaccine roll-out in children, we aimed to determine whether parents intended to vaccinate their children and describe reasons for their intentions. Methods We recruited parents on social media and collected information on parental socio- demographic characteristics, COVID-19 vaccine history, intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, and reasons for parental decisions, using an anonymous online survey. We identified associations between parental characteristics and intention to vaccinate children using a logistic regression model and described reasons for intentions to vaccinate or not using proportions together with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results 1837 parents participated. Parental non-vaccination and having experienced major vaccination side effects were strongly associated with non-intention to vaccinate their children (OR 0.09 and 0.18 respectively, p<0.001). Compared with others, parents who were younger, lived in the socioeconomically deprived periphery, and belonged to the Arab population had lower intentions to vaccinate their children. Commonly stated reasons for non-intention to vaccinate included vaccine safety and efficacy (53%, 95%CI 50-56) and the belief that COVID-19 was a mild disease (73%, 95%CI 73-79). The most frequently mentioned motives for intending to vaccine children was returning to normal social and educational life (89%, 95%CI 87-91). Conclusion Parental socio-demographic background and their own vaccination experience was associated with intention to vaccinate their children aged 5 to 11. Intention to vaccinate was mainly for social and economic reasons rather than health, whereas non-intention to vaccinate mainly stemmed from health concerns. Understanding rationales for COVID-19 vaccine rejection or acceptance, as well as parental demographic data, can pave the way for intentional educational campaigns to encourage not only vaccination against COVID-19, but also regular childhood vaccine programming.
Almost two years since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in 2019, and it is still pandemic over the world. SARS-COV-2 continuing to mutate and evolve, which further exacerbated the spread of the epidemic. Omicron variant, as an emerging mutation recently in South Africa, spreaded fastly to other countries worldwide. However, the gene charicterstic of Omicron and the effect on epitopes are still unclear. In this study, we retrieved 800 SARS-CoV-2 full-length sequences from GISAID database on 14 December 2021 (Alpha 110, Beta 101, Gamma 108, Delta 110, Omicron 107, Lambda 98, Mu 101, GH/490R 65). Overall, 1320 amino acid (AA) sites were mutated in these 800 SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Covariant network analysis showed that the covariant network of Omicron variant was significantly different from other variants. Further, 218 of the 1320 AA sites were occurred in the S gene, including 78 high- frequency mutations (>90%). Notably, we identified 25 unique AA mutations in Omicron, which may affect the transmission and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2. Finally, we analyzed the effect of Omicron on epitope peptide. As expected, 64.1% mutations (25/39) of Omicron variants were in epitopes, which was significantly higher than in other variants. These mutations may cause a poor response to vaccines to Omicron variants. In conclusion, Omicron variants, as an emerging mutation, should be alerted for us due that it may lead to poor vaccine response, and more data is needed to evaluate the virulence and vaccines responses to this variants.
We evaluated the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of heterologous COVID-19 primary series vaccination schedules. Participants were randomized to one of seven groups that received two-dose homologous BNT162b2 or heterologous combinations of CoronaVac, ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2, with 4 weeks interval. Of 210 participants, median age was 38 (19-60) years, 51% were female. The groups that received BNT162b2 as second dose induced the highest virus-specific IgG response against the ancestral strain [BNT162b2: geometric mean concentration (GMC) 2133-2249, 95%CI 1558 to 3055; ChAdOx1: 851-1201, 95%CI 649 to 1522; CoronaVac: 137-225, 95%CI 103-286 BAU/mL], neutralising antibodies (NAb) against Beta and Delta, and interferon gamma response. All groups induced low to negligible NAb against Omicron. A BNT162b2 booster (3rd dose) following heterologous CoronaVac and ChAdOx1 regimens induced >140-fold increase in NAb titres against Omicron. Our findings indicate that heterologous regimens using BNT162b2 as the second dose may be considered an alternative schedule to maximize immune response.
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
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
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
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
Safety, Reactogenicity, and Immunogenicity Trial of CV2CoV mRNA Vaccine Against SARS-CoV-2 in Seropositive Adult Participants - Condition: SARS-CoV-2
Interventions: Biological: CV2CoV (2 µg); Biological: CV2CoV (4 µg); Biological: CV2CoV (8 µg); Biological: CV2CoV (12 µg); Biological: CV2CoV (16 µg); Biological: CV2CoV (20 µg)
Sponsors: GlaxoSmithKline; CureVac AG
Not yet recruiting
Immunogenicity and Safety Study of the 3rd Booster Dose Using the High or Medium Dose of Inactivated Vaccine in Healthy Adults in in Hong Kong - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (Medium-dose); Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (High-dose)
Sponsor:
Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
The Effect of Mobile Health Application Based on Omaha System on Symptoms and Quality of Life in COVID-19 Patients - Conditions: COVID-19; Symptoms and Signs; Quality of Life
Interventions: Other: COVOS app; Other: Standard Care
Sponsors: Kocaeli University; Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa; The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
Not yet recruiting
Are Antiviral Flavonoids Part of the Solution to the COVID-19 Pandemic? - The relentless continuation of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic clearly indicates the need to broaden our approach to this serious, worldwide problem. An important factor that has received little attention is the protective role of dietary antiviral flavonoids. Many flavonoids have been shown through molecular docking assays, as well as in silico studies, and in vitro and in vivo studies to inhibit virtually every mechanism needed by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome…
In silico evaluation of Vitis amurensis Rupr. polyphenol compounds for their inhibition potency against CoVID-19 main enzymes M(pro) and RdRp - The rapid transmission of the pneumonia (COVID-19) emerged as an entire worldwide health concern and it was declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a consequence of the increasing reported infections number. COVID-19 disease is caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, and unfortunatly no drugs are currently approved against this desease. Accordingly, it is of outmost importance to review the possible therapeutic effects of naturally-occuring compounds that showed approved…
Adaptive school grounds design in response to COVID-19: Findings from six primary schools in South East England - The purpose of this research is to look at how primary schools in England have adapted their outdoor spaces in the context of COVID-19 rules and guidelines to meet the needs of students returning from school closures and national lockdown of Spring/Summer 2020, how that impacted play and learning value of their grounds, and to consider how these findings might inform future school grounds design. Thus, we used a mixed-method approach that included qualitative interviews with representatives from…
In silico studies on structural inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 main protease M(pro) by major secondary metabolites of Andrographis paniculata and Cinchona officinalis - The COVID-19 infection by Novel Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) has become one of the largest pandemic diseases, with cumulative confirmed infections of 275,233,892 and 5,364,996 deaths to date according to World Health Organization. Due to the absence of any approved antiviral drug to treat COVID-19, its lethality is getting severe with time. The main protease of SARS-CoV-2, M^(pro) is considered one of the potential drug targets because of its role in processing proteins translated from viral RNA….
Different compounds against Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor potentially containing the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2: an in silico study - Novel SARS coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus that was identified and spread from Wuhan in 2019. On January 30th, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak as a Global Public Health Emergency. Although Remdesivir and Molnupiravir are FDA-approved drugs for COVID-19, finding new efficient and low-cost antiviral drugs against COVID-19 for applying in more countries can still be helpful. One of the potential sources for finding new and low-cost drugs is the…
Latest insights on the diagnostic approaches and treatment strategies of COVID-19 - BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has emerged as the most serious pandemic in the 21st century to date. COVID-19 patients may develop various disease symptoms that hinder the accurate clinical diagnosis.
Diabetes and COVID-19: the potential role of mTOR - Diabetes is the most frequent comorbidity among patients with COVID-19. COVID-19 patients with diabetes have a more severe prognosis than patients without diabetes. However, the etiopathogenetic mechanisms underlying this more unfavorable outcome in these patients are not clear. Probably the etiopathogenetic mechanisms underlying diabetes could represent a favorable substrate for a greater development of the inflammatory process already dysregulated in COVID-19 with a more severe evolution of…
Early reduction of SARS-CoV-2-replication in bronchial epithelium by kinin B(2) receptor antagonism - SARS-CoV-2 has evolved to enter the host via the ACE2 receptor which is part of the kinin-kallikrein pathway. This complex pathway is only poorly understood in context of immune regulation but critical to control infection. This study examines SARS-CoV-2-infection and epithelial mechanisms of the kinin-kallikrein-system at the kinin B(2) receptor level in SARS-CoV-2-infection that is of direct translational relevance. From acute SARS-CoV-2-positive study participants and -negative controls,…
Recombinant human interleukin-7 reverses T cell exhaustion ex vivo in critically ill COVID-19 patients - CONCLUSIONS: Severe COVID-19 patients present with features of profound T cell exhaustion upon ICU admission which can be reversed ex vivo by rhIL-7. These results reinforce our understanding of severe COVID-19 pathophysiology and opens novel therapeutic avenues to treat such critically ill patients based of immunomodulation approaches. Defining the appropriate timing for initiating such immune-adjuvant therapy in clinical setting and the pertinent markers for a careful selection of patients are…
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…
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
一种新型冠状病毒核酸检测试剂盒 - 本发明公开了一种新型冠状病毒核酸检测试剂盒，属于生物检测技术领域。本发明使用实时荧光定量交叉引物等温扩增技术检测新型冠状病毒，设计了两组适用于这一技术的引物。两组引物分别针对型冠状病毒基因组中的ORF1ab基因和型冠状病毒基因组中的S基因进行检测。本发明新型冠状病毒核酸检测试剂盒特异性强，灵敏度高，不仅可以对样品进行定性定量的检测，还可以实时观测数据的变化，有利于对样品数据的全面收集，方便进行下一步的研究。因此本发明不仅适用于现场快速检测，还适用于以科研为目的的检测。 - link
一种新型冠状病毒核酸纯化试剂及纯化方法 - 本发明公开了一种新型冠状病毒核酸纯化试剂及纯化方法，属于核酸纯化技术领域，核酸纯化试剂包括包覆有硒代赖氨酸改性壳聚糖的纳米磁珠、结合液、洗涤I液、洗涤II液和洗脱液。纯化方法包括，将待纯化样本、磁珠和结合液加入离心管中，混匀，磁分离，弃上清；将离心管中加入洗涤I液，清洗，磁分离，吸净管盖及管底的残液；将离心管中加入洗涤II液，清洗，磁分离，吸净管盖及管底的残液；将离心管中加入洗脱液，60‑70℃下放置10‑15min，每隔1‑2min轻摇混匀，磁分离，小心吸取上清液至新的离心管中，放入‑20℃冰箱保存。本发明方法纯化过程快速、结果准确、精密度高，能够提高核酸纯化的产量、纯度、重复性和稳定性。 - link
一种全人源抗新冠病毒广谱中和抗体ZW2G10及应用 - 本发明公开了一种抗SARS‑CoV‑2的全人源单克隆抗体ZW2G10，所述抗体具有独特的CDR分区，其抗原识别表位位于S1蛋白的RBD区。所述抗体中和新冠病毒野生型、Alpha、Beta、Gamma、Delta和Omicron变异株假病毒的EC50分别是14.19、14.12、18.41、15.59、36.18、19.26ng/mL。ZW2G10对目前的主要变异株具有广谱高效中和活性。本发明公开的单克隆抗体还具有高表达、全人源、稳定性好的特点，适合产业化生产，对于应对新冠变异株导致的爆发流行具有重大应用价值。 - link
一种抗新冠病毒全人源广谱中和抗体ZWC12及应用 - 本发明公开了一种抗SARS‑CoV‑2的全人源单克隆抗体ZWC12，所述抗体具有独特的CDR分区，其抗原识别表位位于S1蛋白的RBD区。所述抗体中和新冠病毒野生型、Alpha、Beta、Gamma、Delta、Omicron变异株假病毒的EC50分别是1.041、0.124、0.162、0.136、0.411、0.093μg/mL，该抗体对目前主要变异株具有广谱高效中和活性。所述抗体还具有高表达、全人源、稳定性好的特点，适合产业化生产，对于应对新冠变异株导致的爆发流行具有重要应用价值。 - link