Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Organizational Commitment Impact on Job Well-Being of SMEs Employees in Taiwan in Post-COVID-19 Era -
  Taiwan’s industrial structure is mainly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with over 98% of enterprises being SMEs and employing more than 80% of the workforce in Taiwan. Many industries are under severe stress due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and many companies are reducing staff hiring or staff working hours. The main purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing the job well-being of Taiwanese SME employees in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, including organizational justice, job insecurity, decent work, and organizational commitment. Through a questionnaire survey, 653 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling to verify the effects between the study constructs. The study found that organizational justice, job insecurity, and decent work all had significant effects on organizational commitment, with job insecurity having the least effect. Organizational commitment has a positive and significant effect on employees’ job well-being, with a standardized regression coefficient of 0.469. In the research model, the R2 of employees’ organizational justice, job insecurity, decent work, and organizational commitment on job well-being was as high as 0.724. The results of the study show that Taiwan has a large number of SMEs that can respond quickly and flexibly to the environment. Even in the unsettled environment of an epidemic, employees’ organizational commitment to the company remains a decisive factor in employee well-being. The smaller-than-expected impact of employee job insecurity is indirect evidence of the resilience of the Taiwanese industry.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Organizational Commitment Impact on Job Well-Being of SMEs Employees in Taiwan in Post-COVID-19 Era
• Social Determinants of Mental Health During a Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic -
  Belonging is a basic human need, with social isolation signaling a threat to biological fitness. Sensitivity to ostracism varies across individuals and the lifespan, peaking in adolescence. Government-imposed restrictions upon social interactions during COVID-19 may therefore be particularly detrimental to young people and those most sensitive to ostracism. Participants (N = 2367; 89.95% female, 11-100 years) from three countries with differing levels of government restrictions (Australia, UK, and USA) were surveyed trice at three-month intervals (May 2020 – April 2021). Young people, and those living under the tightest government restrictions, reported the worst mental health, with these inequalities in mental health remaining constant throughout the study period. Further dissection of these results revealed that young people high on social rejection sensitivity reported the most mental health problems at the final assessment. These findings help account for the greater impact of enforced social isolation on young people’s mental health, and open novel avenues for intervention.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Social Determinants of Mental Health During a Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Combined administration of inhaled DNase, baricitinib and tocilizumab as rescue treatment in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory failure -

  COVID-19-related severe respiratory failure (SRF) leads to mechanical ventilation increasing the in-hospital mortality substantially. Abundancy of lung fibroblasts (LFs) in injured lung tissue has been associated with the progression of respiratory failure in COVID-19. Aiming to reduce mortality in patients with SRF (PaO2/FiO2<100 mmHg) and considering the multi-mechanistic nature of severe COVID-19 pathogenesis, we applied a combined rescue treatment (COMBI) on top of standard-of-care (SOC: dexamethasone and heparin) comprised inhaled DNase to dissolve thrombogenic neutrophil extracellular traps, plus agents against cytokine-mediated hyperinflammation, such as anti-IL-6 receptor tocilizumab and selective JAK1/2 inhibitor baricitinib. COMBI (n=22) was compared with SOC (n= 26), and with two previously and consecutively used therapeutic approaches, including either IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra (ANA, n=19), or tocilizumab (TOCI, n=11), on top of SOC. In parallel, evaluation of immunothrombosis was assessed in vitro in human LFs, treated with the applied therapeutic agents upon stimulation with COVID-19 plasma. COMBI was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (p=0.014) and intubation rate (p=0.013), shorter duration of hospitalization (p=0.019), and prolonged overall survival after a median follow-up of 110+/-4 days (p=0.003). In vitro, COVID-19 plasma markedly induced tissue factor/thrombin pathway in LFs, while this effect was inhibited by the immunomodulatory agents of COMBI providing a mechanistic explanation for the clinical observations. These results suggest the design of randomized trials using combined immunomodulatory therapies in COVID-19-associated SRF targeting multiple interconnected pathways of immunothrombosis.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Combined administration of inhaled DNase, baricitinib and tocilizumab as rescue treatment in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory failure
• Broad-spectrum extracellular antiviral properties of Cucurbiturils -
  Viruses are microscopic pathogens capable of causing disease and are responsible for a range of human mortality and morbidity worldwide. They can be rendered harmless or destroyed with a range of antiviral chemical compounds. Cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]s) are a macrocycle chemical compound existing as a range of homologues; due to their structure they can bind to biological materials, acting as supramolecular host to guests, such as amino acids. Due to the increasing need for a non-toxic antiviral compound, we investigated whether cucurbit[n]urils could act in an antiviral manner. We have found that certain cucurbit[n]uril homologues do indeed have an antiviral effect against a range of viruses, including RSV and SARS-CoV-2. In particular, we demonstrate that CB[7] is the active homologue of CB[n] mixtures, having an antiviral effect against enveloped and non-enveloped species. High levels of efficacy were observed with five-minute contact times across different viruses. We also demonstrate that CB[7] acts with an extracellular virucidal mode of action via host-guest supramolecular interactions between viral surface proteins and the CB[n] cavity, rather than via cell internalisation or a virustatic mechanism. This finding demonstrates that CB[7] acts as a supramolecular virucidal antiviral (a mechanism distinct from other current extracellular antivirals) demonstrating the potential of supramolecular interactions for future antiviral disinfectants.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Broad-spectrum extracellular antiviral properties of Cucurbiturils
• Dual spatially resolved transcriptomics for SARS-CoV-2 host-pathogen colocalization studies in humans -
  To advance our understanding of cellular host-pathogen interactions, technologies that facilitate the co-capture of both host and pathogen spatial transcriptome information are needed. Here, we present an approach to simultaneously capture host and pathogen spatial gene expression information from the same formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue section using the spatial transcriptomics technology. We applied the method to COVID-19 patient lung samples and enabled the dual detection of human and SARS-CoV-2 transcriptomes at 55 m resolution. We validated our spatial detection of SARS-CoV-2 and identified an average specificity of 94.92% in comparison to RNAScope and 82.20% in comparison to in situ sequencing (ISS). COVID-19 tissues showed an upregulation of host immune response, such as increased expression of inflammatory cytokines, lymphocyte and fibroblast markers. Our colocalization analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 + spots presented shifts in host RNA metabolism, autophagy, NF{kappa}B, and interferon response pathways. Future applications of our approach will enable new insights into host response to pathogen infection through the simultaneous, unbiased detection of two transcriptomes.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Dual spatially resolved transcriptomics for SARS-CoV-2 host-pathogen colocalization studies in humans
• Dynamic single-cell RNA sequencing reveals BCG vaccination curtails SARS-CoV-2 induced disease severity and lung inflammation -
  COVID-19 continues to exact a toll on human health despite the availability of several vaccines. Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) has been shown to confer heterologous immune protection against viral infections including COVID-19 and has been proposed as vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 (SCV2). Here we tested intravenous BCG vaccination against COVID-19 using the golden Syrian hamster model together with immune profiling and single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). We observed that BCG reduced both lung SCV2 viral load and bronchopneumonia. This was accompanied by an increase in lung alveolar macrophages, a reversal of SCV2-mediated T cell lymphopenia, and reduced lung granulocytes. Single cell transcriptome profiling showed that BCG uniquely recruits immunoglobulin-producing plasma cells to the lung suggesting accelerated antibody production. BCG vaccination also recruited elevated levels of Th1, Th17, Treg, CTLs, and Tmem cells, and differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis showed a transcriptional shift away from exhaustion markers and towards antigen presentation and repair. Similarly, BCG enhanced lung recruitment of alveolar macrophages and reduced key interstitial macrophage subsets, with both cell-types also showing reduced IFN-associated gene expression. Our observations indicate that BCG vaccination protects against SCV2 immunopathology by promoting early lung immunoglobulin production and immunotolerizing transcriptional patterns among key myeloid and lymphoid populations.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Dynamic single-cell RNA sequencing reveals BCG vaccination curtails SARS-CoV-2 induced disease severity and lung inflammation
• Area-level social and structural inequalities determine mortality related to COVID-19 diagnosis in Ontario, Canada: a population-based explanatory modeling study of 11.8 million people -

  Importance: Social determinants of health (SDOH) play an important role in COVID-19 outcomes. More research is needed to quantify this relationship and understand the underlying mechanisms. Objectives: To examine differential patterns in COVID-19-related mortality by area-level SDOH accounting for confounders; and to compare these patterns to those for non-COVID-19 mortality, and COVID-19 case fatality (COVID-19-related death among those diagnosed). Design, setting, and participants: Population-based retrospective cohort study including all community living individuals aged 20 years or older residing in Ontario, Canada, as of March 1, 2020 who were followed through to March 2, 2021. Exposure: SDOH variables derived from the 2016 Canada Census at the dissemination area-level including: median household income; educational attainment; proportion of essential workers, racialized groups, recent immigrants, apartment buildings, and high-density housing; and average household size. Main outcomes and measures: COVID-19-related death was defined as death within 30 days following, or 7 days prior to a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. Cause-specific hazard models were employed to examine the associations between SDOH and COVID-19-related mortality, treating non-COVID-19 mortality as a competing risk. Results: Of 11,810,255 individuals included, 3,880 (0.03%) died related to COVID-19 and 88,107 (0.75%) died without a positive test. After accounting for demographics, baseline health, and other SDOH, the following SDOH were associated with increased hazard of COVID-19-related death (hazard ratios [95% confidence intervals]) comparing the most to least vulnerable group): lower income (1.30[1.09-1.54]), lower educational attainment (1.27[1.10-1.47]), higher proportion essential workers (1.28[1.10-1.50]), higher proportion racialized groups (1.42[1.16-1.73]), higher proportion apartment buildings (1.25[1.11-1.41]), and larger vs. medium household size (1.30[1.13-1.48]). In comparison, areas with higher proportion racialized groups were associated with a lower hazard of non-COVID-19 mortality (0.88[0.85-0.92]). With the exception of income, SDOH were not independently associated with COVID-19 case fatality. Conclusions and relevance: Area-level social and structural inequalities determine COVID-19-related mortality after accounting for individual demographic and clinical factors. COVID-19 has reversed the pattern of lower non-COVID-19 mortality by racialized groups. Pandemic responses should include prioritized and community-tailored intervention strategies to address SDOH that mechanistically underpin disproportionate acquisition and transmission risks and shape barriers to the reach of, and access to prevention interventions.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Area- level social and structural inequalities determine mortality related to COVID-19 diagnosis in Ontario, Canada: a population-based explanatory modeling study of 11.8 million people
• Safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine MVC-COV1901 in adolescents in Taiwan: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial -

  Background: MVC-COV1901 is a subunit SARS-CoV-2 vaccine based on the prefusion spike protein S-2P and adjuvanted with CpG 1018 and aluminum hydroxide. Although MVC-COV1901 has been licensed for emergency use for adults in Taiwan, the safety and immunogenicity of MVC-COV1901 in adolescents remained unknown. As young people play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and epidemiology, a vaccine approved for adolescents and eventually, children, will be important in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study is a prospective, double-blind, multi-center phase 2 trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of two doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine MVC-COV1901 in adolescents. Healthy adolescents from age of 12 to 17 years were recruited and randomly assigned (6:1) to receive two intramuscular doses of either MVC-COV1901 or placebo at 28 days apart. The primary outcomes were safety and immunogenicity from the day of first vaccination (Day 1) to 28 days after the second vaccination (Day 57), and immunogenicity of MVC COV1901 in adolescents as compared to young adult vaccinees in terms of neutralizing antibody titers and seroconversion rate. The secondary outcomes were safety and immunogenicity of MVC-COV1901 as compared to placebo in adolescents in terms of immunoglobulin titers and neutralizing antibody titers over the study period. Results: Between July 21, 2021 and December 22, 2021, a total of 399 adolescent participants were included for safety evaluation after enrollment to receive at least one dose of either MVC-COV1901 (N=341) or placebo (N=58). Of these, 334 and 46 participants went on to receive two doses of either MVC-COV1901 or placebo, respectively, and were included in the per protocol set (PPS) for immunogenicity analysis. Adverse events were mostly mild and were similar in MVC-COV1901 and placebo groups. The most commonly reported adverse events were pain/tenderness and malaise/fatigue. All immunogenicity endpoints in the adolescent group were non-inferior to the endpoints seen in the young adult and placebo groups. Conclusions: The safety and immunogenicity data presented here showed that MVC-COV1901 has similar safety profile and non-inferior immunogenicity in adolescents compared to young adults.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine MVC-COV1901 in adolescents in Taiwan: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial
• Shared Genomic Architectures of Covid-19 and Antisocial Behavior -

  Little is known about the genetics of norm violation and aggression (ASB) in relation to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To investigate this, we used summary statistics from genome-wide association studies and linkage disequilibrium score regression to calculate a matrix of genetic correlations (r_gs) for ASB, COVID-19, and various health and behavioral traits. After false-discovery rate correction, ASB was genetically correlated with COVID-19 (r_g = 0.51; P = 1.54E-02) and 19 other traits. ASB and COVID-19 were both positively genetically correlated with having a noisy workplace, doing heavy manual labor, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and genitourinary diseases. ASB and COVID-19 were both inversely genetically correlated with average income, education years, healthspan, verbal reasoning, lifespan, cheese intake, and being breastfed as a baby. But keep in mind that r_gs are not necessarily causal. And, if causal, their prevailing directions of effect (which causes which) are indiscernible from r_gs alone. Moreover, the SNP-heritability (h_g^2) estimates for both measures of COVID-19 were very low, restricting the overlap of genetic variance in absolute terms between the two traits. Nonetheless, our findings suggest that those with antisocial tendencies possibly have a higher risk of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) than those without antisocial tendencies. This may have been especially true early in the pandemic before vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 were available and before the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Shared Genomic Architectures of Covid-19 and Antisocial Behavior
• Biomarkers Selection for Population Normalization in SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater-based Epidemiology -

  Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been one of the most cost-effective approaches to track the SARS-CoV-2 levels in the communities since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Normalizing SARS-CoV-2 concentrations by the population biomarkers in wastewater can be critical for interpreting the viral loads, comparing the epidemiological trends among the sewersheds, and identifying the vulnerable communities. In this study, five population biomarkers, pepper mild mottle virus (pMMoV), creatinine (CRE), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), caffeine (CAF) and its metabolite paraxanthine (PARA) were investigated for their utility in normalizing the SARS-CoV-2 loads through developed direct and indirect approaches. Their utility in assessing the real-time population contributing to the wastewater was also evaluated. The best performed candidate was further tested for its capacity for improving correlation between normalized SARS-CoV-2 loads and the clinical cases reported in the City of Columbia, Missouri, a university town with a constantly fluctuated population. Our results showed that, except CRE, the direct and indirect normalization approaches using biomarkers allow accounting for the changes in wastewater dilution and differences in relative human waste input over time regardless flow volume and population at any given WWTP. Among selected biomarkers, PARA is the most reliable population biomarker in determining the SARS-CoV-2 load per capita due to its high accuracy, low variability, and high temporal consistency to reflect the change in population dynamics and dilution in wastewater. It also demonstrated its excellent utility for real-time assessment of the population contributing to the wastewater. In addition, the viral loads normalized by the PARA-estimated population significantly improved the correlation (rho=0.5878, p<0.05) between SARS-CoV-2 load per capita and case numbers per capita. This chemical biomarker offers an excellent alternative to the currently CDC-recommended pMMoV genetic biomarker to help us understand the size, distribution, and dynamics of local populations for forecasting the prevalence of SARS-CoV2 within each sewershed.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Biomarkers Selection for Population Normalization in SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater-based Epidemiology
• People underestimate the change of airborne Corona virus exposure when changing distance to an infected person: On interpersonal distance, exposure time, face masks and perceived virus exposure. -

  Participants judged airborne Corona virus exposure following a change of inter-personal distance and time of a conversation with an infected person with and without a face mask. About 75% of the participants underestimated how much virus exposure changes when the distance to an infected person changed. The smallest average face to face distance from an infected person without a mask that a participant judged as sufficiently safe was about 12 feet (3.67 m). Correlations showed that the more a person underestimated the effects of change of distance on exposure the shorter was that person’s own safety distance. On average the effects of different lengths of a conversation on exposure were correct, but those who judged the effects of time as smaller tended to select longer safety distances. Worry of own COVID-19 infection correlated with protective behaviors: keeping longer safety distances, avoiding public gatherings, postponement of meetings with friends. The results showed that the protective effects of both distancing and wearing a face mask were under-estimated by a majority of the participants. Implications of these results were discussed last.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: People underestimate the change of airborne Corona virus exposure when changing distance to an infected person: On interpersonal distance, exposure time, face masks and perceived virus exposure.
• Super-spreaders of novel coronaviruses that cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19 : A systematic review -

  OBJECTIVE Most index cases with novel coronavirus infections transmit disease to just 1 or 2 other individuals, but some individuals super-spread: they are infection sources for many secondary cases. Understanding common factors that super-spreaders may share could inform outbreak models. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive search in MEDLINE, Scopus and preprint servers to identify studies about persons who were each documented as transmitting SARS, MERS or COVID-19 to at least nine other persons. We extracted data from and applied quality assessment to eligible published scientific articles about super-spreaders to describe them demographically: by age, sex, location, occupation, activities, symptom severity, any underlying conditions and disease outcome. We included scientific reports published by mid June 2021. RESULTS The completeness of data reporting was often limited, which meant we could not identify traits such as patient age, sex, occupation, etc. Where demographic information was available, for these coronavirus diseases, the most typical super-spreader was a male age 40+. Most SARS or MERS super-spreaders were very symptomatic and died in hospital settings. In contrast, COVID-19 super-spreaders often had a very mild disease course and most COVID-19 super-spreading happened in community settings. CONCLUSION Although SARS and MERS super-spreaders were often symptomatic, middle- or older-age adults who had a high mortality rate, COVID-19 super-spreaders often had a mild disease course and were documented to be any adult age (from 18 to 91 years old). More outbreak reports should be published with anonymised but useful demographic information to improve understanding of super-spreading, super- spreaders, and the settings that super-spreading happens in.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Super-spreaders of novel coronaviruses that cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19 : A systematic review
• The impact of COVID-19 on pregnant and recently pregnant women in Malawi: A national facility-based cohort -

  Objective: To describe the demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, and clinical outcomes of hospitalised pregnant and recently pregnant women with COVID-19 in Malawi, a low-income country in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study responds to a critical gap in the global COVID-19 data. Methods: A national surveillance platform was established in Malawi by the Ministry of Health to record the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant and recently pregnant women and provide real-time data for decision making. We report this facility-based cohort that includes all pregnant and recently pregnant hospitalised women in Malawi suspected of having COVID-19 between 2nd June 2020 and 1st December 2021. Results: 398 women were admitted to hospital with suspected COVID-19 based on presenting symptoms and were tested; 246 (62%) were confirmed to have COVID-19. In women with COVID-19, the mean age was 27,SD(7) years. The most common presenting symptoms were cough (74%), breathlessness (45%), Fever (42%), headache (17%), and joint pain (10%). 53% of the women had COVID-19 symptoms severe enough to warrant admission. 31% (76/246) of women admitted with COVID-19 suffered a severe maternal outcome, 47/246 (19%) died, and 29/246 (12%) had a near-miss event. 9/111 (8%) of recorded births were stillbirths, and 12/101 (12%) of the live births resulted in early neonatal death. Conclusion: A national electronic platform providing real-time information on the characteristics and outcomes of pregnant and recently pregnant women with COVID-19 admitted to Malawian government hospitals. These women had much higher rates of adverse outcomes than those suggested in the current global data. These findings may reflect the differences in the severity of disease required for women to present and be admitted to Malawian hospitals, limited access to intensive care and the pandemic9s disruption to the health system.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The impact of COVID-19 on pregnant and recently pregnant women in Malawi: A national facility-based cohort
• Pulmonary lesions following inoculation with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 (B.1.1.529) variant in Syrian golden hamsters -
  The Omicron BA.1 (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant is characterized by a high number of mutations in the viral genome, associated with immune-escape and increased viral spread. It remains unclear whether milder COVID-19 disease progression observed after infection with Omicron BA.1 in humans is due to reduced pathogenicity of the virus or due to pre-existing immunity from vaccination or previous infection. Here, we inoculated hamsters with Omicron BA.1 to evaluate pathogenicity and kinetics of viral shedding, compared to Delta (B.1.617.2) and to animals re-challenged with Omicron BA.1 after previous SARS-CoV-2 614G infection. Omicron BA.1 infected animals showed reduced clinical signs, pathological changes, and viral shedding, compared to Delta-infected animals, but still showed gross- and histopathological evidence of pneumonia. Pre-existing immunity reduced viral shedding and protected against pneumonia. Our data indicate that the observed decrease of disease severity is in part due to intrinsic properties of the Omicron BA.1 variant.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Pulmonary lesions following inoculation with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 (B.1.1.529) variant in Syrian golden hamsters
• Neutrophils initiate the destruction of the olfactory epithelium during SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters -
  The loss of smell related to SARS-CoV-2 infection is one of the most prevalent symptoms of COVID-19. It is now clear that this symptom is related to the massive infection by SARS-CoV-2 of the olfactory epithelium leading to its desquamation. However, the molecular mechanism behind the destabilization of the olfactory epithelium is less clear. Using golden Syrian hamster, we show here that while apoptosis remains at a low level in damaged infected epithelium, the latter is invaded by innate immunity cells. By depleting the neutrophil population or blocking the activity of neutrophil elastase-like proteinases, we reduced the damage induced by the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Surprisingly, the impairment of neutrophil activity led to a decrease of SARS-CoV-2 infection levels in the nasal cavity. Our results indicate a counterproductive role of neutrophils leading to the release of infected cells in the lumen of the nasal cavity and thereby enhanced spreading of the virus.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Neutrophils initiate the destruction of the olfactory epithelium during SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters

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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• **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

• 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

• Self-Management Interventions for Long-COVID - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Education and Strategies Intervention;   Behavioral: Mindfulness Skills Intervention
  Sponsors:   Toronto Rehabilitation Institute;   Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR);   University Health Network, Toronto
  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

From PubMed

• Advances in the Omicron variant development - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2, has spread worldwide leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic, on 11 March 2020. VOCs variants have appeared at regular intervals - alpha, beta, gamma, delta and now omicron. Omicron variant, first identified in Botswana in November 2021, is rapidly becoming the dominant circulating variant. In this review, we provided an overview regarding the molecular profile of the omicron variant, epidemiology,…

• Novel antiviral activity of PAD inhibitors against human beta-coronaviruses HCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV-2 - The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, along with the likelihood that new coronavirus strains will appear in the nearby future, highlights the urgent need to develop new effective antiviral agents. In this scenario, emerging host-targeting antivirals (HTAs), which act on host-cell factors essential for viral replication, are a promising class of antiviral compounds. Here we show that a new class of HTAs targeting peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), a family of calcium- dependent enzymes catalyzing…

• Identification of Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL-Pro Enzymatic Activity Using a Small Molecule in Vitro Repurposing Screen - Compound repurposing is an important strategy for the identification of effective treatment options against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease. In this regard, SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CL-Pro), also termed M-Pro, is an attractive drug target as it plays a central role in viral replication by processing the viral polyproteins pp1a and pp1ab at multiple distinct cleavage sites. We here report the results of a repurposing program involving 8.7 K compounds containing marketed drugs,…

• ACE2 overexpressing mesenchymal stem cells alleviates COVID-19 lung injury by inhibiting pyroptosis - Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown some efficacy in the COVID-19 treatment. We proposed that exogenous supplementation of ACE2 via MSCs (ACE2-MSCs) might have better therapeutic effects. We constructed SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein stably transfected AT-II and Beas-2B cells, and used SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudovirus to infect hACE2 transgenic mice. The results showed that spike glycoprotein transfection triggers apoptotic bodies’s release and membrane pores’s formation in pyroptosis….

• Prediction of putative potential siRNAs for inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 strains, including variants of concern and interest - Aim: To predict siRNAs as a therapeutic intervention for highly infectious new variants of SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Conserved coding sequence regions of 11 SARS-CoV-2 proteins were used to construct siRNAs through sampling of metadata comprising 214,256 sequences. Results: Predicted siRNAs S1: 5’-UCAUUGAGAAAUGUUUACGCA-3’ and S2: 5’-AAAGACAUCAGCAUACUCCUG-3’ against RdRp of SARS-CoV-2 satisfied all the stringent filtering processes and showed good binding characteristics. The designed siRNAs are…

• Evaluation of a new bead-based assay to measure levels of human tissue factor antigen in extracellular vesicles in plasma - CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the MACSPlex Exosome Kit gives a nonspecific signal for TF and does not have the sensitivity to detect TF+ EVs in plasma.

• Functional food: complementary to fight against COVID-19 - BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus has embarked on a global pandemic and severe mortality with limited access for its treatments and medications. For the lack of time, research, and enough efficacy, most vaccines are underdeveloped or unreachable to society. However, many recent studies suggest various alternative, complementary remedies for COVID-19, which are functional foods. This review provides an overview of how functional foods can play a great role through modulating the host immune…

• Stability of Risk Perception Across Pandemic and Non-pandemic Situations Among Young Adults: Evaluating the Impact of Individual Differences - Previous research suggests a higher perceived risk associated with a risky behavior predicts a lower likelihood of involvement in that behavior; however, this relationship can vary based on personality characteristics such as impulsivity and behavioral activation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals began to re-evaluate the level of risk associated with everyday behaviors. But what about risks associated with “typical” risk-taking behaviors? In the present study, 248 undergraduate student…

• Crystallization of Feline Coronavirus M(pro) With GC376 Reveals Mechanism of Inhibition - Coronaviruses infect a variety of hosts in the animal kingdom, and while each virus is taxonomically different, they all infect their host via the same mechanism. The coronavirus main protease (M^(pro), also called 3CL^(pro)), is an attractive target for drug development due to its essential role in mediating viral replication and transcription. An M^(pro) inhibitor, GC376, has been shown to treat feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a fatal infection in cats caused by internal mutations in the…

• Potential Inhibitors Targeting Papain-Like Protease of SARS-CoV-2: Two Birds With One Stone - Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen of the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), is still devastating the world causing significant chaos to the international community and posing a significant threat to global health. Since the first outbreak in late 2019, several lines of intervention have been developed to prevent the spread of this virus. Nowadays, some vaccines have been approved and extensively administered. However, the fact that SARS-CoV-2 rapidly…

• Clofazimine derivatives as potent broad-spectrum antiviral agents with dual-target mechanism - Thirty-two clofazimine derivatives, of which twenty-two were new, were synthesized and evaluated for their antiviral effects against both rabies virus and pseudo-typed SARS-CoV-2, taking clofazimine (1) as the lead. Among them, compound 15f bearing 4-methoxy-2-pyridyl at the N5-position showed superior or comparable antiviral activities to lead 1, with the EC(50) values of 1.45 μM and 14.6 μM and the SI values of 223 and 6.1, respectively. Compound 15f inhibited rabies and SARS-CoV-2 by…

• Potential inhibitor for blocking binding between ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with mutations - At the time of writing, more than 440 million confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and more than 5.97 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide have been reported by the World Health Organization since the start of the outbreak of the pandemic in Wuhan, China. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many variants of SARS-CoV-2 have arisen because of high mutation rates. N501Y, E484K, K417N, K417T, L452R and T478K in the receptor binding domain (RBD) region may increase the infectivity in several…

• A highly sensitive cell-based luciferase assay for high-throughput automated screening of SARS-CoV-2 nsp5/3CLpro inhibitors - Effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2 are urgently needed to treat severe cases of infection and for prophylactic use. The main viral protease (nsp5 or 3CLpro) represents an attractive and possibly broad-spectrum target for drug development as it is essential to the virus life cycle and highly conserved among betacoronaviruses. Sensitive and efficient high- throughput screening methods are key for drug discovery. Here we report the development of a gain-of-signal, highly sensitive cell-based…

• New AKT-dependent mechanisms of anti-COVID-19 action of high-CBD Cannabis sativa extracts - COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which enters target cells via interactions with ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Here, we show AKT serine/threonine kinase-dependent epigenetic control of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression by high-cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extracts and their individual components. CBD alone and extracts #1, #5, #7, and #129 downregulated ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in lung fibroblast WI-38 cells through AKT-mediated inhibition. miR-200c-3p and let-7a-5p were two contributing miRNAs in CBD-mediated…

• A Natural Plant Source-Tea Polyphenols, a Potential Drug for Improving Immunity and Combating Virus - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still in a global epidemic, which has profoundly affected people’s lives. Tea polyphenols (TP) has been reported to enhance the immunity of the body to COVID-19 and other viral infectious diseases. The inhibitory effect of TP on COVID-19 may be achieved through a series of mechanisms, including the inhibition of multiple viral targets, the blocking of cellular receptors, and the activation of transcription factors. Emerging evidence shows…

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

• 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