Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Trust in scientists and non-populist governments supports COVID-19 information and safeguarding behaviors -
  Understanding how health communication influences engagement in protective health behaviors is crucial in the handling of pandemics, and especially the COVID-19 pandemic which has been branded an ‘infodemic’ due to the presence of misinformation and conspiracy theories. Here we investigate this through a large-scale survey in twelve countries (N = 7,755). We found, in line with our hypotheses, that trust in non-populist governments and scientists and their media predicted scientific knowledge, whereas distrust predicted conspiracy belief, together with trust in populist governments and social media. Scientific knowledge but not conspiracy belief in turn predicted safety guideline behaviors, whereas conspiracy belief but not scientific knowledge predicted misguided, self-centered behaviors like hoarding. However, conspiracy belief also predicted safety guideline behaviors, possibly due to the threat a presumed artificially created virus presents. We conclude that the communication of scientific knowledge through trusted sources is pivotal to adherence to safety guidelines during this and future health threats.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Trust in scientists and non-populist governments supports COVID-19 information and safeguarding behaviors
• Zero COVID is Possible but Preventing Coronavirus Transmission is Not the Path to this Noble Reality -
  Upon visualizing the reality in which biological phenomena occur with the Einsteinian method which does not make logical deductions in order to construct concepts such as those of the immunological kind which have eluded us since the birth of the repeatedly proven germ theory, it was found that immunological mechanisms do not protect us from the severe outcomes of the event in which the infectious disease (the disease the pathogen causes) is brought about by eliminating the pathogen but rather by permitting us to harbor the pathogen without the occurrence or completion of this event. Cases are therefore not direct consequences of infection but of the absence of immunological conditions that permit uneventful hosting of the pathogen so that infection goes undetected in the population when such protective conditions are widespread. And the noble goal of Zero COVID can only be achieved in a population in which the coronavirus is already harbored uneventfully through measures that ensure the presence and persistence of such immunological conditions and not through those such as lockdowns that aim to prevent coronavirus transmission on the basis of the assumption that cases occur in such a population as a direct consequence of community transmission. Given that vaccination does not protect from suffering and death by eliminating the coronavirus and those who have already been infected undetected cannot be protected by measures that aim to prevent community transmission, the elucidation of such immunological conditions with the goal of achieving Zero COVID ought to be the topmost priority of countries that are determined to put an end to the deaths that follow the co-manifestation of the different diseases in the COVID-19 spectrum long before those ages which the rare humans who celebrate their 110th birthdays approach more than all before they succumb to the outcomes of pathological events.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Zero COVID is Possible but Preventing Coronavirus Transmission is Not the Path to this Noble Reality
• Wikipedia as a tool for contemporary history of science: A case study on CRISPR -
  Rapid developments and methodological divides hinder the study of how scientific knowledge accumulates, consolidates and transfers to the public sphere. Our work proposes using Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, as a historiographical source regarding contemporary science. We chose the high-profile field of gene editing as our test case, performing a historical analysis of the English-language Wikipedia articles on CRISPR. Using a mixed method approach, we qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed its text, sections and references, alongside 50 affiliated articles. These, we found, documented CRISPR’s maturation from a fundamental scientific discovery to a biotechnological revolution with vast social and cultural implications. We developed automated tools to support such research generically and demonstrated its applicability on two other scientific fields we have previously studied - COVID-19 and Circadian clocks. This method makes use of Wikipedia as a digital and free archive, documenting the incremental growth of knowledge and the manner scientific research accumulates and translates into public discourse. Using Wikipedia in this manner compliments and overcomes some issues with contemporary histories and can also augment existing bibliometric research.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Wikipedia as a tool for contemporary history of science: A case study on CRISPR
• Atomic-level characterization of the conformational transition pathways in SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins -
  Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronaviruses 1 and 2 (SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2) derive transmissibility from spike protein activation in the receptor binding domain (RBD) and binding to the host cell angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). However, the mechanistic details that describe the large-scale conformational changes associated with spike protein activation or deactivation are still somewhat unknown. Here, we have employed an extensive set of nonequilibrium all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, utilizing a novel protocol, for the SARS-CoV-1 (CoV-1) and SARS-CoV-2 (CoV-2) prefusion spike proteins in order to characterize the conformational pathways associated with the active-to-inactive transition. Our results indicate that both CoV-1 and CoV-2 spike proteins undergo conformational transitions along pathways unique to each protein. We have identified a number of key residues that form various inter-domain salt-bridges, suggesting a multi-stage conformational change along the pathways. We have also constructed the free energy profiles along the transition pathways for both CoV-1 and CoV-2 spike proteins. The CoV-2 spike protein must overcome larger free energy barriers to undergo conformational changes towards protein activation or deactivation, when compared to CoV-1.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Atomic-level characterization of the conformational transition pathways in SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins
• Wastewater genomic surveillance captures early detection of Omicron in Utah -

  Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a powerful public health tool to trace new outbreaks, detect trends in infection and provide an early warning of COVID-19 community spread. Here, we investigated the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections across Utah by characterizing lineages and mutations detected in wastewater samples. We sequenced over 1,200 samples from 32 sewersheds collected between November 2021 and March 2022. Wastewater sequencing confirmed the presence of Omicron (B.1.1.529) in Utah in samples collected on November 19, 2021, up to seven days before its corresponding detection via clinical sequencing. We observed an increase in prevalence of several Omicron-defining mutations across sewersheds from December to January. Proportion of Omicron increased to ~58% by January 4th 2022 and completely displaced Delta by February 7th, 2022. Our study shows that WBE is an excellent complementary tool to SARS-CoV-2 clinical surveillance and can guide public health action and policy decisions.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Wastewater genomic surveillance captures early detection of Omicron in Utah
• Disruption in seasonality, patient characteristics and disparities of respiratory syncytial virus infection among young children in the US during and before the COVID-19 pandemic: 2010-2022 -

  Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections and hospitalization have surged sharply among young children. Here we test how the seasonal patterns of RSV infections in 2022 compared with those from other COVID-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic years. For this purpose, we analyzed a nation-wide and real-time database of electronic health records of 56 million patients across 50 states in the US. The monthly incidence rate of first-time RSV infection in young children (0-5 years of age) and very young children (0-1 year of age) followed a seasonal pattern from 2010 to 2019 with increases during the autumn, peaking in winter, subsiding in spring and summer. This seasonal pattern was significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the incidence rate of RSV infections was remarkably low throughout the year. In 2021, the RSV season expanded to 9 months starting in the early summer and peaking in October. In 2022, RSV infections started to rise in May and were significantly higher than in previous years reaching a historically highest incidence rate in November 2022. There were significant racial and ethnic disparities in the peak RSV infection rate during 2010-2021 and the disparities further exacerbated in 2022 with peak incidence rate in black and Hispanic children 2-3 times that in white children. Among RSV-infected children in 2022, 19.2% had prior documented COVID-19 infection, significantly higher than the 9.7% among uninfected children, suggesting that prior COVID-19 could be a risk factor for RSV infection or that there are common risk factors for both viral infections. Our study calls for continuous monitoring of RSV infection in young children alongside its clinical outcomes and for future work to assess potential COVID-19 related risk factors.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Disruption in seasonality, patient characteristics and disparities of respiratory syncytial virus infection among young children in the US during and before the COVID-19 pandemic: 2010-2022
• Persistent alveolar type 2 dysfunction and lung structural derangement in post-acute COVID-19 -

  SARS-CoV-2 infection can manifest as a wide range of respiratory and systemic symptoms well after the acute phase of infection in over 50% of patients. Key questions remain on the long-term effects of infection on tissue pathology in recovered COVID-19 patients. To address these questions we performed multiplexed imaging of post-mortem lung tissue from 12 individuals who died post-acute COVID-19 (PC) and compare them to lung tissue from patients who died during the acute phase of COVID-19, or patients who died with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and otherwise healthy lung tissue. We find evidence of viral presence in the lung up to 359 days after the acute phase of disease, including in patients with negative nasopharyngeal swab tests. The lung of PC patients are characterized by the accumulation of senescent alveolar type 2 cells, fibrosis with hypervascularization of peribronchial areas and alveolar septa, as the most pronounced pathophysiological features. At the cellular level, lung disease of PC patients, while distinct, shares pathological features with the chronic pulmonary disease of IPF. which may help rationalize interventions for PC patients. Altogether, this study provides an important foundation for the understanding of the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary infection at the microanatomical, cellular, and molecular level.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Persistent alveolar type 2 dysfunction and lung structural derangement in post-acute COVID-19
• Calpain-2 mediates SARS-CoV-2 entry and represents a therapeutic target -
  Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, much effort has been dedicated to identifying effective antivirals against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A number of calpain inhibitors show excellent antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 by targeting the viral main protease (Mpro), which plays an essential role in processing viral polyproteins. In this study, we found that calpain inhibitors potently inhibited the infection of a chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, but not Mpro. In contrast, calpain inhibitors did not exhibit antiviral activities towards the wild-type VSV with its native glycoprotein. Genetic knockout of calpain-2 by CRISPR/Cas9 conferred resistance of the host cells to the chimeric VSV-SARS-CoV-2 virus and a clinical isolate of wild-type SARS-CoV-2. Mechanistically, calpain-2 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated cell attachment by positively regulating the cell surface levels of ACE2. These results highlight an Mpro-independent pathway targeted by calpain inhibitors for efficient viral inhibition. We also identify calpain-2 as a novel host factor and a potential therapeutic target responsible for SARS-CoV-2 infection at the entry step.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Calpain-2 mediates SARS-CoV-2 entry and represents a therapeutic target
• Virus-like particle displaying SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain elicits neutralizing antibodies and is protective in a challenge model -
  While the effort to vaccinate people against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has largely been successful, particularly in the developed world, the rise of new variants as well as waning immunity illustrate the need for a new generation of vaccines that provide broader and/or more durable protection against infection and severe disease. Here we describe the generation and characterization of IVX-411, a computationally designed, two-component virus-like particle (VLP) displaying the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) on its surface. Immunization of mice with IVX-411 generates neutralizing antibodies against the ancestral strain as well as three variants of concern. Neutralizing antibody titers elicited by IVX-411 are durable and significantly higher than those elicited by immunization with soluble RBD and spike antigens. Furthermore, immunization with IVX-411 is shown to be protective in a Syrian Golden hamster challenge model using two different strains of SARS-CoV-2. Overall, these studies demonstrate that IVX-411 is highly immunogenic and capable of eliciting broad, protective immunity.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Virus-like particle displaying SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain elicits neutralizing antibodies and is protective in a challenge model
• Exploring Views of Technology to Inform Maternal and Child Health Interventions for Black Birthing People -

  Background: Black birthing people experience disproportionately higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and poorer infant health outcomes than all other racial and ethnic groups. Statewide in Wisconsin, an alarming disparity exists between Black and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) breastfeeding initiation rates (54% and 87%, respectively). For the last fourteen years, the African American Breastfeeding Network (AABN) has operated in Milwaukee County, where 70% of the Black population of Wisconsin lives. The mission of AABN is to improve maternal health and champion breastfeeding equity for Black birthing families. In 2018, AABN received more referrals than could be served by their team of doulas, lactation consultants, and advocates, leading our team to pursue ways to expand their reach through technology-based approaches. With the onset of COVID-19, the need for telehealth support increased drastically, as referrals for AABN services tripled. In this study, we explore the use of technology to support Black birthing families in Wisconsin and beyond, in the hopes of expanding the capacity of organizations like AABN. Methods: A survey was conducted amongst 21 Black women who were pregnant or had given birth in the last year, regarding perceptions of technology. Women were split equally into three focus groups to discuss survey results further and provide context. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. Results: Participants were likely to use their phone or the internet to look for general or health-related information, but only somewhat likely to trust either general or health-related information. Participants were somewhat likely to trust the information on the phone or the internet as much as their healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, doula) in person. In the focus groups, all participants agreed that the phone or the internet was the first place looked to for information, ahead of consulting a healthcare professional. A comprehensive list of desired features was generated to guide the development of a resource to support AABN. Conclusions: Study findings support exploring mobile technology-based approaches for breastfeeding support and education. Participants emphasized that to be relevant for them, a telehealth resource would need to: 1) Build meaningful connections between patients and providers, 2) Treat diverse opinions with trust and respect, and 3) Offer multiple sources and formats for information that can be easily cross-referenced.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Exploring Views of Technology to Inform Maternal and Child Health Interventions for Black Birthing People
• Mortality due to SARS COV-2 And its Associated Factors in East Shewa Zone Treatment Centers, Ethiopia, 2022: A retrospective cross-sectional study -

  Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that is caused by the SARS-CoV-2virus. The objective of this study was to determine SARS COV-2 Mortality and its associated factors in East Shewa Zone Treatment centers, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2022. The study of these types of viral infection will add new insight into the most common causes of mortality in SARS-CoV-2infection and the most common co-morbidities associated with the disease in the East Shewa Zone. Methods: The study was conducted on patients who were admitted to Adama Hospital medical college and Modjo Primary Hospital for SARS-COV 2 treatment. The study period was from March 2020- Dec 2022 GC. The study population was SARS-COV 2 patients who come to Adama Hospital and Medical College and Modjo Primary Hospital for treatment. All eligible SARS-CoV-2 patients9 data were collected from Both Adama and Modjo treatment center SARS-CoV-2 accession registration book and medical record card. Result: A total of 409 patient data were collected from which 199 were from Adama Hospital and Medical College and 210 samples were collected from Modjo Primary Hospital Treatment center. The study design was a retrospective Cross-sectional study. The most affected age group in terms of mortality was the age group between 60-69 years old which suffers a 45.28% death rate. The major sign symptoms identified include cough (80.4%), Shortness of breath (66.7%) followed by fever (43.2%). SARS-CoV-2 Comorbidity was detected in 152 (37.2%) patients. Pneumonia was identified as the major comorbid disease to be recorded with 89(21.8%) cases. Other major comorbidities include Hypertension (16.9%) and Diabetes Mellites (13.9%). The least identified comorbidities were anemia (0.2%), Rectal cancer (0.2%), breast cancer (0.5%), and Chronic liver disease. Conclusion: Nearly one in four (22.7%) SARS-COV 2 patients admitted for treatment to Adama Hospital and Medical College and Modjo Primary Hospital did not make their way out of treatment Hospitals alive. Pneumonia was identified as the major comorbid disease to be recorded with 89(21.8%) cases.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Mortality due to SARS COV-2 And its Associated Factors in East Shewa Zone Treatment Centers, Ethiopia, 2022: A retrospective cross-sectional study
• The Detection of COVID-19 in Chest X-Rays Using Ensemble CNN Techniques -

  Advances in the field of image classification using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have greatly improved the accuracy of medical image diagnosis by radiologists. Numerous research groups have applied CNN methods to diagnose respiratory illnesses from chest x-rays, and have extended this work to prove the feasibility of rapidly diagnosing COVID-19 to high degrees of accuracy. One issue in previous research has been the use of datasets containing only a few hundred images of chest x-rays containing COVID-19, causing CNNs to overfit the image data. This leads to a lower accuracy when the model attempts to classify new images, as would be clinically expected of it. In this work, we present a model trained on the COVID-QU-Ex dataset, overall containing 33,920 chest x-ray images, with an equal share of COVID-19, Non-COVID pneumonia, and Normal images. The model itself is an ensemble of pre-trained CNNs (ResNet50, VGG19, VGG16) and GLCM textural features. It achieved a 98.34% binary classification accuracy (COVID-19/no COVID-19) on a balanced test dataset of 6581 chest x-rays, and 94.68% for distinguishing between COVID-19, Non-COVID pneumonia and normal chest x-rays. Also, we herein discuss the effects of dataset size, demonstrating that a 98.82% 3-class accuracy can be achieved using the model if the training dataset only contains a few thousand images, but that generalisability of the model suffers with such small datasets.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The Detection of COVID-19 in Chest X-Rays Using Ensemble CNN Techniques
• Developing a research ready population-scale linked data ethnicity-spine in Wales -

  Introduction Ethnicity information is recorded routinely in electronic health records (EHRs); however, to date, there is no national standard or framework for harmonisation of the existing records. Methods and analysis The national ethnicity-spine uses anonymised individual-level population-scale ethnicity data from 26 EHR available through the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. A total of 46 million ethnicity records for 4,297,694 individuals in Wales-UK over 22 years (between 2000 and 2021) have been compiled in a harmonised, deduplicated longitudinal research ready data asset. We serialised this data and compared distribution of records over time for four selection approaches (Latest, Mode, Weighted-Mode and Composite) across age bands, sex, deprivation quintiles, health board, and residential location, against the ONS census 2011. The distribution of the dominant group (White) is minimally affected based on the four different selection approaches. Across all other ethnicity categorisations, the Mixed group was most susceptible to variation in distribution depending on the selection approach used and varied from a 0.6% prevalence across the Latest and Mode approach to a 1.1% prevalence for the Weighted-Mode, compared to the 3.1% prevalence for the Composite approach. Substantial alignment was observed with ONS census with the Latest group method (kappa= 0.68, 95% CI [0.67,0.71]) across all sub-groups. Conclusion We provides a reproducible EHR based resource enabling the investigation and evaluation of health inequalities related to ethnic groups in Wales. This generalisable method informs opportunities for the transferability of this methodology across the UK to platforms with comparable routine data sources. Ethics and dissemination This work was supported by the Con-COV team funded by Medical Research Council, Health Data Research UK, ADR Wales funded by ADR UK through the Economic and Social Research Council, and the Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre, funded by Health and Care Research Wales.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Developing a research ready population-scale linked data ethnicity-spine in Wales
• Opinions of Former Jail Residents about Self-collection of SARS-CoV-2 Specimens, Paired with Wastewater Surveillance: A Qualitative Study Rapidly Examining Acceptability of COVID-19 Mitigation Measures -

  In year one of the COVID-19 epidemic, the incidence of infection for US carceral populations was 5.5-fold higher than that in the community. Prior to the rapid roll out of a comprehensive jail surveillance program of Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) and individual testing for SARS-CoV-2, we sought the perspectives of formerly incarcerated individuals regarding mitigation strategies against COVID-19 to inform acceptability of the new program. In focus groups, participants discussed barriers to their receiving COVID-19 testing and vaccination. We introduced WBS and individual nasal self-testing, then queried if wastewater testing to improve surveillance of emerging outbreaks before case numbers surged, and specimen self-collection, would be valued. The participants9 input gives insight into ways to improve the delivery of COVID-19 interventions. Hearing the voices of those with lived experiences of incarceration is critical to understanding their views on infection control strategies and supports including justice-involved individuals in decision-making processes regarding jail-based interventions.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Opinions of Former Jail Residents about Self-collection of SARS-CoV-2 Specimens, Paired with Wastewater Surveillance: A Qualitative Study Rapidly Examining Acceptability of COVID-19 Mitigation Measures
• Performance of antigen lateral flow devices in the United Kingdom during the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic -

  Background Antigen lateral flow devices (LFDs) have been widely used to control SARS-CoV-2. Changes in LFD sensitivity and detection of infectious individuals during the pandemic with successive variants, vaccination, and changes in LFD use are incompletely understood. Methods Paired LFD and PCR tests were collected from asymptomatic and symptomatic participants, across multiple settings in the UK between 04-November-2020 and 21-March-2022. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse LFD sensitivity and specificity, adjusting for viral load, LFD manufacturer, setting, age, sex, assistance, symptoms, vaccination, and variant. National contact tracing data were used to estimate the proportion of transmitting index cases (with ≥1 PCR/LFD-positive contact) potentially detectable by LFDs over time, accounting for viral load, variant, and symptom status. Findings 4131/75,382 (5.5%) participants were PCR-positive. Sensitivity vs. PCR was 63.2% (95%CI 61.7-64.6%) and specificity 99.71% (99.66-99.74%). Increased viral load was independently associated with being LFD-positive. There was no evidence LFD sensitivity differed between Delta vs. Alpha/pre-Alpha infections, but Omicron infections were more likely to be LFD positive. Sensitivity was higher in symptomatic participants, 68.7% (66.9-70.4%) than in asymptomatic participants, 52.8% (50.1-55.4%). 79.4% (68.6-81.3%) of index cases resulting in probable onward transmission with were estimated to have been detectable using LFDs, this proportion was relatively stable over time/variants, but lower in asymptomatic vs. symptomatic cases. Interpretation LFDs remained able to detect most SARS-CoV-2 infections throughout vaccine roll-out and different variants. LFDs can potentially detect most infections that transmit to others and reduce risks. However, performance is lower in asymptomatic compared to symptomatic individuals. Funding UK Government.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Performance of antigen lateral flow devices in the United Kingdom during the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

From Clinical Trials

• CareSuperb COVID-19 Antigen Test Usability - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Device: CareSuperb COVID-19 Antigen Home Test Kit
  Sponsor:   AccessBio, Inc.
  Recruiting

• Feasibility and Usability of COVID-19 Antigen RDTs in Uganda - Condition:   COVID-19 Pandemic
  Interventions:   Diagnostic Test: PMC Sure Status COVID-19 Antigen Test;   Diagnostic Test: Acon Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test
  Sponsor:   PATH
  Not yet recruiting

• A Study to Learn About Bivalent COVID-19 RNA Vaccine Candidate(s) in Healthy Infants and Children - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Bivalent BNT162b2 (original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) 3 microgram dose;   Biological: Bivalent BNT162b2 (original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) 6 microgram dose;   Biological: Bivalent BNT162b2 (original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) 10 microgram dose;   Biological: Bivalent BNT162b2 (original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) 1 microgram dose
  Sponsors:   BioNTech SE;   Pfizer
  Not yet recruiting

• SUNRISE-3: Efficacy and Safety of Bemnifosbuvir in High-Risk Outpatients With COVID-19 - Conditions:   SARS CoV 2 Infection;   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Bemnifosbuvir (BEM);   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  Recruiting

• Study of RAY1216 Tablets Compared With Placebo in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   Mild to Moderate COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: RAY1216;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Guangdong Raynovent Biotech Co., Ltd
  Not yet recruiting

• Evaluation of an Integrative Medicine Outpatient Clinical Setting for Post-COVID-19 Patients - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Fatigue
  Interventions:   Behavioral: outpatient clinic with multimodal integrative medicine and naturopathy for post-COVID-19 patients;   Other: waiting group
  Sponsor:   Universität Duisburg-Essen
  Recruiting

• Acute Rehabilitation in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Rehabilitation;   Physical Medicine
  Intervention:   Procedure: Acute rehabilitation program
  Sponsor:   Institut za Rehabilitaciju Sokobanjska Beograd
  Recruiting

• Message Communicating Latest Data on COVID Transmission in Patient’s Area - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: COVID Booster text messages
  Sponsor:   University of Pennsylvania
  Enrolling by invitation

• Clinical Evaluation of the Panbio™ COVID-19/Flu A&B Rapid Panel Professional Use Product Using Mid-Turbinate Nasal Swabs - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Influenza A;   Influenza Type B
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: Panbio™
  Sponsor:   Abbott Rapid Dx
  Not yet recruiting

• Efficacy of a Physical and Respiratory Rehabilitation Program for Patients With Persistent COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). - Conditions:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection;   COVID-19 Recurrent;   Cognitive Dysfunction;   Fatigue
  Intervention:   Other: COPERIA-REHAB
  Sponsors:   Fundacin Biomedica Galicia Sur;   University of Vigo;   Galician South Health Research Institute
  Not yet recruiting

• VNS for Long-COVID-19 - Conditions:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome;   Postural Tachycardia Syndrome;   Dysautonomia
  Interventions:   Device: Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation;   Device: Sham Intervention
  Sponsor:   Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  Recruiting

• Phonation Therapy to Improve Symptoms and Lung Physiology in Patients Referred for Pulmonary Rehabilitation - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Tonation Breathing Techniques;   Behavioral: Music Driven Vocal Exercises;   Behavioral: Silent Breathing
  Sponsor:   MetroHealth Medical Center
  Recruiting

• Differential Diagnosis of Persistent COVID-19 by Artificial Intelligence - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Fatigue;   Distress Respiratory Syndrome;   Cognitive Dysfunction;   COVID-19 Recurrent;   SARS CoV 2 Infection
  Intervention:   Other: Experimental tests
  Sponsors:   Fundacin Biomedica Galicia Sur;   University of Vigo;   Galician South Health Research Institute
  Not yet recruiting

• Dietary Modulation of Gut Microbiota in Overweight/Obese Adolescents and COVID-19 Infection - Conditions:   Health Behavior;   Child Development;   Adolescent Obesity
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: Probiotics;   Behavioral: Counselling on healthy eating, physical activity, and psychosocial stimulation;   Dietary Supplement: Placebo probiotics
  Sponsors:   Indonesia University;   Gadjah Mada University;   Universitas Airlangga;   University of Melbourne;   The Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education, Ministry of Finance Indonesia
  Recruiting

• Randomised Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of an Online Cognitive Rehabilitation Programme (COPERIA-COG) for Patients With Persistent Covid - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Neuro-Degenerative Disease;   Psychological;   SARS CoV 2 Infection
  Intervention:   Other: Sessions of cognitive stimulation
  Sponsors:   Fundacin Biomedica Galicia Sur;   Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental;   Galician South Health Research Institute
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• A multi-reference poly-conformational method for in silico design, optimization, and repositioning of pharmaceutical compounds illustrated for selected SARS-CoV-2 ligands - BACKGROUND: This work presents a novel computational multi-reference poly-conformational algorithm for design, optimization, and repositioning of pharmaceutical compounds.

• In silico analysis of the antidepressant fluoxetine and similar drugs as inhibitors of the human protein acid sphingomyelinase: a related SARS-CoV-2 inhibition pathway - Acid Sphingomyelinase (ASM) is a human phosphodiesterase that catalyzes the metabolism of sphingomyelin (SM) to ceramide and phosphocholine. ASM is involved in the plasma membrane cell repair and is associated with the lysosomal inner lipid membrane by nonbonding interactions. The disruption of those interaction would result in ASM release into the lysosomal lumen and consequent degradation of its structure. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been linked with ASM activation and with a…

• Elevated ubiquitination contributes to protective immunity against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection - CONCLUSION: Ubiquitination characteristics provides new ideas for clinical intervention and prognostic guidance for COVID-19 patients.

• VPS34-dependent control of apical membrane function of proximal tubule cells and nutrient recovery by the kidney - The lipid kinase VPS34 orchestrates autophagy, endocytosis, and metabolism and is implicated in cancer and metabolic disease. The proximal tubule in the kidney is a key metabolic organ that controls reabsorption of nutrients such as fatty acids, amino acids, sugars, and proteins. Here, by combining metabolomics, proteomics, and phosphoproteomics analyses with functional and superresolution imaging assays of mice with an inducible deficiency in proximal tubular cells, we revealed that VPS34…

• In silico evaluation of flavonoids as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main nonstructural proteins (Nsps)-amentoflavone as a multitarget candidate - Despite the development of vaccines against COVID-19 disease and the multiple efforts to find efficient drugs as treatment for this virus, there are too many social, political, economic, and health inconveniences to incorporate a fully accessible plan of prevention and therapy against SARS-CoV-2. In this sense, it is necessary to find nutraceutical/pharmaceutical drugs as possible COVID-19 preventives/treatments. Based on their beneficial effects, flavonoids are one of the most promising…

• Defective Interfering Particles with Broad-Acting Antiviral Activity for Dengue, Zika, Yellow Fever, Respiratory Syncytial and SARS-CoV-2 Virus Infection - More than 100 arboviruses, almost all of which have an RNA genome, cause disease in humans. RNA viruses are causing unprecedented health system challenges worldwide, many with little or no specific therapies or vaccines available. Certain species of mosquito can carry dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV) and yellow fever virus (YFV), where co-infection of these viruses has occurred. Here, we found that purified synthetic defective interfering particles (DIPs) derived from DENV type 2 (DENV-2)…

• Combination of Cefditoren and N-acetyl-l-Cysteine Shows a Synergistic Effect against Multidrug-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae Biofilms - Biofilm formation by Streptococcus pneumoniae is associated with colonization of the upper respiratory tract, including the carrier state, and with chronic respiratory infections in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The use of antibiotics alone to treat recalcitrant infections caused by biofilms is insufficient in many cases, requiring novel strategies based on a combination of antibiotics with other agents, including antibodies, enzybiotics, and antioxidants….

• SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein-Activated Dendritic Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Induce Antiviral Immunity in Mice - The onset and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have created an unprecedented universal crisis. Although vaccines have been developed against the parental SARS-CoV-2, outbreaks of the disease still occur through the appearance of different variants, suggesting a continuous need for improved and effective therapeutic strategies. Therefore, we developed a novel nanovesicle presenting Spike protein on the surface of the dendritic cell-derived extracellular vesicles (DEVs) for use as a potential…

• Neurological disorders of COVID-19: insights to applications of natural products from plants and microorganisms - In addition to the typical respiratory manifestations, various disorders including involvement of the nerve system have been detected in COVID-19 ranging from 22 to 36%. Although growing records are focusing on neurological aspects of COVID-19, the pathophysiological mechanisms and related therapeutic methods remain obscure. Considering the increased concerns of SARS-CoV-2 potential for more serious neuroinvasion conditions, the present review attempts to focus on the neuroprotective effects of…

• Onychomadesis in a COVID-19 patient - We report the case of a 67-year-old woman who developed onychomadesis on 9 of her fingers 2 months after recovering from COVID-19, with subsequent full nail regrowth after 4 months. The development of onychomadesis in COVID-19 is probably related to inhibition of nail proliferation due to fever, direct viral damage, or an inflammatory process associated with endothelial damage and obliterative microangiopathy in the nail matrix area. Clinicians should be aware of nail changes and actively seek…

• An evaluation of the convergent validity of a face-to-face and virtual neuropsychological assessment counter balanced - The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for further research evaluating the validity of conducting a battery of neuropsychological assessments virtually compared with face-to-face administration. Previous research has suggested that some neuropsychological assessments yield valid results when administered virtually, however, much of the previous research focused on older adults. To determine the validity of virtually administered neuropsychological tests, 28 healthy participants were…

• Nintedanib: a review of the properties, function, and usefulness to minimize COVID-19 induced lung injury - INTRODUCTION: In severe COVID-19 patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-induced lung injury regularly causes a pulmonary fibrotic phase. There is no approved therapy for the COVID-19-induced pulmonary fibrosis. However, administration of an anti-fibrotic agent, in the early acute phase of the severe COVID-19 with ARDS may improve the infection outcomes.

• Reactive-diffusion epidemic model on human mobility networks: Analysis and applications to COVID-19 in China - The complex dynamics of human mobility, combined with sporadic cases of local outbreaks, make assessing the impact of large-scale social distancing on COVID-19 propagation in China a challenge. In this paper, with the travel big dataset supported by Baidu migration platform, we develop a reactive-diffusion epidemic model on human mobility networks to characterize the spatio-temporal propagation of COVID-19, and a novel time-dependent function is incorporated into the model to describe the…

• Home Sweet Home: Working from home and employee performance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK - In 2020, many governments responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by encouraging employees to work from home (WFH). Analyzing representative data from the UK, we find that the pandemic-led increases in WFH frequency are associated with a higher self-perceived hourly productivity among employed respondents. Interestingly, changes in WFH frequency are unrelated to the respondents’ weekly working hours and weekly wages during the same period. While the WFH-productivity association is more substantial in…

• Fusion assays for screening of fusion inhibitors targeting SARS-CoV-2 entry and syncytia formation - Virus fusion process is evolutionarily conserved and provides a promising pan-viral target. Cell-cell fusion leads to syncytial formation and has implications in pathogenesis, virus spread and immune evasion. Drugs that target these processes can be developed into anti-virals. Here, we have developed sensitive, rapid, adaptable fusion reporter gene assays as models for plasma membrane and alternative fusion pathways as well as syncytial fusion in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus…

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