Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• The Cauldron Has Cooled Down: A Systematic Literature Review on COVID-19, Ghost Games, and Home Advantage in Football from a Behavioral Science Perspective -
  The phenomenon of home advantage (or home bias) is well-analyzed in the scientific literature and is traditionally an interdisciplinary topic. So far, the phenomenon has been difficult to study because, although there have always been single matches where the spectators were excluded, this never happened globally to all teams within a league or even across leagues. Thus, several studies examined the influence of supporters by comparing matches before the COVID-19 restrictions with so-called ghost games during the pandemic. To synthesize the existing knowledge after over a year of ghost games and to offer the scientific community and other stakeholders an overview regarding the numerous studies, we provide a systematic literature review that summarizes the main findings of 16 empirical studies and discusses the results accordingly. Our findings - based on 16 studies - indicate that ghost games have a considerable impact on the phenomenon of home advantage. No study found an increased home advantage in ghost games. Rather, our results show that 13 (from 16 included) analyzed studies conclude – based on their individually examined data – a more or less significant decrease of home advantage in ghost games. We conclude that our findings are highly relevant from a both socio-economic and behavioral perspective and highlight the indirect and direct influence of spectators and fans on football. Our results have – besides for the scientific community – a high importance for sports and team managers, media executives, fan representatives and other persons responsible.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The Cauldron Has Cooled Down: A Systematic Literature Review on COVID-19, Ghost Games, and Home Advantage in Football from a Behavioral Science Perspective
• Who, What, Where: Tracking the development of COVID-19 related PsyArXiv preprints -
  Given the need for a rapid and supposed critical response from behavioural sciences during times of crisis, this study aimed to track the development of COVID-19 psychology-related preprints. We tracked the first 211 COVID related preprints on the repository PsyArXiv. Specifically, we tracked who was submitting preprints, what the preprints were investigating, and whether the preprints lead to publications and their impact (measured by Google Scholar citations). We then followed up with the preprints about a year later to determine the number of preprints that lead to publication and the number of citations they received. The results showed that males from western countries submitted most preprints. Fifty-one per cent of preprints used a survey design, and the most common topic for covid-19 related preprints was mental health. Eighty-three per cent of preprints did not meet credible open science measures. 54% of the sampled preprints had been published in peer-reviewed journals, with a median time between preprint upload and publication of 105 days. Metascience preprints were more likely to be published, and preprints with reviews had lower citation rates. Overall, the results demonstrate that some of the structural problems in research are still in play despite global efforts to mobilise research efforts during the pandemic.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Who, What, Where: Tracking the development of COVID-19 related PsyArXiv preprints
• Vitamin S: Why is Social Contact, Even with Strangers, so Important to Well-Being? -
  Even before COVID-19, it was well-known in psychological science that our well-being is strongly served by the quality of our close relationships. But is our well-being also served by social contact with people we know less well? In this article, we discuss three propositions to support the conclusion that the benefits of social contact also derive from interactions with acquaintances and even strangers. The propositions state that most interaction situations with strangers are benign (Proposition 1), that most strangers are benign (Proposition 2), and that most interactions with strangers enhance well-being (Proposition 3). These propositions are supported, first, by recent research designed to illuminate the primary features of interaction situations, showing that situations with strangers often represent low conflict of interest. Second, in our interactions with strangers, most people exhibit high levels of low-cost cooperation (social mindfulness) and high-cost helping if help to strangers is urgent. We close by sharing research examples which show that even very subtle interactions with strangers yield short-term happiness. Broader implications for COVID-19 and urbanization are discussed.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Vitamin S: Why is Social Contact, Even with Strangers, so Important to Well-Being?
• Psychological Trauma and Emotional Upheaval as Revealed in Academic Writing -
  Trauma victims often respond to distress in systematic ways that are psychologically rich. People who face trauma or emotional upheavals, for example, try to make meaning of their experiences by putting in psychological effort to resolve their distress. The current paper used a preregistered set of language dimensions to indicate how scientists psychologically managed the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Study 1 used over 1.8 million preprints from arXiv.org to evaluate how papers about COVID-19 were written compared to non-COVID-19 papers. The data suggest COVID-19 papers were written with more affect (specifically, negative emotion), more cognitive processing terms to indicate writers working through a crisis, and less analytic thinking to indicate an inward focus relative to non-COVID-19 papers. Study 2 (N = 74,809 published PLoS One papers) observed consistent emotion results across COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 papers, but cognitive processing and analytic thinking patterns were reversed. Study 3 (N = 361,189 published papers) replicated the Study 2 results across a more diverse set of journals. Together, emotional upheavals are associated with psychological correlates that are reflected in the language of scientists at scale. Having time to work through and manage a crisis, however, may reduce their prevalence in published academic papers. Implications for psychology of language research and trauma are discussed.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Psychological Trauma and Emotional Upheaval as Revealed in Academic Writing
• Roles of Family Stress, Maltreatment, and Affect Regulation Difficulties on Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19 -
  Purpose: This study examines the indirect effect of affect dysregulation and suppression on the associations between family stress from confinement, maltreatment, and adolescent mental health during COVID-19. We examined both adolescent and caregiver perspectives to yield a more well-rounded understanding of these associations. Methods: Using both adolescent (N = 809, Mage = 15.66) and caregiver (N = 578) samples, exposure to physical and psychological maltreatment, family stress from confinement, affect dysregulation, suppression, and youth externalizing and internalizing symptoms were measured in the summer of 2020, following three months of stay at home orders due to COVID-19. Results: We found that affect dysregulation partially accounted for the associations between family stress and psychological maltreatment on both internalizing and externalizing symptoms for youth and parent report. Suppression partially accounted for the associations between family stress and maltreatment on internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the youth sample, but only for internalizing symptoms in the caregiver sample. Conclusion: Understanding the family predictors of adolescents’ mental health concerns, and their underlying mechanisms, affect dysregulation and suppression, can help us target mental health interventions during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Roles of Family Stress, Maltreatment, and Affect Regulation Difficulties on Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19
• Is the future of work experience online? An examination of stakeholder attitudes towards online internships. -
  Purpose The world of work is becoming digital, a process accelerated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and resultant remote working guidelines. Online internships have become more popular in this context, and yet there remains a lack of research investigating how these internships are perceived across stakeholders. The purpose of this paper was to begin to address this research gap by exploring academic, student and employer perceptions of online internships with a focus on employability. Design The research explored 156 stakeholders (53 students, 50 academics, 53 employer / professionals) perceptions via a mixed-methods online study encompassing quantitative responses to internship vignettes, alongside open-ended questions designed to explore stakeholder attitudes in more depth. Findings Stakeholder groups reported similar attitudes towards online internships. Overall, online internships were viewed as valid, flexible, work experience, linked to skill development and likely to enhance student employability. However, concerns were raised regarding communication protocols and development, intern isolation and a lack of organisational immersion. Implications Based on our research we make three recommendations to continue to enhance and develop the online internship experience; ensure multiple methods of regular communication between student and organisation, attempt virtual immersion in the organisation, and assign each intern additional support beyond their immediate supervisor. Originality Based on a holistic and novel analysis of key stakeholders’ viewpoints, this paper provides much needed insights and evidence on how to design and quality assure effective online internship practice.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Is the future of work experience online? An examination of stakeholder attitudes towards online internships.
• Amyloidogenic proteins in the SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 proteomes -
  The phenomenon of protein aggregation is widespread and associated with a wide range of human diseases. Our knowledge on the aggregation behaviour of viral proteins, however, is still rather limited. Here, we investigated the distribution of aggregation-prone regions in the the SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 proteomes. An initial analysis using a panel of sequence-based predictors suggested the presence of multiple aggregation-prone regions in these proteomes, and revealed an enhanced aggregation propensity in some SARS-CoV-2 proteins. We then studied the in vitro aggregation of predicted aggregation-prone regions in the of SARS-CoV-2 proteome, including the signal sequence peptide and fusion peptide 1 of the spike protein, a peptide from the NSP6 protein (NSP6-p), the ORF10 protein, and the NSP11 protein. Our re-sults show that these peptides and proteins form aggregates via a nucleation-dependent mecha-nism. Moreover, we demonstrated that the aggregates of NSP11 are toxic to mammalian cell cultures. These findings provide evidence about the aggregation of proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 proteome.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Amyloidogenic proteins in the SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 proteomes
• Broadening a SARS-CoV-1 neutralizing antibody for potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralization through directed evolution -
  The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 underscores the need for strategies to rapidly develop neutralizing monoclonal antibodies that can function as prophylactic and therapeutic agents and to help guide vaccine design. Here, we demonstrate that engineering approaches can be used to refocus an existing neutralizing antibody to a related but resistant virus. Using a rapid affinity maturation strategy, we engineered CR3022, a SARS-CoV-1 neutralizing antibody, to bind SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain with >1000-fold improved affinity. The engineered CR3022 neutralized SARS-CoV-2 and provided prophylactic protection from viral challenge in a small animal model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Deep sequencing throughout the engineering process paired with crystallographic analysis of an enhanced antibody elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which engineered CR3022 can accommodate sequence differences in the epitope between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. The workflow described provides a blueprint for rapid broadening of neutralization of an antibody from one virus to closely related but resistant viruses.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Broadening a SARS-CoV-1 neutralizing antibody for potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralization through directed evolution
• Corowa-kun: Impact of a COVID-19 vaccine information chatbot on vaccine hesitancy, Japan 2021 -

  Background: Few studies have assessed how mobile messenger apps affect COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We created a COVID-19 vaccine information chatbot in a popular messenger app in Japan to answer commonly asked questions. Methods: LINE is the most popular messenger app in Japan. Corowa-kun, a free chatbot, was created in LINE on February 6, 2021. Corowa-kun provides instant, automated answers to frequently asked COVID-19 vaccine questions. In addition, a cross-sectional survey assessing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was conducted via Corowa-kun during April 5 to 12, 2021. Results: A total of 59,676 persons used Corowa-kun during February to April 2021. Of them, 10,192 users (17%) participated in the survey. Median age was 55 years (range 16 to 97), and most were female (74%). Intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine increased from 59% to 80% after using Corowa-kun (p < 0.01). Overall, 20% remained hesitant: 16% (1,675) were unsure, and 4% (364) did not intend to be vaccinated. Factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were: age 16 to 34 (odds ratio [OR] = 3.7, 95% confidential interval [CI]: 3.0-4.6, compared to age ≥ 65), female sex (OR = 2.4, Cl: 2.1-2.8), and history of another vaccine side-effect (OR = 2.5, Cl: 2.2-2.9). Being a physician (OR = 0.2, Cl: 0.1-0.4) and having received a flu vaccine the prior season (OR = 0.4, Cl: 0.3-0.4) were protective. Conclusions: Corowa-kun reduced vaccine hesitancy by providing COVID-19 vaccine information in a messenger app. Mobile messenger apps could be leveraged to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Corowa-kun: Impact of a COVID-19 vaccine information chatbot on vaccine hesitancy, Japan 2021
• Out-of-Pocket Spending for COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 2020 -

  IMPORTANCE: Many insurers waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 hospitalizations during 2020. Nonetheless, patients may have been billed if their plans did not implement waivers or if waivers did not capture all hospitalization-related care, including clinician services. Assessing out-of-pocket spending for COVID-19 hospitalizations in 2020 could demonstrate the financial burden patients may face if insurers allow waivers to expire, as many chose to do during early 2021. OBJECTIVE: To estimate out-of-pocket spending for COVID-19 hospitalizations in 2020 DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis SETTING: IQVIA PharMetrics Plus for Academics Database, a national claims database PARTICIPANTS: COVID-19 hospitalizations for privately insured and Medicare Advantage patients during March-September 2020 MAIN OUTCOMES/MEASURES: Mean total out-of-pocket spending, defined as the sum of out-of-pocket spending for facility services billed by hospitals (e.g., accommodation charges) and for professional/ancillary services billed by clinicians and ancillary providers (e.g., clinician inpatient evaluation and management, ambulance transport) RESULTS: Analyses included 4,075 hospitalizations. Of the 1,377 hospitalizations for privately insured patients and the 2,698 hospitalizations for Medicare Advantage patients, 981 (71.2%) and 1,324 (49.1%) had out-of-pocket spending for facility services, professional/ancillary services, or both. Among these hospitalizations, mean (SD) total out-of-pocket spending was $788 (1,411) and $277 (363). In contrast, 63 (4.6%) and 36 (1.3%) hospitalizations had out-of-pocket spending for facility services. Among these hospitalizations, mean total out-of-pocket spending was $3,840 (3,186) and $1,536 (1,402). Total out-of-pocket spending exceeded $4,000 for 2.5% of privately insured hospitalizations, compared with 0.2% of Medicare Advantage hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: Few COVID-19 hospitalizations in this study had out-of-pocket spending for facility services, suggesting most were covered by insurers with cost-sharing waivers. However, many hospitalizations had out-of-pocket spending for professional/ancillary services. Overall, 7 in 10 privately insured hospitalizations and half of Medicare Advantage hospitalizations had any out-of-pocket spending. Findings suggest insurer cost-sharing waivers may not cover all hospitalization-related care. Moreover, high cost-sharing for some hospitalizations suggests out-of-pocket burden could be substantial if waivers expire, particularly for privately insured patients. Rather than rely on voluntary insurer actions to mitigate this burden, federal policymakers should consider mandating insurers to waive cost-sharing for all COVID-19 hospitalization-related care throughout the pandemic.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Out-of-Pocket Spending for COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 2020
• Use of medicinal plants for COVID-19 prevention and respiratory symptom treatment during the pandemic in Cusco, Peru: A cross-sectional survey -

  Background: The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru has led to people seeking alternative treatments as preventives and treatment options such as medicinal plants. This study aimed to assess factors associated with the use of medicinal plants as preventive or treatment of respiratory symptom related to COVID-19 during the pandemic in Cusco, Peru. Method: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on general public (20- to 70-year-old) from August 31 to September 20, 2020. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire via Google Forms, it consisted of an 11-item questionnaire that was developed and validated by expert judgment using Aiken9s V (Aiken9s V > 0.9). Both descriptive statistics and bivariate followed by multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess factors associated with the use of medicinal plants for COVID-19 prevention and respiratory symptom treatment during the pandemic. Prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI), and a P-value of 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: A total of 1,747 respondents participated in the study, 80.2% reported that they used medicinal plants as preventives, while 71% reported that they used them to treat respiratory symptoms. At least, 24% of respondents used medicinal plants when presenting with two or more respiratory symptoms, while at least 11% used plants for malaise. For treatment or prevention, the multivariate analysis showed that most respondents used eucalyptus (p < 0.001 for both), ginger (p < 0.022 for both), spiked pepper (p < 0.003 for both), garlic (p = 0.023 for prevention), and chamomile (p = 0.011 for treatment). The respondents with COVID-19 (p < 0.001), at older ages (p = 0.046), and with a family member or friend who had COVID-19 (p < 0.001) used more plants for prevention. However, the respondents with technical or higher education used less plants for treatment (p < 0.001). Conclusion: There was a significant use of medicinal plants for both prevention and treatment, which was associated with several population characteristics and whether respondents had COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Use of medicinal plants for COVID-19 prevention and respiratory symptom treatment during the pandemic in Cusco, Peru: A cross-sectional survey
• MALDI-ToF Protein Profiling as Potential Rapid Diagnostic Platform for COVID-19 -

  More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic has been declared, the need still exists for accurate, rapid, inexpensive and non-invasive diagnostic methods that yield high specificity towards the current and newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains. Several studies have since established saliva as a more amenable specimen type in early detection and viral load quantitation as compared to the nasopharyngeal swabs. Considering the limitations and high demand for COVID-19 testing, we have employed MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry for the analysis of 60 gargle samples from human donors and compared the spectra with their respective RT-PCR results. Several standards including isolated human serum immunoglobulins and controls such as pre-COVID-19 saliva and heat inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus were simultaneously analyzed to provide a relative view of the saliva and viral proteome as they would appear in this works methodology. Five potential biomarker peaks were established that demonstrated high consistency with PCR positive samples. Overall, the agreement of these results with RT-PCR testing was no less than 90% for the studied cohort, which consisted of young and largely asymptomatic student athletes. Further investigation of the potential biomarker peaks is necessary, however, from a clinical standpoint, these results are promising for a rapid and inexpensive COVID-19 assay.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: MALDI-ToF Protein Profiling as Potential Rapid Diagnostic Platform for COVID-19
• Clinical Evaluation of In House Produced 3D Printed Nasopharyngeal Swabs for COVID-19 Testing -

  3D printed alternatives to standard flocked swabs were rapidly developed to provide a response to the unprecedented and sudden need for an exponentially growing amounts of diagnostic tools to fight the pandemics of COVID-19. In light of the anticipated shortage, an hospital-based 3D printing platform was implemented in our institution for the production of swabs for nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal sampling based on the freely available open-sourced design made available to the community by University of South Florida9s Health Radiology and Northwell Health System teams as replacement for locally used commercial swabs. Validation of our 3D printed swabs was performed by a head-to-head diagnostic accuracy study of the 3D printed Northwell model with the cobas PCR Media swabs sample kit. We observed an excellent concordance (total agreement 96.8%, Kappa 0.936) in results obtained with the 3D printed and flocked swabs indicating that the in-house 3D printed swab can be used reliably in a context of shortage of flocked swabs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on autonomous hospital-based production and clinical validation of 3D printed swabs.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Clinical Evaluation of In House Produced 3D Printed Nasopharyngeal Swabs for COVID-19 Testing
• A rapid and simple protocol for concentration of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage -

  The aim of this study was to set up a simple protocol to concentrate SARS-CoV-2 from sewage, which can be implemented in laboratories with minimal equipment resources. The method avoids the need for extensive purification steps and reduces the concentration of potential inhibitors of RT-qPCR contained in sewage. The concentration method consists of a single step, in which a small volume of sewage sample is incubated with polyaluminum chloride (PAC). Virus particles adsorbed to the precipitate are collected by low-speed centrifugation, after which the recovered pellet is resuspended with a saline buffer. The PAC concentration method produced an average shift of 4.4-units in Cq values compared to non-concentrated samples, indicating a 25-fold increase in detection sensitivity. The lower detection limit corresponded approximately to 100 copies per ml. Kappa index indicated substantial agreement between PAC and PEG precipitation protocols (k=0.688, CI 0.457-0.919). PAC concentrated samples can be processed immediately for RNA purification and qPCR or sent refrigerated to a diagnosis center, where SARS-CoV-2 detection should be performed in the same way as for clinical samples. This low cost protocol could be useful to aid in the monitoring of community circulation of SARS-CoV-2, especially in low- and middle-income countries, which do not have massive access to support from specialized labs for sewage surveillance.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: A rapid and simple protocol for concentration of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage
• The rapid reemergence of seasonal respiratory viruses in Houston, Texas, after relaxing COVID-19 restrictions -

  Implementation of measures to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid decrease in all other respiratory pathogens. As COVID-19 containment measures were relaxed, the first non-COVID respiratory viruses to return to prepandemic levels were members of the rhinovirus/enterovirus, followed by the rapid return of seasonal coronaviruses, parainfluenza, and respiratory syncytial virus after the complete removal of COVID-19 precautions at the state level, including an end to mask mandates. Inasmuch as COVID-19 has dominated the landscape of respiratory infections since early 2020, it is important for clinicians to recognize the return of non-COVID respiratory pathogens may be rapid and significant when COVID-19 containment measures are removed.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The rapid reemergence of seasonal respiratory viruses in Houston, Texas, after relaxing COVID-19 restrictions

From Clinical Trials

• Study to Evaluate the Effects of RO7496998 (AT-527) in Non-Hospitalized Adult and Adolescent Participants With Mild or Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: RO7496998;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.;   Hoffmann-La Roche
  Recruiting

• Low-Dose Radiation Therapy to Lungs in Moderate COVID-19 Pneumonitis: A Case-Control Pilot Study - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Intervention:   Radiation: Low dose radiotherapy
  Sponsor:   Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences
  Not yet recruiting

• Mix and Match of the Second COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Safety and Immunogenicity - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine;   Biological: BNT162b2;   Biological: ChAdOx1-S [recombinant];   Other: 0, 28 day schedule;   Other: 0, 112 day schedule
  Sponsors:   Canadian Immunization Research Network;   Canadian Center for Vaccinology;   BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute;   Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba;   CHU de Quebec-Universite Laval;   Ottawa Hospital Research Institute;   Northern Alberta Clinical Trials + Research Centre;   Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion;   University of Toronto;   Massachusetts General Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• Leronlimab in Moderatelly Ill Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Drug: Leronlimab;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein;   CytoDyn, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• Leronlimab in Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) With Need for Mechanical Ventilation or Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Drug: Leronlimab;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein;   CytoDyn, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• A Proof of Concept Study for the DNA Repair Driven by the Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Critical COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Intervention:   Biological: Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation
  Sponsors:   SBÜ Dr. Sadi Konuk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi;   Istinye University;   Liv Hospital (Ulus)
  Completed

• A Study of Bemcentinib for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Hospitalised Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Bemcentinib;   Other: SoC
  Sponsor:   BerGenBio ASA
  Active, not recruiting

• The Proof of Concept Phase 2 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Clevudine in Patients With Mild and Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Clevudine;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Bukwang Pharmaceutical
  Recruiting

• COVID-19: A Study to Test Whether BI 767551 Can Prevent COVID-19 in People Who Have Been Exposed to SARS-CoV-2 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: BI 767551 intravenous;   Drug: BI 767551 inhalation;   Drug: Placebo intravenous;   Drug: Placebo inhalation
  Sponsor:   Boehringer Ingelheim
  Not yet recruiting

• A Global Phase III Clinical Trial of Recombinant COVID- 19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cells) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cells);   Other: Placebo control
  Sponsors:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.;   West China Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• Allogeneic Natural Killer (NK) Cell Therapy in Subjects Hospitalized for COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Intervention:   Biological: DVX201
  Sponsors:   Deverra Therapeutics, Inc.;   Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  Not yet recruiting

• Lot-to-lot Consistency of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine for Prevention of COVID-19 in Healthy Adults - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero cell）
  Sponsor:   Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Study of Allogeneic Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Treatment of COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Biological: COVI-MSC;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• Study to Evaluate a Single Intranasal Dose of STI-2099 (COVI-DROPS™) in Outpatient Adults With COVID-19 (US) - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Biological: COVI-DROPS;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• Study to Evaluate a Single Intranasal Dose of STI-2099 (COVI-DROPS™) in Outpatient Adults With COVID-19 (UK) - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Biological: COVI-DROPS;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• Alpha-defensins: risk factor for thrombosis in COVID-19 infection - The inflammatory response to SARS/CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection may contribute to the risk of thromboembolic complications. α-Defensins, antimicrobial peptides released from activated neutrophils, are anti-fibrinolytic and prothrombotic in vitro and in mouse models. In this prospective study of 176 patients with COVID-19 infection, we found that plasma levels of α-defensins were elevated, tracked with disease progression/mortality or resolution and with plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and…

• The application of in silico experimental model in the assessment of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin interaction with main SARS-CoV-2 targets: S-, E- and TMPRSS2 proteins, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and papain-like protease (PLpro)-preliminary molecular docking analysis - CONCLUSIONS: The revealed data indicate that ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin could interact and potentially inhibit crucial SARS-CoV-2 proteins.

• Bardoxolone and bardoxolone methyl, two Nrf2 activators in clinical trials, inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and its 3C-like protease - No abstract

• Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19: the value of biochemical studies - The nucleotide analogue prodrug remdesivir remains the only FDA-approved antiviral small molecule for the treatment of infection with SARS-CoV-2. Biochemical studies revealed that the active form of the drug targets the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and causes delayed chain-termination. Delayed chain-termination is incomplete, but the continuation of RNA synthesis enables a partial escape from viral proofreading. Remdesivir becomes embedded in the copy of the RNA genome that later serves as…

• Azelastine inhibits viropexis of SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudovirus by binding to SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor ACE2 - A recent study have reported that pre-use of azelastine is associated with a decrease in COVID-19 positive test results among susceptible elderly people. Besides, it has been reported that antihistamine drugs could prevent viruses from entering cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether azelastine have antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and the possible mechanism. Here, we discovered antihistamine azelastine has an affinity to ACE2 by cell membrane chromatography…

• A traditional medicine, respiratory detox shot (RDS), inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and the influenza A virus in vitro - CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that RDS may broadly inhibit the infection of respiratory viruses.

• Theobroma cacao L. compounds: Theoretical study and molecular modeling as inhibitors of main SARS-CoV-2 protease - Cocoa beans contain antioxidant molecules with the potential to inhibit type 2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19). In particular, protease. Therefore, using in silico tests, 30 molecules obtained from cocoa were evaluated. Using molecular docking and quantum mechanics calculations, the chemical properties and binding efficiency of each ligand was evaluated, which allowed the selection of 5 compounds of this series. The ability of amentoflavone,…

• Association between FIASMAs and Reduced Risk of Intubation or Death in Individuals Hospitalized for Severe COVID-19: an observational multicenter study - Several medications commonly used for a number of medical conditions share a property of functional inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), or FIASMA. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that the (ASM)/ceramide system may be central to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We examined the potential usefulness of FIASMA use among patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in an observational multicenter study conducted at Greater Paris University hospitals. Of 2,846 adult patients hospitalized for severe…

• Immunogenicity of a first dose of mRNA- or vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in dialysis patients: a multicenter prospective observational pilot study - CONCLUSIONS: Two weeks after their first mRNA- or vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, hemodialysis patients demonstrated lower antibody-related response than peritoneal dialysis patients and healthy staff or unvaccinated hemodialysis patients following prior COVID-19 infection.

• Role of OATP4C1 in Renal Handling of Remdesivir and its Nucleoside Analog GS-441524: The First Approved Drug for Patients with COVID-19 - CONCLUSIONS: We have provided novel information about renal handling of remdesivir. Furthermore, we evaluated the potential drug interaction via OATP4C1 by calculating the Ki value of remdesivir. OATP4C1 may play a pivotal role in remdesivir therapy for COVID-19, particularly in patients with kidney injury.

• Avian antibodies (IgY) targeting spike glycoprotein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inhibit receptor binding and viral replication - CONCLUSIONS: In this proof-of-concept study we showed that avian immunoglobulins (IgY) raised against a key virulence factor of the SARS-CoV-2 virus successfully inhibited the critical initial adhesion of viral spike glycoproteins to human ACE2 protein receptors and inhibited viral replication in vitro, in a short period using only two laying hens. We conclude that production of large amounts of IgY inhibiting viral binding and replication of SARS-CoV-2 is feasible, and that incorporation of…

• NPC1-regulated dynamic of clathrin-coated pits is essential for viral entry - Viruses utilize cellular lipids and manipulate host lipid metabolism to ensure their replication and spread. Therefore, the identification of lipids and metabolic pathways that are suitable targets for antiviral development is crucial. Using a library of compounds targeting host lipid metabolic factors and testing them for their ability to block pseudorabies virus (PRV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection, we found that U18666A, a specific inhibitor of Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1), is…

• Retention of the Aboriginal Health, Ageing, and Disability Workforce: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study - CONCLUSIONS: This study uses a mixed methods design. The survey and interview questions and model were developed in partnership with Aboriginal health, ageing, and disability service workers rather than relying only on research publications on the workforce, government policies, and human resources strategies. This design places a strong emphasis on generalizable findings together with an inductive approach that explores employers and workers’ lived experience of the Aboriginal health workforce…

• Identification of LASSBio-1945 as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M(PRO)) through in silico screening supported by molecular docking and a fragment-based pharmacophore model - In December 2019, an infectious disease was detected in Wuhan, China, caused by a new pathogenic coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2. It spread very rapidly, and on March 11th of 2020, the outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Currently, effective treatment options remain limited. SARS-CoV-2 enzyme main protease (M^(PRO)) plays a pivotal role in the viral life cycle, making it a putative drug target. In order to identify suitable hits to develop inhibitors with adequate…

• In vivo and in vitro Evaluation of Cytokine Expression Profiles During Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Infection - CONCLUSION: MERS-CoV can decrease IFN levels to interfere with the IFN pathway and enhance the production of regulatory cytokines. Inhibition of the increases in IL-27 and IL-35 may contribute to halting MERS-CoV in the early stage of infection.

From Patent Search

• COST EFFECTIVE PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR FOR COVID-19 - - link

• METHOD OF IDENTIFYING SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONA VIRUS 2 (SARS-COV-2) RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA) - - link

• IMPROVEMENTS RELATED TO PARTICLE, INCLUDING SARS-CoV-2, DETECTION AND METHODS THEREFOR - - link

• DEEP LEARNING BASED SYSTEM FOR DETECTION OF COVID-19 DISEASE OF PATIENT AT INFECTION RISK - The present invention relates to Deep learning based system for detection of covid-19 disease of patient at infection risk. The objective of the present invention is to solve the problems in the prior art related to technologies of detection of covid-19 disease using CT scan image processing. - link

• A COMPREHENSIVE DISINFECTION SYSTEM DURING PANDEMIC FOR PERSONAL ITEMS AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) TO SAFEGUARD PEOPLE - The current Covid-19 pandemic has led to an enormous demand for gadgets / objects for personal protection. To prevent the spread of virus, it is important to disinfect commonly touched objects. One of the ways suggested is to use a personal UV-C disinfecting box that is “efficient and effective in deactivating the COVID-19 virus. The present model has implemented the use of a UV transparent material (fused silica quartz glass tubes) as the medium of support for the objects to be disinfected to increase the effectiveness of disinfection without compromising the load bearing capacity. Aluminum foil, a UV reflecting material, was used as the inner lining of the box for effective utilization of the UVC light emitted by the UVC lamps. Care has been taken to prevent leakage of UVC radiation out of the system. COVID-19 virus can be inactivated in 5 minutes by UVC irradiation in this disinfection box - link

• UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING SYSTEM FOR MENTAL HEALTH MONITORING OF PERSON DURING THE PANDEMIC OF COVID-19 - - link

• INDICATING SYSTEM - A visual indicating system for use with a hospital bed, the hospital bed comprising a bed frame extending between a head end and a foot end of the bed frame, the visual indicating system comprising: an indicating member adapted to be coupled with the bed frame wherein the indicating member comprises an indicia for indicating one of a plurality of pre-determined health conditions.

  FIGURE 1 - link

• USE OF IMINOSUGAR COMPOUND IN PREPARATION OF ANTI-SARS-COV-2 VIRUS DRUG - - link

• 一种高灵敏SARS-CoV-2中和抗体的检测方法、检测试剂盒 - 本发明公开了一种高灵敏SARS‑CoV‑2中和抗体的检测方法、检测试剂盒，属于生物医学检测技术领域，本发明试剂盒包括层析试纸、卡壳和样本稀释液，所述层析试纸包括底板、样品垫、结合垫、NC膜和吸水垫，所述NC膜上依次设置有捕获线、检测线和质控线，所述捕获线包被有ACE2蛋白，所述检测线包被有RBD蛋白，所述结合垫设置有RBD蛋白标记物；本发明采用阻断法加夹心法原理提高检测中和抗体的灵敏度，通过添加捕获线的方式，将靶向RBD的非中和抗体提前捕获，保证后续通过夹心法检测中和抗体的特异性。 - link

• Atemschutzmaske -

  Partikelfiltrierende Halbmaske (10), insbesondere Atemschutzmaske für Menschen, mit einer an ein Gesicht eines Trägers anlegbaren und dabei Mund und Nase bedeckenden Schale (12), die eine vom Mund des Trägers beabstandete Auswölbung (14) mit einem Rahmen (16) zur dichtenden Aufnahme eines von der Schale (12) trennbaren und/oder auswechselbaren Filtereinsatzes (48) sowie mindestens eine innerhalb der Schale (12) angeordnete Strahlungsquelle (40) zur Emission ultravioletten Lichtes aufweist, welche mindestens eine Strahlungsquelle (40) eine Abstrahlrichtung zu einer dem Träger zugewandten inneren Oberfläche des Filtereinsatzes (48) aufweist.

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