Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• SpikeScape: A Tool for Analyzing Structural Diversity in Experimental Structures of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein -
  In this application note we describe a tool which we developed to help structural biologists who study the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. There are more than 500 structures of this protein available in the Protein Data Bank. These structures are available in different flavors: wild type spike, different variants, 2P substitutions, structures with bound antibodies, structures with Receptor Binding Domains in closed or open conformation, etc. Understanding differences between these structures could provide insight to how the spike structure changes in different variants or upon interaction with different molecules such as receptors or antibodies. However, inconsistencies among deposited structures, such as different chain or sequence numbering, hamper a straightforward comparison of all structures. The tool described in this note fixes those inconsistencies and calculates the distribution of the requested distance between any two atoms across all SARS-CoV-2 spike structures available in the Protein Data Bank, with the option to filter by various selections. The tool provides a histogram and cumulative frequency of the calculated distribution, as the ability to download the results and corresponding PDB IDs.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: SpikeScape: A Tool for Analyzing Structural Diversity in Experimental Structures of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein
• Beta-Cyclodextrins as affordable antivirals to treat coronavirus infection -
  The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic made evident that we count with few coronavirus-fighting drugs. Here we aimed to identify a cost-effective antiviral with broad spectrum activity and high safety and tolerability profiles. We began elaborating a list of 116 drugs previously used to treat other pathologies or characterized in pre-clinical studies with potential to treat coronavirus infections. We next employed molecular modelling tools to rank the 44 most promising inhibitors and tested their efficacy as antivirals against a panel of alpha and beta coronavirus, e.g., the HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Four drugs, OSW-1, U18666A, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HbetaCD) and phytol, showed antiviral activity against both HCoV-229E (in MRC5 cells) and SARS-CoV-2 (in Vero E6 cells). The mechanism of action of these compounds was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by testing their capacity to inhibit the entry of SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses in ACE2-expressing HEK-293T cells. The entry was inhibited by HbetaCD and U18666A, yet only HbetaCD could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in the pulmonary cells Calu-3. With these results and given that cyclodextrins are widely used for drug encapsulation and can be safely administered to humans, we further tested 6 native and modified cyclodextrins, which confirmed {beta}-cyclodextrins as the most potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication in Calu-3 cells. All accumulated data points to beta-cyclodextrins as promising candidates to be used in the therapeutic treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and possibly other respiratory viruses.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Beta-Cyclodextrins as affordable antivirals to treat coronavirus infection
• Molecularly distinct memory CD4+ T cells are induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and mRNA vaccination -
  Adaptive immune responses are induced by vaccination and infection, yet little is known about how CD4+ T cell memory differs between these two contexts. Notable differences in humoral and cellular immune responses to primary mRNA vaccination were observed and associated with prior COVID-19 history, including in the establishment and recall of Spike-specific CD4+ T cells. It was unclear whether CD4+ T cell memory established by infection or mRNA vaccination as the first exposure to Spike was qualitatively similar. To assess whether the mechanism of initial memory T cell priming affected subsequent responses to Spike protein, 14 people who were receiving a third mRNA vaccination, referenced here as the booster, were stratified based on whether the first exposure to Spike protein was by viral infection or immunization (infection-primed or vaccine-primed). Using multimodal scRNA-seq of activation-induced marker (AIM)-reactive Spike-specific CD4+ T cells, we identified 220 differentially expressed genes between infection- and vaccine-primed patients at the post-booster time point. Infection-primed participants had greater expression of genes related to cytotoxicity and interferon signaling. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed enrichment for Interferon Alpha, Interferon Gamma, and Inflammatory response gene sets in Spike-specific CD4+ T cells from infection-primed individuals, whereas Spike-specific CD4+ T cells from vaccine-primed individuals had strong enrichment for proliferative pathways by GSEA. Finally, SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection in vaccine-primed participants resulted in subtle changes in the transcriptional landscape of Spike-specific memory CD4+ T cells relative to pre-breakthrough samples but did not recapitulate the transcriptional profile of infection-primed Spike-specific CD4+ T cells. Together, these data suggest that CD4+ T cell memory is durably imprinted by the inflammatory context of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which has implications for personalization of vaccination based on prior infection history.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Molecularly distinct memory CD4+ T cells are induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and mRNA vaccination
• Ethical reporting of research on violence against women and children during COVID-19: Analysis of 75 studies and recommendations for future guidelines -

  Changes in research practice during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates renewed attention to ethical protocols and reporting for data collection on sensitive topics. We systematically searched journal publications from the start of the pandemic to November 2021, identifying 75 studies that collected primary data on violence against women and children. We assess the transparency of ethics reporting and adherence to relevant guidelines against a 14-item checklist of best practices. Studies reported adhering to best practices on 31% of scored items with highest reporting for ethical clearance (87%) and informed consent/assent (84/83%) and lowest reporting for facilitating referrals for minors and soliciting participant feedback (both 0%). Violence studies of primary data collected during COVID-19 report on few ethical standards, obscuring stakeholder ability to enforce a “do no harm” approach and to assess the reliability of findings. We offer recommendations and guidelines to improve future reporting and implementation of ethics within violence studies.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Ethical reporting of research on violence against women and children during COVID-19: Analysis of 75 studies and recommendations for future guidelines
• Why is right-wing media consumption associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 measures? -
  Exposure to right-wing media has been shown to relate to lower perceived threat from COVID-19, lower compliance with prophylactic measures against it, and higher incidence of infection and death. What features of right-wing media messages account for these effects? In a preregistered cross-sectional study (N = 554) we test a model that differentiates perceived consequences of two CDC recommendations—washing hands and staying home—for basic human values. People who consumed more right-wing media perceived these behaviors as less beneficial for their personal security, for the well-being of close ones, and the well-being of society at large. Perceived consequences of following the CDC recommendations mediated the relationship between media consumption and compliance with recommendations. Implications for public health messaging are discussed.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Why is right-wing media consumption associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 measures?
• Comparison of Mental Health Symptoms Prior to and During COVID-19: Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of 134 Cohorts -

  Objectives: The rapid pace, high volume, and limited quality of mental health evidence that has been generated during COVID-19 poses a barrier to understanding mental health outcomes. We sought to summarize results from studies that compared mental health outcomes during COVID-19 to outcomes assessed prior to COVID-19 in the same cohort in the general population and in other groups for which data have been reported. Design: Living systematic review. Data Sources: MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection: Citation Indexes, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, medRxiv (preprints), and Open Science Framework Preprints (preprint server aggregator). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: For this report, we included studies that compared general mental health, anxiety symptoms, or depression symptoms, assessed January 1, 2020 or later, to the same outcomes collected between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019. Any population was eligible. We required ≥ 90% of participants pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 to be the same or the use of statistical methods to address missing data. For population groups with continuous outcomes for at least two studies in an outcome domain, we conducted restricted maximum-likelihood random-effects meta-analyses. Worse COVID-19 mental health outcomes are reported as positive. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using an adapted version of the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Prevalence Studies. Results: As of April 11, 2022, we had reviewed 94,411 unique titles and abstracts and identified 137 unique eligible studies with data from 134 cohorts. Almost all studies were from high-income (105, 77%) or upper-middle income (28, 20%) countries. Among adult general population studies, we did not find changes in general mental health (standardized mean difference of change [SMDchange = 0.11, 95% CI -0.00 to 0.22) or anxiety symptoms (SMDchange = 0.05, 95% CI -0.04 to 0.13), but depression symptoms worsened minimally (SMDchange = 0.12, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.24). Among women or females, mental health symptoms worsened by minimal to small amounts in general mental health (SMDchange = 0.22, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.35), anxiety symptoms (SMDchange = 0.20, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.29), and depression symptoms (SMDchange = 0.22, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.40). Of 27 other analyses across outcome domains, among subgroups other than women or females, 5 analyses suggested minimal or small amounts of symptom worsening, and 2 suggested minimal or small symptom improvements. No other subgroup experienced statistically significant changes across outcome domains. In the 3 studies with data from March to April 2020 and later in 2020, symptoms either were unchanged from pre-COVID-19 at both time points or increased initially then returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Heterogeneity measured by the I2 statistic was high (e.g., > 80%) for most analyses, and there was concerning risk of bias in most studies. Conclusions: High risk of bias in many studies and substantial heterogeneity suggest that point estimates should be interpreted cautiously. Nonetheless, there was general consistency across analyses in that most symptom change estimates were close to zero and not statistically significant, and changes that were identified were of minimal to small magnitudes. There were, however, small negative changes for women or females in all domains. It is possible that gaps in data have not allowed identification of changes in some vulnerable groups. Continued updating is needed as evidence accrues. Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CMS-171703; MS1-173070; GA4-177758; WI2-179944); McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity Emergency COVID-19 Research Fund (R2-42). Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42020179703); registered on April 17, 2020.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Comparison of Mental Health Symptoms Prior to and During COVID-19: Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of 134 Cohorts
• Risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection is time- and variant-dependant, France, January 2021 to August 2022 -

  Since the emergence of Omicron, reinfections with SARS-CoV-2 have been rising. We estimated the risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in the widely vaccinated French population, from January to August 2022. At nine weeks post-infection, the relative risk of reinfection, primary infection with pre-Delta variants being the reference group, was estimated at 0.43 [95%CI 0.40-0.47] if the primary infection was attributed to Delta, 0.21 [95%CI 0.19-0.24] with BA.1 and 0.17 [95% CI 0.15-0.18] with BA.2, and rapidly waned overtime. After a BA.1 primary infection the protection was similar against BA.2 or BA.4/5 reinfection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection is time- and variant-dependant, France, January 2021 to August 2022
• Potential impacts of prolonged absence of influenza virus circulation on subsequent epidemics -

  Background During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the circulation of seasonal influenza viruses was unprecedentedly low. This led to concerns that the lack of immune stimulation to influenza viruses combined with waning antibody titres could lead to increased susceptibility to influenza in subsequent seasons, resulting in larger and more severe epidemics. Methods We analyzed historical influenza virus epidemiological data from 2003-2019 to assess the historical frequency of near-absence of seasonal influenza virus circulation and its impact on the size and severity of subsequent epidemics. Additionally, we measured haemagglutination inhibition-based antibody titres against seasonal influenza viruses using longitudinal serum samples from 165 healthy adults, collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and estimated how antibody titres against seasonal influenza waned during the first two years of the pandemic. Findings Low country-level prevalence of influenza virus (sub)types over one or more years occurred frequently before the COVID-19 pandemic and had relatively small impacts on subsequent epidemic size and severity. Additionally, antibody titres against seasonal influenza viruses waned negligibly during the first two years of the pandemic. Interpretation The commonly held notion that lulls in influenza virus circulation, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, will lead to larger and/or more severe subsequent epidemics might not be fully warranted, and it is likely that post-lull seasons will be similar in size and severity to pre-lull seasons. Funding European Research Council, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, Public Health Service of Amsterdam.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Potential impacts of prolonged absence of influenza virus circulation on subsequent epidemics
• Efficient SARS-CoV-2 detection utilizing chitin-immobilized nanobodies synthesized in Ustilago maydis -
  The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the global economy and health care systems, illustrating the urgent need for timely and inexpensive responses to a pandemic threat in the form of vaccines and antigen tests. The causative agent of COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2. The spike protein on the virus surface interacts with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) via the so-called receptor binding domain (RBD), facilitating virus entry. The RBD thus represents a prime target for vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and antigen test systems. Currently, antigen testing is mostly conducted by qualitative flow chromatography or via quantitative ELISA-type assays. The latter mostly utilize materials like protein-adhesive polymers and gold or latex particles. Here we present an alternative ELISA approach using inexpensive materials and permitting quick detection based on components produced in the microbial model Ustilago maydis. In this fungus, heterologous proteins like biopharmaceuticals can be exported by fusion to unconventionally secreted chitinase Cts1. As a unique feature, the carrier chitinase binds to chitin allowing its additional use as a purification or immobilization tag. In this study, we produced different mono- and bivalent SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies directed against the viral RBD as Cts1 fusions and screened their RBD binding affinity in vitro and in vivo. Functional nanobody-Cts1 fusions were immobilized on chitin forming an RBD tethering surface. This provides a solid base for future development of an inexpensive antigen test utilizing unconventionally secreted nanobodies as RBD trap and a matching ubiquitous and biogenic surface for immobilization.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Efficient SARS-CoV-2 detection utilizing chitin-immobilized nanobodies synthesized in Ustilago maydis
• Age and gender differences in loneliness during the COVID-19: Analyses on large cross-sectional surveys and emotion diaries -
  Loneliness level was shown to vary by age and gender. Considering the recent COVID-19 outbreak had more impact on the susceptible groups’ mental health, this study scrutinized the joint influence of age and gender on loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. We utilized large, government-funded public data that contains self-reported measures and emotion diaries collected from October 2020 to March 2021 (N=4,017, age 20-79, 76% female). Hierarchical regression, t-test, and analysis of variance examined the effect of age as a continuous or categorical variable and gender on loneliness. N-gram frequency analyses and topic modeling helped analyze the differences in expressions used by the age-gender groups in the diaries. Loneliness increased with age (p=0.043), and women were lonelier than men (p<0.001). However, age and gender interacted to predict loneliness (p=0.004), showing that younger women and older men experienced higher levels of loneliness. Age (p<0.001) and age-gender (p=0.030) interaction remained significant even with the presence of demographic and personality risk factors. When parceled by the age groups and gender, gender differences in loneliness level were significant within 20s (95% CI: Female [2.196, 2.264], Male [1.986, 2.133]) and 30s (95% CI: Female [2.390, 2.499], Male [2.071, 2.251]). In emotion diaries, all age-gender groups except women in their 60s-70s frequently expressed anxiety and depression. Women in their 20s talked more about work experiences and difficulties in job search, and women in their 30s wrote more about difficulties in childcare and lack of social connections. Spirituality was one of the major topics mentioned by women in their 50s and 60s-70s, but not by the other groups. The effects of age and gender on loneliness reflect social and psychological challenges in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to establish valid interventions targeted at younger women and older men.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Age and gender differences in loneliness during the COVID-19: Analyses on large cross-sectional surveys and emotion diaries
• Using Genome Sequence Data to Predict SARS-CoV-2 Detection Cycle Threshold Values -

  The continuing emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) presents a serious public health threat, exacerbating the effects of the COVID19 pandemic. Although millions of genomes have been deposited in public archives since the start of the pandemic, predicting SARS-CoV-2 clinical characteristics from the genome sequence remains challenging. In this study, we used a collection of over 29,000 high quality SARS-CoV-2 genomes to build machine learning models for predicting clinical detection cycle threshold (Ct) values, which correspond with viral load. After evaluating several machine learning methods and parameters, our best model was a random forest regressor that used 10-mer oligonucleotides as features and achieved an R2 score of 0.521 +/- 0.010 (95% confidence interval over 5 folds) and an RMSE of 5.7 +/- 0.034, demonstrating the ability of the models to detect the presence of a signal in the genomic data. In an attempt to predict Ct values for newly emerging variants, we predicted Ct values for Omicron variants using models trained on previous variants. We found that approximately 5% of the data in the model needed to be from the new variant in order to learn its Ct values. Finally, to understand how the model is working, we evaluated the top features and found that the model is using a multitude of k-mers from across the genome to make the predictions. However, when we looked at the top k-mers that occurred most frequently across the set of genomes, we observed a clustering of k-mers that span spike protein regions corresponding with key variations that are hallmarks of the VOCs including G339, K417, L452, N501, and P681, indicating that these sites are informative in the model and may impact the Ct values that are observed in clinical samples.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Using Genome Sequence Data to Predict SARS-CoV-2 Detection Cycle Threshold Values
• Detection of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in frozen aerosol samples collected from hospital rooms of patients with COVID-19 -

  We isolated infectious SARS-CoV-2 from aerosol samples collected from hospital rooms of COVID19 patients. Isolated virus successfully replicated in cell cultures 14 months after collection, opening up prospects for retrospective analyses of samples stored during the previous waves of COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Detection of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in frozen aerosol samples collected from hospital rooms of patients with COVID-19
• Assessment of level of depression and associated factors among COVID-19 recovered patients: a cross sectional study -

  Objectives: The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has psychological consequences such as increased risk of depression, anxiety, and stress problems, exacerbating human health disparities. This study aimed to analyze depression and its causes in COVID-19-recovered patients in Bangladesh. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on COVID-19 recovered patients, who attended for follow-up after 14 days to 3 months at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and Dhaka North City Corporation Hospital (DNCCH), Dhaka, Bangladesh from 1st January to 31st December, 2021. Respondents were face-to-face interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire after written agreement. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess respondents9 depression, and data were analyzed using SPSS version-23, with p < 0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: A total of 325 COVID-19 recovered patients aged from 15 to 65 years (mean 44.34 ±13.87 years) of age were included in this study, highest 23.1% of them belonged to 46-55 years, and majority (61.5%) of them were male. There were 69.5% of respondents had no signs of depression while 31% of them had with 26.7% being mildly depressed, 2.5% being extremely depressed, and 1.2% being severely depressed. Diabetes mellitus, hospitalization duration, social distancing, the social media post on COVID-19, loss of employment, family damage, and fear of re-infection were significantly associated with depression level of respondents. Conclusion: This study gives us a glimpse into the psychological health of COVID-19 recovered patients, and its findings highlight the imperative of alleviating their psychological anguish in Bangladesh.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Assessment of level of depression and associated factors among COVID-19 recovered patients: a cross sectional study
• Probing different paradigms of morphine withdrawal on sleep behavior in male and female C57BL/6J mice -
  Opioid misuse has dramatically increased over the last few decades resulting in many people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD). The prevalence of opioid overdose has been driven by the development of new synthetic opioids, increased availability of prescription opioids, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Coinciding with increases in exposure to opioids, the United States has also observed increases in multiple Narcan (naloxone) administrations as life-saving measures for respiratory depression, and, thus, consequently, naloxone-precipitated withdrawal. Sleep dysregulation is a main symptom of OUD and opioid withdrawal syndrome, and therefore, should be a key facet of animal models of OUD. Here we examine the effect of precipitated and spontaneous morphine withdrawal on sleep behaviors in C57BL/6J mice. We find that morphine administration and withdrawal dysregulate sleep, but not equally across morphine exposure paradigms. Furthermore, many environmental triggers promote relapse to drug-seeking/taking behavior, and the stress of disrupted sleep may fall into that category. We find that sleep deprivation dysregulates sleep in mice that had previous opioid withdrawal experience. Our data suggest that the 3-day precipitated withdrawal paradigm has the most profound effects on opioid-induced sleep dysregulation and further validates the construct of this model for opioid dependence and OUD.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Probing different paradigms of morphine withdrawal on sleep behavior in male and female C57BL/6J mice
• Moral decision making in healthcare and medical professions during the COVID-19 pandemic -
  With coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, healthcare and medical professions face challenging situations. High number of infected patients, scarce resources, and being vulnerable to the infection are among the reasons that may influence clinicians’ decision making and puts them in a moral situation. Furthermore, they may be carriers of coronavirus, resulting their social interactions to involve moral decision making. The aim of this study was to examine the moral decision making in clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic and to find its relation to psychological, cognitive, and behavioral correlates. 193 clinicians who worked in hospitals allocated to coronavirus disease patients, participated in our study. We designed an online survey containing 8 dilemmas to test moral decision making in clinicians. Information on clinicians’ behavior, cognition and psychological state during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the degree of respect to social distancing, sources of stress, and dead cases of COVID-19 they confronted with were collected. The relation between these measures and moral decision making was assessed. Based on our results, clinicians’ most important source of stress was the infection of their families. There was a positive correlation between utilitarian responses and clinicians’ stress level, and number of dead cases they confronted with. Moreover, degree of utilitarian behavior was positively correlated to social distancing. Both age and sex contributed to individual differences in respecting social distancing, stress and utilitarian behavior. With increasing stress and encountering more deaths, clinicians tended to decide based on the outcome. Our results have critical implications in implementing policies for healthcare principals.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Moral decision making in healthcare and medical professions during the COVID-19 pandemic

From Clinical Trials

• COVID-19 Bivalent Booster Megastudy - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: COVID Booster text messages
  Sponsor:   University of Pennsylvania
  Enrolling by invitation

• A Study on Utilization, Adherence, and Acceptability of Voluntary Routine COVID-19 Self-testing Among Students, Staff and Health Workers at Two Institutions in Mizoram, India. - Condition:   COVID-19 Pandemic
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: COVID-19 Self testing and related messaging
  Sponsors:   PATH;   UNITAID;   Zoram Medical College;   Pacchunga University College;   ALERT India;   Government of Mizoram
  Not yet recruiting

• Using a Community-level Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention to Address COVID-19 Testing Disparities - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Multi-Level Multi-Component Intervention (MLI);   Behavioral: Community Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention (Community JITAI)
  Sponsors:   The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston;   National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
  Active, not recruiting

• Examining How a Facilitated Self-Sampling Intervention and Testing Navigation Intervention Influences COVID-19 Testing - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Facilitated Self-Sampling Intervention (FSSI);   Behavioral: Testing Navigation Intervention (TNI).;   Behavioral: Control
  Sponsors:   The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston;   National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
  Not yet recruiting

• Assessing Performance of the Testing Done Simple Covid 19 Antigen Test - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: Testing Done Simple SARS CoV-2 Antigen Test
  Sponsors:   Testing Done Simple;   Nao Medical Urgent Care
  Recruiting

• A Study to Evaluate EDP-235 in Non-hospitalized Adults With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: EDP-235;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc
  Recruiting

• The LAVA (Lateral Flow Antigen Validation and Applicability) 2 Study for COVID-19 - Condition:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: Innova Lateral Flow Test
  Sponsor:   Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
  Completed

• Q-POC COVID-19 Clinical Evaluation - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Diagnostic Test: RT-PCR Test;   Diagnostic Test: Real-time PCR Test
  Sponsors:   QuantuMDx Group Ltd;   EDP Biotech;   Paragon Rx Clinical;   PathAI;   PRX Research and Development
  Not yet recruiting

• Enhancing Protection Against Influenza and COVID-19 for Pregnant Women and Medically at Risk Children - Conditions:   Influenza;   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Nudge
  Sponsor:   University of Adelaide
  Recruiting

• Safety and Efficacy of Intranasal Administration of Avacc 10 Vaccine Against COVID-19 in Healthy Volunteers - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Avacc 10;   Combination Product: Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMV) : OMV alone in vehicle;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Intravacc B.V.;   Novotech (Australia) Pty Limited
  Not yet recruiting

• A Trial Evaluate the Immunogenicity and Safety of Recombinant COVID-19 Omicron-Delta Variant Vaccine (CHO Cell) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Omicron-Delta Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Protein Vaccine (CHO cells);   Biological: Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Protein Vaccine (CHO cells)
  Sponsor:   Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy Co., Ltd.
  Recruiting

• COVID-19 Antibody Responses in Cystic Fibrosis - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Cystic Fibrosis
  Intervention:   Biological: Blood sample
  Sponsors:   Hospices Civils de Lyon;   Queen’s University, Belfast
  Recruiting

• A Phase 1, Randomised, Double-blinded, Placebo-controlled, Dose-escalation Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of RH109 as Booster - Condition:   COVID-19 Pandemic
  Interventions:   Biological: Lyophilized COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine;   Drug: Sodium chloride
  Sponsors:   Wuhan Recogen Biotechnology Co., Ltd.;   Shenzhen Rhegen Biotechnology Co., Ltd.;   Wuhan Rhegen Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Immunogenicity and Safety of ChulaCov19 BNA159 Vaccine as a Booster Dose in Adults - Condition:   COVID-19, SARS CoV 2 Infection
  Interventions:   Biological: ChulaCov19 BNA159 vaccine (50 mcg);   Biological: Pfizer/BNT vaccine (30 mcg)
  Sponsors:   Technovalia, Pty Ltd;   Chulalongkorn University;   BioNet-Asia;   Southern Star Research Pty Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Message From Local Pharmacy Team - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: COVID Booster text messages
  Sponsor:   University of Pennsylvania
  Enrolling by invitation

From PubMed

• Repositioning of anti-dengue compounds against SARS-CoV-2 as viral polyprotein processing inhibitor - A therapy for COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains elusive due to the lack of an effective antiviral therapeutic molecule. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), which plays a vital role in the viral life cycle, is one of the most studied and validated drug targets. In Several prior studies, numerous possible chemical entities were proposed as potential Mpro inhibitors; however, most failed at various stages of drug…

• Efficacy of colchicine in patients with moderate COVID-19: A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial - CONCLUSION: Colchicine was not found to have a significant beneficial effect on reducing mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation. However, a delayed beneficial effect was observed. Therefore, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the late benefits of colchicine.

• SARS-CoV-2 variant Alpha has a spike-dependent replication advantage over the ancestral B.1 strain in human cells with low ACE2 expression - Epidemiological data demonstrate that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOCs) Alpha and Delta are more transmissible, infectious, and pathogenic than previous variants. Phenotypic properties of VOC remain understudied. Here, we provide an extensive functional study of VOC Alpha replication and cell entry phenotypes assisted by reverse genetics, mutational mapping of spike in lentiviral pseudotypes, viral and cellular gene expression studies, and…

• Contribution of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global epidemic, and there is no specific treatment for anti-COVID-19 drugs. However, treatment of COVID-19 using Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been widely practiced in China. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP databases were searched to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHM in the treatment of COVID-19. Twenty-six studies were included in this meta-analysis. The included cases were all patients diagnosed with COVID-19…

• Evaluation of the anti-diabetic drug sitagliptin as a novel attenuate to SARS-CoV-2 evidence-based in silico: molecular docking and molecular dynamics - The current outbreak of COVID-19 cases worldwide has been responsible for a significant number of deaths, especially in hospitalized patients suffering from comorbidities, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension. The disease not only has prompted an interest in the pathophysiology, but also it has propelled a massive race to find new anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs. In this scenario, known drugs commonly used to treat other diseases have been suggested as alternative or complementary therapeutics. Herein…

• In Silico and In Vitro studies of taiwan chingguan yihau (NRICM101) on TNF-α/IL-1β-induced human lung cells - COVID-19 pandemic has been a global outbreak of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 virus) since 2019. Taiwan Chingguan Yihau (NRICM101) is the first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) classic herbal formula and is widely used for COVID-19 patients in Taiwan and more than 50 nations. This study is to investigate in silico target fishing for the components of NRICM101 and to explore whether NRICM101 inhibits cytokines-induced normal human lung cell injury in vitro. Our results showed that network prediction…

• Comparison of RT-qPCR and RT-dPCR Platforms for the Trace Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater - We compared reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RT digital PCR (RT-dPCR) platforms for the trace detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in low-prevalence COVID-19 locations in Queensland, Australia, using CDC N1 and CDC N2 assays. The assay limit of detection (ALOD), PCR inhibition rates, and performance characteristics of each assay, along with the positivity rates with the RT-qPCR and RT-dPCR platforms, were evaluated by seeding known concentrations of exogenous…

• GLUCOSE AND MANNOSE ANALOGS INHIBIT KSHV REPLICATION BY BLOCKING N-GLYCOSYLATION AND INDUCING THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE - Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent for Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), an HIV/AIDS-associated malignancy. Effective treatments against KS remain to be developed. The sugar analog 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) is an anti-cancer agent that is well-tolerated and safe in patients and was recently demonstrated to be a potent antiviral, including KSHV and SARS-Cov-2. Because 2-DG inhibits glycolysis and N-glycosylation, identifying its molecular targets is challenging. Here we…

• Differential upregulation of AU-rich element-containing mRNAs in COVID-19 - CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the rest of the transcriptome, ARE-containing mRNAs are preferentially upregulated in response to viral infections at a global level. In the context of COVID-19, they are most upregulated in mild disease. Due to their large number, their levels measured by RNA-seq may provide a reliable indication of COVID-19 severity.

• SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein suppresses CTL-mediated killing by inhibiting immune synapse assembly - CTL-mediated killing of virally infected or malignant cells is orchestrated at the immune synapse (IS). We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 may target lytic IS assembly to escape elimination. We show that human CD8+ T cells upregulate the expression of ACE2, the Spike receptor, during differentiation to CTLs. CTL preincubation with the Wuhan or Omicron Spike variants inhibits IS assembly and function, as shown by defective synaptic accumulation of TCRs and tyrosine phosphoproteins as well as…

• Charge-Dependent Signal Changes for Label-Free Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassays - Label-free electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassays (lf-ECLIA), based on biomarker-induced ECL signal changes, have attracted increasing attention due to the simple, rapid, and low-cost detection of biomarkers without secondary antibodies and complicated labeling procedures. However, the interaction rule and mechanism between analytical interfaces and biomarkers have rarely been explored. Herein, the interactions between biomarkers and analytical interfaces constructed by assembly of a…

• Rational Development of Hypervalent Glycan Shield-Binding Nanoparticles with Broad-Spectrum Inhibition against Fatal Viruses Including SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Infectious virus diseases, particularly coronavirus disease 2019, have posed a severe threat to public health, whereas the developed therapeutic and prophylactic strategies are seriously challenged by viral evolution and mutation. Therefore, broad-spectrum inhibitors of viruses are highly demanded. Herein, an unprecedented antiviral strategy is reported, targeting the viral glycan shields with hypervalent mannose-binding nanoparticles. The nanoparticles exhibit a unique double-punch mechanism,…

• DNA virus oncoprotein HPV18 E7 selectively antagonizes cGAS-STING-triggered innate immune activation - Cellular infections by DNA viruses trigger innate immune responses mediated by DNA sensors. The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon gene (STING) signaling pathway has been identified as a DNA-sensing pathway that activates interferons in response to viral infection and, thus, mediates host defense against viruses. Previous studies have identified oncogenes E7 and E1A of the DNA tumor viruses, human papillomavirus 18 (HPV18) and adenovirus, respectively, as inhibitors of the…

• Favipiravir Efficacy And Safety For The Treatment Of Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Retrospective Study - CONCLUSIONS: In this study, Favipiravir showed better therapeutic responses in patients with severe COVID-19 infection, in terms of average duration of stay in the intensive care unit and was well tolerated in the younger age, but showed no mortality benefit. However, elevated levels of inflammatory markers, including increased ALT, AST, BUN, bilirubin, and creatinine, needs to be carefully examined.

• Characteristics and source apportionment of PM_2.5 under the dual influence of the Spring Festival and the COVID-19 pandemic in Yuncheng city - Based on the online and membrane sampling data of Yuncheng from January 1st to February 12th, 2020, the formation mechanism of haze under the dual influence of Spring Festival and COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease) was analyzed. Atmospheric capacity, chemical composition, secondary transformation, source apportionment, backward trajectory, pollution space and enterprise distribution were studied. Low wind speed, high humidity and small atmospheric capacity inhibited the diffusion of air pollutants….

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