Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• “You are not a horse”: Medicalization, social control, and academic discourse in the Covid-19 era -
  Since early 2020, public figures in government, medicine, public health, and academia have accused critics of official Covid-19 policy of subverting efforts to contain the crisis, by spreading “misinformation” leading to concerning levels of “vaccine hesitancy” or to the uptake of unproven, even dangerous, therapeutics. These accusations were compellingly captured in an August 2021 tweet from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “You’re not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it”, warning anyone considering or already consuming the antiparasitic drug ivermectin to treat or prevent Covid-19 that the drug could be “dangerous and even lethal” if used outside of the scope of FDA guidelines. In this study I examine the role of academic popularizing discourse in Covid-19 debates. Drawing from theories and methods that share a concern with how medical language and frames are deployed to control social behaviour, I appraise articles from The Conversation, an outlet that disseminates academic knowledge to facilitate open exchange and democratic governance. My analysis challenges the outlet’s self-presentation, suggesting instead that, in the Covid-19 era, far from contributing to its ostensible goals, The Conversation’s stigmatizing and condemnatory messaging is largely undermining them, with dire implication for the normative academic principles of open inquiry, the free pursuit of knowledge, and the promotion of critical thinking among younger generations.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: “You are not a horse”: Medicalization, social control, and academic discourse in the Covid-19 era
• Caring for the monstrous algorithm: attending to wrinkly worlds and relationalities in an algorithmic society -
  This text proposes that we, social analysts of algorithms, need to develop a split vision for the algorithm-as-technological-object and the algorithm-as-assemblage in order to effectively attend to, analyze, and critique algorithms in society. The point of departure is that we need to distance ourselves from a simplified and reductive understanding of algorithms-as-objects, and care for them as part of a relational algorithmic assemblage. A simplified notion of algorithms is problematic for two reasons: First, as it produces a reductive notion of the world where decision makers point to algorithms-as-objects to make simplified decisions about the world. Second, by taking a simplified and delineated object called “algorithm” as the point of departure for analysis and critique in an algorithmic society, we risk producing technologically deterministic understandings of complex and composite problems. We illustrate this argument through two example drawn from the handling of Covid-19 pandemic, where we attend to a universalist mathematical epidemiology and the particularities of field epidemiology to problematize how we should care for, understand, and analyze algorithms in society.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Caring for the monstrous algorithm: attending to wrinkly worlds and relationalities in an algorithmic society
• News Coverage of the COVID-19 Outbreak: Thematic Analysis of a Portuguese Quality Newspaper -
  News coverage can play a vital role during public health crises, raising awareness about potential risks, informing about response efforts, and encouraging preventive behaviors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the precariousness of journalists while introducing new challenges in their work. This article presents the results of a thematic analysis of 612 news articles about the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal, published in a Portuguese quality newspaper from January to March 2020. Results show the relevance of geographical and cultural proximity as news values in international coverage. While the quantification of cases and deaths was a prominent theme in international and domestic coverage, specific cases of infection were frequent in domestic news, while general epidemiological indicators were more often the main theme in international coverage. News about events in Portugal was also more focused on specific containment and mitigation measures, while international coverage found states of emergency and lockdowns more newsworthy. As for news sources, there was a clear dependence on public officials and press releases from Direção-Geral de Saúde as information sources. The experiences and opinions of people speaking as individuals and not on behalf of organizations were much less frequent.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: News Coverage of the COVID-19 Outbreak: Thematic Analysis of a Portuguese Quality Newspaper
• LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER: A Challenge for Medically Optimal Coronavirus Social Distancing Policies -
  Public health efforts aiming to slow the COVID-19 epidemic and protect the vulnerable by reducing interpersonal contact and increasing interpersonal physical distance have achieved considerable success. About three-quarters of Americans report following all the recommended practices. But there is an elephant in the room: Overnighting – staying overnight at someone else’s home or having them stay overnight at your place – is rarely mentioned publicly. But we find that overnighting is widespread throughout the epidemic thus far. In the past month, over half American adults had at least one overnight guest and about the same number (but not always the same people) spent at least one night at somebody else’s home. The consequences are striking: People who overnight are more than twice as likely to report having had COVID-19. Who overnights? Overnighting is much more common among young adults (over 60% for those 25-34) than among their seniors (dipping below 40% for those age 65 and over). Moreover, risk seekers overnight much more than otherwise-similar risk-averse peers. Data: International Social Science Survey, Round 21, Cohorts 1-7, collected April –September 2020, N=9,474. Methods: Descriptive statistics and OLS.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER: A Challenge for Medically Optimal Coronavirus Social Distancing Policies
• A Scale for Measuring Social Distancing Behavior: Survey Questions and National Norms, USA 2020 -
  “Social distancing”, a set of “nonpharmaceutical interventions” or NPIs in the medical literature, is a primary defence, perhaps the primary defence, against infectious disease, universally advocated by medical authorities in the US and throughout the world during the current coronavirus pandemic. The idea is not new. Perhaps the first government-directed quarantine system was mid-fourteenth-century Venice’s “quaranta giorni”, forty days of mandated isolation for incoming ships. We propose a 5-item primary scale of “social distancing” behavior (KEK-3) and a slightly extended variant (KEK-3m), developed for use during the COVID-19 epidemic (and, potentially, beyond). The candidate items all had 7 answer categories. Assessment aligns very well with the classical measurement model for multi-item scales: interitem correlations are high; alpha reliability is 0.86; correlations with criterion variables are similar across the candidate items; factor analysis (oblimin rotation) finds a single dimension with an eigenvalue over 1 and loadings around .7. We provide behavioral norms for America during the 2020 pandemic and describe KEK-3’s links to demographic and socioeconomic factors. Developing a replicable scale is especially important now, because many researchers are making erroneous comparisons using the same terminology to describe aspects of the epidemic which have been measured differently. To successfully assess the “…meaning of social change related to COVID-19, the newly emerging social practices due to lockdown measures…” (Esposito, Stark and Squazzoni 2020), high-quality measurements sufficiently reliable and robust to be replicated in different times as the epidemic evolves and in different settings are desperately needed: KEK-3 contributes to such a set of measures. Data: four large national sample surveys conducted April - July, 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Data collection was through Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk. This scale may be freely used by other researchers so long as its origin is acknowledged.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A Scale for Measuring Social Distancing Behavior: Survey Questions and National Norms, USA 2020
• LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER: A Challenge for Medically Optimal Coronavirus Social Distancing Policies -
  Public health efforts to slow the COVID-19 epidemic and protect the vulnerable have focused on reducing interpersonal contact and increasing interpersonal physical distance. They have achieved considerable success, with over three-quarters of Americans reporting that they follow all the recommended precautionary practices of social distancing, so it is likely that, at least, they follow most of them most of the time. But there is an elephant in the room: Overnighting – staying overnight at someone else’s home or having them stay overnight at your place is rarely, if ever, mentioned publicly. But we will show that this is a widespread practice in American society, throughout the epidemic thus far. In the past month, over half of all Americans had at least one overnight guest and about the same number (but not always the same people) spent at least one night in the past month at somebody else’s home. The consequences are striking: People who overnight are more than twice as likely to report that they have had COVID-19. Who overnights? The practice is much more common among young adults (over 60% for those 25-34) than among their seniors (dipping below 30% for those age 65 and over). Moreover, risk seekers are hugely more likely to overnight than are their otherwise similar risk averse peers. Data: International Social Science Survey, Round 21, Cohorts 1-5, collected April – July 2020, N=4,815. Methods: Descriptive statistics and multiple regression.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER: A Challenge for Medically Optimal Coronavirus Social Distancing Policies
• How well do we do social distancing? -

  During the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many jurisdictions around the world introduced a 9social distance9 rule under which people are instructed to keep a certain distance from others. Generally, this rule is implemented simply by telling people how many metres or feet of separation should be kept, without giving them precise instructions as to how the specified distance can be measured. Consequently, the rule is effective only to the extent that people are able to gauge this distance through their space perception. To examine the effectiveness of the rule from this point of view, the present study empirically investigated how much distance people would leave from another person when they relied on their perception of this distance. Participants (N = 153) were asked to stand exactly 1.5-m away from a researcher, and resultant interpersonal distances showed that while their mean was close to the correct 1.5-m distance, they exhibited large individual differences. These results suggest that a number of people would not stay sufficiently away from others even when they intend to do proper social distancing. Given this outcome, it is suggested that official health advice include measures that compensate for this tendency.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: How well do we do social distancing?
• Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis -

  Background: The risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality differs markedly by age, socio-demographic characteristics and pre-existing health status. Various studies have suggested that higher air pollution exposures also increase the likelihood of dying from COVID-19. Objectives: To assess the association between long-term outdoor air pollution (NO₂, NOx, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) concentrations and the risk of death involving COVID-19, using a large individual-level dataset. Methods: We used comprehensive individual-level data from the Office for National Statistics9 Public Health Data Asset for September 2020 to January 2022 and London Air Quality Network modelled air pollution concentrations available for 2016. Using Cox proportional hazard regression models, we adjusted for potential confounders including age, sex, vaccination status, dominant virus variants, geographical factors (such as population density), ethnicity, area and household-level deprivation, and health comorbidities. Results: There were 737,356 confirmed COVID-19 cases including 9,315 COVID-related deaths. When only adjusting for age, sex, and vaccination status, there was an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 with increased exposure to all air pollutants studied (NO₂: HR 1.07 [95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.12] per 10 μg /m³; NOx: 1.05[1.02-1.09] per 20 μg /m³; PM₁₀: 1.32[1.15-1.51] per 10 μg /m³; PM_2.5: 1.29[1.12-1.49] per 5 μg /m³). However, after adjustment including ethnicity and socio-economic factors the HRs were close to unity (NO₂: 0.98[0.90-1.06]; NOx: 0.99[0.94-1.04]; PM₁₀: 0.95[0.74-1.22]; PM_2.5: 0.90[0.67-1.20]). Additional adjustment for dominant variant or pre-existing health comorbidities did not alter the results. Conclusions: Observed associations between long-term outdoor air pollution exposure and COVID-19 mortality in London are strongly confounded by geography, ethnicity and deprivation.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis
• Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people attending the two main Goma markets in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo -

  According to official data, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a low prevalence of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to determine the COVID-19 seroprevalence in people attending Goma9s two largest markets, Kituku and Virunga. This study was conducted between September and November 2021, overlapping by one month with another similar study carried out in a slum of Bukavu, and using the same methodology. COVID-19 unvaccinated participants (n = 796 including 454 vendors and 342 customers, 60% of whom were women) were surveyed. The median age of vendors and customers was 34.2 and 30.1 years, respectively. The crude and adjusted anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence rates were 70.2% (95 % CI 66.9-73.4%) and 98.8% (95% CI 94.1-100%), respectively, with no difference between vendors and customers. COVID-19 symptoms were mild or absent in 58.9% and 41.1% of participants with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies respectively. COVID-19 did not require hospitalisation for any of the seropositive participants. These findings are consistent with those reported in Bukavu. They confirm that SARS-CoV-2 spread without causing severe symptoms in densely populated settlements and markets, and suggest that many COVID-19 cases went unreported. Based on these results, relevance of an untargeted hypothetical vaccination programme in these communities should be questioned.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people attending the two main Goma markets in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
• Rapidly Adaptable Multiplexed Yeast Surface Display Serological Assay for Immune Escape Screening of SARS-CoV-2 Variants -

  With numerous variations in the Spike protein, including concentrated mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD), the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant significantly shifted in the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand individual patient risk profiles in the face of rapidly emerging variants, there is an interest in sensitive serological tests capable of analyzing patient IgG response to multiple variants in parallel. Here, we present a serological test based on yeast surface display and serum biopanning that characterizes immune profiles against SARS-CoV-2 RBD variants. We used this yeast-based multi-variant serology method to examine IgG titers from 30 serum samples derived from COVID-19-convalescent and vaccinated individuals in Switzerland and assessed the relative affinity of polyclonal serum IgG for Wuhan (B lineage), Delta (B.1.617.2 lineage), and Omicron (B.1.1.529 lineage) RBD domains. We validated and benchmarked our system against a commercial lateral flow assay and showed strong concordance. Our assay demonstrates that serum IgGs from patients recovered from severe COVID-19 between March-June 2021 bound tightly to both original Wuhan and Delta RBD variants, but became indistinguishable from background when assayed against Omicron, representing an affinity loss of >10-20 fold. Our yeast immunoassay is easily tailored and parallelized with newly emerging RBD variants.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Rapidly Adaptable Multiplexed Yeast Surface Display Serological Assay for Immune Escape Screening of SARS-CoV-2 Variants
• Saline gargle-based SARS-CoV-2 genome surveillance for remote and rural setup with projections for post-pandemic monitoring -

  Voluntary participation of the public in disease surveillance can be encouraged by deploying user-friendly sample collection processes that can minimise the discomfort to the participants. To increase sample collection throughput and reduce patient discomfort, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) developed a non-invasive, patient-friendly saline gargle sample collection method for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This method can also be deployed for other respiratory viruses. This study evaluated the suitability of saline gargle-based sample collection for genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. This study included 589 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected using the Gargle-based sample collection method from Nagpur city in central India from March to December 2021. The viral RNA was isolated from saline gargle samples using an RNA release buffer followed by SARS-CoV-2 RTPCR. The SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were subjected to SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing using the oxford nanopore technologies (ONT) next-generation sequencing platform. Out of 589 samples, 500 samples qualified for the SARS-CoV-2 WGS, and the SARS-CoV-2 WGS results revealed 8 different clades of SARS-CoV-2 encompassing 37 different Pango-lineage types. Our findings indicate that non-invasive gargle-based genomic surveillance is scalable and does not need significant changes to the existing workflow post-sample collection. This makes it advantageous for underdeveloped or remote areas as a reliable and high-throughput sample collection; and a technique of choice for surveillance in post-pandemic scenarios, which can find more user acceptance than the invasive swab-VTM sample collection method.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Saline gargle-based SARS-CoV-2 genome surveillance for remote and rural setup with projections for post-pandemic monitoring
• Anti-inflammatory SARS-CoV-2 T cell immunity in asymptomatic seronegative Kenyan adults -

  Antibodies are used to estimate prevalence of past infection. However, T cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 may more accurately define prevalence because SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies wane. In November-December 2021, we studied serological and cellular immune responses in residents of rural Kenya who had not experienced any respiratory symptom nor had contact with COVID-19 cases. Among participants we detected anti-spike antibodies in 41.0% and T cell responses against ≥2 SARS-CoV-2 proteins in 82.5%, which implies that serosurveys underestimate SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in settings where asymptomatic infections prevail. Distinct from cellular immunity in European and Asian COVID-19 convalescents, strong T cell immunogenicity was observed against viral accessory proteins in these asymptomatic Africans, as well as a higher IL-10/IFN-γ ratio cytokine profile, suggesting that environmental or genetic factors modulate pro-inflammatory responses.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Anti-inflammatory SARS-CoV-2 T cell immunity in asymptomatic seronegative Kenyan adults
• Mutual information networks reveal evolutionary relationships within the influenza A virus polymerase -
  The influenza A (IAV) RNA polymerase is an essential driver of IAV evolution. Mutations that the polymerase introduces into viral genome segments during replication are the ultimate source of genetic variation, including within the three subunits of the IAV polymerase (PB2, PB1, and PA). Evolutionary analysis of the IAV polymerase is complicated, because changes in mutation rate, replication speed, and drug resistance involve epistatic interactions among its subunits. In order to study the evolution of the human seasonal H3N2 polymerase since the 1968 pandemic, we identified pairwise evolutionary relationships among ~7000 H3N2 polymerase sequences using mutual information (MI), which measures the information gained about the identity of one residue when a second residue is known. To account for uneven sampling of viral sequences over time, we developed a weighted MI metric (wMI) and demonstrate that wMI outperforms raw MI through simulations using a well-sampled SARS-CoV-2 dataset. We then constructed wMI networks of the H3N2 polymerase to extend the inherently pairwise wMI statistic to encompass relationships among larger groups of residues. We included HA in the wMI network to distinguish between functional wMI relationships within the polymerase and those potentially due to hitchhiking on antigenic changes in HA. The wMI networks reveal coevolutionary relationships among residues with roles in replication and encapsidation. Inclusion of HA highlighted polymerase-only subgraphs containing residues with roles in the enzymatic functions of the polymerase and host adaptability. This work provides insight into the factors that drive and constrain the rapid evolution of influenza viruses.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Mutual information networks reveal evolutionary relationships within the influenza A virus polymerase
• CD4+ and CD8+ T cell and antibody correlates of protection against Delta vaccine breakthrough infection: A nested case-control study within the PITCH study -

  T cell correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination (9vaccine breakthrough9) are incompletely defined, especially the specific contributions of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. We studied 279 volunteers in the Protective Immunity from T Cells in Healthcare Workers (PITCH) UK study, including 32 cases (with SARS-CoV-2 positive testing after two vaccine doses during the Delta-dominant era) and 247 controls (no positive test nor anti-nucleocapsid seroconversion during this period). 28 days after second vaccination, before all breakthroughs occurred, cases had lower ancestral S- and RBD-specific immunoglobulin G titres and S1- and S2-specific T cell interferon gamma (IFNγ) responses compared with controls. In a subset of matched cases and controls, cases had lower CD4+ and CD8+ IFNγ and tumour necrosis factor responses to Delta S peptides with reduced CD8+ responses to Delta versus ancestral peptides compared with controls. Our findings support a protective role for T cells against Delta breakthrough infection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: CD4+ and CD8+ T cell and antibody correlates of protection against Delta vaccine breakthrough infection: A nested case-control study within the PITCH study
• Lives and Livelihood, Not Quite a Trade-Off: A Cross-Country Analysis of the Short-Term Impact of COVID-19 Mortality on Real GDP -

  Introduction. A supposed lives-livelihood trade-off (LLTO) has been at the centre stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, where policymakers often attempt to balance the health cost of COVID-19, including deaths, and the economic cost of lockdowns. Methodology. This paper uses country-level panel (longitudinal) data on real GDP, stringency of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), economic policy support, COVID-19 deaths, and vaccination to quantify the short-run LLTO. Beyond descriptive analysis, adjustments were made — (1) two-stage least squares instrumental variables in a cross-sectional setting using pre-pandemic institutional quality as the excluded instrument, and (2) two-way fixed effects in a panel data setting. Findings. Real GDP is negatively associated with COVID-19 deaths, as does more stringent containment measures. However, the offsetting positive association of real GDP with economic policy support is substantial. A historical decomposition of average real GDP that the positive attribution of fiscal support roughly equates the negative attribution of lockdown stringency and COVID-19 mortality. Conclusion. Cross-country empirical evidence suggests no direct tradeoff between the economy, and public health. A change in policy thinking from a LLTO paradigm to a 9no trade-off9 entails economic policy treating public health goals as invariant in supporting incomes through adequate, direct, and timely means.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Lives and Livelihood, Not Quite a Trade-Off: A Cross-Country Analysis of the Short-Term Impact of COVID-19 Mortality on Real GDP

From Clinical Trials

• MG Granules Improve COVID-19 Efficacy and Safety of Convalescent Exercise Tolerance - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: Manzi Guben granules
  Sponsors:   Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University;   The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University;   Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine;   Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  Not yet recruiting

• Heterologous Booster Study of COVID-19 Protein Subunit Recombinant Vaccine in Children 12-17 Years of Age - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 subunit protein recombinant vaccine
  Sponsors:   PT Bio Farma;   Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran
  Not yet recruiting

• Improving Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Behaviours: Test of Persuasive Messages - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Persuasive Appeal
  Sponsor:   University of Calgary
  Completed

• Incidence of COVID-19 Following Vaccination in Botswana Against SARS CoV 2 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: AZD 1222
  Sponsors:   Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership;   AstraZeneca;   Botswana Ministry of Health
  Completed

• Study Evaluating GS-5245 in Nonhospitalized Participants With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: GS-5245;   Drug: GS-5245 Placebo
  Sponsor:   Gilead Sciences
  Not yet recruiting

• A Study To Assess The Efficacy and Safety of HH-120 Nasal Spray for the Treatment of Mild COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: HH-120 nasal spray;   Drug: Placebo Comparator
  Sponsor:   Huahui Health
  Recruiting

• Study for Efficacy and Safety Assessment of the Drug RADAMIN®VIRO for COVID-19 Postexposure Prophylaxis - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Double-Stranded RNA sodium salt;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Promomed, LLC
  Completed

• Study of Flonoltinib Maleate Tablets in the Treatment of Severe Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: VV116+SOC;   Drug: SOC
  Sponsor:   Chengdu Zenitar Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd
  Recruiting

• Study to Access the Efficacy and Safety of STI-1558 in Adult Subjects With Mild or Moderate (COVID-19) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: STI-1558;   Drug: STI-1558 placebo
  Sponsor:   Zhejiang ACEA Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Effects of Pilates in Patients With Post- -COVID-19 Syndrome: Controlled and Randomized Clinical Trial - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Procedure: Pilates Exercises
  Sponsor:   Michele de Aguiar Zacaria
  Recruiting

• Pirfenidone in Adult Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Drug: Pirfenidone Oral Product;   Drug: Pirfenidone placebo
  Sponsor:   Capital Medical University
  Active, not recruiting

• Efficacy and Safety of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Long COVID-19 - Condition:   Long COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: UC-MSCs
  Sponsor:   Shanghai East Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• CONFIDENCE: a Multicomponent Clinic-based Intervention to Promote COVID-19 Vaccine Intention and Uptake Among Diverse Youth and Adolescents - Condition:   COVID-19 Vaccination
  Intervention:   Behavioral: CONFIDENCE
  Sponsors:   University of Massachusetts, Worcester;   Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC;   Baystate Health
  Not yet recruiting

• MGC Health COVID-19 & Flu A+B Home Multi Test Usability Study - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Influenza A;   Influenza B
  Interventions:   Diagnostic Test: MGC Health COVID-19 & Flu A+B Home Multi Test;   Diagnostic Test: MGC Health COVID-19 & Flu A+B Home Multi Test (2 to 13 y/o)
  Sponsors:   Medical Group Care, LLC;   CSSi Life Sciences
  Recruiting

• Washing COVID-19 Away With a Hypertonic Seawater Nasal Irrigation Solution - Condition:   SARS-CoV2 Infection
  Intervention:   Other: Hypertonic seawater solution
  Sponsor:   Larissa University Hospital
  Completed

From PubMed

• Effect of DPP4/CD26 expression on SARS‑CoV‑2 susceptibility, immune response, adenosine (derivatives m⁶₂A and CD) regulations on patients with cancer and healthy individuals - The worldwide COVID‑19 pandemic was brought on by a new coronavirus (SARS Cov‑2). A marker/receptor called Dipeptidyl peptidase 4/CD26(DPP4/CD26) may be crucial in determining susceptibility to tumors and coronaviruses. However, the regulation of DPP4 in COVID‑invaded cancer patients and its role on small molecule compounds remain unclear. The present study used the Human Protein Atlas, Monaco, and Schmiedel databases to analyze the expression of DPP4 in human tissues and immune cells. The…

• P2X7 purinergic receptor: A potential target in heart diseases (Review) - The P2X7 purinergic receptor (P2X7R) is a non‑selective cation channel activated by high levels of adenosine triphosphate that are commonly present in serious conditions. Activation of this purinergic receptor is closely related to the development of various disease states including inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders, orthopedic diseases and types of cancer. Accumulating evidence has shown that the P2X7R plays a crucial role in the development of various heart diseases. For example,…

• The OM-85 bacterial lysate: a new tool against SARS-CoV-2? - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, caused the global Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Because SARS-CoV-2 mutates rapidly, vaccines that induce immune responses against viral components critical for target cell infection strongly mitigate but do not abrogate viral spread, and disease rates remain high worldwide. Complementary treatments are therefore needed to reduce the frequency and/or severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections. OM-85, a standardized lysate of 21 bacterial…

• Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone Axis Inhibition Improves Outcome of Diabetic Patients with Chronic Hypertension and COVID-19: An Iranian Perspective - CONCLUSIONS: The current study suggests that ACE inhibitors and ARBs are associated with decreased mortality, ICU admission, and better ICU survival in the diabetic subgroup of hypertensive patients.

• Nanoscale Interaction Mechanisms of Antiviral Activity - Nanomaterials have now found applications across all segments of society including but not limited to energy, environment, defense, agriculture, purification, food medicine, diagnostics, and others. The pandemic and the vulnerability of humankind to emerging viruses and other infectious diseases has renewed interest in nanoparticles as a potential new class of antivirals. In fact, a growing body of evidence in the literature suggests nanoparticles may have activity against multiple viruses…

• Novel Investigational Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agent Ensitrelvir “S-217622”: A Very Promising Potential Universal Broad-Spectrum Antiviral at the Therapeutic Frontline of Coronavirus Species - Lately, nitrogenous heterocyclic antivirals, such as nucleoside-like compounds, oxadiazoles, thiadiazoles, triazoles, quinolines, and isoquinolines, topped the therapeutic scene as promising agents of choice for the treatment of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and their accompanying ailment, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). At the same time, the continuous emergence of new strains of SARS-CoV-2, like the Omicron variant and its multiple…

• High SARS-CoV-2 tropism and activation of immune cells in the testes of non-vaccinated deceased COVID-19 patients - CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that high angiotensin II levels and activation of mast cells and macrophages may be critical for testicular pathogenesis. Importantly, our findings suggest that patients who become critically ill may exhibit severe alterations and harbor the active virus in the testes.

• Effect of chitooligosaccharide on the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 main protease - CONCLUSION: This study provides the theoretical basis to develop targeted Mpro inhibitors for the screening and application of anti-novel coronavirus drugs.

• Novel dithiocarbamates selectively inhibit 3CL protease of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses - Since end of 2019, the global and unprecedented outbreak caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 led to dramatic numbers of infections and deaths worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 produces two large viral polyproteins which are cleaved by two cysteine proteases encoded by the virus, the 3CL protease (3CL^(pro)) and the papain-like protease, to generate non-structural proteins essential for the virus life cycle. Both proteases are recognized as promising drug targets for the development of anti-coronavirus…

• Screen for Modulation of Nucleocapsid Protein Condensation Identifies Small Molecules with Anti-Coronavirus Activity - Biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation have been implicated in multiple diseases. Modulation of condensate dynamics by small molecules has therapeutic potential, but so far, few condensate modulators have been disclosed. The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein forms phase-separated condensates that are hypothesized to play critical roles in viral replication, transcription, and packaging, suggesting that N condensation modulators might have anti-coronavirus activity…

• Synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational investigation into the potential inhibitory action of novel 6-(p-tolyl)-2-((p-tolyl)thio)methyl-7H-[1.2.4]triazolo[5,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazine inhibits the main protease of COVID-19 - In recent times, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has now become a worldwide pandemic. With over 71 million confirmed cases, even though the effectiveness and side effects of the specific drugs and vaccines approved for this disease are still limited. Scientists and researchers from all across the world are working to find a vaccine and a cure for COVID-19 by using large-scale drug discovery and analysis….

• The effect of vitamin C supplementation on favipiravir-induced oxidative stress and proinflammatory damage in livers and kidneys of rats - Favipiravir (FPV), an effective antiviral agent, is a drug used to treat influenza and COVID-19 by inhibiting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of RNA viruses. FPV has the potential to increase oxidative stress and organ damage. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the oxidative stress and inflammation caused by FPV in the liver and kidneys of rats, as well as to investigate the curative effects of vitamin C (VitC). A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly and equally…

• Supporting and inhibiting factors of accepting COVID-19 booster vaccination in the elderly in north Jakarta, Indonesia - CONCLUSIONS: Most of the elderly displayed positive attitudes concerning booster shots, but it was discovered that some barriers need to be removed.

• Comparison of the mucosal and systemic antibody responses in Covid-19 recovered patients with one dose of mRNA vaccine and unexposed subjects with three doses of mRNA vaccines - CONCLUSION: The booster benefited all subjects to obtain neutralizing antibody (NAb) against omicron BA.1 variant in plasma while only the Covid-19 recovered subjects had an extra enrichment in nasal NAb against omicron BA.1 variant.

• The development and validation of the pandemic medication-assisted treatment questionnaire for the assessment of pandemic crises impact on medication management and administration for patients with opioid use disorders - Pandemic and the globally applied restriction measures mainly affect vulnerable population groups, such as patients with opioid use disorders. Towards inhibiting SARS-Cov-2 spread, the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs follow strategies targeting the reduction of in-person psychosocial interventions and an increase of take-home doses. However, there is no available instrument to examine the impact of such modifications on diverse health aspects of patients under MAT. The aim of this…

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