Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• No more advantage for the home team: Refereeing without social pressure in European elite football during the COVID-19 pandemic. Draft version 3 30-03-2021 -
  Introduction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, European elite football (soccer) leagues played the remaining season 2019/20 without or strongly limited attendance of supporters (i.e., “ghost games”). From a psychological perspective this situation poses a unique opportunity to investigate the crowd’s influence on referee decisions and the associated effect of “home advantage”. Methods. A total of 1286 matches - played in the top leagues of Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Austria and the Czech Republic - were analyzed for results, fouls, bookings and reasons for bookings and contrasted between respective matchdays of season 2018/19 (regular attendance) and season 2019/20 (ghost games). Results. There are two main findings. First, the overall home advantage effect in the respective elite leagues - identified in the respective matches of the regular 2018/19 season – vanished in the ghost games of the 2019/20 season. Consequently, home teams lost significantly more matches, whereas away teams won significantly more matches. Second, only home teams were booked significantly more often with yellow cards for committing fouls in ghost games. Most importantly, our analysis provides evidence that this effect was independent of the course of the games. In contrast, bookings for other reasons (criticism and unfair sportsmanship) changed similarly for both home and away teams in ghost games. Conclusion. We conclude that the lack of supporters in top European football during the COVID-19 pandemic led to decreased social pressure from the ranks on referees. This implication is consistent with previous research in smaller size and experiments in artificial settings. As a result of decreased social pressure, referees assessed the play of home teams more objectively, which further led to increased yellow cards awarded for fouls committed by the home teams. Since there were no significant changes in referee decisions against the away teams, we argue that our observations in ghost games reflect a reduction of unconscious favoritism of referees for the home teams. This key finding provides a firm empirical basis for the development of novel methods - such as virtual reality interventions - for training referees and thus minimizing the effects of decisions made under social pressure.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: No more advantage for the home team: Refereeing without social pressure in European elite football during the COVID-19 pandemic. Draft version 3 30-03-2021
• Factors Influencing Asia-Pacific Countries’ Success Level in Curbing COVID-19: A Review Using a Social–Ecological System (SES) Framework -
  Little attention has been paid to the impacts of institutional–human–environment dimen- sions on the outcome of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) abatement. Through the diagnostic social–ecological system (SES) framework, this review paper aimed to investigate what and how the multifaceted social, physical, and governance factors affected the success level of seven selected Asia-Pacific countries (namely, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and New Zealand) in combatting COVID-19. Drawing on statistical data from the Our World In Data web- site, we measured the COVID-19 severity or abatement success level of the countries on the basis of cumulative positive cases, average daily cases, and mortality rates for the period of 1 February 2020 to 30 June 2020. A qualitative content analysis using three codes, i.e., present (P), partially present (PP), and absent (A) for each SES attribute, as well as score calculation and rank ordering for govern- ment response effectiveness and the abatement success level across the countries, was undertaken. Not only did the standard coding process ensure data comparability but the data were deemed substantially reliable with Cohen’s kappa of 0.76. Among 13 attributes of the SES factors, high facility adequacy, comprehensive COVID-19 testing policies, strict lockdown measures, imposition of penalty, and the high trust level towards the government seemed to be significant in determining the COVID-19 severity in a country. The results show that Vietnam (ranked first) and New Zealand (ranked second), with a high presence of attributes/design principles contributing to high-level government stringency and health and containment indices, successfully controlled the virus, while Indonesia (ranked seventh) and Japan (ranked sixth), associated with the low presence of design principles, were deemed least successful. Two lessons can be drawn: (i) having high number of P for SES attributes does not always mean a panacea for the pandemic; however, it would be detrimental to a country if it lacked them severely, and (ii) some attributes (mostly from the governance factor) may carry higher weightage towards explaining the success level. This comparative study providing an overview of critical SES attributes in relation to COVID-19 offers novel policy insights, thus helping policymakers devise more strategic, coordinated measures, particularly for effective country preparedness and response in addressing the current and the future health crisis.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Factors Influencing Asia-Pacific Countries’ Success Level in Curbing COVID-19: A Review Using a Social–Ecological System (SES) Framework
• Big Five personality traits and COVID-19 precautionary behaviors among older adults in Europe -
  Objectives: Taking precaution against COVID-19 is important among older adults who have a greater risk for severe illness if infected. We examined whether Big Five personality traits are associated with COVID-19 precautionary behaviors among older adults in Europe. Method: We used data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (N=34 629). Personality was self-reported in 2017 using the BFI-10 inventory. COVID-19 precautionary behaviors – wearing a mask, limiting in-person contacts, keeping distance to others, washing hands, and using disinfectant – were assessed in the summer of 2020 through self-reports. Associations between personality and precautionary behaviors were examined with multilevel random-intercept logistic regression models. The models were adjusted for age, gender, educational attainment, and country of residence. Results: Personality traits were differentially associated with precautionary behaviors, with higher openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism showing most consistent associations. The associations between personality and practicing precautionary behaviors were relatively weak (OR range from 1.03 to 1.19 per 1 SD difference in a trait) in comparison to the associations between sociodemographic factors and precautionary behaviors. Conclusions: Among older adults, taking COVID-19 precautionary behaviors was most consistently related to higher openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, suggesting that precautionary behaviors may be motivated by multiple psychological differences.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Big Five personality traits and COVID-19 precautionary behaviors among older adults in Europe
• How does stress affect our life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic? Moderated mediation analysis of sense of coherence and fear of coronavirus -
  COVID-19 is a significant threat to human life and health, which makes people experience fear, stress, anxiety and mood disorders, which have a negative impact on their psychological well-being. One of the resources that makes people manage stress better is a sense of coherence, which also has a positive impact on quality of life. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between fear of COVID-19, stress, a sense of coherence, and life satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic. 907 Polish people (522 women and 385 men) participated in this study. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FOC-6), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used in the study. It was verified that the relationship between stress and life satisfaction was mediated by sense of coherence. The relationship between stress and sense of coherence was moderated by fear of COVID-19. The fear of COVID-19 acted as a buffer in the relationship between stress and a sense of coherence - it weakened the impact of stress on the sense of coherence. This study is the first to verify the proposed model of moderated mediation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses were performed on a very large sample. This manuscript draws attention to the important role of fear of COVID-19 and the sense of coherence in our functioning. The sense of coherence can, by effectively managing stress and reducing the level of anxiety, affect subjective well-being.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: How does stress affect our life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic? Moderated mediation analysis of sense of coherence and fear of coronavirus
• SARS-CoV-2, a threat to marine mammals? A study from Italian seawaters -
  Zoonotically transmitted coronaviruses were responsible for three disease outbreaks since 2002, with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the dramatic Coronavirus Disease-2019 (CoViD-19) pandemic, which affected public health, economy, and society on a global scale. The impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic permeate into our environment and wildlife as well; in particular, concern has been raised about the viral occurrence and persistence in aquatic and marine ecosystems. The discharge of untreated wastewaters carrying infectious SARS-CoV-2 into natural water systems that are home of sea mammals may have dramatic consequences on vulnerable species. The efficient transmission of coronaviruses raise questions regarding the contributions of virus receptors interactions. The main receptor of SARS-CoV-2 is Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE-2), serving as a functional receptor for the viral spike (S) protein. This study was aimed, through the comparative analysis of the ACE-2 receptor with the human one, at assessing the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 of the different species of marine mammals living in Italian waters. We also determined, by means of immunohistochemistry, ACE-2 receptor localization in the lung tissue from different cetacean species, in order to provide a preliminary characterization of ACE-2 expression in the marine mammals respiratory tract. Furthermore, in order to evaluate if and how wastewater management in Italy may lead to susceptible marine mammal populations being exposed to the virus, geo-mapping data of wastewater plants, associated to the identification of specific stretches of coast more exposed to extreme weather events, overlapped to marine mammal population data, were carried out. Results showed the SARS-CoV-2 exposure for marine mammals inhabiting Italian coastal waters. Thus, we highlight the potential hazard of reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, along with its impact on marine mammals regularly inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, whilst also stressing the need of appropriate action to prevent further damage to specific vulnerable populations. Significance Statement Growing concern exists that SARS-CoV-2, as already ascertained for its SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV predecessors, originated from an animal reservoir, performing thereafter its spillover into mankind, that was possibly anticipated by viral passage into a secondary animal host. Within the dramatic SARS-CoV-2 pandemic context, hitherto characterized by over 110 million cases and almost 2,500,000 deaths on a global scale, several domestic and wild animal species have been reported as susceptible to natural and/or experimental SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this respect, while some marine mammal species are deemed as potentially susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection on the basis of the sequence homology of their ACE-2 viral receptor with the human one, this study addresses such a critical issue also in stranded sea mammal specimens.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: SARS-CoV-2, a threat to marine mammals? A study from Italian seawaters
• COVID-19 dominant D614G mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein desensitizes its temperature-dependent denaturation -
  The D614G mutation in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 alters the fitness of the virus, making it the dominant form in the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we demonstrated by cryo-electron microscopy that the D614G mutation does not significantly perturb the structure of the spike protein, but multiple receptor binding domains are in an upward conformation poised for host receptor binding. The impact of the mutation lies in its ability to eliminate the unusual cold-induced unfolding characteristics, and to significantly increase the thermal stability under physiological pH. Our findings shed light on how the D614G mutation enhances the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 through a stabilizing mutation, and suggest an approach for better design of spike-protein based conjugates for vaccine development.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: COVID-19 dominant D614G mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein desensitizes its temperature-dependent denaturation
• Enrichment of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors and interacting intracellular genes in peripheral immune cells -
  SARS-CoV-2 uses ACE2 and TMPRSS2 to gain entry into the cell. However, recent studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 may use additional host factors that are required for the viral lifecycle. Here we used publicly available datasets, CoV associated genes and machine learning algorithms to explore the SARS-CoV-2 interaction landscape in different tissues. We find that in general a small fraction of cells expresses ACE2 in the different tissues including nasal, bronchi and lungs. We show that a small fraction of immune cells (including T-cells, macrophages, dendritic cells) found in tissues also express ACE2. We show that healthy circulating immune cells do not express ACE2 and TMPRSS2. However, a small fraction of circulating immune cells (including dendritic cells, monocytes, T-cells) in the PBMC of COVID-19 patients express ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Additionally, we found that a large spectrum of cells (in circulation and periphery) in both healthy and COVID-19 positive patients were significantly enriched for SARS-CoV-2 factors. Thus, we propose that further research is needed to explore if SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect peripheral immune cells to better understand the virus’ mechanism of action.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Enrichment of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors and interacting intracellular genes in peripheral immune cells
• SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among unvaccinated is negatively associated with community-level vaccination rates -

  Mass vaccination has the potential to curb the current COVID-19 pandemic by protecting vaccinees from the disease and possibly lowering the chance of transmission to unvaccinated individuals. The high effectiveness of the widely-administered BNT162b vaccine in preventing not only the disease but also infection suggests a potential for a population-level effect, critical for disease eradication. However, this putative effect is difficult to observe, especially in light of highly fluctuating spatio-temporal epidemic dynamics. Here, analyzing vaccination records and test results collected during a rapid vaccine rollout for a large population from 223 geographically defined communities, we find that the rates of vaccination in each community are highly correlated with a later decline in infections among a cohort of under 16 years old which are unvaccinated. These results provide observational evidence that vaccination not only protects individual vaccinees but also provides cross-protection to unvaccinated individuals in the community.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among unvaccinated is negatively associated with community-level vaccination rates
• Attitudes toward COVID-19 illness and COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women: a cross-sectional multicenter study during August-December 2020 -

  ABSTRACT Objective: Evaluate pregnant women9s attitudes toward COVID-19 illness and vaccination and identify factors associated with vaccine acceptability. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey among pregnant women enrolled in a prospective COVID-19 cohort study in Salt Lake City, UT, Birmingham, AL, and New York, NY, August 9-December 10, 2020. Women were eligible if they were 18-50 years old and <28 weeks of gestation. Upon enrollment, women completed surveys regarding concerns about COVID-19 illness and likelihood of getting COVID-19 vaccine if one were available during pregnancy. Vaccine acceptability was defined as a response of “very likely” or “somewhat likely” on a 4-point Likert scale. Factors associated with vaccine acceptability were assessed with multivariable logistic regression. Results: Of 939 pregnant women eligible for the main cohort study, 915 (97%) consented to participate. Among these 915 women, 39% self-identified as White, 23% Black, 33% Hispanic, and 4% Other. Sixty-two percent received an influenza vaccine last season. Seventy-two percent worried about getting sick with COVID-19. If they were to get sick, 92% worried about harm to their pregnancy and 80% about harm to themselves. Only 41% reported they would get a vaccine. Of women who were unlikely to get vaccinated, the most frequently cited concern was vaccine safety for their pregnancy (82%). Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women had lower odds of accepting a vaccine compared with non-Hispanic White women (adjusted odds ratios (aOR) 0.4, 95%CI 0.2-0.6 for both). Receipt of influenza vaccine during the previous season was associated with higher odds of vaccine acceptability (aOR 2.1, 95%CI 1.5-3.0). Conclusion: Although most pregnant women worried about COVID-19 illness, <50% were willing to get vaccinated during pregnancy. Racial and ethnic disparities in plans to accept COVID-19 vaccine highlight the need to prioritize strategies to address perceived barriers among groups at high risk for COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Attitudes toward COVID-19 illness and COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women: a cross-sectional multicenter study during August-December 2020
• Using Google Health Trends to investigate COVID19 incidence in Africa -

  Objectives: In the present manuscript we used Internet-derived data to assess whether Google Health Trends (GHT) search counts are able to track COVID-19 incidences in Africa. Methods: We collected COVID-19 case and death incidence for 54 African countries from February 2020 to January 2021. We used GHT to characterize COVID-19 incidence up to 24 January 2021, collecting the number of searches of four terms: coronavirus, coronavirus symptoms, COVID19, and pandemic. The terms were related to weekly COVID-19 case incidences for the study period via multiple linear regressions. We also collected 72 predictors assessing Internet accessibility, demographics, economics, etc., to explain the potential mechanisms linking the relationship between GHT searches and COVID-19. Results: Important increases for COVID-19 death incidence were observed for South Africa and Tunisia at the end of the study period. Our study demonstrated a lack of correlation between GHT and COVID-19 incidence for most African countries. The predictors analyzed were unhelpful in explaining the pattern of GHT statistics and their relationship to COVID-19, complicating interpretability of GHT. Conclusions: According to our results, GHT-based surveillance for an ongoing epidemic might be useful only in specific situations. Future studies might assess the algorithm in different epidemic contexts.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Using Google Health Trends to investigate COVID19 incidence in Africa
• Symptoms and risk factors for hospitalization of COVID-19 presented in primary care -

  Background Early detection is essential to control COVID-19. Symptoms are often unspecific. Data collected merely from patients tested according to testing criteria might lead to missing a bulk of spreaders. Knowledge of symptom development during the disease helps to detect complications early. Few data have been collected in primary care so far. Aim To extend knowledge of early symptoms as a precondition of timely diagnosis, isolation and contact tracing. To gain understanding of associations between symptoms and complicated disease to help avoid hospitalization. Design and Settings This study was designed as a retrospective observational study in Austrian GP practices in the year 2020. Methods Patients above 18 years with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test were included. Data collection comprised basic demographic data, risk factors and the recording of symptoms at several points in time during the course of the infection. Further descriptive data analysis was carried out by using the statistical software program R. Results Symptoms clearly typical for COVID-19 are rare. Most symptoms are nonspecific, like malaise, fatigue or joint ache. We found symptoms indicating complicated disease, depending on the time of their occurrence. Anosmia we found to develop only after several days in many cases. At the end of the isolation period many patients still experience symptoms. Conclusion Low threshold contact in GP practices including testing can prevent overlooking early symptoms. Patients may benefit from early monitoring. We recommend a medical check-up at the end of the isolation period.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Symptoms and risk factors for hospitalization of COVID-19 presented in primary care
• A lipid nanoparticle RBD-hFc mRNA vaccine protects hACE2 transgenic mice against lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection -
  The current global COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented effort to develop effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. mRNA vaccines were developed very rapidly during the last year, and became the leading immunization platform against the virus, with highly promising phase-3 results and remarkable efficacy data. Since most animal models are not susceptible to SARS CoV-2 infection, pre-clinical studies are often limited to infection-prone animals such as hamsters and non-human primates. In these animal models, SARS-CoV-2 infection results in viral replication and a mild disease disease. Therefore, the protective efficacy of the vaccine in these animals is commonly evaluated by its ability to elicit immunologic responses, diminish viral replication and prevent weight loss. Our lab recently reported the design of a SARS-CoV-2 human Fc-conjugated receptor-binding domain (RBD-hFc) mRNA vaccine delivered via lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). These experiments demonstrated the development of a robust and specific immunologic response in RBD-hFc mRNA- vaccinated BALB/c mice. In the current study, we evaluated the protective effect of this RBD-hFc mRNA vaccine by employing the K18-hACE2 mouse model. We report that administration of RBD-hFc mRNA vaccine to K18-hACE2 mice led to a robust humoral response comprised of both binding and neutralizing antibodies. In accordance with the recorded immunologic immune response, 70% of vaccinated mice were protected against a lethal dose (3000 plaque forming units) of SARS-CoV-2, while all control animals succumbed to infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first non-replicating mRNA vaccine study reporting protection of K18-hACE2 against a lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A lipid nanoparticle RBD-hFc mRNA vaccine protects hACE2 transgenic mice against lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection
• Competitive SNP-LAMP probes for rapid and robust single-nucleotide polymorphism detection -
  Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common source of genetic variation between individuals and have implications in human disease, pathogen drug resistance, and agriculture. SNPs are typically detected using DNA sequencing, which requires advanced sample preparation and instrumentation, and thus cannot be deployed for on-site testing or in low-resource settings. In this work we have developed a simple and robust assay to rapidly detect SNPs in nucleic acid samples. Our approach combines LAMP-based target amplification with fluorescent probes to detect SNPs with high specificity in a one-pot reaction format. A competitive “sink” strand preferentially binds to off-target products and shifts the free energy landscape to favor specific activation by SNP products. We demonstrated the broad utility and reliability of our SNP-LAMP method by detecting three distinct SNPs across the human genome. We also designed an assay to rapidly detect highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants. This work demonstrates that competitive SNP-LAMP is a powerful and universal method that could be applied in point-of-care settings to detect any target SNP with high specificity and sensitivity.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Competitive SNP-LAMP probes for rapid and robust single-nucleotide polymorphism detection
• Assessing the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on SARS-CoV-2 spread in Belgium by means of a compartmental, age-stratified, extended SEIQRD model and public mobility data -

  As a response to the rapidly rising number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Belgian governments imposed strict social contact restrictions on March 13th, 2020. After nearly two months, the curve was successfully flattened and social restrictions were gradually relaxed. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical interventions are not yet available so it is expected that preventing COVID-19 outbreaks will depend mostly on the successful implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions, hence the need for well-informed models. In this study, we built a deterministic, continuous-time, age-stratified-SEIRD model with detailed hospital dynamics. Because the hospitalization data for Belgium are not made publically available by the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health (Sciensano), we computed the hospitalization parameters based on data from 370 patients treated in two Ghent (Belgium) hospitals. The basic reproduction number was estimated as R0 = 2.83 in March 2020 and the model fits the hospitalization and ICU admission incidence under lockdown measures well. Despite the relaxation of social restrictions, hospitalizations have been steadily declining. We recomputed the basic reproduction number under lockdown release and found that it had to be as low as R0 = 0.73 to explain the endemic trend. We further found that although the basic reproduction number in the population older than 70 years was smaller than one, this group compromises nearly half of the expected hospitalizations. This indicates that the protection of the elderly may be the most efficient way to reduce strain on the public health care system in case of another SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Assessing the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on SARS-CoV-2 spread in Belgium by means of a compartmental, age-stratified, extended SEIQRD model and public mobility data
• Preliminary report on SARS-CoV-2 Spike mutation T478K -
  Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged, posing a renewed threat to COVID-19 containment and to vaccine and drug efficacy. In this study, we analyzed more than 820,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences deposited up to March 26, 2021 and identified a novel T478K mutation located on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. The mutation is structurally located in the region of interaction with human receptor ACE2 and was detected in 4,214 distinct cases. We show that T478K has appeared and risen in frequency since January 2021, predominantly in Mexico and North America, but we could also detect it in several European countries.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Preliminary report on SARS-CoV-2 Spike mutation T478K

From Clinical Trials

• Study to Evaluate the Viral Load Reduction of a Single Dose of Plitidepsin in Adult Patients With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Plitidepsin;   Drug: Symptomatic Treatment
  Sponsors:   PharmaMar;   Apices Soluciones S.L.
  Not yet recruiting

• Neuromodulation in COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Device: Transcranial direct-current stimulation;   Device: Sham Transcranial direct-current stimulation
  Sponsors:   D’Or Institute for Research and Education;   Rio de Janeiro State Research Supporting Foundation (FAPERJ);   Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico;   Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior.
  Not yet recruiting

• Immunogenicity and Safety of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (CHO Cells) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: a middle-dose recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO Cell) (18-59 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a high-dose recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO Cell) (18-59 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a middle-dose recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO Cell) (60-85 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a high-dose recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO Cell) (60-85 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a middle-dose placebo (18-59 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a high-dose placebo (18-59 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a middle-dose placebo (60-85 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56;   Biological: a high-dose placebo (60-85 years) at the schedule of day 0, 28, 56
  Sponsors:   Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;   Academy of Military Medical Sciences，Academy of Military Sciences，PLA ZHONGYIANKE Biotech Co, Ltd. LIAONINGMAOKANGYUAN Biotech Co, Ltd
  Recruiting

• Clinical Decision Support System Based on Non-invasive Tele-monitoring of COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Device: Clinical decision support system based on non-invasive multimodal monitoring
  Sponsors:   Increase-Tech;   Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid;   University of Valladolid;   Sanidad de Castilla y León
  Active, not recruiting

• ANTIcoagulation in Severe COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Drug: Tinzaparin, Low dose prophylactic anticoagulation;   Drug: Tinzaparin, High dose prophylactic anticoagulation;   Drug: Tinzaparin,Therapeutic anticoagulation
  Sponsor:   Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
  Not yet recruiting

• A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of OT-101+Artemisinin in Hospitalized COVID-19 Subjects - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: OT-101;   Drug: Artemisinin;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Oncotelic Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• Evaluation of ADG20 for the Treatment of Mild or Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: ADG20;   Drug: Normal saline
  Sponsor:   Adagio Therapeutics, Inc.
  Recruiting

• A Study to Test BI 767551 in People With Mild to Moderate Symptoms of COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: BI 767551 intravenous;   Drug: BI 767551 inhaled;   Drug: Placebo intravenous;   Drug: Placebo inhaled
  Sponsor:   Boehringer Ingelheim
  Not yet recruiting

• Tele-rehabilitation Program After Hospitalization for COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Other: TR;   Other: TSu
  Sponsors:   Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA;   Istituto Auxologico Italiano
  Recruiting

• Pilot Trial of XFBD, a TCM, in Persons With COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Xuanfei Baidu Granules;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Darcy Spicer
  Recruiting

• Safety and Tolerability of Emricasan in Symptomatic Outpatients Diagnosed With Mild-COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Emricasan;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Histogen
  Recruiting

• Efficacy of Reinforcing Standard Therapy in COVID-19 Patients With Repeated Transfusion of Convalescent Plasma - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Other: Convalescent Plasma with antibody against SARS-CoV-2.;   Other: Standard treatment for COVID-19
  Sponsors:   Hospital Son Llatzer;   Fundació d’investigació Sanitària de les Illes Balears
  Recruiting

• Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of a Lyophilized Formulation of BNT162b2 Against COVID-19 in Healthy Adults - Conditions:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection;   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: BNT162b2
  Sponsors:   BioNTech SE;   Pfizer
  Not yet recruiting

• SERUR: COVID-19 Serological Survey of Staff From the University Reims-Champagne Ardennes - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: Anti-SARS-CoV2 Serology
  Sponsor:   Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne
  Completed

• Assessment of the Impact of Oral Intervention With Cetylpyridinium Chloride to Decrease SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Patients With COVID-19 - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:   Other: ORAL INTERVENTION WITH CETYLPYRIDINIUM CHLORIDE;   Other: PLACEBO
  Sponsors:   Rosa Tarrago;   Dentaid SL
  Recruiting

From PubMed

• Fever: Could A Cardinal Sign of COVID-19 Infection Reduce Mortality? - With mortality rising from the COVID-19 pandemic, we may be overlooking a key aspect of the immunological response. Fever is a cardinal sign of this rampant infection; however, little attention has been paid towards how a fever may work in our favor in overcoming this disease. Three key aspects of patient care - fever, fluid, and food - can be harmonized to overcome COVID-19 infection. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated that fever suppression during viral infections, either through…

• Precision therapeutic targets for COVID-19 - Beginning in late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged as a novel pathogen that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 111 million people worldwide and caused over 2.47 million deaths. Individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 show symptoms of fever, cough, dyspnea, and fatigue with severe cases that can develop into pneumonia, myocarditis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hypercoagulability, and even multi-organ…

• Protein-ligand Docking Simulations with AutoDock4 Focused on the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 - CONCLUSION: The combination of structural data with computational approaches opened the possibility to accelerate the search for drugs to treat COVID-19. Several studies used AutoDock4 to search for inhibitors of Mpro. Most of them did not employ a validated docking protocol, which lends support to critics of their computational methodology. Furthermore, one of these studies reported the binding of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to Mpro. This study ignores the scientific evidence against the…

• Isatis indigotica: a review of phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and clinical applications - OBJECTIVES: Isatis indigotica Fort. (I. indigotica) is an herbaceous plant belonging to Cruciferae family. Its leaf (IIL) and root (IIR) are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) with good clinical efficacies such as clearing away heat and detoxification, cooling blood and reducing swelling. This review aimed to provide a systematic summary on the phytochemistry, pharmacology and clinical applications of I. indigotica.

• Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody responses and duration of immunity: a longitudinal study - BACKGROUND: Studies have found different waning rates of neutralising antibodies compared with binding antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The impact of neutralising antibody waning rate at the individual patient level on the longevity of immunity remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the peak levels and dynamics of neutralising antibody waning and IgG avidity maturation over time, and correlate this with clinical parameters, cytokines, and T-cell responses.

• Towards the Prevention of Coronavirus Infection: What Role Can Polymers Play? - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome associated coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global public health crisis with high rates of infection and mortality. Treatment and prevention approaches include vaccine development, the design of small molecule antiviral drugs and macromolecular neutralizing antibodies. Polymers have been designed for effective virus inhibition and as anti-viral drug delivery carriers.. This review summarizes recent progress and provides a perspective on polymer based…

• Repurposing the Ebola and Marburg Virus Inhibitors Tilorone, Quinacrine, and Pyronaridine: In Vitro Activity against SARS-CoV-2 and Potential Mechanisms - Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly identified virus that has resulted in over 2.5 million deaths globally and over 116 million cases globally in March, 2021. Small-molecule inhibitors that reverse disease severity have proven difficult to discover. One of the key approaches that has been widely applied in an effort to speed up the translation of drugs is drug repurposing. A few drugs have shown in vitro activity against Ebola viruses and demonstrated activity against…

• Computationally approached inhibition potential of Tinospora cordifolia towards COVID-19 targets - The recent emergence of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been a major threat to human society, as the challenge of finding suitable drug or vaccine is not met till date. With increasing morbidity and mortality, the need for novel drug candidates is under great demand. The investigations are progressing towards COVID-19 therapeutics. Among the various strategies employed, the use of repurposed drugs is competing along with novel drug inventions. Based on the therapeutic significance, the…

• Mast Cell and Eosinophil Activation Are Associated With COVID-19 and TLR-Mediated Viral Inflammation: Implications for an Anti-Siglec-8 Antibody - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection represents a global health crisis. Immune cell activation via pattern recognition receptors has been implicated as a driver of the hyperinflammatory response seen in COVID-19. However, our understanding of the specific immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 remains limited. Mast cells (MCs) and eosinophils are innate immune cells that play pathogenic roles in many inflammatory responses. Here we report MC-derived proteases and…

• In silico studies on stilbenolignan analogues as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors - COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus family, was identified at the end of 2019 in China. The COVID-19 virus spread rapidly all over the world. Scientists strive to find virus-specific antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19. The present study reports a molecular docking study of the stilbenolignans and SARS-CoV-2 main protease (SARS-CoV-2 Mpro) inhibitors. The detailed interactions between the stilbenolignan analogues and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors were determined as hydrophobic bonds,…

• Antimalarial Quinacrine and Chloroquine Lose Their Activity by Decreasing Cationic Amphiphilic Structure with a Slight Decrease in pH - Quinacrine (QC) and chloroquine (CQ) have antimicrobial and antiviral activities as well as antimalarial activity, although the mechanisms remain unknown. QC increased the antimicrobial activity against yeast exponentially with a pH-dependent increase in the cationic amphiphilic drug (CAD) structure. CAD-QC localized in the yeast membranes and induced glucose starvation by noncompetitively inhibiting glucose uptake as antipsychotic chlorpromazine (CPZ) did. An exponential increase in…

• Cathepsin L plays a key role in SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans and humanized mice and is a promising target for new drug development - To discover new drugs to combat COVID-19, an understanding of the molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is urgently needed. Here, for the first time, we report the crucial role of cathepsin L (CTSL) in patients with COVID-19. The circulating level of CTSL was elevated after SARS-CoV-2 infection and was positively correlated with disease course and severity. Correspondingly, SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection increased CTSL expression in human cells in vitro and human ACE2 transgenic mice in…

• Intracortical GABAergic dysfunction in patients with fatigue and dysexecutive syndrome after COVID-19 - CONCLUSIONS: The present study documents for the first time reduced GABAergic inhibition in the M1 in patients who recovered from COVID-19 with neurological complications and manifested fatigue and dysexecutive syndrome.

• Attenuation of 7-ketocholesterol- and 7β-hydroxycholesterol-induced oxiapoptophagy by nutrients, synthetic molecules and oils: potential for the prevention of age-related diseases - Age-related diseases for which there are no effective treatments include cardiovascular diseases; neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease; eye disorders such as cataract and age-related macular degeneration; and, more recently, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). These diseases are associated with plasma and/or tissue increases in cholesterol derivatives mainly formed by auto-oxidation: 7-ketocholesterol, also known as 7-oxo-cholesterol, and 7β-hydroxycholesterol. The…

• Glycyrrhizin prevents SARS-CoV-2 S1 and Orf3a induced high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) release and inhibits viral replication - Efforts to understand host factors critical for COVID-19 pathogenesis have identified high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) to be crucial for regulating susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 disease severity is correlated with heightened inflammatory responses, and HMGB1 is an important extracellular mediator in inflammation processes.In this study, we evaluated the effect of HMGB1 inhibitor Glycyrrhizin on the cellular perturbations in lung cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins. Pyroptosis in…

From Patent Search

• 5-(4-TERT-BUTOXY PHENYL)-3-(4N-OCTYLOXYPHENYL)-4,5-DIHYDROISOXAZOLE MOLECULE (C-I): A PROMISING DRUG FOR SARS-COV-2 (TARGET I) AND BLOOD CANCER (TARGET II) - The present invention relates to a method ofmolecular docking of crystalline compound (C-I) with SARS-COV 2 proteins and its repurposing with proteins of blood cancer, comprising the steps of ; employing an algorithmto carry molecular docking calculations of the crystalized compound (C-I); studying the compound computationally to understand the effect of binding groups with the atoms of the amino acids on at least four target proteins of SARS-COV 2; downloading the structure of the proteins; removing water molecules, co enzymes and inhibitors attached to the enzymes; drawing the structure using Chem Sketch software; converting the mol file into a PDB file; using crystalized compound (C-I) for comparative and drug repurposing with two other mutated proteins; docking compound into the groove of the proteins; saving format of docked molecules retrieved; and filtering and docking the best docked results. - link

• USING CLINICAL ONTOLOGIES TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE BASED CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) WITH THE ADOPTION OF TELECONFERENCING FOR THE PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES/SATELLITE CLINICS OF ROYAL OMAN POLICE IN SULTANATE OF OMAN - - link

• Peptides and their use in diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection - - link

• A PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF COVID 19 POSITIVE PATIENTS - - link

• IN SILICO SCREENING OF ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL NATURAL COMPOUNDS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DIRECTLY INHIBIT SARS COV 2 - IN SILICO SCREENING OF ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL NATURAL COMPOUNDS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DIRECTLY INHIBIT SARS COV 2Insilico screening of antimycobacterial natural compounds with the potential to directly inhibit SARS COV2 relates to the composition for treating SARS-COV-2 comprising the composition is about 0.1 – 99% and other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. The composition also treats treating SARS, Ebola, Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis–C comprising the composition is about 0.1 – 99% and other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. - link

• Sars-CoV-2 vaccine antigens - - link

• SARS-COV-2 BINDING PROTEINS - - link

• Bildschirmgerät mit verbesserter Wirkung bei der Befestigung von UV-Entkeimungslampen -

  Ein Bildschirmgerät mit verbesserter Wirkung bei der Befestigung von UV-Entkeimungslampen, umfassend: ein Bildschirmgerät, das einen Umfang hat; eine UV-Entkeimungslampe, die sich am Umfang des Bildschirmgeräts befindet; eine Stromquelle, die elektrisch mit der UV-Entkeimungslampe verbunden ist; eine Steuerschaltung, die elektrisch mit der UV-Entkeimungslampe verbunden ist; und eine Befestigungsvorrichtung, durch die die UV-Entkeimungslampe am Umfang des Bildschirmgeräts befestigbar ist, wobei die Befestigungsvorrichtung einen Sitzkörper, eine erste Klemmplatte und eine zweite Klemmplatte aufweist, wobei der Sitzkörper mit der UV-Entkeimungslampe versehen ist, wobei die erste Klemmplatte und die zweite Klemmplatte beabstandet am Sitzkörper gleitbar angeordnet sind, wodurch ein Klemmabstand zwischen der ersten Klemmplatte und der zweiten Klemmplatte besteht, wobei ein elastisches Element zwischen der zweiten Klemmplatte und dem Sitzkörper angeordnet ist, um die zweite Klemmplatte dazu zu zwingen, sich der ersten Klemmplatte zu nähern.

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• Schublade mit antiepidemischer Wirkung -

  Schublade mit antiepidemischer Wirkung, mit einem Schrank (1); mindestens einer Schublade (2), die in dem Schrank (1) angeordnet ist, wobei jede Schublade (2) einen Schubladenraum (25) aufweist; einer UV-Sterilisationsvorrichtung (3), die an der Schublade (2) angeordnet ist; einer Stromquelle (4), die elektrisch mit der UV-Sterilisationsvorrichtung (3) verbunden ist; einer Steuerschaltung (5), die elektrisch mit der Stromquelle (4) und der UV-Sterilisationsvorrichtung (3) verbunden ist; und einem Sensor (6), der elektrisch mit der Steuerschaltung (5) verbunden ist.

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• Gerät zur Unterstützung und Verstärkung natürlicher Lüftung -

  Lüftungssystem für einen mit öffnbaren Fenstern (16) ausgestatteten Gebäuderaum, gekennzeichnet dadurch, dass es ein Gehäuse (18) und einen Ventilator (20) aufweist, wobei durch das Gehäuse eine vom Ventilator erzeugte Luftströmung strömen kann, wobei das Gehäuse dafür eine Einströmöffnung (24) für Luft und eine Ausströmöffnung (22) für Luft enthält, wobei eine der beiden Öffnungen der Form eines Öffnungsspalts (26) zwischen einem Fensterflügel (12) und einem Blendrahmen (14) des Fensters (16) angepasst ist.

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