Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Indomethacin in COVID-19, more than just NSAID -
  This article aims to direct some interest on the positive role that Indomethacin could play in COVID-19. We relied on available evidence from the present literature and results of few clinical trials. We first discussed briefly, the documented antiviral activity of Indomethacin on coronaviruses and other viruses then moved to talk about how it could control the exaggerated immune response frequently reported during SARS-CoV-2 infection through the modulation of the PPAR-γ & HIF-1α axis. At the end, we posted the results of some clinical trials that we consider promising. It is important to note that our article does not carry a specific recommendation for Indomethacin as a global treatment for COVID-19, but we do believe it deserves to be implemented in more clinical trials.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Indomethacin in COVID-19, more than just NSAID
• Dispositional and situational attribution of COVID-19 risk: A content analysis of response typology (Version: 1) -
  In the current COVID-19 pandemic, there have been official health recommendations of social distancing, thorough handwashing, and self-isolation to prevent the spread of the virus. However, compliance with these recommendations has been mixed. We suggest that non-compliance may be justified by one’s (mis)perception of their own COVID-19 risk. In this paper, we explore the dispositional and situational attribution of self-reported COVID-19 risk, as per Heider’s Attribution Theory. We conducted a content and framework analysis of responses to an online survey, in which participants (N = 114) were asked to rate their likelihood of contracting the COVID-19 virus, before providing textual responses to explain their rating. Overall, we observed that generally, participants who rated their risk to be low made more dispositional attributions (i.e. attributing their risk to factors such as age and own personal hygiene) whereas higher risk participants made more situational attributions (i.e. attributing COVID-19 risk to government decision-making and other people’s cleanliness). A finalised framework of five response typologies including intrinsic, behavioural, balanced, contextual, and disengaged responses was systematically applied to the data. These results will be discussed in the context of attribution theory and risk perception, whilst providing future recommendations for research that tackles non-compliance of COVID-19 behaviours.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Dispositional and situational attribution of COVID-19 risk: A content analysis of response typology (Version: 1)
• Selecting relevant and changeable determinants and underlying beliefs of university students’ adherence to COVID-19-guidelines and translating the findings into a small intervention -
  Background: When reopening universities in times of COVID-19, students still have to adhere to COVID-19 behavioral guidelines. We explored what behavioral determinants (and underlying beliefs) related to the adherence to guidelines are both relevant and changeable, as input for future interventions. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted (Oct-Nov 2020), identifying behavioral determinants (and underlying beliefs) of university students’ adherence to COVID-19-guidelines, including keeping 1.5m distance, getting tested, and isolating (N = 255). Results: Attitude, perceived norm, self-efficacy, and several beliefs (e.g., risk perception beliefs ‘I am not afraid because I am young’; attitudinal beliefs, e.g., ‘I feel responsible for telling people to adhere to guidelines’; self-efficacy beliefs, e.g., ‘COVID-19-prevention guidelines are difficult to adhere to’) were strongly associated with intention to adhere to guidelines, and for those beliefs there was room for improvement, making them suitable as possible intervention targets. Conclusions: Students mostly adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, but there is room for improvement. Interventions need to enhance students’ adherence behavior by targeting the most relevant determinants as identified in this study. Based on these findings, a small intervention was introduced targeting the determinants of students’ adherence to guidelines.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Selecting relevant and changeable determinants and underlying beliefs of university students’ adherence to COVID-19-guidelines and translating the findings into a small intervention
• U.S. Regional Disparities in Physical Distancing: Evaluating Racial and Socioeconomic Divides During the COVID-19 Pandemic -
  Abstract Health varies by U.S. region of residence. Despite regional heterogeneity in the outbreak of COVID-19, regional differences in physical distancing behaviors over time are relatively unknown. This study examines regional variation in physical distancing trends during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigates variation by race and socioeconomic status (SES) within regions. Data from the 2015-2019 five-year American Community Survey were matched with anonymized location pings data from over 20 million mobile devices (SafeGraph, Inc.) at the Census block group level. We visually present trends in the stay-at-home proportion by Census region, race, and SES throughout 2020 and conduct regression analyses to statistically examine these patterns. From March to December, the stay-at-home proportion was highest in the Northeast (0.25 in March to 0.35 in December) and lowest in the South (0.24 to 0.30). Across all regions, the stay-at-home proportion was higher in block groups with a higher percentage of Blacks, as Blacks disproportionately live in urban areas where stay-at-home rates were higher (0.009 [CI: 0.008, 0.009]). In the South, West, and Midwest, higher-SES block groups stayed home at the lowest rates pre-pandemic; however, this trend reversed throughout March before converging in the months following. In the Northeast, lower-SES block groups stayed home at comparable rates to higher-SES block groups during the height of the pandemic but diverged in the months following. Differences in physical distancing behaviors exist across U.S. regions, with a pronounced Southern and rural disadvantage. Results can be used to guide reopening and COVID-19 mitigation plans.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: U.S. Regional Disparities in Physical Distancing: Evaluating Racial and Socioeconomic Divides During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Race-ethnicity and Perceptional Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions: A Cross-sectional Study Among Health Workers and the General Population in the San Francisco Bay Area -

  Importance: Surveys in the US have found that Black and Latinx individuals have more reservations than their white counterparts about COVID-19 vaccination. However, little is known about the degree to which racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 vaccination intentions are explained by differences in beliefs or perceptions about COVID-19 vaccines. Objective: To compare intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination by race-ethnicity, to identify perceptional factors that may mediate the association between race-ethnicity and intention to receive the vaccine, and to identify the demographic and perceptional factors most strongly predictive of intention to receive a vaccine. Design: Cross-sectional survey conducted from November, 2020 to January, 2021, nested within two longitudinal cohort studies of prevalence and incidence of SARS CoV-2 among the general population and healthcare workers. Setting: Six San Francisco Bay Area counties. Study Cohort: 3,161 participants in the Track COVID cohort (a population-based sample of adults) and 1,803 participants in the CHART Study cohort (a cohort of employees at three large medical centers). Results: Rates of high vaccine willingness were significantly lower among Black (45.3%), Latinx (62.5%), Asian (65%), multi-racial (67.2%), and other race (61.0%) respondents than among white respondents (77.6%). Black, Latinx, and Asian respondents were significantly more likely than white respondents to endorse reasons to not get vaccinated, especially lack of trust. Participants9 motivations and concerns about COVID-19 vaccination only partially explained racial-ethnic differences in vaccination willingness. Being a health worker in the CHART cohort and concern about a rushed government vaccine approval process were the two most important factors predicting vaccination intention. Conclusions and Relevance: Special efforts are required to reach historically marginalized racial-ethnic communities to support informed decision-making about COVID-19 vaccination. These campaigns must acknowledge the history of racism in biomedical research and health care delivery that has degraded the trustworthiness of health and medical science institutions among non-white population and may continue to undermine confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Race-ethnicity and Perceptional Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions: A Cross-sectional Study Among Health Workers and the General Population in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Possible link between higher transmissibility of B.1.617 and B.1.1.7 variants of SARS-CoV-2 and increased structural stability of its spike protein and hACE2 affinity -
  The Severe Acute syndrome corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in December 2019 has caused a global pandemic. The rapid mutation rate in the virus has caused alarming situations worldwide and is being attributed to the false negativity in RT-PCR tests, which also might lead to the inefficacy of the available drugs. It has also increased the chances of reinfection and immune escape. We have performed Molecular Dynamic simulations of three different Spike-ACE2 complexes, namely Wildtype (WT), B.1.1.7 variant (N501Y Spike mutant) and B.1.617 variant (L452R, E484Q Spike mutant) and compared their dynamics, binding energy and molecular interactions. Our result shows that mutation has caused the increase in the binding energy between the Spike and hACE2. In the case of B.1.617 variant, the mutations at L452R and E484Q increased the stability and intra-chain interactions in the Spike protein, which may change the interaction ability of human antibodies to this Spike variant. Further, we found that the B.1.1.7 variant had increased hydrogen interaction with LYS353 of hACE2 and more binding affinity in comparison to WT. The current study provides the biophysical basis for understanding the molecular mechanism and rationale behind the increase in the transmissivity and infectivity of the mutants compared to wild-type SARS-CoV-2.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Possible link between higher transmissibility of B.1.617 and B.1.1.7 variants of SARS-CoV-2 and increased structural stability of its spike protein and hACE2 affinity
• Molecular interactions of the M and E integral membrane proteins of SARS-CoV-2 -
  Specific lipid-protein interactions are key for cellular processes, and even more so for the replication of pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our lives and cause the death of nearly three million people worldwide, as of this writing. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes the disease and has been at the center of scientific research over the past year. Most of the research on the virus is focused on key players during its initial attack and entry into the cellular host; namely the S protein, its glycan shield, and its interactions with the ACE2 receptors of human cells. As cases continue to raise around the globe, and new mutants are identified, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms of this virus during different stages of its life cycle. Here, we consider two integral membrane proteins of SARS-CoV-2 known to be important for viral assembly and infectivity. We have used microsecond-long all-atom molecular dynamics to examine the lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions of the membrane (M) and envelope (E) structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 in a complex membrane model. We contrast the two proposed protein complexes for each of these proteins, and quantify their effect on their local lipid environment. This ongoing work also aims to provide molecular-level understanding of the mechanisms of action of this virus to possibly aid in the design of novel treatments.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Molecular interactions of the M and E integral membrane proteins of SARS-CoV-2
• Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 lineage development across the first and second waves in Eastern Germany, 2020 -
  SARS-CoV-2 lineages prevalent in the first and second waves in Eastern Germany were different, with many new variants, including four predominant lineages in the second wave, having been introduced into Eastern Germany between August to October 2020, indicating the major cause of the second wave was the introduction of new variants.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 lineage development across the first and second waves in Eastern Germany, 2020
• The natural stilbenoid (-)-hopeaphenol inhibits cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2 USA-WA1/2020, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants -
  Antivirals are urgently needed to combat the global SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic, supplement existing vaccine efforts, and target emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Small molecules that interfere with binding of the viral spike receptor binding domain (RBD) to the host ACE2 receptor may be effective inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 cell entry. Here we screened 512 pure compounds derived from natural products using a high-throughput RBD/ACE2 binding assay and identified (-)-hopeaphenol, a resveratrol tetramer, in addition to vatalbinoside A and vaticanol B, as potent and selective inhibitors of RBD/ACE2 binding and viral entry. For example, (-)-hopeaphenol disrupted RBD/ACE2 binding with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.11 uM in contrast to an IC50 of 28.3 uM against the unrelated host ligand/receptor binding pair PD-1/PD-L1 (selectivity index = 257.3). When assessed against the USA-WA1/2020 variant, (-)-hopeaphenol also inhibited entry of a VSVdeltaG-GFP reporter pseudovirus expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike into ACE2-expressing Vero-E6 cells and in vitro replication of infectious virus in cytopathic effect assays (IC50 = 10.2 uM) without cytotoxicity. Notably, (-)-hopeaphenol also inhibited two emerging variants of concern originating from the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351) in both cytopathic effect and spike-containing pseudovirus assays with similar (B.1.1.7) or improved (B.1.351) efficacies over the USA-WA1/2020 variant. These results identify (-)-hopeaphenol and related stilbenoid analogues as potent and selective inhibitors of viral entry across multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants including those with increased infectivity and/or reduced susceptibility to existing vaccines.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The natural stilbenoid (-)-hopeaphenol inhibits cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2 USA-WA1/2020, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants
• An enveloped virus-like particle vaccine expressing a stabilized prefusion form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein elicits potent immunity after a single dose. -
  Development of efficacious single dose vaccines would substantially aid efforts to stop the uncontrolled spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated enveloped virus-like particles (eVLPs) expressing various forms of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and several adjuvants in an effort to identify a COVID-19 vaccine candidate efficacious after a single dose. The eVLPs expressing a modified prefusion form of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were selected as they induced the highest antibody binding titers and neutralizing activity after a single injection in mice. Formulation of SARS-CoV-2 S eVLPs with aluminum phosphate resulted in balanced induction of IgG2 and IgG1 isotypes and antibody binding and neutralization titers were undiminished for more than 3 months after a single immunization. A single dose of this candidate, VBI-2902a (prefusion S eVLPs formulated with aluminum phosphate), protected Syrian golden hamsters from challenge with SARS-CoV-2 and supports the on-going clinical evaluation of VBI-2902a as a potential single dose vaccine against COVID-19.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: An enveloped virus-like particle vaccine expressing a stabilized prefusion form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein elicits potent immunity after a single dose.
• Protracted yet coordinated differentiation of long-lived SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells during COVID-19 convalescence -
  CD8+ T cells are important antiviral effectors that can potentiate long-lived immunity against COVID-19, but a detailed characterization of these cells has been hampered by technical challenges. We screened 21 well-characterized, longitudinally-sampled convalescent donors that recovered from mild COVID-19 against a collection of SARS-CoV-2 tetramers, and identified one participant with an immunodominant response against Nuc322-331, a peptide that is conserved in all the SARS-CoV-2 variants-of-concern reported to date. We conducted 38-parameter CyTOF phenotyping on tetramer-identified Nuc322-331-specific CD8+ T cells, and on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells recognizing the entire nucleocapsid and spike proteins from SARS-CoV-2, and took 32 serological measurements on longitudinal specimens from this participant. We discovered a coordination of the Nuc322-331-specific CD8+ T response with both the CD4+ T cell and antibody pillars of adaptive immunity. Nuc322-331-specific CD8+ T cells were predominantly central memory T cells, but continually evolved over a ~6-month period of convalescence. We observed a slow and progressive decrease in the activation state and polyfunctionality of the Nuc322-331-specific CD8+ T cells, accompanied by an increase in their lymph-node homing and homeostatic proliferation potential. These results suggest that following a typical case of mild COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells not only persist but continuously differentiate in a coordinated fashion well into convalescence, into a state characteristic of long-lived, self-renewing memory.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Protracted yet coordinated differentiation of long-lived SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells during COVID-19 convalescence
• Allelic variation in Class I HLA determines pre-existing memory responses to SARS-CoV-2 that shape the CD8+ T cell repertoire upon viral exposure -
  Effective presentation of antigens by HLA class I molecules to CD8+ T cells is required for viral elimination and generation of long-term immunological memory. In this study, we applied a single-cell, multi-omic technology to generate the first unified ex vivo characterization of the CD8+ T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 across 4 major HLA class I alleles. We found that HLA genotype conditions key features of epitope specificity, TCR a/b sequence diversity, and the utilization of pre-existing SARS-CoV-2 reactive memory T cell pools. Single-cell transcriptomics revealed functionally diverse T cell phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells, associated with both disease stage and epitope specificity. Our results show that HLA variations influence pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and shape the immune repertoire upon subsequent viral exposure.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Allelic variation in Class I HLA determines pre-existing memory responses to SARS-CoV-2 that shape the CD8+ T cell repertoire upon viral exposure
• Contrasting factors associated with COVID-19-related ICU admission and death outcomes in hospitalised patients by means of Shapley values -

  Identification of those at greatest risk of death due to the substantial threat of COVID-19 can benefit from novel approaches to epidemiology that leverage large datasets and complex machine-learning models, provide data-driven intelligence, and guide decisions such as intensive-care unit admission (ICUA). The objective of this study is two-fold, one substantive and one methodological: substantively to evaluate the association of demographic and health records with two related, yet different, outcomes of severe COVID-19 (viz., death and ICUA); methodologically to compare interpretations based on logistic regression and on gradient-boosted decision tree (GBDT) predictions interpreted by means of the Shapley impacts of covariates. Very different association of some factors, e.g., obesity and chronic respiratory diseases, with death and ICUA may guide review of practice. Shapley explanation of GBDTs identified varying effects of some factors among patients, thus emphasising the importance of individual patient assessment. The results of this study are also relevant for the evaluation of complex automated clinical decision systems, which should optimise prediction scores whilst remaining interpretable to clinicians and mitigating potential biases.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Contrasting factors associated with COVID-19-related ICU admission and death outcomes in hospitalised patients by means of Shapley values
• Pyridostigmine in adults with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: the PISCO trial -

  Background: Hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 have an increased risk of developing severe systemic inflammatory response, pulmonary damage, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), resulting in end-organ damage and death. Acetylcholine modulates the acute inflammatory response through a neuro-immune mechanism known as the inflammatory reflex. Pyridostigmine, an acetylcholine-esterase inhibitor, increases the half-life of endogenous ACh, chemically stimulating the inflammatory reflex. This trial aimed to evaluate whether pyridostigmine could decrease invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and death in patients with severe COVID-19. Methods: We performed a parallel-group, multicenter, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial to evaluate if add-on pyridostigmine to standard treatment reduced the composite outcome of initiation of IMV and 28-day all-cause mortality among hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. Results: 188 participants were randomly assigned to placebo (n=94) or pyridostigmine (n=94). The composite outcome occurred in 22 (23.4%) vs. 11 (11.7%) participants, respectively (hazard ratio 0.46, 95% confidence interval 0.22-0.96, p=0.03). Most of the adverse events were mild to moderate, with no serious adverse events related to pyridostigmine; discontinuation of the study drugs was similar in both groups. Conclusions: We provide evidence indicating that the addition of pyridostigmine to standard treatment resulted in a clinically significant reduction in the composite outcome (IMV/death) among patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19. (Funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, México; ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT04343963).

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Pyridostigmine in adults with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: the PISCO trial
• Iterative community-driven development of a SARS-CoV-2 tissue simulator -
  The 2019 novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is a pathogen of critical significance to international public health. Knowledge of the interplay between molecular-scale virus-receptor interactions, single-cell viral replication, intracellular-scale viral transport, and emergent tissue-scale viral propagation is limited. Moreover, little is known about immune system-virus-tissue interactions and how these can result in low-level (asymptomatic) infections in some cases and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in others, particularly with respect to presentation in different age groups or pre-existing inflammatory risk factors. Given the nonlinear interactions within and among each of these processes, multiscale simulation models can shed light on the emergent dynamics that lead to divergent outcomes, identify actionable “choke points” for pharmacologic interventions, screen potential therapies, and identify potential biomarkers that differentiate patient outcomes. Given the complexity of the problem and the acute need for an actionable model to guide therapy discovery and optimization, we introduce and iteratively refine a prototype of a multiscale model of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in lung tissue. The first proto-type model was built and shared internationally as open source code and an online interactive model in under 12 hours, and community domain expertise is driving regular refinements. In a sustained community effort, this consortium is integrating data and expertise across virology, immunology, mathematical biology, quantitative systems physiology, cloud and high performance computing, and other domains to accelerate our response to this critical threat to international health. More broadly, this effort is creating a reusable, modular framework for studying viral replication and immune response in tissues, which can also potentially be adapted to related problems in immunology and immunotherapy.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Iterative community-driven development of a SARS-CoV-2 tissue simulator

From Clinical Trials

• Oestrogen Treatment for COVID-19 Symptoms - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: Transdermal estradiol gel
  Sponsors:   Hamad Medical Corporation;   Laboratoires Besins International
  Not yet recruiting

• Virgin Coconut Oil as Adjunctive Therapy for Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Drug: Virgin Coconut Oil
  Sponsors:   University of the Philippines;   Philippine Coconut Authority;   Philippine Council for Health Research & Development
  Recruiting

• Impact of GSE and Xylitol (Xlear) on COVID-19 Symptoms and Time to PCR Negativisation in COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Drug: GSE and Xylitol
  Sponsor:   Larkin Community Hospital
  Recruiting

• Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for Prevention of COVID-19 - Conditions:   Covid19;   COVID-19 Prevention
  Interventions:   Drug: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ);   Other: Standard care;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
  Recruiting

• Study to Evaluate a Single Dose of LTX-109 in Subjects With COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Infection. - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: LTX-109 gel, 3%;   Drug: Placebo gel
  Sponsors:   Pharma Holdings AS;   Clinical Trial Consultants AB
  Recruiting

• Detection of Covid-19 in Nasopharyngeal Swabs by Using Multi-Spectral Spectrophotometry - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: AP-23
  Sponsor:   Fable Biyoteknoloji San ve Tic A.S
  Recruiting

• Safety and Immunogenicity of Demi-dose of Two Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines in Healthy Population - Condition:   Covid19
  Intervention:   Diagnostic Test: immunogenicity after first and second dose
  Sponsors:   Sciensano;   Mensura EDPB;   Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium;   Erasme University Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• Safety and Efficacy of Niclosamide in Patients With COVID-19 With Gastrointestinal Infection - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Niclosamide;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   AzurRx BioPharma, Inc.
  Not yet recruiting

• A Immunobridging and Immunization Schedules Study of COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Biological: 3-doses schedule 1 of COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: 3-doses schedule 2 of COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: 3-doses schedule 3 of COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: 2 doses of vaccine
  Sponsors:   China National Biotec Group Company Limited;   Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Estradiol and Progesterone in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Other: Placebo injection and placebo pill;   Drug: Estradiol Cypionate 5 MG/ML;   Drug: Progesterone 200 MG Oral Capsule
  Sponsor:   Tulane University
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Close Contact Self-Testing Study - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Behavioral: COVID-19 self-test;   Behavioral: COVID-19 test referral
  Sponsors:   University of Pennsylvania;   Public Health Management Corporation
  Not yet recruiting

• COVID-19 Vaccination Take-Up - Conditions:   Covid19;   Vaccination
  Interventions:   Behavioral: Financial incentives;   Behavioral: Convenient scheduling link;   Behavioral: Race concordant;   Behavioral: Gender concordant
  Sponsors:   University of Southern California;   Contra Costa Health Services;   J-PAL North America, State and Local Innovation Initiative;   National Bureau of Economic Research Roybal Center;   National Institute on Aging (NIA)
  Not yet recruiting

• Lactoferrin in Covid-19 Hospitalized Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: Bovine lactoferrin;   Dietary Supplement: Placebo administration
  Sponsor:   Paolo Manzoni
  Recruiting

• Remdesivir Efficacy In Management Of COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Remdesivir;   Drug: Standard of care_1;   Drug: Standard of care_2
  Sponsor:   Ain Shams University
  Completed

• Assessment of Efficacy of KAN-JANG® in Mild COVID-19 - Condition:   Covid19
  Interventions:   Drug: Kan Jang capsules;   Other: Placebo capsules
  Sponsors:   Swedish Herbal Institute AB;   Tbilisi State Medical University;   Phytomed AB
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• Assessing Public Willingness to Wear Face Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Fresh Insights from the Theory of Planned Behavior - Face masks are considered an effective intervention in controlling the spread of airborne viruses, as evidenced by the 2009’s H1N1 swine flu and 2003’s severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks. However, research aiming to examine public willingness to wear (WTW) face masks in Pakistan are scarce. The current research aims to overcome this research void and contributes by expanding the theoretical mechanism of theory of planned behavior (TPB) to include three novel dimensions (risk…

• Dysregulation of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAA) in Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2-Possible Clinical Consequences - SARS-CoV-2 impairs the renin-angiotensin-aledosterone system via binding ACE2 enzyme. ACE2 plays a key role in the biosynthesis of angiotensin (1-7), catalyzing the conversion of angiotensin 2 into angiotensin (1-7) and the reaction of angiotensin synthesis (1-9), from which angiotensin is (1-7) produced under the influence of ACE (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme). Angiotensin 2 is a potent vasoconstrictor and atherogenic molecule converted by ACE2 to reducing inflammation and vasodilating in…

• Next-Generation Probiotics and Their Metabolites in COVID-19 - Since December 2019, a global pandemic has been observed, caused by the emergence of a new coronavirus, SARS CoV-2. The latter is responsible for the respiratory disease, COVID-19. The infection is also characterized by renal, hepatic, and gastrointestinal dysfunctions suggesting the spread of the virus to other organs. A dysregulated immune response was also reported. To date, there is no measure to treat or prevent SARS CoV-2 infection. Additionally, as gut microbiota composition is altered in…

• Plasmids Expressing shRNAs Specific to the Nucleocapsid Gene Inhibit the Replication of Porcine Deltacoronavirus In Vivo - Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a novel enteric coronavirus and is becoming one of the major causative agents of diarrhea in pig herds in recent years. To date, there are no commercial vaccines or antiviral pharmaceutical agents available to control PDCoV infection. Therefore, developing a reliable strategy against PDCoV is urgently needed. In this study, to observe the antiviral activity of RNA interference (RNAi), four short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) specific to the nucleocapsid (N) gene of…

• Baicalein and Baicalin Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 RNA-Dependent-RNA Polymerase - Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a deadly emerging infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Because SARS-CoV-2 is easily transmitted through the air and has a relatively long incubation time, COVID-19 has rapidly developed into a global pandemic. As there are no antiviral agents for the prevention and treatment of this severe pathogen except for remdesivir, development of antiviral therapies to treat infected individuals remains highly…

• Protective Role of a TMPRSS2 Variant on Severe COVID-19 Outcome in Young Males and Elderly Women - The protease encoded by the TMPRSS2 gene facilitates viral infections and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed the TMPRSS2 sequence and correlated the protein variants with the clinical features of a cohort of 1177 patients affected by COVID-19 in Italy. Nine relatively common variants (allele frequency > 0.01) and six missense variants which may affect the protease activity according to PolyPhen-2 in HumVar-trained mode were identified. Among them, p.V197M…

• Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Virus Entry by the Crude Polysaccharides of Seaweeds and Abalone Viscera In Vitro - Much attention is being devoted to the potential of marine sulfated polysaccharides as antiviral agents in preventing COVID-19. In this study, sulfated fucoidan and crude polysaccharides, extracted from six seaweed species (Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll, Laminaria japonica, Hizikia fusiforme, Sargassum horneri, Codium fragile, Porphyra tenera) and Haliotis discus hannai (abalone viscera), were screened for their inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 virus entry. Most of them showed significant…

• Cardiovascular Outcomes in the Acute Phase of COVID-19 - The cumulative number of cases in the current global coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has exceeded 100 million, with the number of deaths caused by the infection having exceeded 2.5 million. Recent reports from most frontline researchers have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 can also cause fatal non-respiratory conditions, such as fatal cardiovascular events. One of the important mechanisms underlying the…

• Pharmacological Modulators of Autophagy as a Potential Strategy for the Treatment of COVID-19 - The family of coronaviruses (CoVs) uses the autophagy machinery of host cells to promote their growth and replication; thus, this process stands out as a potential target to combat COVID-19. Considering the different roles of autophagy during viral infection, including SARS-CoV-2 infection, in this review, we discuss several clinically used drugs that have effects at different stages of autophagy. Among them, we mention (1) lysosomotropic agents, which can prevent CoVs infection by alkalinizing…

• COVID-19: Direct and Indirect Mechanisms of Statins - The virus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): a new virus with high infectivity and moderate mortality. The major clinical manifestation of COVID-19 is interstitial pneumonia, which may progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the disease causes a potent systemic hyperin-flammatory response, i.e., a cytokine storm or macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), which is associated with thrombotic…

• Sinapic Acid Suppresses SARS CoV-2 Replication by Targeting Its Envelope Protein - SARS CoV-2 is still considered a global health issue, and its threat keeps growing with the emergence of newly evolved strains. Despite the success in developing some vaccines as a protective measure, finding cost-effective treatments is urgent. Accordingly, we screened a number of phenolic natural compounds for their in vitro anti-SARS CoV-2 activity. We found sinapic acid (SA) selectively inhibited the viral replication in vitro with an half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) value of…

• L-Carnitine Tartrate Downregulates the ACE2 Receptor and Limits SARS-CoV-2 Infection - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for one of the worst pandemics in modern history. Several prevention and treatment strategies have been designed and evaluated in recent months either through the repurposing of existing treatments or the development of new drugs and vaccines. In this study, we show that L-carnitine tartrate supplementation in humans and rodents led to significant decreases of key host dependency factors, notably…

• Molecular Simulation-Based Investigation of Highly Potent Natural Products to Abrogate Formation of the nsp10-nsp16 Complex of SARS-CoV-2 - The SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein (nsp) nsp10-nsp16 complex is essential for the 2’-O-methylation of viral mRNA, a crucial step for evading the innate immune system, and it is an essential process in SARS-CoV-2 life cycle. Therefore, detecting molecules that can disrupt the nsp10-nsp16 interaction are prospective antiviral drugs. In this study, we screened the North African Natural Products database (NANPDB) for molecules that can interact with the nsp10 interface and disturb the nsp10-nsp16…

• Bromodomain and Extraterminal Protein Inhibitor, Apabetalone (RVX-208), Reduces ACE2 Expression and Attenuates SARS-Cov-2 Infection In Vitro - Effective therapeutics are urgently needed to counter infection and improve outcomes for patients suffering from COVID-19 and to combat this pandemic. Manipulation of epigenetic machinery to influence viral infectivity of host cells is a relatively unexplored area. The bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) family of epigenetic readers have been reported to modulate SARS-CoV-2 infection. Herein, we demonstrate apabetalone, the most clinical advanced BET inhibitor, downregulates expression of cell…

• The Effect of Proinflammatory Cytokines on the Proliferation, Migration and Secretory Activity of Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (WJ-MSCs) under 5% O(2) and 21% O(2) Culture Conditions - Treatment with Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs) in clinical trials is becoming one of the most-popular and fast-developing branches of modern regenerative medicine, as it is still in an experimental phase. The cross-section of diseases to which these cells are applied is very wide, ranging from degenerative diseases, through autoimmune processes and to acute inflammatory diseases, e.g., viral infections. Indeed, now that first clinical trials applying MSCs against COVID-19 have started,…

From Patent Search

• Compositions and methods for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) infection - - link

• 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

• AQUEOUS ZINC OXIDE NANOSPRAY COMPOSITIONS - Disclosed herein is aqueous zinc oxide nano spray compositions comprising zinc oxide nanoparticles and a synthetic surfactant for controlling the spread of Covid-19 virus. - link

• Bettverlängerungssystem -

  Bettverlängerungssystem (1) für in Bauchlage beatmungspflichtige Patienten in Gestalt mit zumindest einer Platte (16), dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Platte (16) im Kopflagerungsbereich einen Luftwegezugangsdurchbruch (8) mit einem den Luftwegezugangsdurchbruch (8) umgebenden Auflagerbereich für ein durchbrochenes Kopfauflagepolster (14) aufweist, durch den von der Bettunterseite her und durch das Kopfauflagepolster (14) hindurch die Ver- und Entsorgungsschläuche für eine orotracheale Intubation oder eine nasotracheale Intubation ventral an das Gesicht des Patienten herangeführt werden können, und dass die Platte (16) im Bereich ihrer dem Kopfende eines Bettrosts (15) zugeordneten Stirnseite (6) ein Fixierelement (2) zur Befestigung der Platte (16) am Bettrost (15) nach Art eines einseitig frei über das Kopfende des Bettrosts hinausragenden Kragträgers aufweist.

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• 一种肝素类药物组合物、喷鼻剂及其制备方法及应用 - 本发明公开了一种肝素类药物组合物、喷鼻剂及其制备方法及应用。该肝素类药物组合物包括肝素钠和阿比朵尔。本发明中的肝素类药物组合物首次采用肝素钠和阿比朵尔联合使用，普通肝素钠联合1μM/L以上的阿比朵尔病毒抑制效率显著高于单独普通肝素钠或单独阿比多尔组（p<0.05）。 - 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

• 抗SARS-COV-2中和抗体 - 本公开提供了针对SARS‑COV‑2的新颖中和抗体和其抗原结合片段。还提供了包括其的药物组合物和试剂盒以及其用途。 - link

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

• Method and compositions for treating coronavirus infection - A method of treating viral infection, such as viral infection caused by a virus of the Coronaviridae family, is provided. A composition having at least oleandrin is used to treat viral infection. - link

• Luftdesinfektionssäule -

  Luftreinigungssäule (1) mit einer Luftaufnahme (2) und einer Luftausgabe (3), wobei zwischen der Luftaufnahme (2) und der Luftausgabe (3) ein luftleitender Bereich (4) mit einem Gebläse (7) und einer UV-Lichtdesinfektionseinrichtung (5) angeordnet ist, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der luftleitende Bereich (4) photokathalysatorisch beschichtete Oberflächen (9) aufweist und/oder ein photokathalysatorisch beschichtetes Gitter (11) angeordnet ist, wobei photokathalysatorisch beschichtetes Gitter (11) und die photokathalysatorisch beschichtete Oberflächen (9) mit Titandioxid (TiO₂) beschichtet sind, wobei die UV-Lichtdesinfektionseinrichtung (5) UV-A-LEDs (12), die UV-A-Strahlung im Wellenlängenbereich 380-315 nm ausstrahlt und UV-C-LEDs (8) die UV-Strahlung im Wellenlängenbereich UV-C 280-200 nm (8) ausstrahlen aufweist und wobei ein Akku (13) zur netzunabhängigen Stromversorgung angeordnet ist.

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