Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 140 patients with Delta COVID-19 in Gansu Province

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the differences of clinical characteristics, laboratory tests and imaging examinations in patients with Novel Coronavirus(SARS-COV-2)Delta variant infection in Gansu province, so as to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of SARS-COV-2. METHODS: The medical records, laboratory tests and imaging studies of 140 patients with SARS-COV-2 Delta variant infection admitted to Yantan Branch and Zhangye Second Hospital of Lanzhou Second People's Hospital from Oct. to Dec. 2021 in Gansu province were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 140 infected patients, 65 were males and 75 were females. The oldest was 87 years old, and the youngest was 1 year and 8 months, with an average age of(42.65+or-20.87) years old. Twenty percent of confirmed patients had fever. The mean duration of positive nucleic acid was 19.74 days. There were significant differences in the expression levels of serum amyloid A(SAA), interleukin-6(IL-6), C-reactive protein(CRP), basophil granulocytes(BAS) and lymphocyte(LYM) in patients with different types. Pulmonary lesions were found in 101 patients(72.14%) by imaging, and the proportion of abnormal lung imaging in mild, ordinary and severe patients accounted for 55.81%, 73.13% and 100% respectively. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients with COVID-19 Delta infection in Gansu province were mild and ordinary type. There were fewer fever patients. The main clinical manifestations were cough, expectoration and pharyngeal discomfort. Severe and critically ill patients are older and have more underlying diseases.

Advances in Crosstalk between Porcine Circoviruses and Host.

Porcine circoviruses (PCVs), including PCV1 to PCV4, are non-enveloped DNA viruses with a diameter of about 20 nm, belonging to the genus Circovirus in the family Circoviridae. PCV2 is an important causative agent of porcine circovirus disease or porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVD/PCVAD), which is highly prevalent in pigs and seriously affects the swine industry globally. Furthermore, PCV2 mainly causes subclinical symptoms and immunosuppression, and PCV3 and PCV4 were detected in healthy pigs, sick pigs, and other animals. Although the pathogenicity of PCV3 and PCV4 in the field is still controversial, the infection rates of PCV3 and PCV4 in pigs are increasing. Moreover, PCV3 and PCV4 rescued from infected clones were pathogenic in vivo. It is worth noting that the interaction between virus and host is crucial to the infection and pathogenicity of the virus. This review discusses the latest research progress on the molecular mechanism of PCVs-host interaction, which may provide a scientific basis for disease prevention and control.

From pandemic response to portable population health: A formative evaluation of the Detroit mobile health unit program.

This article describes our experience developing a novel mobile health unit (MHU) program in the Detroit, Michigan, metropolitan area. Our main objectives were to improve healthcare accessibility, quality and equity in our community during the novel coronavirus pandemic. While initially focused on SARS-CoV-2 testing, our program quickly evolved to include preventive health services. The MHU program began as a location-based SARS-CoV-2 testing strategy coordinated with local and state public health agencies. Community needs motivated further program expansion to include additional preventive healthcare and social services. MHU deployment was targeted to disease "hotspots" based on publicly available SARS-CoV-2 testing data and community-level information about social vulnerability. This formative evaluation explores whether our MHU deployment strategy enabled us to reach patients from communities with heightened social vulnerability as intended. From 3/20/20-3/24/21, the Detroit MHU program reached a total of 32,523 people. The proportion of patients who resided in communities with top quartile Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index rankings increased from 25% during location-based "drive-through" SARS-CoV-2 testing (3/20/20-4/13/20) to 27% after pivoting to a mobile platform (4/13/20-to-8/31/20; p = 0.01). The adoption of a data-driven deployment strategy resulted in further improvement; 41% of the patients who sought MHU services from 9/1/20-to-3/24/21 lived in vulnerable communities (Cochrane Armitage test for trend, p<0.001). Since 10/1/21, 1,837 people received social service referrals and, as of 3/15/21, 4,603 were administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Our MHU program demonstrates the capacity to provide needed healthcare and social services to difficult-to-reach populations from areas with heightened social vulnerability. This model can be expanded to meet emerging pandemic needs, but it is also uniquely capable of improving health equity by addressing longstanding gaps in primary care and social services in vulnerable communities.

Parental Stress and Home Activities for Young Children during the Stay-at-home Quarantine Time in China

Research Findings: Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations among the family pandemic experience, home activities during the stay-at-home quarantine, and level of parental stress. The results showed that, Chinese parents perceived only significantly higher stress related to children’s behavioral and emotional difficulties during the pandemic. Parents’ educational level and teacher remote support were significantly associated with the frequency of different home activities for young children. Although family direct exposure of COVID-19 was a critical risk factor predicting parent-perceived stress, parents’ education, family income, and teachers’ support were important protective factors for parents’ stress. Some learning-focused home activities showed an inverse association with parental stress. Practices or Policy: The findings of this study point to the importance of supporting parents to provide quality home-based learning for their young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professional support should also focus on the quality of parent-child interaction in addition to the promotion of children’s learning experience at home.

Possible Targets of Pan-Coronavirus Antiviral Strategies for Emerging or Re-Emerging Coronaviruses.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which caused Coronaviruses Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a worldwide pandemic, is the seventh human coronavirus that has been cross-transmitted from animals to humans. It can be predicted that with continuous contact between humans and animals, more viruses will spread from animals to humans. Therefore, it is imperative to develop universal coronavirus or pan-coronavirus vaccines or drugs against the next coronavirus pandemic. However, a suitable target is critical for developing pan-coronavirus antivirals against emerging or re-emerging coronaviruses. In this review, we discuss the latest progress of possible targets of pan-coronavirus antiviral strategies for emerging or re-emerging coronaviruses, including targets for pan-coronavirus inhibitors and vaccines, which will provide prospects for the current and future research and treatment of the disease.

Characteristics of novel coronavirus pneumonia and TCM treatment in Gansu

This article summarized the clinical diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) in Gansu and concluded that NCP has different clinical manifestations and TCM syndromes in different regions and different patient groups. It concluded the characteristics of NCP in Gansu and the features of TCM treatment. It was found that the pathogenesis of this disease was varied, and syndrome differentiation treatment was carried out based on syndrome differentiation of tri-jiao. It concluded that there were changes in NCP, with dampness pathogen throughout the course of the disease. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to the treatment of changing syndrome based on conventional treatment.

Recent progress on the mutations of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and suggestions for prevention and controlling of the pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has caused a global pandemic in the past year, which poses continuing threat to human beings. To date, more than 3561 mutations in the viral spike protein were identified, including 2434 mutations that cause amino acid changes with 343 amino acids located in the viral receptor-binding domain (RBD). Among these mutations, the most representative ones are substitution mutations such as D614G, N501Y, Y453F, N439K/R, P681H, K417N/T, and E484K, and deletion mutations of ΔH69/V70 and Δ242-244, which confer the virus with enhanced infectivity, transmissibility, and resistance to neutralization. In this review, we discussed the recent findings of SARS-CoV-2 for highlighting mutations and variants on virus transmissibility and pathogenicity. Moreover, several suggestions for prevention and controlling the pandemic are also proposed.

Exploration of material basis and molecular mechanism for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection by Fuzheng Biwen prescription based on computer aided drug design

Objective: To systematically study the material basis and molecular mechanism of the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection by Fuzheng Biwen Prescription from the perspective of inhibiting the selection of virus infection and regulating the body's immune factors.

Analysis on TCM syndrome rules of 60 cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Gansu area

Objective: To explore characteristics of TCM syndromes of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in Gansu area;To provide references for TCM intervention and syndrome differentiation.

Retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics and laboratory results of COVID-19 patients

The positive detection of SARS-CoV-2 is the "gold standard" for diagnosing COVID-19. However, due to the low detection capacity of SARS-CoV-2 and the high false negative rate at the beginning of the epidemic, and the medical staff did not know much about the condition and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, our hospital paid more attention to the results of other laboratory indicators in the early stage of the epidemic of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to explore clinical characteristics and laboratory results of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China and provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Retrospective study of 562 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Wuhan Red Cross Hospital from January 28 to March 12, 2020 was performed. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the severity of illness: Mild group (n = 436) and Severe group (n = 126). The general clinical characteristics of the patients were collected, including age, gender, past medical history, clinical symptoms, etc. All patients underwent blood routine test, biochemical indicators, blood gas analysis and other related laboratory examinations. The clinical data and laboratory results of the two groups were compared. Compared with the patients in the Mild group, the patients in Severe group were older and the proportion of patients suffering from underlying disease (61.11%) was higher (p < 0.05). In Severe group, WBC, NEUT, NLR, PCT, CRP, IL-6, ESR, CK, CK-MB, Mb, cTnI, D-D, Fib, and PaCO2 of patients had higher values, while the levels of LYMPH, HBG, PLT, PO2, and SaO2 were significantly reduced, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Between Severe group and Mild group, there was no significant difference in other indexes such as ALT, Urea, and Cr (p > 0.05) or in the positive rate of influenza A, B virus, or other respiratory pathogens by pairwise comparison (p > 0.05). Viral infection and inflammation were more serious in elderly patients or patients with underlying diseases. They were more likely to progress to severely ill patients. Clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations were important basis for clinical classification and treatment. Therefore, Timely and accurate attention to these indicators is beneficial to prevent the deterioration of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of European Journal of Inflammation (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Necessary problems in re-emergence of COVID-19.

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 poses a great threat to human beings. Although numerous patients have recovered, re-positive cases have been reported in several countries. Till now, we still know very little about the disease and its pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, more attention should be paid to the following aspects, such as post-discharge surveillance, asymptomatic infection, re-evaluation of influenza-like symptoms, and dynamic monitoring of genomic mutation of SARS-CoV-2.

The scRNA-seq Expression Profiling of the Receptor ACE2 and the Cellular Protease TMPRSS2 Reveals Human Organs Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

COVID-19 patients always develop multiple organ dysfunction syndromes other than lungs, suggesting the novel virus SARS-CoV-2 also invades other organs. Therefore, studying the viral susceptibility of other organs is important for a deeper understanding of viral pathogenesis. Angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) is the receptor protein of SARS-CoV-2, and TMPRSS2 promotes virus proliferation and transmission. We investigated the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression levels of cell types from 31 organs to evaluate the risk of viral infection using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. For the first time, we found that the gall bladder and fallopian tube are vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Besides, the nose, heart, small intestine, large intestine, esophagus, brain, testis, and kidney are also identified to be high-risk organs with high expression levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Moreover, the susceptible organs are grouped into three risk levels based on the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression. As a result, the respiratory system, digestive system, and urinary system are at the top-risk level for SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study provides evidence for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the human nervous system, digestive system, reproductive system, respiratory system, circulatory system, and urinary system using scRNA-seq data, which helps in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients.