Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Dec 19 - Dec 31 2022

Most recent articles (newest articles listed first)

Open access

Decreased antibody response to influenza vaccine with an enhanced antibody response to subsequent SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

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Antibody response to an inactivated influenza vaccine appears to be reduced in patients with CHB, especially in those with cirrhosis. A history of inactivated influenza vaccination within 1 year before inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination might result in a stronger anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response

Open access

SARS‐CoV‐2 Virus Detection Via a Polymeric Nanochannel‐Based Electrochemical Biosensor

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An electrochemical biosensor was constructed by convectively assembling polystyrene (PS) beads on a gold electrode to detect SAR-Cov-2 virus via partial nanochannel blockage by virus particles. Nanochannel blockage hinders the diffusion of a redox probe and causes attenuation of oxidation current, allowing quantification of the viral load by measuring the changes in oxidation currents before and after virus incubation.

Open access

High flow nasal cannula for acute respiratory failure due to COVID‐19 in patients with a ‘do‐not‐intubate’ order: A survival analysis

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High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) reduces the need for intubation in patients with hypoxaemic acute respiratory failure (ARF). Our data suggest that a trial of HFNC could be considered to increase chances of survival in patients with ARF due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonitis and a do-not-intubate (DNI) order, especially in those with a good WHO performance status.

Open access

SARS‐CoV‐2 and omicron variant detection with a high selectivity, sensitivity, and low‐cost silicon bio‐nanosensor

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Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron variant detection with a cost-effective silicon nanowire sensor has been demonstrated with high sensitivity, selectivity, and a fast response. The sensor reaches a 4 cps limit of detection (LoD), even for the Omicron variant, without any genome amplification, and with strong selectivity. The platform is made with industrially compatible techniques, which in perspective may allow a widespread diffusion.

Promoting dairy products through the web: The case of Pecorino Siciliano PDO during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Assessment of the quality of the digital marketing tools implemented by Pecorino Siciliano PDO-producing companies: Usability of the corporate website and amount of activity on Facebook brand pages.

Insight of smart biosensors for COVID‐19: A review

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This review describes the smart and intelligent biosensors for effective diagnosis and management of COVID-19 used for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The importance, advantages and limitations are explained and also the promise as commercial detection devices are discussed.

Open access

COVID-19 vaccine induced myocarditis in young males: A systematic review

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In reporting rates of myocarditis post COVID19 vaccination, breaking down rates by age, sex, dose, and manufacturer results in higher reported estimates than studies that report overall rates in the population.

Open access

COVID-associated non-vasculitic thrombotic retiform purpura of the face and extremities: A case report

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COVID-associated rashes in adults usually associate with more severe COVID-19 illness. For older, comorbid patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 illness who develop a rash, administer early immunomodulating therapy to mitigate disease progression.

Open access

Spontaneous mid‐trimester uterine rupture associated with fetal death in a young patient during COVID‐19 pandemic: A case report

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The most common cause of UR is the existence of an old uterine scar, but in this case, the rapture occurred during the second trimester from a non C/S scar. This is very rare and unusual and it worth urgent operation to save the patient.

Open access

Building forward better—An exploration of nutrition practices, food choice, and coping behaviors among Kenyan adolescents during COVID-19: Experiences and program implications

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Adolescents relayed experiences of skipping meals and reducing the amount and variety of foods consumed. Adolescents also described working in the informal sector and selling personal items to support families financially, in response to rising food insecurity. School closures mandated during the pandemic likely contributed to reductions in overall physical activity.

Open access

Synthesis of [60]Fullerene Hybrids Endowed with Steroids and Monosaccharides: Theoretical Underpinning as Promising anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 Agents

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New [60]fullerene hybrids endowed with steroid and monosaccharide moieties are obtained through a cyclopropanation reaction. The structure of monoadducts were determined by spectroscopic and analytical study. Theoretical calculations predicted the most stable conformations and determine the factors that control the hybrid molecules′ geometry. The molecular docking studies suggested the possible application of these compounds as anti-SARS-CoV-2.

Open access

Safety and efficacy of prophylactic anticoagulation versus therapeutic anticoagulation in hospital‐admitted COVID‐19 patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

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Therapeutic dose anticoagulation is more effective in preventing thromboembolic events than prophylactic dose but significantly increases the risk of major bleeding as an adverse event. So, the risk–benefit ratio must be considered while using either of them.

free access

The role of HMGB1 in COVID-19-induced cytokine storm and its potential therapeutic targets: A review

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Extracellular High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1), which could be a crucial factor behind the COVID-19-induced cytokine storm, is long-known as a potent activator of TLR 4-mediated proinflammatory cytokines release. HMGB1-RNA SARS-CoV-2 complexes via RAGE might trigger inflammasome activation, pyroptotic cell death, and the initiation of coagulation, followed by a massive production of proinflammatory cytokines which suppressed many immune cells leading to uncontrolled viral infection and cells damage, causing more HMGB1 release. This vicious cycle potentially induced a cytokine storm.

Open access

The effect of decreasing human activity from COVID-19 on the foraging of fallen fruit by omnivores

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We were able to show in detail the specific behavioral changes in the foraging behavior of urban mammals, especially raccoon dogs, due to changes in human activity after the voluntary lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cerrado and Pantanal fruit flours affect gut microbiota composition in healthy and post-COVID-19 individuals: an in vitro pilot fermentation study

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Reduction of Veillonellaceae with jatobá extract in PC samples; decrease in Akkermansia with jatoba and cumbaru flours; decreasing trend of Faecalibacterium and Ruminococcus with all flours tested, with the exception of the bocaiuva almond in HD samples for Ruminococcus and increase in Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in PC samples with bocaiuva almond flour. JAO displayed antioxidant properties protecting cells from daunorubicin-induced cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. The promising microbiota-modulating abilities of some flours and the chemopreventive effects of JAO deserve to be further explored in human intervention studies.

Open access

Insulin allergy manifesting soon after COVID-19 vaccination (BNT162b2)

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We experienced a case with insulin allergy which manifested soon after COVID-19 vaccination.

Highly Twisted Conformation Thiopyrylium Photosensitizers for In Vivo Near Infrared‐II Imaging and Rapid Inactivation of Coronavirus

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The relationship between molecular configuration and charge transfer process in NIR-II chromophores has been revealed, which informed the engineering of an efficient NIR photosensitizer (PS), SP@HD-PEG2K. The dramatic improvement of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) quantum yield of the PSs enabled NIR-II image-guided in vivo pulmonary coronavirus photoablation for the first time and created a convenient paradigm for the development of NIR heavy-atom-free PSs.

The effectiveness of phototherapy for surface decontamination against SARS-Cov-2. A systematic review

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Light waves are featured according to their wave frequency and wavelength. Visible light has a wavelength range from 400 to 700 nanometers. Visible light comprises just a very restricted part of the full light wave spectrum. Light waves with lower frequencies and longer wavelengths include infrared light, microwaves and radio waves. Higher frequencies with shorter wavelengths with include ultraviolet light, gamma and X-rays.

Open access

Oral SARS‐CoV‐2 reduction by local treatment: A plasma technology application?

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Plasma could be a promising tool to locally reduce mucosal viral loads in the upper respiratory tract as an additional measure to reduce patient infectivity. Conceptual ideas based on direct plasma jet application to the mucosal tissue on the one hand or plasma-treated aerosols or gases for inhalation purposes on the other are presented and discussed with respect to current knowledge on the antiviral effectivity of plasma treatment.

Open access

Pre and post-COVID 19 infection pulmonary functions in children with chronic respiratory disease: A case series

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Data on post-COVID functional respiratory impairment in children are scarce. Children with chronic lung disease are not at increased risk for severe COVID. No or only transient functional respiratory impairment post-COVID is observed in these children.

Open access

Cardiac magnetic resonance findings in acute and post-acute COVID-19 patients with suspected myocarditis

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In patients with suspected myocarditis in acute and post-COVID settings, at CMR myocarditis was the most frequent diagnosis in both acute and post-COVID-19 setting (53% and 50% of cases). Less frequently, CMR revealed myocardial infarction (4/17, 24%). Underlying cardiomyopathies, subclinical before infection, were revealed in 12% and 27% of patients with acute and post-COVID setting. CMR is a highly sensitive to characterize COVID-19 related myocardial injury, improving diagnostic accuracy and guiding clinical decision-making.

Open access

Tracking peripheral vascular function for six months in young adults following SARS-CoV-2 infection

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Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, a marker of macrovascular function, increased from months 1–6 following SARS-CoV-2 infection without alteration to reactive hyperemia in the arm or leg, markers of microvascular function, and circulating biomarkers. These findings suggest a prolonged time course for macrovascular recovery following SARS-CoV-2 infection in young adults which is important for understanding the persistent ramifications of SARS-CoV-2 on cardiovascular health.

Open access

Utility of dual-energy computed tomography in the association of COVID-19 pneumonia severity

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In this study, we investigated whether dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) could be used to determine the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. DECT can be used to associate the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia with high accuracy. Further studies are needed to draw definitive conclusions.

Open access

Developing a comorbidity score in cancer patients using healthcare utilization databases during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experience from Italy

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Developement and validation of a COVID-19 comordity score for cancer patients. The total cancer patient cohort was split into training (70%) and validation (30%) sets. In the training set, comorbidities associated with the risk of developing a severe/fatal form of COVID-19 were identified and the score weights were estimated. The score performances were then assesed in the validation set, by areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots.

Open access

Post-Coronavirus disease syndrome (post-COVID-19) syndrome: A case report

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Post-COVID syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that develops or persists even after the recovery from COVID-19 or viral clearance, can have multi-system manifestations. This entity should be considered in patients who recently tested positive for COVID-19 after ruling out other possible obvious causes. Its management should involve a multidisciplinary approach.

Open access

A case of pericarditis in a middle-aged woman with COVID-19

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We need to be aware that COVID-19 can present with pericarditis without myocarditis or severe respiratory symptoms even in the absence of underlying disease.

Open access

Phase 1 study of safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiviral activity of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing monoclonal antibody ABBV-47D11 in patients with COVID-19

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Left: CONSORT flow chart. Right: ABBV-47D11 Dose–Response for SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load AUC of Change from Baseline to Day 15. AUC: area under the curve; Box plots represent 25th/75th percentiles, median (solid line), mean (dashed line), whiskers represent min-max values, and dots represent individual patient data.

Prevalence of mental health symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A meta‐analysis

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The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying infection control measures introduced significant disruptions to the lives of children and adolescents. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the prevalence of mental health issues in youths and found the pooled prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and sleep disturbances to be 31%, 31%, and 42%, respectively. These results call for increased mental health research for children and adolescents.

Open access

Post-COVID-19 fatal Aspergillus endocarditis: A case report

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Graphical abstract shows a chronological summary of the patient's manifestation, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment from the onset of COVID-19 pneumonia-related symptoms to the development of the Aspergillus endocarditis.

Incidence of facial pressure injuries in health‐care professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Summary statement

What is already known about this topic?
  • Facial pressure injury was one of the most common effects experiencedby health-care professionals wearing facial PPE during COVID-19, which seriously affected their facial comfort and self-image.
  • A number of studies have reported the incidence of facial pressure injury in health-care professionals, but the evidence is inconsistent.
  • Medical staff are the main force during the COVID-19.
What this paper adds?
  • This study showed that the pooled incidence of facial pressure injury in health-care professionals was 56.8% during COVID-19.
  • This study showed that there was a higher incidence of facial pressure injury in staff who wore PPE for longer than 4 h and in those without any training experience.
  • This study showed that the nose was the most common part of the face with pressure injury, and Stage I pressure injury was the most prevalent injury type in health-care professionals.
The implications of this paper:
  • This study may provide evidence for managers about the development of guidelines for health-care professionals to prevent and manage facial pressure injuries and promote the health of health-care professionals.

Repeated ethanol exposure and withdrawal alters angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 expression in discrete brain regions: Implications for SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion

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Angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) levels were elevated across multiple brain regions implicated in SARS-CoV-2 entry into the CNS after alcohol exposure in mice, including the olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, and brainstem. Soluble ACE2 levels increased alongside changes in TMPRSS2 and ADAM17, which cleaves cellular ACE2 to facilitate viral entry and fusion. Alcohol upregulates ACE2 expression as a compensatory response to inflammatory RAS signaling, and as a result may increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion and post-acute neurological sequelae.

free access

New‐onset type 1 diabetes and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection

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In this article, we discuss the role of a noncytopathic mechanism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection that could compromise peripheral immunotolerance by depleting regulatory T cells and facilitate the destruction of β cells by autoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells in the pancreatic islet milieu. We also discussed the clinical evidence demonstrating the potential loss of islet β cells by direct SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additional insights into the possible link between β-cell surface expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry receptors angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) and direct or indirect islet β-cell damage contributing to new-onset type 1 diabetes after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are also described.

COVID‐19 pandemic‐related changes in utilization of telehealth and treatment overall for alcohol use problems

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Alcohol treatment utilization increased during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March to December 2020), relative to the same months in 2019, across diverse subgroups of adults with alcohol use problems. Younger and healthier adults, who have historically underutilized care, had the greatest increases in alcohol treatment initiation, particularly via telehealth. Telehealth may have attracted a new subset of treatment-seeking individuals, but racial and ethnic disparities in treatment utilization were not exacerbated.

Open access

Hematological characteristics of COVID-19 patients with fever infected by the Omicron variant in Shanghai: A retrospective cohort study in China

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This study aimed to investigate the clinical and hematological characteristics of COVID-19 patients infected by the Omicron variant during the recent coronavirus outbreak in the city of Shanghai, China, from March 1 to May 31, 2022. Hematological parameters including WBCs, neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, hs-CRP and MLR, PLR, and MPR can be used for early diagnosis of COVID-19 in the fever clinic.

Open access

Serum calprotectin can indicate current and future severity of COVID-19

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SC and IL-6 had a disease severity-dependent response for COVID-19 patients. However, SC content exhibited a better-differentiated pattern in which it increased significantly with the exacerbation of disease clinical symptoms. Mild to severe subgroups had significantly different SC and IL-6 levels, regardless of how many days had elapsed since the disease onset. Indeed, SC and IL-6 levels were not affected by the time of sampling indicating a contiguous inflammatory status in patients because inflammatory markers decreasing reflects attenuating inflammation and consequently an improvement in disease severity. As we observed that SC and IL-6 levels significantly reduced to normal in recovered patients and were comparable to control cases. Of note, their decrease was respective of disease severity. In general, SC was found as a more reliable marker than IL-6 in the COVID-19 investigation.

Neuraminidase is a host‐directed approach to regulate neutrophil responses in sepsis and COVID‐19

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In the present study, several experimental approaches were carried out to evaluate the regulatory role of host neuraminidase (NEU) on the neutrophil response: (1) Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NEU activity triggers human neutrophil activation, an effect significantly inhibited by either oseltamivir or zanamivir; (2) mice oral treatment with oseltamivir and inhibition of host NEU fine-tunes neutrophil migration, improving infection control and survival rates in peritonitis and pneumonia-induced sepsis; (3) treatment of whole blood from severe COVID-19 patients with either oseltamivir or zanamivir reduced sialic acid cleavage and neutrophil overactivation; and (4) oseltamivir treatment of intranasally infected mice with a mouse betacoronavirus decreases lung neutrophil infiltration, viral load, and pulmonary damage.