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Infographic. COVID-19 RT-PCR testing for elite athletes.

Br J Sports Med. 2021 Jan 17;:

Authors: Rankin A, Massey A, Falvey ÉC, Ellenbecker T, Harcourt P, Murray A, Kinane D, Niesters B, Jones N, Martin R, Roshon M, McLarnon MED, Calder J, Izquierdo D, Pluim BM, Elliott N, Heron N

PMID: 33455908 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Related Articles

Principal Component Analysis Applications in COVID-19 Genome Sequence Studies.

Cognit Comput. 2021 Jan 13;:1-12

Authors: Wang B, Jiang L

Abstract
RNA genomes from coronavirus have a length as long as 32 kilobases, and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has long sequences which made the analysis difficult. Over 20,000 sequences have been submitted to GISAID, and the number is growing fast each day which increased the difficulties in data analysis; however, genome sequence analysis is critical in understanding the COVID-19 and preventing the spread of the disease. In this study, a principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the aligned large size genome sequences and the numerical numbers were converted from the letters using a published method designed for protein sequence cluster analysis. The study initialized with a shortlist sequence testing, and the PCA score plot showed high tolerance with low-quality data, and the major virus sequences from humans were separated from the pangolin and bat samples. Our study also successfully built a model for a large number of sequences with more than 20,000 sequences which indicate the potential mutation directions for the COVID-19 which can be served as a pretreatment method for detailed studies such as decision tree-based methods. In summary, our study provided a fast tool to analyze the high-volume genome sequences such as the COVID-19 and successfully applied to more than 20,000 sequences which may provide mutation direction information for COVID-19 studies.

PMID: 33456620 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Structures of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-Binding Proteins and Therapeutic Targets.

Intervirology. 2021 Jan 15;:1-14

Authors: Khan MT, Irfan M, Ahsan H, Ahmed A, Kaushik AC, Khan AS, Chinnasamy S, Ali A, Wei DQ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic has resulted in thousands of infections and deaths worldwide. Several therapies are currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the development of new drugs and the repositioning of existing drugs can only be achieved after the identification of potential therapeutic targets within structures, as this strategy provides the most precise solution for developing treatments for sudden epidemic infectious diseases.
SUMMARY: In the current investigation, crystal and cryo-electron microscopy structures encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome were systematically examined for the identification of potential drug targets. These structures include nonstructural proteins (Nsp-9; Nsp-12; and Nsp-15), nucleocapsid (N) proteins, and the main protease (Mpro). Key Message: The structural information reveals the presence of many potential alternative therapeutic targets, primarily involved in interaction between N protein and Nsp3, forming replication-transcription complexes (RTCs) which might be a potential drug target for effective control of current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. RTCs consist of 16 nonstructural proteins (Nsp1-16) that play the most essential role in the synthesis of viral RNA. Targeting the physical linkage between the envelope and single-stranded positive RNA, a process facilitated by matrix proteins may provide a good alternative strategy. Our current study provides useful information for the development of new lead compounds against SARS-CoV-2 infections.

PMID: 33454715 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: The role of stigma and appraisals.

Br J Health Psychol. 2021 Jan 18;:

Authors: Paleari FG, Pivetti M, Galati D, Fincham FD

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study examines perceived and anticipated stigma towards infected people, threat and impact appraisals of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as distressing personal experiences related to the virus in order to determine the extent to which they directly and indirectly predict hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Investigated experiences included exposure to COVID-19-related news, having being in close proximity to people with a COVID-19 diagnosis or with COVID-19-like symptoms, having being sick or having suffered COVID-19-like symptoms, having tested negative for COVID-19.
METHODS: Adults from northern Italy (n = 326; M age = 29.86) provided cross-sectional data through an online survey during the nationwide lockdown period. Structural equation modelling analyses were conducted.
RESULTS: Perceived and anticipated stigma, exposure to COVID-19 news, perceived threat and impact on material resources access were negatively and indirectly related to both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being via perceived COVID-19 psychological impact which served as a mediator. Perceived stigma was also directly and negatively related to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, whereas having tested negative for COVID diagnosis was positively and directly associated with eudaimonic well-being.
CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19-related stigma and appraisals can impair positive feelings about life as well as the pursuit of self-realization and the search for meaning in life. The findings highlight the importance of developing psychological preventive and rehabilitative interventions to help people cope with these risk factors.

PMID: 33460503 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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EXPRESS: Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Hospitalizations and Mechanical Thrombectomy Volumes.

Int J Stroke. 2021 Jan 18;:1747493021991652

Authors: Nogueira R, Abdalkader M, Qureshi MM, Frankel MR, Mansour OY, Yamagami H, Qiu Z, Farhoudi M, Siegler JE, Yaghi S, Raz E, Sakai N, Ohara N, Piotin M, Mechtouff L, Eker O, Chalumeau V, Kleinig T, Liu JM, Pop R, Winters HS, Shang X, Rodriguez Vasquez A, Blasco J, Arenillas JF, Martinez-Galdamez M, Brehm A, Psychogios M, Lylyk P, Haussen DC, Al-Bayati A, Mohammaden MH, Fonseca L, Silva MLS, Montalverne FJ, Lima FO, Renieri L, Mangiafico S, Fischer U, Gralla J, Frei D, Chugh C, Mehta BP, Nagel S, Mà Hlenbruch M, Ortega S, Farooqui M, Hassan AE, Taylor A, Lapergue B, Consoli A, Campbell B, Sharma M, Walker M, van Horn N, Fiehler J, Nguyen HT, Nguyen QT, Watanabe D, Zhang H, Le HV, Nguyen VQ, Shah R, Devlin T, Khandelwal P, Linfante I, Izzath W, Lavados P, Olavarrà A VV, Sampaio Silva G, Verena de Carvalho Sousa A, Kirmani J, Bendszus M, Amano T, Yamamoto R, Doijiri R, Tokuda N, Yamada T, Terasaki T, Yazawa Y, Morris JG, Griffin E, Thornton J, Lavoie P, Matouk C, Hill MD, Demchuk AM, Killer M, Nahab F, Altschul D, Perez de la Ossa N, Kikano R, Boisseau W, Walker G, Cordina S, Puri AS, Kuhn A, Gandhi D, Nguyen T

Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to profound changes in the organization of health care systems worldwide.
AIMS: We sought to measure the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes for mechanical thrombectomy (MT), stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) hospitalizations over a 3-month period at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to May 31, 2020) compared with two control 3-month periods (immediately preceding and one year prior).
METHODS: Retrospective, observational, international study, across 6 continents, 40 countries, and 187 comprehensive stroke centers. The diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in stroke databases at participating centers.
RESULTS: The hospitalization volumes for any stroke, ICH, and MT were 26,699, 4,002, and 5,191 in the 3 months immediately before versus 21,576, 3,540, and 4,533 during the first 3 pandemic months, representing declines of 19.2% (95%CI,-19.7 to -18.7), 11.5% (95%CI,-12.6 to -10.6), and 12.7% (95%CI,-13.6 to -11.8), respectively. The decreases were noted across centers with high, mid, and low COVID-19 hospitalization burden, and also across high, mid, and low volume stroke/MT centers. High-volume COVID-19 centers (-20.5%) had greater declines in MT volumes than mid- (-10.1%) and low-volume (-8.7%) centers (p<0.0001). There was a 1.5% stroke rate across 54,366 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted in 3.9% (784/20,250) of all stroke admissions.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of overall stroke hospitalizations, MT procedures, and ICH admission volumes. Despite geographic variations, these volume reductions were observed regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden and pre-pandemic stroke/MT volumes.

PMID: 33459583 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]