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  • Ashby Wu posted an update 10 hours, 53 minutes ago

    BACKGROUND This study aimed to use online questionnaires to evaluate the factors associated with anxiety and depression in Chinese visiting scholars in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS Using a cross-sectional design, 311 Chinese scholars visiting 41 states in the United States were interviewed on 20 and 21 April 2020 through WeChat using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire. RESULTS Of these 311 visiting scholars, 69 (22.2%) reported no symptoms of anxiety or depression, whereas 63 (20.3%) reported severe anxiety and 67 (21.5%) reported severe depression. Risk of anxiety was 93% higher in visiting scholars with than without accompanying parents in the US (odds ratio [OR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-3.68) and was 1.72-fold (95% CI, 1.04-2.84) higher in those experiencing stress about family members with COVID-19. Stresses about personal security and return to China on schedule were associated with 1.73-fold (95% CI, 1.03-2.92) and 3.00-fold (95% CI, 1.51-5.95) higher risks of anxiety, respectively. Risks of depression were 1.86-fold (95% CI, 1.14-3.05), 1.84-fold (95% CI, 1.10-3.07), and 3.45-fold (95% CI, 1.72-6.92) higher in visiting Chinese scholars who were than were not experiencing stresses about financial support, personal security and return to China on schedule, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Chinese scholars visiting the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced severe psychological distress. Surveys that include larger numbers of visiting scholars are warranted.BACKGROUND The heart failure patient population can be challenging to treat and monitor. This is especially true when they travel to high altitudes where changes in pressure can affect their clinical status. The CardioMEMS™ HF System (Abbott Cardiovascular, Abbott Park, IL, USA) is an implanted miniature wireless device located in the pulmonary artery that transmits data on pulmonary artery pressure and heart rate. This data can be used to detect this dramatic invasive pressure change. CASE REPORT We present the case of a 78-year-old man with an exacerbation of heart failure while traveling to high altitude. Elevation of his pulmonary artery (PA) pressures were detected by his implanted CardioMEMS device. Understanding the expected change in PA pressure recordings helped to identify a true exacerbation of heart failure in our patient. This led to a prompt change in medical therapy, which ultimately prevented hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS Increased elevation can lead to falsely elevated PA pressure readings by the CardioMEMS device. However, we present the case of a patient with a disproportionate elevation of his hemodynamic pressure measurements, indicating an exacerbation of heart failure. This case demonstrates the value of the CardioMEMS device in detecting PA pressure changes in these unique circumstances.BACKGROUNDT cell responses to the common cold coronaviruses have not been well characterized. Preexisting T cell immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported, and a recent study suggested that this immunity was due to cross-recognition of the novel coronavirus by T cells specific for the common cold coronaviruses.METHODSWe used the enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay to characterize the T cell responses against peptide pools derived from the spike protein of 3 common cold coronaviruses (HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-OC43) and SARS-CoV-2 in 21 healthy donors (HDs) who were seronegative for SARS-CoV-2 and had no known exposure to the virus. An in vitro expansion culture assay was also used to analyze memory T cell responses.RESULTSWe found responses to the spike protein of the 3 common cold coronaviruses in many of the donors. We then focused on HCoV-NL63 and detected broad T cell responses to the spike protein and identified 22 targeted peptides. Interestingly, only 1 study participant had a significant response to SARS-CoV-2 spike or nucleocapsid protein in the ELISPOT assay. In vitro expansion studies suggested that T cells specific for the HCoV-NL63 spike protein in this individual could also recognize SARS-CoV-2 spike protein peptide pools.CONCLUSIONHDs have circulating T cells specific for the spike proteins of HCoV-NL63, HCoV-229E, and HCoV-OC43. T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins were present in only 1 participant and were potentially the result of cross-recognition by T cells specific for the common cold coronaviruses. Further studies are needed to determine whether this cross-recognition influences coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes.Error analysis and data visualization of positive COVID-19 cases in 27 countries have been performed up to August 8, 2020. This survey generally observes a progression from early exponential growth transitioning to an intermediate power-law growth phase, as recently suggested by Ziff and Ziff. The occurrence of logistic growth after the power-law phase with lockdowns or social distancing may be described as an effect of avoidance. A visualization of the power-law growth exponent over short time windows is qualitatively similar to the Bhatia visualization for pandemic progression. Visualizations like these can indicate the onset of second waves and may influence social policy.Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young individuals worldwide. There is currently no effective clinical treatment for TBI, but mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes have exhibited promising therapeutic effects. Phorbol12myristate13acetate In this study, we performed intracerebroventricular microinjection of human adipose mesenchymal stem cell (hADSC)-derived exosomes (hADSC-ex) in a weight-drop-induced TBI rat model. We found that hADSC-ex promoted functional recovery, suppressed neuroinflammation, reduced neuronal apoptosis, and increased neurogenesis in TBI rats. The therapeutic effects of hADSC-ex were comparable to those of hADSC. Sequential in vivo imaging revealed increasing aggregation of DiR-labeled hADSC-ex in the lesion area. Immunofluorescent staining of coronal brain sections and primary mixed neural cell cultures revealed distinct overlap between CM-DiI-labeled hADSC-ex and microglia/macrophages, indicating that hADSC-ex were mainly taken up by microglia/macrophages. In a lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory model, hADSC-ex suppressed microglia/macrophage activation by inhibiting nuclear factor κB and P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling.

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