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Background: Great concerns have been raised on SARS-CoV-2 impact on men's andrological well-being, and many studies have attempted to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 is present in the semen and till now the data are unclear and somehow ambiguous. However, these studies used quantitative real-time (qRT) PCR, which is not sufficiently sensitive to detect nucleic acids in clinical samples with a low viral load., Methods: The clinical performance of various nucleic acid detection methods (qRT-PCR, OSN-qRT-PCR, cd-PCR, and CBPH) was assessed for SARS-CoV-2 using 236 clinical samples from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases. Then, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the semen of 12 recovering patients was investigated using qRT-PCR, OSN-qRT-PCR, cd-PCR, and CBPH in parallel using 24 paired semen, blood, throat swab, and urine samples., Results: The sensitivity and specificity along with AUC of CBPH was markedly higher than the other 3methods. Although qRT-PCR, OSN-qRT-PCR and cdPCR detected no SARS-CoV-2 RNA in throat swab, blood, urine, and semen samples of the 12 patients, CBPH detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genome fragments in semen samples, but not in paired urine samples, of 3 of 12 patients. The existing SARS-CoV-2 genome fragments were metabolized over time., Conclusions: Both OSN-qRT-PCR and cdPCR had better performance than qRT-PCR, and CBPH had the highest diagnostic performance in detecting SARS-CoV-2, which contributed the most improvement to the determination of the critical value in gray area samples with low vrial load, which then provides a rational screening strategy for studying the clearance of coronavirus in the semen over time in patients recovering from COVID-19. Although the presence of SARS-CoV-2 fragments in the semen was demonstrated by CBPH, COVID-19 is unlikely to be sexually transmitted from male partners for at least 3 months after hospital discharge., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objectives: To investigate the persistent symptoms in preschool children after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection, and to provide a basis for developing follow-up plans after infection and reducing and preventing related symptoms after infection., Methods: The children, aged 0-5 years, who had Omicron BA.2 infection and were discharged from the pediatric ward of Shanghai Renji Hospital South Branch from April 13 to May 8, 2022, were enrolled as subjects, and related demographic and clinical data were collected. The children were followed up from the time to SARS-CoV-2 clearance for two consecutive tests with an interval of >24 hours till 4-5 weeks after clearance, and telephone follow-up was performed on the primary caregivers to investigate related persistent symptoms., Results: Among the 103 children who met the inclusion criteria, there were 61 boys and 42 girls, with a median age of 18 months. The primary caregivers who had received two or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine accounted for 64.1% (66/103). Fever (98.1%, 101/103) was the most common symptom in these children, followed by cough/expectoration (63.1%, 65/103), gastrointestinal problems (37.9%, 39/103), loss of appetite (30.1%, 31/103), weakness (27.2%, 28/103), and nasal obstruction/runny nose (16.5%, 17/103). The follow-up at 1 month after discharge reported that 44 children (42.7%) had at least one persistent symptom, including respiratory symptoms in 14 children (13.6%) and gastrointestinal problems in 19 children (18.4%). The children whose primary caregivers received two or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine had a significantly shorter time to SARS-CoV-2 clearance than those whose primary caregivers did not receive or only received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine ( P <0.05), while there was no significant difference between the two groups in the proportion of children with at least one persistent symptom ( P >0.05)., Conclusions: Nearly half of the preschool children may have related persistent symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection, mainly gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms. Most of the symptoms may be mild, and continuous follow-up is needed to observe their outcomes. Vaccination of COVID-19 vaccine for primary caregivers has a certain protective effect on children.

Background: Older adults are at a higher risk from COVID-19. Individual preventive behaviors including frequent hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing play important roles in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in the community. This study aimed to identify the determinants of three preventive behaviors of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic by using an Integrated Social Cognition Model., Methods: Using a prospective study design, 516 Chinese older adults from Hubei province of China (mean age = 67.55 years, SD = 6.60, 57.9% females) completed two online questionnaire surveys. The demographics, social cognition constructs (motivational self-efficacy, risk perception, attitude, subjective norm, health knowledge, intention, volitional self-efficacy, planning, action control) and three preventive behaviors were measured during the first-wave online survey from 18 May 2020 to 7 June 2020. One month later, three preventive behaviors were measured again during the second-wave online survey. Data were analyzed by structural equation modelling., Results: Models showed attitude, motivational self-efficacy and subjective norm were consistent predictors of intention, motivational self-efficacy was a consistent predictor of volitional self-efficacy, planning and volitional self-efficacy were consistent predictors of action control, and health knowledge was a consistent predictor of behaviors across all three preventive behaviors. In addition, mediating relationships were found in the model of hand washing behavior. In particular, planning (β = .109, p = .042) and action control (β = .056, p = .047) mediated between volitional self-efficacy and hand washing respectively. Action control also mediated between planning and hand washing (β = .087, p = .044). Moreover, the inclusion of past behaviors in three models attenuated most of the structural relations., Conclusions: The current study's findings basically supported the Integrated Social Cognition Model and identified key modifiable determinants of preventive behaviors. Based on this model, future interventions aiming to promote COVID-19 preventive behaviors among older adults are warranted., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Older adult quality of life (QoL) is facing huge challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. New normal lifestyle behaviors, including getting adequate physical activity (PA), consuming sufficient fruits and vegetables (FV) and enacting individual preventive behaviors (frequent hand washing, facemask wearing, and social distancing), as a significant determinant for QoL, have not been adequately addressed in older adults during the pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of QoL in Chinese older adults after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei China. The objective of the study was to examine any associations of lifestyle behaviors with QoL, and to identify the moderating role of socioeconomic indicators in the associations identified. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hubei, China, from June 15, 2020, to July 10, 2020. Five hundred sixteen older adults completed an online survey (mean age = 67.6 ± 6.6; 57.9% women). The questionnaire consisted of demographic information, covariates (chronic diseases and infected cases of acquaintances), lifestyle behaviors [PA stage, FV intake (FVI) stage and three preventive behaviors], and QoL. T -tests, ANOVA tests, multiple linear regression models with simple slope analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Results: QoL significantly differed in relation to economic situation, chronic diseases, marital status, education, living situation, age group, and professional status. Participants' economic situation ( β average vs. below average = 0.17, p < 0.01; β above average vs. below average = 0.15, p < 0.01), chronic diseases ( β yes vs. no = 0.19, p < 0.001), FVI stage ( β = 0.21, p < 0.001), and preventive behaviors ( β = 0.10, p < 0.05) indicated a significant association with QoL. Education level and economic situation significantly interacted with preventive behaviors on QoL, respectively ( β preventive behaviors × educational level Findings emphasize the importance of enhancing FVI and preventive behaviors on QoL improvement in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults who are in a lower economic situation with lower education levels should be given priority when implementing interventions to improve preventive behaviors and QoL in older adults.p < 0.01; β preventive behaviors × economic situation = -0.97, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Findings emphasize the importance of enhancing FVI and preventive behaviors on QoL improvement in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults who are in a lower economic situation with lower education levels should be given priority when implementing interventions to improve preventive behaviors and QoL in older adults., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Duan, Peiris, Yang, Liang, Baker, Hu and Shang.)

The large-scale COVID-19 pandemic has not only resulted in the risk of death but also augmented the levels of depression in community-dwelling older adults. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of depression in Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, to examine the association of individual precautionary behavior with older adults' depression levels, and to identify the moderating role of socioeconomic indicators in the aforementioned association. Five hundred and sixteen older adults were recruited from five cities of Hubei province in China. They were asked to complete an online questionnaire survey. Results showed that 30.8% of participants indicated a significant depressive symptom during the pandemic. Older adults' depression levels differed significantly in marital status, living situation, education level, household income, subjective health status, and infected cases of acquaintances. Precautionary behavior change showed significant inverse associations with older adults' depression levels, where household income moderated this relationship. This is the first study to investigate the characteristics, behavioral correlates, and moderators of depression among Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research findings may provide new insights into interventions and policy-making on individual precautionary behavior and mental health among older adults for future pandemics.

Background: Since little is known about the acute kidney injury (AKI) in aging population infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, we investigated the incidence, clinical features, risk factors and mid-term outcomes of AKI in hospitalized geriatric patients with and without COVID-19 and established a prediction model for mortality.Methods: A real-time data from the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital information system of inpatients with COVID-19 from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022 were extracted. Clinical spectrum, laboratory results, and clinical prognosis were included for the risk analyses. Moreover, Cox and Lasso regression analyses were applied to predict the 90-day death and a nomogram was established.Results: A total of 1607 SARS-CoV-2 infected patients were enrolled; hypertension was the most common comorbidity, followed by chronic cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and lung disease. Most of the participants were non-vaccinated and the mean age of patients was 82.6 years old (range, 60– 103 years). The AKI incidence was higher in relatively older patients (16.29% vs 3.63% in patients older than 80 years and 60 to 80 years, respectively). Linear regression models identified some variables associated with the incidence of AKI, such as older age, clinical spectrum, D-dimer level, number of comorbidities, baseline eGFR, and antibiotic or corticosteroid treatment. In this cohort, 11 patients died in-hospital and 21 patients died at 90-day follow-up. The predictive nomogram of 90-day death achieved a good C-index of 0.823 by using 5 predictor variables: ICU admission, D-dimer, peak of serum creatinine, rate of serum creatinine decline and white blood cell count (WBC).Conclusion: Older age, clinical spectrum, D-dimer level, number of comorbidities, baseline eGFR, and antibiotic or corticosteroid treatment are clinical risk factors for the incidence of AKI in geriatric COVID-19 patients. The prediction nomogram achieved an excellent performance at the prediction of 90-day mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of laboratory results showed that the COVID-19 patients with AKI had higher procalcitonine besides increased lymphocytopenia, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and leukocytopenia that represented more inflammation. The two studies showed results of the fixed effects model meta-analysis that revealed the discharge rate of the COVID-19 patients with AKI (OR: 0.2,95%CI [0.11,0.36], I p i < 0.001) (Figure 5(B)) compared with pure COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 and AKI patients do not have much different on the symptoms [[5]]. Hypertention, cancer and chronic liver disease Four studies comprising 152 COVID-19 patients with AKI and 637 COVID-19 patients with NAKI evaluated the role of hypertension in patients with COVID-19 and AKI. Discharge rate and fatality rate The three studies showed results of the meta-analysis which revealed the fatality rate of the COVID-19 patients with AKI (OR:8.78, 95%CI [5.04,15.32], I p i < 0.001). [Extracted from the article]

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that first manifested in humans in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, and has subsequently spread worldwide. Methods We conducted a retrospective, single-center case series of the seven maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients infected with COVID-19 at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 13 January to 7 April 2020 and a proactive search of potential cases by chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Results Of 202 HD patients, 7 (3.5%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Five were diagnosed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) because of compatible symptoms, while two were diagnosed by RT-PCR as a result of screening 197 HD patients without respiratory symptoms by chest CT. Thirteen of 197 patients had positive chest CT features and, of these, 2 (15%) were confirmed to have COVID-19. In COVID-19 patients, the most common features at admission were fatigue, fever and diarrhea [5/7 (71%) had all these]. Common laboratory features included lymphocytopenia [6/7 (86%)], elevated lactate dehydrogenase [3/4 (75%)], D-dimer [5/6 (83%)], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [4/4 (100%)] and procalcitonin [5/5 (100%)]. Chest CT showed bilateral patchy shadows or ground-glass opacity in the lungs of all patients. Four of seven (57%) received oxygen therapy, one (14%) received noninvasive and invasive mechanical ventilation, five (71%) received antiviral and antibacterial drugs, three (43%) recieved glucocorticoid therapy and one (14%) received continuous renal replacement therapy. As the last follow-up, four of the seven patients (57%) had been discharged and three patients were dead. Conclusions Chest CT may identify COVID-19 patients without clear symptoms, but the specificity is low. The mortality of COVID-19 patients on HD was high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel COVID-19 pandemic spread quickly and continuously influenced global societies. As a vulnerable population that accounted for the highest percentage of deaths from the pandemic, older adults have experienced huge life-altering challenges and increased risks of mental problems during the pandemic. Empirical evidence is needed to develop effective strategies to promote preventive measures and mitigate the adverse psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the behavioral responses (i.e., preventive behaviors, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption) and mental responses (i.e., depression and loneliness) towards the COVID-19 pandemic among Chinese older adults. A further aim was to identify the associations among demographics, behavioral responses, and mental responses. Using a convenience sampling approach, 516 older adults were randomly recruited from five cities of Hubei province in China. Results of the cross-sectional survey showed that 11.7% of participants did not adhere to the WHO recommended preventive measures, while 37.6% and 8.3% of participants decreased physical activity and fruit–vegetable consumption respectively. For mental responses, 30.8% and 69.2% of participants indicated significantly depressive symptoms and severe loneliness, respectively. Participants' behavioral and mental responses differed significantly in several demographics, such as age group, living situation, marital status, education levels, household income, medical conditions, and perceived health status. Demographic correlates and behavioral responses could significantly predicate the mental response with small-to-moderate effect sizes. This is the first study to investigate the characteristics of behavioral and mental responses of Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research findings may give new insights into future developments of effective interventions and policies to promote health among older adults in the fight against the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) has been chosen as a conserved molecular target to develop broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, a total of 5600 natural compounds available for virtual screening were tested to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. As a result, three natural compounds (pentagalloylglucose, malonylawobanin and gnetin E dihydride) were found to be potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, which confirms the theoretical and practical significance of this approach for the design of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]