Absence of Vaccine-enhanced Disease With Unexpected Positive Protection Against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by Inactivated Vaccine Given Within 3 Days of Virus Challenge in Syrian Hamster Model.

Background: Mass vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is ongoing amidst widespread transmission during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Disease phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2 exposure occurring around the time of vaccine administration have not been described.

Methods: Two-dose (14 days apart) vaccination regimen with formalin-inactivated whole virion SARS-CoV-2 in golden Syrian hamster model was established.

Field-stepped ultra-wideline NMR at up to 36 T: On the inequivalence between field and frequency stepping.

Field-stepped NMR spectroscopy at up to 36 T using the series-connected hybrid (SCH) magnet at the U.S. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is demonstrated for acquiring ultra-wideline powder spectra of nuclei with very large quadrupolar interactions.

Repurposing of Miltefosine as an Adjuvant for Influenza Vaccine.

We previously reported that topical imiquimod can improve the immunogenicity of the influenza vaccine. This study investigated another FDA-approved drug, miltefosine (MTF), as a vaccine adjuvant. Mice immunized with an influenza vaccine with or without MTF adjuvant were challenged by a lethal dose of influenza virus 3 or 7 days after vaccination.

O solid-state NMR at ultrahigh magnetic field of 35.2 T: Resolution of inequivalent oxygen sites in different phases of MOF MIL-53(Al).

MIL-53(Al) is a member of the most extensively studied metal-organic framework (MOF) families owing to its "flexible" framework and superior stability. O solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy is an ideal site-specific characterization tool as it probes local oxygen environments. Because oxygen local structure is often altered during phase change, O SSNMR can be used to follow phase transitions.

Infection control challenges in setting up community isolation and treatment facilities for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Implementation of directly observed environmental disinfection.

Background: Extensive environmental contamination by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported in hospitals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We report our experience with the practice of directly observed environmental disinfection (DOED) in a community isolation facility (CIF) and a community treatment facility (CTF) in Hong Kong.

Methods: The CIF, with 250 single-room bungalows in a holiday camp, opened on July 24, 2020, to receive step-down patients from hospitals.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong and in residents evacuated from Hubei province, China: a multicohort study.

Background: The role of subclinical severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in perpetuating the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown because population seroprevalence data are absent. We aimed to establish the sensitivity and specificity of our enzyme immunoassay and microneutralisation assay, and the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong before and after the pandemic, as well as in Hong Kong residents evacuated from Hubei province, China.

Methods: We did a multicohort study in a hospital and university in Hong Kong.

Coronavirus Disease-19: An Interim Evidence Synthesis of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (Waidid).

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving, highly transmissible, and potentially lethal pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of June 11 2020, more than 7,000,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, and more than 400,000 patients have died, affecting at least 188 countries. While literature on the disease is rapidly accumulating, an integrated, multinational perspective on clinical manifestations, immunological effects, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19 can be of global benefit.

Creative thinking facilitates perspective taking.

The authors propose that an individual's disposition for perspective taking may be facilitated by creative thinking, which involves a cognitive procedure with shifting angles and generating multiple solutions to a problem. Specifically, engaging in creative thinking in an incidental situation may activate a general procedure of changing perspectives, giving rise to a perspective-shifting mindset, which enhances an individual's tendency to take the perspective of targets described in a subsequently encountered, unrelated message, and this consequently affects the message's impact. A pilot study shows that creativity personality is positively correlated with the tendency toward spatial and conceptual perspective taking.

Intra-host non-synonymous diversity at a neutralizing antibody epitope of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein N-terminal domain.

Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 has evolved rapidly into several genetic clusters. However, data on mutations during the course of infection are scarce. This study aims to determine viral genome diversity in serial samples of COVID-19 patients.

Thyroid Dysfunction in Relation to Immune Profile, Disease Status, and Outcome in 191 Patients with COVID-19.

Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related thyroiditis is increasingly recognized. The role of thyroid autoimmunity and SARS-CoV-2 viral load in SARS-CoV-2-related thyroid dysfunction is unclear. We evaluated the thyroid function of a cohort of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, in relation to their clinical features, and biochemical, immunological, and inflammatory markers.

O NMR Studies of Yeast Ubiquitin in Aqueous Solution and in the Solid State.

We report a general method for amino acid-type specific O-labeling of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. In particular, we have prepared several [1- C, O]-labeled yeast ubiquitin (Ub) samples including Ub-[1- C, O]Gly, Ub-[1- C, O]Tyr, and Ub-[1- C, O]Phe using the auxotrophic E. coli strain DL39 GlyA λDE3 (aspC tyrB ilvE glyA λDE3).

SARS-CoV-2 Induces a More Robust Innate Immune Response and Replicates Less Efficiently Than SARS-CoV in the Human Intestines: An Ex Vivo Study With Implications on Pathogenesis of COVID-19.

Background And Aims: Besides prominent respiratory involvement, gastrointestinal manifestations are commonly reported in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. We compared infection of ex vivo human intestinal tissues by SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV with respect to their replication kinetics and immune activation profile.

Methods: Human intestinal tissues were obtained from patients while undergoing surgical operations at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.

Treatment of coronavirus disease 2019.

Purpose Of Review: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious and potentially lethal pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). No specific antiviral treatment is currently available. The purpose of this review is to highlight the main repurposed drug treatments with in-vitro or in-vivo efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2.

Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Platform to Study SARS-CoV-2 Related Myocardial Injury.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with myocardial injury, but there is a paucity of experimental platforms for the condition.

Methods and results: Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) infected by SARS-CoV-2 for 3 days ceased beating and exhibited cytopathogenic changes with reduced viability. Active viral replication was evidenced by an increase in supernatant SARS-CoV-2 and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocaspid protein within hiPSC-CMs.

Serum Antibody Profile of a Patient With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Reinfection.

We recently reported a patient with coronavirus disease 2019 reinfection. Here, we show that serum neutralizing antibodies could be detected during the first episode but not at the presentation of the second episode. During reinfection, neutralizing antibodies and high avidity immunoglobulin G were found within 8 days after hospitalization, whereas immunoglobulin M response was absent.

Low-power STMAS - breaking through the limit of large quadrupolar interactions in high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

An STMAS NMR experiment requiring significantly lower rf fields is presented, allowing acquisition of high-resolution spectra for half-integer spins regardless of the magnitude of their quadrupolar interaction. The experiment relies on frequency crossings induced by sample spinning during 'long' rf pulses to coherently cover the satellite-transitions efficiently.

Case of "relapsing" COVID-19 in a kidney transplant recipient.

Clinical outcomes of COVID-19 vary considerably between patients. Little was known about the clinical course and optimal management of immunosuppressed patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. We report a kidney transplant recipient with COVID-19 who presented with pneumonitis and acute kidney injury (AKI).

Development and validation of risk prediction models for COVID-19 positivity in a hospital setting.

Objectives: To develop: (1) two validated risk prediction models for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) positivity using readily available parameters in a general hospital setting; (2) nomograms and probabilities to allow clinical utilisation.

Methods: Patients with and without COVID-19 were included from 4 Hong Kong hospitals. The database was randomly split into 2:1: for model development database (n = 895) and validation database (n = 435).

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival secretions from patients without ocular symptoms.

Purpose: To evaluate the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in conjunctival secretions from patients without ocular symptoms.

Methods: Conjunctival swabs were prospectively collected from laboratory-confirmed Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients without ocular symptoms for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and viral culture.

Results: A total of 158 conjunctival swabs were obtained from 49 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Short- and potential long-term adverse health outcomes of COVID-19: a rapid review.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in millions of patients infected worldwide and indirectly affecting even more individuals through disruption of daily living. Long-term adverse outcomes have been reported with similar diseases from other coronaviruses, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Emerging evidence suggests that COVID-19 adversely affects different systems in the human body.

Improved Detection of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by Microsphere-Based Antibody Assay.

Currently available COVID-19 antibody tests using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) or immunochromatographic assay have variable sensitivity and specificity. Here, we developed and evaluated a novel microsphere-based antibody assay (MBA) for detecting immunoglobulin G (IgG) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleoprotein (NP) and spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD). The seropositive cutoff value was set using a cohort of 294 anonymous serum specimens collected in 2018.

-Noise eliminated dipolar heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) spectroscopy is one of the key tools in the arsenal of the solid-state NMR spectroscopist to probe chemical and spatial proximities between two different nuclei and enhance spectral resolution. Dipolar heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (D-HMQC) is a powerful technique that can be potentially utilized to obtain 1H detected 2D HETCOR solid-state NMR spectra of any NMR active nucleus. A long-standing problem in 1H detected D-HMQC solid-state NMR experiments is the presence of t1-noise which reduces sensitivity and impedes spectral interpretation.

Cytogenetic aberration in mixed-phenotype acute leukemia in children: A single-center retrospective review.

Background: Mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) poses a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. No consensus exists on the strategy to assign patients with MPAL to either lymphoid- or myeloid-directed treatment. Thus, a better understanding of the characteristics of MPAL is a crucial unmet need.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Re-infection by a Phylogenetically Distinct Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Strain Confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing.

Background: Waning immunity occurs in patients who have recovered from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, it remains unclear whether true re-infection occurs.

Methods: Whole genome sequencing was performed directly on respiratory specimens collected during 2 episodes of COVID-19 in a patient.