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This page contains a variety of information related to COVID-19 available from MDPI, including journal articles, special issues, and preprints, among others.
Numerous factors contributed to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease recovery and death rates. In many countries, socioeconomics, morbidities, the experience of symptoms and access to healthcare services are major contributors to recovery and death rates. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to determine the
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Numerous factors contributed to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease recovery and death rates. In many countries, socioeconomics, morbidities, the experience of symptoms and access to healthcare services are major contributors to recovery and death rates. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to determine the morbidity, mortality, survival probability, and risk factors associated with COVID-19 among children in the Free State province, South Africa. A total of 846 patients’ records were used in the study. Using SPSS version 28 software, survival probability was determined using Kaplan–Meier estimation curves and Cox regression was used to determine the effect of sociodemographics and clinical manifestation information on time of death. The COVID-19 mortality rate was 13.12% in our study. There were more female patients (60%) than male patients (40%). In total, 71 patients had two or more morbidities, while 414 patients were asymptomatic. Patients between 5 and 18 years old were at twice the risk of dying of COVID-19, and male children were at a higher risk as well. Having more than one symptom was also a risk for dying in this study. Severe COVID-19 is attributed to numerous factors, and these are closely associated with surrounding environments and public health systems. The findings are important for the clinical management of similar diseases and circumstances in the future.
Full article
Assessing the increased impacts/risks of urban heatwaves generated by stressors such as a pandemic period, such as the one experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, is complicated by the lack of comprehensive information that allows for an analytical determination of the alteration produced on
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Assessing the increased impacts/risks of urban heatwaves generated by stressors such as a pandemic period, such as the one experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, is complicated by the lack of comprehensive information that allows for an analytical determination of the alteration produced on climate risks/impacts. The assessment of the increased impacts/risks of urban heatwaves generated by stressors such as those due to the presence of a pandemic is complicated by the lack of comprehensive information that allows for the functional determination of the increased impacts/risks due to such stressors. On the other hand, it is essential for decision makers to understand the complex interactions between climate risks and the environmental and socioeconomic conditions generated by pandemics in an urban context, where specific restrictions on citizens’ livability are in place to protect their health. This study aims to address this need by proposing a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making framework in a GIS environment that intuitively allows experts to assess the increase in heatwave risk factors for the population generated by pandemics. This assessment is accomplished by varying the values in the pairwise comparison matrices of the criteria that contribute to the construction of physical and socioeconomic vulnerability, exposure, and the hazard scenario. The framework was tested to assess heatwave impacts/risks on the population in the study area, which includes the municipalities of the metropolitan city of Naples, Italy, an urban area with high residential density where numerous summer heatwaves have been recorded over the last decade. The findings indicate a rise in impact/risks during pandemic times, particularly in municipalities with the greatest resident population density, situated close to Naples.
Full article
This study investigates the glycosylation patterns of serum IgG antibodies in relation to COVID-19 infection and vaccination, highlighting the potential of specific glycan profiles as biomarkers for immune responses. Using Spearman correlation analysis, distinct associations among glycan levels and various clinical laboratory parameters
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This study investigates the glycosylation patterns of serum IgG antibodies in relation to COVID-19 infection and vaccination, highlighting the potential of specific glycan profiles as biomarkers for immune responses. Using Spearman correlation analysis, distinct associations among glycan levels and various clinical laboratory parameters were identified, revealing complex, non-linear interactions that influence immune dynamics. Significant differences were observed in sialylated glycan profiles across patient groups, indicating that vaccination and natural infection elicit unique immune mechanisms and suggesting that vaccination induces favorable glycosylation changes. Notably, high-mannose glycans were found to correlate with other glycan types, underscoring their critical role in the immune response and suggesting their potential as biomarkers to differentiate between infection- and vaccination-induced immunity. The findings suggest that understanding these glycosylation dynamics may enhance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, providing valuable tools for differentiating between immune responses elicited by infection and vaccination. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of glycosylation’s impact on immune function in the context of COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of specific glycan markers, such as sialylated and high-mannose structures, in clinical applications.
Full article
Background and Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 produces potentially pathogenic molecules, such as single-stranded RNA and spike proteins, which can potentially activate microglial cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 and mRNA vaccines can cause neurotoxicity directly or through
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Background and Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 produces potentially pathogenic molecules, such as single-stranded RNA and spike proteins, which can potentially activate microglial cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 and mRNA vaccines can cause neurotoxicity directly or through microglial involvement. Materials and Methods: Primary cerebellar granule cell cultures isolated from Wistar rats and organotypic hippocampal slice cultures from transgenic C57BL/6J mice were used in the experiments. Imaging and quantitative analysis of cell viability, proliferation, and phagocytic activity were performed using light and fluorescence microscopy. Results: The exogenous SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein at 50 µg/mL concentration induced neuronal cell death in neuronal–glial co-cultures and stimulated microglial proliferation during the first 3 days of exposure without an effect on inflammatory cytokine secretion. Single application of Tozinameran/Riltozinameran and Original/Omicron BA. 4-5 vaccines did not affect neuronal viability and total neuronal number in cell co-cultures after 7 days of exposure. In contrast, three repeated treatments with mRNA vaccines at 6 ng/mL caused microglial proliferation without affecting microglial phagocytosis and TNF-α release. In organotypic brain slice cultures, only Tozinameran/Riltozinameran stimulated microglial cell proliferation in female brain slices, while male brain slices remained unaffected by both vaccines, indicating sex-dependent effects. Conclusions: The findings suggest that mRNA vaccines do not exert neurotoxic effects in primary neuronal–glial co-cultures, but induce microglial proliferation, particularly in female brains in the absence of inflammatory cytokine release. SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein at high concentrations directly induces neuronal death.
Full article
The study of coronaviruses has undergone unprecedented acceleration over recent years, driven largely by the global impact of SARS-CoV-2 and growing recognition of the extraordinary diversity and zoonotic potential of coronaviruses across species [...]
Full article
The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially the Omicron strain with its heightened transmissibility, has posed ongoing challenges to the efficacy of existing vaccine and drug regimens. This situation highlights the pressing demand for antiviral drugs employing novel mechanisms of action. Pentacyclic triterpenoids
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The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially the Omicron strain with its heightened transmissibility, has posed ongoing challenges to the efficacy of existing vaccine and drug regimens. This situation highlights the pressing demand for antiviral drugs employing novel mechanisms of action. Pentacyclic triterpenoids (PTs), a structurally varied group of compounds derived from plants, exhibit both antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities, making them attractive candidates for further therapeutic development. These natural products, along with their saponin derivatives, show broad-spectrum inhibitory effects against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants (from Alpha to Omicron) via interactions with multiple targets, such as the spike protein, main protease (Mpro), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), and inflammatory signaling pathways. This review consolidates recent findings on PTs and their saponins, emphasizing their influence on the key structural features required for inhibiting viral attachment, membrane fusion, reverse transcription, and protease function. We systematically summarized the structure–activity relationships and their antiviral results of PTs based on different target proteins in existing studies. Furthermore, this work points toward new strategies for designing multi-target PT-based inhibitors with improved efficacy against Omicron and future variants.
Full article
The first webinar in the series, held on 17 April 2020, saw both Prof. Dr. Antoine Flahault, Director of the Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Prof. Dr. Evelyne Bischof, Associate Professor, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, China and Research physician, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland speak on this topic.
The second webinar in the series, entitled “Coronaviruses: history, replication, innate immune antagonism”, saw Prof. Dr. Susan R. Weiss, Professor of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania speak on this topic.
WEBINAR 3: Could the COVID-19 Crisis be the Opportunity to Make Cities Carbon Neutral, Liveable and Healthy
The third webinar in this series was presented by Prof. Dr. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, a world leading expert in environmental exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health risk/impact assessment with a strong focus and interest on healthy urban living.
WEBINAR 4: COVID-19 - Global Supply Chains and the SDGs
For the fourth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Max Bergman, Dr. Dorothea Schostok and Prof. Dr. Patrick Paul Walsh gave a presentation on Global Supply Chains and the SDGs.
WEBINAR 5: The New Role of Family Physicians in Times of COVID-19
The fifth webinar of the COVID-19 Series saw Prof. Dr. Christos Lionis discuss the new role of family physicians that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WEBINAR 6: Survey on Symptoms/Signs, Protective Measures, Level of Awareness and Perception Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak among Dentists
In the sixth webinar of this series, Prof. Dr. Guglielmo Campus and Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia present and discuss the risk and the preventions that can and should be taken by dentists during this pandemic.
WEBINAR 7: Living with COVID-19: An Early Intervention Therapeutic Strategy to Control the Pandemic
The seventh webinar of the COVID-19 series, Dr. Hamid Merchant discussed the different therapeutic strategies that can be adopted in the early stages of the infection.
WEBINAR 8: Impact of COVID-19 on Routine Immunization, Reproduction and Pregnancy Outcome
For the eighth COVID-19 webinar, Prof. Dr. Jon Øyvind Odland discussed the effect that COVID-19 seems to have on pregnant women; whereas Prof. Dr. Giovanni Gabutti discussed the role of routine immunization as a way of fighting COVID-19.
