COVID-19 has been diffusely pandemic around the world, characterized by massive morbidity and mortality. One of the remarkable threats associated with mortality may be the uncontrolled inflammatory processes, which were induced by SARS-CoV-2 in infected patients. As there are no specific drugs, exploiting safe and effective treatment strategies is an instant requirement to dwindle viral damage and relieve extreme inflammation simultaneously. Here, highly biocompatible glycyrrhizic acid (GA) nanoparticles (GANPs) were synthesized based on GA. In vitro investigations revealed that GANPs inhibit the proliferation of the murine coronavirus MHV-A59 and reduce proinflammatory cytokine production caused by MHV-A59 or the N protein of SARS-CoV-2. In an MHV-A59-induced surrogate mouse model of COVID-19, GANPs specifically target areas with severe inflammation, such as the lungs, which appeared to improve the accumulation of GANPs and enhance the effectiveness of the treatment. Further, GANPs also exert antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects, relieving organ damage and conferring a significant survival advantage to infected mice. Such a novel therapeutic agent can be readily manufactured into feasible treatment for COVID-19.

It is the first time a non-viral gene vector has been combined with an ASO targeted to activated macrophages in the treatment of CD. The inhibition of TNFalpha by this strategy represents a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of CD.

Objectives Recent rampant spread of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes has highlighted the concerns around nursing homes’ ability to contain the spread of infections. The ability of nursing homes to invest in quality improvement initiatives may depend on resource availability. In this study, we sought to examine whether lower profit margins, as a proxy for lack of resources, are associated with persistent infection control citations. Design We conducted a retrospective study. Setting and Participants Medicare-certified nursing homes in the US with financial and facility characteristics data available (n=12,194). Methods We combined facility-level data on Medicare-certified nursing home profit margins from Medicare Cost Reports with deficiency citation data from Nursing Home Compare (2017-2019) and facility characteristics data from LTCFocus.org . We descriptively analyzed infection control citations by profit margins quintiles. We used logistic regressions to examine the relationship between profit margin quintiles and citations for infection prevention and control, adjusting for facility and market characteristics. Results About three-fourths of all facilities received deficiency citations for infection prevention and control during 1 or more years from 2017 to 2019 with about 10% of facilities cited in all 3 years. Facilities in the highest profit margin quintile had 7.6% of facilities with citations for infection prevention and control in each of the 3 years compared with 8.1%, 10.0%, 10.7%, and 13.7% for facilities in the fourth, third, second, and first quintiles of profit margins, respectively. Multivariable regressions showed that facilities with the lowest profit margins (first quintile) had 54.3% higher odds of being cited in at least 1 year and 87.6% higher odds of being cited in each of the 3 years compared with facilities with the highest profit margins (fifth quintile). Conclusions and Implications Our findings indicate that nursing homes may need more resources to prevent citations for infection prevention and control.

This scoping review analyzes the research gaps of three diseases: schistosomiasis japonica, malaria and echinococcosis. Based on available data in the P.R. China, we highlight the gaps between control capacity and prevalence levels, and between diagnostic/drug development and population need for treatment at different stages of the national control programme. After reviewing the literature from 848 original studies and consultations with experts in the field, the gaps were identified as follows. Firstly, the malaria research gaps include (i) deficiency of active testing in the public community and no appropriate technique to evaluate elimination, (ii) lack of sensitive diagnostic tools for asymptomatic patients, (iii) lack of safe drugs for mass administration. Secondly, gaps in research of schistosomiasis include (i) incongruent policy in the implementation of integrated control strategy for schistosomiasis, (ii) lack of effective tools for Oncomelania sp. snail control, (iii) lack of a more sensitive and cheaper diagnostic test for large population samples, (iv) lack of new drugs in addition to praziquantel. Thirdly, gaps in research of echinococcosis include (i) low capacity in field epidemiology studies, (ii) lack of sanitation improvement studies in epidemic areas, (iii) lack of a sensitivity test for early diagnosis, (iv) lack of more effective drugs for short-term treatment. We believe these three diseases can eventually be eliminated in mainland China if all the research gaps are abridged in a short period of time.

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