Facing new fears during the COVID-19 pandemic: The State of America’s mental health

ObjectiveCOVID-19 is rearranging our society with fear and worry about the novel coronavirus impacting the mental health of Americans. The current study examines the intersection of COVID-19 fear, worries and perceived threat with social vulnerabilities and mental health consequences, namely anxiety and depressive symptomatology.MethodsUsing an online platform, a national sample (n = 10, 368) of U.S. adults was surveyed during the week of March 23, 2020. The sample was post-strata weighted to ensure adequate representation of the U.S. population based on population estimates for gender, race/ethnicity, income, age, and geography.ResultsFear and worry are not distributed equally across the country; rather they are concentrated in places where the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is found. Additionally, data highlight significant differences in the subjective perception of distress across groups with varying social vulnerabilities. Women, Hispanics, Asians, families with children under 18, and foreign-born respondents reported higher levels of subjective fear and worry compared to their counterparts. Finally, even after controlling for social vulnerability, subjective assessments of distress were positive, and significantly related to anxiety and depressive symptomatology; prior mental health research from China and Europe confirm what others have begun to document in the United States.ConclusionsThis preliminary work provides practitioners with a glimpse of what lies ahead, which individuals and communities may be the most vulnerable, and what types of strategic interventions might help to address a wide range of mental health consequences for Americans in the months and years ahead.     

Gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations of COVID-19 infection: Lessons for practitioners

Originating from Wuhan in China, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread globally within months and was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization in March 2020, making it one of the biggest healthcare calamities of our time. As more data on COVID-19 infection became available, what was initially thought to be a simple respiratory illness was found to be more complex. Many extra-pulmonary manifestations are now frequently reported for COVID-19 in available literature, most commonly gastrointestinal and hepatopancreato-biliary manifestations. Due to early scarcity of data, extra pulmonary manifestations were initially overlooked and may have contributed to nosocomial spread of the infection. Practitioners, especially gastroenterologists, who frequently encounter patients with these symptoms, need to be aware of them. This can not only help minimize the nosocomial spread, ensure safety of provider but also help conserve already stretched-thin healthcare resources. A tremendous amount of COVID-19 related literature is getting added to the growing pool every day, making it difficult for providers to follow. The aim of our review is to summarize the available evidence for gastrointestinal and hepatopancreatobiliary manifestations of COVID-19. We here briefly discussed the possible pathophysiologic mechanism for these manifestations and summarized the recommendations put forward by multiple gastrointestinal societies regarding safe and effective clinical practice during the ongoing pandemic.     

安徽省阜阳市新型冠状病毒肺炎普通型及重型病例临床特征分析

目的 分析普通型及重型新型冠状病毒肺炎病例的临床特征,探讨重型/危重型病例相关危险因素。方法 回顾性分析阜阳市第二人民医院2020年1月20日—2月10日期间住院治疗的125例新型冠状病毒肺炎确诊病例的临床特点,比较疾病不同分型患者的相关临床指标。结果 125例中发热116例,平均最高体温为（38.38±0.62） ℃,肺部干湿性啰音12例;发病到就诊时间（5.90±3.32）d;影像学示双侧多发病变103例,淡片状或片絮状阴影87例,48 h进展迅速者25例;血白细胞总数( 5.12±1.95)×10⁹/L,淋巴细胞计数(1.33±0.66)×10⁹/L,C反应蛋白(28.00±36.28) mg/L,降钙素原(0.09±0.32) ng/mL,血清淀粉样蛋白A (102.39±81.41) mg/L,白细胞介素-6( 33.94±64.00) pg/ mL。重型/危重型组与普通型组的年龄、最高体温、呼吸频率、心率、指脉氧饱和度、淋巴细胞计数、C反应蛋白、血清淀粉样蛋白A和白细胞介素-6等比较,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论 新型冠状病毒肺炎症状多而体征少为其临床特征,淋巴细胞计数多减少,影像多示双肺广泛分布浸润阴影。及早识别重型/危重型病例的预警征象,以有效减少重型/危重型病例的 发生。     

Examining persuasive message type to encourage staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and social lockdown: A randomized controlled study in Japan

ObjectiveBehavioral change is the only prevention against the COVID-19 pandemic until vaccines become available. This is the first study to examine the most persuasive message type in terms of narrator difference in encouraging people to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and social lockdown.MethodsParticipants (n = 1,980) were randomly assigned to five intervention messages (from a governor, a public health expert, a physician, a patient, and a resident of an outbreak area) and a control message. Intention to stay at home before and after reading messages was assessed. A one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s or Games–Howell test was conducted.ResultsCompared with other messages, the message from a physician significantly increased participants’ intention to stay at home in areas with high numbers of people infected (versus a governor, p = .002; an expert, p = .023; a resident, p = .004).ConclusionThe message from a physician―which conveyed the crisis of overwhelmed hospitals and consequent risk of people being unable to receive treatment―increased the intent to stay at home the most.Practice implicationsHealth professionals and media operatives may be able to encourage people to stay at home by disseminating the physicians’ messages through media and the internet.     

房颤中心房钾离子通道重构机制及相关药物的研究进展

心房颤动(简称房颤)是临床上最常见的持续性快速心律失常之一,可以引起心房内血栓、脑栓塞等严重并发症,是我国70岁以上老年人发病率较高、致死率较高的一种疾病。房颤的发生机制较为复杂,大量研究表明,心脏离子钾通道重构在房颤的发生和持续存在中发挥极其重要的作用。作用靶点位于钾离子通道的药物已应用于心房颤动,虽有一定的疗效但仍存在效果欠佳,并发症较多等缺点,现阶段关于心房钾离子通道重构及新型钾离子通道药物已经成为房颤研究中的热点之一。     

Novel Mutations Responsible for α-Thalassemia in Iranian Families

α-Thalassemia (α-thal) is usually caused by deletions on the α-globin gene cluster and the role of point mutations is less well investigated. In the present study, a total of 1048 individuals with hypochromic microcytic anemia, who did not present the most common α-thal deletions, were referred for α-globin gene DNA sequencing. The nucleotide changes were studied and a total of five new mutations was identified, of which three were located on the α2 gene [codon7 (Lys→Stop), codon 34 (Leu→Pro) and codon 83 (Leu→Arg)] and two on the α1 gene [IVS-I-116 (A>G) and codon 44 (+C)]. These novel mutations not only explain new findings by molecular analysis of the α-globin gene but also have clinical importance due to their changes in α-globin production in means of decreased hemoglobin (Hb) related values. Moreover, considerations of its role in combination with other mutations, and the possibility of causing Hb H (β4) are yet to be studied.