Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “COVID 19”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Sandia's Research in Support of COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Computing and Information Sciences

This report summarizes the goals and findings of eight research projects conducted under the Computing and Information Sciences (CIS) Research Foundation and related to the COVID- 19 pandemic. The projects were all formulated in response to Sandia's call for proposals for rapid-response research with the potential to have a positive impact on the global health emergency. Six of the projects in the CIS portfolio focused on modeling various facets of disease spread, resource requirements, testing programs, and economic impact. The two remaining projects examined the use of web-crawlers and text analytics to allow rapid identification of articles relevant to specific technical questions, and categorization of the reliability of content. The portfolio has collectively produced methods and findings that are being applied by a range of state, regional, and national entities to support enhanced understanding and prediction of the pandemic's spread and its impacts.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

E-PiPEline: Face Shields and Face Coverings Using Commonly Available Materials

The Center for Disease Control has recommended that the public should wear cloth face coverings in public settings . Face coverings and face shields can be made by using Commonly Available Materials (CAMs). As part of the Sandia COVID - 19 LDRD effort (funded under the Materials Science Investment Area), the Sandia E - PiPEline task evaluated design options for face coverings and face shields considering their effectiveness, durability, build difficulty, build cost, and comfort. Observations from this investigation are presented here to provide guidelines for home construction of face coverings and face shields

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evidence of Completion of Milestone 3: Experimental Testbed

Construction and deployment of the experimental testbed encountered scheduling delays, and completion was subsequently further delayed by curtailment of LANL operations due to the COVID–19 pandemic. Between March and October, LANL was in a state of “Limited Operations” such that only certain “mission–critical” work was performed with approximately 25% on–site staffing. In spite of this, much of the lab space preparation was executed and the five initial model house” units were constructed and installed during this period. Still, the pace of construction was impacted by difficulty in coordinating personnel and minimizing contact between workers.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

ASMT-783246, Assessment Report for Department 635 Analysis of Fiscal Year 2021 ES&H Events

This assessment analyzes Environment, Safety, and Health (ES&H) occurrences and Non-Occurrence Trackable Events (NOTEs) from fiscal year (FY) 2021. For this report, assessors used three primary methods for categorizing occurrence and NOTE data: issue categorization, DOE reporting criteria groups, and DOE cause codes. The FY 2021 Q1 occurrence and NOTE total was the lowest since this type of analysis began in FY 2018 Q4, following a downward trend from the FY 2019 Q3 high point. The FY 2021 Q2 occurrence and NOTE total was nearly double the FY 2021 Q1 total; occurrence totals declined slightly in Q3 and Q4, while NOTE totals remained the same. NOTEs in each of the final three quarters were more than double the amount from Q1. This assessment resulted in one observation. As COVID-19 vaccination rates increase and COVID 19 impacts on operations decrease, the number of workers on-site and the amount of activity-level work will increase. With these changes, focused attention on the following areas related to work planning and controls may reduce the probability of future events, hazard identification and analysis, compliance with standards, formality of operations, and job scoping.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Defining Lipidomic Responses to Coronavirus Infection

Highly pathogenic human coronavirus infection can cause a severe atypical, rapid onset pneumonia with a mortality rate of up to 10% for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV 1), 35% for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or 1% for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2 causative agent of COVID 19). While medical countermeasures successfully controlled the worldwide SARS-CoV epidemic, the MERS-CoV epidemic is still ongoing and continues to be a concern for travelers in the Middle East and the multi-year SARS-CoV 2 pandemic underscore the importance of defining biomarkers that are diagnostic and/or predictive of severe disease outcomes for respiratory viruses. Systems biology approaches provide global snapshots of infection induced changes in host cells/tissues and provide extremely rich datasets for understanding host pathogen interactions. Metabolites, especially lipids, are critical for viral replication but less is understood about infection induced changes to lipids due to limits in lipid species detection and identification. To characterize how individual lipid species and proteins with lipid associated functions contribute to highly pathogenic human coronavirus replication and disease severity, existing datasets were probed to determine cell type specific lipid responses to MERS-CoV infection and verification studies were performed to determine if modification of the host lipid signature (by inhibiting enzymatic functions that produce specific lipid species) can perturb CoV replication in human lung cells. MERS-CoV infects human lung epithelial, endothelial and fibroblast cells. All three cell types were infected with MERS-CoV and samples collected to analyze lipids, proteins, metabolites, and transcripts from 12 to 48 hours post infection. Time matched mock-infected cells were collected in parallel for each cell type. Following sample and statistical analysis, functional enrichment and bioinformatic analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed lipids and proteins. Two lipid species were found to be significantly upregulated following MERS-CoV infection, ceramides, and triacylglycerol both of which are indicative of cells undergoing apoptotic cell death. In contrast, sphingomyelins (lipid molecules that can serve as a precursor for one pathway for ceramide synthesis) had significantly decreased expression in MERS-CoV infected cells. An inhibitor of acid sphingomyelinase (that converts sphingomyelin to ceramides and phosphorylcholine) reduced MERS-CoV replication suggesting that production of ceramides is key for successful viral replication and transmission. Acyl-CoA-synthetase 3 (ACSL3), the only protein whose function is lipid associated and had increased differential expression in our dataset, regulates the synthesis of triacylglycerol (increased expression). Inhibitors that directly block ACSL3 (Triacsin C) but not steps later in the triacylglycerol synthesis pathway (Etomoxir) inhibit MERS-CoV replication suggesting that triacylglycerol production and/or ACSL3 activity is also key for viral replication. ACSL3 expression is also upregulated in lung cancer cells and is predicted to promote continued cell viability which would also enhance viral replication. The differentially expressed lipid and lipid-associated protein species identified in our studies suggest that MERS-CoV infection is activating cellular death pathways to limit the number of cells that become infected but also stimulating the production of lipid-associated enzymes that can prolong host cell viability and the amount of time progeny virions can be produced and released. As the inhibitors that worked against MERS-CoV infection were also efficacious against SARS-CoV 2 infection, countermeasures that target these host pathways may provide novel ways to block highly pathogenic human coronavirus infection and/or prevent severe disease outcomes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Louisiana State University (Final Report)

LSU-IAC started in LSU’s College of Engineering in 2016 with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s IAC program. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the grant end date was extended from 8/31/2021 to 2/28/2022. In the 5-year performance period, LSU-IAC has conducted a total of 67 industrial assessments and trained a total number of 41 students. We have recommended 408 improvement measures with potential energy savings of 58,951,388 kWh and energy cost savings of $6,817,783 if implemented. Of the 41 students trained, 16 received DOE certificates.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Incorporation of Viral RNA Elements for Increased mRNA Stability Within Mammalian Cells to Prolong Nanobody Production

The development of protein-based pharmaceuticals has taken place for years, often finding roadblocks relevant to in vitro biomanufacturing, drug delivery, and drug half-life. Industrial and national laboratory focus has now shifted to messenger RNA (mRNA)-based pharmaceuticals, as mRNA can be manufactured and delivered more easily, and can lead to direct intracellular protein production. Artificial stabilization of the naturally transient mRNA is needed to prolong protein production by recipient cells. Incorporation of viral genome elements known as exoribonuclease-resistant RNA (xrRNA) should allow for this stabilization. To evaluate the effects of xrRNA on mRNA stability, fluorescent proteins are encoded within the mRNA of interest for easier detection through immunocytochemistry, microplate reader screening, and high-content confocal microscopy. As seen with the Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 vaccines, mRNA-based medical countermeasures can be powerful tools in service of public health and biodefense, and our work to improve mRNA stability should further enhance this promising new approach to medicine.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Path-Based Analysis of Infected Cell Line and COVID-19 Patient Transcriptome Reveals Novel Potential Targets and Drugs Against SARS-CoV-2

Most transcriptomic studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection have focused on differentially expressed genes, which do not necessarily reveal the genes mediating the transcriptomic changes. In contrast, exploiting curated biological network, our PathExt tool identifies central genes from the differentially active paths mediating global transcriptomic response. Here we apply PathExt to multiple cell line infection models of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses, as well as to COVID-19 patient-derived PBMCs. The central genes mediating SARS-CoV-2 response in cell lines were uniquely enriched for ATP metabolic process, G1/S transition, leukocyte activation and migration. In contrast, PBMC response reveals dysregulated cell-cycle processes. In PBMC, the most frequently central genes are associated with COVID-19 severity. Importantly, relative to differential genes, PathExt-identified genes show greater concordance with several benchmark anti-COVID-19 target gene sets. We propose six novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 targets ADCY2, ADSL, OCRL, TIAM1, PBK, and BUB1, and potential drugs targeting these genes, such as Bemcentinib, Phthalocyanine, and Conivaptan.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Trends in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines in the United States reported to V-safe during December 14, 2020—May 19, 2023

Introduction COVID-19 vaccines may be administered with other vaccines during the same healthcare visit. COVID-19 monovalent (Fall 2021) and bivalent (Fall 2022) vaccine recommendations coincided with annual seasonal influenza vaccination. Data describing the frequency of the co-administration of COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines are limited. Methods We used V-safe, a voluntary smartphone-based U.S. safety surveillance system established by the CDC, to describe trends in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines reported to V-safe during December 14, 2020 – May 19, 2023. Results Of the 21 million COVID-19 vaccinations reported to V-safe, 2.2% (459,817) were administered with at least 1 other vaccine. Co-administration most frequently occurred during the first week of October 2023 (27,092; 44.1%). Most reports of co-administration included influenza vaccine (393,003; 85.5%). Co-administration was most frequently reported for registrants aged 6 months-6 years (4,872; 4.4%). Conclusion Reports of co-administration to V-safe peaked during October 2023, when influenza vaccination most often occurs, possibly reflecting increased opportunities for multiple vaccinations and greater acceptability of the co-administration of COVID-19 vaccine with other vaccines, especially influenza vaccine.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

NSAID use and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients: a 38-center retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation but have been associated with complications in community-acquired pneumonia. Observations shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 suggested that ibuprofen was associated with an increased risk of adverse events in COVID-19 patients, but subsequent observational studies failed to demonstrate increased risk and in one case showed reduced risk associated with NSAID use. Methods A 38-center retrospective cohort study was performed that leveraged the harmonized, high-granularity electronic health record data of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative. A propensity-matched cohort of 19,746 COVID-19 inpatients was constructed by matching cases (treated with NSAIDs at the time of admission) and 19,746 controls (not treated) from 857,061 patients with COVID-19 available for analysis. The primary outcome of interest was COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients, which was classified as: moderate, severe, or mortality/hospice. Secondary outcomes were acute kidney injury (AKI), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), invasive ventilation, and all-cause mortality at any time following COVID-19 diagnosis. Results Logistic regression showed that NSAID use was not associated with increased COVID-19 severity (OR: 0.57 95% CI: 0.53–0.61). Analysis of secondary outcomes using logistic regression showed that NSAID use was not associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (OR 0.51 95% CI: 0.47–0.56), invasive ventilation (OR: 0.59 95% CI: 0.55–0.64), AKI (OR: 0.67 95% CI: 0.63–0.72), or ECMO (OR: 0.51 95% CI: 0.36–0.7). In contrast, the odds ratios indicate reduced risk of these outcomes, but our quantitative bias analysis showed E-values of between 1.9 and 3.3 for these associations, indicating that comparatively weak or moderate confounder associations could explain away the observed associations. Conclusions Study interpretation is limited by the observational design. Recording of NSAID use may have been incomplete. Our study demonstrates that NSAID use is not associated with increased COVID-19 severity, all-cause mortality, invasive ventilation, AKI, or ECMO in COVID-19 inpatients. A conservative interpretation in light of the quantitative bias analysis is that there is no evidence that NSAID use is associated with risk of increased severity or the other measured outcomes. Our results confirm and extend analogous findings in previous observational studies using a large cohort of patients drawn from 38 centers in a nationally representative multicenter database.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Higher education responses to COVID-19 in the United States: Evidence for the impacts of university policy

With a dataset of testing and case counts from over 1,400 institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States, we analyze the number of infections and deaths from SARS-CoV-2 in the counties surrounding these IHEs during the Fall 2020 semester (August to December, 2020). We find that counties with IHEs that remained primarily online experienced fewer cases and deaths during the Fall 2020 semester; whereas before and after the semester, these two groups had almost identical COVID-19 incidence. Additionally, we see fewer cases and deaths in counties with IHEs that reported conducting any on-campus testing compared to those that reported none. To perform these two comparisons, we used a matching procedure designed to create well-balanced groups of counties that are aligned as much as possible along age, race, income, population, and urban/rural categories—demographic variables that have been shown to be correlated with COVID-19 outcomes. We conclude with a case study of IHEs in Massachusetts—a state with especially high detail in our dataset—which further highlights the importance of IHE-affiliated testing for the broader community. The results in this work suggest that campus testing can itself be thought of as a mitigation policy and that allocating additional resources to IHEs to support efforts to regularly test students and staff would be beneficial to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in a pre-vaccine environment.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Zinc against COVID-19? Symptom surveillance and deficiency risk groups

A wide variety of symptoms is associated with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and these symptoms can overlap with other conditions and diseases. Knowing the distribution of symptoms across diseases and individuals can support clinical actions on timelines shorter than those for drug and vaccine development. Here, we focus on zinc deficiency symptoms, symptom overlap with other conditions, as well as zinc effects on immune health and mechanistic zinc deficiency risk groups. There are well-studied beneficial effects of zinc on the immune system including a decreased susceptibility to and improved clinical outcomes for infectious pathogens including multiple viruses. Zinc is also an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress agent, relevant to some severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. Unfortunately, zinc deficiency is common worldwide and not exclusive to the developing world. Lifestyle choices and preexisting conditions alone can result in zinc deficiency, and we compile zinc risk groups based on a review of the literature. It is also important to distinguish chronic zinc deficiency from deficiency acquired upon viral infection and immune response and their different supplementation strategies. Zinc is being considered as prophylactic or adjunct therapy for COVID-19, with 12 clinical trials underway, highlighting the relevance of this trace element for global pandemics. Using the example of zinc, we show that there is a critical need for a deeper understanding of essential trace elements in human health, and the resulting deficiency symptoms and their overlap with other conditions. This knowledge will directly support human immune health for decreasing susceptibility, shortening illness duration, and preventing progression to severe cases in the current and future pandemics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

A scalable method of applying heat and humidity for decontamination of N95 respirators during the COVID-19 crisis

A lack of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs) during the COVID-19 crisis has placed healthcare workers at risk. It is important for any N95 reuse strategy to determine the effects that proposed protocols would have on the physical functioning of the mask, as well as the practical aspects of implementation. Here we propose and implement a method of heating N95 respirators with moisture (85°C, 60-85% humidity). We test both mask filtration efficiency and fit to validate this process. Our tests focus on the 3M 1860, 3M 1870, and 3M 8210 Plus N95 models. After five cycles of the heating procedure, all three respirators pass both quantitative fit testing (score of >100) and show no degradation of mask filtration efficiency. We also test the Chen Heng V9501 KN95 and HKYQ N95 finding no degradation of mask filtration efficiency, however even for unheated masks these scored <50 for every fit test. The heating method presented here is scalable from individual masks to over a thousand a day with a single industrial convection oven, making this method practical for local application inside health-care facilities.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator: A parallel analysis to describe the use of Hydroxychloroquine with or without Azithromycin among hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant global threat. However, despite urgent need, there remains uncertainty surrounding best practices for pharmaceutical interventions to treat COVID-19. In particular, conflicting evidence has emerged surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, alone or in combination, for COVID-19. The COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator convened by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, in collaboration with Friends of Cancer Research, assembled experts from the health systems research, regulatory science, data science, and epidemiology to participate in a large parallel analysis of different data sets to further explore the effectiveness of these treatments. Methods: Electronic health record (EHR) and claims data were extracted from seven separate databases. Parallel analyses were undertaken on data extracted from each source. Each analysis examined time to mortality in hospitalized patients treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and the two in combination as compared to patients not treated with either drug. Cox proportional hazards models were used, and propensity score methods were undertaken to adjust for confounding. Frequencies of adverse events in each treatment group were also examined. Results: Neither hydroxychloroquine nor azithromycin, alone or in combination, were significantly associated with time to mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. No treatment groups appeared to have an elevated risk of adverse events. Conclusion: Administration of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and their combination appeared to have no effect on time to mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Continued research is needed to clarify best practices surrounding treatment of COVID-19.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

COVID-19-associated school closures and related efforts to sustain education and subsidized meal programs, United States, February 18-June 30, 2020

Pre-emptive school closures are frontline community mitigation measures recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for implementation during severe pandemics. This study describes the spatiotemporal patterns of publicly announced school closures implemented in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and assesses how public K-12 districts adjusted their methods of education delivery and provision of subsidized meals. During February 18–June 30, 2020, we used daily systematic media searches to identify publicly announced COVID-19–related school closures lasting ≥1 day in the United States (US). We also collected statewide school closure policies from state government websites. Data on distance learning and subsidized meal programs were collected from a stratified sample of 600 school districts. The first COVID-19–associated school closure occurred on February 27, 2020 in Washington state. By March 30, 2020, all but one US public school districts were closed, representing the first-ever nearly synchronous nationwide closure of public K-12 schools in the US. Approximately 100,000 public schools were closed for ≥8 weeks because of COVID-19, affecting >50 million K-12 students. Of 600 districts sampled, the vast majority offered distance learning (91.0%) and continued provision of subsidized meal programs (78.8%) during the closures. Despite the sudden and prolonged nature of COVID-19–associated school closures, schools demonstrated flexibility by implementing distance learning and alternate methods to continue subsidized meal programs.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis of mobility data to build contact networks for COVID-19

As social distancing policies and recommendations went into effect in response to COVID-19, people made rapid changes to the places they visit. These changes are clearly seen in mobility data, which records foot traffic using location trackers in cell phones. While mobility data is often used to extract the number of customers that visit a particular business or business type, it is the frequency and duration of concurrent occupancy at those sites that governs transmission. Understanding the way people interact at different locations can help target policies and inform contact tracing and prevention strategies. This paper outlines methods to extract interactions from mobility data and build networks that can be used in epidemiological models. Several measures of interaction are extracted: interactions between people, the cumulative interactions for a single person, and cumulative interactions that occur at particular businesses. Network metrics are computed to identify structural trends which show clear changes based on the timing of stay-at-home orders. Measures of interaction and structural trends in the resulting networks can be used to better understand potential spreading events, the percent of interactions that can be classified as close contacts, and the impact of policy choices to control transmission.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

National variability in Americans’ COVID-19 protective behaviors: Implications for vaccine roll-out

Protective behaviors such as mask wearing and physical distancing are critical to slow the spread of COVID-19, even in the context of vaccine scale-up. Understanding the variation in self-reported COVID-19 protective behaviors is critical to developing public health messaging. The purpose of the study is to provide nationally representative estimates of five self-reported COVID-19 protective behaviors and correlates of such behaviors. In this cross-sectional survey study of US adults, surveys were administered via internet and telephone. Adults were surveyed from April 30-May 4, 2020, a time of peaking COVID-19 incidence within the US. Participants were recruited from the probability-based AmeriSpeak® national panel. Brief surveys were completed by 994 adults, with 73.0% of respondents reported mask wearing, 82.7% reported physical distancing, 75.1% reported crowd avoidance, 89.8% reported increased hand-washing, and 7.7% reported having prior COVID-19 testing. Multivariate analysis (p critical value .05) indicates that women were more likely to report protective behaviors than men, as were those over age 60. Respondents who self-identified as having low incomes, histories of criminal justice involvement, and Republican Party affiliation, were less likely to report four protective behaviors, though Republicans and individuals with criminal justice histories were more likely to report having received COVID-19 testing. The majority of Americans engaged in COVID-19 protective behaviors, with low-income Americans, those with histories of criminal justice involvement, and self-identified Republicans less likely to engage in these preventive behaviors. Culturally competent public health messaging and interventions might focus on these latter groups to prevent future infections. These findings will remain highly relevant even with vaccines widely available, given the complementarities between vaccines and protective behaviors, as well as the many challenges in delivering vaccines.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗