Pfam is a large collection of protein multiple sequence alignments and profile hidden Markov models. Pfam is available on the World Wide Web in the UK at http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Software/Pfam/, in Sweden at http://www.cgb.ki.se/Pfam/, in France at http://pfam.jouy.inra.fr/ and in the US at http://pfam.wustl.edu/. The latest version (6.6) of Pfam contains 3071 families, which match 69% of proteins in SWISS-PROT 39 and TrEMBL 14. Structural data, where available, have been utilised to ensure that Pfam families correspond with structural domains, and to improve domain-based annotation. Predictions of non-domain regions are now also included. In addition to secondary structure, Pfam multiple sequence alignments now contain active site residue mark-up. New search tools, including taxonomy search and domain query, greatly add to the functionality and usability of the Pfam resource.

In late December 2019 an outbreak of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing severe pneumonia (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. A common finding in most COVID-19 patients is high D-dimer levels which are associated with a worse prognosis. We aimed to evaluate coagulation abnormalities via traditional tests and whole blood thromboelastometry profiles in a group of 22 (mean age 67 ± 8 years, M:F 20:2) consecutive patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Padova University Hospital for acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19. Cases showed significantly higher fibrinogen and D-dimer plasma levels versus healthy controls (p < 0.0001 in both comparisons). Interestingly enough, markedly hypercoagulable thromboelastometry profiles were observed in COVID-19 patients, as reflected by shorter Clot Formation Time (CFT) in INTEM (p = 0.0002) and EXTEM (p = 0.01) and higher Maximum Clot Firmness (MCF) in INTEM, EXTEM and FIBTEM (p < 0.001 in all comparisons). In conclusion, COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure present a severe hypercoagulability rather than consumptive coagulopathy. Fibrin formation and polymerization may predispose to thrombosis and correlate with a worse outcome.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has afflicted tens of millions of people, fostering and unprecedent effort in vaccine development and distribution. Healthcare workers (HCW) play a key role in vaccine promotion and patient guidance, and it is likely that hesitancy among this population will have a major impact on the adoption of a successful immunization policy. To investigate HCW attitudes towards anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) vaccination, we developed an anonymous online cross-sectional survey. 1723 Italian HCW responded. Overall, 1155 (67%) intended to be vaccinated, while 443 (26%) were not sure and 125 (7%) declared refusal. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with hesitancy were using Facebook as the main information source and being a non-physician HCW, while predictors of acceptance included younger age, being in close contact with high-risk groups and having received flu vaccination during the 2019–2020 season. Reasons for hesitancy included lack of trust in vaccine safety (85%) and receiving little (78%) or conflicting (69%) information about vaccines. According to our results, adequate investment in vaccine education for healthcare personnel appears to be urgently needed, prioritizing non-physicians and information quality spread through social media. We hope that our data could help governments and policy-makers to target communication in the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Background: The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a relevant threat for humans worldwide. Abnormality in liver function tests (LFTs) has been commonly observed in patients with COVID-19, but there is controversy on its clinical significance. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, the characteristics and the clinical impact of abnormal LFTs in hospitalized, non-critically ill patients with COVID-19. Methods: In this multicentre, retrospective study, we collected data about 565 inpatients with COVID-19. Data on LFTs were collected at admission and every 7 ± 2 days during the hospitalization. The primary outcome was a composite endpoint of death or transfer to intensive care unit (ICU). Results: Upon admission 329 patients (58%) had LFTs abnormality. Patients with abnormal LFTs had more severe inflammation and higher degree of organ dysfunction than those without. During hospitalization, patients with abnormal LFTs had a higher rate of transfer to ICU (20% vs 8%; P < .001), acute kidney injury (22% vs 13%, P = .009), need for mechanical ventilation (14% vs 6%; P = .005) and mortality (21% vs 11%; P = .004) than those without. In multivariate analysis, patients with abnormal LFTs had a higher risk of the composite endpoint of death or transfer to ICU (OR = 3.53; P < .001). During the hospitalization, 86 patients developed de novo LFTs abnormality, which was associated with the use of tocilizumab, lopinavir/ritonavir and acetaminophen and not clearly associated with the composite endpoint. | 2395 PIANO et Al.

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