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Abstract To identify the differences between COVID-19-associated and non-COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction (OD), we analyzed demographic and clinical characteristics based on the causative virus (COVID versus non-COVID groups) in patients with post-infectious olfactory dysfunction (PIOD) who underwent the olfactory questionnaire and olfactory function test. Out of 169 patients with PIOD, 99 were diagnosed with COVID-19 (COVID group), while 70 were not (non-COVID group). The COVID group was younger and had a higher percentage of male patients as well as patients with parosmia than the non-COVID group. In the initial olfactory function tests, the TDI, discrimination and identification scores were significantly higher in the COVID group than in the non-COVID group. TDI scores were significantly increased in patients with PIOD after treatment, regardless of the group. The threshold score was significantly increased by 1.38 in the COVID group while the identification score was significantly increased by 2.67 in the non-COVID group. Patients with COVID-19-associated OD were younger in age, tended to be male, had a higher incidence of parosmia, and had better initial olfactory function test results compared to those with non-COVID-19-associated OD. Following treatment, odor detection threshold improved in the COVID group, whereas odor identification improved in the non-COVID group.

Abstract Virus-specific nasal resident T cells are important for protection against subsequent infection with a similar virus. Here we examine the phenotypes and functions of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in the nasal mucosa of vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infection (BTI) or without infection. Nasal tissues are obtained from participants during sinus surgery. Analysis of activation-induced markers implicates that a considerable proportion of spike (S)-reactive nasal CD8+ T cells express CD103, a tissue-resident marker. MHC-I multimer staining is performed to analyze the ex vivo phenotype and function of SARS-CoV-2 S-specific CD8+ T cells. We detect multimer+CD8+ T cells with tissue-resident phenotypes in nasal tissue samples from vaccinees without infection as well as vaccinees with BTI. Multimer+CD8+ T cells remain present in nasal tissues over one year after the last exposure to S antigen, although the frequency decreases. Upon direct ex vivo stimulation with epitope peptides, nasal multimer+CD8+ T cells–particularly the CD49a+ subset–exhibit immediate effector functions, including IFN-γ production. CITE-seq analysis of S-reactive AIM+CD8+ T cells confirms the enhanced effector function of the CD49a+ subset. These findings indicate that among individuals previously exposed to S antigen by vaccination or BTI, S-specific nasal-resident CD49a+CD8+ memory T cells can rapidly respond to SARS-CoV-2 during infection or reinfection.

Abstract Interpreting the relationship between different taste function tests of different stimuli, such as chemical and electrical stimulation, is still poorly understood. This study aims to analyze visually as well as quantitatively how to interpret the relationship of results between taste function tests using different stimuli. Patients who underwent the whole mouth test and Electrogustometry (EGM) at a tertiary medical center between August 2018 and December 2018 were reviewed retrospectively with electronic medical records. Of the 110 patients, a total of 86 adults who self-reported that their taste function was normal through a questionnaire were enrolled. EGM measured the thresholds of the chorda tympani (CT) and glossopharyngeal nerve (GL) area of the tongue. The whole mouth test measured detection and recognition thresholds for sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami taste. Statistical analyses of Pearson’s, Spearman’s rank and polyserial correlation and multidimensional scaling (MDS) was performed. The EGM threshold for the average value of both CT regions and the recognition threshold of the whole mouth test were significantly correlated in sweet, salty, bitter, and sour taste (r = 0.244–0.398, P

Abstract We study a low voltage short pulse operating multilevel memory based on van der Waals heterostack (HS) n-MoSe2/n-MoS2 channel field-effect transistors (FETs). Our HS memory FET exploited the gate voltage (VGS)-induced trapping/de-trapping phenomena for Program/Erase functioning, which was maintained for long retention times owing to the existence of heterojunction energy barrier between MoS2 and MoSe2. More interestingly, trapped electron density was incrementally modulated by the magnitude or cycles of a pulsed VGS, enabling the HS device to achieve multilevel long-term memory. For a practical demonstration, five different levels of drain current were visualized with multiscale light emissions after our memory FET was integrated into an organic light-emitting diode pixel circuit. In addition, our device was applied to a synapse-imitating neuromorphic memory in an artificial neural network. We regard our unique HS channel FET to be an interesting and promising electron device undertaking multifunctional operations related to the upcoming fourth industrial revolution era.