Web-based intervention preferences and physical activity motivation of people with depressive symptoms

Physical activity is an effective method for managing depressive symptoms, and web-based interventions may be an effective tool for promoting physical activity within this population. People with depressive symptoms may experience condition-specific facilitators and barriers to be considered when developing physical activity interventions. This study provides insight into web-based physical activity intervention preferences and physical activity motivation of people with depressive symptoms. This study was part of a larger trial of a web-based physical activity intervention for people with depressive symptoms. Thematic analysis of participants’ (N = 20) written responses to open-ended survey questions was conducted. Preferences for web-based intervention features included social forums, self-monitoring, suggestions for types of physical activity in different circumstances and information targeted to people with depressive symptoms. When discussing physical activity motivation instrumental beliefs (i.e., beliefs of the benefits and cost of physical activity) and controllability (i.e., whether the behaviour is under their control) were discussed. Additionally, people reported condition-specific barriers of physical activity such as depressive symptoms of apathy, worthlessness, and pain. Further research is needed to test the effectiveness of web-based physical activity interventions targeting people with depressive symptoms, which incorporates these findings

Recurrent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion H69/V70 and its role in the Alpha variant B.1.1.7

We report severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike ΔH69/V70 in multiple independent lineages, often occurring after acquisition of receptor binding motif replacements such as N439K and Y453F, known to increase binding affinity to the ACE2 receptor and confer antibody escape. In vitro, we show that, although ΔH69/V70 itself is not an antibody evasion mechanism, it increases infectivity associated with enhanced incorporation of cleaved spike into virions. ΔH69/V70 is able to partially rescue infectivity of spike proteins that have acquired N439K and Y453F escape mutations by increased spike incorporation. In addition, replacement of the H69 and V70 residues in the Alpha variant B.1.1.7 spike (where ΔH69/V70 occurs naturally) impairs spike incorporation and entry efficiency of the B.1.1.7 spike pseudotyped virus. Alpha variant B.1.1.7 spike mediates faster kinetics of cell-cell fusion than wild-type Wuhan-1 D614G, dependent on ΔH69/V70. Therefore, as ΔH69/V70 compensates for immune escape mutations that impair infectivity, continued surveillance for deletions with functional effects is warranted