The Effect of Curfew Enforcement on Health Care Provision in COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 disease occurred in the final weeks of 2019. As part of the fight against COVID-19, countries have taken actions such as travel restrictions, suspension of border crossings and international flights, voluntary home isolation, public activities restriction, and curfews. The objective of this study is to identify the effect of curfew enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine and identify whether curfew has a positive effect on the health care workload. The number of patients admitted to Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, their means of arrival, hospitalization-discharge, demographic characteristics were examined retrospectively for the period of curfew in April and May 2020 and the corresponding days in 2019. The significant statistical differences between the two periods were analyzed. The results of this research reveal that24.488 patients were admitted to our emergency department. Of these patients, 12813 (52.3%) were male, 11675 (47.7%) were female. The number of emergency department admissions of the pediatric age group decreased from 1822 (8.9%) to 33 patients (0.8%). Moreover, the number of patients admitted to the emergency service in the related period of 2019 was 20548 (83.9%), while this figure decreased to 3940 individuals (16.1%) during the curfew period. It was impliedthat curfew could reduce the unnecessary admissions to hospitals, the number of ambulance usage, and provide a positive contribution to the reduction in traumas, car accidents, work accidents, and forensic cases during pandemic.
Characterization of the Immune Response of MERS-CoV Vaccine Candidates Derived from Two Different Vectors in Mice
MERS-CoV, recombinant rabies virus, bacterium-like particle, immune response
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is an acute, high-mortality-rate, severe infectious disease caused by an emerging MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that causes severe respiratory diseases. The continuous spread and great pandemic potential of MERS-CoV make it necessarily important to develop effective vaccines. We previously demonstrated that the application of Gram-positive enhancer matrix (GEM) particles as a bacterial vector displaying the MERS-CoV receptor-binding domain (RBD) is a very promising MERS vaccine candidate that is capable of producing potential neutralization antibodies. We have also used the rabies virus (RV) as a viral vector to design a recombinant vaccine by expressing the MERS-CoV S1 (spike) protein on the surface of the RV. In this study, we compared the immunological efficacy of the vaccine candidates in BALB/c mice in terms of the levels of humoral and cellular immune responses. The results show that the rabies virus vector-based vaccine can induce remarkably earlier antibody response and higher levels of cellular immunity than the GEM particles vector. However, the GEM particles vector-based vaccine candidate can induce remarkably higher antibody response, even at a very low dose of 1 µg. These results indicate that vaccines constructed using different vaccine vector platforms for the same pathogen have different rates and trends in humoral and cellular immune responses in the same animal model. This discovery not only provides more alternative vaccine development platforms for MERS-CoV vaccine development, but also provides a theoretical basis for our future selection of vaccine vector platforms for other specific pathogens.
Entao Li, Feihu Yan, Pei Huang, Hang Chi, Shengnan Xu, Guo-hua Li, Chuanyu Liu, Na Feng, Hualei Wang, Yongkun Zhao, Songtao Yang, Xianzhu Xia
A Novel Bacterium-Like Particle Vaccine Displaying the MERS-CoV Receptor-Binding Domain Induces Specific Mucosal and Systemic Immune Responses in Mice
MERS-CoV, subunit vaccine, bacterium-like particles, intranasal administration, mucosal immune
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a new coronavirus that has been causing severe and fatal acute respiratory illnesses in humans since its outbreak in 2012, has raised public fear worldwide. The development of prophylactics and therapeutics is urgently needed to prevent and control MERS-CoV infections. In this study, a bacterium (Lactococcus lactis)-like particle (BLP) vaccine displaying the MERS-CoV receptor-binding domain (RBD) was developed, and gram-positive enhancer matrix (GEM) particles were used as substrates to externally bind to the MERS-CoV RBD through a protein anchor (PA). The designs included different numbers of lysin motif (LysM) repeats in the PAs linked by linkers (RBD-linker-PA2 (RLP2), RBD-linker-PA3 (RLP3) and RBD-PA3 (RP3)), and three LysM repeats and a linker in the fusion proteins increased the binding activity to the RBD. The specific immune responses were tested by intranasally immunizing mice with RLP3-GEM with or without the adjuvant GEL01. The results showed that GEL01-adjuvanted RLP3-GEM increased the systemic humoral, cellular and local mucosal immune responses in the mouse model, especially in the intestinal tract. The above results indicate that the MERS-CoV BLP product has the potential to be developed into a promising mucosal candidate vaccine to protect against MERS-CoV infections.
Entao Li, Hang Chi, Pei Huang, Feihu Yan, Ying Zhang, Chuanyu Liu, Zhenshan Wang, Guo-hua Li, Shengnan Zhang, Ruo Mo, Hong-li Jin, Hualei Wang, Na Feng, Jian-Zhong Wang, Yuhai Bi, Tiecheng Wang, Weiyang Sun, Yuwei Gao, Yongkun Zhao, Songtao Yang, Xianzhu Xia
A Fusion Peptide in the Spike Protein of MERS Coronavirus
coronavirus, MERS, spike protein, peptide, membrane, fusion assay
Coronaviruses represent current and emerging threats for many species, including humans. Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is responsible for sporadic infections in mostly Middle Eastern countries, with occasional transfer elsewhere. A key step in the MERS-CoV replication cycle is the fusion of the virus and host cell membranes mediated by the virus spike protein, S. The location of the fusion peptide within the MERS S protein has not been precisely mapped. We used isolated peptides and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUV) to demonstrate membrane binding for a peptide located near the N-terminus of the S2 domain. Key residues required for activity were mapped by amino acid replacement and their relevance in vitro tested by their introduction into recombinant MERS S protein expressed in mammalian cells. Mutations preventing membrane binding in vitro also abolished S-mediated syncytium formation consistent with the identified peptide acting as the fusion peptide for the S protein of MERS-CoV.
Entedar A. J. Alsaadi, Benjamin W Neuman, Ian M. Jones
Weed density under intervention strategies in three different management zones
pousio. escarificação. policultivo. índice de valor de importância (ivi)
The presence of weeds in agricultural areas depends, among other factors, on the management system. The objective of this study was to evaluate weed infestation using different interventions in autumnwinter carried out in three different management zones. The experiment was delimited in the different management zones, in a randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were distributed in factorial. Factor A tested the high, medium and low management zones; while factor B consisted of interventions for soil management: fallow, chiseling, polyculture and chiseling + polyculture. The weed counting was performed ten days before desiccation, by counting and identifying the species in an area of 1m2 . There was no interaction between the factors tested, but the treatments showed differences between them when studied separately. The lowest weed densities occurred in the high management zone, and the intervention with the lowest weed density was scarification + polyculture. However, the use of practices such as scarification and mulching with polycultures is a way to reduce the weed density.
Enza Rigon, Telmo Jorge Carneiro Amado, Luan Pierre Pott, Andre da Rosa Ulguim, Arthur Kich Buhse
http://ojs.ufgd.edu.br/index.php/agrarian/article/view/10600
Alternative Methods of Sterilization in Dental Practices Against COVID-19
covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, sterilization, Dentistry, bioaerosols
SARS-CoV-2, and several other microorganisms, may be present in nasopharyngeal and salivary secretions in patients treated in dental practices, so an appropriate clinical behavior is required in order to avoid the dangerous spread of infections. COVID-19 could also be spread when patients touches a contaminated surface with infected droplets and then touch their nose, mouth, or eyes. It is time to consider a dental practice quite similar to a hospital surgery room, where particular attention should be addressed to problems related to the spreading of infections due to air and surface contamination. The effectiveness of conventional cleaning and disinfection procedures may be limited by several factors; first of all, human operator dependence seems to be the weak aspect of all procedures. The improvement of these conventional methods requires the modification of human behavior, which is difficult to achieve and sustain. As alternative sterilization methods, there are some that do not depend on the operator, because they are based on devices that perform the entire procedure on their own, with minimal human intervention. In conclusion, continued efforts to improve the traditional manual disinfection of surfaces are needed, so dentists should consider combining the use of proper disinfectants and no-touch decontamination technologies to improve sterilization procedures.
Enzo Cumbo, Giuseppe Gallina, Pietro Messina, Giuseppe Alessandro Scardina
Roy A. Rappaport. Sobre el ritual en la ecología de un pueblo de Nueva Guinea
https://papers.uab.cat/article/view/1354
Marco bioético en la atención odontológica de pacientes pediátricos en tiempos de COVID-19
covid-19, atención odontológica, Pacientes pediátricos, Marco bioético
A principios del 2020, un nuevo virus causante del síndrome respiratorio agudo severo (SARS-CoV-2) se diseminó a nivel mundial causando la enfermedad de coronavirus o COVID-19. La tasa de nuevos contagios varía por día y puede ser monitoreada en tiempo real.1 Con respecto a la situación actual en Latinoamérica, los casos confirmados de COVID-19 se han incrementado de forma importante.2 La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ha declarado esta situación como una pandemia debido a los niveles alarmantes de propagación de la enfermedad y en especial por las complicaciones que se pueden suscitar luego del contagio.
Equipo de trabajo multidisciplinario de la Revista de Odontopediatría Latinoamericana
Revista de Odontopediatria Latinoamericana
Asociación Latinoamericana de Odontopediatría
New-Onset Dizziness Associated With COVID-19.
Erdal Sarı, Nihan Uygur Külcü, Ozlem Erdede, Emek Uyur Yalçın, Rabia Gönül Sezer Yamanel
Pneumonia, Pandemic, ocular infection, COVID-19
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans. Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death(1).
Clinical and Experimental Ocular Trauma and Infection