title: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Seropositivity in Camel Handlers and Their Families, Pakistan

text: A high percentage of camel handlers in Saudi Arabia are seropositive for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. We found that 12/100 camel handlers and their family members in Pakistan, a country with extensive camel MERS-CoV infection, were seropositive, indicating that MERS-CoV infection of these populations extends beyond the Arabian Peninsula.


"Reply to Letter to the Editor regarding article: Estimation of effects of nationwide lockdown for containing coronavirus infection on worsening of glycosylated haemoglobin and increase in diabetes-related complications: A simulation model using multivariate regression analysis (Ghoshal et al)"


Can tocilizumab calm the cytokine storm of COVID-19?


docid: dkkrorwm

title: Rapid determination of baicalin and total baicalein content in Scutellariae radix by ATR-IR and NIR spectroscopy

text: Abstract In this study methods for the quantification of baicalin and total baicalein in Scutellariae radix with near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and attenuated-total-reflectance mid-infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy in hyphenation with multivariate analysis were developed and compared. The reference analysis was performed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). Different pretreatments like standard normal variate (SNV), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), first and second derivative Savitzky-Golay were applied on the spectra to optimize the calibrations. A principal component analysis was performed with both spectroscopic methods to distinguish wild and cultivated samples. Quality parameters obtained for test-set calibration models of ATR-IR spectroscopy (baicalin: standard error of prediction (SEP)=1.31, ratio performance to deviation (RPD)=2.91 and R2=0.88; total baicalein: SEP=1.02, RPD=3.24 and R2=0.89) and NIR spectroscopy (baicalin: SEP=1.50, RPD=2.54 and R2=0.88; total baicalein: SEP=1.19, RPD=2.76 and R2=0.84) demonstrate that both spectroscopic techniques in combination with multivariate analysis are successful tools for the quantification of baicalin and total baicalein in Scutellariae radix, but it was found that ATR-IR spectroscopy provides higher accuracy in the given application. Furthermore it was proved that wild and cultivated samples can be distinguished by ATR-IR.


title: Modulation of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokine production by a novel glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitor

text: Sepsis is a serious condition that can lead to long-term organ damage and death. At the molecular level, the hallmark of sepsis is the elevated expression of a multitude of potent cytokines, i.e. a cytokine storm. For sepsis involving gram-negative bacteria, macrophages recognize lipopolysaccharide (LPS) shed from the bacteria, activating Toll-like-receptor 4 (TLR4), and triggering a cytokine storm. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a highly active kinase that has been implicated in LPS-induced cytokine production. Thus, compounds that inhibit GSK-3 could be potential therapeutics for sepsis. Our group has recently described a novel and highly selective inhibitor of GSK-3 termed COB-187. In the present study, using THP-1 macrophages, we evaluated the ability of COB-187 to attenuate LPS-induced cytokine production. We found that COB-187 significantly reduced, at the protein and mRNA levels, cytokines induced by LPS (e.g. IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, CXCL10, and IFN-β). Further, the data suggest that the inhibition could be due, at least in part, to COB-187 reducing NF-κB (p65/p50) DNA binding activity as well as reducing IRF-3 phosphorylation at Serine 396. Thus, COB-187 appears to be a potent inhibitor of the cytokine storm induced by LPS.


title: Helium-oxygen mixture: clinical applicability in an intensive care unit

text: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if distress respiratory decreases after using helium-oxygen mixture in pediatric patients diagnosed with bronchospasm. METHODS: This is a retrospective, non-randomized study that included patients diagnosed with bronchospasm, who received a helium-oxygen mixture at three time points (30, 60, and 120 minutes) according to the organization protocol singular, and were admitted to the intensive care unit, from January 2012 to December 2013. This protocol includes patients with bronchospasm who sustained a modified Wood score of moderate to severe, even after one hour of conventional treatment. RESULTS: Twenty children were included in the study. The mean score of severity of the disease at the initial moment was 5.6 (SD:2.0), and at moment 120 minutes, it was 3.4 (SD: 2.0). The severity score showed a significant improvement as of 30 minutes (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The use of helium-oxygen mixture proved to be effective in diminishing the respiratory distress score for children with airway obstructions; it should be considered a supplementary therapeutic option, together with drug therapy, in specific clinical situations.


title: Infectious agents associated with diarrhoea in neonatal foals in central Kentucky: A comprehensive molecular study

text: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Diarrhoea caused by infectious agents is common in foals but there is no comprehensive molecular work‐up of the relative prevalence of common agents and appearance of coinfections. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of 9 infectious agents in gastrointestinal (GI)‐diseased and healthy foals with ages ranging from 1 to 20 weeks of age and to what degree coinfections are associated with clinical signs of GI disease. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective controlled observational study. METHODS: The population consisted of 88 Thoroughbred foals aged 2 days to 17 weeks born on 32 different studfarms in Kentucky. Healthy (n = 37) and GI‐diseased (n = 51) foals were identified based on clinical presentation. Faecal samples were analysed for 9 infectious agents by real‐time PCR: equine rotavirus, equine coronavirus, Clostridium difficile toxins A & B, Neorickettsia risticii, Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin, Lawsonia intracellularis, Rhodococcus equi, Cryptosporidium spp., and Salmonella spp. Salmonella was also cultured from overnight selenite enrichment broth. RESULTS: The prevalence of infectious pathogens under study was between 0% (Lawsonia intracellularis) and 34.6% (equine rotavirus). The overall prevalence for any infectious agent was 63.2% in the GI‐diseased group and 43.2% in the healthy group. Coinfections were significantly more frequent in the sick group (15 monoinfections vs. 22 coinfections) than in the healthy group (12 vs. 4, respectively, P = 0.0002). Six of the 8 infectious agents were associated with the GI‐diseased group, the other 2 were not (equine coronavirus and R. equi). CONCLUSIONS: The use of panels rather than individual tests in combination with quantitative toxin gene analysis enables detection of coinfections significantly associated with risk of disease. Several infectious diseases previously not tested for or considered unimportant were found at high prevalence and require further investigation.


Response to “Aerosol or Droplet: Critical Definitions in the COVID‐19 Era”


title: Molecular detection of bovine Noroviruses in Argentinean dairy calves: Circulation of a tentative new genotype

text: Abstract Bovine noroviruses are enteric pathogens detected in fecal samples of both diarrheic and non-diarrheic calves from several countries worldwide. However, epidemiological information regarding bovine noroviruses is still lacking for many important cattle producing countries from South America. In this study, three bovine norovirus genogroup III sequences were determined by conventional RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing in feces from diarrheic dairy calves from Argentina (B4836, B4848, and B4881, all collected in 2012). Phylogenetic studies based on a partial coding region for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp, 503 nucleotides) of these three samples suggested that two of them (B4836 and B4881) belong to genotype 2 (GIII.2) while the third one (B4848) was more closely related to genotype 1 (GIII.1) strains. By deep sequencing, the capsid region from two of these strains could be determined. This confirmed the circulation of genotype 1 (B4848) together with the presence of another sequence (B4881) sharing its highest genetic relatedness with genotype 1, but sufficiently distant to constitute a new genotype. This latter strain was shown in silico to be a recombinant: phylogenetic divergence was detected between its RNA-dependent RNA polymerase coding sequence (genotype GIII.2) and its capsid protein coding sequence (genotype GIII.1 or a potential norovirus genotype). According to this data, this strain could be the second genotype GIII.2_GIII.1 bovine norovirus recombinant described in literature worldwide. Further analysis suggested that this strain could even be a potential norovirus GIII genotype, tentatively named GIII.4. The data provides important epidemiological and evolutionary information on bovine noroviruses circulating in South America.


title: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children in New York State

text: BACKGROUND: A multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is associated with coronavirus disease 2019. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) established active, statewide surveillance to describe hospitalized patients with the syndrome. METHODS: Hospitals in New York State reported cases of Kawasaki’s disease, toxic shock syndrome, myocarditis, and potential MIS-C in hospitalized patients younger than 21 years of age and sent medical records to the NYSDOH. We carried out descriptive analyses that summarized the clinical presentation, complications, and outcomes of patients who met the NYSDOH case definition for MIS-C between March 1 and May 10, 2020. RESULTS: As of May 10, 2020, a total of 191 potential cases were reported to the NYSDOH. Of 95 patients with confirmed MIS-C (laboratory-confirmed acute or recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] infection) and 4 with suspected MIS-C (met clinical and epidemiologic criteria), 53 (54%) were male; 31 of 78 (40%) were black, and 31 of 85 (36%) were Hispanic. A total of 31 patients (31%) were 0 to 5 years of age, 42 (42%) were 6 to 12 years of age, and 26 (26%) were 13 to 20 years of age. All presented with subjective fever or chills; 97% had tachycardia, 80% had gastrointestinal symptoms, 60% had rash, 56% had conjunctival injection, and 27% had mucosal changes. Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, d-dimer, and troponin were found in 100%, 91%, and 71% of the patients, respectively; 62% received vasopressor support, 53% had evidence of myocarditis, 80% were admitted to an intensive care unit, and 2 died. The median length of hospital stay was 6 days. CONCLUSIONS: The emergence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children in New York State coincided with widespread SARS-CoV-2 transmission; this hyperinflammatory syndrome with dermatologic, mucocutaneous, and gastrointestinal manifestations was associated with cardiac dysfunction.


title: Absence of superinfection exclusion during asynchronous reovirus infections of mouse, monkey, and human cell lines

text: Abstract Reovirus is a gastroenteric virus with a genome that consists of ten segments of double-stranded RNA. The segmented nature of the genome allows for genetic mixing when cells are simultaneously infected with two different viral serotypes. The ability of viral reassortment to take place in asynchronous infections has not previously been investigated with mammalian reoviruses. In this study, five different cell lines, representing mouse, monkey, and human, were infected synchronously or asynchronously with various sets of two different temperature-sensitive (ts) reovirus mutants in order to study the genetic interactions which occur. Recombinant viruses were detected at high frequency when infection by the two different ts mutants was separated by as much as 24 h, suggesting that superinfection exclusion does not play a role in reovirus mixed infections. The apparent lack of superinfection exclusion in reovirus infections may have important implications in its evolution.


Wuhan COVID-19, data – an example to show the importance of public health interventions to fight against the pandemic


title: Chapter 15 Biology and Diseases of Ruminants (Sheep, Goats, and Cattle)

text: Ruminants continue to be important in their traditional role in agricultural research and teaching. They are now also extensively used for studies in molecular biology; genetic engineering; and biotechnology for basic science, agricultural and clinical applications. Concern and interest for the welfare for these species and improved understanding of their biology and behavior have continued and are reflected in changing husbandry and management systems. This chapter addresses at high levels basic biology, husbandry, and the more common or important diseases of the three ruminant species used most commonly in the laboratory, namely sheep, goats and cattle.


title: An epidemic of Kawasaki syndrome in Hawaii

text: A community-wide outbreak of Kawasaki syndrome, apparently the first in the United States, occurred in Hawaii in the first half of 1978. Twenty-seven of the 33 cases were subjected to intensive epidemiologic and microbiologic study. Patients with Kawasaki syndrome, compared to the general population, more often had Japanese ancestry, high-income status, and possibly a history of respiratory infection in the preceding month (44%). Staphylococcus aureus was not found in high frequency in the patients (15%), and viral cultures and serologic studies, immune electron microscopy, and guinea pig and primate inoculation did not reveal a causative microorganism. Febrile illnesses in guinea pigs inoculated with a skin biopsy specimen could not be further passaged.


title: Human microbiome: an academic update on human body site specific surveillance and its possible role

text: Human body is inhabited by vast number of microorganisms which form a complex ecological community and influence the human physiology, in the aspect of both health and diseases. These microbes show a relationship with the human immune system based on coevolution and, therefore, have a tremendous potential to contribute to the metabolic function, protection against the pathogen and in providing nutrients and energy. However, of these microbes, many carry out some functions that play a crucial role in the host physiology and may even cause diseases. The introduction of new molecular technologies such as transcriptomics, metagenomics and metabolomics has contributed to the upliftment on the findings of the microbiome linked to the humans in the recent past. These rapidly developing technologies are boosting our capacity to understand about the human body-associated microbiome and its association with the human health. The highlights of this review are inclusion of how to derive microbiome data and the interaction between human and associated microbiome to provide an insight on the role played by the microbiome in biological processes of the human body as well as the development of major human diseases.


title: Chapter 25 Arteriviridae and Roniviridae

text: Abstract This chapter describes the properties of arteriviruses and roniviruses, and features of the diseases they cause in animals.


title: Ribosomal frameshifting in the yeast retrotransposon Ty: tRNAs induce slippage on a 7 nucleotide minimal site

text: Abstract Ribosomal frameshifting regulates expression of the TYB gene of yeast Ty retrotransposons. We previously demonstrated that a 14 nucleotide sequence conserved between two families of Ty elements was necessary and sufficient to support ribosomal frameshifting. This work demonstrates that only 7 of these 14 nucleotides are needed for normal levels of frameshifting. Any change to the sequence CUU-AGG-C drastically reduces frameshifting; this suggests that two specific tRNAs, tRNALeu UAG and tRNAArg CCU, are involved in the event. Our tRNA overproduction data suggest that a leucyl-tRNA, probably tRNALeu UAG, an unusual leucine isoacceptor that recognizes all six leucine codons, slips from CUU-Leu onto UUA-Leu (in the +1 reading frame) during a translational pause at the AGG-Arg codon induced by the low availability of tRNAArg CCU, encoded by a single-copy essential gene. Frameshifting is also directional and reading frame specific. Interestingly, frameshifting is inhibited when the “slip” CUU codon is located three codons downstream, but not four or more codons downstream, of the translational initiation codon.


title: West Nile virus capsid protein induces p53‐mediated apoptosis via the sequestration of HDM2 to the nucleolus

text: The capsid protein of the West Nile virus (WNV) functions as an apoptotic agonist via the induction of mitochondrial dysfunction and the activation of caspases‐9 and ‐3. Here, we have determined that the WNV capsid (WNVCp) is capable of binding to and sequestering HDM2 into the nucleolus. WNVCp was shown to interfere with the formation of the HDM2 and p53 complex, thereby causing the stabilization of p53 and the subsequent induction of its target apoptotic protein, Bax. Whereas WNVCp was capable of inducing the p53‐dependent apoptotic process in wild‐type mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) or SH‐SY5Y cells, it exerted no significant effects on p53‐null MEF or on p53‐knockdown SH‐SY5Y cells. This suggests that WNVCp‐mediated apoptosis requires p53. Furthermore, when WNV was transfected into cells, endogenous Hdm2 and WNVCp were able to interact physically. WNVCp expressed in wild‐type MEF proved able to induce the translocation of the endogenous Hdm2 into the nucleolus. Consistently, WNV was highly pathogenic in the presence of p53, and was less so in the absence of p53. The results of these studies suggest that the apoptotic mechanism mediated by WNV might occur in accordance in a fashion similar to that of the tumour‐suppressing mechanism mediated by ARF.


Renin–angiotensin system inhibitors in the COVID-19 pandemic: consequences of antihypertensive drugs


title: Treat all COVID 19-positive patients, but do not forget those negative with chronic diseases

text: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has distressed our working practice. Infectious disease specialists, pneumologists and intensivists were not enough to face the enormous amount of patients that needed hospital care; therefore, many doctors have been recruited from other medical specialties trying to take care of as many patients as possible. The ‘call to duty’ of such doctors for urgent COVID-19 cases, however, diverted the attention from the care of patients with chronic conditions, which might have been neglected or undervalued. In this extremely difficult time, the standard of care of chronic patients has been reduced and this might have determined an increased rate of complications secondary to undermanagement. Thousands of patients with acute and chronic non-COVID-19 conditions have not accessed specialist care in the last weeks in Italy. Moreover, even those patients who have had scheduled an outpatient visit did not attend it for fear of leaving their home or due to the inability to go. During the pandemic, there was a drastic reduction in the number of hospital admissions for any medical conditions different from COVID-19. Self-presentation to the emergency department (ED) has been discouraged and the patients’ own fear of being infected by going to the hospital led to also a significant decrease in ED access. During the lockdown, in San Giuseppe Hospital MultiMedica IRCCS, Milan, the ED admissions dropped from the mean of 2361/month in December 2019–February 2020 to 1102 (− 53%) and 861 (− 63%) in March and April 2020, respectively. For all the above-mentioned reasons, it is possible that some clinical conditions will further progress with a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. To prevent this, it is essential that patients with chronic conditions should be at least monitored and managed with telephone or online health consultation, identifying those who need urgent access to care, prioritizing outpatient visits based on disease severity. Patients with mild conditions could be managed outside the hospital by implementing telemedicine and creating networks of general practitioners who can consult with in-hospital specialists.


title: Antiviral Applications of RNAi

text: RNA interference is a natural mechanism by which small interfering (si)RNA operates to specifically and potently down-regulate the expression of a target gene. This down-regulation has been thought to predominantly function at the level of the messenger (m)RNA, post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Recently, the discovery that siRNAs can function to suppress a gene’s expression at the level of transcription, i.e., transcriptional gene silencing (TGS), has created a major paradigm shift in mammalian RNAi. These recent findings significantly broaden the role RNA, specifically siRNAs and potentially microRNAs, plays in the regulation of gene expression as well as the breadth of potential siRNA target sites. Indeed, the specificity and simplicity of design makes the use of siRNAs to target and suppress virtually any gene or gene promoter of interest a realized technology. Furthermore, since siRNAs are a small nucleic acid reagent, they are unlikely to elicit an immune response, making them a theoretically good future therapeutic. This review will focus on the development, delivery, and potential therapeutic use of antiviral siRNAs in treating viral infections as well as emerging viral threats.


title: Thought control strategies as mediators of trauma symptoms in young women with histories of child sexual abuse

text: Abstract The current retrospective study examined thought control strategies, or cognitive techniques individuals use to deal with unpleasant thoughts following stressful events, as potential mediators of adjustment in young women with histories of child sexual abuse (CSA). In a sample of 76 undergraduate women who self-reported on abuse experiences, thought control strategies, and current trauma symptoms, several key findings emerged: (i) Greater severity of the CSA event was associated with greater reported use of worry and punishment strategies and less use of social control strategies; (ii) Increased use of worry and punishment strategies following the CSA event was associated with greater levels of trauma symptoms, while increased use of social control strategies following the CSA event was associated with lower levels of trauma symptoms; and (iii) Worry, punishment, and social control strategies served as mediators between CSA severity and trauma symptoms. The results suggest that thought control strategies, specifically increased worry and punishment, and decreased social control, play a vital role in understanding adjustment after CSA. Future research should examine the roles of these cognitive control strategies as possible avenues of intervention following CSA.


The reuse of anesthesia breathing systems: another difference of opinion and practice between the United States and Europe


title: Epidemiology of seasonal coronaviruses: Establishing the context for COVID-19 emergence

text: Public health preparedness for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is challenging in the absence of setting-specific epidemiological data. Here we describe the epidemiology of seasonal coronaviruses (sCoVs) and other cocirculating viruses in the West of Scotland, UK. We analyzed routine diagnostic data for >70,000 episodes of respiratory illness tested molecularly for multiple respiratory viruses between 2005 and 2017. Statistical associations with patient age and sex differed between CoV-229E, CoV-OC43 and CoV-NL63. Furthermore, the timing and magnitude of sCoV outbreaks did not occur concurrently and coinfections were not reported. With respect to other cocirculating respiratory viruses, we found evidence of positive, rather than negative, interactions with sCoVs. These findings highlight the importance of considering cocirculating viruses in the differential diagnosis of COVID-19. Further work is needed to establish the occurrence/degree of cross-protective immunity conferred across sCoVs and with COVID-19, as well as the role of viral coinfection in COVID-19 disease severity.


title: Agglutination study of poly(allyl-α-d-glucopyranose/styrene) latex particles in the presence of Concanavalin A

text: Latex agglutination of the glucose-modified latex, which were synthesized by emulsion copolymerization of allyl-modified glucose and styrene monomers by specific binding interactions between Concanavalin A (Con A) and allyl-α-d-glucopyranose, were investigated. The surface of the glucose-modified latex was characterized by dye-partition method and the number of glucose was 1517 per latex particle. The average particle size and the polydispersity index of the latex were 78.3 and 1.005, respectively. Time-evolution adsorption behavior of various concentrations of the Con A and the consequent latex agglutination were studied by UV spectrophotometer at 540 nm and ζ-potential analyzer at the fixed latex concentration of 0.02 wt%. Specific binding between Con A and allyl-α-d-glucopyranose leaded the latex particles to coagulate by decreasing the electrostatic repulsion between the particles and mobility.


Letter to editor regarding Ogen Y 2020 paper: “Assessing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels as a contributing factor to coronavirus (COVID-19) fatality”


title: Domestic violence against women and the COVID-19 pandemic: What is the role of psychiatry?

text: A heightened risk of domestic violence has been associated with infection-reducing measures undertaken by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatric services can play a key role in addressing this issue by (a) addressing certain risk factors for perpetration of domestic violence through, for example, assertive identification and management of substance misuse; (b) providing support, advocacy and treatment services for victims of domestic violence; and (c) multi-agency working to strengthen medical and social responses to domestic violence. At a time like this, it is important that multi-disciplinary mental health services are strengthened, rather than depleted, in order to address the pressing issues at hand.


Global Pandemic of COVID-19


title: Targeted adaptive isolation strategy for COVID-19 pandemic

text: We investigate the effects of social distancing in controlling the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic using a simple susceptible-infected-removed epidemic model. We show that an alternative or complementary approach based on targeted isolation of the vulnerable sub-population may provide a more efficient and robust strategy at a lower economic and social cost within a shorter timeframe resulting in a collectively immune population.


docid: niazvteq

title: Identification Of Novel Functional Regions Within The Spike Glycoprotein Of MHV-A59 Based On A Bioinformatics Approach

text: Mouse Hepatitis Virus (MHV) is a single-stranded positive sense RNA virus with the ability to promote acute and chronic diseases in mice. The MHV spike protein (S) is a major virulence determinant which in addition to binding to cellular receptors to mediate cell entry and facilitate virus spread to adjacent cells by cell-cell fusion, also is a molecular mimic of the FcγRII receptor. This molecular mimicry of FcγRII by the MHV S protein is also exhibited by other lineage 2a betacoronaviruses, with the exception of the human coronavirus HCoV-OC43. In this work we undertook a mutational analysis to attempt to identify specific amino acid sequences within the spike glycoprotein crucial for molecular mimicry of FcγRII. Although we were unsuccessful in isolating mutant viruses which were specifically defective in that property, we identified several mutations with interesting phenotypes. Mutation of the cysteine in position 547 to alanine and alanine replacements at residues 581–586 was lethal. Replacing proline 939 with the corresponding HCoV-OC43 residue, leucine, decreased the ability MHV to induce cell-cell fusion, providing experimental support for an earlier proposal that residues 929–944 make up the fusion peptide of the MHV S protein.


title: Simian varicella virus causes robust transcriptional changes in T cells that support viral replication

text: Abstract Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes varicella (chickenpox) during acute infection. Several studies have shown that T cells are early and preferential targets of VZV infection that play a critical role in disseminating VZV in to the skin and ganglia. However, the transcriptional changes that occur in VZV-infected T cells remain unclear due to limited access to clinical samples and robust translational animal models. In this study, we used a nonhuman primate model of VZV infection where rhesus macaques are infected with the closely related Simian Varicella Virus (SVV) to provide novel insights into VZV-T cell interactions. RNA sequencing of bronchial alveolar lavage-resident T cells isolated from infected rhesus macaques show that SVV infection alters expression of genes important for regulation of gene expression, cell cycle progression, metabolism, and antiviral immunity. These data provide insight into cellular processes that may support viral replication, facilitate SVV dissemination, and evade host defense.


The quest for effective Ebola treatment: Ebola VP35 is an evidence-based target for dsRNA drugs


Gastrointestinal endoscopy during COVID-19: when less is more


title: Gathering evidence on the decreased emergency room visits during theCovid 19 pandemic

text: Αbstract During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic there is emerging evidence, from several European countries, suggesting drastic decline in emergency room (ER) visits. Two diametrically opposite hypotheses can be formulated: a) The altered lifestyle due to the lock-down measures as well as vast application of telemedicine has a beneficial effect on the health status of the majority of the adult population, reducing thus demand for emergency health services. b) Despite increased health needs, people choose to avoid interactions with the health system and the ER out of fear of getting infected with COVID-19 resulting in a health services underusage. ER and HS indicators can be useful in monitoring and interpreting the underlying causes of reduced hospital ER services demand. Investigating the causes of the decline in ER visits is of outmost public health relevance as it might shed light in the indirect health effects of COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Molecular characterization of rotavirus isolated from alpaca (Vicugna pacos) crias with diarrhea in the Andean Region of Cusco, Peru

text: Abstract Alpacas (Vicugna pacos), a species of South American camelids (SAC), suffer high morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of alpaca cria mortality in Peru and elsewhere. In order to develop appropriate control and/or treatment, it is necessary to identify infectious pathogens that cause diarrhea in crias. Rotavirus was isolated in cell culture from feces collected from crias with acute diarrhea that tested positive to rotaviral antigen by rapid immunochromatographic methods in an earlier study. The isolates were identified as rotaviruses by RT-PCR run with specific primers for human rotavirus VP7 coding sequences using total RNA extracted from cells displaying cytopathic effects as template. These alpaca isolates were further identified as group A rotaviruses by means of a VP6-specific PCR and were designated as ALRVA-K’ayra/Perú/3368-10 and ALRVA-K’ayra/Perú/3386-10. Molecular G and P typing, placed the former as G3/P11 and the latter as G3/P?. Sequence analysis of two genome segments (coding for VP4 and VP7) from the alpaca isolates revealed partial homologies to swine and human rotaviruses, respectively. These results demonstrate that rotaviruses are associated with a proportion of cases of diarrhea in crias, although prevalence and impact remain to be determined. The isolation of rotaviruses from alpaca crias with diarrhea will contribute positively to further understand the pathogen and its role in the diarrhea complex.


title: Persistence of Ebola Virus in Sterilized Wastewater

text: [Image: see text] In the wake of the ongoing 2014/2015 Ebola virus outbreak, significant questions regarding the appropriate handling of Ebola virus-contaminated liquid waste remain, including the persistence of Ebola virus in wastewater. To address these uncertainties, we evaluated the persistence of Ebola virus spiked in sterilized domestic sewage. The viral titer decreased approximately 99% within the first test day from an initial viral titer of 10(6) TCID(50) mL(–1); however, it could not be determined if this initial rapid decrease was due to aggregation or inactivation of the viral particles. The subsequent viral titer decrease was less rapid, and infectious Ebola virus particles persisted for all 8 days of the test. The inactivation constant (k) was determined to be −1.08 (2.1 days for a 90% viral titer decrease). Due to experimental conditions, we believe these results to be an upper bound for Ebola virus persistence in wastewater. Wastewater composition is inherently heterogeneous; subsequently, we caution that interpretation of these results should be made within a holistic assessment, including the effects of wastewater composition, dilution, and potential exposure routes within wastewater infrastructure. While it remains unknown if Ebola virus may be transmitted via wastewater, these data demonstrate a potential exposure route to infectious Ebola virus via wastewater and emphasize the value of a precautionary approach to wastewater handling in an epidemic response.


title: Pushing past the tipping points in containment trajectories of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemics: A simple arithmetic rationale for crushing the curve instead of merely flattening it

text: Countries with ambitious national strategies to crush the curve of their Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic trajectories include China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia. However, the United States and many hard-hit European countries, like Ireland, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom, currently appear content to merely flatten the curve of their epidemic trajectories so that transmission persists at rates their critical care services can cope with. Here I present a simple set of arithmetic modelling analyses that are accessible to non-specialists and explain why preferable crush the curve strategies, to eliminate transmission within months, would require only a modest amount of additional containment effort relative to the tipping point targeted by flatten the curve strategies, which allow epidemics to persist at supposedly steady, manageable levels for years, decades or even indefinitely.


Cyclosporine as preferred calcineurin inhibitor in renal allograft recipients with COVID-19 infection


title: A novel simple scoring model for predicting severity of patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection

text: An outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID‐19) began in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and quickly spread throughout the country and world. An efficient and convenient method based on clinical characteristics was needed to evaluate the potential deterioration in patients. We aimed to develop a simple and practical risk scoring system to predict the severity of COVID‐19 patients on admission. We retrospectively investigated the clinical information of confirmed COVID‐19 patients from February 10, 2020 to February 29, 2020 in Wuhan Union Hospital. Predictors of severity were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 147 patients with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were grouped into non‐severe (94 patients) and severe (53 patients) groups. We found that an increased level of white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, D‐dimer, fibrinogen (FIB), IL‐6, C‐reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), α‐hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), serum amyloid A (SAA) and a decreased level of lymphocytes were important risk factors associated with severity. Furthermore, three variables were used to formulate a clinical risk scoring system named COVID‐19 index = 3×D‐dimer (µg/L)+2×lgESR (mm/h)‐4×lymphocyte (×10(9)/L)+8. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.843 (95% CI, 0.771‐0.914). We propose an effective scoring system to predict the severity of COVID‐19 patients. This simple prediction model may provide health‐care workers with a practical method and could positively impact decision‐making with regard to deteriorating patients.


Activity of glucosidase inhibitors against HIV infections


An invited commentary on “Liu Z, Ding Z, Guan X, Zhag Y, Wang X, Khan JS. Optimizing response in surgical systems during and after COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from China and the UK – Perspective. Int J Surg 2020 May 4”


Cardiovascular factors predicting poor outcome in COVID – 19 patients


title: A multiplex PCR method for the simultaneous detection of three viruses associated with canine viral enteric infections

text: The aim of this study was to establish a multiplex PCR (mPCR) method that can simultaneously detect canine parvovirus (CPV-2), canine coronavirus (CCoV) and canine adenovirus (CAV), thereby eliminating the need to detect these pathogens individually. Based on conserved regions in the genomes of these three viruses, the VP2 gene of CPV-2, the endoribonuclease nsp15 gene of CCoV, and the 52K gene of CAV were selected for primer design. The specificity of the mPCR results showed no amplification of canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), or pseudorabies virus (PRV), indicating that the method had good specificity. A sensitivity test showed that the detection limit of the mPCR method was 1 × 10(4) viral copies. A total of 63 rectal swabs from dogs with diarrheal symptoms were evaluated using mPCR and routine PCR. The ratio of positive samples to total samples for CPV-2, CCoV, and CAV was 55.6% (35/63) for mPCR and 55.6% (35/63) for routine PCR. Thirty-five positive samples were detected by both methods, for a coincidence ratio of 100%. This mPCR method can simultaneously detect CCoV (CCoV-II), CAV (CAV-1, CAV-2) and CPV-2 (CPV-2a, CPV-2b, CPV-2c), which are associated with viral enteritis, thereby providing an efficient, inexpensive, specific, and accurate new tool for clinical diagnosis and laboratory epidemiological investigations.


title: Recognition of COVID-19 disease from X-ray images by hybrid model consisting of 2D curvelet transform, chaotic salp swarm algorithm and deep learning technique

text: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in late December 2019, is rapidly spreading and affecting all countries in the world. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test has been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the standard test method for the diagnosis of the disease. However, considering that the results of this test are obtained between a few hours and two days, it is very important to apply another diagnostic method as an alternative to this test. The fact that RT-PCR test kits are limited in number, the test results are obtained in a long time, and the high probability of healthcare personnel becoming infected with the disease during the test, necessitates the use of other diagnostic methods as an alternative to these test kits. In this study, a hybrid model consisting of two-dimensional (2D) curvelet transformation, chaotic salp swarm algorithm (CSSA) and deep learning technique is developed in order to determine the patient infected with coronavirus pneumonia from X-ray images. In the proposed model, 2D Curvelet transformation is applied to the images obtained from the patient's chest X-ray radiographs and a feature matrix is formed using the obtained coefficients. The coefficients in the feature matrix are optimized with the help of the CSSA and COVID-19 disease is diagnosed by the EfficientNet-B0 model, which is one of the deep learning methods. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid model can diagnose COVID-19 disease with high accuracy from chest X-ray images.


Capsid protein is central to the birth of flavivirus particles


Is there a terrible issue with bacterial resistance: pro–con


title: From SARS in 2003 to H1N1 in 2009: lessons learned from Taiwan in preparation for the next pandemic

text: Summary In anticipation of a future pandemic potentially arising from H5N1, H7N9 avian influenza or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and in large part in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the city of Taipei, Taiwan, has developed extensive new strategies to manage pandemics. These strategies were tested during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak. This article assesses pandemic preparedness in Taipei in the wake of recent pandemic experiences in order to draw lessons relevant to the broader international public health community. Drawing on Taiwan and Taipei Centers for Disease Control data on pandemic response and control, we evaluated the effectiveness of the changes in pandemic response policies developed by these governments over time, emphasizing hospital and medical interventions with particular attention paid to Traffic Control Bundling. SARS and H1N1 2009 catalysed the Taiwan and Taipei CDCs to continuously improve and adjust their strategies for a future pandemic. These new strategies for pandemic response and control have been largely effective at providing interim pandemic containment and control, while development and implementation of an effective vaccination programme is underway. As Taipei's experiences with these cases illustrate, in mitigating moderate or severe pandemic influenza, a graduated process including Traffic Control Bundles accompanied by hospital and medical interventions, as well as school- and community-focused interventions, provides an effective interim response while awaiting vaccine development. Once a vaccine is developed, to maximize pandemic control effectiveness, it should be allocated with priority given to vulnerable groups, healthcare workers and school children.


title: COVID-19 infection in kidney transplant recipients

text: By 21 March 2020 infections related to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 had affected people from 177 countries and caused 11,252 reported deaths worldwide. Little is known about risk, presentation and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in kidney transplantation recipients, who may be at high-risk due to long-term immunosuppression, comorbidity and residual chronic kidney disease. Whilst COVID-19 is predominantly a respiratory disease, in severe cases it can cause kidney and multi-organ failure. It is unknown if immunocompromised hosts are at higher risk of more severe systemic disease. Therefore, we report on seven cases of COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients (median age 54 (range 45-69), three females, from a cohort of 2082 managed transplant follow-up patients) over a six-week period in three south London hospitals. Two of 32 patients presented within three months of transplantation. Overall, two were managed on an out-patient basis, but the remaining five required hospital admission, four in intensive care units. All patients displayed respiratory symptoms and fever. Other common clinical features included hypoxia, chest crepitation, lymphopenia and high C-reactive protein. Very high D dimer, ferritin and troponin levels occurred in severe cases and likely prognostic. Immunosuppression was modified in six of seven patients. Three patients with severe disease were diabetic. During a three week follow up one patient recovered, and one patient died. Thus, our findings suggest COVID-19 infection in kidney transplant patients may be severe, requiring intensive care admission. The symptoms are predominantly respiratory and associated with fever. Most patients had their immunosuppression reduced and were treated with supportive therapy.


COVID 19 outbreak: impact of the quarantine-induced stress on cardiovascular disease risk burden


title: Burden and Risk Factors for Coronavirus Infections in Infants in Rural Nepal

text: BACKGROUND: Knowledge of risk factors for symptomatic human coronavirus (HCoV) infections in children in community settings is limited. We estimated the disease burden and impact of birth-related, maternal, household, and seasonal factors on HCoV infections among children from birth to 6 months old in rural Nepal. METHODS: Prospective, active, weekly surveillance for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) was conducted in infants over a period of 3 years during 2 consecutive, population-based randomized trials of maternal influenza immunization. Midnasal swabs were collected for acute respiratory symptoms and tested for HCoV and other viruses by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Association between HCoV incidence and potential risk factors was modeled using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Overall, 282 of 3505 (8%) infants experienced an HCoV ARI within the first 6 months of life. HCoV incidence overall was 255.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 227.3–286.5) per 1000 person-years, and was more than twice as high among nonneonates than among neonates (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 2.53; 95% CI, 1.52–4.21). HCoV ARI incidence was also positively associated with the number of children <5 years of age per room in a household (IRR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01–1.28). Of the 296 HCoV infections detected, 46% were coinfections with other respiratory viruses. While HCoVs were detected throughout the study period, seasonal variation was also observed, with incidence peaking in 2 winters (December–February) and 1 autumn (September–November). CONCLUSIONS: HCoV is associated with a substantial proportion of illnesses among young infants in rural Nepal. There is an increased risk of HCoV infection beyond the first month of life.


docid: yxtepbta

title: Absence of MERS-CoV antibodies in feral camels in Australia: Implications for the pathogen's origin and spread

text: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections continue to be a serious emerging disease problem internationally with well over 1000 cases and a major outbreak outside of the Middle East region. While the hypothesis that dromedary camels are the likely major source of MERS-CoV infection in humans is gaining acceptance, conjecture continues over the original natural reservoir host(s) and specifically the role of bats in the emergence of the virus. Dromedary camels were imported to Australia, principally between 1880 and 1907 and have since become a large feral population inhabiting extensive parts of the continent. Here we report that during a focussed surveillance study, no serological evidence was found for the presence of MERS-CoV in the camels in the Australian population. This finding presents various hypotheses about the timing of the emergence and spread of MERS-CoV throughout populations of camels in Africa and Asia, which can be partially resolved by testing sera from camels from the original source region, which we have inferred was mainly northwestern Pakistan. In addition, we identify bat species which overlap (or neighbour) the range of the Australian camel population with a higher likelihood of carrying CoVs of the same lineage as MERS-CoV. Both of these proposed follow-on studies are examples of “proactive surveillance”, a concept that has particular relevance to a One Health approach to emerging zoonotic diseases with a complex epidemiology and aetiology.


title: Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of novel quinazolinone–thiazolidine–quinoline compounds

text: Abstract A series of 2-(2-chloroquinolin-3-yl)-5-((aryl)benzylidene)-3-(4-oxo-2-phenylquinazolin-3(4H)-yl)thiazolidin-4-ones (V)1–12 have been synthesized. In order to establish optimization of different parameters of chemical transformation, that is the reaction pathway for each step and reaction conditions in the each step, in the present paper, different solvents and catalysts were used. The structures of the synthesized compounds were assigned on the basis of elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectral data. All the newly synthesized compounds were screened against various strains of bacteria and fungi.


title: Breastfeeding and Respiratory Infections in the First 6 Months of Life: A Case Control Study

text: Background: Viral respiratory tract infections (VRI) are a major reason for hospitalization in children younger than 5 years. A case control study was conducted to investigate the potential role of breastfeeding in protecting children <1 year of age from VRI. Methods: Patients admitted for a respiratory tract infections routinely underwent a nasopharyngeal aspirate, which was tested with an RT-PCR for 14 respiratory viruses. Hospitalized infants positive for viruses were enrolled as cases; healthy controls were enrolled among patients admitted for ultrasound hip screening. The effect of breastfeeding on pertussis was investigated through multivariable analysis. Results: We enrolled a total of 496 patients: 238 cases and 258 healthy controls. Among cases, eighty-six patients (36.1%) had a rinovirus, 78 (32.8%) an RSV, 22 (9.2%) an adenovirus, and 37 (15.5%) a coinfections with multiple viruses. The number of households was significantly higher in cases (mean in cases 4.5; mean 3.7 in controls, p < 0.001) and the proportion of infants having siblings (79% in cases vs. 43% in controls, p < 0.001). Proportion of smoking mothers was higher in cases than in controls (21.4 vs. 10.1%, p = 0.001). Among cases 44.5% were exclusively breastfed at symptoms onset vs. 48.8% of healthy controls. According to the multivariable analysis, being exclusively breastfed at symptom onset was associated with a higher risk of viral respiratory infection (3.7; 95% CI 1.64–8.41), however a longer breastfeeding duration was protective (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.97–0.99). Also having at least one sibling was associated to a higher risk (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.14–5.92) as well as having a smoking mother (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.33–4.89). Conclusions: Breastfeeding remains a mainstay of prevention for numerous diseases and its protective role increases with duration. However, being breastfed when mothers carry a respiratory infection may increase the risk of transmission, acting as a proxy for closer contacts. In future studies, potential confounding variables as pattern of contacts with other individuals, should be taken into account.


Travel-related illness


COVID-19 and Acute Coronary Events - Collateral Damage. A Case Report


title: Prevalence and genetic diversity of coronaviruses in wild birds, Finland

text: Introduction: Migratory birds act as hosts for a number of zoonotic viruses, and have the ability to disperse these viruses to distant geographic locations. Coronaviruses (CoVs) represent a family of zoonotic viruses with wide variety of animal hosts, including birds and humans. The infections caused by coronaviruses vary from mild to severe, depending on the viral species and the host. Since the coronaviruses exhibit extraordinary large RNA genome, also the rate of homologous recombination is high, which in turn contributes to the genetic diversity and interspecies host-switches of CoVs. The emergence of novel CoVs has been rich during the last decades, and wild birds seem to serve as reservoirs for a variety of CoV strains. We examined the CoVs circulating among wild birds in Finland. Materials and methods: Samples (cloacal swab, tracheal swab, oropharyngeal swab, or tissue) representing 61 bird species were collected during 2010-2013, and examined by RT-PCR targeting the RdRp gene for the presence of CoV RNA. Results: Altogether 51/939 (5.4%) of the examined birds were found positive by RT-PCR. Diverse gamma- and deltacoronavirus sequences were detected. Discussion: Gamma- and deltacoronaviruses circulate among wild birds in Finland. The number of CoV-positive birds detected each year varies greatly.


title: Management of a Delivery Suite During the COVID-19 Epidemic

text: BACKGROUND Since the first report of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in December of 2019, it has become rapidly prevalent and been declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization. There are quite a few cases reported involving delivery with COVID-19 infection, but little valuable suggestion was provided about what healthcare providers of obstetrics and neonatology should do in their clinic practice for unknown status or presumed negative women. Here, we summarized the current practice of delivery management in China that successfully prevented rapid increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes and nosocomial infection in departments of obstetrics and neonatology during the pandemic of COVID-19.


title: Expression, purification, and in vitro activity of an arterivirus main proteinase

text: Abstract To allow the biochemical and structural characterization of the chymotrypsin-like “main proteinase” (non-structural protein 4; nsp4) of the arterivirus prototype Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV), we developed protocols for the large-scale production of recombinant nsp4 in Escherichia coli. The nsp4 proteinase was expressed either fused to maltose binding protein or carrying a C-terminal hexahistidine tag. Following purification, the nsp4 moiety of MBP-nsp4 was successfully used for structural studies [Barrette-Ng, I.H., Ng, K.K.S., Mark, B.L., van Aken, D., Cherney, M.M., Garen, C, Kolodenko, Y., Gorbalenya, A.E., Snijder, E.J., James, M.N.G, 2002. Structure of arterivirus nsp4—the smallest chymotrypsin-like proteinase with an alpha/beta C-terminal extension and alternate conformations of the oxyanion hole. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 39960–39966]. Furthermore, both forms of the EAV proteinase were shown to be proteolytically active in two different trans-cleavage assays. Recombinant nsp4 cleaved the cognate nsp6/7- and nsp7/8 site in in vitro synthesized substrates. In a synthetic peptide-based activity assay, the potential of the recombinant proteinase to cleave peptides mimicking the P9–P7′ residues of six nsp4 cleavage sites was investigated. The peptide representing the EAV nsp7/8 junction was used to optimize the reaction conditions (pH 7.5, 25mM NaCl, 30% glycerol at 30°C), which resulted in a maximum turnover of 15% of this substrate in 4h, using a substrate to enzyme molar ratio of 24:1. The assays described in this study can be used for a more extensive biochemical characterization of the EAV main proteinase, including studies aiming to identify inhibitors of proteolytic activity.


title: We zijn helden (maar wel helden die je moet mijden)

text: Ik kwam op straat een bekende tegen. Zij is verpleegkundige, net als ik. Normaal werkt ze op een diabetespoli, maar door de coronacrisis gaat ze terug naar het bed. Er is al corona vastgesteld in deze instelling, op meerdere afdelingen. Maar de bedoeling is dat ze onbeschermd aan het werk gaat. Haar afdeling heeft toch nog geen besmettingen? En als er een serieuze verdenking op covid-19 ontstaat, gaat die persoon heus in isolatie. Dat zegt het management. Ze haat die laconieke opstelling, maar ze wil haar collega’s niet in de steek laten.


title: Vaccines for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and other swine coronaviruses

text: Abstract The recent introduction of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) into the North American swine herd has highlighted again the need for effective vaccines for swine coronaviruses. While vaccines for transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) have been available to producers around the world for a long time, effective vaccines for PEDV and deltacoronaviruses were only recently developed or are still in development. Here, we review existing vaccine technologies for swine coronaviruses and highlight promising technologies which may help to control these important viruses in the future.


Herd immunity: hyperimmune globulins for the 21st century


title: Structure-activity studies on the lycorine pharmacophore: A potent inducer of apoptosis in human leukemia cells

text: Abstract The direct chemoselective differential functionalization of the ring-C hydroxyl groups present in the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid lycorine is described allowing for selective manipulation of the 1,2-hydroxyl groups. A mini-library comprised of synthetic and natural lycorane alkaloids was prepared and their apoptosis-inducing activity investigated in human leukemia (Jurkat) cells. Further insights into the nature of this interesting apoptosis-inducing pharmacophore are described, including the requirement of both free hydroxyl groups in ring-C.


title: COVID-19 pharmacologic treatments for children: research priorities and approach to pediatric studies

text: Clinical trials of pharmacologic treatments of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are being rapidly designed and implemented in adults. Children are often not considered during development of novel treatments for infectious diseases until very late. Although children appear to have a lower risk compared to adults of severe COVID-19 disease, a substantial number of children globally will benefit from pharmacologic treatments. It will be reasonable to extrapolate efficacy of most treatments from adult trials to children. Pediatric trials should focus on characterizing a treatment’s pharmacokinetics, optimal dose and safety, across the age spectrum. These trials should use an adaptive design to efficiently add or remove arms in what will be a rapidly evolving treatment landscape, and should involve a large number of sites across the globe in a collaborative effort to facilitate efficient implementation. All stakeholders must commit to equitable access to any effective, safe treatment for children everywhere.


title: The Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome on the Physical Profile and Quality of Life

text: Abstract Lau HM-C, Lee EW-C, Wong CN-C, Ng GY-F, Jones AY-M, Hui DS-C. The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on the physical profile and quality of life. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2005;86:1134–40. Objective To investigate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the physical fitness and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among SARS survivors. Design A cohort study. Setting An outpatient physiotherapy department in a major hospital in Hong Kong. Participants SARS patients (N=171) discharged from the hospital. Their mean age was 37.36±12.65 years, and the average number of days of hospitalization was 21.79±9.93 days. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Subjects’ cardiorespiratory (6-minute walk test [6MWT], Chester step test for predicting maximal oxygen uptake [V̇o2max]), musculoskeletal (proximal/distal muscle strength and endurance test), and HRQOL status (Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36]) were measured and compared with the normative data matched for age and sex. Results Seventy-eight (45.61%) patients continued to require prednisolone (<0.5mg·kg−1·d−1) for residual lung opacities when data were collected. The values of 6MWT distance, predicted V̇o2max, proximal and distal muscle strength, and the scores from all SF-36 domains, particularly perceived role-physical, were significantly lower than the normative data (P<.05). Conclusions SARS survivors had deficits in cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal performance, and their HRQOL appeared to be significantly impaired.


From crisis to healthy farming and food systems


title: The Practice of Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory During COVID-19 Pandemic: Position Statements of the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association (ANMA-GML-COVID-19 Position Statements)

text: During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, practices of gastrointestinal procedures within the digestive tract require special precautions due to the risk of contraction of severe acute respiratoy syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Many procedures in the gastrointestinal motility laboratory may be considered moderate to high-risk for viral transmission. Healthcare staff working in gastrointestinal motility laboratories are frequently exposed to splashes, air droplets, mucus, or saliva during the procedures. Moreover, some are aerosol-generating and thus have a high risk of viral transmission. There are multiple guidelines on the practices of gastrointestinal endoscopy during this pandemic. However, such guidelines are still lacking and urgently needed for the practice of gastrointestinal motility laboratories. Hence, the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association had organized a group of gastrointestinal motility experts and infectious disease specialists to produce a position statement paper based-on current available evidence and consensus opinion with aims to provide a clear guidance on the practices of gastrointestinal motility laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. This guideline covers a wide range of topics on gastrointestinal motility activities from scheduling a motility test, the precautions at different steps of the procedure to disinfection for the safety and well-being of the patients and the healthcare workers. These practices may vary in different countries depending on the stages of the pandemic, local or institutional policy, and the availability of healthcare resources. This guideline is useful when the transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 is high. It may change rapidly depending on the situation of the epidemic and when new evidence becomes available.


PI-9 Prevalence of feline coronavirus in a university animal hospital: a 10-year retrospective analysis


title: Correlation between renin-angiotensin system and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 infection: What do we know?

text: Abstract The first cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) infections were recorded in China in November 2019. Since its appearance in China at the end of last year, the virus has spread to all continents causing a “global pandemic”. To date, some aspects remain to be investigate about the pathophysiology of this viral infection. One of the aspects to be still clarified is the correlation between the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and SARS-CoV-2 infection. RAS is a physiological system playing a key role in different human body functions regulation. SARS-CoV-2 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2), a component of RAS, as a potential factor of cell penetration and infectivity; in addition, in the different infection stages, a functional variation of the RAS has been noted. In this article, we discuss the correlation between the role of RAS and system-modifying agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and direct renin inhibitors (DRIs), with SARS-CoV-2 infection.


Issues for reporting results


title: Letter to the editor: efficacy of different methods of combination regimen administrations including dexamethasone, intravenous immunoglobulin, and interferon-beta to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients: a structured summary of a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

text: OBJECTIVES: There is little information about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) management for critically ill patients. Most of these patients develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to excessive inflammatory response and the ensuing cytokine storm. Anti-inflammatory drugs including corticosteroids can be used to effectively reduce the effect of this cytokine storm and lung damage. However, corticosteroids can have side effects, so simultaneous administration of immunoglobulin (IV-IG) and interferon-beta can help manage treatment using corticosteroids. Therefore, we designed a trial to test our hypothesis that early administration of dexamethasone in combination with IV-IG and interferon-beta can reduce the effect of the cytokine storm in critically ill patients COVID-19. TRIAL DESIGN: A phase two multi-center randomized controlled trial (RCT) with three parallel arms (1:1:1 ratio). PARTICIPANTS: They will be hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 who have positive RT-PCR test and have blood oxygen saturation levels (SpO(2)) less than 90% and respiratory rate higher than 24 per minute or have involvement of more than 50% of their lung when viewed using computed tomography (CT)-scan. The age range of patients will be 18-70 years old. Exclusion criteria: the need for intubation; allergy, intolerance, or contraindication to any study drug including dexamethasone, IV-IG, and interferon-beta; pregnancy or lactation; known HIV positive or active hepatitis B or C. The study will be conducted in several hospitals of the Golestan province, Iran. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: The study subjects will be randomly allocated to three treatment arms: two experimental groups (two arms: Intervention 1 and Intervention 2) and one Control Group, which will be matched for age and sex using frequency matching method. Each eligible patient in the control arm will receive the standard treatment for COVID-19 based on WHO guidelines and the Ministry of the Health and Medical Education (MOHME) of Iran. Each patient in the Intervention Group 1 will receive the standard treatment for COVID-19 and dexamethasone, at the first 24 hours’ time of admission. The intervention begins with the administration of dexamethasone based on the SpO(2) levels. If the level of SpO(2) does not improve after 24 hours, IV-IG (400 mg/kg once daily for 5 days) and interferon-beta (7 doses every other day) will be prescribed along with dexamethasone administration. In Intervention Group 2, the administration of dexamethasone will be started within the first 24 hours’ time of admission and will be continued for 48-72 hours and then the SpO(2) level will be checked. Then, if the level of SpO(2) has not improved after that time, IV-IG and interferon-beta will be prescribed as the same dosage as Group 1. If the percentages of the SpO(2) level are between 85 and 90/ 80 and 85/ 75 and 80/ less than 75, the dosages will be 4 mg every 12 hours/ 4 mg every 8 hours/ 8 mg every 12 hours/ 8 mg every 8 hours, respectively. According to the WHO recommendation, all participants will have the best available supportive care with full monitoring. MAIN OUTCOMES: Primary: An increase in the SpO(2) level to reach more than 90% in each case, which will be assessed by the oximeter. Secondary: The duration of hospital stays; intubation status and the percentage of patients who are free of mechanical ventilation; the mortality rates during hospitalization and one month after the admission time. RANDOMISATION: Participants will be allocated into either control or intervention groups with a 1:1:1 allocation ratio using a computer random number generator to generate a table of random numbers for simple randomization. BLINDING (MASKING): The project's principal investigator (PI) is unblinded. However, the PI will not analyse the data and interpret the results. An unblinded researcher (a pharmacist) will cover the drug’s bottles with aluminium foil and prepare them interventions and control drugs in a syringe with a code so that patients are blinded. This person will have no patients contact. The staff and nurses, caring for the patients, will be unblinded for each study group due to the nature of this study. The staff that take outcome measurements will be blinded. The laboratory technicians will also be blinded as well as the statistical team. These study statisticians will have access to coded data and will analyse the data labelled as group X, group Y, and group Z. NUMBERS TO BE RANDOMISED (SAMPLE SIZE): The target sample size will be 105 critically ill COVID-19 patients, who will be allocated randomly to the three trial arms with 35 patients in each group. TRIAL STATUS: Recruitment is ongoing. The study began on April 18 2020 and will be completed June 19 2020. This summary describes protocol version 1; April 2 2020. TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://www.irct.ir/. Identifier: IRCT20120225009124N4 version 1; Registration date: April 2 2020. FULL PROTOCOL: The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional file 1). In the interest in expediting the dissemination of this material, the familiar formatting has been eliminated; this Letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol. The full protocol has been reported in accordance with the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Clinical Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) guidelines.


title: Is There a Starling Curve for Intensive Care?

text: Large differences exist in the provision of ICU beds worldwide, with a complicated mix of risks and benefits to the population of having either too few or too many beds. Having too few beds can result in delayed admission of patients to the ICU or no admission at all, with either scenario potentially increasing mortality. Potential societal benefits of having few beds include lower costs for health care and less futile intensive care at the end of life. With added ICU beds for a population, mortality benefit should accrue, but there is still the question of whether the addition of beds always means that more lives will be saved or whether there is a point at which no additional mortality benefit is gained. With an abundance of ICU beds may come the possibility of increasing harm in the forms of unnecessary costs, poor quality of deaths (ie, excessively intensive), and iatrogenic complications. The possibility of harm may be likened to the concept of falling off a Starling curve, which is traditionally used to describe worsening heart function when overfilling occurs. This commentary examines the possible implications of having too few or too many ICU beds and proposes the concept of a family of Starling curves as a way to conceptualize the balance of societal benefits and harms associated with different availability of ICU beds for a population.


title: Media Portrayal of Nurses' Perspectives and Concerns in the SARS Crisis in Toronto

text: Purpose: To describe nursing work life issues as portrayed in the media during the SARS crisis in Toronto. Methods: Content analysis of local and national news media documents in Canada. Media articles were sorted and classified by topic, and themes were identified. Findings: Themes were: (a) changing schemas of nursing practice: the new normal; (b) barriers to relational nursing work; (c) work life concerns: retention and recruitment; (d) nursing virtue: nurses as heroes and professionals; (e) paradoxical responses to nurses from the community; and (f) leadership in nursing during the SARS crisis. Conclusions: This analysis enhanced understanding of how nurses are portrayed in the media, but it indicated the significance of quality of work life and issues about work‐home life. Some descriptions of the care and caring of nurses have made nursing seem like an important and influential profession to potential applicants who might previously have dismissed nursing as a career.


title: Repurposing host-based therapeutics to control coronavirus and influenza virus

text: The development of highly effective antiviral agents has been a major objective in virology and pharmaceutics. Drug repositioning has emerged as a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative approach to traditional drug discovery and development. This new shift focuses on the repurposing of clinically approved drugs and promising preclinical drug candidates for the therapeutic development of host-based antiviral agents to control diseases caused by coronavirus and influenza virus. Host-based antiviral agents target host cellular machineries essential for viral infections or innate immune responses to interfere with viral pathogenesis. This review discusses current knowledge, prospective applications and challenges in the repurposing of clinically approved and preclinically studied drugs for newly indicated antiviral therapeutics.


title: Trifluorothymidine: potential non-invasive diagnosis of herpes simplex infection using 19F nuclear magnetic resonance in a murine hepatitis model

text: Abstract Trifluorothymidine (TFT) is known to be concentrated in herpes simplex virus (HSV) infected cells in vitro in the form of phosphorylated derivatives. We studied a murine hepatitis model of HSV infection to determine whether this in vitro observation would also be demonstrable in vivo. Following i.v. injection of 100 or 160 mg/kg TFT, TFT was found in significantly higher concentrations in the livers of HSV-2 infected mice than in the livers of uninfected mice, mice infected with murine hepatitis virus (MHV-A59) or mice with hepatitis from carbon tetrachloride treatment. Neither altered renal function, nor altered pharmacokinetics could account for this difference. 19F Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy readily detected the 19F from TFT in both liver extracts and whole livers, particularly at higher tissue levels, i.e. > 50 μg/g tissue. If further studies with living animals support these preliminary observations, clinical application could be pursued.


title: CpG DNA facilitate the inactivated transmissible gastroenteritis virus in enhancing the local and systemic immune response of pigs via oral administration

text: Abstract Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) replicates in the small intestine and induces enteritis and watery diarrhea. Establishment of local immunity in the intestine would thus prevent TGEV transmission. CpG DNA has been reported as a promising mucosal adjuvant in some animals. The effects of oral immunization of CpG DNA together with inactivated TGEV (ITGEV) were investigated in this study. Pigs (6 weeks old) were orally immunized with ITGEV plus CpG DNA. The TGEV-specific IgA level in the intestinal tract and the TGEV-specific IgG level in serum significantly increased following immunization with ITGEV plus CpG DNA (P ≤0.05). Moreover, populations of IgA-secreting cells, CD3+ T lymphocytes and intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), in the intestine increased significantly after immunization with ITGEV plus CpG DNA (P ≤0.05). Furthermore, the expression of IL-6, IL-12 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in ligated intestine segments increased significantly after injection with ITGEV plus CpG DNA (P ≤ 0.05). Taken together, these data suggest that oral immunization of ITGEV plus CpG DNA elicits a local immune response. Further studies are required to determine whether this immunity provides protection against TGEV in pigs.


title: Examining the pre-adoption stages of healthcare IT: A case study of vital signs monitoring systems

text: Abstract Pervasive healthcare systems can reduce the costs and improve the quality of healthcare. However, insufficient care in managing the process before the organizational decision to adopt information technology (IT) can result in poor outcomes. With most previous research focusing on IT adoption, this paper develops a multi-stage theoretical framework for the pre-adoption phase of healthcare IT to address this practical challenge and gap in the literature. With a priori concepts identified from previous multi-stage models, our framework was developed by analyzing two cases of the introduction of vital signs monitoring systems in hospitals to identify the important stages and influencing factors for healthcare IT pre-adoption.


title: Comparison and Application of Different Immunoassay Methods for the Detection of SARS‐CoV‐2

text: The detection data of IgM and IgG antibodies in 169 patients with coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) were analyzed to evaluate differences in clinical performance between the colloidal gold method and chemiluminescence method. In this study, chemiluminescence detection of IgM antibody showed a positive conversion earlier (about 1~2 days earlier), positive conversion rates higher in different stages of disease, and a trend of declining positive rate later than colloidal gold method. For IgG antibody, the chemiluminescence method showed a positive conversion earlier and the positive rate climbing more quickly than the colloidal gold method. No obvious negative‐converting tendency of IgG detection was observed within 35 days after the onset of disease. Although colloidal gold method is generally less sensitive than chemiluminescence method, it shows advantages of shorter turn‐around time, more simple procedure and no special equipment required. The two methodologies can be chosen according to different laboratory conditions. A reasonable understanding of the performance of reagents with different methodologies can help in clinical disease diagnosis effectively and assist in the diagnosis of the progression of COVID‐19, for which the dynamic changes of antibody will provide reliable evidence. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


title: Personalizing symptom monitoring and contact tracing efforts through a COVID-19 web-app

text: BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has sparked attention in many countries, especially those that have experienced a steep spike in the number of identified cases. The continued spread of the coronavirus suggests that this situation may be here to stay for a while. Contact tracing is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, which taps on the already lean healthcare resource in certain countries. Furthermore, the massive infodemic on COVID-19 on the Internet has also resulted in widespread circulation of misinformation online. This outbreak has evoked irrational fear and anxiety from the public, which has resulted in destabilizing of societal norms, such as panic buying and hoarding of daily necessities, and can potentially pose serious health risks to the public. The aim of this paper is to present a COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring and Contact Tracking Record (CoV-SCR) web-app as a bottom-up, proactive approach to supplement the current management strategies for COVID-19. MAIN TEXT: The CoV-SCR web-app (http://bit.ly/covscrapp) enables individuals to keep a personal record of their close contacts and monitor their symptoms on a daily basis, so that they can provide relevant and accurate details when they see the doctor and during the contact tracing process. Individuals can record their temperature and rate their symptoms on a 5-point severity scale, as well as record details of their travel and contact history for the last 14 days. The recorded information will be sent to their e-mail address for potential symptom monitoring and contact tracing purposes. In addition, this web-app consolidates evidence-based information on the coronavirus from credible sources, such as the World Health Organization, countries’ health authorities, and PubMed literature. CONCLUSIONS: A COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring and Contact Tracking web-app has been developed to facilitate contact tracing efforts through public engagement. This app serves an additional purpose of providing information about COVID-19 from reliable resources.


title: Emergency mental health legislation in response to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic in Ireland: Urgency, necessity and proportionality

text: Abstract Many countries have enacted, or are in the process of enacting, emergency mental health legislation in response to the global pandemic of Covid-19 (coronavirus). In Ireland, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act, 2020 amends the Mental Health Act 2001 to permit the Mental Health Commission to request an independent psychiatric report about an involuntary patient from any consultant psychiatrist who is not treating the patient (and not just those on its designated panel). This independent examination may occur ‘in person’, ‘by other appropriate means’, or even, ‘due to the exigencies of the public health emergency’, not occur at all, once this is explained in the resultant report. The 2020 Act acknowledges that ‘the exigencies of the public health emergency’ might hamper the independent psychiatrist's work and requires a written report from the patient's treating psychiatrist ‘no earlier than the day before’ the tribunal, in lieu of the psychiatrist physically attending a tribunal hearing, although, if possible, they will attend (i.e. phone in to) a tribunal held by conference call. The 2020 Act permits the Mental Health Commission to, if necessary, appoint tribunals ‘consisting of one member who shall be a practising barrister or solicitor’. Such a tribunal shall, if possible, consult with a consultant psychiatrist if the reports from the independent psychiatrist and treating psychiatrist conflict or if it is otherwise ‘necessary in the interest of the patient’. A tribunal can extend an involuntary order by a second period of 14 days ‘of its own motion if the tribunal, having due regard to the interest of the patient, is satisfied that it is necessary’. Tribunals for current involuntary patients will be prioritised over retrospective tribunals for discharged patients; a tribunal can direct a witness to provide ‘a written statement’ rather than attending; and the patient can make written representation to the tribunal instead of physically attending a tribunal hearing, although they may attend (i.e. phone in to) a tribunal held by conference call. Psycho-surgery for involuntary patients is banned. While it is clear that revisions are urgent and necessary in light of Covid-19, the proportionality of these changes will depend on how, and the extent to which, they are used in practice. With good communication, efficient team-working and close adherence to professional codes of practice and ethics, it is hoped that these amendments will result in a review system that is as reasonable, robust and reassuring as the current, highly unusual circumstances permit.


title: Trade and Health: Is the Health Community Ready for Action?

text: There are greater tensions than ever before between promoting trade and protecting health. Human health could lose out to trade liberalization unless the health community fights its case


Development of passive immunity against SARS-CoV-2 for management of immunodeficient patients - a perspective


Pulmonary thrombosis in 2019‐nCoV pneumonia?


title: Marburg Virus Angola Infection of Rhesus Macaques: Pathogenesis and Treatment with Recombinant Nematode Anticoagulant Protein c2

text: Background. The procoagulant tissue factor (TF) is thought to play a role in the coagulation disorders that characterize filoviral infections. In this study, we evaluated the pathogenesis of lethal infection with the Angola strain of Marburg virus (MARV-Ang) in rhesus macaques and tested the efficacy of recombinant nematode anticoagulant protein c2 (rNAPc2), an inhibitor of TF/factor VIIa, as a potential treatment. Methods. Twelve rhesus macaques were challenged with a high dose (1000 pfu) of MARV-Ang. Six macaques were treated with rNAPc2, and 6 macaques served as control animals. Results. All 6 control animals succumbed to MARV-Ang challenge by day 8 (mean, 7.3 days), whereas 5 of 6 rNAPc2-treated animals died on day 9 and 1 rNAPc2-treated animal survived. The disease course for MARVAng infection appeared to progress more rapidly in rhesus macaques than has been previously reported for other strains of MARV. In contrast to Ebola virus (EBOV) infection in macaques, up-regulation of TF was not as striking, and deposition of fibrin was a less prominent pathologic feature of disease in these animals. Conclusions. These data show that the pathogenicity of MARV-Ang infection appears to be consistent with the apparent increased human virulence attributed to this strain. The apparent reduced efficacy of rNAPc2 against MARV-Ang infection, compared with its efficacy against EBOV infection, appears to be associated with differences in TF induction and fibrin deposition.


title: Regulators of innate immunity as novel targets for panviral therapeutics

text: Interferons (IFNs) have long been used as an immunomodulatory therapy for a large array of acute and chronic viral infections. However, IFN therapies have been plagued by severe side effects. The discovery of pathogen recognition receptors (PRR) rejuvenated the interest for immunomodulatory therapies. The successes obtained with Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists in activating immune cells and as adjuvant for prophylactic vaccines against different viruses paved the way to targeted immunomodulatory therapy. Better characterization of pathogen-induced immune disorders and newly discovered regulators of innate immunity have now the potential to specifically withdraw prevailing subversion mechanisms and to transform antiviral treatments by introducing panviral therapeutics with less adverse effects than IFN therapies.


docid: gxstlzuk

title: Genome Detective Coronavirus Typing Tool for rapid identification and characterization of novel coronavirus genomes

text: Genome Detective is a web-based, user-friendly software application to quickly and accurately assemble all known virus genomes from next generation sequencing datasets. This application allows the identification of phylogenetic clusters and genotypes from assembled genomes in FASTA format. Since its release in 2019, we have produced a number of typing tools for emergent viruses that have caused large outbreaks, such as Zika and Yellow Fever Virus in Brazil. Here, we present The Genome Detective Coronavirus Typing Tool that can accurately identify novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) sequences isolated in China and around the world. The tool can accept up to 2,000 sequences per submission and the analysis of a new whole genome sequence will take approximately one minute. The tool has been tested and validated with hundreds of whole genomes from ten coronavirus species, and correctly classified all of the SARS-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV) and all of the available public data for 2019-nCoV. The tool also allows tracking of new viral mutations as the outbreak expands globally, which may help to accelerate the development of novel diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.


COVID‐19's Impact on Volunteer Programs


Allergy and sports


title: The current understanding and potential therapeutic options to combat COVID-19

text: Abstract The ongoing wreaking global outbreak of the novel human beta coronavirus (CoV) pathogen was presumed to be from a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China, belongs to the Coronaviridae family in the Nidovirales order. The virus is highly contagious with potential human-human transmission which was named as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread across six continents and emerged as a global pandemic in short span with alarming levels of spread and severity. This virus associated symptoms and infectious respiratory illness is designated as coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). The SARS-CoV-2 possesses enveloped club-like spike protein projections with positive-sense large RNA genome and has a unique replication strategy. This virus was believed to have zoonotic origin with genetical identity to bat and pangolin CoV. In the current review, we introduce a general overview about the human CoVs and the associated diseases, the origin, structure, replication and key clinical events that occur in the COVID-19 pathogenicity. Furthermore, we focused on possible therapeutic options such as repurposing drugs including antimalarials, antivirals, antiparasitic drugs, and anti-HIV drugs, as well as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines as potential treatment options. Also we have summarized the latest research progress on the usage of stem cell therapy, human convalescent serum, interferon's, in the treatment of COVID-19.


title: Understanding ride-sourcing drivers' behaviour and preferences: Insights from focus groups analysis

text: Abstract Ride-sourcing has recently been at the centre of attention as the most disruptive mode of transport associated with the so-called shared mobility era. Drivers, riders, the platform, policymakers, and the general public are considered as the main stakeholders of the system. While ride-sourcing platforms have been growing, so did the heightened tension between them and their drivers. That is why understanding drivers' behaviour and preferences is of key importance to ride-sourcing companies in managing their relationship with drivers (also known as driver-partners) and in retaining them in the presence of competence. Ride-sourcing drivers are not only chauffeurs but fleet owners. They can make various operational and tactical decisions that directly influence other stakeholders and the transport system performance as a whole. Conducting a series of focus groups with ride-sourcing drivers in the Netherlands, we have studied their opinions about the system functionalities as well as their possible interactions with the platform and wishes for changes. The focus group results suggest that the main decisions of drivers, which are ride acceptance, relocation strategies, working shift and area in which to work, could be affected by many elements depending on platform strategies, drivers' characteristics, riders' attributes, and exogenous factors. We find that part-time and full-time drivers, as well as experienced and beginning drivers, are characterized by distinctive behaviour. Flexibility and freedom were mentioned as the key reasons for joining the platform while an unfair reputation system, unreliable navigation algorithm, high competition between drivers, passenger-oriented platform, high-commission fee, and misleading guidance were acknowledged as being the main system drawbacks. Based on our findings, we propose a conceptual model that frames the relationship between the tactical and operational decisions of drivers and related factors.


title: Treatment for emerging viruses: Convalescent plasma and COVID-19

text: Abstract Use of convalescent plasma transfusions could be of great value in the current pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), given the lack of specific preventative and therapeutic options. This convalescent plasma therapy is of particular interest when a vaccine or specific therapy is not yet available for emerging viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19. This report summarizes existing literature around convalescent plasma as a therapeutic option for COVID-19. It also includes recommendations for establishing a convalescent plasma program, enhancement considerations for convalescent plasma, and considerations around pathogen reduction treatment of convalescent plasma. Time is of the essence to set up protocols for collection, preparation, and administration of apheresis-collected convalescent plasma in response to the current pandemic. The immediate use of convalescent plasma provides prompt availability of a promising treatment while specific vaccines and treatments are evaluated and brought to scale. Further development of improved convalescent plasma, vaccines and other therapeutics depends on quick generation of additional data on pathogenesis and immune response. Additionally, given the lack of information around the natural history of this disease, PRT should be considered to add a layer of safety to protect recipients of convalescent plasma.


docid: drvkwdaq

title: Philanthropic disaster relief giving as a response to institutional pressure: Evidence from China

text: Abstract This paper investigates if firms under high institutional pressure donate more to disaster relief than firms under lower institutional pressure. By taking Chinese listed companies' donations to May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake as the sample, this research finds that large firms and firms who have political ties donate a significant more to disaster relief than smaller firms and firms who do not have political ties. But the findings indicate that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) donate no more than non SOEs, and service companies donate significantly less than non-service companies. The results of this research partly support the institutional point of view of corporate philanthropy. Firms under high institutional pressure are more likely to donate more than firms facing lower institutional pressure.


COVID‐19 reinforces the importance of handwashing


title: Identification of novel viral receptors with cell line expressing viral receptor-binding protein

text: The viral cell receptors and infection can be blocked by the expression of the viral receptor-binding protein. Thus, the viral cell receptor is an attractive target for anti-viral strategies, and the identification of viral cell receptor is critical for better understanding and controlling viral disease. As a model system for viral entry and anti-retroviral approaches, avian sarcoma/leukosis virus (ASLV, including the A-J ten subgroups) has been studied intensively and many milestone discoveries have been achieved based on work with ASLV. Here, we used a DF1 cell line expressed viral receptor-binding protein to efficiently identify chicken Annexin A2 (chANXA2) as a novel receptor for retrovirus ALV-J (avian leukosis virus subgroup J). Our data demonstrate that antibodies or siRNA to chANXA2 significantly inhibited ALV-J infection and replication, and over-expression of chANXA2 permitted the entry of ALV-J into its non-permissible cells. Our findings have not only identified chANXA2 as a novel biomarker for anti-ALV-J, but also demonstrated that cell lines with the expression of viral receptor-binding protein could be as efficient tools for isolating functional receptors to identify novel anti-viral targets.


Emerging risk of H7N9 influenza in China


title: Identification of sequence changes responsible for the attenuation of avian infectious bronchitis virus strain Arkansas DPI

text: Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the causal agent of infectious bronchitis, which still remains one of the most important poultry diseases worldwide because of numerous serotypes and variants. A virulent strain of IBV, isolated from Arkansas (Ark), was propagated in embryonated eggs (Ark DPI 11). Following 101 serial passages in embryonated eggs, an attenuated strain of IBV was established (Ark DPI 101) that does not induce histopathological lesions in the tracheae of infected chicks. To identify sequence changes responsible for the attenuation of IBV, complete genome sequences of both virulent and attenuated Ark DPI viruses were obtained. Comparison of the genome sequences of the virulent and attenuated Ark DPI viruses reveals that these viruses are similar and differ only by 21 nucleotides, resulting in 17 amino acids changes. Most of those substitutions are located in the replicase 1a and spike genes. No differences were observed in gene 3, M or 5a, and only one nucleotide substitution each was present in 5b, N and 3′UTR. By comparing the deduced amino acid sequences of virulent and attenuated viruses, we identified sequence changes responsible for the adaptation and attenuation of the IBV-Ark DPI strain.


title: Betacoronavirus Adaptation to Humans Involved Progressive Loss of Hemagglutinin-Esterase Lectin Activity

text: Human beta1-coronavirus (β1CoV) OC43 emerged relatively recently through a single zoonotic introduction. Like related animal β1CoVs, OC43 uses 9-O-acetylated sialic acid as receptor determinant. β1CoV receptor binding is typically controlled by attachment/fusion spike protein S and receptor-binding/receptor-destroying hemagglutinin-esterase protein HE. We show that following OC43’s introduction into humans, HE-mediated receptor binding was selected against and ultimately lost through progressive accumulation of mutations in the HE lectin domain. Consequently, virion-associated receptor-destroying activity toward multivalent glycoconjugates was reduced and altered such that some clustered receptor populations are no longer cleaved. Loss of HE lectin function was also observed for another respiratory human coronavirus, HKU1. This thus appears to be an adaptation to the sialoglycome of the human respiratory tract and for replication in human airways. The findings suggest that the dynamics of virion-glycan interactions contribute to host tropism. Our observations are relevant also to other human respiratory viruses of zoonotic origin, particularly influenza A virus.


title: Federal travel restrictions to prevent disease transmission in the United States: An analysis of requested travel restrictions

text: Abstract Background Individuals with certain communicable diseases may pose risks to the health of the traveling public; there has been documented transmission on commercial aircraft of tuberculosis (TB), measles, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Federal public health travel restrictions (PHTR) prevent commercial air or international travel of persons with communicable diseases that pose a public health threat. Methods We described demographics and clinical characteristics of all cases considered for PHTR because of suspected or confirmed communicable disease from May 22, 2007, to December 31, 2015. Results We reviewed 682 requests for PHTR; 414 (61%) actions were completed to place 396 individuals on PHTR. The majority (>99%) had suspected (n = 27) or confirmed (n = 367) infectious pulmonary TB; 58 (16%) had multidrug-resistant-TB. There were 128 (85%) interceptions that prevented the initiation or continuation of travel. PHTR were removed for 310 (78%) individuals after attaining noninfectious status and 86 (22%) remained on PHTR at the end of the analysis period. Conclusions PHTR effectively prevent exposure during commercial air travel to persons with potentially infectious diseases. In addition, they are effective tools available to public health agencies to prevent commercial travel of individuals with certain communicable diseases and possibly reconnect them with public health authorities.