Break Transmission Research Articles

SARS-CoV-2 variant introduction following spring break travel and transmission mitigation strategies.

University spring break carries a two-pronged SARS-CoV-2 variant transmission risk. Circulating variants from universities can spread to spring break destinations, and variants from spring break destinations can spread to universities and surrounding communities. Therefore, it is critical to implement SARS-CoV-2 variant surveillance and testing strategies to limit community spread before and after spring break to mitigate virus transmission and facilitate universities safely returning to in-person teaching. We examined the SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate and changes in variant lineages before and after the university spring break for two consecutive years. 155 samples were sequenced across four time periods: pre- and post-spring break 2021 and pre- and post-spring break 2022; following whole genome sequencing, samples were assigned clades. The clades were then paired with positivity and testing data from over 50,000 samples. In 2021, the number of variants in the observed population increased from four to nine over spring break, with variants of concern being responsible for most of the cases; Alpha percent composition increased from 22.2% to 56.4%. In 2022, the number of clades in the population increased only from two to three, all of which were Omicron or a sub-lineage of Omicron. However, phylogenetic analysis showed the emergence of distantly related sub-lineages. 2022 saw a greater increase in positivity than 2021, which coincided with a milder mitigation strategy. Analysis of social media data provided insight into student travel destinations and how those travel events may have impacted spread. We show the role that repetitive testing can play in transmission mitigation, reducing community spread, and maintaining in-person education. We identified that distantly related lineages were brought to the area after spring break travel regardless of the presence of a dominant variant of concern.

Karakteristik Arang Kulit Buah Kakao dan Arang Batang Bambu Terhadap Mutu Briket

The purpose of this research is to determine the optimum properties of biodegradable plastic made from banana weevil starch with the addition of straw cellulose as reinforcement. This research was conducted using Completely Randomized Method (CRD) with four treatments and four replications. In this study were the addition of straw cellulose with a ratio of starch and cellulose 1:0; 1:0,5 ; 1:1 and 1:1,5. Tests were carried out on strong tensile strength, elongation at break, biodegradation, swelling and water vapor transmission rate. The data obtained were analyzed statistically using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The addition of straw cellulose had a significant effect on the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. The result were biodegradable plastic increase tensile strength, decreases elongation at break, increase biodegradation and air resistance, reduces the rate of water vapor transmission. Biodegradable plastic with the best treatment is the ratio of starch starch ratio of 1 : 1.5 cellulose. The best result biodegrabable plastic has for tensile strength value of 9.56 MPa, elongation 6.8%, complete biodegradation on day 6, swelling 41.51% and WVTR 0.0156%.

The genome and transcriptome of the snail Biomphalaria sudanica s.l.: immune gene diversification and highly polymorphic genomic regions in an important African vector of Schistosoma mansoni.

Control and elimination of schistosomiasis is an arduous task, with current strategies proving inadequate to break transmission. Exploration of genetic approaches to interrupt Schistosoma mansoni transmission, the causative agent for human intestinal schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa and South America, has led to genomic research of the snail vector hosts of the genus Biomphalaria. Few complete genomic resources exist, with African Biomphalaria species being particularly underrepresented despite this being where the majority of S. mansoni infections occur. Here we generate and annotate the first genome assembly of Biomphalaria sudanica sensu lato, a species responsible for S. mansoni transmission in lake and marsh habitats of the African Rift Valley. Supported by whole-genome diversity data among five inbred lines, we describe orthologs of immune-relevant gene regions in the South American vector B. glabrata and present a bioinformatic pipeline to identify candidate novel pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs). De novo genome and transcriptome assembly of inbred B. sudanica originating from the shoreline of Lake Victoria (Kisumu, Kenya) resulted in a haploid genome size of ~ 944.2Mb (6,728 fragments, N50 = 1.067Mb), comprising 23,598 genes (BUSCO = 93.6% complete). The B. sudanica genome contains orthologues to all described immune genes/regions tied to protection against S. mansoni in B. glabrata, including the polymorphic transmembrane clusters (PTC1 and PTC2), RADres, and other loci. The B. sudanica PTC2 candidate immune genomic region contained many PRR-like genes across a much wider genomic region than has been shown in B. glabrata, as well as a large inversion between species. High levels of intra-species nucleotide diversity were seen in PTC2, as well as in regions linked to PTC1 and RADres orthologues. Immune related and putative PRR gene families were significantly over-represented in the sub-set of B. sudanica genes determined as hyperdiverse, including high extracellular diversity in transmembrane genes, which could be under pathogen-mediated balancing selection. However, no overall expansion in immunity related genes was seen in African compared to South American lineages. The B. sudanica genome and analyses presented here will facilitate future research in vector immune defense mechanisms against pathogens. This genomic/transcriptomic resource provides necessary data for the future development of molecular snail vector control/surveillance tools, facilitating schistosome transmission interruption mechanisms in Africa.

Effectiveness of contact tracing for COVID-19 in Belgium

Contact tracing and investigation can prevent infectious disease transmission when carried out promptly. Data obtained from contact tracing also provides unique information on transmission dynamics that can be useful for policy making. The proportion of secondary infections arising from index cases that were previously identified as a close contact, hence “known index cases”, has been indicated by ECDC as a key performance indicator for contact tracing. Few empirical studies have been published on the effectiveness of contact tracing and investigation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 Using data from the Belgian COVID-19 contact tracing (Sept 2020 – Dec 2021), we investigated the impact of contact tracing on onward transmission. Known index cases were compared to those not previously identified as close contact. More specifically, we compared their traced contacts and secondary cases as well as the serial interval, representing the time from illness onset in the primary case to illness onset in the secondary case. In addition, we investigated contact and transmission characteristics by age.
 Known index cases, previously informed about their exposure, were linked to fewer high-risk contacts and secondary infections. In addition, they presented a lower secondary attack rate compared to those not previously identified by contact investigation, suggesting behavioural changes. Also, a shorter serial interval was observed for known index cases. In addition to breaking transmission chains, contact tracing provides important information on transmission characteristics. When exploring age-specific data, we observed increased transmission rates from children to adults during the circulation of Delta and Omicron variants without an increase in contact rates between these age groups.
 The lower secondary attack rates for known index cases suggest that contact tracing in Belgium has been effective in reducing onward transmission. Their lower number of traced contacts and shorter serial interval are indicative that individuals aware of their exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were more reserved in their social contact behaviour. This reflects the mandatory quarantine for high-risk contacts. Our study also shows that in times of high burden on the healthcare system, key performance indicators of contact tracing should be interpreted with caution in light of changing intervention strategies. Many external factors influence the effectiveness of contact tracing like testing policy and compliance, the cooperation of index cases, and the imposed and adopted quarantine and isolation policies.

Development of eco-friendly cellulose acetate films incorporated with Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) root extract

In the present work, a new active film based on cellulose acetate (CA) and Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) root extract (BE) was developed and the effect of different BE concentrations (0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 wt%) on the mechanical, physic-chemical, thermal, antimicrobial and optical properties of CA film were investigated. Results indicated that the antimicrobial activity of CA against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli improved with increasing BE concentration. Also, there was an increase in free radical scavenger activity (DPPH), total phenol content (TPC), elongation to break (EB), contact angle (COA), color difference and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) with BE concentration increasing. While, Young's modulus, tensile strength (TS), solubility (Sol), Water content (WC), and swelling (SW) decreased compared to control film (0 % BE). The porous and non-uniform surface in the films was observed with increasing BE concentration by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis (FTIR) showed that by BE adding to CA film, insignificant changes occurred compared to control film. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) results indicated that melting temperature and the glass transition temperature of CA films were decreased with BE increase. CA Film with 0.9 % BE had a 99 % weight loss after 60 days. The current research concludes that CA film containing BE can be used as an active, biodegradable and environmentally friendly edible film for food packaging.

Unveiling invisible farm-to-farm PRRSV-2 transmission links and routes through transmission tree and network analysis.

The United States (U.S.) swine industry has struggled to control porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) for decades, yet the causative virus, PRRSV-2, continues to circulate and rapidly diverges into new variants. In the swine industry, the farm is typically the epidemiological unit for monitoring, prevention, and control; breaking transmission among farms is a critical step in containing disease spread. Despite this, our understanding of farm transmission still is inadequate, precluding the development of tailored control strategies. Therefore, our objective was to infer farm-to-farm transmission links, estimate farm-level transmissibility as defined by reproduction numbers (R), and identify associated risk factors for transmission using PRRSV-2 open reading frame 5 (ORF5) gene sequences, animal movement records, and other data from farms in a swine-dense region of the U.S. from 2014 to 2017. Timed phylogenetic and transmission tree analyses were performed on three sets of sequences (n = 206) from 144 farms that represented the three largest genetic variants of the virus in the study area. The length of inferred pig-to-pig infection chains that corresponded to pairs of farms connected via direct animal movement was used as a threshold value for identifying other feasible transmission links between farms; these links were then transformed into farm-to-farm transmission networks and calculated farm-level R-values. The median farm-level R was one (IQR = 1-2), whereas the R value of 28% of farms was more than one. Exponential random graph models were then used to evaluate the influence of farm attributes and/or farm relationships on the occurrence of farm-to-farm transmission links. These models showed that, even though most transmission events cannot be directly explained by animal movement, movement was strongly associated with transmission. This study demonstrates how integrative techniques may improve disease traceability in a data-rich era by providing a clearer picture of regional disease transmission.

The Role of Children in the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, a Shifting Paradigm

Abstract Pediatric populations contribute to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission through a combination of exposure, susceptibility, and transmissibility. In this narrative review, SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is assessed to ascertain their role in transmission, by considering the characteristics of pediatric populations regarding their exposure and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19, and their transmission of the virus. A series of PubMed searches were conducted between November 2020 and February 2023 to identify articles describing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in children. The literature suggests that schools are key areas of exposure of children and adolescents to SARS-CoV-2, which contributed to school closures to mitigate spread and break transmission chains. However, the effectiveness of these measures is debated. Although SARS-CoV-2 appeared to infect children and adolescents less frequently than adults early in the pandemic, infection rates have risen considerably among the pediatric population with the emergence of variants of concern. Compared with adults and populations at high risk, children generally have a milder course of disease. The predominant role of children in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is thought to involve household and school settings, although the relative contribution of each to transmission is questioned. Through their exposure, susceptibility, and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, children and adolescents are a key population contributing to the transmission of the virus. Our continued and evolving understanding of the role of children in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has important implications to define appropriate preventive and therapeutic strategies for the pediatric population and the wider community.

Schistosomiasis: Current and future perspectives

Schistosomiasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) that has challenged the medical community and affects 200 million people annually. Despite early appreciation of the schistosomal life cycle, breaking transmission is very difficult due to deficiencies in sanitation, presence of animal reservoirs and chronicity of disease in the absence of symptoms. New and effective methods to control schistosomiasis are required to counteract the dire consequences it poses and reduce associated morbidity and disability adjusted life years (DALYs).

Genomic analysis of two phlebotomine sand fly vectors of Leishmania from the New and Old World.

Phlebotomine sand flies are of global significance as important vectors of human disease, transmitting bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens, including the kinetoplastid parasites of the genus Leishmania, the causative agents of devastating diseases collectively termed leishmaniasis. More than 40 pathogenic Leishmania species are transmitted to humans by approximately 35 sand fly species in 98 countries with hundreds of millions of people at risk around the world. No approved efficacious vaccine exists for leishmaniasis and available therapeutic drugs are either toxic and/or expensive, or the parasites are becoming resistant to the more recently developed drugs. Therefore, sand fly and/or reservoir control are currently the most effective strategies to break transmission. To better understand the biology of sand flies, including the mechanisms involved in their vectorial capacity, insecticide resistance, and population structures we sequenced the genomes of two geographically widespread and important sand fly vector species: Phlebotomus papatasi, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis, (distributed in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) and Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis (distributed across Central and South America). We categorized and curated genes involved in processes important to their roles as disease vectors, including chemosensation, blood feeding, circadian rhythm, immunity, and detoxification, as well as mobile genetic elements. We also defined gene orthology and observed micro-synteny among the genomes. Finally, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of these species in their respective geographical areas. These genomes will be a foundation on which to base future efforts to prevent vector-borne transmission of Leishmania parasites.

Reactive Case Detection Strategy for Malaria Control and Elimination: A 12 Year Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis from 25 Malaria-Endemic Countries.

Reactive case detection (RACD) is the screening of household members and neighbors of index cases reported in passive surveillance. This strategy seeks asymptomatic infections and provides treatment to break transmission without testing or treating the entire population. This review discusses and highlights RACD as a recommended strategy for the detection and elimination of asymptomatic malaria as it pertains in different countries. Relevant studies published between January 2010 and September 2022 were identified mainly through PubMed and Google Scholar. Search terms included "malaria and reactive case detection", "contact tracing", "focal screening", "case investigation", "focal screen and treat". MedCalc Software was used for data analysis, and the findings from the pooled studies were analyzed using a fixed-effect model. Summary outcomes were then presented using forest plots and tables. Fifty-four (54) studies were systematically reviewed. Of these studies, 7 met the eligibility criteria based on risk of malaria infection in individuals living with an index case < 5 years old, 13 met the eligibility criteria based on risk of malaria infection in an index case household member compared with a neighbor of an index case, and 29 met the eligibility criteria based on risk of malaria infection in individuals living with index cases, and were included in the meta-analysis. Individuals living in index case households with an average risk of 2.576 (2.540-2.612) were more at risk of malaria infection and showed pooled results of high variation heterogeneity chi-square = 235.600, (p < 0.0001) I2 = 98.88 [97.87-99.89]. The pooled results showed that neighbors of index cases were 0.352 [0.301-0.412] times more likely to have a malaria infection relative to index case household members, and this result was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The identification and treatment of infectious reservoirs is critical to successful malaria elimination. Evidence to support the clustering of infections in neighborhoods, which necessitates the inclusion of neighboring households as part of the RACD strategy, was presented in this review.

The Neighborhood Social Distancing To Prevent Covid-19 In Red Zone of South Tangerang City In Indonesia

Covid-19 pandemic has caused deaths and affected the lives of humankind in the world. The Indonesian government has taken numerous measures to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak through social distancing policy called Large Scale Social Restriction. The Task Force for the Acceleration of Covids-19 in the Sub-District Level, Village Level, and Community Unit Level and Neighborhood Unit in the regions is socializing Covid-19 prevention and breaking transmission chain. The main aim of this study was to mapping neighborhood health conditions to prevent and control on Covid-19. In this online survey, a self‐designed questionnaire was distributed among neighborhood unit of urban village in South Tangerang City, Banten, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistic shows that residents in the neighborhood are generally in good health conditions. Some residents suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart, diabetes, gastric ulcer, and several pregnant woman. The study concludes the importance of resident’s neighborhood solidarity and mutual cooperation by showing discipline and complying with health protocols such as social distancing, and physical distancing as well as maintaining good hygiene

The Death of Alexander the Great

The Death of Alexander the Great Zak Salih (bio) When they pass Mr. Nestor’s house, Mike asks his parents to turn on WMMS. A boy again, at twenty-one, in the back-seat of his parents’ car, his own car in the front drive with its broken transmission, asking Mom and Dad to play some music. Through their cigarette smoke, he watches the morning release the Cleveland suburbs from sleep. Cars and buses flash silver on their way downtown. Trees lie wrecked on lawns after last week’s storm. A mackerel cat stalks a finch along the eaves of the corner store. Mike’s mother turns the radio on. “—of 271 American lives lost this week, a stark report that—” She quickly changes the station. “—remains had recently arrived in New York City for her funeral, barred to reporters and the public, who nevertheless lined up to pay respects to the woman they said could make even the most rock-hearted man cry.” “So sad,” his mother says. She blows smoke out into the morning and starts to whistle “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Dead soldiers. Dead film stars. No one, on this station or WMMS or any other, says a word about Alexander, as if the brief mention Mike caught on the television news last night, between a segment on his brother and other hometown war heroes and sick elephants at the Metroparks Zoo, had been a mixed signal from another state, another universe. An old woman out for a morning walk in Trumbull Park had found the body left like litter in the meadow. A body later identified as Alexander Rush. Mike said nothing when he heard the name. He sat on the sofa and sucked his cigarette dry and remembered Alexander’s advice. Never look sad. They won’t pay for a crybaby. [End Page 107] The police mentioned guns, gangs, heroin. Mike’s father, high on his oldest son’s celebrity, scoffed. A woman held shaking hands to her face, spoke of a son she felt she’d never known, and Mike tried to find Alexander in the gaps between her fingers. During the weather, the lotto numbers, Mike thought of the cautionary films from high school about what heroin did to a body. The bleary eyes, the needle marks like bug bites, the inexplicable rage and paranoia. But Alexander hadn’t been angry or suspicious. His arms had been clean of everything save the scattered moles Mike liked to count when he was too nervous to look into Alexander’s eyes. Alexander had no need for heroin in Trumbull Park. The other boys, maybe. But not Alexander. Breathing in the backdraft of his parents’ exhaust, Mike yearns for his own pack of cigarettes, which he’s forgotten at home, which he can see on the garish yellow felt of the armchair in his bedroom. Sure, he could bum one of his mother’s White Horses or his father’s Solents, but Alexander had exclusively smoked Rothmans, which means Mike exclusively smokes Rothmans. To do otherwise, especially this morning, would feel sacrilegious. Goddamn cigarettes on the goddamn chair, he thinks. His mother brought the ugly beast home last year from an estate sale. A chair for listening to your music, she had said. Mike had seen right through the gift, of course, all the way down to her desperate desire to keep him safe from the violent world to which she’d handed over George, now off flying his planes somewhere in Southeast Asia. It was broken, too, the chair. The springs had long lost their tension, the weak wood slats on its underside felt ready to snap. Still, the chair wasn’t without its use. One evening, when Alexander was a no-show at the school, Mike had come home to his room, turned up WMMS, and pulled the slats out of the chair, one by one, like rotten teeth. Here, under a stack of bath towels, he stored the shoebox that held the money he’d made, his mother’s gift an illicit bank for the illicit income he had hoped to one day present to Alexander like an offering before a king...

Highly morphing and reconfigurable fluid–solid interactive metamaterials for tunable ultrasonic guided wave control

Fluid–structural interactions enable the alternation of local resonance behaviors of elastic metamaterial unit cells. Magnetically active ferrofluids facilitate reconfiguration couplings for breaking and tunneling ultrasonic wave energy transmission. This Letter presents a magnetic fluid–solid interactive metamaterial to achieve the tunable manipulation of multimodal, dispersive ultrasonic guided waves. It is revealed that the phenomenon of the fluid–structure interaction plays an indispensable role in the achievement of bandgap formation and translation. The tunable mechanism stems from the variation of the fluid–solid coupling reconfiguration arising from liquid morphing via electromagnetic stimuli. The tunable wave control performance was explicitly validated through both numerical simulations and experimental verifications. Such an active metamaterial system may possess application potential for future highly flexible and tunable wave control, e.g., selective-tunnel waveguiding and adaptive mechanical frequency filtering.

Disinfectants Useful to Manage the Emerging Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus in Greenhouse Tomato Production

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is an emerging tobamovirus infecting tomato and pepper crops. First identified in 2014 in the Middle East, ToBRFV has spread rapidly around the world. Being seed-borne, resistance breaking and easy mechanical transmission, ToBRFV can spread quickly in a greenhouse through plant handling. Thus, selecting an effective disinfectant that is capable of deactivating virus infectivity is important. We aimed to identify these effective disinfectants for ToBRFV management in greenhouse tomato production, particularly for total cleaning. A useful disinfectant should be effective against ToBRFV infectivity without major phytotoxic effect on the test plants. In this study, we evaluated 11 disinfectants at various concentrations and assessed their efficacy in ToBRFV treatment on tomato plants that were pretreated with or without SP2700, a known antiviral plant activator of Ningnanmycin. SP2700 treated-plants generated systemic acquired resistance with a delay in symptom expression for 2–3 weeks in comparison to the mock control. Overall, 1% Virocid, 2% Virkon S, 0.25% sodium hypochlorite (5% Clorox bleach), and 2.5% trisodium phosphate (TSP) achieved complete deactivation of ToBRFV with 15 min exposure. However, TSP presented serious phytotoxicity. Our results offer practical solutions to manage this emerging disease affecting tomato production in greenhouses.

High-performance degradable films of poly(lactic acid)/thermochromic microcapsule composites with thermochromic and energy storage functions via blown film process

In this study, the polylactic acid (PLA)/reversible thermochromic microcapsule (TCM) packaging application film was successfully synthesized by the blown film process. White mineral oil (WMO) was used as a dispersant to prepare PLA/TCM extruded materials with different mass fractions, in which the mass fraction of TCM was up to 20 wt% and the structural, thermal, mechanical, barrier, thermochromic, and heat storage-release properties were evaluated. It was found that WMO had a plasticizing effect, the elongation at break and water vapor transmission rate of the films with the addition of 7 wt% TCM were increased by 533 % and 31.38 %, respectively. For each thermochromic film, significant thermochromic and energy storage release phenomena were observed. For instance, 20 wt% TCM thermochromic film was most effective for prolonging the holding time and suspending the temperature drop rate. In general, thermochromic packaging films with optimized constitutes were successfully synthesized by the blown film process, which provides essential reference significance for the large-scale thermochromic film applications.

Evaluation and effect of rice bran and microwave heating on the physicomechanical properties of low-density polyethylene film and packaged milk quality

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film was developed with a mixture of reference LDPE and rice bran (RB). Three mixtures of 5, 10, and 15% RB were used for the LDPE film preparation. The films were analysed for the physico-mechanical properties before microwave heating (MH) and after MH and packaged milk quality was analysed regarding MH and pasteurisation. After MH, the physicomechanical properties of the material change significantly. LDPE film containing 15% RB was created to beat changes in tensile strength, elongation at break, bursting strength, and water vapour transmission rate (WVTR). The total migration of tested packaging materials was within the agreeable limit and after MH it also was within the permissible limit. Four different simulators were used to create food categories. These food simulators included distilled water, 3% acetic acid, 50% alcohol (ethanol), and n-heptane. The obtained results display that the total migration of food packages is dependent on the MH period, package material, and the simulator.

Karakteristik Komposit Bioplastik pada Perlakuan Rasio Campuran Karagenan-Glukomanan dan Suhu Gelatinisasi

This study aims to determine the effect of the carrageenan-glucomannan mixture ratio and gelatinization temperature and their interaction on the characteristics of the carrageenan-glucomannan bioplastic composite and also to determine the carrageenan-glucomannan bioplastic composite on the ratio and gelatinization temperature that produces the best characteristics. This study used a factorial randomized experimental group design. The first factor is the ratio of carrageenan-glucomannan which consists of 6 levels, namely 65:35, 70:30, 75:25, 80:20, 85:15, 60:10 (w/w). The second factor is the gelatinization temperature which consists of 3 levels, namely 70±1, 75±1, 80±1oC. The variables observed in this study were tensile strength, elongation at break, elasticity, thickness expansion, water vapor transmission rate, biodegradation. The resulting data were analyzed for diversity and continued with Duncan's Multiple Comparison test. The results showed that the ratio of the material has a very significant effect on tensile strength, elongation at break, elasticity, and water vapor transmission rate. Gelatinization temperature has a very significant effect on tensile strength, elongation at break, elasticity, thickness expansion, and has a significant effect on the rate of water vapor transmission. The best carrageenan-glucomannan bioplastic composite was obtained at the treatment of carrageenan:glucomannan ratio = 75:25 at a gelatinization temperature of 75±1°C, which only met the standard tensile strength and biodegradation. With a tensile strength of 17,237 MPa, elongation at break 35.2%, elasticity 52.7 MPa, thickness expansion 92.121%, water vapor transmission rate 0.742 g/m2.hour, and biodegradation 6 days&#x0D; Keywords: Bioplastic composite, carrageenan, glucomannan, material ratio, gelatinization temperature

Development of an immunofluorescence assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, emerged as the cause of a global crisis in 2019. Currently, the main method for identification of SARS-CoV-2 is a reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay designed to detect viral RNA in oropharyngeal (OP) or nasopharyngeal (NP) samples. While the PCR assay is considered highly specific and sensitive, this method cannot determine the infectivity of the sample, which may assist in evaluation of virus transmissibility from patients and breaking transmission chains. Thus, cell-culture-based approaches such as cytopathic effect (CPE) assays are routinely employed for the identification of infectious viruses in NP/OP samples. Despite their high sensitivity, CPE assays take several days and require additional diagnostic tests in order to verify the identity of the pathogen. We have therefore developed a rapid immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for the specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 in NP/OP samples following cell culture infection. Initially, IFA was carried out on Vero E6 cultures infected with SARS-CoV-2 at defined concentrations, and infection was monitored at different time points. This test was able to yield positive signals in cultures infected with 10 pfu/ml at 12 hours postinfection (PI). Increasing the incubation time to 24 hours reduced the detectable infective dose to 1 pfu/ml. These IFA signals occur before the development of CPE. When compared to the CPE test, IFA has the advantages of specificity, rapid detection, and sensitivity, as demonstrated in this work.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00705-022-05392-z.

Cetylpyridinium chloride promotes disaggregation of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles

ABSTRACT Background SARS-CoV-2 is continuously disseminating worldwide. The development of strategies to break transmission is mandatory. Aim of the study To investigate the potential of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as a viral inhibitor. Methods SARS-CoV-2 Virus Like-Particles (VLPs) were incubated with CPC, a potent surfactant routinely included in mouthwash preparations. Results Concentrations of 0.05% CPC (w/v) commonly used in mouthwash preparations are sufficient to promote the rupture of SARS-CoV-2 VLP membranes. Conclusion Including CPC in mouthwashes could be a prophylactic strategy to keep SARS-CoV-2 from spreading.

Coverage evaluation surveys following soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis mass drug administration in Wolaita Zone of Ethiopia-The Geshiyaro project.

The Geshiyaro project aims to break transmission of soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis in the Wolaita Zone of Ethiopia through a combination of two interventions: behavior change communication (BCC) for increased water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) infrastructure use alongside preventive chemotherapy (PC) using albendazole (ALB) and praziquantel (PZQ), targeted to reach 90% treatment coverage. Coverage evaluation surveys (CES) were conducted post-treatment, and the resultant survey coverage was compared to reported administrative coverage. This provided a secondary confirmation of the Geshiyaro project coverages, and is used to monitor the success of each Mass Drug Administration (MDA) round. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 13 woredas (districts) of the Wolaita Zone. All eligible individuals from the selected households were invited for an interview. The study design, sample size, analysis and report writing were conducted according to the World Health Organization (WHO) CES guidelines for PC. The study interviewed a total of 3,568 households and 18,875 individuals across 13 woredas in the Wolaita Zone. Overall, the survey coverage across all studied woredas was 81.5% (95% CI; 80.9-82.0%) for both ALB and PZQ. Reported administrative coverage across all studied woredas was higher than survey coverage, 92.7% and 91.2% for ALB and PZQ, respectively. A significant portion of individuals (17.6%) were not offered PC. The predominant reason for not achieving the target coverage of 90% was beneficiary absenteeism during MDA (6.6% ALB, 6.8% PZQ), followed by drug distributors failing to reach all households (4.7% ALB, 4.8% PZQ), and beneficiaries not informed of the program (1.3% ALB, 1.7% PZQ). Programmatic actions will need to be taken during the next MDA campaign to achieve the targeted Geshiyaro project coverage threshold across data collection and program engagement. Adequate training and supervision on recording and reporting administrative coverage should be provided, alongside improved social mobilization of treated communities to increase participation, and strengthened institutional partnerships and communication.