Contagious Illness Research Articles

Laboratory response to an infant with suspected measles vaccine associated fever and rash in Sri Lanka

BackgroundMeasles is a highly contagious illness. Sri Lanka (SL) has eliminated the measles in 2019. The country is at risk of importation of measles and there could be vaccine-associated measles like illnesses. Therefore, it is important to investigate patients with fever, rash to differentiate the wild-type from vaccine-type excluding other suspected pathogens to direct infection prevention and control strategies. The objective is to describe the laboratory investigation procedure in an immunocompetent child, developed fever, rash following measles containing vaccine in post-measles eliminated period, SL. MethodsThis laboratory based investigation was carried out in National Measles Laboratory, SL. Blood and throat swab were received from a patient with fever, rash, cough and coryza developed at tenth day of receiving the measles containing live-attenuated vaccine. Samples were tested for measles, rubella, and other relevant pathogens according to the laboratory testing algorithm for an immunocompetent child with fever, rash and flu like symptoms. ResultsMeasles vaccine type A, Edmonston-strain virus was detected after sequencing in throat swab and measles IgM and IgG were positive at sixth-week of illness-onset. In addition, influenza A RNA was detected in throat swab at day-three with detectable parvoB19 IgM in blood sample received at sixth-week of post-onset symptoms. ConclusionsMeasles like illness of this immunocompetent child who received measles containing vaccine could be due to measles vaccine-type A or influenza infection. In a measles eliminated, resource-limited setting in SL, there should be a well-defined, testing algorithm to exclude prevalent possible pathogens according to epidemiological and clinical information.

Vector Autoregressive Integrating Moving Average (Varima) Model of COVID-19 Pandemic and Oil Price

Purpose: A coronavirus associated with severe respiratory syndrome has created Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), a highly contagious illness that affects the entire world population. On the other hand, COVID-19 is having a direct impact on human life because of its proliferation. So, the study's goal is to forecast and analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price utilizing multiple time series analysis methods (VARIMA model). Theoretical framework: Recent literature has reported that the multivariate time series is robust model for forecasting and analyzing dynamic relationship between series, while the univariate ARIMA model has been generalized to include vector variables, that is an extension of its capabilities. The VAR (p) model analyzes the interdependence between two or more series but does not take into account the impact of shocks at various time variable delays. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses VARMA (p, q) model which links a set of variables to their prior iterations as well as those of other variables and shocks to those same variables. Sample data concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price was globally provided. It contains daily observations of them variables for the years 2020-2022. Findings: The best model is VARIMA (2,1,2), and the results shown that the oil price is not only influenced by itself but also influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the standard error grows over time of the forecast. Research, Practical & Social implications: The best model is sound for short-term forecasting but unstable for long-term forecasting. Future researchers can integrate factors across areas. Include tourism demand and industry variables in modeling. Originality/value: Collecting COVID-19 pandemic data and oil price series in a modern model that is a multivariate time series model with a high predicted level of model accuracy between these variables in order to predict and analyze the effects between them series and estimate the interaction between these two series with the most recent data is the value of this study, and then offers merchants the chance to comprehend the forecasting of oil price throughout the covid-19 effects as well as the associated risks.

Recent Challenges and Opportunities on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS Cov)

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS CoV) is an extremely contagious viral illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS – CoV). Whats more disease is transmitted via respiratory droplets of infected patients during coughing or sneezing and affects primarily the lung parenchyma. Present work were focused on an update of recent challenges and opportunities on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome corona virus the discovery of this MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in 2012, the health threat increased all over the world. Most of the respiratory diseases in this danger came to the fore, the reason behind the occurrence of MERS CoV is an animal i.e. dromedari camel, due to which the virus spread to humans again and again. This viral domestication is a factor associated with zoonotic transmission, a transmission system within camels. This disease is rare in community joint family and group living together. The virus is also transmitted through direct contact with a health care worker, during the diagnosis of patients in hospitals, and care of patients. Its outbreak increased rapidly. There are many such viral infections and they affect the health facilities. Similarly, people affected by MERS CoV viral and pose a serious threat and methods of transmission of health related treatment used in prevention patients from this infection have been explained. Furthermore the global impact of this new epidemic is yet uncertain there is a need of some effective technologies and vaccines to protect from further attack.

"As if we are branded with the mark of Cain": stigma, guilt, and shame experienced by COVID-19 survivors in Israel - a qualitative study.

Stigma is associated with harmful health outcomes, and it fuels social and health inequalities. It can undermine social cohesion and encourage social exclusion of groups, which may contribute to secrecy about disease symptoms, avoidance of disease testing and vaccination, and further spread of a contagious illness. Stigmatization is a social process set to exclude those who are perceived to be a potential source of disease and may pose a threat to effective interpersonal and social relationships. In this qualitative study, we delved into the stigmatization experiences of twenty COVID-19 recovered patients during the COVID-19 first wave, using in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted during November 2020. Using thematic analysis, we found that the process of stigmatization was all-encompassing, from the stage of diagnosis throughout the duration of the disease and the recovery phases. On the basis of the data, we hypothesized that stigma is a significant public health concern, and effective and comprehensive interventions are needed to counteract the damaging and insidious effects during infectious disease pandemics such as COVID-19, and reduce infectious disease-related stigma. Interventions should address provision of emotional support frameworks for the victims of stigmatization and discrimination that accompany the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. This study was conducted in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when uncertainty about the disease was high and fear of contamination fueled high levels of stigmatization against those who became ill with Covid-19.

Susceptibility of Fat Tissue to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Female hACE2 Mouse Model.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 has had a catastrophic effect globally causing millions of deaths worldwide and causing long-lasting health complications in COVID-19 survivors. Recent studies including ours have highlighted that adipose tissue can act as a reservoir where SARS-CoV-2 can persist and cause long-term health problems. Here, we evaluated the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on adipose tissue physiology and the pathogenesis of fat loss in a murine COVID-19 model using humanized angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) mice. Since epidemiological studies reported a higher mortality rate of COVID-19 in males than in females, we examined hACE2 mice of both sexes and performed a comparative analysis. Our study revealed for the first time that: (a) viral loads in adipose tissue and the lungs differ between males and females in hACE2 mice; (b) an inverse relationship exists between the viral loads in the lungs and adipose tissue, and it differs between males and females; and (c) CoV-2 infection alters immune signaling and cell death signaling differently in SARS-CoV-2 infected male and female mice. Overall, our data suggest that adipose tissue and loss of fat cells could play important roles in determining susceptibility to CoV-2 infection in a sex-dependent manner.

High-Sensitivity Early Detection Biomedical Sensor for Tuberculosis With Low Losses in the Terahertz Regime Based on Photonic Crystal Fiber Technology

Tuberculosis is one of the most contagious and lethal illnesses in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Tuberculosis had the leading mortality rate as a result of a single infection, ranking above HIV/AIDS. Early detection is an essential factor in patient treatment and can improve the survival rate. Detection methods should have high mobility, high accuracy, fast detection, and low losses. This work presents a novel biomedical photonic crystal fiber sensor, which can accurately detect and distinguish between the different types of tuberculosis bacteria. The designed sensor detects these types with high relative sensitivity and negligible losses compared to other photonic crystal fiber-based biomedical sensors. The proposed sensor exhibits a relative sensitivity of 90.6%, an effective area of 4.342×10−8m2, with a negligible confinement loss of 3.13×10−9cm−1, a remarkably low effective material loss of 0.0132cm−1, and a numerical aperture of 0.3462. The proposed sensor is capable of operating in the terahertz regimes over a wide range (1 THz–2.4THz). An abbreviated review of non-optical detection techniques is also presented. An in-depth comparison between this work and recent related photonic crystal fiber-based literature is drawn to validate the efficacy and authenticity of the proposed design.

Public Behavior in Urban Parks during Pandemics as a Foundation for Risk Assessment by Park Managers: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia

Accessing parks without transmitting viruses would ensure not depriving people of parks’ health benefits during pandemics. This study attempts to develop a practical tool for park managers to assess the risk of contracting respiratory contagious illnesses, decide on meaningful mitigation measures, and monitor the effect of these measures. The assessment is based on the spatial and temporal behaviors of users at each park open space type (POST), particularly the behaviors that may impact the risk of illness transmission. The researcher created a checklist, including five factors relating to users: physical distancing, density, duration of stay, percentage of users wearing masks, and frequency of surface touch; then, the implementation of the tool was demonstrated by selecting a sample zone from Jeddah waterfront park, Saudi Arabia, while COVID-19 was active. User behavior data were collected at the POSTs of the sample zone, using behavioral mapping and tracking methods. After analyzing the data using ArcGIS Desktop and SPSS Statistics software, the data were used to fill out the composed checklist to assess the risk at POSTs. The findings indicated that the waterfront railing area, playground, and pier were the POSTs with the highest risk. By using the checklist, park managers can contribute to the success of non-pharmaceutical mitigation interventions at a local scale.

Jedinstveni slučaj Julijusa Štrajhera - prvo međunarodno suđenje u istoriji za govor mržnje

The trial on the International Military Tribunal after World War II represents undoubtedly a touchstone both in legal history and in the history of civilization in general. Among 24 defendants selected in the different kinds of Nazi officials, the case of Julius Streicher is very specific. The main feature of his case is the fact that he was the unique Nazi official who was indicted and convicted "only" because of his hate speech towards the Jewish people, representing thus perhaps one of the most visible personifications of the Nazi regime. The intensity of his hate speech did not know any limit to the extent that he openly and brutally compared in his own newspapers all the Jews with some kind of animals or, even worse, with some contagious illnesses, and moreover, did it tirelessly for more than twenty years within everyday awful campaign addressed to the entire German people. During the trial, it was undeniably proved that Streicher knew about the mass murders of Jews, especially in the East of Europe, which was considered by the trial chamber as an aggravating circumstance. Among all those novelties introduced by the Nuremberg trial, we can see the crime against humanity as a new international crime since 1945, which was the subject of complaints of defendants' attorneys claiming rightly from the legal point of view that the newly created crime violates one fundamental principle of modern criminal law - the principle of legality. On the other hand, besides this procedural dimension of the Nuremberg trial, the key question remained substantially unresolved: did Streicher's hideous everyday campaign against Jews effectively influence the mass murder of Jews? Nonetheless, the potential answer suggests to us that the case of Julius Streicher will certainly remain a good example for all future analyses of judicial treatment of hate speech, but also for future contributions and developments of international criminal law.

Elucidation of flavonoids from potent Iranian Scutellaria species against Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a contagious illness. Different species of Scutellaria genus are used as a traditional remedy to reduce influenza symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the anti-influenza capacity of several species of Iranian Scutellaria and identify active compounds of the most potent species for the first time. Some Iranian species of Scutellaria were collected from different regions of Iran, including S. pinnatifida with mucida, viridis, and alpina subspecies; S. tournefortii; S. tomentosa; S. persica. They were fractionated to chloroform and methanol. The total phenols and flavonoids of samples were examined by the folin-ciocalteau and aluminum-flavonoid complex methods, respectively. The 50% cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) on MDCK cells and non-cytotoxic concentrations (NCTC) were determined by MTT assay. The percentage of cell protection against IAV and their effect on virus titer were investigated in pre-, post-, and co-penetration treatment groups. Phytochemicals of the most effective species were isolated by various chromatographic methods and identified by different spectroscopic methods. Methanol fraction of S. pinnatifida subsp. viridis demonstrated the highest amounts of flavonoid content and best activity against influenza A virus in all combination treatments, which reduced the virus titer by 5 logs with no cytotoxicity. Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, apigenin-4'-methoxy-7-O-glucoside, luteolin, and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were purified and identified from this species. Scutellaria pinnatifida subsp. viridis can be introduced as a source of flavonoids with acceptable anti-influenza activity. S. tomentosa also showed potent antiviral effects and is a candidate for elucidation in further studies.

The Clinical Significance of Cardiac Markers in COVID-19 Patients: A Review Article

SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious viral illness that started the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Accumulating evidence suggests that the cardiovascular system is primarily affected by SARS-CoV-2. Cardiovascular complications such as myocarditis, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, arrhythmias, and venous thromboembolism have been reported. The role of cardiac biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring COVID-19 patients is becoming of particular interest, as it may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of cardiovascular injury and inform clinical decision-making. Troponins, specifically troponin I, have been widely studied and was proven to be elevated in COVID-19 patients with myocardial injury, indicating a negative prognostic indicator and association with poorer outcomes. Elevated levels of Natriuretic peptides, such as B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), have been noted in severe COVID-19 cases and are associated with higher mortality rates. However, it is essential to consider that elevated natriuretic peptide levels in COVID-19 patients may also be influenced by factors other than heart failure. CK-MB, a subtype of creatine kinase, has been found to have significantly higher concentrations in COVID-19 patients with high disease severity or non-survivor status, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for risk stratification in this population. Myoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are additional cardiac markers that can indicate heart muscle damage, but their specificity in COVID-19 patients may be limited. The widely used cardiac markers provide valuable diagnostic and prognostic information about cardiac injury and function in COVID-19 patients. Still, their performance characteristics and interpretation should be considered in the context of the individual patient and conjunction with other clinical assessments.

Arduino enabled Ventilator with Blood Oxygen Sensing Circuit

A lifesaving ventilator is a machine or system that helps you to breathe if you are not doing it yourself. Sometimes your doctor may call this a “Mechanical Ventilator”. In this paper low-cost ventilator is manufactured. Here we reduced the machining material cost. Instead of making the body, we have used acrylic panel cutting sheets. To reduce power consumption, we have a self-recursive Silicon Ambu bag is used. we have in a pandemic situation, people died outside the hospital due to the non-availability of a ventilator. A ventilator is very important for a breath patient easily to live. People also call or refer to this as a “Breathing Machine” or “Respirator” system. A respirator is a mask that hospitals or medical workers wear when they care for someone with a contagious or critical illness. A ventilator is beside the machine with a tube connecting your airways through the nose. When your lung takes oxygen (exhales) and when your lung through outside (expels) carbon dioxide. The body can make the pressure which is the reverse Which is exhaled and expelled. The air goes through pipes in our mouth and down our windpipe. A ventilator is also breathed out for automatic or we can do it on our own depending on the situation or illness.

Measles Related Complications: A Hospital-Based Study in Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand

Background: Measles is a contagious vaccine-preventable illness caused by the measles virus.1Aim: To study complications of measles in pediatric patients & to determine the course of measles based onvarious factors i.e. age, nutritional status, socio-economic status, immunization status, other host factors.Methods: It is a prospective descriptive study done in pediatric OPD & IPD over one yearResults: The average age of a child with confirmed measles is 21 months & 15.8 months in complicated measleswith a male predisposition. Patients in 2nd degree PEM had a risk of developing complicated measles. There existsa positive correlation between lack of vaccination and the development of complications due to measles.Conclusion: Universal implementation of two doses of MMR Vaccine and screening & management of malnutritioncan prevent the severity of complications associated with measles.

Chapter 8 - COVID-19 (novel SARS-CoV-2) neurological illness

COVID-19 illness is associated with diverse neurological manifestations. Its exceptionally high prevalence results from unprecedented genetic diversity, genomic recombination, and superspreading. With each new mutation and variant, there are foreseeable risks of rising fatality and novel neurological motor complications in childhood and adult cases. This chapter provides an extensive review of COVID-19 neurological illness, notably the motor manifestations. Innovative treatments have been developed to stem the spread of infectious contagious illness, and attenuate the resultant cytokine storm and other postinfectious immune aspects responsible for postacute COVID-19 syndrome due to the multiplier effect of infection, immunity, and inflammation, termed I3.

Role of inflammasomes NLRC4 in pathogenesis of leprosy

Mycobacterium leprae is the organism responsible for causing leprosy, a persistent contagious illness. The inflammasome is a complex of cytosolic proteins that mediates the inflammatory response in response to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), the latter of which is responsible for the maturation of caspase 1, secretion of IL-1 and IL-18, and a type of cell death known as pyroptosis. One protein, interleukin-1 conversion enzyme (ICE)-protease activating factor, was found to be responsible for initiating caspase-1. (IPAF). The amino-terminal CARD domain and its surrounding amino acids confirmed its membership in the NLR protein family, prompting the nomenclature change to NLRC4. In reaction to bacterial infections that target the cytoplasm of host cells, like M. tuberculosis and M. leprae, new data indicates that the NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in the inflammatory response caused by caspase-11. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome follows a classical pathway that begins with the recognition of PAMPs or DAMPs by TLRs, which then activates nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B)-mediated signaling and up-regulates transcription of inactive NLRP3, pro-IL-1, and pro-IL-18. Oligomerization of NLRP3 is the second stage, which is then followed by the formation of a complex containing NLRP3, ASC, and pro-caspase-1. This results in the synthesis and release of mature IL-1 and IL-18, as well as the self-activation of pro-caspase-1 into the enzymatically active form by proteolytic cleavage. The clinical course of an infection depends on the result of this first interaction, and it now appears that NLRP1, NLRP3, caspase 1, IL-1, and IL-18 collaborate in a concerted effort to trigger this early reaction.

Public Health at the Kitchen Table: Lessons from the Home HIV Test's Long Road to Approval

Home diagnostic testing is becoming part of the modern medical landscape, but many ethical and policy questions remain unresolved. Most of them first surfaced during the long regulatory deliberations over the home HIV test, the first home test for a contagious illness sold in the United States. Between 1989 and 2012, federal regulators and their consultants debated the ideal metrics for such a test, its benefits, and its potential harms for both individuals and communities. Ultimately, two iterations of the home HIV test were marketed in the United States; neither one of them changed the course of the national HIV epidemic, as hoped. This failure has powerful implications for home testing for other contagious diseases.

1458. Epidemiology of Infectious Mononucleosis in Ambulatory Care Settings, United States, 2006–2019

Abstract Background Infectious mononucleosis (IM) is a contagious illness most frequently caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). There are no recent published studies characterizing the burden of IM in the general US population over time. Methods Nationally representative samples of US ambulatory medical care data were utilized to estimate the N and proportion of visits with an IM diagnosis (based on ICD-9/10 codes) by time period. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS: 2006–2015) and National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey (NHAMCS: 2006–2019) allow estimation of annual visits in free-standing and hospital-based ambulatory care, including emergency departments (EDs). Restricted cubic spline models were implemented to assess temporal trends. NHAMCS data were divided based on availability: combined outpatient and ED (2006–2011) and ED-only (2012–2019). Analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4 & SUDAAN 11.0.3. Results There were 3,182,082 IM-related visits in NAMCS, 599,837 in combined outpatient and ED NHAMCS, and 449,000 in ED-only NHAMCS across study years. For overlapping study years, 2006–2011, across all databases the average annual number of IM-related visits was 419,927. Persons aged 10–30 years comprised the majority of IM-related visits: 61% in NAMCS, 88% in combined NHAMCS, and 85% in ED-only NHAMCS. While 66% of IM visits were made by females in NAMCS, this proportion was lower in combined NHAMCS (58%) and ED-only NHAMCS (51%). Most IM-related visits were among non-Hispanic white patients: 92% in NAMCS, 87% in combined NHAMCS, and 67% in ED-only NHAMCS. Across databases and years, there were no consistent linear trends in IM-related visits (Figure 1). Rates of IM-related visits in NAMCS decreased from 4.18 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.02–5.78) in 2006–2009 to 2.89 (95% CI: 1.40–5.96) per 10,000 visits in 2013–2015; decreased from 4.94 (95% CI: 3.41, 7.16) in 2006–2007 to 3.56 (95% CI: 2.33–5.45) per 10,000 visits in 2010–2011 in combined NHAMCS data; and increased from 3.61 (95% CI: 2.30–5.67) in 2012–2014 to 5.98 (95% CI: 3.20–11.17) per 10,000 visits in 2018–2019 in ED-only data. Conclusion This study contributes epidemiologic information concerning IM and EBV by estimating US ambulatory medical care burden of IM over time and describing the demographics of those affected. Disclosures Christina Chandra, MPH, Moderna, Inc.: Contractor Jianheng Li, MBBS, MPH, Moderna, Inc.: Contractor W. Dana Flanders, MD, DSc, MPH, MA, Moderna, Inc.: Contractor Roderick McPhee, MD, PhD, Moderna, Inc.: Salary|Moderna, Inc.: Stocks/Bonds Robert Paris, MD, Moderna, Inc.: Salary|Moderna, Inc.: Stocks/Bonds Philip Buck, PhD, MPH, Moderna, Inc.: Salary|Moderna, Inc.: Stocks/Bonds Sumana Chandramouli, PhD, Moderna, Inc.: Salary|Moderna, Inc.: Stocks/Bonds Susan Hall, PhD, MS, Moderna, Inc.: Salary|Moderna, Inc.: Stocks/Bonds Cathy Lally, MSPH, Moderna, Inc.: Contractor.

Scientific evidence on mental health in nursing professionals in the hospital setting [Evidencias científicas sobre la salud mental en profesionales de enfermería en el contexto hospitalario

Nowadays, given the pandemic situation caused by COVID 19, it has become clear that health personnel are at high risk of presenting emotional problems due to the uncertainty of the potential risks of the hospital environment. Objective: To determine the scientific evidence on mental health in nursing professionals in the hospital context. Method: Integrative, exploratory review in 2 databases, Dialnet and Google Scholar, considering the inclusion criteria as English, Spanish and Portuguese. Results. There is evidence of an increase in the presence of mental health problems in nurses, such as stress, anxiety, depression, fear, among others. In the face of unknown highly contagious illnesses that have appeared in recent years, which places them at high occupational risk and affects the quality of life of the professionals responsible for care. It is concluded that, in the face of the health emergency, nurses should use biosecurity and personal protection measures in health practice, such as taking care of their mental health, in order to maintain an adequate relationship involving patient-nurse care. It also favours timely preventive interventions in the mental health care of nurses.

Selective inhibition of ACE‐2‐interacting domain of SARS‐CoV‐2 by AIDS peptide attenuates Spike S1 associated behavioral and neuronal inflammation in in vitro and in vivo models

AbstractBackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a serious contagious illness caused by the virus strain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV‐2). Covid‐19 patients are suffered from various brain complications, but underlying mechanism is not clear. So far, there is no proper therapeutic strategy against Covid‐19 and its implications on the brain.MethodSince SARS‐CoV‐2 binds to angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for entering into host cells, to target COVID‐19 from therapeutic angle, we designed a hexapeptide corresponding to the ACE2‐interacting domain of SARS‐CoV‐2 (AIDS) that inhibits the association between receptor‐binding domain‐containing spike S1 and ACE‐2. Initially, we have validated the effect of AIDS peptide and the its role in Spike S1 associated neuroinflammatory alteration in mouse primary glia cultures. For in vivo, recombinant spike S1 was administered Intranasally for 14 days. Wild type and mutant AIDS peptide were administered post 5 days treatment of spike S1. Post two weeks treatment, we performed several behavioral assessment and biochemical evaluationResultIncreased INOS levels and microglia activation was observed by Spike S1 treatment in mice primary microglia. AIDS peptide prominently attenuates Spike S1 associated inflammatory markers in glia cultures. Intranasal intoxication of C57/BL6 mice with recombinant SARS‐CoV‐2 spike S1 led to fever, increase in IL‐6 in lungs as well as in brain, and impairment in spatial learning memory functions and motor disabilities, mimicking some of the important symptoms of COVID‐19. Intranasal treatment with wtAIDS, but not mAIDS, peptide reduced fever, enhanced locomotor functions and cognitive and memory functions in SARS‐CoV‐2 spike S1‐intoxicated mice. Our studies show wtAIDS peptide attenuates Spike S1 inducted cytokine levels in the brain.ConclusionOur results illustrated that, selective targeting of ACE2‐to‐SARS‐CoV‐2 interaction by wtAIDS may be beneficial for COVID‐19 associated memory and learning deficits via maintaining the cytokine levels

Discrimination of influenza A virus subtypes by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses which possess the enormous threat to older people and young children. Rapid and precise discrimination of virus subtypes are quite crucial for the early therapy, prophylaxis and the prevention of epidemic outbreaks. Herein, a universal strategy, with influenza A virus (IAV) as a model, is proposed for the discrimination of virus subtypes based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Reference library based on nine IAVs subtypes (i.e., H1N1, H3N2, H4N8, H5N8, H6N6, H7N7, H9N2, H10N8, and H11N8) was set up for matching various IAVs subtypes. The simulative test spectra from IAVs showed that the corresponding IAVs subtypes could be distinguished in 90 min, accurately. Furthermore, the principal component analysis results also show that nine virus subtypes can be reliably distinguished. More importantly, this strategy provides an alternative method for identifying and distinguishing other viruses with high variability characteristics, such as SARS-CoV-2, which could be helpful for implementing public health strategies to counter pandemics.

Hearing Evaluation Post Canal Wall-Up (CWU) Tympanoplasty on Patients with Safe Type Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media

Objective: Otitis media is a contagious inflammatory illness of the middle ear that might have a sudden onset and a complete resolution, or it can have a persistent presentation and long-term implications. Surgical treatment is available for all kinds of otitis media. Different types of operations include canal wall-up, canal wall-down, and their variations. The wall-up approach of the two canals with or without posterior tympanotomies, also known as tympanoplasty surgery, preserves the rear wall of the ear canal. Material and Methods: Hearing evaluation was conducted after canal wall-up tympanoplasty surgery at the outpatient clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia over a period of two years (2018-2019). Results: Two hundred and thirty-seven patients underwent from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019. However, only 74 (31.2%) of them had complete medical records after surgery. Fifty-nine ears (79.7%) experienced a better hearing threshold, six ears (8.1%) did not improve, and nine ears (12.2%) deteriorated. The hearing threshold improvement was of a magnitude of 10.9 dB; before surgery, it was 56.6 dB, and after surgery, it became 45.6 dB. Conclusion: A 10.9-dB improvement in hearing threshold mean was observed among patients undergoing canal wall-up tympanoplasty, whereas the bone gap improvement between pre- and post-tympanoplasty was 6.9 dB.