Aetiology Of COVID-19 Research Articles

Interleukin 6 Antagonists in Severe COVID-19 Disease: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Outcomes.

Inhibitors of interleukin 6 [IL-6] have been utilized to treat severe COVID-19 disease. Their immunosuppressive or immunomodulating impact may be beneficial in COVID-19. To discuss the role of IL-6 inhibitors and assess various trials conducted to evaluate the efficacy of IL-6 inhibitors in COVID-19 disease. Two of the most common causes of mortality in COVID-19-infected critically ill individuals are acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiorgan failure. Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines suggest that a cytokine storm, also known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), is involved in the etiology of COVID-19. Most tissue damage, sepsis, and pulmonary and cardiovascular problems are caused mainly by the host defense system. Therefore, regulating this inflammatory cascade using immunomodulators is a prudent strategy. Although corticosteroids, as immunomodulators, are routinely used in COVID-19 management, interleukin (IL) inhibitors, especially IL-6 inhibitors, are also tested in many trials. Many studies have demonstrated that IL-6 inhibitors improve disease outcomes and decrease mortality, whereas others have shown that they are ineffective. In this paper, we briefly examined the role of IL-6 in COVID-19 pathogenesis and trials that support or refute the use of IL-6 inhibitors in treating COVID-19 disease. Though mixed results are coming from trials regarding the adjuvant use of IL-6 inhibitors and standard anti-viral therapy with dexamethasone, a consensus favors using IL-6 inhibitors in severely ill COVID-19 patients regardless of the outcome.

Waves of inequality: Income differences in intensive care due to Covid-19 in Sweden

Abstract Background Individuals in lower social strata were overall more likely to develop severe Covid-19 during the pandemic. However, specific conditions in terms of preparedness, knowledge and the properties of the virus itself changed during the course of the pandemic. Socioeconomic inequalities in Covid-19 may therefore shift over time. This study examines the relationship between income and intensive care (ICU) episodes due to Covid-19 in Sweden during three distinct waves. Methods This study uses Swedish register data on the total adult population and estimate the relative risk (RR) of ICU episodes due to Covid-19 by income quartile for each month between March 2020 and May 2022, and for each wave, using Poisson regression analyses. Results The first wave had modest income-related inequalities, while the second wave had a clear income gradient, with the lowest income quartile having an increased risk compared to the high-income group (RR: 1·55 [1·36 - 1·77]). In the third wave, the overall need for ICU decreased, but relative risks increased, particularly the top and bottom income quartiles (RR: 3·72 [3·50 - 3·96]). Inequalities in the third wave were partly explained by differential vaccination coverage by income quartile, although substantial inequalities remained after adjustment for vaccination status (RR: 2·39 [2·20 - 2·59]). Conclusions The study highlights the importance of considering the changing mechanisms that connect income and health during a novel pandemic. Health inequalities per income group increased for each subsequent wave. As the aetiology of Covid-19 became better understood those with more resources could better protect themselves from infection. Understanding the social dynamic of infectious diseases can help prepare for possible future pandemics. Key messages • Health inequalities in severe covid-19 infections increased as the pandemic progressed. • Understanding the social dynamic of infectious diseases can help prepare for possible future pandemics.

Waves of inequality: income differences in intensive care due to Covid-19 in Sweden.

Socioeconomically vulnerable groups were overall more likely to develop severe Covid-19, but specific conditions in terms of preparedness, knowledge and the properties of the virus itself changed during the course of the pandemic. Inequalities in Covid-19 may therefore shift over time. This study examines the relationship between income and intensive care (ICU) episodes due to Covid-19 in Sweden during three distinct waves. This study uses Swedish register data on the total adult population and estimates the relative risk (RR) of ICU episodes due to Covid-19 by income quartile for each month between March 2020 and May 2022, and for each wave, using Poisson regression analyses. The first wave had modest income-related inequalities, while the second wave had a clear income gradient, with the lowest income quartile having an increased risk compared to the high-income group [RR: 1.55 (1.36-1.77)]. In the third wave, the overall need for ICU decreased, but RRs increased, particularly in the lowest income quartile [RR: 3.72 (3.50-3.96)]. Inequalities in the third wave were partly explained by differential vaccination coverage by income quartile, although substantial inequalities remained after adjustment for vaccination status [RR: 2.39 (2.20-2.59)]. The study highlights the importance of considering the changing mechanisms that connect income and health during a novel pandemic. The finding that health inequalities increased as the aetiology of Covid-19 became better understood could be interpreted through the lens of adapted fundamental cause theory.

Study of ACE2 gene expression and evaluated some cellular and humoral immunity parameters of COVID-19 patients in Ramadi City

The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the COVID-19 epidemic. SARS-CoV-2 accesses host cells by ACE2, which is abundantly expressed in the heart, kidneys, and lungs and shed into the plasma. Many SARS-CoV-2 patients' neutralizing antibody titers and memory B cell responses may be transient, exposing them to re-infection. Notably, neutralizing antibody titers and the number of virus-specific T cells had a substantial relationship. Our findings lay the groundwork for additional research into protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and the etiology of COVID-19, particularly in severe instances. The most important characteristic of our findings a positive correlation between all parameters (cellular and humoral) and COVID-19 patients compared with healthy group excepting neutrophil cells where no significant difference was observed between the two groups. Lymphopenia and elevated levels of specific cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, have been linked to illness severity in general. T cells are thought to play a key role in the first immune response. In extreme situations, a significant drop in T cell counts is virtually always detected.

Are Dioxins the Causative Agent of Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome?

Stein-Leventhal syndrome (Polycystic ovaries syndrome), represent one of the major obstacles facing reproductive medicine researchers, because there is no information about the etiology of it, and that made them fail to draw smile on faces of millions of women around the world, who are suffering from it. Scientists said that it is attributed to genetic and environmental factors, and we hypothesized that it was caused by environmental pollution by dioxins (specifically heavy metals), which disturb aryl hydrocarbon receptor and that lead to disturbing of nuclear receptors and then express genes which lead to hormonal, metabolic and immunological abnormalities appear in PCOS patients. And fortunately this hypothesis supports our hypothesis about the etiology of COVID-19 and its variants, clinically and epidemiologically. PCOS can be transmitted transmammry, sexually from Dixon exposed male partners, and due to direct exposure to Dixon either via explosion or by excessive use of makeup .Experimental studies is required to test our hypothesis.

Laparoscopic splenectomy in a comorbid patient in the early recovery period of cerebral infarction on the background of pneumonia COVID-19 etiology

The article presents a clinical case of urgent surgical treatment, laparoscopic removal of the spleen in a comorbid patient in serious condition. Surgical treatment was carried out according to vital indications, a smooth postoperative period. With dynamic observation, a possible consequence of surgery is the occlusion of large vessels of the brachiocephalic tree. A multidisciplinary approach, which also extends to the conditions for providing medical care to a patient in the "red zone", clinical attentiveness and integration of services made it possible to save the life and achieve good rehabilitation for the patient despite the comorbid aggravation of her condition.

575. Local Experience of Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 Infections After Full Vaccination

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 the etiology of COVID-19 has caused more than 33 million cases and almost 600,000 deaths in the United States alone. Vaccination is a vital tool in controlling the pandemic. With accelerated infection rates in various parts of the world, the incidence of variants has risen and threatens to set back the long sought after immunity, provided by available vaccines. The objective of this study was to evaluate the breakthrough infection rate after complete vaccination, in Sangamon County, with a rural and urban population of 195,000 in Central Illinois.MethodsData regarding breakthrough infections collected from the Sangamon County Department of Public Health, included the total number of infections, time after vaccination, age range of those infected and the type of vaccine used. Complete vaccination was defined as 14 days after the single dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen or the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Inc. vaccine.ResultsVaccineInfections% of BreakthroughPfizer-BioNTech1443.75Moderna, Inc.1031.25Johnson & Johnson/Janssen825Total32100The number of fully vaccinated individuals at the time of writing of this study was 87,086 which corresponded to 44.58 % of the total population. The breakthrough infection percentage was calculated as 0.036%. The mean time after vaccination to infection was 49.13 days with a standard deviation of 23.28.ConclusionBreakthrough infections among fully vaccinated individuals in our county, have been quite rare, which points to the high efficacy of the vaccines. A complex number of factors likely contribute to this including virus-related factors i.e. variant forms and specific patient-related factors which are not a part of this study. The afore-mentioned high efficacy rate of the vaccines provides further justification, to continue to pursue a persistent vaccination strategy to mitigate the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Diagnostic Performance of Self-Collected Saliva Versus Nasopharyngeal Swab for the Molecular Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the Clinical Setting.

ABSTRACTCoronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19)—caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)—has spread rapidly around the world. The global shortage of equipment and health care professionals, diagnostic cost, and difficulty in collecting nasopharyngeal swabs (NPSs) necessitate the use of an alternative specimen type for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. In this study, we investigated the use of saliva as an alternative specimen type for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Participants presenting COVID-19 symptoms and their contacts were enrolled at the COVID-19 Screening Unit of Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), from July to November 2020. Paired NPS and saliva specimens were collected from each participant. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect SARS-CoV-2. Of the 596 suspected COVID-19-positive participants, 231 (38.7%) were detected as COVID-19 positive by RT-qPCR from at least 1 specimen type. Among the positive cases, 184 (79.6%) patients were identified to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 based on NPS and saliva samples, whereas 45 (19.65%) patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 based on NPS samples but negative for SARS-CoV-2 based on the saliva samples. Two (0.5%) patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 based on saliva samples but negative for SARS-CoV-2 based on NPS samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the saliva samples were 80.3% and 99.4%, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 detection was higher in saliva (85.1%) among the patients who visited the clinic after 1 to 5 days of symptom onset. A lower median cycle threshold (CT) value indicated a higher SARS-CoV-2 viral load in NPS than that in saliva for target genes among the positive specimens. The study findings suggest that saliva can be used accurately for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 early after symptom onset in clinical and community settings.IMPORTANCE As the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, the WHO recommended the use of nasopharyngeal or throat swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 etiology of COVID-19. The collection of NPS causes discomfort because of its invasive collection procedure. There are considerable risks to health care workers during the collection of these specimens. Therefore, an alternative, noninvasive, reliable, and self-collected specimen was explored in this study. This study investigated the feasibility and suitability of saliva versus NPS for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we showed that the sensitivity of saliva specimens was 80.35%, which meets the WHO criteria. Saliva is an easy-to-get, convenient, and low-cost specimen that yields better results if it is collected within the first 5 days of symptom onset. Our study findings suggest that saliva can be used in low-resource countries, community settings, and vulnerable groups, such as children and elderly people.

COVID-19 Knowledge Graph from semantic integration of biomedical literature and databases.

SummaryThe global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid increase of scientific literature on this deadly disease. Extracting knowledge from biomedical literature and integrating it with relevant information from curated biological databases is essential to gain insight into COVID-19 etiology, diagnosis and treatment. We used Semantic Web technology RDF to integrate COVID-19 knowledge mined from literature by iTextMine, PubTator and SemRep with relevant biological databases and formalized the knowledge in a standardized and computable COVID-19 Knowledge Graph (KG). We published the COVID-19 KG via a SPARQL endpoint to support federated queries on the Semantic Web and developed a knowledge portal with browsing and searching interfaces. We also developed a RESTful API to support programmatic access and provided RDF dumps for download.Availability and implementationThe COVID-19 Knowledge Graph is publicly available under CC-BY 4.0 license at https://research.bioinformatics.udel.edu/covid19kg/.Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcome of Patients with Suspected COVID-19 in Emergency Department (RESILIENCY Study II).

Objectives: COVID-19 may show no peculiar signs and symptoms that may differentiate it from other infective or non-infective etiologies; thus, early recognition and prompt management are crucial to improve survival. The aim of this study was to describe clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to those with other infective or non-infective etiologies. Methods: We performed a prospective study from March 2020 to February 2021. All patients hospitalized for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were prospectively recruited. All patients were evaluated according to a predefined protocol for diagnosis of suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary endpoint was evaluation of clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics associated or not with COVID-19 etiology at time of hospitalization in an emergency department. Results: A total of 1036 patients were included in the study: 717 (69%) patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 319 (31%) without COVID-19, hospitalized for other causes. The main causes of hospitalization among non-COVID-19 patients were acute heart failure (44%) and bacterial pneumonia (45.8%). Overall, 30-day mortality was 9% among the COVID-19 group and 35% in the non-COVID-19 group. Multivariate analysis showed variables (fever > 3 days, dry cough, acute dyspnea, lymphocytes < 1000 × 103/µL, and ferritin > 250 ng/mL) independently associated with COVID-19 etiology. A decision tree was elaborated to early detect COVID-19 patients in the emergency department. Finally, Kaplan–Meier curves on 30-day survival in COVID-19 patients during the first wave (March–May 2020, n = 289 patients) and the second wave (October–February 2021, n = 428 patients) showed differences between the two study periods (p = 0.021). Conclusions: Patients with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 may show peculiar characteristics at time of hospitalization that could help physicians to distinguish from other infective or non-infective etiologies. Finally, a different 30-day mortality rate was observed during different periods of the pandemic.

Sodium Toxicity in the Nutritional Epidemiology and Nutritional Immunology of COVID-19.

Dietary factors in the etiology of COVID-19 are understudied. High dietary sodium intake leading to sodium toxicity is associated with comorbid conditions of COVID-19 such as hypertension, kidney disease, stroke, pneumonia, obesity, diabetes, hepatic disease, cardiac arrhythmias, thrombosis, migraine, tinnitus, Bell’s palsy, multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome. This article synthesizes evidence from epidemiology, pathophysiology, immunology, and virology literature linking sodium toxicological mechanisms to COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sodium toxicity is a modifiable disease determinant that impairs the mucociliary clearance of virion aggregates in nasal sinuses of the mucosal immune system, which may lead to SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral sepsis. In addition, sodium toxicity causes pulmonary edema associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome, as well as inflammatory immune responses and other symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever and nasal sinus congestion. Consequently, sodium toxicity potentially mediates the association of COVID-19 pathophysiology with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sodium dietary intake also increases in the winter, when sodium losses through sweating are reduced, correlating with influenza-like illness outbreaks. Increased SARS-CoV-2 infections in lower socioeconomic classes and among people in government institutions are linked to the consumption of foods highly processed with sodium. Interventions to reduce COVID-19 morbidity and mortality through reduced-sodium diets should be explored further.

Who am I? (re-)Defining fibroblast identity and immunological function in the age of bioinformatics.

Who am I? (re-)Defining fibroblast identity and immunological function in the age of bioinformatics.

Coronavirus disease (COVID­19): a review

Currently, the COVID-19 epidemic is relevant all over the world and in Ukraine. The real generation of doctors and inhabitants of the planet have witnessed and participated in the pandemic COVID-19, which is under development. Most doctors have not previously dealt with coronavirus infection, which forces to develop tactics of organizational preventive and curative measures in the process of active work. Training of doctors of various specialties should be carried out on a permanent basis remotely or in absentia using all available sources of information. The main measures of non-specific individual and collective prevention with the introduction of quarantine are briefly presented. The article is intended primarily for physicians working with patients with COVID 19 and contact persons.The article is evaluated the epidemic situation with COVID-19 in Ukraine. To study the nature of the virus, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, treatment and prevention.The analysis was performed of literature sources, own observations on coronavirus disease — COVID-19.The epidemic situation of COVID-19 is closely related to the observance of the mask regime and quarantine restrictions. The peculiarities of the clinical picture, laboratory, radiological diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COVID-19 are analyzed.Based on a review of the scientific literature, basic data on the history of human coronavirus infections are presented. The etiology of COVID-19, epidemiology, pathogenesis, main clinical manifesta­tions, and classification by severity are described. Laboratory and hardware diagnostic methods are listed. The risk group for severe COVID-19 has been shown to include people &gt; 60 years of age and those with comorbid conditions. COVID-19 is characterized not only by lung damage, but also by multiple organ damage. Indications for hospitalization of patients with COVID-19 and modern approaches to treatment are given. In treatment, the emphasis is on the use of pathogenetic therapy. The main measures of non-specific individual and collective prevention with the introduction of quarantine are briefly presented. The article is intended for physicians working with COVID-19 patients, family physicians, and general practitioners.

Dysregulation of COVID-19 related gene expression in the COPD lung

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are at increased risk of poor outcome from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Early data suggest elevated Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression, but relationships to disease phenotype and downstream regulators of inflammation in the Renin-Angiotensin system (RAS) are unknown. We aimed to determine the relationship between RAS gene expression relevant to SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung with disease characteristics in COPD, and the regulation of newly identified SARS-CoV-2 receptors and spike-cleaving proteases, important for SARS-CoV-2 infection.MethodsWe quantified gene expression using RNA sequencing of epithelial brushings and bronchial biopsies from 31 COPD and 37 control subjects.ResultsACE2 gene expression (log2-fold change (FC)) was increased in COPD compared to ex-smoking (HV-ES) controls in epithelial brushings (0.25, p = 0.042) and bronchial biopsies (0.23, p = 0.050), and correlated with worse lung function (r = − 0.28, p = 0.0090). ACE2 was further increased in frequent exacerbators compared to infrequent exacerbators (0.51, p = 0.00045) and associated with use of ACE inhibitors (ACEi) (0.50, p = 0.0034), having cardiovascular disease (0.23, p = 0.048) or hypertension (0.34, p = 0.0089), and inhaled corticosteroid use in COPD subjects in bronchial biopsies (0.33, p = 0.049). Angiotensin II receptor type (AGTR)1 and 2 expression was decreased in COPD bronchial biopsies compared to HV-ES controls with log2FC of –0.26 (p = 0.033) and − 0.40, (p = 0.0010), respectively. However, the AGTR1:2 ratio was increased in COPD subjects compared with HV-ES controls, log2FC of 0.57 (p = 0.0051). Basigin, a newly identified potential SARS-CoV-2 receptor was also upregulated in both brushes, log2FC of 0.17 (p = 0.0040), and bronchial biopsies, (log2FC of 0.18 (p = 0.017), in COPD vs HV-ES.Transmembrane protease, serine (TMPRSS)2 was not differentially regulated between control and COPD. However, various other spike-cleaving proteases were, including TMPRSS4 and Cathepsin B, in both epithelial brushes (log2FC of 0.25 (p = 0.0012) and log2FC of 0.56 (p = 5.49E−06), respectively) and bronchial biopsies (log2FC of 0.49 (p = 0.00021) and log2FC of 0.246 (p = 0.028), respectively).ConclusionThis study identifies key differences in expression of genes related to susceptibility and aetiology of COVID-19 within the COPD lung. Further studies to understand the impact on clinical course of disease are now required.

Mini-Review: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

On 31 December 2019, the cases of pneumonia caused by unknown etiology had emerged. These cases were reported in Wuhan city, Hubei Province of China. Chinese authorities identified the causative agent and announced to be a novel coronavirus. The tentative name of disease is COVID-19, abbreviating of coronavirus disease-19. The incubation period of the disease ranges from 2 to 14 days, however, 80% of the patients have mild or asymptomatic illness while 15 % and 5% of the patients had exhibited sever and critical cases respectively. The etiology of COVID-19 was known as SARS-CoV-2 and belongs to betacoranviruse as reported by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) especially Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG). In addition, this virus is currently believed to be within bat-coronaviruses besides it possesses a close relationship with SARS-CoV more than MERS-CoV. Although, the majority of the diagnosed patients had symptoms, there were asymptomatic persons who can spread the SARS-CoV-2. Upon the emergence of worldwide distribution of this virus, the WHO had declared it as a global outbreak and pandemic. Unfortunately, at present time, there are neither vaccine and nor an approved COVID-19 specific drug against SARS-CoV-2. One of the remarkable pathogenesis mechanistic step of this virus is taking possession of the affinity to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This mini-review summarizes the origin and molecular identification of the virus as well as the host immune responses. SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19, ACE2, origin

Mini-Review: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

On 31 December 2019, the cases of pneumonia caused by unknown etiology had emerged. These cases were reported in Wuhan city, Hubei Province of China. Chinese authorities identified the causative agent and announced to be a novel coronavirus. The tentative name of disease is COVID-19, abbreviating of coronavirus disease-19. The incubation period of the disease ranges from 2 to 14 days, however, 80% of the patients have mild or asymptomatic illness while 15 % and 5% of the patients had exhibited sever and critical cases respectively. The etiology of COVID-19 was known as SARS-CoV-2 and belongs to betacoranviruse as reported by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) especially Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG). In addition, this virus is currently believed to be within bat-coronaviruses besides it possesses a close relationship with SARS-CoV more than MERS-CoV. Although, the majority of the diagnosed patients had symptoms, there were asymptomatic persons who can spread the SARS-CoV-2. Upon the emergence of worldwide distribution of this virus, the WHO had declared it as a global outbreak and pandemic. Unfortunately, at present time, there are neither vaccine and nor an approved COVID-19 specific drug against SARS-CoV-2. One of the remarkable pathogenesis mechanistic step of this virus is taking possession of the affinity to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This mini-review summarizes the origin and molecular identification of the virus as well as the host immune responses. SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19, ACE2, origin

English

Ecosystem, which consists of the physical environment and all the living organisms, on which we all depend, is declining rapidly because of its destruction caused by humans. It’s a two-way relationship between the humans and mother nature. If we destroy the natural environment around us, human life will be seriously affected, and the life of next generation will be endangered unless serious steps are taken. One such effect of human overexploitations has come in the form of coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus, a contagious disease of 2019 known as Covid-19, is the latest swiftly spreading global infection. The aetiology of Covid-19 is different from SARS-CoV which has the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but it has the same host receptor, human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The novel coronavirus which is zoonotic (spreading from an animal to a human) and mainly found in the bats and pangolins is a single stranded ribonucleic acid virus of Coronaviridae family. 1 The typical structure of 2019-nCoV possessed ‘spike protein’ in the membrane envelope, also expressed various polyproteins, nucleoproteins and membrane protein. The S protein binds to the receptor cell of host to facilitate the entry of virus in the host. Currently four genera for coronavirus are found α-CoV, ßCoV, γ-CoV, δ-CoV. SARS-CoV first originated in Wuhan, China and has spread across the globe. World Health Organization (WHO) and public health emergency of international concern declared it as 2019 - 2020 pandemic disease.2 According to WHO report, (7th April 2020) update on this pandemic coronavirus disease, there have been more than 13,65,004 confirmed cases and 76,507 deaths across the world and these figures are rapidly increasing. Therefore, actions for proper recognition, management and its prevention must be prompted for relevant alleviation of its outspread.3 Health care professionals are mainly indulged in the national crises and are working diligently around-the-clock, small ratio of the health care workers have become affected and few died tragically. Dentists are most often the first ones to be affected because they work with patients in close proximity. On 15th March 2020, the New York Times published an article titled “The workers who face the greatest Coronavirus risk” described the dentists are highly exposed, than the paramedical staffs and general physicians, to the risk of novel coronavirus disease 19.4

Discovery and Functional Interrogation of the Virus and Host RNA Interactome of SARS-Cov-2 Proteins

The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we use enhanced crosslinking and immunoprecipitation to investigate SARS-CoV-2 protein interactions with viral and host RNAs. SARS-CoV-2 proteins, NSP8 and NSP12, bind to specific regions in the RNA viral genome, providing evidence for their central and potential roles in replication, transcription and genome recombination. SARS-CoV-2 proteins expressed in human lung epithelial cells bind to 4,821 unique host RNAs. Nine SARS-CoV-2 proteins upregulate target gene expression, including NSP12 which upregulates mitochondrial and N-linked glycosylation proteins. Furthermore, siRNA knockdown of host genes targeted by the viral proteins in human lung organoid cells demonstrates substantial antiviral effects. Conversely, NSP9 inhibits host gene expression by blocking mRNA export and dampens inflammatory responses such as interleukin-1α/β production. Our extensive viral protein-RNA interactome provides a catalog of potential therapeutic targets and offers insight into the etiology of COVID-19 as a safeguard against future pandemics. Funding Information: The work has been supported by Emergency COVID-19 Research Seed Funding (#R00RG2636) from the University of California Office of the President. This publication includes data generated at the UC San Diego IGM Genomics Center utilizing an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 that was purchased with funding from a National Institutes of Health SIG grant (#S10 OD026929). J.S.X as a visiting fellow is partially supported by Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Industrial Alignment Fund Pre-Positioning (IAF-PP) grant H17/01/a0/012. ELVN is supported by the NHGRI (R00HG009530). Declaration of Interests: J.S.X, F.E.T, J.C.S and G.W.Y declare a pending patent application. ELVN is co-founder, member of the Board of Directors, on the SAB, equity holder, and paid consultant for Eclipse BioInnovations. ELVN’s interests have been reviewed and approved by the Baylor College of Medicine in accordance with its conflict of interest policies. The authors declare no other competing interests Ethics Approval Statement: This study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of UCSD's Human Research Protections Program (181180).

Awareness and Knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Dental Professionals According to the Turkish National Dental Guidelines.

The objective of the current survey was to assess the awareness of the dental professionals according to the principals described by the Turkish Dental Association (TDA). A questionnaire including the socio-demographic data, specialties/academic degree, institutions/affiliations, the knowledge about COVID-19, the number of patients examined and dental treatments performed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the knowledge of protection based on the guidelines described by TDA, contamination with COVID-19 and the psychological complaints has been used. A total of 947 (63.1%) dentists enrolled the study. The results showed satisfactory knowledge about the COVID-19 etiology, mode of transmission and the pre-procedural cautions as the majority of them had a fair level of knowledge with significantly higher knowledge among specialized respondents. The participants have also recorded a good judgment towards performing the emergency dental treatment during the current COVID-19 pandemic which corresponds with the guidelines determined by TDA. Considering the updates on the transmission of COVID-19 and protective strategies, there is an urgent need for improvement of dentists’ knowledge about risk assessment via training programs. The incidence of positive testing among dental professionals also necessitates immediately testing of asymptomatic Turkish dental professionals.

SARS-CoV-2 and Asbestos Exposure: Can Our Experience With Mesothelioma Patients Help Us Understand the Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Develop Interventions?

Since its emergence, the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has had enormous physical, social, and psychological impacts worldwide. The aim of this article was to identify elements of our knowledge on asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma (MM) that can provide insight into the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and be used to develop adequate interventions. Although the etiology of Covid-19 and MM differs, their psychological impacts have common characteristics: in both diseases, there is a feeling of being exposed through aerial contagion to an “invisible killer” without boundaries that can strike even the strongest individuals. In both cases, affected persons can experience personality dysfunction, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms; helplessness, hopelessness, and projection of destructive thoughts onto external forces often emerge, while defense mechanisms such as denial, splitting, repression, and reduced emotional expression are used by individuals to contain their overwhelming anxieties. We believe that in both diseases, an integrated multidimensional intervention offered by hospitals and other public health services is the most effective approach to alleviating patients’ and caregivers’ psychological distress. In particular, we emphasize that in the context of both MM and COVID-19, Brief Psychoanalytic Group therapy can help patients and caregivers attribute meaning to the significant changes in their lives related to the experience of the disease and identify adaptive strategies and more realistic relational modalities to deal with what has happened to them. We also highlight the importance of developing a surveillance system that includes individual anamnestic evaluation of occupational risk factors for COVID-19 disease.