SARS-CoV-2 Virus Research Articles

COVID-19 with kidney disorders in Dustira Hospital

Corona virus diseases-19 (COVID-19) affects the respiratory system and the kidneys. Kidney disorders manifestations in COVID-19 patients are AKI, AKI superimposed chronic kidney disease (CKD), and COVID -19 in CKD sufferers on hemodialysis. The SARS CoV-2 virus can cause deterioration and decline in kidney function because it can bond with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors on the surface cells of the kidney. This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study that aims to know the profile of kidney abnormalities in COVID -19 patients treated at Dustira Hospital based on the description of age, sex, type of kidney disorder, therapy, and outcome of therapy. This study takes the total sampling data in the form of medical record data from January to December 2021. During this time 275 samples were obtained. Research results show the average age of patients is 57 + 13.5 years. The majority of the patients were male (58.5%). The highest percentage of diagnosed kidney disorders in COVID-19 patients was AKI-superimposed CKD (38.2%). 53.5% COVID-19 patients with kidney disorders received conservative therapy, while 46.5% received hemodialysis With 68.7% conservative therapy and 77.3% hemodialysis, the majority of Covid-19 patients with kidney disorders were able to survive. The study concludes that COVID-19 with kidney disorders is most common in elderly men (>55 years), with the most cases developing AKI-superimposed CKD. There were a lot of patients who receive conservative therapy but endure life, and many have therapy action hemodialysis, resulting in a higher survival rate.

The Evolution and Complications of the Influenza During Covid-19 Pandemic

Seasonal influenza coupled with COVID-19, infection with the virus SARS-CoV2, represents a dual challenge to the primary care. As well as this, the staff in primary health care, ambulatory centers and hospitals are intensively involved in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of people with the flu during the peak periods of the disease. In Romania, in primary healthcare, the diagnosis is based more on clinical criteria and not always by determining the etiology of the respiratory infection. The use of rapid tests in the diagnosis of respiratory infections has increased in the last year. Given the current increase in cases of both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, early diagnosis is also of great importance to enable efficient use of healthcare resources in primary care. Patients with influenza and risk factors should be monitored for complications, upper respiratory infections, secondary pneumonia and acute cardio and cerebrovascular events. Additionally, vaccination should be very strong recommended in patients with chronic diseases.

Comparison of respiratory pathogens in children with community-acquired pneumonia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundMultifaceted non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic have not only reduced the transmission of SARS-CoV2, but have had an effect on the prevalence of other pathogens. This retrospective study aimed to compare and analyze the changes of respiratory pathogens in hospitalized children with community-acquired pneumonia.MethodsFrom January 2019 to December 2020, children with community-acquired pneumonia were selected from the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. On the first day of hospitalization, sputum, throat swabs, venous blood samples from them were collected for detection of pathogens.ResultsA total of 2596 children with community-acquired pneumonia were enrolled, including 1871 patients in 2019 and 725 in 2020. The detection rate in 2020 was lower than in 2019, whether single or multiple pathogens. Compared with 2019, the detection rate of virus, especially parainfluenza virus, influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus, all decreased in 2020. On the contrary, the prevalence of human rhinovirus was much higher than that in 2019. In addition, the positivity rate for bacteria did not change much over the two years, which seemed to be less affected by COVID-19. And Mycoplasma pneumoniae which broke out in 2019 has been in low prevalence since March 2020 even following the reopening of school.ConclusionsStrict public health interventions for COVID-19 in China have effectively suppressed the spread of not only SARS-CoV2 but parainfluenza virus, influenza virus and Mycoplasma pneumonia as well. However, it had a much more limited effect on bacteria and rhinovirus. Therefore, more epidemiological surveillance of respiratory pathogens will help improve early preventive measures.

Viricide activity of antimicrobial blue light (405 nm) against the SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus

Abstract Background Over the years, antimicrobial blue light (aBL) at a 405 nm wavelength has emerged as a potential alternative treatment for reducing the environmental contamination. It is well accepted that aBL is much less detrimental to host cells than UV-C irradiation and can be used in the presence of people. This study aims to determine the viricide activity, against the SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus types A and B, of the nUV-A radiation, using a customized nUV-A ceiling lamp System. Methods The experiment took place in March 2023. An nUV-A ceiling lamp prototype, composed of 9 LEDs at 405 nm, was fixed on a metal scaffold, on which the outline of a multiwell plate (24 wells) was traced to carry out the tests correctly. Each plate well was inoculated with 100 µL of SARS-CoV2 or influenza virus types A or B suspension. The multiwell plate was irradiated at 32 cm for 45 and 90 minutes, with an emitted energy dose of 12 J/cm2 and 24 J/cm2. Three samples were inoculated with viruses and subjected to the action of nUV-A as per protocol, and 3 samples were inoculated but not treated with nUV-A to determine viral titer after recovery and examined immediately after inoculation. The re-collected suspensions were used to inoculate a wells plate into which the VERO E6 cell cultures were fixed and then incubated for 3 days at 37° C. Results The results showed that after a 45 min exposition, the measurable log10 mean reduction was 1.50 for SARS-CoV2, 0.13 for influenza virus type A and 0.12 for type B; after 90 min the log10 mean reduction was 2.33 for SARS-CoV2, 0.16 for influenza virus type A and 0.17 for type B. Conclusions Tests have shown that aBL can be effective in reducing the viral load of the SARS-CoV2 virus and, to a lesser extent, the influenza A/B viruses. Disinfection with aBL appears effective and avoid the adverse effects of using UV-C. Further studies will evaluate how to improve the results on influenza viruses and the application on other viruses such as RSV. Key messages • NearUV-A lamp has proven to reduce the virucide activity of all viruses, more for sars-cov2. • Using aBL avoids the adverse UV-C’s effects.

Sars-CoV2 in wastewater: 2021-2023 surveillance in three provinces of Lombardia region (Italy)

Abstract Background Sars-CoV2 pandemic has shown the importance of wastewater surveillance to monitor virus diffusion and its environmental permanence; WHO experts highlighted the importance of wastewater controls as early detection system to individuate Sars-CoV2 and other viruses which could potentially spread to the population. The aim of this work was to investigate the presence of Sars-CoV2 in wastewater from Brescia, Cremona and Bergamo cities during 2021-2023 years after pandemic event. Methods From the end of 2021 until now, 341 wastewater samples were collected and analyzed at Food Control department to detect Sars-CoV2. After the inactivation at 56 °C for 30 minutes, samples were centrifugated and extracted by eGENE-UP® system (bioMérieux). Virus detection was based on three genes amplification: ORF, N1 and N3. Quantification in genome copies/µL (cg/µL) was performed. Results Almost all samples were positive for virus presence; in particular ORF gene was detected in 94% of samples (IC95% 91,6 - 96,7%); the other genes N1 and N3 were detected respectively in 91% (IC95% 87,2 - 93,6) and 98% (IC95% 95 - 99%). In only three samples all genes simultaneously were not detected. ORF and N1 were quantified between 103 and 104 cg/µL without differences among seasons. N3 was quantified at higher values than the other genes (104 in 57% of samples; IC95% 51,4 - 62,2%). Conclusions The pandemic has run out with the safety measures applied, but wastewater surveillance has highlighted virus circulation, even if at lower, constant levels than in pandemic period. Virus quantity in wastewater followed and sometime preceded epidemic trend. Wastewater control could support competent authorities in epidemic event management. Environmental surveillance, as already demonstrated during pandemic period, could represent an alert system for Sars-Cov2 and oral fecal route virus spreading Key messages • Wastewater surveillance is an important tool to control Sars-CoV2 mutation and spreading. • Environmental viruses’ surveillance can support competent authorities in decisions regarding public health.

Role of SARS-CoV2 Virus in the Etiology of Acute Pancreatitis

Aim: To investigate whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus is involved in the etiology of acute pancreatitis.
 Material and Methods: This study was conducted in Çiğli Educational Hospital, Bakırçay Univesity. The study included 2060 patients with AP admitted to hospital between March, 2020 and August, 2023. The patients were assigned into 2 groups based on presence of COVID-19 infection. Ethiological factors for AP were determined in all patients. 
 Results: Gallstone was the etiological factor in 614 patients (32.9%) who were COVID (-) but it was the etiological reason in only 19 patients (19%) in COVID (+) group. No etiology was identified in 217 (11.6%) of COVID (-) patients who were diagnosed as idiopathic pancreatitis. Idiopathic pancreatitis was diagnosed in 107 cases (54%) in COVID (+) group. There was significant difference presence of the diagnosis, which was made according to etiological factor, between groups. 
 Conclusion: There was no definitive etiological link between COVID-19 and AP; however, the fact that same team diagnosed such a different idiopathic AP in the same hospital with same diagnostic facilities implies an etiological role for SARS-CoV-2 virus in AP.

SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease plays multiple roles in regulating cellular proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum

Nsp3s are the largest nonstructural proteins of coronaviruses. These transmembrane proteins include papain-like proteases (PLpro) that play essential roles in cleaving viral polyproteins into their mature units. The PLpro of SARS-CoV viruses also have deubiquitinating and deISGylating activities. As Nsp3 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized protein, we asked if the deubiquitinating activity of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro affects proteins that are substrates for ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Using full-length Nsp3 as well as a truncated transmembrane form we interrogated, by coexpression, three potential ERAD substrates, all of which play roles in regulating lipid biosynthesis. Transmembrane PLpro increases the level of INSIG-1 and decreases its ubiquitination. However, different effects were seen with SREBP-1 and SREBP-2. Transmembrane PLpro cleaves SREBP-1 at three sites, including two noncanonical sites in the N-terminal half of the protein, resulting in a decrease in precursors of the active transcription factor. Conversely, cleavage of SREBP-2 occurs at a single canonical site that disrupts a C-terminal degron, resulting in increased SREBP-2 levels. When this site is mutated and the degron can no longer be interrupted, SREBP-2 is still stabilized by transmembrane PLpro, which correlates with a decrease in SREBP-2 ubiquitination. All of these observations are dependent on PLpro catalytic activity. Our findings demonstrate that, when anchored to the ER membrane, SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3 PLpro can function as a deubiquitinating enzyme to stabilize ERAD substrates. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3 PLpro can cleave ER-resident proteins, including at sites that could escape analyses based on the established consensus sequence.

THU327 Characterization Of New Onset Diabetes Mellitus Concurrent With COVID-19; A Single Institution Experience

Abstract Disclosure: T. Haque: None. M. Gaddis: None. R. Asad: None. S. Simon: None. B.M. Drees: None. Objective: The global pandemic of novel SARS-COV2 virus causing Covid-19 infection, is reported to lead to development of new onset diabetes mellitus (DM). This study describes the types of DM following Covid-19 infection, the patient characteristics and the disease course up to 12 months. Methods: A database of patients with DM treated at the institution was searched for a positive PCR Covid-19 test between March 1, 2020, and November 30, 2021. Charts were manually reviewed for diagnosis of co-morbidities, laboratory results, medications, disposition, and verification of type of DM. Outcomes data were collected at 0, 6, and 12 months. Results: Among 1643 Covid-19 positive patients with DM, 96 were diagnosed with new onset DM. There were 42% Black, 24% White, and 23% Hispanic; 94 had type 2 DM and two had type 1 DM. Average age was 50; half were women. Patients with more severe Covid (inpatient and ER visits) were more likely to require insulin, multiple DM medications, and had higher HbA1c levels. Insulin use and multiple DM medications decreased over time (25% and 25% at diagnosis; 10% and 18% at 12 months, respectively). HbA1c decreased over time (9.1% at diagnosis and 7.3% at 12 months). One-year follow-up was available on 73 patients, of whom 19 were on no medications for DM. Conclusion: New onset diabetes mellitus following Covid-19 infection is common and predominantly type 2 DM. However, glucose levels tend to improve over time requiring less medication, with 26% requiring no DM medications at one year. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023

A Druggability study to Probe immunomodulatory Unani plants as active Inhibitors of Pseudotyped Particle Cell Entry

Medicinal herbs, plants and their products show revolutionized effect in modern therapeutic system. Industries used their activity as antioxidant, antitoxin, antimicrobial, immune booster and many others and use them accordingly as the prime agent to produce cosmetics, food, drug synthesis etc. Unani is one of the traditional therapeutic system which use medicinal herbs mostly for making their herbal medicines. There are several immunomodulatory herbs along with their phytochemicals are present to serve their best. Bioassay is the method of analysis to find out the potency or concentration of any substance when effect on living things. Sars Cov-2 virus and its fatal outbreak is a real threat to modern society. To perform in vitro procedure to screened out small molecule inhibitors of this malicious pseudo typed particle cell entry, Dr. Whittaker's group use this bioassay system like PubChem AID: 1479144, PubChem AID: 1479149, PubChem AID: 1479150 and PubChem AID: 1494158. This in silico study is to show the potency of the phytochemicals of traditional herbs of Unani, as if inhibitors by means of machine learning with the help of WEKA. The ADMET study and molecular docking with Mpro (6lu7 chain A) is also done to test the druggability and binding affinity of the qualified phytochemicals.

One Year Later, Why Are People Still Avoiding COVID-19 News?: Understanding Predictors of News Avoidance in Indonesia

The global effect of COVID-19 pandemic has continued for almost two consecutive years. Indonesia is also among the countries most impacted by the SARS-CoV2 virus under this period. Consequently, certain challenges tend to occur as regards public interest in accessing or deterring recent information associated with the disease. While there are increasing interests among media and communication scholars in understanding why people are avoiding news, little attention has been given to this audience behaviour during a global crisis like coronavirus outbreak. Using news avoidance as the main concept, this research is aimed at examining the critical factors that influence news avoidance in low-choice media environments, particularly in the Global South like Indonesia. Employing a face-to-face survey with 1,000 participants in Banten Province, Indonesia, this study found that younger people with lesser interest in COVID-19 related issues appear more prone to avoid this news, in addition to their level of news overload. Nevertheless, we also found that gender and the level of education factors did not influence whether people distanced themselves with negative coverage of coronavirus news in the country during the first year of the pandemic. Furthermore, the perception of information overload and minimal trust in news sources greatly contributed to the avoidance situation. Keywords: Audience, COVID-19, news avoidance, news trust, news consumption.

Impact of Immunosenescence on Viral Infections with an Emphasis on COVID-19.

During aging, the immune system (IS) undergoes remarkable changes known as immunosenescence, a multifactorial and dynamic phenomenon that affects both natural and acquired immunity and plays an important role in most chronic diseases in older people. Among the determinants of immunosenescence, we find a low-grade sterile chronic inflammation, known as "inflamm-aging". This condition of chronic inflammation causes a progressive reduction in the ability to trigger antibody and cellular responses effective against infections and vaccinations. In this review, we wanted to explore the role of immunosenescence and inflamm-aging as determinants of the immunological aging process and predisposing viral infections phenomena, with a particular reference to cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), influenza virus (IFV) diseases and SARS-CoV2. IS aging is also reflected in a reduction in the antibody response to vaccinations, hence there is a need to expand trials to elderly patients, in order to identify the most appropriate methods for developing effective and safe vaccination and preventive strategies.

Molnupiravir: an antiviral drug against COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, has caused numerous deaths worldwide and poses significant challenges. Researchers have recently studied a new antiviral drug called molnupiravir for treating COVID-19. This review examines the causes and immunopathogenesis of COVID-19, as well as the role of molnupiravir in its treatment. Molnupiravir is a prodrug of β-D-N4-hydroxyctytidine (NHC) and has demonstrated activity against various viruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and influenza virus. The active form of molnupiravir, NHC triphosphate, acts as a nucleoside analog that disrupts viral replication by causing mutations in the viral RNA, thereby inhibiting viral growth. This review summarizes the results of multiple clinical trials that have evaluated the effectiveness of molnupiravir against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Animal studies have also shown that molnupiravir significantly reduces the viral load and prevents transmission to other animals. Overall, molnupiravir has demonstrated strong efficacy and reasonable safety, reducing hospitalization rates by nearly 50% among COVID-19-positive individuals at risk of complications. Patients in clinical settings have tolerated molnupiravir well and experienced positive outcomes, such as clearance of viral RNA, decreased viral load, and reduced hospitalization rates. Additionally, compared to a placebo, molnupiravir has been associated with lower mortality rates. Therefore, molnupiravir can be a beneficial drug to treat patients suffering from SARS-CoV-2, and further studies can provide more information about its safety and efficacy.

Pelatihan Sistem Hidroponik Menggunakan Sampah Plastik untuk Meningkatkan Ekonomi dan Ketahanan Pangan

Tanjungrejo is located in the Sukun, Malang City, East Java. Some of the jobs of the people on Tanjung Putra Yudha 2 Street, Sukun, Malang City are scavengers and pedicab drivers. Since late 2019 there has been a COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS CoV-2 virus, which has caused more than 2.33 million deaths worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused family food availability to be insufficient and reduced family food, this also affects the economy in the form of a decrease in income but has a high enough expenditure every month to meet family food needs. Hydroponics is a technology used on critical land so that it can remain productive. Hydroponic systems can be used on plants that have the properties to utilize nutrients in water, examples of suitable vegetables include mustard greens, spinach, and kale. The hydroponic system can provide economic benefits from the harvest that can be sold or fulfill daily needs. This training was conducted in several stages, including pretest assessment, introduction to the hydroponic system, preparation of tools and materials, workmanship, mentoring, and evaluation in the form of a post-test. The results of the questionnaire filling were analyzed using the one group pretest-posttest method and obtained an average score of 30.7 pretest and 96.7 posttest. This shows that the training significantly increased participants' knowledge regarding the benefits of hydroponic systems.

Detection of Post COVID-Pneumonia Using Histogram Equalization, CLAHE Deep Learning Techniques

Pneumonia, also known as bronchitis, is caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Pneumonia can be fatal to an infected person because the lungs cannot exchange air. The disease primarily affects infants and people over the age of 65. Every year, nearly 4 million people are killed by the disease, which affects an estimated 420 million people. It is critical to detect and diagnose this condition as soon as possible. Diagnosing the condition using the patient's x-ray is the most effective method. Experienced radiologists will use a chest x-ray of the affected patient to make this informed decision. Recently, coronavirus is a contagious viral disease caused by the SARSCoV2 virus. This virus affects the human respiratory system. The virus also causes pneumonia (COVID pneumonia), which is far more dangerous than normal pneumonia. The main purpose of this task is to study and compare several deep learning enhancement techniques applied to medical x-ray and CT scan images for the detection of COVID19 (pneumonia).
 A convolutional neural network (CNN) is used to design a model that can distinguish between COVID19 pneumonia and normal pneumonia. In addition, image enhancement techniques (histogram equalization (HE), contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE)) have been processed against the dataset to find more efficient methods and models for detecting pneumonia. A dataset of 6432 CXRs were used - 576 COVID pneumonia CXRs, 1583 normal pneumonia CXRs, and 4273 healthy lung CXRs. Based on the results, it was observed that the equalized histogram and the equalized dataset of CLAHE run faster than the original dataset. This requires a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system that can distinguish between COVID pneumonia, normal pneumonia, and healthy lungs. In addition, the improved VGG16 achieved 96% accuracy in the detection of X-ray images of COVID19 - pneumonia.

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 regulate host mRNA translation efficiency by hijacking eEF1A factors

The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NSP12) of COVID-19 plays a significant role in the viral infection process, which promotes viral RNA replication by cooperating with NSP7 and NSP8, but little is known about its regulation on the function of host cells. We firstly found that overexpression of NSP12 had little effect on host mRNAs transcription. Using iCLIP technology, we found that NSP12 can bind a series of host RNAs with the conserved binding motif G(C/A/G)(U/G/A)UAG, especially ribosomal RNA. We found that NSP12 could directly bind to eEF1A factor via the NIRAN domain of NSP12 and N-terminal domain of eEF1A. NSP12 colocalized with eEF1A to inhibit type I interferon expression upon virus infection. In order to prove that NSP12 regulates the translation level of host cells, we found that NSP12 significantly affected the translation efficiency of many host mRNAs (such as ISG15, NF-κB2, ILK and SERPINI2) via ribosome profiling experiment, and the genes with significant upregulation in translation efficiency were mainly enriched in positive regulation of ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal process and NIK/NF-κB signaling pathway (such as NF-κB2, ILK), and negative regulation of type I interferon production, protein level of these genes were further confirmed in HEK293T and Calu3 cells upon NSP12 overexpression. These results indicate that NSP12 of SARS-CoV-2 can hijack the eEF1A factor to regulate translation efficiency of host mRNAs, which provides a new idea for us to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV2 virus on the host and study the potential drug targets.

Photodynamic inactivation of a RNA-virus model using water-soluble β-octa-Substituted pyridinium-pyrazolyl phthalocyanines

Among the various groups of microorganisms, viruses have generally a greater capacity for mutation, especially RNA viruses, as was demonstrated by SARS-CoV2 virus mutations. This high mutation rate promotes the development of their resistance to traditional antivirals and establishes the resistance behaviour in virus populations, decreasing their susceptibility to these drugs. In this context, the photodynamic treatment appears as a potentially effective method against microorganisms and, considering its mode of action is not likely to lead to the development of resistance. In this work, two newly zinc(II) phthalocyanines (ZnPcs) bearing pyridinium-pyrazolyl groups (2a and 3a) were synthesized, characterized, and applied in photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of bacteriophage Φ6 (or Phage Phi6) as a RNA-virus model. These quaternized dyes were applied at different concentrations (from 5.0 to 20 μM, and under white light irradiation in the irradiance range between 50 and 150 mW/cm2) to test their efficiency for possible clinical or environmental applications. The results showed that the new cationic ZnPcs 2a and 3a efficiently inactivate the RNA-virus model (bacteriophage Φ6), even at the lowest tested irradiance. These compounds are thus promising photosensitizers to be used in various contexts.

CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED BY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LEARNING SCIENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-Cov2 virus, had its first cases recorded at the end of 2019. Since then, a health crisis has set in on the planet. According to the World Health Organization the COVID-19 pandemic has already caused the death of more than 6 million people and caused the routines of the entire population to change completely, or partially. In the educational field, with social distancing being one of the measures used to reduce the number of cases, classes, activities, tests and most of the activities related to education started to take place remotely. As a result, the discipline of science, which requires practice, investigation and experimentation for the content to be better understood by students, has become considerably more difficult to experience with social distance. As a number of sudden changes have emerged, so too have new challenges, which teachers need to manage. In this context, the present research aimed to ascertain how the teaching-learning process is being carried out and the challenges faced by the target audience the learners in the subject of Science in the context of the pandemic of COVID-19. The research targeted primary school students aged between 11-15 years old living in a rural community in the municipality of Salgueiro/PE, Brazil. It was found that students' learning and mindset were negatively affected by remote teaching and social isolation during the pandemic. The most suitable didactic tools for the target audience of the research were identified, and better results regarding learning would have been obtained if complementary activities that stimulated empathy and care of the students' mental health were also used.

The outcome of oxygen therapy on desaturated patient with moderate to severe symptoms in Kogabwilhan II Indrapura Field Hospital

Background: Since the first outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in late 2019 in Wuhan, the SARS-CoV virus has grown rapidly and spread around the globe. The virus invades respiratory epithelium, causing inflammation and damage to lung cells, which causes impaired gas exchange and leads to a desaturated state. Kogabwilhan II Indrapura Field Hospital in Surabaya was an initial emergency hospital for asymptomatic and mild-symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Due to the massive surge of COVID-19 cases in East Java, it had to treat moderate and severe symptomatic patients. Aim: The study aims to report clinical prognosis post-COVID-19 infection. Method: This is a retrospective descriptive study in Kogabwilhan II Indrapura Field Hospital with desaturated COVID-19 patients from March 2020 to October 2021 as samples. Results: Of 471 admitted COVID-19 patients with desaturation, 36.9% were moderate-symptomatic, and 63.9% had severe ones. All patients received oxygen therapy and multivitamins. Then, 29.7% of patients were cured, while 70.3% were referred. 48.4% of referred patients were bonam, 10.2% were pronounced deceased, and 11.7% were unknown. Conclusion: Most patients declared cured after being referred to another center.

(Invited) Demonstration of ATPS Phase Separation, B-Field Concentration and Manipulation of Sars-Cov-2 Viral Particles

A technology, based on fluorescence sensing in a liquid sample and capable for an early detection of a pathogen at extremely low concentration, is very desirable though equally challenging to develop. In optical sensors, a typical fluorescent signal would be too weak to measure without special tools, unless the detected analyte, tagged with a fluorescent label, can be separated and concentrated.In this work a new combined technology[1] will be presented. An assembly of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) functionalized with a fluorescent tag with the S-proteins at the surface of inactivated coronavirus is achieved. In order to separate a bound fluorescent tag (signal) and free tag molecules (background), we simultaneously attach to the virus surface ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (mNP) functionalized with the mAb (without fluorescent tag). Since the surface of the SARS-CoV2 virus has a large number of binding sites, a "sandwich" assembly of mNP-mAb:virus:mAb-FL happens. At the same time, non-specific binding of the fluorescent tag to mNPs is excluded. As a result, the fluorescent tag bound to the analyte can be manipulated by magnetic force and moved with respect to (unused) free tag molecules.Fig.1 shows the fluorescence signal of the mNP-mAb:virus:mAb-FL sandwich assemblies, that were first concentrated by an aqueous two-phase system separation (ATPS)[2] – carefully designed mix of PEG/dextran solutions. Upon dividing the ATPS into PEG bulk phase and dextran bubbles, the viral assemblies (and free non-bound tag) were separated into the PEG phase. Applying vertical magnetic field as shown in the figure resulted in additional significant concentration of the assemblies against the wall of a dextran bubble. Thus, we achieved a clear separation of the virus (as detected by direct fluorescence signal) with respect to the free tag molecules (background) residing in the bulk solution.[1] Vyacheslav V. Rotkin, Ming Zheng, Tetyana Ignatova, Daniel Hayes, Suresh Kuchipudi; Methods and systems for early detection of viral diseases. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20210364517A1[2] Albertsson, P. A., Partition of Cell Particles and Macromolecules. first ed.; Wiley: New York, 1986. Acknowledgement: This work has been supported by NSF (CHE-2032582 and CHE-2032601). Figure 1

COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality Factors

This study investigates the scope of morbidity and mortality from SARS-COV2 virus at a country-wide level based on three central risk factors: population density, median age, and per capita hospital beds. Given that the relative weight following a change in equal units of measurement has not been examined on a country-wide level, we use empirical models with standardized coefficients. Information for this study was obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) data base, which encompasses 162 countries, and spans five continents from January 22, 2020, to January 21, 2022. Referring to projected COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, and following a one standard deviation increase, the influence of these independent variables may be ranked as follows: Infection -- 1) the median age of the country's population; 2) number of hospital beds per thousand persons; 3) population density. Mortality -- 1) the median age of the country's population; 2) population density; 3) number of hospital beds per thousand persons. Findings may be of assistance to public policy planners. Given the dominance of the age variable in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, on the one hand, the allocation of resources for future pandemics should grow in countries with older population profiles (European countries). On the other hand, the emphasis in countries with younger populations (African countries) should be on better medical infrastructure in sparser regions.