Viral Threats Research Articles

The Conserved Macrodomain Is a Potential Therapeutic Target for Coronaviruses and Alphaviruses.

Emerging and re-emerging viral diseases pose continuous public health threats, and effective control requires a combination of non-pharmacologic interventions, treatment with antivirals, and prevention with vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the world was least prepared to provide effective treatments. This lack of preparedness has been due, in large part, to a lack of investment in developing a diverse portfolio of antiviral agents, particularly those ready to combat viruses of pandemic potential. Here, we focus on a drug target called macrodomain that is critical for the replication and pathogenesis of alphaviruses and coronaviruses. Some mutations in alphavirus and coronaviral macrodomains are not tolerated for virus replication. In addition, the coronavirus macrodomain suppresses host interferon responses. Therefore, macrodomain inhibitors have the potential to block virus replication and restore the host’s protective interferon response. Viral macrodomains offer an attractive antiviral target for developing direct acting antivirals because they are highly conserved and have a structurally well-defined (druggable) binding pocket. Given that this target is distinct from the existing RNA polymerase and protease targets, a macrodomain inhibitor may complement current approaches, pre-empt the threat of resistance and offer opportunities to develop combination therapies for combating COVID-19 and future viral threats.

The Optimization Analysis of Phishing Email Filtering in Network Fraud based on Improved Bayesian Algorithm

Mail transmission was not only the main function of information system, but also the main way of network virus and Trojan horse transmission, which has a key impact on the running state of information. In order to deal with the threats of network viruses and Trojans and improve the level of e-mail management, this paper studies the filtering of information system, and proposes a phishing e-mail filtering method based on Improved Bayesian model. MATLAB simulation results show that the consistency p between the amount of data sent by e-mail and the amount received is good, the consistency rate reached 92.3%. the data security level is 95%, encryption proportion / data proportion ratio under Bayesian optimization are higher than those of unfiltered method，which up to 97.2%. Therefore, the Bayesian optimization model constructed in this paper can meet the needs of phishing email filtering in information communication at this stage.

Identification and Functional Analysis of Four RNA Silencing Suppressors in Begomovirus Croton Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus.

Croton yellow vein mosaic virus (CYVMV), a species in the genus Begomovirus, is a prolific monopartite begomovirus in the Indian sub-continent. CYVMV infects multiple crop plants to cause leaf curl disease. Plants have developed host RNA silencing mechanisms to defend the threat of viruses, including CYVMV. We characterized four RNA silencing suppressors, namely, V2, C2, and C4 encoded by CYVMV and betasatellite-encoded C1 protein (βC1) encoded by the cognate betasatellite, croton yellow vein betasatellite (CroYVMB). Their silencing suppressor functions were verified by the ability of restoring the β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity suppressed by RNA silencing. We showed here for the first time that V2 was capable of self-interacting, as well as interacting with the V1 protein, and could be translocalized to the plasmodesmata in the presence of CYVMV. The knockout of either V2 or V1 impaired the intercellular mobility of CYVMV, indicating their novel coordinated roles in the cell-to-cell movement of the virus. As pathogenicity determinants, each of V2, C2, and C4 could induce typical leaf curl symptoms in Nicotiana benthamiana plants even under transient expression. Interestingly, the transcripts and proteins of all four suppressors could be detected in the systemically infected leaves with no correlation to symptom induction. Overall, our work identifies four silencing suppressors encoded by CYVMV and its cognate betasatellite and reveals their subcellular localizations, interaction behavior, and roles in symptom induction and intercellular virus movement.

A Note on the Effect of COVID-19 and Vaccine Rollout on School Enrollment in the US.

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks forced families to decide the safest and most effective learning environments for their children because of the virus's threat to health and life. Hence, because of the nationwide school closure, policymakers have raised concerns about the missing children cases-those who have not enrolled in school at all because of the pandemic. The present study investigates whether there is a difference in the school enrollment during the pre-COVID-19 period, COVID-19 period, and vaccine rollout period. We employed the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS), covering January 2020 to May 2021, while we use both the logistic and multinomial regression models for the empirical analysis. Our results showed that school enrollment is lower during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the Pre-COVID-19 period. Other results showed that school enrollment is higher since vaccine rollout compared to the COVID-19 period. A possible explanation for this could be that families consider the vaccine the safe path to enrolling their children in school. We also found that school enrollment varies significantly across race and ethnic groups.

Spaceflight Virology: What Do We Know about Viral Threats in the Spaceflight Environment?

Viruses constitute a significant part of the human microbiome, so wherever humans go, viruses are brought with them, even on space missions. In this mini review, we focus on the International Space Station (ISS) as the only current human habitat in space that has a diverse range of viral genera that infect microorganisms from bacteria to eukaryotes. Thus, we have reviewed the literature on the physical conditions of space habitats that have an impact on both virus transmissibility and interaction with their host, which include UV radiation, ionizing radiation, humidity, and microgravity. Also, we briefly comment on the practices used on space missions that reduce virus spread, that is, use of antimicrobial surfaces, spacecraft sterilization practices, and air filtration. Finally, we turn our attention to the health threats that viruses pose to space travel. Overall, even though efforts are taken to ensure safe conditions during human space travel, for example, preflight quarantines of astronauts, we reflect on the potential risks humans might be exposed to and how those risks might be aggravated in extraterrestrial habitats.

Comparison of Prevalence and Risk Factors of PTSS Between Chinese Patients With Depression and Non-depressed Controls During COVID-19 Outbreak.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic event all over the world, and may lead to post-traumatic stress symptom (PTSS) in different population who are under the threat of novel corona virus. Therefore, the aim of our study was to compare the prevalence and risk factors of PTSS between Chinese patients with depression and non-depressed controls during the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: 437 depressed patients and 2,940 non-depressed controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional study between February 14 and May 9, 2020.The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to evaluate the psychological status of all the participants.Results: The prevalence of PTSS (IES-R ≥ 33) in depressed patients (45.08%) was higher than that in non-depressed controls (5.31%). Patients with depression were 16 times more likely to suffer from PTSS than those without depression. Correlation analyses showed that the IES-R total score was positively correlated with SDS, SAS, and PSQI scores in both depressed and non-depressed groups (Bonferroni corrected all p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that SAS score, and PSQI score were independently associated with IES-R total score in both depression and non-depression groups. In depressed patients, education level and duration of media exposure to COVID-19 were positively associated with PTSS, while in the non-depressed group, subjects who were married, in the 31–50 year group or with higher SDS score were more likely to develop PTSS.Conclusions: These results indicate that the prevalence rate of PTSS in patients with depression is very higher than that in subjects without depression. PTSS are associated with a number of socio-demographic and clinical variables.

Apriori Bio's AI Platform Provides Variant-Proof Protection from Viral Threats

GEN EdgeVol. 4, No. 1 Artificial IntelligenceApriori Bio's AI Platform Provides Variant-Proof Protection from Viral ThreatsFollowing more than two years of development, Flagship Pioneering unveils Apriori Bio with $50 million of committed capital.Jonathan D GrinsteinJonathan D GrinsteinSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:8 Aug 2022https://doi.org/10.1089/genedge.4.1.97AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 4Issue 1Jan 2022 Information© 2022 by GEN PublishingTo cite this article:Jonathan D Grinstein.Apriori Bio's AI Platform Provides Variant-Proof Protection from Viral Threats.GEN Edge.Jan 2022.593-597.http://doi.org/10.1089/genedge.4.1.97Published in Volume: 4 Issue 1: August 8, 2022PDF download

Molecular Markers: Their Importance, Types, and Applications in Modern Agriculture

To meet the expanding global population's need for food, high-yielding hybrids, varieties, and superior populations of food crops must be developed. This can be accomplished by employing a molecular marker system. Breeders can use molecular markers to choose genotypes directly because they are not affected by the environment. Crop yields must be increased to meet the needs of growing people around the world, as well as the threat of new viruses, if climate change is to be avoided in the next decades. Agriculture is confronted with rising demand from a growing population, as well as dangers of restricted production area as a result of climate change, such as water scarcity, soil salinity, or harvest weather that is unpredictable. Plant breeding's ultimate goal is to create better crops. Crop productivity is something that can be improved. Any region (locus) in an organism's genome where the DNA base sequence differs among different individuals in a population is referred to as a molecular marker. DNA markers have been created in recent years and have shown to be effective tools for cereal breeding. The overall goal of this review paper is to evaluate the role, kind, and utility of markers in in crop improvement program.

Ensuring the security of an automated information system in a regional innovation cluster

The developing global information society has posed new economic and legal problems due to the increase in the use of the Internet and the development of innovations in the digital economy. The security of innovations in information systems has recently become the main problem in the development of informatization processes in the transport industry. Topical aspects are threats of information leakage and viruses. Automated information systems have opened up new opportunities for organizing interregional information economic activities, but at the same time they have become one of the most vulnerable parties, attracting intruders both from among the company’s personnel and those working outside the enterprise. The most important security problems of regional innovation clusters include the problems of virus penetration, information theft, the decrease in the efficiency of computers due to the use of their resources by attackers for other purposes, the high speed of threat modification, and the imperfection of the legislative framework. Distributed systems and systems with remote access have brought to the fore the issues of protecting processed and transmitted information. For specific regional innovation clusters of the transport industry, the security policy should be individual. It depends on the specific information processing technology, software and hardware, databases and other elements used.

The Vulnerability of Meat Processing and Other Food Processing Facilities to Airborne Viral Threats

The SARS-COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 6 million deaths worldwide (&gt;967,000 deaths in the U.S. alone). Importantly, this pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the food industry, including the meat processing industry. As a result, the health of food processing workers has been negatively impacted, leading to high numbers of SARS-COVID-19 cases at food processing facilities and surrounding communities. Resulting shutdowns have also led to product shortages for consumers and economic losses to the industry. In response, the food processing industry and public health agencies have prioritized continued food access over identifying evidence-based best practices for controlling airborne viral threats (AVTs). Consequently, the lack of high -quality evidence has made it more difficult to identify appropriate control measures that could prevent current and future airborne viral threats (AVT) in food processing facilities. Without evidence-based best practices, the food processing industry will remain vulnerable to future AVT events. Therefore, there is a pressing need for timely research on the spread of AVT in food processor settings. The aim of this article is to summarize the epidemiological knowledge regarding the impact COVID-19 has had on the food industry and the meat industry in particular and to emphasize the need for empirical research into the factors that contribute to the spread of airborne viruses in these settings in order to secure these facilities from future AVTs.

On the intrinsic nature of viral pathogenesis: The assumption of a Darwinian paradigm to describe COVID-19 pandemic

Our hypothesis about evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic foresees an inverse relation between infectivity (R0) and lethality (L) of SARS-CoV-2. The above parameters are driven by a continuing mutation process granting the virus a clear survival advantage over virulence. For interpreting this relation we adopted a simple equation, R0 × L ≈ k, by which R0 and L depend upon a constant k, that corresponds to an intrinsic property of the viral species involved. The hypothesis was verified by following changes of the R0 and L terms of the formula in the different variants of SARS-CoV-2 that progressively appeared. A further validation came when the equation was applied to pandemic and epidemic influenza type A viruses, Ebola virus and measles virus. We believe this equation that considers virus biology in Darwinian terms could be extremely useful to better face infectious viral threats and validate virus-host molecular interactions relevant to viral pathogenesis.

CRISPR use in diagnosis and therapy for COVID-19.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many diagnostic approaches (RT-qPCR, RAPID, LFA) have been adopted, with RT-qPCR being the most popular/gold standard. But, one of the major problems of COVID-19 diagnostics is the presentation of a wide range of symptoms which varies among different patients and needs early diagnosis for better management. Even though RT-qPCR is a precise molecular technique false negative results may be obtained. On the other hand, CRISPR-based SARS-CoV-2 detection approaches are cost and time efficient, highly sensitive and specific, and do not require sophisticated instruments. Moreover, they also show promise for increased scalability and diagnostic tests can be carried out at the point-of-care (POC). The CRISPR can be customized to the target of any genomic region of interest within the desired genome possessing a broad range of other applications and has been efficiently implemented for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. The CRISPR/Cas systems provide the specific gene targeting with immense potential to develop new generation diagnostics and therapeutics. Moreover, with the CRISPR/Cas based therapeutics, multiplexing is possible, where different sgRNAs or crRNAs can be guided to more than one target within the same gene thus decreasing the possibility of viral escape mutants. As an exceptionally efficient tool CRISPR/Cas13 and CARVER (Cas13-assisted restriction of viral expression and readout) systems can be implemented to target a broad range of ssRNA viruses that can be used for both, diagnosis and treatment for a variety of viral diseases including SARS-CoV-2. However, the efficacy and safety of the CRISPR-based therapeutics needs to be assessed in pre-clinical and clinical settings. Although the CRISPR biotechnologies are not very helpful to control the present pandemic of COVID-19 it is hopeful that the limitations of the CRISPR/Cas system can be overcome in the near future. The CRISPR based strategies may lead to a new era in the field of disease diagnosis and therapeutic development that would make us better prepared for future viral threats.

Turning the world on its head: The virus that disrupted “business as usual”

Turning the world on its head: The virus that disrupted “business as usual”

Computer Virus Attack and Their Preventive Mechanisms: A Review

Computer use is becoming part of our lives every other day however there have been considerable threats of computer viruses in the recent past. Viruses have had adverse effects on data and programs ranging from formatting hard disks, damaging information infrastructure etc. The purpose of the review is to discover the impact of computer virus attack and provide procedures on how individuals can protect their personal computer (PC) against virus attacks. It is important to address the virus attacks and its protective mechanisms among the personal computer users in this electronic world. After identification of typical aspects which leads to computer virus attacks the possible solutions are put forwarded to personal computer users to overcome this virus attacks and their future improvement in computer usage. This paper defines a virus and explain its related terms like phases of viruses, types of viruses worms. It describes the general symptoms of virus attacks and the solutions apart from using anti-virus software, there are other procedures which can help protect against viruses which are also mentioned, the future of computer viruses and the conclusion that the Internet is serving its purpose of interconnecting computer and hence encouraging scattering of viruses then makes some recommendations on viruses.

Anxiety talking: Does anxiety predict sharing information about COVID-19?

Could anxiety during the early stages of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic be linked to greater information sharing about viral threats? To explore whether anxiety may serve as a unique emotional indicator of sharing information in response to COVID-19, we used a representative sample of the United States from the American Trends Panel (N = 9,110) conducted April 20th–26th, 2020. Participants reported how they felt in the past week, where they got COVID-19 news from, and whether they had posted COVID-19 news on social media or discussed the pandemic with others. Controlling for other emotions, news sources, and demographic measures, people who felt more anxious were more likely to share information about the coronavirus pandemic on social media and to discuss the pandemic with others, in-person, and online. These findings are consistent with functionalist theories of emotion, which postulate that fear plays a unique role in communication about threats.

Supplemental Material for Anxiety talking: Does anxiety predict sharing information about COVID-19?

Could anxiety during the early stages of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic be linked to greater information sharing about viral threats? To explore whether anxiety may serve as a unique emotional indicator of sharing information in response to COVID-19, we used a representative sample of the United States from the American Trends Panel (N = 9,110) conducted April 20th–26th, 2020. Participants reported how they felt in the past week, where they got COVID-19 news from, and whether they had posted COVID-19 news on social media or discussed the pandemic with others. Controlling for other emotions, news sources, and demographic measures, people who felt more anxious were more likely to share information about the coronavirus pandemic on social media and to discuss the pandemic with others, in-person, and online. These findings are consistent with functionalist theories of emotion, which postulate that fear plays a unique role in communication about threats.

Social risks, economic dynamics and the local politics of COVID-19 prevention in Eldoret town, Kenya

ABSTRACT A steady and consistent national and local government leadership is crucial in times of crisis. The trust in government – which can be so fragile – was strong in Eldoret town, a large municipal in western Kenya widely known for ethnic conflicts. In our interviews with 20 business people and 30 community members from Eldoret town, we found that the trust built early in the pandemic was broken due to individual leaders who eventually dismissed public health promotion and engaged in politics and corruption of funds for COVID-19 relief. When leadership was strong, locals in Eldoret town (and especially business owners) engaged in public health prevention measures for the greater good. But when leadership slipped, people complained and eventually ignored public health prevention measures at home, on the bus, and in businesses around town, causing the intensification of outbreaks. This was most common among those engaged in the formal economy as those in the informal economy were more likely to mistrust the government altogether. We show who falls through the cracks when government policy targets viral threats and suggest how local government and public health agencies might work to control COVID-19 infections while ensuring that all Eldoret residents are cared for.

Studi Pemantauan Kampanye Digital para Kandidat dalam Pilkada 2020 Kabupaten Bantul di Tengah Pandemi Covid-19

Holding regional head elections during a pandemic presents many challenges for the Indonesian people in holding a democratic party. This is due to the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada during the Covid-19 pandemic with the threat of a dangerous virus that can kill humans. This research was conducted in the momentum of monitoring the elections during the Covid-19 pandemic with a focus on the campaign stages in the Bantul Regency. This study uses mixed methods with two data collection techniques: surveys and Nvivo-12 Plus software. The results of this study are: First, Facebook is the best social media for obtaining campaign materials from candidate pairs in the Bantul Pilkada. Second, social media is considered adequate as a political campaign platform if balanced with conventional campaigns. Third, most voters in Bantul Regency who use Facebook have never commented on the campaign of candidate pairs in the Pilkada of the Bantul Regency. Fourth, some issues have almost similar tendencies between candidate pairs, namely discussing social &amp; culture and religion &amp; tolerance. Fifth, Halim-Joko is considered successful in delivering campaign materials through content on social media compared to Suharsono-Totok. Sixth, the public's response tends to be neutral in responding to campaign issues on social media.

Activity of Galidesivir in a Hamster Model of SARS-CoV-2.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has claimed the lives of millions of people worldwide since it first emerged. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health and the global economy has highlighted the medical need for the development of broadly acting interventions against emerging viral threats. Galidesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral compound with demonstrated in vitro and in vivo efficacy against several RNA viruses of public health concern, including those causing yellow fever, Ebola, Marburg, and Rift Valley fever. In vitro studies have shown that the antiviral activity of galidesivir also extends to coronaviruses. Herein, we describe the efficacy of galidesivir in the Syrian golden hamster model of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Treatment with galidesivir reduced lung pathology in infected animals compared with untreated controls when treatment was initiated 24 h prior to infection. These results add to the evidence of the applicability of galidesivir as a potential medical intervention for a range of acute viral illnesses, including coronaviruses.

Functional Paint to Fight Viral and Microbial Threats

Functional Paint to Fight Viral and Microbial Threats