The apparent gender differences in favor of women in the risk of contracting and dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the fact that such trends have also been observed in recent epidemics including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), have prompted the obvious question: Are the reasons life-style or biological? True, women generally make healthier lifestyle choices as compared to men Women do not smoke or drink as much as men, and they have a lower burden of those diseases (heart disease, diabetes or chronic lung conditions) that are known to be significant factors in the higher death rates among men with COVID-19 But there is compelling evidence for a role for biological factors Genes are likely to play an important role The X chromosome, of which women possess two, contains the largest number of immune-related genes of the whole human genome, theoretically giving women double the advantage over men in mounting an efficient and rapid immune response A fundamental difference between women and men is their hormonal milieu, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the dominant female hormone estrogen could influence the response to infection In this paper we evaluate the evidence and mechanisms by which estrogen could provide protection to women from a variety of viruses, perhaps including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19

Paired sera from volunteers inoculated with one of the five recently isolated strains of human coronavirus (HCV), AD, GI, HO, PA, and RO, none of which has been grown in tissue culture, or with strain OC38 were tested against coronavirus antigens by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. When HCV strains OC43, 229E, or the 229E-related tissue culture-adapted strains PR and TO were used as antigens, it was shown that all strains fell into one of two antigenic groups. The HCV OC43 group was comprised of strains OC43, GI, HO, and RO, and the HCV 229E group contained strains AD and PA as well as the tissue culture-adapted strains PR, TO, and KI. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of the paired sera with the coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus strain 3 as antigen confirmed the relationship of this virus to the HCV OC43 group but not to the HCV 229E group.

The majority of people living in developing countries rely on alternative medicine for many aspects of their healthcare needs. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of alternative treatments have been adopted in a bid to prevent contracting and sometimes purported to cure the disease. However, the adopted medicinal plants are mainly arbitrary and have not been captured nor reviewed in the light of available knowledge. In this review, we examined the herbs, fruits, vegetables and other alternative therapies that have been employed by many Ghanaians with the aim of COVID-19 disease prevention. The majority of these herbs are medicinal plants known to have antiviral activities, while others boost the immune system.

The aim of this study was to establish the mechanisms of action of a novel liposomal nitric oxide (NO) carrier on large-conductance Ca2+-activated channels (BKCa or Maxi-K) expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) isolated from the rat main pulmonary artery (MPA). Experimental design comprised of both whole-cell and cell-attached single-channel recordings using the patch-clamp techniques. The liposomal form of NO, Lip(NO), increased whole-cell outward K+ currents in a dose dependent manner while shifting the activation curve negatively by about 50 mV with respect to unstimulated cells with the EC50 value of 0.55 0.17 M. At the single channel level, Lip(NO) increased the probability of the open state (Po) of Maxi-K channels from 0.0020 0.0008 to 0.74 0.02 with half-maximal activation occurring at 4.91 0.01 M, while sub-maximal activation was achieved at 10-5 M Lip(NO. Channel activation was mainly due to significant decrease in the mean closed dwell time (about 500-fold), rather than an increase in the mean open dwell time, which was comparatively modest (about 2-fold). There was also a slight decrease in the amplitude of the elementary Maxi-K currents (approximately 15%) accompanied by an increase in current noise, which might indicate some non-specific effects of Lip(NO) on the plasma membrane itself and/or on the phospholipids environment of the channels. In conclusion, the activating action of Lip(NO) on the Maxi-K channel is due to the destabilization of the closed conformation of the channel protein, which causes its more frequent openings and, accordingly, increases the probability of channel transition to its open state.

Considerations comprised in the article concern the problem of mandatory vaccination in Poland. Particular attention is paid to the issue of conscientious exemption from the vaccine obligation. The article presents the problem of social support for vaccination in Poland, the arguments issued by vaccination opponents, the current legal status of vaccination in Poland, and finally - the legal analysis regarding the introduction of a conscientious exemption from mandatory vaccination in Poland. The article focuses on judicial opportunities of introducing conscientious exemption in the field of mandatory vaccination; it presents possibilities and obstacles to establishing institution under discussion. The thesis that public health reasons should prevail over conscientious or moral demands is advocated in the article.

An efficient method is described for the preparation of molnupiravir (EIDD-2801) an antiviral agent via regioselective conversion of an N-acyl-nucleoside intermediate, generated through stereo and regioselective glycosylation of protected ribose and N(4)-acetyl cytosine, to an amidoxime. This method avoids use of expensive starting materials, enzymes, complex reagents, and cumbersome purification procedures.

Background: This study aimed to highlight the primary endpoint of death and to understand the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 infection in the rural community of Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India. Method: This was a retrospective, observational study of COVID-19 patients from March to June 2020 that collected and analysed epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological data. Results: In 353 patients, COVID-19 affected all age groups, mainly those aged 16C49 years, followed by those aged 50C64 years;82.43% were male;68% of infected patients were asymptomatic at presentation and were incidentally positive on contact tracing. Among symptomatic cases, fever (88%) was the most common symptom;of 14 severe COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, 8 died. Leukopenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, and abnormal liver function tests were common lab findings. Thirty patients had radiographic evidence of pneumonia. The most common complications were acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and kidney injury. The case fatality rate was 0.02%, and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score>6 was a surrogate marker for admittance to the intensive care unit. Conclusion: Low case fatality rate and SOFA score surrogate for ICU admittance.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exhibits various symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic to severe pneumonia or death. The major features of patients in severe COVID-19 are the dysregulation of cytokine secretion, pneumonia, and acute lung injury. Consequently, it leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, multiple organ failure, and death. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative virus of COVID-19, influences nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain, leucine-rich repeat, and pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), the sensor of inflammasomes, directly or indirectly, culminating in the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome and activation of inflammatory caspases, which induce the inflammatory disruption in severe COVID-19. Accordingly, the target therapeutics for inflammasome has attracted attention as a treatment for COVID-19. Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) inhibits several inflammatory responses, including the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling. This review discusses the role of KRG in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 based on its anti-NLRP3 inflammasome efficacy.

Abstract Rapid Prototyping (RP) is an emerging technology, especially in a Three-Dimensional Printing (3DP) application. 3DP is used in many fields such as aeronautical, automotive, architecture, medical, and many others. 3DP can be effectively used in anatomical education for medical students who are pursuing their undergraduate degrees.It can also be used for pre-operative surgical planning by experts before surgery. Some complex organs of the human body which cannot be seen visible even after dissection of the cadaver can be printed using a 3D printer which provides haptic studies on organs and bones to students. These 3D printed parts can be used in pre-operative planning such as analysis and diagnosis formulation of affected organs. Further, it can be used in explaining the operative procedures to patients which helps them to understand and co-operate with the medical procedures. Therefore, this project aims at 3DP of complex organs and bones for anatomical studies and pre-operative planning procedures. As a first step in the project, some of the human bones were printed and analyzed for its quality.

OBJECTIVE To provide data support for the study of pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular level, and provide suitable candidate targets for vaccine, antibody and drug research and development through comparative analysis for structural characteristics and epitopes of S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. METHODS Based on the reference sequences of S protein, physical and chemical properties, hydrophobicity, signal peptide, transmembrane region, domain, secondary structure, tertiary structure analysis and antigenic epitopes prediction were carried out. Meanwhile, the tissue expression, related pathways and reactome pathways of angiotensis converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and C-type lectin domain family 4 member M (CLEC4M) receptors were analyzed. RESULTS The amino acid sequence of S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV has a 75.80% consistency. The structural characteristics of the two coronaviruses are highly consistent, but the secondary structure and tertiary structure of SARS-CoV-2 is not as obvious as SARS-CoV. ACE2 and CLEC4M are expressed in alimentary system, heart, kidney, lung and placenta. The main related the pathways of renin-angiotensin system, protein digestion and absorption pathway, and the reactome pathways of metabolism of angiotensinogen to angiotensins, GPCR ligand binding, are related to typical symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 induced by SARS-CoV-2. Three pairs of highly or completely homologous epitopes of S protein were obtained. The 600-605, 695-703 and 888-896 amino acid residues in SARS-CoV-2 were highly homologous with 586-591, 677-685 and 870-878 amino acid residues in SARS-CoV, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The similarity of S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV determines that they have similar infection patterns and clinical manifestations. The candidate epitopes with high reliability can provide reference for virus diagnosis and vaccine development.

BACKGROUND: Technical information regarding health-related advances is sometimes esoteric for the general public. News media, therefore, plays a key role in public health promotion via health information conveyance. In this study, we use China as a sample country and analyze the claims and frames in news coverage of health-related advances, with special focus on news coverage of the development and performance of newly developed or tested drugs. METHODS: A keyword search was performed to retrieve news articles from four representative news agencies in China. In total, 3029 news reports were retrieved, of which 128 were selected for further analysis. RESULTS: Four aspects of news coverage of drug development were identified: (1) the characteristics of new drugs covered, (2) the sources of information, (3) the accuracy of health information in newspapers, and (4) textual features of news coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal that guidelines should be established to facilitate more systematic news reporting on health-related advances. Additionally, literacy among the general public and professionalism in health information conveyance should be promoted to negate the illusion of knowing about health-related advances.

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel ssRNA+ virus from the Coronaviridae family, which has caused the global COVID-19 pandemic. The genome of SARS-CoV-2 is one of the largest of RNA viruses, comprising of 26 known protein-coding loci. This study aimed to explore the coding potential of negative-strand RNA intermediate for its potential to contain additional protein coding-loci. Surprisingly, we have found several putative ORFs and one brandt new functional SARS-CoV-2 protein-coding loci and called it Avo1 (Ambient viral ORF1). This sequence is located on negative-sense RNA intermediate and bona fide coding for 81 amino acid residues long protein and contains strong Kozak sequence for translation on eukaryotic ribosomes. In silico translated protein Avo1 has a predominantly alpha-helical structure. The existence of Avo1 gene is supported also by its evolutionarily and structural conservation in RaTG13 bat coronavirus. The nucleotide sequence of Avo1 also contains a unique SREBP2 binding site which is closely related to the so-called cytokine storm in severe COVID-19 patients. Altogether, our results suggest the existence of still undescribed SARS-CoV-2 protein, which may play an important role in the viral lifecycle and COVID-19 pathogenesis.

Correction of the lower jaw contours is one of the most popular tasks in aesthetic maxillofacial surgery. There are many reduction operations aimed at changing the shape of the lower jaw. However, augmentation mandible plasty is mainly associated with the use of synthetic implants. In 2013, A. Triaca published a paper ?chin wing technique? in detail, which we used as a prototype. In this article, we will present the technique and experience of using osteoplastic three-dimensional mandible plasty, which has a number of special features: the increase in the bigonial width is due to the median vertical osteotomy of the free lower edge of the lower jaw, followed by lateralization of the distal parts of the lower fragments, osteosynthesis is performed using the original trapezoidal titanium mini-plate. Since 2018 30 patients have been operated on with different variants of the anatomy of the lower jaw with requirements for increasing the projection of the chin, increasing the width of the lower third of the face and changing the contour of the mandible. The mandible plasty proposed by us allows us to achieve good aesthetic results and can replace the use of synthetic implants.

Implementing antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) at non-university hospitals is challenging. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine the impact of customised antibiotic authorisation implementation on antimicrobial consumption and clinical outcomes at three provincial hospitals in Thailand. Customised pre-authorisation of selected restricted antibiotics and post-authorisation of selected controlled antibiotics were undertaken and implemented at each hospital by the local AMS team with guidance from the AMS team at the university hospital. From January 2019CDecember 2020, there were 1802 selected patients (901 patients during the pre-implementation period and 901 patients during the post-implementation period). The most commonly used targeted antimicrobial was meropenem (49.61%), followed by piperacillin/tazobactam (36.46%). Comparison of the outcomes of the patients during the pre- and post-implementation periods revealed that the mean day of therapy of the targeted antimicrobials was significantly shorter during the post-implementation period (6.24 vs. 7.64 days; p < 0.001), the favourable clinical response (the improvement in all clinical and laboratory parameters at the end of antibiotic therapy) was significantly higher during the post-implementation period (72.70% vs. 68.04%; p = 0.03) and the mean length of hospital stay was significantly shorter during the post-implementation period (15.78 vs. 18.90 days; p < 0.001). In conclusion, implementation of antibiotic authorisation at provincial hospitals under experienced AMS teams guidance was feasible and useful. The study results could be a good model for the implementation of customised AMS strategies at other hospitals with limited resources.

In this paper, Covid-19 patients with self-immunity is incorporated in the Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Quarantined-Recovered [Formula: see text] model is applied to describe the epidemiology of Covid-19 infection in Ghana. Based on data on the epidemiology of the Covid-19 infection in Ghana, we observed that, on an average, three persons contract the Covid-19 infection from an infected person daily based using the basic reproductive number ([Formula: see text]) derived from the SEIQR model. In addition, the threshold condition for the long term stability of the Covid-19 infection in Ghana is derived from this model. Based on the Dulac criterion, it was observed that for a long period of time the epidemiology of Covid-19 in Ghana will be under control. Again, we observed that both the transmission rate natural death rate of a person in the various classes mostly influence the spread of Covid-19 infection followed by the exposed rate from exposure class to the infected class, then the rate at which an infected person is quarantined and finally, the rate at an exposed person is quarantined. On the other hand, the rate at which an exposed person recovers from his/her have least influence on the spread of Covid-19 infection in the country. Nevertheless, the rates of birth, transmission of Covid-19 infection to a susceptible person, exposure to Covid-19 infection and Covid-19 patient who is quarantined by the facilities provided by the Ghana Health Service [Formula: see text] are in direct relationship with [Formula: see text]. However, the rates at which a quarantiner dies from a Covid-19 infection, an infected person dies from a Covid-19 infection, natural death from each class and the recoveries from an infected class, exposed class and quarantined class are in relationship with [Formula: see text].

BACKGROUNDS: The severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide. Cardiac injury after SARS-CoV-2 infection is a major concern. The present study investigated impact of the biomarkers indicating cardiac injury in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on patients' outcomes. METHODS: This study enrolled patients who were confirmed to have COVID-19 and admitted at a tertiary university referral hospital between February 19, 2020 and March 15, 2020. Cardiac injury was defined as an abnormality in one of the following result markers: 1) myocardial damage marker (creatine kinase-MB or troponin-I), 2) heart failure marker (N-terminal-pro B-type natriuretic peptide), and 3) electrical abnormality marker (electrocardiography). The relationship between each cardiac injury marker and mortality was evaluated. Survival analysis of mortality according to the scoring by numbers of cardiac injury markers was also performed. RESULTS: A total of 38 patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. Twenty-two patients (57.9%) had at least one of cardiac injury markers. The patients with cardiac injuries were older (69.6 14.9 vs. 58.6 13.9 years old, P = 0.026), and were more male (59.1% vs. 18.8%, P = 0.013). They showed lower initial oxygen saturation (92.8 vs. 97.1%, P = 0.002) and a trend toward higher mortality (27.3 vs. 6.3%, P = 0.099). The increased number of cardiac injury markers was significantly related to a higher incidence of in-hospital mortality which was also evidenced by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: The increased number of cardiac injury markers is related to in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19.

From the perspective of satisfaction, physical and mental health, and re-travel, this study explored whether the development of religious and cultural tourism could construct a sustainable and friendly life and leisure environment for the elderly to promote physical and mental health. This research adopted a mixed method, collected 700 questionnaires, used SPSS 22.0 statistical software, and analyzed basic statistics, t-test, and PPMCC test. Then, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews, collected the opinions of six interviewees, and finally analyzed with multiple checks Law discussion. The results found that people of different genders and stakeholders had different opinions about DIY activities on leisure satisfaction, featured itineraries, relaxation areas, signs and instructions, community association and service center services, historical landmarks, and public transportation. They found peoples life satisfaction in physical and mental health was increased, their headaches or pressures on the top of their heads were relieved, backache problems were reduced, and they were no longer anxious and lost tempers. They had a greater willingness to revisit some places and share experiences. This study found significant differences among these topics (p < 0.01). Women, residents, and tourists had different opinions. In addition, although the natural environment landscape and feelings have the greatest influence, the better the physical and mental health was improved, the better the willingness to travel. However, the more perfect the local construction and development, the less favorable to attract people to engage in leisure activities or tourism consumption.

OBJECTIVE To describe clinicopathologic features of dogs that underwent lung lobectomy for resection of primary lung tumors via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or open thoracotomy (OT) and to compare short-term outcomes for dogs following these procedures. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. ANIMALS 46 medium- to large-breed dogs with primary lung tumors. PROCEDURES Medical records of dogs that underwent a lung lobectomy via VATS (n = 22) or OT (24) for resection of primary lung tumors between 2004 and 2012 were reviewed. Dogs were included if they weighed > 10 kg (22 lb) and resection of a primary lung tumor was confirmed histologically. Tumor volumes were calculated from preoperative CT scans where available. Surgical time, completeness of excision, time in the ICU, indwelling thoracic drain time, postoperative and total hospitalization time, incidence of major complications, and short-term survival rate were evaluated. RESULTS VATS was performed with a 3-port (n = 12) or 4-port (10) technique and 1-lung ventilation (22). In 2 of 22 (9%) dogs, VATS was converted to OT. All dogs survived to discharge from the hospital. There were no significant differences between the VATS and OT groups with regard to most variables. Surgery time was significantly longer for VATS than for OT (median, 120 vs 95 minutes, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In medium- to large-breed dogs, short-term outcomes for dogs that underwent VATS for lung lobectomy were comparable to those of dogs that underwent OT. Further studies are required to evaluate the effects of surgical approach on indices of postoperative pain and long-term outcomes.

Nucleic acid detection, widely used in clinical diagnosis, biological analysis, and environmental monitoring, is of great significance for disease diagnosis and basic research. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the demand for fast and high-throughput nucleic acid detection from large numbers of samples has increased sharply. Automated nucleic acid detection systems can meet these needs, and also play important roles in disease screening and infectious disease prevention and control. In this review, we introduce and compare the current mainstream nucleic acid automatic detection instruments and equipment, then discuss the future demands of nucleic acid detection.

With the gradual decrease in the grade of copper ores being processed, copper concentrates have become more complex with higher impurity and gangue content. This trend has had a detrimental effect on smelters as they have to increase throughput to maintain copper metal production, while increasing operating costs due to processing the increased amounts of secondary products (slag, acid) and stabilizing waste streams. This paper discusses impacts from the increased complexity of resources from mine to smelters, highlighting the need for an integrated processing approach to achieve sustainable and competitive multi-metal recovery.