Dry-spun carbon nanotube ultrafiltration membranes tailored by anti-viral metal oxide coatings for human coronavirus 229E capture in water.

Although waterborne virus removal may be achieved using separation membrane technologies, such technologies remain largely inefficient at generating virus-free effluents due to the lack of anti-viral reactivity of conventional membrane materials required to deactivating viruses. Here, a stepwise approach towards simultaneous filtration and disinfection of Human Coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) in water effluents, is proposed by engineering dry-spun ultrafiltration carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes, coated with anti-viral SnO2 thin films via atomic layer deposition. The thickness and pore size of the engineered CNT membranes were fine-tuned by varying spinnable CNT sheets and their relative orientations on carbon nanofibre (CNF) porous supports to reach thicknesses less than 1 µm and pore size around 28 nm. The nanoscale SnO2 coatings were found to further reduce the pore size down to ∼21 nm and provide more functional groups on the membrane surface to capture the viruses via size exclusion and electrostatic attractions. The synthesized CNT and SnO2 coated CNT membranes were shown to attain a viral removal efficiency above 6.7 log10 against HCoV-229E virus with fast water permeance up to ∼4 × 103 and 3.5 × 103 L.m-2.h-1.bar-1, respectively. Such high performance was achieved by increasing the dry-spun CNT sheets up to 60 layers, orienting successive 30 CNT layers at 45°, and coating 40 nm SnO2 on the synthesized membranes. The current study provides an efficient scalable fabrication scheme to engineer flexible ultrafiltration CNT-based membranes for cost-effective filtration and inactivation of waterborne viruses to outperform the state-of-the-art ultrafiltration membranes.

Effects of some biological factors on Coronavirus

This research was been adopted to study the relationship between Covid and some necessary biological factors in human body and how these factors affected, This studying included three stages (Sever - Moderate - Mild) it was studied 20 patient for every stage and monitor the biological factors during infection and after infection.Copyright © 2023, Codon Publications. All rights reserved.

The lived experiences of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)to inform Home Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation (HBPR)in Delhi,India: A Qualitative Study

Background: Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a high-impact intervention for IPF but access is limited in India, a problem exacerbated by the pandemic which has seen HBPR become a necessity. Aim(s): To explore the lived experiences of people living with IPF to inform HBPR in Delhi, India. Method(s): Ten semi-structured interviews with Adults with IPF. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Result(s): Five key themes were developed (Figure): (1) Diagnosis Journey: Experiences before and during diagnosis, including misdiagnosis, and how family, friends and colleagues reacted to diagnosis. (2) Impact of IPF: The physical and psychological impacts on their life. (3) Non-IPF Impact: The impact of COVID-19 infection and restrictions and previous/existing comorbidities. (4) Management of IPF: Strategies to manage symptoms, including exercise and relaxed breathing. (5) HBPR: Perspectives of HBPR, including its advantages and challenges, their goals if they were to participate, and suggestions to the development of a paper HBPR manual. Conclusion(s): Patients living with IPF were positive about HBPR and the development of a paper-based manual to facilitate HBPR. The content of HBPR should be sensitive to the previous negative experiences of diagnosis, the additional impact of non-IPF health issues and challenges of reduced interactions with healthcare professionals.

Effect of Family Cohesion on Depression of Chinese College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Chain Mediation Effect of Perceived Social Support and Intentional Self-Regulation

Individuals' perceptions, attitudes, and patterns of getting along with family members are important factors influencing Chinese people's self-evaluation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of family cohesion on depression and the role of perceived social support and intentional self-regulation in this association. A hypothe-sized model of the association of family cohesion, perceived social support, intentional self-regulation, and depression was examined. A convenience sampling method was used to survey 1,180 college students in Yunnan Province using self-report. Data were collected using the Family Cohesion Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Intentional Self-Regulation Scale, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The findings revealed low to moderate correlation between the variables studied. College students' family cohesion was a negative predictor of their depression. This association was also mediated by the knock-on effect of perceived social support and intentional self-regulation. These findings show how family cohesion affects college stu-dents' depressive status. Specifically, these results help demonstrate the importance of family cohesion, perceived social support, and intentional self-regulation in optimizing students' depression, which in turn can promote bet-ter psychological states. © 2023, Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.

Deciphering the Potential Therapeutic Intervention Points of 2019-nCoV: A Pharmacological Perspective

The emerging and re-emergence of viral outbreaks in the history of mankind has always pose severe global intimidation to public health and economy. The debilitating effects of 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus) outbreak has swiftly spread worldwide due to its highly contagious nature with severe risk of respiratory tract infections and higher mortality rate, necessitating the urgent need for the production of effective vaccine and potential therapeutic agents. The active evolution of SARS-CoV-2 strain in different population and environment strive immense challenge against anti-viral therapeutic development based on viral pathogenicity. The potential FDA drugs are evaluated based on their known safety and efficacy with exceptional pharmacokinetic profiles for the treatment of nCoV-2019. Existing knowledge related to MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV epidemic has provided a better understanding to explore purposeful therapeutics strategies against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To limited extend, the ongoing promising and hopeful treatments includes convalescent plasma therapy, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, ACE inhibitors, TMPRSS2 inhibitors, hydroxychloroquine, interferon, ribavirin, tocilizumab, and corticosteroids however clinical efficacy of some of them need to be validated in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The global struggle to make a protected and successful Coronavirus immunization is finally proving to be fruitful. Although challenges such as strain variation resistant, possible side effects, adequate supply of vaccines to all countries and limited availability of second dose still diverting the option of possible efficacious therapeutics strategies to work alongside with vaccine development with improved efficacy and safety profile. This review is focused on the potential advancement in therapeutic approaches with possible repurposing of the available drugs and explores the current status of available vaccines with hope that these strategies found to be cogent in controlling SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. © 2022, The Running Line. All rights reserved.

Perceptions, Knowledge, and Experiences of Using Face Masks among Egyptian Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Using face masks appropriately is important for preventing the community spread of respiratory infections. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge level and experience of using face masks between healthcare teams to protect them and limit the spread of COVID-19 infection. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 228 healthcare members in July-December 2021. It was divided into two sections and consisted of 29 questions for a total possible score of 0 to 29. The first section was related to perceptions and knowledge about face masks (13 items); the second was related to the experience of using face masks (16 items). The average score of this questionnaire was 23.21/29 with respect to the knowledge about face masks and their proper use techniques. The healthcare team studied had satisfactory knowledge about face mask use techniques, and the study shed light on their unsatisfactory practices. Following instructions is very vital to protecting the person wearing the mask and preventing the spread of infection during health care by blocking droplets produced by speaking or coughing. Providing the healthcare teams with knowledge and experience about how to use face masks during the pandemic is critical to increase their awareness and practice in using face masks and prevent the infection from spreading.

Immunoinformatics approach of epitope prediction for SARS-CoV-2.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) caused lethal infections worldwide during an unprecedented pandemic. Identification of the candidate viral epitopes is the first step in the design of vaccines against the viral infection. Several immunoinformatic approaches were employed to identify the SARS-CoV-2 epitopes that bind specifically with the major histocompatibility molecules class I (MHC-I). We utilized immunoinformatic tools to analyze the whole viral protein sequences, to identify the SARS-CoV-2 epitopes responsible for binding to the most frequent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in the Egyptian population. These alleles were also found with high frequency in other populations worldwide. RESULTS: Molecular docking approach showed that using the co-crystallized MHC-I and T cell receptor (TCR) instead of using MHC-I structure only, significantly enhanced docking scores and stabilized the conformation, as well as the binding affinity of the identified SARS-CoV-2 epitopes. Our approach directly predicts 7 potential vaccine subunits from the available SARS-CoV-2 spike and ORF1ab protein sequence. This prediction has been confirmed by published experimentally validated and in silico predicted spike epitope. On the other hand, we predicted novel epitopes (RDLPQGFSA and FCLEASFNY) showing high docking scores and antigenicity response with both MHC-I and TCR. Moreover, antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, and physicochemical properties of the predicted SARS-CoV-2 epitopes were evaluated via state-of-the-art bioinformatic approaches, showing high efficacy of the proposed epitopes as a vaccine candidate. CONCLUSION: Our predicted SARS-CoV-2 epitopes can facilitate vaccine development to enhance the immunogenicity against SARS-CoV-2 and provide supportive data for further experimental validation. Our proposed molecular docking approach of exploiting both MHC and TCR structures can be used to identify potential epitopes for most microbial pathogens, provided the crystal structure of MHC co-crystallized with TCR.

Bilateral costal cartilage fractures sustained in the gym during repeated bench press exercises.

Costal cartilage fractures are common in high-energy blunt chest trauma but are frequently missed on imaging evaluation and accordingly underreported in the literature. In this report, we describe a case of a 32-year-old male who sustained bilateral costal cartilage fractures following repeated blunt trauma in the gym sustained during bench press exercises. The patient presented with a painful "clicking" of a rib in and out of place while bending or turning sideways. Initial chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) imaging were reported negative for fractures; however, a closer inspection of the CT image revealed bilateral costal cartilage fractures. As the patient's symptoms improved over time, a conservative approach to treatment with regular analgesia and advice to avoid external impact on the fracture sites was adopted. This unique case highlights an unusual mode of trauma and diagnostic complexity of costal cartilage fractures.

Validation of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) Scale and Relationship With Insomnia or Depression Among Healthcare Workers Who Witnessed Patient's Death in COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and Objective We tested the psychometric properties of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) scale among healthcare workers who experienced patients' deaths. Methods From June 2nd to 10th, 2022, an anonymous, online survey was administered to medical doctors and nursing professionals who witnessed the deaths of patients they cared for during the last two years. Participants demographic characteristics and responses to the SAVE-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were collected. Results A total of 267 responses were collected in this survey. The two-factor model of the SAVE-9 fits well among healthcare workers who witnessed patients' death (CFI = 1.000, GFI = 0.996, RMSEA = 0.000, RSMR = 0.040). The SAVE-9 scale showed good reliability of internal consistency and convergent validity with the GAD-7 (r = 0.429, p = 0.001), PHQ-9 score (r = 0.414, p = 0.001), and ISI (r = 0.368, p = 0.001). Conclusions We observed that the SAVE-9 and its two subscales were valid and reliable tools for measuring work-related stress and viral anxiety among healthcare workers who witnessed the death of their patients Copyright © 2022 The Korean Society of Sleep Medicine

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Hesitancy among Pregnant and Lactating Women in Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnant and breastfeeding women comprise a high-risk group for the development of severe COVID-19. Therefore, vaccination is highly recommended for perinatal women; however, vaccination levels for this group remain inadequate. This study explores the percentage of COVID-19 vaccination among Saudi pregnant and lactating women, as well as their attitudes toward it. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey on a sample of Saudi pregnant and breastfeeding women. The study included pregnant and lactating women. RESULTS: The percentage of COVID-19 vaccine uptake was 78.2%. A total of 45 (21.8%) out of 206 women did not receive the vaccine. The overall vaccine hesitancy was 21.8%. Breastfeeding women were 2.86 more likely not to receive the vaccine as compared to pregnant women. Being a mother of over five children increased the vaccine uptake among our participating women (n = 20, 90%; p < 0.01). The majority of the subjects had taken the Pfizer vaccine (81.98%, 132/161). The availability of the COVID-19 vaccine was the most common factor for choosing a particular vaccine. Protection from infection (60.2%, 97/161) was reported as the main driver for vaccine uptake. The most common reason perceived for delaying COVID-19 vaccination was being worried about the side effects (176, 85.44%) on one's own body and the effects on the unborn child (130, 63.1%). CONCLUSION: We uncovered high levels of hesitancy, primarily induced by concerns about adverse effects and social media-related misinformation. These high levels of vaccine uptake are likely due to the large-scale obligatory vaccination program provided in Saudi Arabia, which was well-structured and far reaching. Our results provide further support for the so-called "protection motivation theory" in boosting vaccine acceptance. Counseling and educating pregnant and breastfeeding women about COVID-19 vaccination is the need of the hour.

The Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients with Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Comorbidity and the Efficacy of Enoxaparin in Decreasing the Mortality Rate in Them: Single Egyptian Center Report.

Patients with neurological comorbidities are more likely to develop severe COVID-19. We aimed to detect the outcomes of COVID-19 patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage comorbidity and the role of enoxaparin in decreasing the mortality rate in these cases, even though enoxaparin is a potential cause of intracerebral hemorrhage. The patients were checked on to detect surveillance outcomes, the relationship between mortality and patient characteristics, and the relationship between enoxaparin and study outcomes. Chest condition and GCS improved in 67.9% of participants. Hematoma course increased in 49.1%. Midline-shift, brain-edema, and COVID symptoms improved in 67.9%. There was a non-significant difference in mortality regarding age and gender. There was a significant difference in mortality regarding treatment with enoxaparin; 75% of the patients who did not receive enoxaparin died. 92.6% of the patients who showed decreases in hematoma course were administered enoxaparin. 76.9% of the patients who showed increases in hematoma-course were administered enoxaparin. Most of the patients who were admitted to the neurosurgical unit with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage acquired the COVID-19 infection. Most of the cases included in this study did not progress to severe cases. The dying patients showed deterioration in both neurological and COVID-19 symptoms. The anticoagulant properties of enoxaparin given earlier before and throughout the infection can considerably reduce mortality in COVID-19 individuals with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. It is recommended to use enoxaparin for cases with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and COVID-19 regardless of hematoma size because the rate of improvement was greater than the mortality rate after using enoxaparin in this study.

Cybersecurity Awareness in African Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of Sudan

The crisis caused by the rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has imposed a swift and profound change on teaching and learning methods. Consequently, most higher education institutions around the world, including African higher education institutions, have moved from face-to-face teaching to online learning and teaching, which has made the use of the internet by university students necessary and obligatory regardless of the risks associated with unsafe use. This quick move to online teaching and learning has exposed African universities to a greater risk of cybercrime. This prompted the researchers to investigate the cybersecurity awareness levels among undergraduate students at African higher education institutions based in the case country, Sudan. In an exploratory research approach, a survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 1,200 undergraduate students at six public universities in Sudan. The results show that most undergraduate students in Sudan higher educational institutions have low cybersecurity awareness levels. Further investigation using inferential statistics reveals that male students at the universities in Sudan have slightly higher levels of cybersecurity awareness than female students. Most of the participants believe that cybersecurity should be taught in schools;they are also willing to learn about cybersecurity. In addition, the results showed that students with advanced computer skills significantly differ from students with intermediate or basic computer skills in practicing cybersecurity. © 2023 NSP Natural Sciences Publishing Cor.

Green synthesized silver nanoparticles using Cyperus rotundus L. extract as a potential antiviral agent against infectious laryngotracheitis and infectious bronchitis viruses in chickens

Background: Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) and infectious bronchitis (IB) are two common respiratory diseases of poultry that inflict great economic burden on the poultry industry. Developing an effective agent against both viruses is a crucial step to decrease the economic losses. Therefore, for the first time green synthesized silver nanoparticles using Cyperus rotundus L. aqueous extract was evaluated in vitro as a potential antiviral against both viruses. Results: Silver nanoparticles from Cyperus rotundus were characterized by the spherical shape, 11-19 nm size, and zeta potential of - 6.04 mV. The maximum nontoxic concentration (MNTC) was 50 mu g mL(-1 )for both viruses without harmful toxicity impact. The study suggested that some of the compounds in C. rotundus extract (gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, and naringenin) or its silver nanoparticles could interact with the external envelope proteins of both viruses, and inhibiting extracellular viruses. Conclusions: The results highlight that C. rotundus green synthesized silver nanoparticles could have antiviral activity against infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in chickens.

Drug repurposing against main protease and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 using molecular docking, MM-GBSA calculations and molecular dynamics.

A virus called severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causing organism of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has severely affected human life and threatened public health. The pandemic took millions of lives worldwide and caused serious negative effects on human society and the economy. SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) are interesting targets due to their crucial role in viral replication and growth. Since there is only one approved therapy for COVID-19, drug repurposing is a promising approach to finding molecules with potential activity against COVID-19 in a short time and at minimal cost. In this study, virtual screening was performed on the ChEMBL library containing 9923 FDA-approved drugs, using various docking filters with different accuracy. The best drugs with the highest docking scores were further examined for molecular dynamics (MD) studies and MM-GBSA calculations. The results of this study suggest that nadide, cangrelor and denufosol are promising potential candidates against COVID-19. Further in vitro, preclinical and clinical studies of these candidates would help to discover safe and effective anti-COVID-19 drugs.

The potential of developing a protective peptide-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 pandemic has been the deadliest infectious disease outbreak since Spanish flu. The emerging variant lineages, decay of neutralizing antibodies, and occur of reinfections require the development of highly protective and safe vaccines. As currently approved COVID-19 vaccines that utilize virus-related genetic material are less than ideal, other vaccine types have been also widely investigated. Among them, peptide-based vaccines hold great promise in countering COVID-19 as they may overcome most of the shortcomings of RNA/DNA and protein vaccines. Two basic types of potential peptide vaccines can be developed. The first type are those which rely on cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses to kill infected host cells and stop the replication via employing CTL-epitopes as vaccine antigens. The second type of peptide vaccines are those that rely on B-cell peptide epitopes to trigger humoral response via generating SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies to neutralize and/or opsonize the virus. We propose that combining both cellular and humoral immune responses would be highly protective. Here we discuss opportunities and challenges in the development of an effective and safe peptide-based vaccine against COVID-19.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of ThymoQuinone Formula (TQF) for Treating Outpatient SARS-CoV-2.

There is an urgent need for an oral drug for the treatment of mild to moderate outpatient SARS-CoV-2. Our preclinical and clinical study's aim was to determine the safety and preliminary efficacy of oral TQ Formula (TQF), in the treatment of outpatient SARS-CoV-2. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial, we randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) non-hospitalized, adult (>18 years), symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 patients to receive oral TQF or placebo. The primary endpoints were safety and the median time-to-sustained-clinical-response (SCR). SCR was 6 days in the TQF arm vs. 8 days in the placebo arm (p = 0.77), and 5 days in the TQF arm vs. 7.5 days in the placebo arm in the high-risk cohort, HR 1.55 (95% CI: 0.70, 3.43, p = 0.25). No significant difference was found in the rate of AEs (p = 0.16). TQF led to a significantly faster decline in the total symptom burden (TSB) (p < 0.001), and a significant increase in cytotoxic CD8+ (p = 0.042) and helper CD4+ (p = 0.042) central memory T lymphocytes. TQF exhibited an in vitro inhibitory effect on the entry of five SARS-CoV-2 variants. TQF was well-tolerated. While the median time-to-SCR did not reach statistical significance; it was shorter in the TQF arm and preclinical/clinical signals of TQF activity across multiple endpoints were significant. Therefore, a confirmatory study is planned.

Novel Drone Design Using an Optimization Software with 3D Model, Simulation, and Fabrication in Drone Systems Research

This paper presents the design of a small size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) using the 3DEXPERIENCE software. The process of designing the frame parts involves many methods to ensure the parts can meet the requirements while conforming to safety and industry standards. The design steps start with the selection of materials that can be used for the drone, which are polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The drone frame consists of four main parts, which are the center top cover (50 g), the side top cover (10 g), the middle cover (30 g), and the drone’s arm (80 g). A simulation was carried out to determine the stress, displacement, and weight of the drone’s parts. Additionally, a trade-off study was conducted to finalize the shapes of the parts and the various inputs based on their priorities. The outcome of this new design can be represented in design concepts, which involve the use of the snap hook function to assemble two body parts together, namely the middle cover and the center top cover, without the need of an additional fastener.