SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Is a Potential Therapeutic Target for Anticoronavirus Drug Discovery.

SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a highly contagious positive-sense RNA virus. Its explosive community spread and the emergence of new mutant strains have created palpable anxiety even in vaccinated people. The lack of effective anticoronavirus therapeutics continues to be a major global health concern, especially due to the high evolution rate of SARS-CoV-2. The nucleocapsid protein (N protein) of SARS-CoV-2 is highly conserved and involved in diverse processes of the virus replication cycle. Despite its critical role in coronavirus replication, N protein remains an unexplored target for anticoronavirus drug discovery. Here, we demonstrate that a novel compound, K31, binds to the N protein of SARS-CoV-2 and noncompetitively inhibits its binding to the 5' terminus of the viral genomic RNA. K31 is well tolerated by SARS-CoV-2-permissive Caco2 cells. Our results show that K31 inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in Caco2 cells with a selective index of ~58. These observations suggest that SARS-CoV-2 N protein is a druggable target for anticoronavirus drug discovery. K31 holds promise for further development as an anticoronavirus therapeutic. IMPORTANCE The lack of potent antiviral drugs for SARS-CoV-2 is a serious global health concern, especially with the explosive spread of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide and the constant emergence of new mutant strains with improved human-to-human transmission. Although an effective coronavirus vaccine appears promising, the lengthy vaccine development processes in general and the emergence of new mutant viral strains with a potential to evade the vaccine always remain a serious concern. The antiviral drugs targeted to the highly conserved targets of viral or host origin remain the most viable and timely approach, easily accessible to the general population, in combating any new viral illness. The majority of anticoronavirus drug development efforts have focused on spike protein, envelope protein, 3CLpro, and Mpro. Our results show that virus-encoded N protein is a novel therapeutic target for anticoronavirus drug discovery. Due to its high conservation, the anti-N protein inhibitors will likely have broad-spectrum anticoronavirus activity.

A novel compound targets the feline infectious peritonitis virus nucleocapsid protein and inhibits viral replication in cell culture.

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a serious viral illness in cats, caused by feline coronavirus. Once a cat develops clinical FIP, the prognosis is poor. The effective treatment strategy for coronavirus infections with immunopathological complications such as SARS-CoV-2, MERS, and FIP is focused on antiviral and immunomodulatory agents to inhibit virus replication and enhance the protective immune response. In this article we report the binding and conformational alteration of feline alphacoronavirus (FCoV) nucleocapsid protein by a novel compound K31. K31 noncompetitively inhibited the interaction between the purified nucleocapsid protein and the synthetic 5' terminus of viral genomic RNA in vitro. K31 was well tolerated by cells and inhibited FCoV replication in cell culture with a selective index of 115. A single dose of K31inhibited FCoV replication to an undetectable level in 24 h post treatment. K31 did not affect the virus entry to the host cell but inhibited the postentry steps of virus replication. The nucleocapsid protein forms ribonucleocapsid in association with the viral genomic RNA that serves as a template for transcription and replication of the viral genome. Our results show that K31 treatment disrupted the structural integrity of ribonucleocapsid in virus-infected cells. After the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the antiviral drug development strategies have focused on RdRp and proteases encoded by the viral genome. Our results have shown that nucleocapsid protein is a druggable target for anticoronavirus drug discovery.

Effects of COVID-19 era on a subtropical river basin in Bangladesh: Heavy metal(loid)s distribution, sources and probable human health risks.

The COVID-19 era has profoundly affected everyday human life, the environment, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Despite the numerous influences, a strict COVID-19 lockdown might improve the surface water quality and thus provide an unprecedented opportunity to restore the degraded freshwater resource. Therefore, we intend to investigate the spatiotemporal water quality, sources, and preliminary health risks of heavy metal(loid)s in the Karatoya River basin (KRB), a tropical urban river in Bangladesh. Seventy water samples were collected from 35 stations in KRB in 2019 and 2022 during the dry season. The results showed that the concentrations of Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Cr were significantly reduced by 89.3-99.7 % during the post-lockdown period (p < 0.05). However, pH, Fe, Mn, and As concentrations increased due to the rise of urban waste and the usage of disinfectants during the post-lockdown phase. In the post-lockdown phase, the heavy metal pollution index, heavy metal evaluation index, and Nemerow's pollution index values lessened by 8.58 %, 42.86 %, and 22.86 %, respectively. Besides, the irrigation water quality indices also improved by 59 %-62 %. The total hazard index values increased by 24 % (children) and 22 % (adults) due to the rise in Mn and As concentrations during the lockdown. In comparison, total carcinogenic risk values were reduced by 54 % (children) and 53 % (adults) in the post-lockdown. We found no significant changes in river flow, rainfall, or land cover near the river from the pre to post-lockdown phase. The results of semivariogram models have demonstrated that most attributes have weak spatial dependence, indicating restricted industrial and agricultural effluents during the lockdown, significantly improving river water quality. Our study confirms that the lockdown provides a unique opportunity for the remarkable improvement of degraded freshwater resources. Long-term management policies and regular monitoring should reduce river pollution and clean surface water.

Olfactory function trends in COVID-19 patients: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: One of the most common symptoms in COVID-19 patients is olfactory and taste dysfunction. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the olfactory threshold, and identification using objective tests in the Iranian population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present study was a prospective cohort study conducted in 2020-2021 on clinically recovering COVID-19 patients. Olfactory function was evaluated at the baseline, 4-6 weeks, and 12 weeks later. Olfactory threshold assessment was performed using the Saba Sabalan kit. The Iranian version of the Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (IR-SIT) was used for olfactory identification. The olfactory threshold was categorized as poor (<8) and good olfaction (≥8). RESULTS: In the present study, 111 patients were examined, including 55 men and 56 women (mean age 41.4 and 53.4 years, respectively). The mean olfactory threshold was better for men (7.2) than for women (6.6). Analysis showed age to have a negative relationship with good olfaction at baseline (OR = 0.93, p = .05). Using IR-SIT, only 29.7% had normal olfactory function. Using linear regression, smoking was found to be significantly related to baseline IR-SIT score (adjusted Beta <0.001, p = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Objective tests are appropriate methods for assessing olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. Further studies are recommended.

Differential impact of the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2 rs4343 G>A) and miR-196a2 rs11614913 C>T gene alterations in COVID-19 disease severity and mortality.

The recent coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan China in late 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulted in a global pandemic of coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19). Understating the underlying mechanism of the pathogenesis of coronavirus infection is important not only because it will help in accurate diagnosis and treatment of the infection but also in the production of effective vaccines. The infection begins when SARS-CoV-2 enters the cells through binding of its envelope glycoprotein to angiotensin-converting enzyme2 (ACE2). Gene variations of ACE2 and microRNA (miR)-196 are associated with viral infection and other diseases. The present study investigated the association of the ACE2 rs4343 G>A and miR-196a2 rs11614913 C>T gene polymorphisms with severity and mortality of COVID-19 using amplification refractory mutation system PCR in 117 COVID-19 patients and 103 healthy controls from three regions of Saudi Arabia. The results showed that ACE2 rs4343 GA genotype was associated with severity of COVID-19 (OR=2.10, P-value 0.0028) and ACE2 rs4343 GA was associated with increased mortality with OR=3.44, P-value 0.0028. A strong correlation between the ACE2 rs4343 G>A genotype distribution among COVID-19 patients was reported with respect to their comorbid conditions including sex (P<0.023), coronary artery disease (P<0.0001), oxygen saturation <60 mm Hg (P<0.0009) and antiviral therapy (0.003). The results also showed that the CT genotype and T allele of the miR-196a2 rs11614913 C>T were associated with decreased risk to COVID-19 with OR=0.76, P=0.006 and OR=0.54, P=0.005, respectively. These results need to be validated with future molecular genetic studies in a larger sample size and different populations.

The Reliability Analysis of Speaking Test in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Environment

Speaking ability is regarded as among the essential aspects of language development. Oral examination appeared challenging to evaluate due to the presence of human evaluators. The speaking method depends on the test’s reliability, determined by the raters’ scores. The current study is aimed at evaluating the speaking test’s interrater reliability utilized to measure the speaking performance of Common First Year (CFY) students during remote learning. The data were obtained from 56 EFL learners using a scoring sheet and rubrics. Eight raters were responsible for rating the study. The speaking test’s reliability was estimated using quantitative data analysis. Correlation coefficients and the Bland-Altman test were employed to assess raters’ agreement. SPSS was utilized to analyze the data in this investigation. The study’s findings suggested that the speaking exam used in the CFY program during remote learning has shown some reliability on correlations and acceptable norms on the Bland-Altman test.

The Comparative Effect of Online Instruction, Flipped Instruction, and Traditional Instruction on Developing Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge

During the COVID-19 pandemic, using online and flipped instruction is the best alternative for traditional instruction. Therefore, this study compared the effects of three instructions, including online, flipped, and traditional, on improving Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge. To do so, 90 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were selected among 119 students as the participants of this study. The target participants were randomly divided into three equal groups (online, flipped, and traditional). After that, all groups were pretested by a vocabulary test. Then, the participants of one group received the treatment by using fully online instruction, and the other group participants received a flipped instruction. On the other hand, the participants of the third group received conventional vocabulary instruction. After teaching 100 new English words to all groups with three different instructions, a vocabulary posttest was administered to all participants. The paired samples t-test and one-way ANOVA results indicated that both online and flipped groups outperformed the control group in the vocabulary posttest. In addition, the findings revealed the flipped group outflanked the online group in the posttest of vocabulary. The implications of this study can encourage both EFL teachers and learners to integrate the flipped and online instructions into their teaching and learning processes.

ROLE OF INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) IN ENABLING PRODUCTIVE WORK FROM HOME (WFH) FOR ENVIRONMENTAL VOLATILES

Top-to-bottom contextual research in the field is then referenced to have an idea of the known advantages and risks. [...]the concept of 'duality of technology' is utilized as a hypothetical basis to evaluate the connection between organizations and technologies. [...]in order to understand the pandemic's financial consequences, we first need to understand the human resource management w.r.t social distance and perspectives from economists, psychologists, leaders, and corporate governance (Craighead et al., 2020;Budhwar & Cumming, 2020). An enterprise is a wide collection of various skills, for example, company management skills, specifically: work processes, meetings, knowledge, and data that organizations use to choose and implement strategies to accomplish superior work performance (Beech and Anseel, 2020). Since IoT is all about empowering a digitally connected ecosystem, it hence assumes an essential role in ensuring an interconnected framework powered by each one of these company management skills. [...]adopting IoT might give a wide range of advantages for companies and the data gathered by it offers significant insights for organizations as well as employees to witness a significant boost in their productivity (Dwivedi et al., 2017).

A randomized controlled clinical trial on efficacy and safety of anakinra in patients with severe COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperinflammatory state has a role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Anakinra could reduce inflammation and help to combat the condition. In this study, we aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of anakinra (PerkinRA®) in severe COVID-19. METHOD: The study was an open-label, randomized, controlled trial conducted in Imam Hossein Medical Center from May to July 2020. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in this study. We administered anakinra 100 mg daily intravenously. All patients received COVID-19 pharmacotherapy based on the represented national guideline. The need for invasive mechanical ventilation is considered the primary outcome. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included in this study, and 15 of them received Anakinra. Nineteen patients were male (63.3%), and 11 were female (36.7%). The mean age of patients was 55.77 ± 15.89 years. In the intervention group, the need for invasive mechanical ventilation was significantly reduced compared to the control group (20.0% vs. 66.7%, p = .010). Also, these patients had a significantly lower length of hospital stay (p = .043). No significant higher rate of infection was recorded. CONCLUSION: Anakinra as an immunomodulatory agent has been associated with the reduced need for mechanical ventilation in patients admitted to intensive care units because of severe COVID-19. The medication reduced the hospital length of stay. Furthermore, no increased risk of infection was observed. Further randomized placebo-controlled trials with a larger sample size are needed to confirm these findings.

Strong Association of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 Gene Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism with Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, Hypertension, Coronary Artery Disease and COVID-19 Disease Mortality.

BACKGROUND: The ongoing outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 represents a significant challenge to international health. Several reports have highlighted the importance of ACE2 on the pathogenesis of COVID-19. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 efficiently binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors and facilitates virus entry into the host cell. In the present study, we hypothesize that a functional insertion/deletion polymorphism-rs4646994 I/D and rs4240157 T > C in the ACE gene could be associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality. METHODOLOGY: This study included 117 consecutive COVID-19 patients and 150 age matched healthy controls (ACE2-rs4646994 I/D) and 100 age matched healthy controls with ACE2 rs4240157 T > C. We used Mutation specific PCR (MSP) for ACE2-rs4646994 I/D genotyping and amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS-PCR) for ACE2 rs4240157 T > C genotyping. RESULTS: Results indicated that there were significant differences in the genotype distributions of ACE2-rs4646994 I/D polymorphisms (p < 0.030) and ACE2 rs4240157 T > C between COVID-19 patients and controls (p-values < 0.05). Higher frequency of DD genotype (48.71%) and D allele (0.67) was reported in COVID-19 patients than controls. Our results showed that the ACE2-DD genotype was strongly associated with increased COVID-19 severity (OR 2.37 (95%) CI = (1.19-4.70), RR = 1.39 (1.09-1.77), p < 0.013) and also a strong association was seen with ACE2-ID genotype with COVID-19 severity (OR 2.20 (95%) CI = (1.08-4.46), p < 0.020) in the codominant model. In allelic comparison, the D allele was strongly associated with COVID-19 severity (OR 1.58 (95% CI) (1.11-2.27), RR 1.21 (1.05-1.41) p < 0.010). A significant correlation of ACE2-I/D genotypes was reported with Age (p < 0.035), T2D (p < 0.0013), hypertension (p < 0.0031) and coronary artery disease (p < 0.0001). Our results indicated ACE2-DD genotype was strongly associated with increased COVID-19 mortality (OR 8.25 (95%) CI = (2.40 to 28.34), p < 0.008) and also ACE2-DD + DI genotype was strongly associated with increased COVID-19 mortality with OR 4.74 (95%) CI = (1.5214 to 14.7915), p < 0.007. A significant correlation was reported between COVID-19 patients and age matched controls (p < 0.0007). Higher frequency of heterozygosity TC (40%) followed by ACE2-CC genotype (24.78%) was reported among COVID-19 patients. Using multivariate analysis, ACE2-CT genotype was strong associated with SARS-CoV-2 severity with an OR 2.18 (95% CI) (1.92-3.99), p < 0.010 and also ACE2-CC genotype was linked with COVID-19 severity with an OR 2.66 (95% CI) (1.53-4.62), p < 0.005. A significant correlation of ACE2-T > C genotypes was reported with gender (p < 0.04), T2D (p < 0.035). ACE2-CC genotype was strongly associated with increased COVID-19 mortality OR 3.66 (95%) CI = (1.34 to 9.97), p < 0.011 and also ACE2-C allele was associated with COVID-19 mortality OR 2, 01 (1.1761-3.45), p < 0.010. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that ACE-DD genotype and D allele was strongly associated with increased COVID-19 patient severity. In addition, ACE I/D polymorphism were strongly associated with advanced age, diabetes and ischemic heart disease in COVID-19 patients whereas ACE-II genotype was a protective factor against the development of severe COVID-19. ACE2-DD genotype was strongly associated with increased COVID-19 mortality. Additionally, ACE2-CC and CT genotypes were strongly associated with COVID-19 severity. Therefore, our study might be useful for identifying the susceptible population groups for targeted interventions and for making relevant public health policy decisions.

Global Agri-Food Sector: Challenges and Opportunities in COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for almost everything including the global economy. Among many sectors, the food and the agriculture sector was the worst hit following the immediate lockdown and market shutdowns. Though some stability was prevalent from supply side till date, however, the severe restrictions put in place to curb the spread of pandemic have endangered the supply of agricultural and food articles contemporaneously across borders and from field to fork. While the income decline due to price falland supplies chain disruptions due to pandemic have escalated the food shortages in several of developing and developed countries. Nevertheless the global demand for food items has remained more or less unchanged owing to their inelastic demand. Even within the global level, the scenario of food security and supply chain stability has been substantially deplorable for emerging and less developing countries due to their lack of insulation to the global shocks or pandemics. Notably, the technological backwardness, excessive know-how dependence and denied accessibility on several grounds lead to poverty and food hunger in these countries. At the policy level, a holistic approach specifically targeted towards the developing and less developed economies is highly warranted to ensure an appreciable progress towards the minimisation of sensitivity with regard to agriculture and food security. Apart from the measures to insulate them from global shocks, additional steps need to be taken to alleviate their technological backwardness and denied accessibility on certain socio-cultural norms.

Nationwide population-based surveys of Iranian COVID-19 Serological Surveillance (ICS) program: The surveys protocol.

Background: Serological surveillance of COVID-19 through conducting repetitive population-based surveys can be useful in estimating and monitoring changes in the prevalence of infection across the country. This paper presents the protocol of nationwide population-based surveys of the Iranian COVID-19 Serological Surveillance (ICS) program. Methods: The target population of the surveys is all individuals ≥6 years in Iran. Stratified random sampling will be used to select participants from those registered in the primary health care electronic record systems in Iran. The strata are the 31 provinces of the country, in which sampling will be done through simple random sampling. The sample size is estimated 858 individuals for each province (except for Tehran province, which is 2574) at the first survey. It will be recalculated for the next surveys based on the findings of the first survey. The participants will be invited by the community health workers to the safe blood sampling centers at the district level. After obtaining written informed consent, 10 mL of venous blood will be taken from the participants. The blood samples will be transferred to selected reference laboratories in order to test IgG and IgM antibodies against COVID-19 using an Iranian SARS-CoV-2 ELISA Kit (Pishtaz Teb). A serologically positive test is defined as a positive IgG, IgM, or both. After adjusting for the measurement error of the laboratory test, nonresponse bias, and sampling design, the prevalence of COVID-19 will be estimated at the provincial and national levels. Also, the approximate incidence rate of infection will be calculated based on the data of both consecutive surveys. Conclusion: The implementation of these surveys will provide a comprehensive and clear picture of the magnitude of COVID-19 infection and its trend over time for health policymakers at the national and subnational levels.

Prevalence of COVID-19 in Iran: results of the first survey of the Iranian COVID-19 Serological Surveillance programme.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the general population of Iran. METHODS: The target population was all Iranian people aged 6 years and older in the country. A stratified random sampling design was used to select 28 314 people from among the individuals registered in the electronic health record systems used in primary health care in Iran. Venous blood was taken from each participant and tested for the IgG antibody against COVID-19. The prevalence of COVID-19 was estimated at provincial and national levels after adjusting for the measurement error of the laboratory test, non-response bias and sampling design. RESULTS: Of the 28 314 Iranians selected, 11 256 (39.75%) participated in the study. Of these, 5406 (48.0%) were male and 6851 (60.9%) lived in urban areas. The mean (standard deviation) participant age was 35.89 (18.61) years. The adjusted prevalence of COVID-19 until 20 August 2020 was estimated as 14.2% (95% uncertainty interval 13.3%-15.2%), which was equal to 11 958 346 (95% CI 11 211 011-12 746 776) individuals. The adjusted prevalences of infection were 14.6%, 13.8%, 16.6%, 11.7% and 19.4% among men, women, urban population, rural population and individuals aged 60 years or more, respectively. Ardabil, Golestan and Khuzestan provinces had the highest prevalence and Alborz, Hormozgan and Kerman provinces had the lowest. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the study results, a large proportion of the Iranian population had not yet been infected by COVID-19. The observance of hygienic principles and social restrictions should therefore continue until the majority of the population has been vaccinated.

Blood purification with CytoSorb in critically ill COVID-19 patients: A case series of 26 patients.

Severe forms of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can progress to sepsis-like complications accompanied by "cytokine storm" for which the most effective treatment has not yet been established. Our study describes the results of CytoSorb hemoadsorption in COVID-19 patients treated on the intensive care unit (ICU). In this retrospective study, 26 patients with COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were treated with hemoadsorption therapy. Pre-, and post-treatment values (clinical and laboratory) were compared. Data are expressed as mean (confidence intervals, CI), or median [interquartile ranges, IQR], as appropriate. Patients received 2 hemoadsorption treatments. This resulted in a significant decrease in norepinephrine requirements, and inflammatory marker plasma concentrations (procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, ferritin) when comparing pre versus post treatment levels. The PaO2 /FiO2 and overall organ function (ie, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment-SOFA score) also improved significantly. Patients stayed on the ICU for 9 days and 21 of them survived. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the largest case series to date reporting early experiences on extracorporeal hemoadsorption therapy in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with hyperinflammation and moderate ARDS. Treatment proved to be effective, technically feasible and well-tolerated.

Prevalence of COVID-19 in Iran: Results of the first survey of the Iranian COVID-19 Serological Surveillance program (preprint)

BackgroundThis study aims to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in the general population of Iran. MethodsThe target population was all Iranian people aged six years and older in the country. A stratified random sampling design was used to select 28,314 subjects from among the individuals registered in the electronic health record systems used in primary health care in Iran. Venous blood was taken from each participant and tested for the IgG antibody against COVID-19. The prevalence of COVID-19 was estimated at provincial and national levels after adjusting for the measurement error of the laboratory test, non-response bias, and sampling design. ResultsOf the 28,314 Iranians selected, 11,256 (39.75%) participated in the study. Of these, 5406 (48.0%) were male, and 6851 (60.9%) lived in urban areas. The mean (standard deviation) participant age was 35.89 (18.61) years. The adjusted prevalence of COVID-19 until August 20, 2020 was estimated as 14.2% (95% uncertainty interval: 13.3%, 15.2%), which was equal to 11,958,346 (95% confidence interval: 11,211,011-12,746,776) individuals. The prevalence of infection was 14.6%, 13.8%, 16.6%, 11.7%, and 19.4% among men, women, urban population, rural population, and individuals [≥]60 years of age, respectively. Ardabil, Golestan, and Khuzestan provinces had the highest prevalence, and Alborz, Hormozgan, and Kerman provinces had the lowest. ConclusionsBased on the study results, a large proportion of the Iranian population had not yet been infected by COVID-19. The observance of hygienic principles and social restrictions should therefore continue until the majority of the population has been vaccinated.

Maintaining efficient logistics and supply chain management operations during and after coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: learning from the past experiences.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) forced the governing bodies across the world to ban all kinds of travel involving the movement of people. However, the policymakers have been working hard to mobilize the movement of essential goods and services considering its importance in containing the pandemic. It signifies how important the establishment and maintenance of logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) operations are, both during the containment and the successive periods. Motivated with the paramount importance of LSCM operations during the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe, this paper critically reviews the existing literature closely related to it. The main aim is to identify and enhance the understanding of the logistical characteristics that play a vital role during pandemics. The selection of the literature was done using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) methodology. The classification of the selected literature was done using a tripartite framework. Results show that researchers have focused mostly on "Post-event" (48.24%) management of logistical operations followed by the "Pre-event" (31.76%) and least in the "Integrated" (20%.) approaches. Furthermore, the analysis of the results provided useful insights that are discussed in detail. Also, twelve key areas have been identified that need due attention to improve the overall efficiency of the LSCM operations. We believe that the findings from this paper would be useful to the decision-makers and other stakeholders, as far as, maintaining efficient LSCM operations during as well after the pandemics are concerned.

Maternal death due to COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Despite 2.5 million infections and 169,000 deaths worldwide (as of April 20, 2020), no maternal deaths and only a few pregnant women afflicted with severe respiratory morbidity have been reported to be related to COVID-19 disease. Given the disproportionate burden of severe and fatal respiratory disease previously documented among pregnant women following other coronavirus-related outbreaks (SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2012) and influenza pandemics over the last century, the absence of reported maternal morbidity and mortality with COVID-19 disease is unexpected. OBJECTIVE: To describe maternal and perinatal outcomes and death in a case series of pregnant women with COVID-19 disease. STUDY DESIGN: We describe here a multiinstitution adjudicated case series from Iran that includes 9 pregnant women diagnosed with severe COVID-19 disease in their second or third trimester. All 9 pregnant women received a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction nucleic acid testing. Outcomes of these women were compared with their familial/household members with contact to the affected patient on or after their symptom onset. All data were reported at death or after a minimum of 14 days from date of admission with COVID-19 disease. RESULTS: Among 9 pregnant women with severe COVID-19 disease, at the time of reporting, 7 of 9 died, 1 of 9 remains critically ill and ventilator dependent, and 1 of 9 recovered after prolonged hospitalization. We obtained self-verified familial/household cohort data in all 9 cases, and in each and every instance, maternal outcomes were more severe compared with outcomes of other high- and low-risk familial/household members (n=33 members for comparison). CONCLUSION: We report herein maternal deaths owing to COVID-19 disease. Until rigorously collected surveillance data emerge, it is prudent to be aware of the potential for maternal death among pregnant women diagnosed as having COVID-19 disease in their second or third trimester.

Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a pandemic (epidemiology, pathogenesis and potential therapeutics).

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly pathogenic viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2. Currently, COVID-19 has caused global health concern. It is assumed that COVID-19 has zoonotic origin based on the large number of infected people who were exposed to the wet market in Wuhan City, China. The phylogenetic analysis has revealed that SARS-CoV-2 has significant sequence similarity with severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) bat viruses, thus bats could be primary possible reservoir. The intermediate host and there subsequent transfer is not known yet, although human to human transfer is widely confirmed. The transmission of COVID-19 infection from one person to another resulted in the isolation of patients who were subsequently given a variety of treatments. To monitor the current outbreak, robust steps have been taken around the globe to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 infection particularly banning international and domestic flights, inducting lockdowns in vulnerable areas, social distancing etc. No clinically approved antiviral drug or vaccine against COVID-19 is reported yet. However, in clinical trials, few broad-spectrum antiviral drugs were evaluated against COVID-19 infection which resulted in clinical recovery. In this article emergence and pathogenicity of COVID-19 infection along with potential therapeutic strategies are analyzed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.