Current Research Trends on SARS-CoV2 Virus Against Nanovaccine Formulation Flexibility, adaptation, and roles of patient navigators in oncology during COVID-19

Summary The field of vaccination has advanced by leaps and bounds;however, effective and novel vaccines are yet to be developed, especially for rapidly spreading coronavirusdisease 2019 (COVID-19)/SARS-CoV2. Many vaccines are created using conventionalapproaches to eradicate COVID-2019, which is presently a global threat. Evenvaccines using nanotechnology are also in the race. Nanotechnology has acceleratedthe evolution of newer vaccines that are safe and highly effective in eradicating theSARS-CoV2. Nanovaccines (NVs) were developed recently where new drugs can beaccommodated through nanoparticle (NP) carriers. The similar nanosize betweenthe nano-scaled materials and pathogens ensures optimal trigger response of theimmune system, resulting in satisfactory cellular and humoral immunity responses.Targeted delivery of NPs results in enhanced antibody response, improved stabilitycoupled with longer duration drug release, and prolonged immunogenic memory.This chapter highlights recently developed antiviral nanovaccines against COVID-19. Although the development of NVs is in the infancy stage and few are in the earlyclinical phases, we firmly believe the newer generation of NVs have greater possibilityof treatment and prevention of bacterial and viral infections. Background The impact of COVID-19 on cancer care during the first 6 months of the pandemic has been significant. The National Navigation Roundtable Workforce Development Task Group conducted a national survey to highlight the role of patient navigators (PNs). Methods An anonymous online survey captured how cancer care navigation changed during 2 phases: 1) March 13 to May 31, 2020;and 2) June 1 to September 4, 2020. Differences between the 2 time periods for categorical variables were assessed using ?2 tests, and 1-way analyses of variance were used for ordinal variables. Results Almost one-half of PNs expected changes in duties (49%) during phase 1. By phase 2, PNs showed greater confidence in retaining PN work (P < .001) and reduced changes to duties (P < .01). PNs reported new training on COVID-19 and telehealth during phase 1 (64% and 27%, respectively) and phase 2 (54% and 19%, respectively). Significant decreases in service delays were identified by phase 2 for cancer screening (P < .001), preventive care (P < .001), medical treatment (P < .01), cancer treatment (P < .001), and cancer survivorship services (P < .01). PNs reported that the top patient issues were COVID-19 concerns, medical care disruptions, and finances, and there were decreases in medical care disruptions (P < .01) during phase 2. PNs addressed myths related to mask use, COVID-19 spread, disbelief, risk, clinical changes, transmission prevention, and finances/politics. Conclusions The PN role demonstrated resiliency and adaptability. Both clinical and nonclinical oncology PNs identified key patient needs and can provide connections with patient populations that have been economically and socially marginalized, which is necessary to build trust throughout the pandemic.

COVID-19 Vaccines and Hyperglycemia-Is There a Need for Postvaccination Surveillance?

The COVID-19 vaccines currently in use have undoubtedly played the most significant role in combating the SARS-CoV-2 virus and reducing disease severity and the risk of death among those affected, especially among those with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes. The management of blood glucose levels has become critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where data show two- to threefold higher intensive care hospital admissions and more than twice the mortality rate among diabetic COVID-19 patients when compared with their nondiabetic counterparts. Furthermore, new-onset diabetes and severe hyperglycemia-related complications, such as hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome (HHS) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), were reported in COVID-19 patients. However, irrespective of the kind of vaccine and dosage number, possible vaccination-induced hyperglycemia and associated complications were reported among vaccinated individuals. The current article summarizes the available case reports on COVID-19 vaccination-induced hyperglycemia, the possible molecular mechanism responsible for this phenomenon, and the outstanding questions that need to be addressed and discusses the need to identify at-risk individuals and promote postvaccination monitoring/surveillance among at-risk individuals.

Diabetes and coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): Molecular mechanism of Metformin intervention and the scientific basis of drug repurposing.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a new strain of coronavirus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020. Soon after its emergence in late December 2019, it was noticed that diabetic individuals were at an increased risk of COVID-19-associated complications, ICU admissions, and mortality. Maintaining proper blood glucose levels using insulin and/or other oral antidiabetic drugs (such as Metformin) reduced the detrimental effects of COVID-19. Interestingly, in diabetic COVID-19 patients, while insulin administration was associated with adverse outcomes, Metformin treatment was correlated with a significant reduction in disease severity and mortality rates among affected individuals. Metformin was extensively studied for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antiviral capabilities that would explain its ability to confer cardiopulmonary and vascular protection in COVID-19. Here, we describe the various possible molecular mechanisms that contribute to Metformin therapy's beneficial effects and lay out the scientific basis of repurposing Metformin for use in COVID-19 patients.

A multimodal deep fusion graph framework to detect social distancing violations and FCGs in pandemic surveillance

In pandemic surveillance, ensuring social distance has emerged as a challenging issue due to the lack of proper therapeutic agents, and this envisages the need for automated social distance monitoring to avoid the formation of social gatherings and free-standing conversation groups (FCGs). The robustness sought in detecting these groups cannot be achieved when there are illumination variation and occlusion among subjects by solely relying on video data from distributed cameras. In this paper, we propose a deep learning framework for integrating data from multiple sensor modalities taking into account the spatial properties necessary to manage illumination variation and occlusion of video data. From the fused data, social distance compliance violations are notified by the presence of social groups as graphs detected using a pre-trained deep framework and connected components in graph theory. A cost function is devised for social group graph clustering to identify FCGs by using the socio-psychological theory of Friends-formation. Experiment analysis on four benchmark datasets shows that the proposed approach excels at detecting social distance violations and FCGs, and succeeds in analyzing the potential risk of pandemic spread in an area by the calculation of violation scores and rate of violation.

Therapeutic Potential of Metformin in COVID-19: Reasoning for Its Protective Role.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections present with increased disease severity and poor clinical outcomes in diabetic patients compared with their nondiabetic counterparts. Diabetes/hyperglycemia-triggered endothelial dysfunction and hyperactive inflammatory and immune responses are correlated to twofold to threefold higher intensive care hospitalizations and more than twice the mortality among diabetic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. While comorbidities such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension worsen the prognosis of diabetic COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 infections are also associated with new-onset diabetes, severe metabolic complications, and increased thrombotic events in the backdrop of aberrant endothelial function. While several antidiabetic medications are used to manage blood glucose levels, we discuss the multifaceted ability of metformin to control blood glucose levels and possibly attenuate endothelial dysfunction, inhibit viral entry and infection, and modify inflammatory and immune responses during SARS-CoV-2 infections. These actions make metformin a viable candidate drug to be considered for repurposing and gaining ground against the SARS-CoV-2-induced tsunami in diabetic COVID-19 patients.

Flavonoids against the Warburg phenotype-concepts of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine to cut the Gordian knot of cancer cell metabolism.

The Warburg effect is characterised by increased glucose uptake and lactate secretion in cancer cells resulting from metabolic transformation in tumour tissue. The corresponding molecular pathways switch from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, due to changes in glucose degradation mechanisms known as the 'Warburg reprogramming' of cancer cells. Key glycolytic enzymes, glucose transporters and transcription factors involved in the Warburg transformation are frequently dysregulated during carcinogenesis considered as promising diagnostic and prognostic markers as well as treatment targets. Flavonoids are molecules with pleiotropic activities. The metabolism-regulating anticancer effects of flavonoids are broadly demonstrated in preclinical studies. Flavonoids modulate key pathways involved in the Warburg phenotype including but not limited to PKM2, HK2, GLUT1 and HIF-1. The corresponding molecular mechanisms and clinical relevance of 'anti-Warburg' effects of flavonoids are discussed in this review article. The most prominent examples are provided for the potential application of targeted 'anti-Warburg' measures in cancer management. Individualised profiling and patient stratification are presented as powerful tools for implementing targeted 'anti-Warburg' measures in the context of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine.