UBA1-CDK16: A Sex-Specific Chimeric RNA and Its Role in Immune Sexual Dimorphism (preprint)

RNA processing mechanisms, such as alternative splicing and RNA editing, have been recognized as critical means to expand the transcriptome. Chimeric RNAs formed by intergenic splicing provide another potential layer of RNA diversification. By analyzing a large set of RNA-Seq data and validating results in over 1,200 blood samples, we identified UBA1-CDK16, a female-specific chimeric transcript. Intriguingly, both parental genes, are expressed in males and females. Mechanistically, UBA1-CDK16 is produced by cis-splicing between the two adjacent X-linked genes, originating from the inactive X chromosome. A female-specific chromatin loop, formed between the junction sites, facilitates the alternative splicing of its readthrough precursor. This unique chimeric transcript exhibits evolutionary conservation, evolving to be female-specific from non-human primates to humans. Furthermore, our investigation reveals that UBA1-CDK16 is enriched in the myeloid lineage and plays a regulatory role in myeloid differentiation. Notably, female COVID-19 patients who tested negative for this chimeric transcript displayed higher counts of neutrophils, highlighting its potential role in disease pathogenesis. These findings support the notion that chimeric RNAs represent a new repertoire of transcripts that can be regulated independently from the parental genes, and a new class of RNA variance with potential implications in sexual dimorphism and immune responses.

Rhino-orbital mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients—a new threat?

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is known to be associated with a myriad of viral, fungal, and bacterial co-infections. Rhino-orbital mucormycosis is a rare angio-invasive fungal infection which has shown a rising trend in the setting of COVID-19.Case presentationWe describe the imaging findings in 3 cases of rhino-orbital mucormycosis in patients with history of COVID-19. All cases had varying involvement of paranasal sinuses extending into the orbital compartment while case 3 had intracranial extension of infection.ConclusionsRhino-orbital mucormycosis can have aggressive necrosis of the involved paranasal sinuses and orbits with or without cerebral extension. Hence, the correct diagnosis is imperative as prompt antifungal drugs and surgical debridement can significantly reduce mortality and morbidity.

Exploration of Despair Eccentricities Based on Scale Metrics with Feature Sampling Using a Deep Learning Algorithm.

The majority of people in the modern biosphere struggle with depression as a result of the coronavirus pandemic's impact, which has adversely impacted mental health without warning. Even though the majority of individuals are still protected, it is crucial to check for post-corona virus symptoms if someone is feeling a little lethargic. In order to identify the post-coronavirus symptoms and attacks that are present in the human body, the recommended approach is included. When a harmful virus spreads inside a human body, the post-diagnosis symptoms are considerably more dangerous, and if they are not recognised at an early stage, the risks will be increased. Additionally, if the post-symptoms are severe and go untreated, it might harm one's mental health. In order to prevent someone from succumbing to depression, the technology of audio prediction is employed to recognise all the symptoms and potentially dangerous signs. Different choral characters are used to combine machine-learning algorithms to determine each person's mental state. Design considerations are made for a separate device that detects audio attribute outputs in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested technique; compared to the previous method, the performance metric is substantially better by roughly 67%.

Current Status of Radiology Education Online: a Comprehensive Update.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate various online resources available for radiology education. An online search was conducted using PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) and Google Scholar for publications discussing the applications of online learning in radiology. The search strategy employed a combination of the following terms: radiology, web-based conferencing, radiology education seminars, radiology education online, radiology education programs, online lectures, radiology residency, radiology degree, Radiology-Integrated Training Initiative (R-ITI) e-learning platform, UTAUT, Moodle, active image-based learning, Video conference platforms (VCPs), education, undergraduate, medical students, teaching, virtual learning, blended learning, e-learning, COVID-19, pandemic, OER, open education resources, online learning, course assets, accessibility, 5G Internet, game-based learning, radiology competition, and virtual world. The literature published was reviewed and consolidated. Data from the literature shows that radiology education online and radiology education seminars are undergoing a revolution due to advancements in computers, online software, and 5G Internet speed. The pace of this development has accelerated even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus forced distance online education. Various technologies are available and are being implemented by residency programs across the world to improve radiology education, making it more interactive and safer in this pandemic. Online learning has become an integral part of education in radiology, with new facets being added to it.

Current Status of Radiology Education Online: a Comprehensive Update

The purpose of this study is to evaluate various online resources available for radiology education. An online search was conducted using PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) and Google Scholar for publications discussing the applications of online learning in radiology. The search strategy employed a combination of the following terms: radiology, web-based conferencing, radiology education seminars, radiology education online, radiology education programs, online lectures, radiology residency, radiology degree, Radiology-Integrated Training Initiative (R-ITI) e-learning platform, UTAUT, Moodle, active image-based learning, Video conference platforms (VCPs), education, undergraduate, medical students, teaching, virtual learning, blended learning, e-learning, COVID-19, pandemic, OER, open education resources, online learning, course assets, accessibility, 5G Internet, game-based learning, radiology competition, and virtual world. The literature published was reviewed and consolidated. Data from the literature shows that radiology education online and radiology education seminars are undergoing a revolution due to advancements in computers, online software, and 5G Internet speed. The pace of this development has accelerated even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus forced distance online education. Various technologies are available and are being implemented by residency programs across the world to improve radiology education, making it more interactive and safer in this pandemic. Online learning has become an integral part of education in radiology, with new facets being added to it.

India’s Neighbourhood Vaccine Diplomacy During COVID-19 Pandemic: Humanitarian and Geopolitical Perspectives

In recent years, India has established itself as the world?s ?pharmacy hub?, and this claim was proven once again when it delivered COVID-19 vaccines to its citizens, neighbouring nations and across the globe. Following the philosophy of humanitarianism through the principle of ?Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam?, India has decided to provide the COVID-19 health assistance to its immediate neighbouring countries. India?s immediate neighbourhood refers to the countries that are geographically adjacent to it. In addition, India?s vaccine diplomacy has exposed geopolitical fault lines in South Asia as China?s vaccine diplomacy aims to outpace India in the region. Against this background, the main objective of this paper is to explain and examine India?s vaccine diplomacy as an instrument of its ?Neighbourhood First? policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that India?s health-focused approach has proved effective and aligned with its national interests. This review demonstrates that India?s health diplomacy has had an impact on medical and humanitarian assistance reciprocation at the regional and international levels. As a result of this strategy, during the second wave of the pandemic, India received medical devices and vaccines from other countries in dealing with COVID-19.

COVID-19 and pulmonary tuberculosis - A diagnostic dilemma.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Meanwhile, pulmonary tuberculosis(TB) is one of the most common infective lung diseases in developing nations. The concurrence of pulmonary TB and COVID-19 can lead to poor prognosis, owing to the pre-existing lung damage caused by TB. Case presentation: We describe the imaging findings in 3 cases of COVID-19 pneumonia with co-existing pulmonary TB on HRCT thorax. The concurrence of COVID-19 and pulmonary TB can be a diagnostic dilemma. Correct diagnosis and prompt management is imperative to reduce mortality and morbidity. Hence it is pertinent for imaging departments to identify and report these distinct entities when presenting in conjunction.

Strategies for Re-opening Physiotherapy OPDs Post COVID-19 Lockdown – A Cross-sectional Study (preprint)

Background: The practices of various health-care professionals have been improvised to accommodate the on-going covid-19 pandemic situation. Different guidelines have been set in place to ease the process of re-opening of non-elective healthcare services like out-patient physiotherapy clinics. Although the measures taken should be guided by evidence based information, major consensus amongst practicing therapists needs to guide the India physiotherapy clinics. Objective: To identify and present the opinions of different physiotherapists about the various strategies for re-opening the out-patient physiotherapy clinics. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted. Over 169 participants were selected to participate in the survey according to the pre-decided inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data was collected and saved via google forms. Result and conclusion: A majority of respondents had a consensus over different strategies for re-opening the physiotherapy OPDs. These were regarding different measures to be adapted including modifications in the clinic infrastructure and the practice pattern. This would help in smoothly re-instating the physiotherapy services post the covid-19 lockdown.

Estimation of the Basic Reproduction Number (R0) for COVID-19 Epidemic in District Level Named Rewa M.P. [INDIA] (preprint)

Objectives: COVID-19 was announced as a global pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) owing to its highly contagious and pathogenicity that has been rapidly spreading throughout the world since its first reported outbreak in China in December, 2019.The aim of this study was to estimate the basic reproduction number (R0) and forecast the situation to understand the future transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 outbreak at a district level.Study design: Retrospective cohort study.Methods: We used two data sources for the study. Firstly, contact history of laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals & Secondly, the publicly available daily case count data were used together by applying approach named population level model (PLM) for estimating R0 and project the size of the epidemic over the next 365days as per SIR model with help of python.Results: The peak of the R0 = 2.3 was attained in the month of September 2020. Then subsequent reduction toward the end of September can be attributed to aggressive testing, more contact tracing, and isolation measures implemented in the Rewa district during that month so currently in month of November up to 22nd R0=1.8 reported according to our study.Conclusions: Combination of Public health measures such as social distancing, rigorous contact tracing & testing, and isolation of contacts and the vulnerable should be effective to reduce the instantaneous R0 value and could thereby reduce the final outbreak size.Funding Statement: There is no source of funding/ sponsor for this study.Declaration of Interests: There is no conflict of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Ethical Committee.

Superficial Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Intracerebral Hematoma in a 48-Year-Old Man with SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, China, and is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Severe respiratory symptoms are a hallmark of the disease, which may also include complications related to a hypercoagulable state and central nervous system involvement. These complications can occur during either the acute or the recovery phase. The cerebral involvement typically manifests as intracranial hypertension, intracerebral hemorrhage, diffuse encephalopathy, or cerebral venous thrombosis. The hemorrhagic form of cerebral venous thrombosis can be a diagnostic challenge and is treated by anticoagulation therapy, despite the existence of an intracerebral hemorrhage. This report describes a case of superficial cerebral venous thrombosis and intracerebral hematoma in a 48-year-old man weeks after recovering from the acute phase of SARSCoV-2 infection. CASE REPORT A 48-year-old man with a past medical history of SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction presented with left upper-limb numbness, weakness, and impaired positional sensorium. After initial stabilization, noncontrast computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed an intracerebral hemorrhage with underlying cerebral venous thrombosis. The patient was successfully treated with enoxaparin anticoagulation therapy, and symptoms improved over the following 12 days. CONCLUSIONS Central nervous system venous thrombosis is an atypical presentation of the hypercoagulable state primarily seen in younger patients, and it can occur in a delayed fashion after recovery from mild forms of COVID-19.

Levels of genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 virus: reducing speculations about the genetic variability of the virus in South America (preprint)

In this work, we evaluated the levels of genetic diversity in 38 complete Genomes of SARS-CoV-2 from six countries in South America, using specific methodologies for paired FST, AMOVA, mismatch, demographic and spatial expansions, molecular diversity and for the time of evolutionary divergence. The analyses showed non-significant evolutionary divergences within and between the six countries, as well as a significant similarity to the time of genetic evolutionary divergence between all populations. Thus, it seems safe to affirm that we will find similar results for the other Countries of South America, reducing speculation about the existence of rapid and silent mutations that, although there are as we have shown in this work, do not increase, until this moment, the genetic variability of the Virus, a fact that would hinder the work with molecular targets for vaccines and drugs in general.

SARS-CoV-2 ribosomal frameshifting pseudoknot: Improved secondary structure prediction and detection of inter-viral structural similarity (preprint)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the COVID-19 pandemic; a pandemic of a scale that has not been seen in the modern era. Despite over 29 million reported cases and over 900,000 deaths worldwide as of September 2020, herd immunity and widespread vaccination efforts by many experts are expected to be insufficient in addressing this crisis for the foreseeable future. Thus, there is an urgent need for treatments that can lessen the effects of SARS-CoV-2 in patients who become seriously affected. Many viruses including HIV, the common cold, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 use a unique mechanism known as -1 programmed ribosomal frameshifting (-1 PRF) to successfully replicate and infect cells in the human host. SARS-CoV (the coronavirus responsible for SARS) and SARS-CoV-2 possess a unique RNA structure, a three-stemmed pseudoknot, that stimulates -1 PRF. Recent experiments identified that small molecules can be introduced as antiviral agents to bind with the pseudoknot and disrupt its stimulation of -1 PRF. If successfully developed, small molecule therapy that targets -1 PRF in SARS-CoV-2 is an excellent strategy to improve patients' prognoses. Crucial to developing these successful therapies is modeling the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 -1 PRF pseudoknot. Following a structural alignment approach, we identify similarities in the -1 PRF pseudoknots of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the original SARS-CoV, as well as a third coronavirus: MERS-CoV, the coronavirus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). In addition, we provide a better understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 -1 PRF pseudoknot by comprehensively investigating the structural landscape using a hierarchical folding approach. Since understanding the impact of mutations is vital to long-term success of treatments that are based on predicted RNA functional structures, we provide insight on SARS-CoV-2 -1 PRF pseudoknot sequence mutations and their effect on the resulting structure and its function.

Emergence and expansion of highly infectious spike:D614G mutant SARS-CoV-2 in central India (preprint)

COVID 19 has emerged as global pandemic with largest damage to the economy and human psyche. The genomic signature deciphered during the ongoing pandemic period is valuable to understand the virus evolutionary patterns and spread across the globe. Increased availability of genome information of circulating strain in our country will enable to generate selective details in virulent and non virulent markers to prophylaxis and therapeutic interventions. The first case of SARS CoV-2 was detected in Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh state in mid of March 2020 followed by multiple introduction events and expansion of COVID-19 cases within 3 months in this region. We analyzed around 5000 COVID-19 suspected samples referred to Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. A total of 136 cases were found positive over a span of three months period this includes virus introduction to region and further spread. Whole genome sequences employing Oxford nanopore technology were deciphered for 26 SARS-CoV-2 circulating in 10 different districts in Madhya Pradesh State of India. The region witnessed index cases with multiple travel history responsible for introduction of COVID-19 followed by remarkable expansion of virus. The genome wide substitutions including in important viral proteins were observed. The detailed phylogenetic analysis revealed the circulating SARS-CoV-2 clustered in multiple clades A2a, A4 and B. The cluster wise segregation was observed suggesting multiple introduction links and evolution of virus in the region. This is the first comprehensive details of whole genome sequence analysis from central India region, which will add genome wide knowledge towards diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.