Search results for "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2"
showing 10 items of 547 documents
Surgeons' fear of getting infected by COVID19: A global survey
2020
During the last three months, COVID- 19 pandemic had led to a serious backlog of operations globally, and plans for restarting operation are imperative. Recommendations for surgical activities were studied, aiming to protect the surgical staff from being infected. In the meantime, it is also important to give attention to the surgeon’s personal feeling during work. We conducted a survey to investigate global surgi- cal practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the surgeon’s personal feeling was also investigated in the sur- vey. In this special letter, we performed multivariate analysis to explore factors that associated with surgeon’s fear of getting infected by COVID-19.
Direct RNA nanopore sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 extracted from critical material from swabs
2020
ABSTRACTBackgroundIn consideration of the increasing prevalence of COVID-19 cases in several countries and the resulting demand for unbiased sequencing approaches, we performed a direct RNA sequencing experiment using critical oropharyngeal swab samples collected from Italian patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 from the Palermo region in Sicily.MethodsHere, we identified the sequences SARS-CoV-2 directly in RNA extracted from critical samples using the Oxford Nanopore MinION technology without prior cDNA retro-transcription.ResultsUsing an appropriate bioinformatics pipeline, we could identify mutations in the nucleocapisid (N) gene, which have been reported previously in studies conducted in…
Google Searches for Taste and Smell Loss Anticipate Covid-19 Epidemiology
2020
AbstractBackgroundAs evidence emerged that loss of taste and/or loss of smell is frequently triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we investigated whether Google searches volume for these two disease-specific symptoms could be associated with disease epidemiology in United States (US).Materials and MethodsWe performed an electronic search in Google Trends using the keywords “taste loss” and “smell loss” within the US. The Google searches volume was correlated with the number of new weekly cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.ResultsThe weekly Google searches for taste and smell loss exhibited a trend similar to that of new…
New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Crossing Borders Beyond Cities, Nations, and Continents: Impact of International Travel
2021
The third outbreak of coronavirus in the form of the COVID-19 infection started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The early and rapid spread of this infection across borders can be largely attributed to international air travel that has become a part of modern globalization. In this article, we analyze the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) along the routes of international travel, both by air and by sea. Pitfalls of various screening methods used at the airports and the importance of optimal aircraft ventilation are discussed. Also, we suggest measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of transmission associated with air travel.
BNT162b vaccines are immunogenic and protect non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2
2020
AbstractA safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 is urgently needed in quantities sufficient to immunise large populations. We report the preclinical development of two BNT162b vaccine candidates, which contain lipid-nanoparticle (LNP) formulated nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein-derived immunogens. BNT162b1 encodes a soluble, secreted, trimerised receptor-binding domain (RBD-foldon). BNT162b2 encodes the full-length transmembrane spike glycoprotein, locked in its prefusion conformation (P2 S). The flexibly tethered RBDs of the RBD-foldon bind ACE2 with high avidity. Approximately 20% of the P 2S trimers are in the two-RBD ‘down,’ one-RBD ‘up’ state. In mi…
COVID-19 and orientations towards solidarity: the cases of Spain, Hungary, and Romania
2020
Solidarity is core to Europe's societal organisation and was intensively addressed in recent research. Using data collected before and during the lockdown in spring 2020, we examine whether value o...
From corona virus to corona crisis : the value of an analytical and geographical understanding of crisis
2020
Abstract The term ‘crisis’ is omnipresent. The current corona virus pandemic is perceived as the most recent example. However, the notion of crisis is increasingly deployed as a signifier of relevance, rather than as an analytical concept. Moreover, human geography has so far little contributed to the interdisciplinary crisis research field which is fixated on the temporal aspects of crisis but neglects its spatiality. Against this background, the first aim of the paper is to demonstrate the value of thinking about crisis analytically. Therefore, we introduce theoretical knowledge developed within a recently emerging literature on crisis management. Second, we demonstrate the relevance of i…
Thrombotic complications of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2: what pharmacovigilance reports tell us – and what they don't
2021
In the present issue of the Journal [1], Smadja et al. present an analysis of global pharmacovigilance reports of thrombotic events following severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 vaccination. More specifically, the authors analysed the data entered into the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Database for Individual Case Safety Reports (VigiBase) between December 13, 2020 and March 16, 2021, covering, at that time, a population of almost 362 million vaccinated individuals across the world. The study focuses on three of the coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 vaccines available to date, namely the Pfizer-BioNtech (BNT162b2), Moderna (mRNA-1273), and OxfordAstraZe…
Behind the mask: Rethinking the use of face masks while exercising
2021
there is an ongoing global effort against COVID-19 pan-demic. As vaccination is applied globally (predominantly onat-risk populations), various measures such as temporaryself-quarantine, social distancing, increased hand hygiene,and wearing a face mask (FM) proposed by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) and various governments worldwide arestill in place as primary means of preventing further dissemi-nation. In many instances, wearing a FM became mandatorywhen a person is in a closed space while being accompa-nied by others. Many individuals are therefore apprehensivein terms of maintaining their usual physical activity rout-ines and staying safe in the midst of the outbreak. Asa result, it…
DNA damage response at telomeres boosts the transcription of SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 during aging
2021
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), known to be more common in the elderly, who also show more severe symptoms and are at higher risk of hospitalization and death. Here, we show that the expression of the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS-CoV-2 cell receptor, increases during aging in mouse and human lungs. ACE2 expression increases upon telomere shortening or dysfunction in both cultured mammalian cells and in vivo in mice. This increase is controlled at the transcriptional level, and Ace2 promoter activity is DNA damage response (DDR)-dependent. Both pharmacological global DDR inhibition of ATM kin…