coronavirus

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant burdens globally. Healthcare workers (HCWs), at the heart of the unparalleled crisis of COVID-19, face challenges treating patients and doing testing for COVID-19: reducing the spread of infection; developing suitable short-term strategies; and formulating long-term plans. We aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 on Laboratory health staff. Material and methods: Between February - March 2021, 72 laboratory staff workers of a tertiary care teaching hospital were invited to fill out a questionnaire regarding concerns and worries about the novel coronavirus pandemic, along with a coping scoring system and General health questionnaire level (GHQ-12) survey. Results: Out of 72 laboratory health staff who completed the survey questionnaire, 10 were faculty members, 17 were residents (including senior residents, junior residents, and demonstrators), 39 were lab technicians, followed by 4 were attendants and 2 were data operators. Laboratory staff workers with an age group range from 30 years - 60 years had a higher level of depression symptoms than respondents with 20 years - 29 years of age. Similarly, the symptoms of anxiety were noted to be significantly higher among female respondents and respondents with age >30yrs. The most frequent concern was transmitting the infection to family than to themselves only. A considerable number of laboratory staff workers utilized online psychological resources to deal with their psychological distress.Conclusion: The findings of this survey recognize the various problems faced by laboratory health workers during the period of COVID-19 which affect their working ability. Therefore, in the future, we have to implement such strategies that enhance the performance of laboratory workers, boost their energy level, and encourage them to take care of themselves, in times of such crisis.

The global pandemic COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, affected millions of people. COVID-19 is known for its respiratory symptoms, but new research reveals it may also affect other organ systems, including the liver. This abstract reviews COVID-19 and liver function. The virus enters host cells through liver-expressed angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. Thus, viral infection and replication may target the liver. Virus-induced inflammation and cytokine production may also harm the liver. ALT and AST elevations are the most prevalent liver abnormalities in COVID-19 patients. Liver function test abnormalities frequently indicate serious illness and poor clinical outcomes. COVID-19 may worsen pre-existing liver diseases such as NAFLD and chronic viral hepatitis. Drug-induced liver damage (DILI) from COVID-19 therapies including antivirals and corticosteroids complicates liver complications care. Recent investigations have also shown that COVID-19 may cause long-term liver damage. In conclusion, COVID-19 infection, immune-mediated damage, and treatment problems may severely compromise liver function. Optimizing patient treatment and discovering targeted medicines requires understanding COVID-19's liver role. To reduce the effects of COVID-19 on liver function, further study is required to understand the mechanisms and long-term effects.

Today, it is well known that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has four types of proteins within its structure, between them the spike protein (S). The infection mechanism is carried out by the entry of the virus into the human host cell through the S protein, which strongly interacts with the human cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). In this work, we propose an atomic model of the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the S spike protein of the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 virus. The molecular structure of the model was composed of 50 amino acids that were chemically bonded, starting with Leucine and ending with one amino acid Tyrosine. The novelty of our work lies in the importance of knowing the sites and zones of maximum reactivity of the RBD from the fundamental levels of quantum mechanics considering the atomic structure of matter. For this, the local and global reactivity indices of the RBD were calculated, such as frontier orbitals, Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO), Fukui indices, chemical potential, chemical hardness, electrophilicity index; with this, it will be possible to know what type of molecules are more likely to interact with the RBD structure, and in this way, new knowledge will be generated at the quantum, atomic and molecular level to inhibit the virulent effects of wild-type SARS-CoV-2. Finally, in order to identify the functional groups within the most stable structure and thereby verify the future reactions that can be carried out between the RBD structure and biomolecules, the Infrared (IR) absorption spectrum was calculated. For this work, we used Material Studio v6.0 which uses the density functional theory (DFT) implemented in its DMol3 computational code. The IR spectrum was obtained using the Spartan ‘94 computer code. One novelty would be that we found nine amino acids more that could make the RBD and ACE2 binding further the already known. Thus, the Mulliken charge distribution indicates that the highest concentrations of positive and negative charge are found in the zones 477S, 478T, 484E, and 501N amino acids letting ionic or Van der Waals possible interactions with other structures.

The psychological burden of physicians has been the focus of many researchers since the 1950s, and some papers have found a high prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among medical staff. Recent studies have shown that the coronavirus pandemic didn’t go easy on healthcare workers. The fact that it has been three years since the outbreak, has motivated our study. Which aims to evaluate the intensity of anxiety among medical personnel and the risk factors that could be incriminated post-COVID pandemic and if the level of anxiety is back to normal. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out with a survey split into 2 parts sociodemographic and work-related data, and the French version of the Hamilton anxiety scale, Statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi et Microsoft Excel. About half of the 116 physicians in our study had no anxiety (55.2%), while 21.6% had mild anxiety, 10.3% had moderate anxiety, and 12.9% had severe anxiety. The identified risk factors for anxiety were female gender, personal and family history of anxiety disorder, doing night shifts, and being a general practitioner. The anxiety rate of physicians is back to normal post-COVID pandemic. But we shouldn’t stop there. The mental health status of medical personnel depends on several of the factors listed above. Determining them would imply a call for the implementation of preventive measures for anxiety and depressive disorders among physicians. Because taking care of physicians is taking care of patients.

Background: Human 30kb coronaviruses entered through the ACE-2 receptors causing fibrosis of the lungs and causing six million deaths worldwide. Here, we have investigated the mutations, deletions and insertions of the recent JN.1 omicron coronaviruses to demonstrate that coronaviruses have reached the pre-elimination stage. Methods: We multi-aligned the genomes of recent JN.1 variants using NCBI Virus Portal and CLUSTAL-Omega. The spike proteins are multi-aligned using MultAlin software and CLUSTAL-Omega.Results: The 17MPLF spike insertion was confirmed to compensate 24LPP, 31S, 69HV, 145Y, 211N and 483V deletions. The 49nt deletions in the 3’-UTR were found in 4997 JN.1 sequences although 26nt deletion was initiated previously in JN.1 as well as BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1 and XBB.1.5 omicron viruses. We first compare 3-D structures of spike proteins with or without 17MPLF four amino acids insertion and nine amino acids deletions using SWISS MODELLING. The JN.1 viruses caused a more stable trimeric spike involving Thr342, Lys436, Lys440, His441, Ser442, Gly443, Tyr445, Lys479, Ser489, Tyr490, Arg493, Pro494, Thr495, and Gln501 amino acids to interact with ACE-2 receptors. The FLiRT spike mutations were found in most KP.2 variants and other changes occurred at the NH2 terminus.Conclusion: We claimed that pre-death changes were initiated in JN.1 COVID-19 lineages and computer simulation showed that the Howard spike with 17MPLF spike insertion appeared more stable than the Oppentrons-spike without 17MPLF insertion. Surely, conflicts of COVID-19 spike sequences must be resolved.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) can infect pigs of any age, but the disease severity varies significantly, particularly affecting neonatal piglets due to their immature immune system. Various vaccination strategies have been questioned for their efficacy, especially since outbreaks have occurred even on vaccinated farms. Recent suggestions indicate that exposure to the virus may enhance the effectiveness of inactivated vaccines, highlighting the potential benefits of using attenuated viruses to generate immunity in sows without prior exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the humoral and cytokine responses in pregnant sows and their piglets after inoculation of affected piglet intestinal contents and a virus isolated. We measured immune parameters such as IL-12, IL-22, IgG, and IgA, as well as neutralizing antibodies in serum, colostrum, and milk. Notably, higher titers of neutralizing antibodies were found in sows immunized with the viral inoculum, while IL-12 and IL-22 levels showed no significant differences. Additionally, we assessed productive parameters like total piglets born, weaning mortality, average birth weight, and stillborn rates. The results indicated that sows treated with affected piglet intestinal contents had higher mortality (48.31%) and stillborn rates (20.96%) compared to those receiving the isolated virus (30.02% and 10.44%, respectively). These findings suggest that using an isolated virus can offer a safe, long-lasting, and specific immune response, underscoring the importance of thorough analysis of both systemic and mucosal immune responses against PEDV.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to serve people since antiquity in China, and still has an important role in today’s healthcare. As the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally, TCM has played an important role in the fight against COVID-19 in China and other countries. However, scientists outside China doubted TCM. The philosophy of TCM in the description of diseases and the use of herbal medicines is difficult to understand for Western scientists. This article explains the philosophy of TCM using chromatic analogies to make it easily understandable and visually intuitive.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbursts began at the end of 2019, which imposed a serious crisis on public health and the economy all over the world. To date, there is no antiviral drug available for SARS-CoV-2, and hence vaccination is the most preferred method to prevent people from getting attacked by this virus, especially for those who are at high risk. To counter coronavirus-2, there are various types of vaccines, which are being used, such as live attenuated vaccines, killed or inactivated vaccines, recombinant vaccines, mRNA vaccines, recombinant vector vaccines, and DNA vaccines. Novavax data shows that the vaccine is effective against severe diseases caused by B.1.351. The Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines show evidence of some protection against P.1. Due to the immune response, the Human body can recognize and protect itself against harmful foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms. The immune system protects our body from these harmful substances by identifying them as antigens. Virus-infected cells release many chemicals such as chemokines and cytokines for the initiation of immune response. To control the pandemic situation, herd immunity is required by the immunization of a critical mass of the world population at once. In this review article, we have made an analysis of the immune response of the human body to SARS-CoV-2 infection, different types, and modes of action of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines along with the current status of vaccines.