Made up of amino acids, SARS-CoV-2’s polybasic cleavage sites have remained elusive since the COVID-19 outbreak began. But previous research …,Read More
Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2
Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reawakened the long-standing debate about the …,Read More
SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and serology testing of COVID-19 convalescent plasma from donors with non-severe disease
We determined the antigen binding activity of convalescent plasma units from 47 individuals with a history of non-severe COVID-19 using three clinical diagnostic serology assays (Beckman, DiaSorin, and Roche) with different SARS-CoV-2 targets. We compared these results with functional neutralization activity using a fluorescent reporter strain of SARS-CoV-2 in a microwell assay. This revealed positive correlations of varying strength (Spearman r = 0.37-0.52) between binding and neutralization. Donors age 48-75 had the highest neutralization activity. Units in the highest tertile of binding activity for each assay were enriched (75-82%) for those with the highest levels of neutralization.,Read More
US childhood SARS-CoV-2 infections surging with the current peak
Florida, which ranks second in total confirmed SARS-CoV-2 tests, also ranks second in childhood COVID-19 cases, despite its relatively young cutoff.,Read More
Dynamics of the COVID -19 Related Publications
Background: This study aims to analyze the dynamics of the published articles and preprints of Covid 19 related literature from different scientific databases and sharing platforms. Methods: The PubMed, Elsevier, and Research Gate (RG) databases were under consideration in this study over a specific time. Analyses were carried out on the number of publications as (a) function of time (day), (b) journals and (c) authors. Doubling time of the number of publications was analyzed for PubMed all articles and Elsevier published articles. Analyzed databases were (1A) PubMed all articles (01/12/2019 to 12/06/2020) (1B) PubMed Review articles (01/12/2019 to 2/5/2020) and (1C) PubMed Clinical Trials (01/01/2020-30/06/2020) (2) Elsevier all publications (01/12/2019 to 25/05/2020) (3) RG (Article, Pre Print, Technical Report) (15/04/2020 to 30/4/2020). Findings: Total publications in the observation period for PubMed, Elsevier, and RG were 23000, 5898 and 5393 respectively. The average number of publications/day for PubMed, Elsevier and RG were 70.0 {+/-}128.6, 77.6{+/-}125.3 and 255.6{+/-}205.8 respectively. PubMed shows an avalanche in the number of publication around May 10, number of publications jumped from 6.0{+/-}8.4/day to 282.5{+/-}110.3/day. The average doubling time for PubMed, Elsevier, and RG was 10.3{+/-}4 days, 20.6 days, and 2.3{+/-}2.0 days respectively. In PubMed average articles/journal was 5.2{+/-}10.3 and top 20 authors representing 935 articles are of Chinese descent. The average number of publications per author for PubMed, Elsevier, and RG was 1.2{+/-}1.4, 1.3{+/-}0.9, and 1.1{+/-}0.4 respectively. Subgroup analysis, PubMed review articles mean and median review time for each article were <0|17{+/-}17|77> and 13.9 days respectively; and reducing at a rate of -0.21 days (count)/day.… Read the rest “Dynamics of the COVID -19 Related Publications”
SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in African countries—are we losing perspective?
, We know little about the dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in African countries, including its infectiousness …,Read More
Nasopharyngeal Microbiota Profiling of SARS-CoV-2 Infected Patients
Abstract We analyzed the bacterial communities of the nasopharynx in 40 SARS-CoV-2 infected and uninfected patients. All infected patients had a mild COVID-19 disease. We did not find statistically significant differences in either bacterial richness and diversity or composition. […]
Development of a Multi-Antigenic SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Using a Synthetic Poxvirus Platform
Lack of antibody-mediated cross-protection between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV infections
Abstract Background The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) shares approximately 80% whole genome sequence identity and 66% spike (S) protein identity with that of SARS-CoV. The cross-neutralization between these viruses is currently not well-defined. Methods Here, by using the live SARS-CoV-2 […]
Current Status of Multiple Drug Molecules, and Vaccines: An Update in SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutics
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic disease that has taken the lives of many around the world. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). To date, the USA, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, and […]