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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

(R1468) Global Analysis Of An Seirs Model For Covid-19 Capturing Saturated Incidence With Treatment Response, David A. Oluyori, Helen O. Adebayo, Ángel G.C. Pérez Dec 2021

(R1468) Global Analysis Of An Seirs Model For Covid-19 Capturing Saturated Incidence With Treatment Response, David A. Oluyori, Helen O. Adebayo, Ángel G.C. Pérez

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this work, a new SEIRS model with saturated incidence rate and piecewise linear treatment response is proposed to describe the dynamics of COVID-19. It is assumed that the treatment response is proportional to the number of infected people as long as the incidence cases are within the capacity of the healthcare system, after which the value becomes constant, when the number of confirmed cases exceeds the carrying capacity of the available medical facilities. Thus, the basic reproduction number of the model is obtained. It is proved that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number …


Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Amphibian Road Mortality, Gregory Leclair, Matthew H. Chatfield, Zachary Wood, Jeffrey Parmelee, Cheryle A. Frederick Sep 2021

Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Amphibian Road Mortality, Gregory Leclair, Matthew H. Chatfield, Zachary Wood, Jeffrey Parmelee, Cheryle A. Frederick

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related human activity shutdowns provide unique opportunities for biodiversity monitoring through what has been termed the “anthropause” or the “great human confinement experiment.” The pandemic caused immense disruption to human activity in the northeastern United States in the spring of 2020, with notable reductions in traffic levels. These shutdowns coincided with the seasonal migration of adult amphibians, which are typically subject to intense vehicle-impact mortality. Using data collected as part of an annual community science monitoring program in Maine from 2018 to 2021, we examined how amphibian mortality probabilities responded to reductions in traffic during …


Comparison Of Approaches To Quantify Sars-Cov-2 In Wastewater Using Rt-Qpcr: Results And Implications From A Collaborative Inter-Laboratory Study In Canada, Alex H.S. Chik, Melissa B. Glier, Mark Servos, Chand S. Mangat, Xiao Li Pang, Yuanyuan Qiu, Patrick M. D'Aoust, Jean Baptiste Burnet, Robert Delatolla, Sarah Dorner, Qiudi Geng, John P. Giesy, Robert Mike Mckay, Michael R. Mulvey, Natalie Prystajecky, Nivetha Srikanthan, Yuwei Xie, Bernadette Conant Sep 2021

Comparison Of Approaches To Quantify Sars-Cov-2 In Wastewater Using Rt-Qpcr: Results And Implications From A Collaborative Inter-Laboratory Study In Canada, Alex H.S. Chik, Melissa B. Glier, Mark Servos, Chand S. Mangat, Xiao Li Pang, Yuanyuan Qiu, Patrick M. D'Aoust, Jean Baptiste Burnet, Robert Delatolla, Sarah Dorner, Qiudi Geng, John P. Giesy, Robert Mike Mckay, Michael R. Mulvey, Natalie Prystajecky, Nivetha Srikanthan, Yuwei Xie, Bernadette Conant

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater is a promising tool for informing public health decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, approaches for its analysis by use of reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) are still far from standardized globally. To characterize inter- and intra-laboratory variability among results when using various methods deployed across Canada, aliquots from a real wastewater sample were spiked with surrogates of SARS-CoV-2 (gamma-radiation inactivated SARS-CoV-2 and human coronavirus strain 229E [HCoV-229E]) at low and high levels then provided “blind” to eight laboratories. Concentration estimates reported by individual laboratories were consistently within a 1.0-log10 range for …


A Comparison Of The Evolution, Structure, And Function Of Sars-Cov And Sars-Cov-2 Spike Proteins, Tai Michaels Aug 2021

A Comparison Of The Evolution, Structure, And Function Of Sars-Cov And Sars-Cov-2 Spike Proteins, Tai Michaels

The Yale Undergraduate Research Journal

As the COVID-19 pandemic has developed into the largest pandemic of the twenty-first century, it has become apparent that this disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is unlike anything the modern world has faced before. Not only has the disease infected more than 16 million people worldwide, but its rapid spread has drawn global attention to the gaps in our understanding of its pathogenesis and the development of vaccines and treatments. One of the most important topics of research in the disease is the viral spike (S) protein which facilitates binding and entering host cells and plays a key role …


Effects Of Covid-19 On Global Research In Stem, Michelle Hoang, Santanu De Aug 2021

Effects Of Covid-19 On Global Research In Stem, Michelle Hoang, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

A global public health emergency like the Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires accurate and timely data collection in the research community. High impact research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been prioritized in the fight against COVID-19. The present study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on STEM research and the collaboration between global research institutions and industries. It was noted that COVID-19 had caused significant delays in non-COVID-19-related research projects and the onset of several remote studies. Most importantly, researchers in the STEM fields directed their attention and expertise to help mitigate virus transmission, treat patients, …


Why New Diseases Keep Popping Up, Alan L. Gillen, Jason Conrad Jul 2021

Why New Diseases Keep Popping Up, Alan L. Gillen, Jason Conrad

Faculty Publications and Presentations

New and reemerging diseases are terrifying and concerning problems. Not only do they carry a financial and emotional toll, but they account for significant numbers of death. Emerging diseases are usually zoonotic and highly virulent in nature. These are pathogenic and parasitic diseases of high consequence and impact. Why would a good Creator allow these new diseases? Why do new diseases keep popping up? Mutation and displacement of original types of microbes account for many new diseases; however, the answer is more complex than just these two factors. Zoonoses are the most common type of infection, specifically from viral pathogens, …


Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2021 Jun 2021

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2021

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

The full June 2021 issue (Volume 1, Issue 1) of the International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences


Tracking Our Progress Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alexandra Bogacz Apr 2021

Tracking Our Progress Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alexandra Bogacz

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project goes into the progression of the pandemic, from start to today. It covers topics such as coronavirus biology, replication, country approaches to shutdowns, basic immunology, vaccinations, and future predictions.


Mxene-Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Sensing Of Influenza Virus And Sars-Cov-2, Yanxiao Li, Zhekun Peng, Natalie J. Holl, Md Rifat Hassan, John M. Pappas, Congjie Wei, Omid Hoseini Izadi, Yang Wang, Xiangyang Dong, Cheng Wang, Yue-Wern Huang, Donghyun Kim, Chenglin Wu Mar 2021

Mxene-Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Sensing Of Influenza Virus And Sars-Cov-2, Yanxiao Li, Zhekun Peng, Natalie J. Holl, Md Rifat Hassan, John M. Pappas, Congjie Wei, Omid Hoseini Izadi, Yang Wang, Xiangyang Dong, Cheng Wang, Yue-Wern Huang, Donghyun Kim, Chenglin Wu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An MXene-graphene field-effect transistor (FET) sensor for both influenza virus and 2019-nCoV sensing was developed and characterized. The developed sensor combines the high chemical sensitivity of MXene and the continuity of large-area high-quality graphene to form an ultra-sensitive virus-sensing transduction material (VSTM). Through polymer linking, we are able to utilize antibody-antigen binding to achieve electrochemical signal transduction when viruses are deposited onto the VSTM surface. The MXene-graphene VSTM was integrated into a microfluidic channel that can directly receive viruses in solution. The developed sensor was tested with various concentrations of antigens from two viruses: inactivated influenza A (H1N1) HA virus …


An Update Comprehensive Review On The Status Of Covid-19: Vaccines, Drugs, Variants And Neurological Symptoms, Ebru Özkan Oktay, Sali̇h Tuncay, Tuğba Kaman, Ömer Faruk Karasakal, Öznur Özge Özcan, Tuğçe Soylamiş, Mesut Karahan, Muhsi̇n Konuk Jan 2021

An Update Comprehensive Review On The Status Of Covid-19: Vaccines, Drugs, Variants And Neurological Symptoms, Ebru Özkan Oktay, Sali̇h Tuncay, Tuğba Kaman, Ömer Faruk Karasakal, Öznur Özge Özcan, Tuğçe Soylamiş, Mesut Karahan, Muhsi̇n Konuk

Turkish Journal of Biology

Various recently reported mutant variants, candidate and urgently approved current vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many current situations with severe neurological damage and symptoms as well as respiratory tract disorders have begun to be reported. In particular, drug, vaccine, and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been developed and are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Here, we review lessons learned from the use of novel mutant variants of the COVID-19 virus, immunization, new drug solutions, and antibody therapies for infections. Next, we focus on the B 1.1.7, B 1.351, P.1, and B.1.617 lineages or variants of …


Novel Approaches For Covid-19 Diagnosis And Treatment: A Nonsystematic Review, Şebnem Gari̇p Ustaoğlu, Hakan Kaygusuz, Mehmet Di̇nçer Bi̇lgi̇n, Feri̇de Severcan Jan 2021

Novel Approaches For Covid-19 Diagnosis And Treatment: A Nonsystematic Review, Şebnem Gari̇p Ustaoğlu, Hakan Kaygusuz, Mehmet Di̇nçer Bi̇lgi̇n, Feri̇de Severcan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Since COVID-19 pandemic has been continuously rising and spreading, several original contributions and review articles on COVID-19 started to appear in the literature. The review articles are mainly focus on the current status of the pandemic along with current status of the corona diagnosis and treatment process. Due to some disadvantages of the currently used methods, the improvement on the novel promising diagnosis and treatment methods of corona virus is very important issue. In this review, after briefly discussing the status of current diagnosis and treatment methods, we present to the scientific community, novel promising methods in the diagnosis and …


Cannabinoids For Sars-Cov-2 And Is There Evidence Of Their Therapeutic Efficacy?, Ahmet Onay, Abdulselam Ertaş, Veysel Süzerer, İsmai̇l Yener, Mustafa Abdullah Yilmaz, Emi̇ne Ayaz Ti̇lkat, Remzi̇ Eki̇nci̇, Nesri̇n Bozhan, Sevgi̇ İrtegün Jan 2021

Cannabinoids For Sars-Cov-2 And Is There Evidence Of Their Therapeutic Efficacy?, Ahmet Onay, Abdulselam Ertaş, Veysel Süzerer, İsmai̇l Yener, Mustafa Abdullah Yilmaz, Emi̇ne Ayaz Ti̇lkat, Remzi̇ Eki̇nci̇, Nesri̇n Bozhan, Sevgi̇ İrtegün

Turkish Journal of Biology

To combat the coronaviruses and their novel variants, therapeutic drugs and the development of vaccines that are to be effective throughout human life are urgently needed. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) acts as a modulator in the activation of the microcirculation, immune system, and autonomic nervous system, along with controlling pharmacological functions such as emotional responses, homeostasis, motor functions, cognition, and motivation. The ECS contains endogenous cannabinoids, cannabinoid receptor (CBRs), and enzymes that regulate their biosynthesis, transport, and degradation. Moreover, phytocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids that mimic the action of endocannabinoids also play an essential role in the modulation of the ECS. …


Pathogenesis And Treatment Of Cytokine Storm In Covid-19, Mehmet Soy, Gökhan Keser, Mehmet Pami̇r Atagündüz Jan 2021

Pathogenesis And Treatment Of Cytokine Storm In Covid-19, Mehmet Soy, Gökhan Keser, Mehmet Pami̇r Atagündüz

Turkish Journal of Biology

COVID-19 is a viral infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that killed a large number of patients around the world. A hyperinflammatory state resulting in a cytokine storm and adult respiratory distress syndrome seems to be the major cause of the death. Many mechanisms have been suggested in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 associated cytokine storm (COVID-CS). Insufficient viral clearance and persistence of a strong cytokine response despite inadequate antiviral immunity seem to be the main mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis. The diagnosis of COVID-19 is based on relatively constant clinical symptoms, clinical findings, laboratory tests, and …


Treatment Of Covid-19 Patients With Quercetin In Combination With Vitamin C And Bromelain: A Prospective, Single - Centre, Randomized, Controlled Trial, Hasan Önal, Bengü Arslan, Nurcan Üçüncü Ergun, Hani̇m Şeyma Topuz, Seda Yilmaz Semerci̇, Mehmet Eren Kurnaz, Yulet Mi̇ray Molu, Mehmet Abdussamet Bozkurt, Nuretti̇n Süner, Ali̇ Kocataş Jan 2021

Treatment Of Covid-19 Patients With Quercetin In Combination With Vitamin C And Bromelain: A Prospective, Single - Centre, Randomized, Controlled Trial, Hasan Önal, Bengü Arslan, Nurcan Üçüncü Ergun, Hani̇m Şeyma Topuz, Seda Yilmaz Semerci̇, Mehmet Eren Kurnaz, Yulet Mi̇ray Molu, Mehmet Abdussamet Bozkurt, Nuretti̇n Süner, Ali̇ Kocataş

Turkish Journal of Biology

Scientific research continues on new preventive and therapeutic strategies against severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). So far, there is no proven curative treatment, and a valid alternative therapeutic approach needs to be developed. This study is designed to evaluate the effect of quercetin in COVID-19 treatment. This was a single-centre, prospective randomized controlled cohort study. Routine care versus QCB (quercetin, vitamin C, bromelain) supplementation was compared between 429 patients with at least one chronic disease and moderate-to-severe respiratory symptoms. Demographic features, signs, laboratory results and drug administration data of patients were recorded. The endpoint was that QCB supplementation was …


Current Mutatome Of Sars-Cov-2 In Turkey Reveals Mutations Of Interest, Doğa Eski̇er, Evren Akalp, Özlem Dalan, Gökhan Karakülah, Yavuz Oktay Jan 2021

Current Mutatome Of Sars-Cov-2 In Turkey Reveals Mutations Of Interest, Doğa Eski̇er, Evren Akalp, Özlem Dalan, Gökhan Karakülah, Yavuz Oktay

Turkish Journal of Biology

As the underlying pathogen for the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected tens of millions of lives worldwide, SARS-CoV-2 and its mutations are among the most urgent research topics worldwide. Mutations in the virus genome can complicate attempts at accurate testing or developing a working treatment for the disease. Furthermore, because the virus uses its own proteins to replicate its genome, rather than host proteins, mutations in the replication proteins can have cascading effects on the mutation load of the virus genome. Due to the global, rapidly developing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, local demographics of the virus can be difficult …


Neuropathy In Covid-19 Associated With Dysbiosis-Related Inflammation, Busra Aktas, Belma Aslim Jan 2021

Neuropathy In Covid-19 Associated With Dysbiosis-Related Inflammation, Busra Aktas, Belma Aslim

Turkish Journal of Biology

Although COVID-19 affects mainly lungs with a hyperactive and imbalanced immune response, gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms such as diarrhea and neuropathic pains have been described as well in patients with COVID-19. Studies indicate that gut-lung axis maintains host homeostasis and disease development with the association of immune system, and gut microbiota is involved in the COVID-19 severity in patients with extrapulmonary conditions. Gut microbiota dysbiosis impairs the gut permeability resulting in translocation of gut microbes and their metabolites into the circulatory system and induce systemic inflammation which, in turn, can affect distal organs such as the brain. Moreover, gut microbiota …


Genomic Chronicle Of Sars-Cov-2: A Mutational Analysis With Over 1 Million Genome Sequences, Osman Mutluhan Uğurel, Oğuz Ata, Di̇lek Balik Jan 2021

Genomic Chronicle Of Sars-Cov-2: A Mutational Analysis With Over 1 Million Genome Sequences, Osman Mutluhan Uğurel, Oğuz Ata, Di̇lek Balik

Turkish Journal of Biology

Use of information technologies to analyse big data on SARS-CoV-2 genome provides an insight for tracking variations and examining the evolution of the virus. Nevertheless, storing, processing, alignment and analyses of these numerous genomes are still a challenge. In this study, over 1 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been analysed to show distribution and relationship of variations that could enlighten development and evolution of the virus. In all genomes analysed in this study, a total of over 215M SNVs have been detected and average number of SNV per isolate was found to be 21.83. Single nucleotide variant (SNV) average is observed …


Coronavac (Sinovac) Covid-19 Vaccine-Induced Molecular Changes In Healthy Human Serum By Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled With Chemometrics, Ayça Doğan Mollaoğlu, Rafi̇g Gurbanov, Mete Severcan, Feri̇de Severcan Jan 2021

Coronavac (Sinovac) Covid-19 Vaccine-Induced Molecular Changes In Healthy Human Serum By Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled With Chemometrics, Ayça Doğan Mollaoğlu, Rafi̇g Gurbanov, Mete Severcan, Feri̇de Severcan

Turkish Journal of Biology

From the beginning of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in December of 2019, the disease has infected millions of people worldwide and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Since then, several vaccines have been developed. One of those vaccines is inactivated CoronaVac-Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. In this proof of concept study, we first aimed to determine CoronaVac-induced biomolecular changes in healthy human serum using infrared spectroscopy. Our second aim was to see whether the vaccinated group can be separated or not from the non-vaccinated group by applying chemometric techniques to spectral data. The results revealed that the vaccine administration induced significant changes …


The Effect Of Weekend Curfews On Epidemics: A Monte Carlo Simulation, Hakan Kaygusuz, Ahmet Ni̇hat Berker Jan 2021

The Effect Of Weekend Curfews On Epidemics: A Monte Carlo Simulation, Hakan Kaygusuz, Ahmet Ni̇hat Berker

Turkish Journal of Biology

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is being responded with various methods, applying vaccines, experimental treatment options, total lockdowns or partial curfews. Weekend curfews are among the methods for reducing the number of infected persons, and this method is practically applied in some countries such as Turkey. In this study, the effect of weekend curfews on reducing the spread of a contagious disease, such as COVID-19, is modeled using a Monte Carlo algorithm with a hybrid lattice model. In the simulation setup, a fictional country with three towns and 26,610 citizens were used as a model. Results indicate that applying a weekend …


In Silico Drug Repositioning Against Human Nrp1 To Block Sars-Cov-2 Host Entry, Şeref Gül Jan 2021

In Silico Drug Repositioning Against Human Nrp1 To Block Sars-Cov-2 Host Entry, Şeref Gül

Turkish Journal of Biology

Despite COVID-19 turned into a pandemic, no approved drug for the treatment or globally available vaccine is out yet. In such a global emergency, drug repurposing approach that bypasses a costly and long-time demanding drug discovery process is an effective way in search of finding drugs for the COVID-19 treatment. Recent studies showed that SARS-CoV-2 uses neuropilin-1 (NRP1) for host entry. Here we took advantage of structural information of the NRP1 in complex with C-terminal of spike (S) protein of SARSCoV- 2 to identify drugs that may inhibit NRP1 and S protein interaction. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved …


The Current State Of Validated Small Molecules Inhibiting Sars-Cov-2 Non-Structural Proteins, Fati̇h Kocabaş, Merve Uslu Jan 2021

The Current State Of Validated Small Molecules Inhibiting Sars-Cov-2 Non-Structural Proteins, Fati̇h Kocabaş, Merve Uslu

Turkish Journal of Biology

The current COVID-19 outbreak has had a profound influence on public health and daily life. Despite all restrictions and vaccination programs, COVID-19 still can lead to fatality due to a lack of COVID-19-specific treatments. A number of studies have demonstrated the feasibility to develop therapeutics by targeting underlying components of the viral proteome. Here we reviewed recently developed and validated small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2's nonstructural proteins. We described the validation level of identified compounds specific for SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of in vitro and in vivo supporting data. The mechanisms of pharmacological activity, as well as approaches for developing …