COVID-19 pandemic: ten research questions Africa must answer for itself

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading through Africa and governments are making frantic efforts to control spread, hospitalizations and deaths. While control measures are being taken, research into the biomedical and socio-cultural aspects of the pandemic, relevant to the African population, should not be ignored. It should not be assumed that research performed in Asian, American and European populations will always be applicable to Africa. Rather, research should be done in Africa to answer questions peculiar to the epidemic on the continent and help inform international guidelines. National guidelines for treatment and prevention, patient recoveries and discharge, and public health control measures should be based on research performed in the appropriate context for them to be effective and robust. Urgent research is needed in viral immunology and shedding, treatment and prevention trials, protection of healthcare personnel, and antimicrobial use among others. In this article, we propose ten research questions that when answered in a timely manner by scientists in Africa, will enhance Africa’s response to the pandemic

Drug discovery research in Ghana, challenges, current efforts, and the way forward

We have a long-term vision to develop drug discovery research capacity within Ghana, to tackle unmet medical needs in Ghana and the wider West African region. However, there are several issues and challenges that need to be overcome to enable this vision, including training, human resource, equipment, infrastructure, procurement, and logistics. We discuss these challenges from the context of Ghana in this review. An important development is the universities and research centres within Ghana working together to address some of these challenges. Therefore, while there is a long way to go to fully accomplish our vision, there are encouraging signs

Animal Health MATTERS

[Page] 1- Head/Director\u27s Message Diagnostic News [Page] 1- Classical Swine Fever Surveillance (Hog Cholera) at the SDSU ADRDL [Page] 2- Biopsy Service Changes at the ADRDL – Effective July 1, 2007 [Page] 2- Listing of Pharmacies Offering Compounding Services for Veterinarians – April 2007 [Page] 2- Holiday Hours Research News [Page] 3- CIDRV Research Looks at New HIV Drug [Page] 4- Research Spotlight: Dr. Ying Fang Extension News [Page] 5- National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) to Study Beef Industry in 2007-08 [Page] 6- Pieces and Parts Student News [Page] 7- SDSU Pre-Veterinary Students Accepted to Veterinary School [Page] 7- Calendar of Event

Point-of-care diagnostics of covid-19: From current work to future perspectives

Coronaviruses have received global concern since 2003, when an outbreak caused by SARS‐CoV emerged in China. Later on, in 2012, the Middle‐East respiratory syndrome spread in Saudi Arabia, caused by MERS‐CoV. Currently, the global crisis is caused by the pandemic SARS‐ CoV‐2, which belongs to the same lineage of SARS‐CoV. In response to the urgent need of diagnostic tools, several lab‐based and biosensing techniques have been proposed so far. Five main areas have been individuated and discussed in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. The cell‐culture detection and the microneutralization tests are still considered highly reliable methods. The genetic screening, featuring the well‐established Real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), represents the gold standard for virus detection in nasopharyngeal swabs. On the other side, immunoassays were developed, either by screening/antigen recognition of IgM/IgG or by detecting the whole virus, in blood and sera. Next, proteomic mass‐spectrometry (MS)‐based methodologies have also been proposed for the analysis of swab samples. Finally, virus-biosensing devices were efficiently designed. Both electrochemical immunosensors and eye‐based technologies have been described, showing detection times lower than 10 min after swab introduction. Alternative to swab‐based techniques, lateral flow point‐of‐care immunoassays are already commercially available for the analysis of blood samples. Such biosensing devices hold the advantage of being portable for on‐site testing in hospitals, airports, and hotspots, virtually without any sample treatment or complicated lab precautions

International perspectives on mitigating laboratory biorisks.

The International Perspectives on Mitigating Laboratory Biorisks workshop, held at the Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, from October 25 to 27, 2010, sought to promote discussion between experts and stakeholders from around the world on issues related to the management of biological risk in laboratories. The event was organized by Sandia National Laboratories International Biological Threat Reduction program, on behalf of the US Department of State Biosecurity Engagement Program and the US Department of Defense Cooperative Biological Engagement Program. The workshop came about as a response to US Under Secretary of State Ellen O. Tauscher's statements in Geneva on December 9, 2009, during the Annual Meeting of the States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). Pursuant to those remarks, the workshop was intended to provide a forum for interested countries to share information on biorisk management training, standards, and needs. Over the course of the meeting's three days, participants discussed diverse topics such as the role of risk assessment in laboratory biorisk management, strategies for mitigating risk, measurement of performance and upkeep, international standards, training and building workforce competence, and the important role of government and regulation. The meeting concluded with affirmations of the utility of international cooperation in this sphere and recognition of positive prospects for the future. The workshop was organized as a series of short presentations by international experts on the field of biorisk management, followed by breakout sessions in which participants were divided into four groups and urged to discuss a particular topic with the aid of a facilitator and a set of guiding questions. Rapporteurs were present during the plenary session as well as breakout sessions and in particular were tasked with taking notes during discussions and reporting back to the assembled participants a brief summary of points discussed. The presentations and breakout sessions were divided into five topic areas: 'Challenges in Biorisk Management,' 'Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures,' 'Biorisk Management System Performance,' 'Training,' and 'National Oversight and Regulations.' The topics and questions were chosen by the organizers through consultation with US Government sponsors. The Chattham House Rule on non-attribution was in effect during question and answer periods and breakout session discussions

South Dakota State University : Research 2020

[Page] 2 New respirator design to capture, kill coronavirus[Page] 3 SDSU scientists to examine how coronavirus infects cells[Page] 4 State diagnostic lab fulfills need for human COVID-19 testing[Page] 5 Isaacson to help develop tribal palliative care programs[Page] 6 Sun Grant funding fuels bioprocessing research[Page] 8 Prairie AquaTech exporting high-protein feed ingredient[Page] 11 New connection makes building repair fast, cost-effective [Page] 12 Record-setting wildfire season drastically increases emissions[Page] 14 Engineering study examines sunflower stem growth[Page] 15 State Poet Laureate unveils ‘South Dakota in Poems\u27[Page] 16 Reineke receives NIH grant to help eradicate tuberculosis[Page] 17 FY20 research expenditures reach nearly $61 millionhttps://openprairie.sdstate.edu/research_mag/1013/thumbnail.jp

An evaluation of current diagnostic methods for tuberculosis in resource-poor areas and a proposal for a more sensitive test

Tuberculosis is a uniquely tough disease to diagnose and treat, mainly due to its unique cell membrane, the environment, and other socio-cultural factors. As HIV and TB rates rise in endemic countries, more and more people are becoming susceptible to an incurable TB infection, and more are being missed in the diagnostic process. Now, the need for a more sensitive diagnostic test that can be easily used in resource-poor settings is more necessary than ever. In this essay, a review of current TB diagnostic techniques used in resource-poor settings is discussed, as well as their drawbacks for detecting TB in the various forms of TB disease. To illustrate this point, one TB diagnostic clinic located in South India, is used as an example of how current techniques are used in resource-poor settings. Finally, the gold standard of TB diagnostics is compared to an already existing method adapted with the cheap and easy-to-use TB Beads. If TB Beads are in fact able to detect mycobacterium better, faster, and cheaper than other methods available, its importance in global public health and the control of TB disease is beyond measurable

Response of Indonesian universities to the (COVID-19) pandemic – between strategy and implementation

Escalated by mid-January 2020, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including the education activities in higher education. Colleges and universities globally are taking various actions to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. These efforts are mainly to secure the well-being of their students and staff, as well as members of their communities. Due to the increasing number of infections has prompted a number of universities in Indonesia to participate in the fight against the virus outbreak. This article provides an overview of the role played by Indonesian universities dealing with COVID-19 pandemic and how Indonesian universities serving the public good for COVID-19 breakthroughs. The research problem of this study focuses on how the strategies developed by the university in responding to COVID-19 and their implementation to reduce the potential consequences of the pandemic impacts. Subsequently, this paper presented the responses of universities in Indonesia in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The forms of responses presented in this paper are academic responses, research and development responses and social community services responses. Furthermore, a conceived information of the issues and challenging of involving of universities in collaborating on solutions to crises of the coronavirus pandemic in Indonesian context were portrayed. In conclusion, this paper summarizes the contribution of Indonesian universities and its impacts in fighting deadly virus disease COVID-19

Networking One Health laboratories in ASEAN to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance

This report provides an overview of the key findings and recommendations derived from a series of meetings exploring the One Health research and networking capacity in Cambodia, Laos PDR, and Vietnam in the context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)