Mid-Ocean Outbreaks of COVID-19 with Tell-Tale Signs of Aerial Incidence

DOI: 10.37421/Virol Curr Res.2020.4.114 is not valid yet [https://doi.org/10.37421/Virol%20Curr%20Res.2020.4.114].Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in passengers and crew in ships at sea continue to pose a problem for conventional epidemiology. In one instance the crew of an Argentinian fishing trawler, who were quarantined and tested negative before sailing, contracted the disease after 35 days at sea. In another instance a livestock ship had crew that was isolated and confined becoming sick with presumed COVID-19 whilst sailing in mid-ocean

Early effects of oral administration of lafutidine with mosapride compared with lafutidine alone on intragastric pH values

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ideal medication for treatment of acid related diseases should have a rapid onset of action to promote hemostasis and resolution of symptoms. The aim of our study was to investigate the inhibitory effects on gastric acid secretion after a single oral administrations of lafutidine, is a newly synthesized H2-receptor antagonist, with mosapride 5 mg or lafutidine alone.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ten <it>Helicobacter pylori </it>negative male subjects participated in this randomized, two-way crossover study. Intragastric pH was monitored continuously for 4 hours after a single oral administration of lafutidine 10 mg or lafutidine 10 mg with mosapride 5 mg (the lafutidine being administrated one hour after the mosapride). Each administration was separated by a 7-day washout period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average pH during the 4-hour period after administration of lafutidine 10 mg with mosapride 5 mg was higher than after lafutidine 10 mg alone (median: 5.25 versus 4.58, respectively; <it>p </it>= 0.0318). During the 3–4 hour study period, lafutidine 10 mg with mosapride 5 mg provided a higher pH, compared to lafutidine 10 mg alone (median: 7.28 versus 6.42; <it>p </it>= 0.0208).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In <it>H. pylori </it>negative healthy male subjects, an oral dose of lafutidine 10 mg with mosapride 5 mg more rapidly increased intragastric pH than lafutidine 10 mg alone.</p

Reply to editorial and commentaries on Steele, Al-Mufti, Augustyn, Chandrajith, Coghlan, Coulson et al. (2018) "Cause of Cambrian explosion - Terrestrial or cosmic?"

No abstract availabl

Reply to commentary by R Duggleby (2019)

Duggleby (2018) has made a numerical analysis of some aspects of the wide range of phenomena we reviewed in Steele et al. (2018) and asserted " .that panspermia as proposed by Steele et al. (2018) is extremely implausible.” It seems to us that Duggleby has based his viewpoint on a quite narrow and specific model of Panspermia which he supposes to be active in the cosmos. Here we address both his conclusions and his numerical analysis. Our response therefore will be at two levels, his specific analysis and his general conclusions. In the specific section below we show that while Duggleby's numerical analysis appears in part correct it is, in the final analysis, quite irrelevant to Cosmic Panspermia. In the general response which follows we address his unsupported conclusion throughout his critique, namely that … " none of the examples mentioned by Steele et al. (2018) is decisive enough to allow no other explanation.

Radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination (VIBE) with k-space weighted image contrast (KWIC) for dynamic gadoxetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI of the liver: advantages over Cartesian VIBE in the arterial phase

To compare radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination with k-space weighted image contrast reconstruction (r-VIBE-KWIC) to Cartesian VIBE (c-VIBE) in arterial phase dynamic gadoxetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) of the liver. We reviewed 53 consecutive DCE-MRI studies performed on a 3-T unit using c-VIBE and 53 consecutive cases performed using r-VIBE-KWIC with full-frame image subset (r-VIBEfull) and sub-frame image subsets (r-VIBEsub; temporal resolution, 2.5-3 s). All arterial phase images were scored by two readers on: (1) contrast-enhancement ratio (CER) in the abdominal aorta; (2) scan timing; (3) artefacts; (4) visualisation of the common, right, and left hepatic arteries. Mean abdominal aortic CERs for c-VIBE, r-VIBEfull, and r-VIBEsub were 3.2, 4.3 and 6.5, respectively. There were significant differences between each group (P < 0.0001). The mean score for c-VIBE was significantly lower than that for r-VIBEfull and r-VIBEsub in all factors except for visualisation of the common hepatic artery (P < 0.05). The mean score of all factors except for scan timing for r-VIBEsub was not significantly different from that for r-VIBEfull. Radial VIBE-KWIC provides higher image quality than c-VIBE, and r-VIBEsub features high temporal resolution without image degradation in arterial phase DCE-MRI. aEuro cent Radial VIBE-KWIC minimised artefact and produced high-quality and high-temporal-resolution images. aEuro cent Maximum abdominal aortic enhancement was observed on sub-frame images of r-VIBE-KWIC. aEuro cent Using r-VIBE-KWIC, optimal arterial phase images were obtained in over 90 %. aEuro cent Using r-VIBE-KWIC, visualisation of the hepatic arteries was improved. aEuro cent A two-reader study revealed r-VIBE-KWIC's advantages over Cartesian VIBE.ArticleEUROPEAN RADIOLOGY. 24(6):1290-1299 (2014)journal articl

Overview SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic as January-February 2022: Likely Cometary Origin, Global Spread, Prospects for Future Vaccine Efficacy

Copyright © The Athors 2022. As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is nearing its eventual end we focus on what we believe are two key omissions from the mainstream scientific literature and which have significant implications for how mankind manages the next global pandemic. We therefore review data, observations, analyses and conclusions from our series of papers published through 2020 and 2021 on its likely cometary origin and global spread. We also revisit our long held understanding of the superior effectiveness of intra-nasal vaccines against respiratory tract pathogens that involve induction of dimeric secretory IgA antibodies. While these two oversights seem disparate, together they provide us with new insights into our collective awareness of how we might view and address the next global pandemic. We begin with our hypothesis of the likely cometary origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus via a bolide strike in the stratosphere on the night of October 11 2019 on the 40o N line over Jilin in NE China. Further global spread most likely occurred via prevailing wind systems transporting both the pristine cometary virus followed by continuing strikes from the same primary source as well as prior human-passaged virus transmitted by person to person spread and through contaminated dust in global wind systems. We also include a discussion of our prior work on data relating to vaccine protective efficacy. Finally we review the totality of evidence concerning the likely origin and global spread of the predominant variants of the virus ‘Omicron’ (+Delta mix?) from early to mid-December 2021 and extending into the first week January 2022. We describe the striking data showing the large numbers of infectious cases per day and outline the scale of what appears to be a global pandemic phenomenon, the causes of which are unclear and not completely understood. Firstly, these essentially simultaneous and sudden global-wide epidemic COVID-19 out breaks, appear to be largely correlated with events external to the Earth, probably causing globally correlated precipitation events. They appear related broadly to “Space Weather” events that render the Earth vulnerable to cosmic pandemic pathogen attack particularly during times of the minima of the Sunspot Solar Cycle which we are now currently passing through. Secondly, we argue that these sudden global-wide epidemic outbreaks of COVID-19 are specifically largely influenced by global wind transport and deposition mechanisms, the physics of which we need to further explore and comprehend. We conclude on an optimistic note for mankind. Given our prior knowledge of the effectiveness against respiratory tract pathogens of mucosal immunity involving induction of dimeric secretory IgA antibodies, we consider that the recently published intra-nasal vaccine data from laboratories based at the University of California, San Francisco and, independently at Yale University. These latter studies hold out great promise for the future development of both pan-specific and specific immunity against future pandemics caused by suddenly emergent respiratory pathogens, whether viral, bacterial or fungal

Educational paper: Abusive Head Trauma Part I. Clinical aspects

Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) refers to the combination of findings formerly described as shaken baby syndrome. Although these findings can be caused by shaking, it has become clear that in many cases there may have been impact trauma as well. Therefore a less specific term has been adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics. AHT is a relatively common cause of childhood neurotrauma with an estimated incidence of 14–40 cases per 100,000 children under the age of 1 year. About 15–23% of these children die within hours or days after the incident. Studies among AHT survivors demonstrate that approximately one-third of the children are severely disabled, one-third of them are moderately disabled and one-third have no or only mild symptoms. Other publications suggest that neurological problems can occur after a symptom-free interval and that half of these children have IQs below the 10th percentile. Clinical findings are depending on the definitions used, but AHT should be considered in all children with neurological signs and symptoms especially if no or only mild trauma is described. Subdural haematomas are the most reported finding. The only feature that has been identified discriminating AHT from accidental injury is apnoea. Conclusion: AHT should be approached with a structured approach, as in any other (potentially lethal) disease. The clinician can only establish this diagnosis if he/she has knowledge of the signs and symptoms of AHT, risk factors, the differential diagnosis and which additional investigations to perform, the more so since parents seldom will describe the true state of affairs spontaneously

Interplay between the Charge Transport Phenomena and the Charge-Transfer Phase Transition in RbxMn[Fe(CN)6]y · zH2O

Charge transport and dielectric measurements were carried out on compacted powder and single-crystal samples of bistable RbxMn[Fe(CN)6]y · zH2O in the two valence-tautomeric forms (MnIIFeIII and MnIIIFeII) as a function of temperature (120-350 K) and frequency (10-2-106 Hz). The complex conductivity data reveal universal conductivity behavior and obey the Barton-Nakajima-Namikawa relationship. The charge transport is accompanied by dielectric relaxation that displays the same thermal activation energy as the conductivity. Surprisingly, the activation energy of the conductivity was found very similar in the two valence-tautomeric forms (∼0.55 eV), and the conductivity change between the two phases is governed mainly by the variation of the preexponential factor in each sample. The phase transition is accompanied by a large thermal hysteresis of the conductivity and the dielectric constant. In the hysteresis region, however, a crossover occurs in the charge transport mechanism at T < ∼220 K from an Arrhenius-type to a varying activation energy behavior, conferring an unusual “double-loop” shape to the hysteresis

Global analysis of gene expression in response to L-Cysteine deprivation in the anaerobic protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Entamoeba histolytica</it>, an enteric protozoan parasite, causes amebic colitis and extra intestinal abscesses in millions of inhabitants of endemic areas. <it>E. histolytica </it>completely lacks glutathione metabolism but possesses L-cysteine as the principle low molecular weight thiol. L-Cysteine is essential for the structure, stability, and various protein functions, including catalysis, electron transfer, redox regulation, nitrogen fixation, and sensing for regulatory processes. Recently, we demonstrated that in <it>E. histolytica</it>, L-cysteine regulates various metabolic pathways including energy, amino acid, and phospholipid metabolism.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, employing custom-made Affymetrix microarrays, we performed time course (3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h) gene expression analysis upon L-cysteine deprivation. We identified that out of 9,327 genes represented on the array, 290 genes encoding proteins with functions in metabolism, signalling, DNA/RNA regulation, electron transport, stress response, membrane transport, vesicular trafficking/secretion, and cytoskeleton were differentially expressed (≥3 fold) at one or more time points upon L-cysteine deprivation. Approximately 60% of these modulated genes encoded proteins of no known function and annotated as hypothetical proteins. We also attempted further functional analysis of some of the most highly modulated genes by L-cysteine depletion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To our surprise, L-cysteine depletion caused only limited changes in the expression of genes involved in sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism and oxidative stress defense. In contrast, we observed significant changes in the expression of several genes encoding iron sulfur flavoproteins, a major facilitator super-family transporter, regulator of nonsense transcripts, NADPH-dependent oxido-reductase, short chain dehydrogenase, acetyltransferases, and various other genes involved in diverse cellular functions. This study represents the first genome-wide analysis of transcriptional changes induced by L-cysteine deprivation in protozoan parasites, and in eukaryotic organisms where L-cysteine represents the major intracellular thiol.</p