Articles: coronavirus.
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Mol Imaging Radionucl Ther · Apr 2020
Guide for Nuclear Medicine Applications During the COVID-19 Outbreak.
A viral pneumonia rapidly spread from Wuhan, China to all countries in late 2019. In February 2020, WHO named as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and declared the pandemic on March 11, 2020. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Ministry of Health of Republic of Turkey and international institutions have published documents defining hygiene rules. ⋯ In cancer cases requiring urgent treatment, radionuclide treatment (RNT) should be planned according to the COVID-19 test result. If the result is negative, RNT can be applied; but if not or if the symptoms are present, RNT must be postponed. Following imaging procedures, scanners and room surfaces should be cleaned by personnel with proper disinfection training.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Apr 2020
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2) in Dentistry. Management of Biological Risk in Dental Practice.
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, and the etiological agent of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). This infection spreads mainly through direct contact with Flügge micro droplets or core droplets that remain suspended as aerosol. Moreover, it has been reported that infected subjects, both with and without clinical signs of COVID-19, can transmit the virus. ⋯ Considering the virus' route of transmission, a specific protocol should be applied to reduce the risk of infection in addition to measures that prevent the spread of infection from a patient to another person or medical tools and equipment (cross-infection). This protocol should be implemented by modifying both patient management and clinical practice, introducing particular devices and organizational practices. This paper aims to discuss and suggest the most appropriate procedures in every aspect of dental practice to reduce infection risk.
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The novel coronavirus whose outbreak took place in December 2019 continues to spread at a rapid rate worldwide. In the absence of an effective vaccine, inhibitor repurposing or de novo drug design may offer a longer-term strategy to combat this and future infections due to similar viruses. Here, we report on detailed classical and mixed-solvent molecular dynamics simulations of the main protease (Mpro) enriched by evolutionary and stability analysis of the protein. ⋯ Furthermore, analysis of the binding site's conformational changes during the simulation time indicated its flexibility and plasticity, which dashes hopes for rapid and reliable drug design. Conversely, structural stability of the protein with respect to flexible loop mutations indicated that the virus' mutability will pose a further challenge to the rational design of small-molecule inhibitors. However, few residues contribute significantly to the protein stability and thus can be considered as key anchoring residues for Mpro inhibitor design.
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Nanomaterials (Basel) · Apr 2020
ReviewOn Facing the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) with Combination of Nanomaterials and Medicine: Possible Strategies and First Challenges.
Global health is facing the most dangerous situation regarding the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome called coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is widely known as the abbreviated COVID-19 pandemic. This is due to the highly infectious nature of the disease and its possibility to cause pneumonia induced death in approximately 6.89% of infected individuals (data until 27 April 2020). The pathogen causing COVID-19 is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is believed to be originated from the Wuhan Province in China. ⋯ This unmet medical need thus requires significant and very urgent research attention to develop an effective vaccine to address the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this review, the state-of-the-art drug design strategies against the virus are critically summarized including exploitations of novel drugs and potentials of repurposed drugs. The applications of nanochemistry and general nanotechnology was also discussed to give the status of nanodiagnostic systems for COVID-19.