COVID-19: A Review of What You Should Know and Do to Keep Safe

SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, has resulted in high mortalities and global socio-economic disruptions. As knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 evolves, the public requires up to date and appropriate information in order to keep safe in the absence of a proven vaccine. This review of the literature was written to provide the latest information on the virus and the disease. SARS-CoV-2 bears a higher genomic homology to SARS-CoV-1 than MERS-CoV-1. Globally, COVID-19 has caused more than 4.07 million deaths and infected over 188 million people by 16th July, 2021. In Africa, more than 4.5 million and over 106,000 people have been infected and died, respectively. In Kenya, over 191,000 have been infected and 3,746 people have died from COVID-19 by the date. The figure for Kenya is much lower than the over 150,000 deaths from the Spanish flu of 1918-20. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted through expiratory droplets and direct contact, while faecal and airborne transmission have been documented, but not confirmed. It enters the body through nasal passages, conjunctiva , or mouth. It can survive on bank notes, vinyl plastic, mobile phone, glass, cardboard, cloth fabric and stainless steel for varying periods. At 50% Rh, it can survive on stainless steel, vinyl plastic and glass at 20, 30 and 40oC for 28, 7 days and less than a day, respectively. On cotton fabrics, it can survive for 7, 3 days and less than 24 hr at 20, 30 and 40oC, respectively. Age, late hospitalization, diabetes co-morbidity, obesity, chronic lung disease and hypertension are the major risk factors for COVID-19 mortality. Age and laboratory indicators are predictors of mortality. Vaccines allowed for emergency use include the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/Biontech, Moderna, Sinopharm, SINOVAC, Sputnik V and Johnson and Johnson. Although they all have shown high efficacy against the original COVID-19 strains globally, they have lower efficacy against the Brazilian P.1, the UK B.1.1.7, Finnish FIN-796H, the New Jersey/New York B.1.526, the South African B.1.351 and the Indian Delta mutant. Regular hand washing, face masking, avoiding overcrowding, physical distancing, outdoor communing, seeking immediate medical attention and isolating when infected, all can minimize SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Potential infection from frozen foods packaging, frozen foods and food preparation surfaces has been demonstrated. However, good hygiene practices can minimize infection from foods, shopping bags, take-out containers and groceries. Animal foods should not be consumed raw, while groceries require thorough washing with potable water during preparation. Despite concerns posed by the continuing evolution of virulent mutants of SARS-CoV-2, researchers are working to develop effective vaccines in order to eliminate the threat of the virus.

Automatic Wood Classifying System to Produce Renewable Fuels from Construction Waste

Automatic wood classifying system was developed to sort wood only from construction waste such as vinyl, plastic, and wood in order to produce renewable fuels. Automatic classifying processes are performed in the following order, step1: crushing, step2: analysis in the form of a mixture with water, step3: collection and transporting of floating materials, step4: classifying float materials with blower system. To classify a mixture of wood that are classified by air wind volume and classifying wood reliability can be varied depending on air wind volume. And, vinyl and plastic are difficult to classify due to increase in weight with water during the processes. Therefore, the number of times the experiment was repeated to get the optimal air volume to control it. In this experiment, the air wind volume is very important part.

Differentiation of Bone Marrow Stem Cells on Inkjet Printed Silk Lines

ABSTRACTWater based silk solutions were successfully inkjet printed for the first time into patterns of parallel lines onto vinyl plastic substrates. Human bone marrow stromal cells (hMSCs) were seeded on the silk printed patterns and cultured in the presence of 100 ng/ml of bone morphogenic protein (BMP-2). After one week of culture cell growth and attachment showed site specificity on the silk printed lines. Both alkaline phosphatase activity and cell morphology indicated hBMSCs differentiation into osteogenic cells along the silk printed lines. After 4 week of culture, the cellular bridging of adjacent silk printed lines took place for all interline distances lower than 1.25 mm. Therefore, commercial inkjet printing technology can produce complex viable cellular patterns with 111 ± 24 μm lateral resolution, through the deposition of bioactive materials. The results provide a first step toward cell specific control using 3D inkjet printing techniques using biocompatible gel systems to regulate cell functions.

How Environmental Effects on Child Health Are Recognized

There is no doubt that the fetus and child have special susceptibility to the harmful effects of chemical pollutants. EPIDEMIOLOGIC CASE REPORTS Example 1 "Strange incidents occurred in villages along Minamata Bay in [the] Kyushu district in Japan, in which many cats went mad and died. These incidents were the prelude to [an] epidemic of a mysterious disease in human beings."1 In this way Japanese scientists began their account of the link between the ailment, now known as Minamata disease, and pollution of water with methylmercury. Initially, a degenerative neurological disease was observed only in older children and adults. Apparently no one thought of possible fetal effects. In consequence, they went unnoticed for several years before it was realized that an epidemic of cerebral palsy had paralleled the illness in adults and older children. This was the first evidence that a chemical pollutant could harm the human fetus. Methylmercury was identified as the cause of the epidemic by looking back into the histories of affected persons. The frequency and seriousness of the effect was greatest in the families of fishermen. It had been noted that fish in the Bay swam erratically. Fishermen sold their best catch and used the sickest looking fish as food for their families. Twenty-three children developed cerebral palsy after intrauterine exposure. Six percent of births during the interval were affected, as compared with 0.5% elsewhere in Japan. Although brain damage in the children was severe, only one of their mothers showed signs of the disease. The methylmercury came from waste flushed into the Bay by a factory that made vinyl plastic.

A technique for demonstrating the blood vascular system of squid

The arterial and venous components of the blood vascular system of the coleoid cephalopod Illex illecebrosus were infiltrated with a vinyl plastic resin solution. This method of preparation of the vascular system provided permanent casts of its various regions. Such models greatly facilitate comparative studies of vascular architecture.