Second Quantization Approach to COVID-19 Epidemic

In this article, a stochastic SIR-type model for COVID-19 epidemic is built using the standard field theoretical language based on creation and annihilation operators. From the model, we derive the time evolution of the mean number of infectious (active cases) and deceased individuals. In order to capture the effects of lockdown and social distancing, we use a time-dependent infection rate. The results are in good agreement with the data for three different waves of epidemic activity in South Korea.

On Electrical Spiking of Ganoderma Resinaceum

Fungi exhibit action-potential like spiking activity. Up to date, most electrical activity of oyster fungi has been characterized in sufficient detail. It remains unclear if there are any patterns of electrical activity specific only for a certain set of species or if all fungi share the same “language” of electrical signalling. We use pairs of differential electrodes to record extracellular electrical activity of the antler-like sporocarps of the polypore fungus Ganoderma resinaceum. The patterns of the electrical activity are analyzed in terms of frequency of spiking and parameters of the spikes. The indicators of the propagation of electrical activity are also highlighted.

Conductivity Mechanism of Ion–DNA Interaction in Dilute Solution

In this paper, we propose an impurity scattering model of quasi-one-dimensional disordered system for ion–DNA interaction in dilute solution based on the density of state in non-periodic DNA. This disordered system is composed of cations and DNA, the hydrogen ions adsorbed on the surface of DNA with negative charges are considered as impurities. It is hydrogen ions in hydration layer that cause the variations of the density of state near the Fermi level. The classical theory describes the linear dependence of conductivity on concentration. By developing the Green function approach of ion–DNA interaction in the dilute solution, the quantum theory not only gives the linear part but also demonstrates the nonlinear part of the conductivity.

Figure-of-Merit for a Long-Term Survivorship of a Species Determined from the Short-Term Mortality Rate of Its Individual Organisms

The two analytical (“mathematical”) probabilistic predictive models considered in this analysis suggest that (1) the nonrandom time-derivative of the long-term mortality rate at a rather arbitrary initial moment of time for a particular type of species of interest can be viewed as a suitable physical or biological criterion, a sort of a figure of merit (FoM), of its long-term viability/survivorship and that (2) this derivative can be determined as the variance of the random mortality rate for the significantly shorter, of course, lifespan of the individual organisms that the type of species as a whole, addressed by the first model, is comprised of. This suggestion is obtained as a modification and extension of and as an “analogy” to a concept that the author developed earlier in application to microelectronics products. So, it is assumed in our approach that the long-term survivorship of a species comprised of numerous individual organisms is analogous to the long-term performance of an electronic product comprised of numerous mass-produced components. In the original research, it was shown that the time-derivative at the initial moment of time of the nonrandom infant mortality portion (IMP) of the bathtub curve (BTC) for an electronic product is, in effect, the variance of the random failure rate (RFR) of the mass-produced components that this product is comprised of, and it is assumed that such an analogy is applicable also to the long-term survivorship of a species comprised of numerous individual organisms. The larger this variance, the shorter is the expected long-term lifetime (survivorship) of the species as a whole. Future work should be focused, first of all, on the verification of the trustworthiness of our basic assumption for different species, including humans, and on the accumulation of statistical data for long-term survivorship of various species and their existing or future habitats, with consideration of the roles of gravity, temperature, level of radiation, attributes of the atmosphere, if any, etc., as well as on calculating lifespan variances for the organisms that the species of interest are comprised of.

Cell Mechanics and Signalization: SARS-CoV-2 Hijacks Membrane Liquid Crystals and Cytoskeletal Fractal Topology

We highlight changes to cell signaling under virus invasion (with the example of SARS-CoV-2), involving disturbance of membranes (plasma, mitochondrial, endothelial-alveolar) and of nanodomains, modulated by the cytoskeleton. Virus alters the mechanical properties of the membranes, impairing mesophase structures mediated by the fractal architecture initiated by actomyosin. It changes the topology of the membrane and its lipid composition distribution. Mechano-transduction, self-organization and topology far from equilibrium are omnipresent. We propose that the actomyosin contractility generates the cytoskeletons fractal organization. We focus on three membranar processus: The transition from lamellar configuration in cell and viral membranes to a bi-continuous organization in the presence of ethanolamine. (The energy for this transition is provided by change of the folding of the viral fusion protein from metastable to stable state). The action of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein on the external mitochondrial envelope in contact with mitochondrial-associated membranes, modified by viral endoribonuclease, distorting innate immune response. The increased permeability of the epithelial-alveolar-pulmonary barrier involves the cytoskeleton membranes. The pulmonary surfactant is also perturbed in its liquid crystal state. Viral subversion disorganizes membrane structure and functions and thus the metabolism of the cell. We advocate systematic multidisciplinary exploration of membrane mesophases and their links with fractal dynamics, to enable novel therapies for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Supramolecular Chemistry of Folic Acid — Experimental and Computational Investigation

Supramolecular chemistry of folic acid is studied and revealed by exploring its assembly and disassembly process in a liquid–liquid interface. Experimental and computational studies are conducted to understand the interfacial interactions of folic acid in a oil-in-water interface by investigating the role of folic acid’s critical aggregation concentration (CAC), molecular arrangement, and intermolecular interactions at the molecular level. The folic acid’s CAC, determined from the concentration-dependent UV–vis absorption spectra in water/methanol solvent system, is found to be 2.72[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M. The sigmoidal behavior of folic acid’s maximum absorbances with respect to different folic acid concentrations reveals the nature of the self-assembly dynamics and aggregative assemblies’ formation by three signature phases, in which CAC lies in the second phase — the growth phase. The computational studies reveal the intermolecular interactions and molecular orientation of folic acid molecules. They interact each other via H2-bonding between carboxylic acid groups in two glutamate units and two amine groups in pteridine units and [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] interactions between pteridine units and phenyl units, orienting two units in a parallel stacked arrangement. Correlating the computed intermolecular interactions and structural orientation of folic acid with its solid-state crystal packing structure has provided strong evidence supporting its supramolecular chemistry and assembly dynamics to make nanoassemblies in a liquid–liquid interface.

On the Search for Brain Bifurcation Parameters: Lessons From FMRI Studies on Visual Illusions

Data from three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that involved in total about 100 participants and showed that the strength of several visual illusions such as the Ebbinghaus, Ponzo, and Muller-Lyer illusions depends on neuroanatomical subject measures such as visual cortex surface area and parahippocampal cortex gray matter volume were evaluated using a dynamical systems perspective to determine brain bifurcation parameters. Bifurcation parameters that involved power laws and captured relational dependencies were fitted separately to the three fMRI studies. The bifurcation parameter hypothesis that states that such parameters show unique quantities and are no longer correlated to structural systems properties was tested. The power law exponents and mean bifurcation parameter values were determined. For all three studies and three illusion types, the bifurcation parameter hypothesis was supported. Accordingly, the constructed parameters characterized the reactions of the participants under the Ebbinghaus, Ponzo, and Muller-Lyer illusions in terms of unique threshold values that no longer depended on neuroanatomical subject measures. Power law exponents in the range from 1 to 7 were found. The fMRI data describing gray matter volume of certain active regions in the parahippocampal cortex showed some interesting relationship between the mean bifurcation parameter values.

The Possibility of Quantum Medicine in Cancer Research: A Review

There is no doubt that quantum mechanics has become one of the building blocks of our physical world today. It is one of the most rapidly growing fields of science that can potentially change every aspect of our life. Quantum biology is one of the most essential parts of this era which can be considered as a game-changer in medicine especially in the field of cancer. Despite quantum biology having gained more attention during the last decades, there are still so many unanswered questions concerning cancer biology and so many unpaved roads in this regard. This review paper is an effort to answer the question of how biological phenomena such as cancer can be described through the quantum mechanical framework. In other words, is there a correlation between cancer biology and quantum mechanics, and how? This literature review paper reports on the recently published researches based on the principles of quantum physics with focus on cancer biology and metabolism.

Cell Resistance and in Antimicrobial Resistance with Waning Vaccination

Viruses are obligatory minute intra-cellular infectious agents with very simple composition. They are nonliving macro molecules outside the host cell while turned into living active organisms inside host cells. The genetic material (DNA or RNA) carrying the information crucial for virus replication and enforces the cell to approve virus replication. Consequently, it is cellular resistance against the virus that determines whether a cell at any site is infected or not. In this study, we interest in the resistance of cell which may be infected by some disturbance such as a function of [Formula: see text] or as a random variable. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the wider word for resistance in various kinds of microorganisms and includes resistance to antibacterial, antiviral, anti-parasitic, and anti-fungal medicines. Here we study the AMR problem and also, the waning vaccination in the Percolation area. Percolation is a purely geometric problem in which clusters of connected sites or bonds are clearly defined static objects. We are studying cellular automata from Domany–Kinzel on the population of AMRs as on the spreading network. Each connection is rewired on a one-dimensional chain and combined with any probability p node. Additionally, the Domany–Kinzel model will be applied for AMR and waning vaccination in two dimensions.