Diverse approaches to express recombinant spike protein: A comprehensive review.

The spike protein of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for infecting host cells. It has two segments, S1 and S2. The S1 segment has a receptor-binding domain (RBD) that attaches to the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The S2 segment helps in the fusion of the viral cell membrane by creating a six-helical bundle through the two-heptad repeat domain. To develop effective vaccines and therapeutics against COVID-19, it is critical to express and purify the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Extensive studies have been conducted on expression of a complete recombinant spike protein or its fragments. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the different expression systems employed for spike protein expression, along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Suicide among the elderly in Israel.

This comparative analysis examines the data on attempted and completed suicides among the aged population (65+) in Israel to assess what changes have occurred in recent years. The sources of the data used in this review were statistics reported by the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics for two decades, 1962-1971 and 1977-1986, with additional data provided for previous years. Analysis of these data shows a rise in both attempted and completed suicides among the elderly in Israel over the last decade. However, a comparison with selected European and Western countries reveals that these rates are still lower than those of other Western countries. These findings are discussed within the framework of family care, religious tradition, and social policy. In light of the fact that suicide rates are shown to rise with increasing age both in Israel and in other countries, the need to understand suicide among the elderly is becoming even more urgent and should generate more research.

Runaway girls in distress: motivation, background, and personality.

This paper deals with girls aged 13 to 21 who have run away from home. Social workers who work with such girls point out that they are not a homogeneous population and that their motives can be very different. This study divides their motives for running away into two types, "running from" and "running to," and describes the specific personality traits associated with each. Findings indicate that girls who "run to" are younger, more impulsive, have an internal locus of control and a history of more runaways and longer periods of staying away from home. Girls who "run from," on the other hand, are older, more reflective, have an external locus of control and a history of fewer runaways and shorter periods away from home.

The fusion of pressing situation and releasing writing: on adolescent suicide poetry.

The poetry of adolescents in despair may provide us with early signs of suicide; hence referral to professional help may result at an early stage. The present study concentrated on two adolescents who wrote poetry and committed suicide. The words used in these adolescents' poetry and in the poetry of two nonsuicidal adolescents were analyzed and classified into semantic fields. Significant differences were found between the suicide and the control groups. These differences showed themselves in the vigor and intensity of the loaded words in the suicide group, as well as in the more extreme occurrence of two major foci, "Death" and "Bad Situation." These foci are demonstrated in a constructed model that may guide parents and professionals in early detection of suicide.

Bereavement and mourning after a shipping disaster: The case for intervention.

This paper describes the help given by the social services department of a shipping company to bereaved families following a shipping disaster. In the absence of clear, factual and prompt information from an authoritative source, there is a tendency for bereaved individuals to deny their loss and thereby delay the process of mourning and eventual recovery. Appropriate intervention and support can help to overcome this tendency as was seen in the Madasa case.