Food security program to overcome the socioeconomic impact of Covid-19: Lesson from Indonesia

Food security is one of the Islamic Social Finance Institution's strategic goals. The purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanism for implementing food security programs at Islamic social finance institutions in Pacitan, Indonesia. The study also revealed the role and impact of the food security program on people's food needs during the Covid-19 pandemic, which helped to achieve sustainable development goals. This is a descriptive qualitative study that relies on primary data from in-depth interviews. According to the study's findings, the implementation of the food security program begins with the collection of funds from infaq and shadaqah. Then, based on predetermined criteria, select beneficiaries who will receive basic food packages, purchase food, construct food barns, and distribute basic food assistance. This food security program's impact is to meet some basic food needs, reduce consumption spending, meet nutritional needs, and mitigate economic difficulties during the pandemic. © 2023 Author(s).

Mortality And Morbidity Burden Of Covid-19 Infection In Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 6.1 million deaths and more than 480 million infections worldwide (1). Left ventricular assist device patients (LVAD) with their multiple co-morbidities are at high risk for morbidity and mortality from the COVID-19 infection. Few studies and case reports demonstrating the outcomes of COVID-19 infection in LVAD patients have been published, with the most recent study in 2021 (2-4). However, none of these studies spanned the entire stretch of the pandemic. Hypothesis: : COVID-19 infection would result in significant mortality and multi-system complications among patients with an LVAD. Method(s): IRB approval was obtained for our retrospective cohort study. 225 LVAD patients across two large centers in Texas, USA were screened for COVID-19 infection from December 1, 2019 to February 28, 2022. 68 events of COVID-19 infection were identified among 64 patients. One patient was excluded due to false positive test and 3 patients were infected twice and counted as separate events. Outcomes including mortality, respiratory failure, bleeding, and thromboembolic complications were assessed. Result(s): Baseline characteristics and results are summarized in Table 1. 51% of the patients needed hospitalization or emergency department visit for COVID infection. Five patients were intubated (7.4%). 6 patients developed chronic hypoxic respiratory failure requiring outpatient supplemental oxygen. 4 patients suffered from ventricular tachycardias while three other patients had Implantable cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) shocks during COVID infection. 9 patients had epistaxis or gastrointestinal bleeding within 1 month of testing COVID positive. One HM2 patient had confirmed LVAD outflow cannula thrombus on CT heart and another patient with HeartWare had confirmed inflow cannula thrombus requiring emergent exchange to HM3 due to pump stoppage. Three patients suffered a stroke (5%). No events of pulmonary emboli or DVTs were noted. The mortality rate among this cohort was 14% (9 out of 64 patients). Four patients died during the same hospitalization. 33% had HM2 and 67% had HM3 LVADs, making a mortality rate of 37% (3 out of 8) for HM2 patients and 9% for HM3 (6 out of 55). 88% were males, 56% were African Americans, 67% had NICM, and 78% had at least moderate RV dysfunction at baseline. Conclusion(s): COVID-19 infection resulted in significant mortality and complications including stroke, pump thrombus, arrhythmias, respiratory failure, and bleeding events among LVAD patients.Copyright © 2022

Determinant of stunting in children aged 12-24 months during the COVID-19 pandemic era in Makassar City

Objective: The prevalence of stunting in Sulawesi Selatan after the pandemic has decreased. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic situation has made it difficult to conduct anthropometric measurements owing to a number of regulations enacted by the government to suppress the cases of COVID-19. The Sudiang Public Health Center is one of the biggest contributors to stunting in Makassar City with a prevalence of 11.06 %. This study aimed to assess the degree of risk of Low Body Weight (LBW), pregnancy checkups <4 times, incomplete basic vaccinations, nonexclusive breastfeeding, Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI)/ diarrhea infections, household income, and contaminated water sources on stunting during the pandemic. Methods: This study was an observational study with a control case epidemiology design. The sample was 140 respondents, namely 70 case children (stunting) and 70 control children (non-stunting). The statistical analysis used was the Chi-Square test and multiple logistic regression test. The results were expressed in the ODDS ratio. Results: The results of this study showed that there is a relationship between LBW (OR=4.0, 1.502-10.911, CI=95 %;ρ=0.006), pregnancy checkups <4 times (OR=3.3, 1.319-8.753, CI=95 %;ρ=0.011), non-exclusive breastfeeding (OR=2.4, 1.045-5.645, CI=95 %;ρ=0.039), and ARI/ diarrhea infections (OR=4.3, 1.839-10.222, CI=95 %;ρ=0.001) and stunting in children aged 12-24 months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Makassar City. The history of infectious disease is the most influential variable in the incidence of stunting. Conclusions: It is concluded that the risk of stunting is the highest in LBW children, with pregnancy checkups less than 4 times, non-exclusive breastfeeding, and infectious diseases such as ARI/diarrhea in the last three months. © 2023 Academia Nacional de Medicina. All rights reserved.

A Comprehensive Review on the Medicinal Benefits of Honey with an Emphasis on Unani Medicine

Background: Honey has been used medicinally in folk medicine since the dawn of civili-zation. It is a necessary component of medicine and food in a wide variety of cultures. It has been used in Unani Medicine for centuries to treat a variety of ailments. Objective(s): This review article aims to explore the medicinal characteristics of honey in view of Unani and modern concepts, highlight its potential in the treatment of the ailments stated in Unani medical literature, and also explore the relevant evidence-based phytochemistry, pharmacological, and clinical data. Method(s): The authors searched classical texts exhaustively for information on the temperament (Mizaj), pharmacological activities, mechanism of action, and therapeutic benefits of honey. Addition-ally, a comprehensive search of internet databases was conducted to compile all available information on the physicochemical, phytochemical, and pharmacological properties of this compound. Result(s): Evidence suggests that honey contains about 180 different types of various compounds, including carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, flavonoids, and other chemical substances. In Unani classical literature, it exerts important pharmacological actions besides its immense nutritional signifi-cance. Unani physicians advocated many tested/experimented prescriptions and formulations, which still have their relevance in the amelioration of various diseases. Conclusion(s): This analysis concludes that honey has been successfully utilized in Unani medicine for centuries to treat a variety of maladies and is a potential natural source of remedy for a variety of medical disorders. Future research on honey should include a combination of Unani and modern principles.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.

Virtual Screening of Potential Therapeutic Inhibitors Against Spike, Heli-case, and Polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected around 13 million people and has caused more than 5.7 lakh deaths worldwide since December 2019. In the absence of FDA approved drugs for its treatment, only symptomatic management is done. Method(s): We attempted to uncover potential therapeutic targets of spike, helicase, and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 employing a computational approach. The PDB structure of spike and RdRp and predicted structure of helicase proteins were docked with 100 approved anti-viral drugs, natural compounds, and some other chemical compounds. Result(s): The anti-SARS ligands EK1 and CID 23631927, and NCGC00029283 are potential entry in-hibitors as they showed affinity with immunogenic Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the spike pro-tein. This RBD interacts with Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE2) receptor, facilitating the entry of virion in the host cells. The FDA approved drugs, including Nelfinavir, Saquinavir, Tipranavir, Setrobu-vir, Indinavir, and Atazanavir, showed potential inhibitory activity against targeted domains and thus, may act as entry or replication inhibitor or both. Furthermore, several anti-HCoV natural compounds, including Amentoflavone, Rutin, and Tannin, are also potential entry and replication inhibitors as they showed affinity with RBD, P-loop containing nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase, and the catalytic domain of the respective protein. Dithymoquinone showed significant inhibitory potential against the fusion peptide of S2 domain. Importantly, Tannin, Dithymoquinone, and Rutin can be extracted from Nig-ella sativa seeds and thus, may prove to be one of the most potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. Conclusion(s): Several potential ligands were identified with already known anti-HCoVs activities. Fur-thermore, as this study showed that some of the ligands acted as both entry and replication inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2, it is envisaged that a combination of either inhibitor with a dual mode of action would prove to be a much desired therapeutic option against this viral infection.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.

Migration, emerging multiculturalism and planning in rural and small town Aotearoa New Zealand

Rural and small town New Zealand is undergoing significant demographic and economic transitions. Steady out-migration, economic change and population aging since the 1980s/1990s catalysed the ‘zombie town' discourse. This parallels the rise of rural multiculturalism as a new multi-ethnic demographic makeup is distinctly visible due to diversification of immigration policies responding to regional labour and skills shortages, amenity migrations, and counterurbanisation. While having the potential to restore regional economic and cultural vibrancy, these changes lead to issues related to integration challenges for migrants as well as tensions in host communities regarding diminishing rural amenities, lifestyles, and exhaustion of the limited rural infrastructure base. Some of these dynamics have gained new momentum due to COVID-19-induced disruptions, e.g. border closure. These are occurring at the same time as broader economic, environmental and planning policy shifts disrupt rural realities and opportunities. This commentary presents initial evidence from a larger study and discusses emerging discourses related to regional New Zealand in five thematic areas–demographic disruptions and new mobilities, emerging small town realities beyond economic migration, impacts of COVID-19, economic development, and the changing governance and planning landscape. In particular we highlight the need to recognise the emerging rural multiculturalism in small town planning and development, which received little attention in the past due to planning's historical ‘large city' bias and other local constraints. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Design, Development, and Implementation of Software Engineering Virtual Laboratory: A Boon to Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Education During Covid-19 Pandemic

One of the critical features of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) education is learning by doing. The rapid upsurge in the use of Internet has drawn attention to the importance of online laboratory-based learning in CSE education. However, bringing such experiences online is challenging. Contextually, enabling online virtual lab-based learning is a modern trend in many educational institutions in India. So, online laboratory-based learning has emerged as a popular area of research among educational-technology researchers. In an online laboratory learning environment, the instructor has a significantly reduced role, and students take increased responsibility for their learning. This shows that in online lab-based learning, the involvement of students is higher. Traditional classroom-based laboratory learning has many limitations. The necessity to engage students in self-learning through online laboratory learning is imminent, as the students get an opportunity to perform their laboratory experiments beyond the classrooms as well, such as at home or when on vacation. In this paper we present the design, architecture, database schema, related technologies, user activities, and the use/reuse aspects of the software engineering virtual laboratory (SE VLab) that we have designed and developed. We also provide the details of each experiment in the SE VLab with examples and the assessment results obtained using the SE VLab. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Administration of sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in cancer patients

For prevention against SARS-CoV-2, various vaccines have been approved globally including Pfizer, Sinopharam, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson etc which have proved quite effective. To evaluate the immunization and safety of Sinopharm vaccine in cancer patients. A prospective study was conducted in the Oncology Department of Nishtar Medical Hospital, Multan from March 2021-September 2021. A total of 150 cancer patients undergoing treatment were included in the study. All the patients were administered 0.5 ml Sinopharm vaccine with 28 day difference between the two doses. A two-month follow-up was done to test the immunization using ELISA kits. Among all the patients, 16 patients (10.7%) had a history of COVID-19 before the administration of the vaccine. At the time of vaccination, 23.3% of patients were seropositive. After the vaccination, 130 patients (86.7%) developed immunity against the infection. 30.6% of participants developed a fever and 20.9% had fatigue. Other side effects were also observed including pain, redness, swelling, itching, chills, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, myalgia and diarrhea. Sinopharm vaccine is effective and safe for patients with malignancies especially in patients receiving radiaton therapy but still recommended for older patients and patients receiving chemotherapy.

Real-Time Surveillance System for Detection of Social Distancing

As the corona virus can mutate and due to other scientific factor associated to it, experts believe that COVID-19 will remain with us for decades. Therefore, one has to keep social distancing measures. Accepting the pandemic situation, the paper presents a mechanism for detecting violations of social distancing using deep learning to estimate the distance between individuals to diminish the influence of COVID-19. The focus of this paper is to understand the effect of social distancing on the spread of COVID-19 by using YOLOv3 and Faster-RCNN and proposes IFRCNN (improved faster region convolution neural network). The proposed method IFRCNN is checked on a live streaming video of pedestrians walking on the street. This paper keeps the live updates of the recorded video along with social distancing violation records on a location, so how many people in a location are maintaining social distancing. Updates will be stored in a cloud-based storage system and any organization or firm can get live updates of that location in their digital devices.

Evaluation of RT-PCR assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has been considered with great importance on correct screening procedure. The detection efficiency of recent variants of concern were observed by comparing 5 commercial RT-PCR kits and a SYBR-green method developed and validated in our laboratory. The RNA was extracted from nasopharyngeal samples from suspected COVID-19 patients and RT-PCR assay was performed according to the instruction of the respective manufacturers. The specificity and sensitivity of Maccura kit was 81.8% and 82.5%, A*Star kit was 100% and 75.4%, Da An Gene kit was 100% and 68.4%, Sansure kit was 54.5% and 91.2% and TaqPath kit was 100% and 70.2% respectively. Our in house SYBR-Green method showed a consistent detection result with 90.9% specificity and 91.2% sensitivity. We also found that detection kits targeting more genes showed better accuracy which facilitates less false positive results (< 20%). Our study found a significant difference (p < 0.005) in Ct value reported for common target genes shared by the RT-PCR kits in relation with different variants of COVID-19 infection. Recent variants of concerns contain more than 30 mutations in the spike proteins including 2 deletion and a unique insertion mutation by which makes detection of these variants difficult and these facilitates the variants to escape from being detected.

Preparedness of Students for Future Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: A Bangladeshi Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on higher education (HE) across the globe, including in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi HE system is going through an abrupt transition and transformation to cope with the crisis. This chapter is based on data collected from teachers and students of Bangladeshi public and private HE institutions regarding teaching and learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. In Bangladesh, some universities switched to online distance teaching and learning quickly during this period, and others lagged behind in this regard. Teachers and students from both groups of public and private universities participated in the study, including those who attended online teaching and learning activities and those who did not participate. This chapter highlights both teachers' and students' perspectives regarding students' future preparedness for participating fully in the changing landscape of HE, especially technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Understanding these perspectives of teachers and students is important to address the digital divide and social justice issues in the policy and practice. Within the HE sector in Bangladesh, it is especially vital while transforming its education system and adapting emerging technologies to address the challenges of education in future emergencies.

Antiviral potential of frequently used plants in herbal formulations as immunity enhancers against SARS-CoV-2

A severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an extraordinary type of communicable infection that is caused by SARS-coronavirus. Since last two years, the entire world is fighting with this highly infectious disease and researchers are devoting all their labours to develop vaccines and few vaccines with remarkable efficacies have been developed. However, the great rate of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 annoying everyone. Though, the scientific communities are doing their best towards neutralizing the impact of infection yet the best way to combat this virus and future similar infections is to boost our immune system in a natural way. In this review, the prospective of widespread and easily available plants have been discussed as immunity enhancers to combat COVID-19 and other viruses.

Leveraging Healthcare System with Nature-Inspired Computing Techniques: An Overview and Future Perspective

Nature-inspired computing (NIC) computer optimization algorithms are an emerging approach that relies on the principles and inspiration of the biological development of nature to build new and strong competitive tactics. Given the success of NIC approaches and techniques in big data analytic applications, it is expected that they may also be effectively applied in health care. The application of NIC in the management of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a beneficial tool that may be widely employed in clinical and public health decision-making. Recent developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and bio-inspired optimization algorithms have boosted the relevance of biomedical signal and image processing research. Biomedical image processing is comparable in theory to biomedical signal processing in many aspects. It comprises the analysis, enhancement, and display of photographs collected via X-rays, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and visual imaging technologies. NIC is presently quickly emerging in many scientific and technological research domains, including biomedical sciences. In this perspective, nature optimization algorithms may play a key role in addressing the multiple elements of health care. Researchers, healthcare policymakers, physicians, and other interested parties might use the insights of our chapter to better prioritize research and development for the operationalization of AI in the event of future pandemics. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Self-Reported Post-Vaccination Adverse Events of COVID-19 Vaccines among Bangladeshi Medical Students

Objective: To investigate self-reported post-vaccination adverse events for COVID-19 vaccines among medical students in Bangladesh. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire for Bangladeshi medical students (n = 3,545). Students who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine were included. The study was carried out from October 2021 to January 2022 in 75 public and private medical colleges. Result(s): The majority of respondents were female (60.6%) and third-year (26.5%) students. >11% had tested positive for COVID-19 infection, and 97.6% of respondents (n = 3,461) received both first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccination. Most students (79.1%) received Sinopharm and 11.2% got AstraZeneca. More than two-thirds (67.9%) indicated that COVID-19 vaccines are safe in the long term. 54.8% of respondents (n = 1,842) reported one or more adverse events. Pain at injection site (78.2%), fever (49.3%), tiredness and fatigue (46.8%), headache (41.1%), generalized body ache (21.4%), over sleepiness/laziness (18.4%) and myalgia (17.5%) were the most commonly reported adverse events. 47.4% of respondents characterised adverse events as "mild". Majorities experienced symptoms within 12 hours of vaccination (68%) and for 1-3 days (56.8%). More than two-thirds (66.2%) of respondents had rest at home, and almost one-third (31.8%) took painkillers. Thirty-nine respondents visited physicians, mainly due to high fever, severe body ache, and severe headache, but there was no need for hospitalization. Conclusion(s): The majority of students reported adverse events, but symptoms were mild and of short duration. Further multi-centre studies with larger cohorts are required to monitor vaccine safety and strengthen public confidence in vaccines.

Potential of algae-derived bioactive molecules for cure of SARS-CoV-2

The exploration for various effective antiviral agents is pressing issue regarding the histrionic circumstances of the global COVID pandemic, a blowout of SARS-CoV-2 virus disease. Actual antiviral remedies are not existing at present and the agreed remedy available for COVID somewhat has not been well recognized yet. In these circumstances, there is a need of more consideration which should be given to the exploration for all possible antiviral agents existing in nature. Though, the algae (marine/fresh water) are one of the richest reservoirs of bioactive complexes yet they are sporadically been studied as antiviral agents. In past, the bioactive compounds of algal origin have demonstrated remarkable in vitro antiviral activity against the HIV and HCV. The present article recapitulates the antiviral possessions of algae or their extracts that have been studied in several in vitro/in vivo animal system-based studies, with the aim that the vast algal diversity should get the due attentions related to the deterrence of SARS-CoV-2.

Prospective Analysis of the Impact of Impella 5.5 Devices on HLA Antibody Development in Transplant Recipients

Purpose: Little is known about the development of Human Leukocyte Antigen antibodies with the use of the new Impella 5.5 temporary mechanical circulatory assist device. Method(s): The prevalence and strength of HLA Class I and II antibodies were assessed prospectively from 6 patients with the Impella 5.5 and 10 control patients with no device support. Single antigen beads (One Lambda) were used to detect HLA antibodies in serum samples pre- and post-implantation of the device up to the time of heart transplantation. 6-month analysis for de novo HLA antibodies, rejection, rehospitalization and deaths were analyzed. Result(s): Baseline characteristics are shown in table 1A. 3/10 and 2/6 patients had pre-transplant HLA antibodies in the control and Impella groups, respectively. Additionally cross match results are shown in Table 1B. There was no increase in the prevalence of HLA antibodies detected post-transplant. None of the patients were admitted for concern of rejection, nor required outpatient optimization of immunosuppression. In the control group, 3 patients were hospitalized within 6 months post-transplant for non-rejection (COVID infection, pericardial effusion and right ventricular failure). There were no re-admissions within the Impella group. There was one death in the Impella group prior to discharge at index admission for transplant due to CMV viremia and stenotophomonas maltophilia infection post-transplant. There were no deaths in the control group. (Table 1C). Conclusion(s): The use of the new Impella 5.5 MCS assist device does not appear to increase the risk of development of de novo HLA antibodies nor appear to increase the risk of allograft rejection. Larger studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings.

REIMAGINING CARE AFTER THE ICU: LEVERAGING TELEMEDICINE FOR PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 IN THE ICU

SESSION TITLE: What Lessons Will We Take From the Pandemic? SESSION TYPE: Rapid Fire Original Inv PRESENTED ON: 10/19/2022 11:15 am - 12:15 pm PURPOSE: Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) affects 50% of ICU survivors leading to significant healthcare utilization. COVID-19 survivors are at higher risk for developing PICS given the prolonged duration of critical illness. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using telemedicine (TM) for the transitional care (TC) of post ICU COVID-19 survivors. METHODS: This prospective randomized un-blinded controlled study was conducted from July 2021 to January 2022. Adults admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 infection and discharged home were included. Those who lacked communication and internet services, and had pre-morbid conditions preventing independent self-care were excluded. 40 patients were recruited with 20 patients in each arm. The study group (SG) underwent a telemedicine (TM) visit within 2 weeks of discharge, where vital signs logs (VSL), virtual six-minute walk test (v6MWT), and EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire were reviewed. The control group (CG) received a TM visit within 6 weeks of discharge and completed the EQ-5D questionnaire. This study was approved by the WVU IRB (#2104284924). RESULTS: Both groups had similar baseline characteristics. Completion rate of the VSL and v6MWT was 50% in the SG. 39% of SG came off oxygen supplementation compared to 33% in the CG. There was less anxiety/depression, increased request, and compliance to follow-up in pulmonary clinic noted in SG compared to CG, however this difference was not statistically significant. All readmissions were non- preventable (n=3;2 CG, 1 SG). 100% survival rate was noted in both groups at 30-days. 5% of patients were lost to follow up in both groups due to non-working communication devices and lack of response despite multiple attempts made for the TM visit. 67% (2/3) of primary care physicians (PCP) felt that this intervention helped establish continuity of care. 83% (5/6) of participants felt that an intensivist led TC visit provided closure for their ICU hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference noted in outcomes between the 2 groups, however, this is likely due to underpowered sample sizes. This form of TC is well received by both PCP and patients in screening and mitigation of PICS. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This pilot study is the first in the region to show the acceptability and feasibility of using TM for the TC of ICU COVID survivors. It is vital to ensure ICU survivors receive targeted multidisciplinary management to prevent PICS. TM can be utilized in the future for the TC of all ICU survivors. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Ariful Alam No relevant relationships by Bathmapriya Balakrishnan No relevant relationships by Lucas Hamrick No relevant relationships by Sunil Sharma Consultant relationship with Res Med Please note: 7/2021-Present Added 03/31/2022 by Robert Stansbury, value=Consulting fee No relevant relationships by Jesse Thompson

Animal Models Alternatives: Desideratum during COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim: The present work aimed at the utilization of alternative animal models in research. Background: Animal models from a long time played an important role in drug and vaccine development. However, due to the limitation like logistic, scientific and regulatory the need of alternative animal models became the need of the hour. Materials and Methods: Alternative animal models are strategies which basically substitute the live models. During the COVID-19 ongoing pandemic the fast, safe and effective drug and vaccine development became very crucial. However, due to the animal model limitations, the traditional animal model methods seem to become point of hindrance in the development of COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. Conclusion: Therefore, there is the need of alternative animal models during this pandemic for enhancing the frequency of clearance of clinical trials of corona vaccines. Hence, in the present article the authors briefly discussed about the animal testing, its limitation, various animal models alternatives and their usefulness during COVID-19. © 2022, Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India. All rights reserved.

Unique mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants' non-spike proteins: Potential impacts on viral pathogenesis and host immune evasion.

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent behind the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This virus is a cumulative outcome of mutations, leading to frequent emergence of new variants and their subvariants. Some of them are a matter of high concern, while others are variants of interest for studying the mutational effect. The major five variants of concern (VOCs) are Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.315), Gamma (P.1), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529.*/BA.*). Omicron itself has >100 subvariants at present, among which BA.1 (21K), BA.2 (21L), BA.4 (22A), BA.5 (22B), and BA.2.12.1 (22C) are the dominant ones. Undoubtedly, these variants and sometimes their progeny subvariants have significant differences in their spike region that impart them the unique properties they harbor. But alongside, the mutations in their non-spike regions could also be responsible elements behind their characteristics, such as replication time, virulence, survival, host immune evasion, and such. There exists a probability that these mutations of non-spike proteins may also impart epistatic effects that are yet to be brought to light. The focus of this review encompasses the non-spike mutations of Omicron, especially in its widely circulating subvariants (BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.12.1). The mutations such as in NSP3, NSP6, NSP13, M protein, ORF7b, and ORF9b are mentioned few of all, which might have led to the varying properties, including growth advantages, higher transmission rate, lower infectivity, and most importantly better host immune evasion through natural killer cell inactivation, autophagosome-lysosome fusion prevention, host protein synthesis disruption, and so on. This aspect of Omicron subvariants has not yet been explored. Further study of alteration of expression or interaction profile of these non-spike mutations bearing proteins, if present, can add a great deal of knowledge to the current understanding of the viral properties and thus effective prevention strategies.