Incidence and Predictors of Pressure Ulcers among Adult Patients in Intensive Care Units at Arba Minch and Jinka Hospitals, Southern Ethiopia.

Introduction: The incidence of a pressure ulcer in intensive care units (ICU) is significantly higher than in noncritical care settings. The patients in the ICU are the most vulnerable group to disruption of the skin's integrity. Prior studies in Ethiopia failed to evaluate pressure ulcers in intensive care units and were limited to general wards.

Structural and Immunoreactivity Properties of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein upon the Development of an Inactivated Vaccine.

Inactivated vaccines are promising tools for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. We applied several protocols for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation (by β-propiolactone, formaldehyde, and UV radiation) and examined the morphology of viral spikes, protein composition of the preparations, and their immunoreactivity in ELISA using two panels of sera collected from convalescents and people vaccinated by Sputnik V. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allowed us to distinguish wider flail-like spikes (supposedly the S-protein's pre-fusion conformation) from narrower needle-like ones (the post-fusion state).

Attitudes towards schizophrenia and associated factors among community members in Hossana town: a mixed method study.

Background: Mental health disorders have been identified as being one of the public health issues throughout the world. More than 24 million people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia. However, there is little information about the attitude toward people with Schizophrenia in Ethiopia.

Prostate Cancer Screening Practice and Associated Factors Among Men in Public Health Facilities of Hossana Town, Ethiopia.

Background: Prostate cancer is a disease of the prostate gland. It is a recognized tumour in men and is common worldwide. It is the second most frequent cancer and the fifth leading cause of death in males worldwide.

COVID-19: Myths and Reality.

COVID-19, a new human respiratory disease that has killed nearly 3 million people in a year since the start of the pandemic, is a global public health challenge. Its infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2, differs from other coronaviruses in a number of structural features that make this virus more pathogenic and transmissible. In this review, we discuss some important characteristics of the main SARS-CoV-2 surface antigen, the spike (S) protein, such as (i) ability of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) to switch between the "standing-up" position (open pre-fusion conformation) for receptor binding and the "lying-down" position (closed pre-fusion conformation) for immune system evasion; (ii) advantage of a high binding affinity of the RBD open conformation to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor for efficient cell entry; and (iii) S protein preliminary activation by the intracellular furin-like proteases for facilitation of the virus spreading across different cell types.

Detection of S-HBsAg Mutations in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies.

Multiple studies of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genetic variability and its relationship with the disease pathogenesis are currently ongoing, stemming from growing evidence of the clinical significance of HBV mutations. It is becoming increasingly evident that patients with hematologic malignancies may be particularly prone to a higher frequency of such mutations. The present report is the first extensive study of the prevalence of escape mutations in S-HBsAg, performed using isolates from 59 patients from hospital hematology departments with diagnoses of leukemia (n = 32), lymphoma (n = 20), multiple myeloma (n = 3), and non-tumor blood diseases (n = 4).

Comparative Immunological Study in Mice of Inactivated Influenza Vaccines Used in the Russian Immunization Program.

A series of commercial inactivated influenza vaccines (IIVs) used in the Russian National Immunization Program were characterized to evaluate their protective properties on an animal model. Standard methods for quantifying immune response, such as hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assay and virus neutralization (VN) assay, allowed us to distinguish the immunogenic effect of various IIVs from that of placebo. However, these standard approaches are not suitable to determine the role of various vaccine components in immune response maturation.

Characterization of Inactivated Influenza Vaccines Used in the Russian National Immunization Program.

Background: today's standard quality control methods used to control the protein composition of inactivated influenza vaccines only take into account a few key reference components. They do not allow for thorough characterization of protein compositions. As a result, observation of unpredictable variations in major viral constituents and admixtures of cellular proteins within manufactured vaccines that may seriously influence the immunogenicity and safety of such vaccines has become a pressing issue in vaccinology.

Proton pumping in growing part of maize root: its correlation with 14-3-3 protein content and changes in response to osmotic stress.

The spatial pattern of mitotic activity, cell elongation, rate of H+ fluxes, and 14-3-3 protein content were determined in Zea mays roots. We found that the regions along the apical part of the growing root conversely differ in their proton pumping activity. Higher rate of H+ efflux coincides with higher growth rate and correlates with increased 14-3-3 protein content in membrane preparations.