2020 - Page 3 of 6 - SciWriteGlobal

Jun, 2020

COVID 19: A battle between heat and humidity Vs Sunshine

Though some experts suggest that heat and humidity can help in slowing down COVID-19, others argue that long hours of sunshine can risk a higher incidence of the disease. Let’s investigate further.

With the deadly COVID-19 affecting the economy all over the world, lockdowns are slowly being lifted to compensate for the damage. People are slowly crawling back to public places like the beaches and soaking in the much-needed vitamin D from sunshine. But there is a price to pay.

A sign of a sunny day attracts many people to go out, in turn increasing the risk of infection due to a lack of social distancing. Experts speculate long exposure to sunlight also poses a high risk of contracting the virus. While on the other hand, reports state that heat and humidity can potentially slow down the spread of COVID-19.

A recent report published in the journal Geographical Analysis gives insights on how seasonal changes influence the spread of the novel virus.

Temperature a crucial factor:

For several weeks now, research has been conducted revolving around the effect of temperature and humidity on COVID-19. Several experimental studies explain that it is possible for the COVID-19 virus to be sensitive to heat and humidity, and with further study, experts are convinced that the rate at which the virus spreads can vary in places with different temperatures and humidity.

Studies reveal that humidity and temperature may make the COVID-19 virus less viable by disrupting their surface proteins and outer membranes. On the other hand, the change in infection rate might differ due to the ways people change their behavior from being enclosed in spaces to spending more time outdoors. But currently, there is no solid proof to confirm that summertime can bring improvement in this current pandemic.

Not all Pandemics or diseases follow the same seasonal patterns seen more commonly in seasonal flu outbreaks. Spanish flu, for example back in 1918, peaked during the summer months, while most of the common flu outbreaks erupt during winter.

COVID-19:

At high levels of humidity and heat, the authors of this study noticed a steady decline of 3% in the confirmed COVID-19 cases, possibly due to the virus dying under warmer temperatures. The opposite was observed at long exposure to the sun. More the sunshine more the rate at which the virus spread, raising concerns if it’s due to the human behavior post lockdown measures.

The authors of the study stated that “We will likely see a decrease in the incidence of COVID-19 as the weather warms up, which is an argument for relaxing social distancing to take advantage of the lower incidence associated with higher temperatures” he says. “But a more conservative approach would be to use the months of summer to continue to follow strict orders to remain in place and to crush this pandemic.”

Source

Jun, 2020

COVID-19: Loss of smell, a new symptom added to the list

New evidence finds that anosmia- loss of smell as a new symptom caused by the COVID-19 virus. Experts believe that it can be added as a potential screening tool for the novel viral infection, and here’s why!

Cases of post-viral anosmia are one of the leading causes of loss of smell among adults suffering from viral infection. This has been associated with previous coronaviruses which are usually known to cause upper respiratory tract infections and have accounted for 10-15% of the cases. Therefore it comes off as no surprise that the current novel COV ID-19 virus also causes anosmia in the infected.

A significant number of cases from South Korea, Italy, and China prove as good evidence for COVID-19 patients developing anosmia. More than 2 out of 3 confirmed cases in Europe have been diagnosed with anosmia. It is also noticed that several COVID-19 cases also present anosmia as the only symptom. Given the above evidence, experts contemplate using anosmia of a screening tool to diagnose people with COVID-19 at the early stages.

Cases of anosmia reflect how COVID-19 affects the brain:

“There’s something unusual about the relationship between COVID-19 and smell,” states Sandeep Robert Datta a neuroscientist from Harvard Medical School and one of the leading scientists in the study. It is well known that common cold, is associated with stuffy noses leading to a temporary loss of smell, but it found that the COVID-19 virus leaves the nose free. “But recently lots of people are complaining about losing their sense of smell when they don’t feel stuffed up at all,” Datta says.

The team further experimented on nose cells, including the support cells and nerve cells sending messages to the brain using both mice and human models. This was especially performed to see if there were any signs of a link between the cells and the ACE2 receptor. A small recap: ACE2 receptor is the primary receptor in humans which the COVID-19 viruses used to attach to the host and cause infection.

The researchers from the study found that the results demonstrated a molecular signal showing that ACE2 receptors were present in nose cells and the subsidiary cells. These cells generally maintain a chemical balance in the nose, which allows the nerve cells to send smell signals to the brain.

A Contradicting study published by a team from Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland resulted that the olfactory neurons did not pose any ACE2 receptors, implying that the novel virus cant infect the cells themselves.

It was also noticed that the timing of the onset of anosmia symptoms was varied, with some patients developing the symptoms at early stages, while another group of patients reported the loss of smell in the later stages of their illness.

How will this help in the fight against COIVD-19?

More studies need to be conducted regarding the frequency of the symptoms and the exact science behind how the COVID-19 virus affects the olfactory senses. To collect more data on the cases posing these symptoms, the AOS-HNS Infectious Disease and Patient Safety Quality Improvement Committees have developed a COVID-19 anosmia detecting tool for health care workers. Using this tool the clinicians of all specialties will be able to confidently confirm cases portraying the loss of smell.

The idea of adding the symptoms of unexplained anosmia as an official symptom of COVID-19 can help with earlier detection and isolation of potential carriers of the virus and improve safety by containing the spread of the virus.

Source

Jun, 2020

COVID-19 patients with hypertension have more severe disease: a multicenter retrospective observational study

Late last year, a number of unexplained pneumonia cases surfaced in Wuhan, China. Later scientists revealed that it is caused by a familiar group of pathogens, coronavirus. The WHO later named this virus, COVID-19. The virus is highly contagious, infecting millions in the last couple of months.

From previous studies, it is considered that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) is the receptor for the COVID-19 virus to enter the host cell. ACE2 is a widely expressed receptor in several organ systems of the human body, including cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The enzyme helps in catalyzing angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7, which is the peptide counteracting proinflammation caused by Angiotensin II.

Studies have proven that hypertension is a common condition that co-occurs in patients with COVID-19. A previously conducted study, involving 1099 COVID-19 patients reported that 23.4% of the population also suffered from hypertension. Due to the coexisting status of hypertension and COVID-19 and the involvement of ACE2 in hypertension, the authors of this study speculate that hypertension may directly be involved with the pathogenesis of COVID-19.

To confirm if hypertension affects the progress and prognosis of COVID-19, the published study was conducted. The study involved 310 patients from the Central Hospital of Wuhan and Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. All the participants according to the WHO were tested positive for COVID-19. The study was later divided according to high blood pressure (hypertensive and non-hypertensive group). To avoid unwanted complications, the hypertension group was further segregated to exclude patients with other complications other than hypertension.

All the participants were monitored closely and the entire course of the disease was recorded. The median age of the participants in the study was 62 years and the prevalence rate of hypertension was 36.5%. The authors speculate that the high prevalence rate of hypertension in the study group could be due to the high median age. The study also revealed that COVID-19 patients with high blood pressure showed higher mortality.

Evidence suggests that an imbalance of cytokines could be a possible correlation between COVID-19 and hypertension. An increase in cytokines like IL-6, IL-7, and tumor necrosis factor is associated with the development of hypertension. It should also be noted that the increased levels of cytokines, may potentially activate excessive inflammatory reactions, resulting in cell and lung damage.

Overall the comparative study conducted using COVID-19 patients with and without hypertension showed that patients who were hypertensive were more likely to be severely affected with COVID-19 compared to the non-hypertensive group. It must be brought to light that there might be a small number of people with hypertension not recorded because the diagnosis of hypertension in this study was extracted from medical history data.

Finally, the authors conclude that much larger groups need to be studied since the current result could be due to the higher aged participants. In the future, additional complications also need to be analyzed like ARDS, renal injury focusing on its risks associated with hypertension and COVID-19.

Source

Jun, 2020

Risk Factors and Biomarkers of Ischemic Stroke in Cancer Patients

Numerous types of cancer are associated with ischemic stroke and are popularly known to be co-morbid conditions. They are two of the most frequent causes of death among the elderly population. A previous report of autopsies on cancer patients indicated that around 7.4% of the population suffered from stroke symptoms. With further analysis it was noticed that about 3.5% of the cancer patients were paralysed from strokes.

The causes of ischemic stroke in cancer and non-cancer patients are highly different. Reports suggest, most of the cancer patients suffer from stroke mainly due to hypercoagulation. The blood clot formed restricts the blood flow to the brain, causing the cells in the brain to perish. This in turn paralyses the parts of the body controlled by the dead cells. While on the other hand, some reports suggest that stroke and cancer pathogenesis may be due to coagulopathy and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study is to study ischemic stroke in cancer patients using relevant biomarkers and compare it with non cancer patients with stroke.

The study involved cancer patients with ischemic stroke from General Hospital in Busan, Korea. All the patients had active cancer with an onset of stroke symptoms. The control group used were patients from the same hospital, non cancer patients suffering from ischemic stroke. For examining the biomarkers, patients’ blood was collected and serum was assessed.

The study found that biomarkers such as D-dimer levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), fibrinogen and Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were significantly higher in the cancer patients when compared to non cancer patients with stroke.

D-dimer are one of the basic bio-markers for stroke due to their discovery as by-products of fibrinolysis. As a fibrin degradation product, dimer is directly associated with coagulation and plays a major role in hypercoagulation. Compared to non cancer ischemic stroke patients, D-dimer levels were found to be higher in cancer patients diagnosed with stroke.

Blood coagulation in cancer patients is activated by inflammation. In this study, the authors used ESR, because of its well known use as a marker for infection and inflammation. An increased level of ESR indicating fibrinolysis was noticed in cancer stroke patients when compared to the control group.

From previous papers, it is well known that fibrinogen plays a major role in inflammation and platelet aggregation. An increase in fibrinogen is directly associated with increased risk of stroke in patients. In the current study cancer patients with ischemic stroke had a significant increase in fibrinogen than non cancer patients.

Cancer patients with ischemic stroke portrayed high levels of stroke biomarkers when compared to the non cancer patients with ischemic stroke- control group. The above results showcase a strong relationship between the cancer patients and conditions like hypercoagulation and inflammation, which could possibly explain the frequency of paralysis in aged cancer patients leading to death. Therefore, in order to reduce any incidence of ischemic stroke in cancer patients, doctors should focus on reducing inflammation and platelet coagulation.

Source

Jun, 2020

Why does your scientific writing need to be clear and precise?

Scientific writing is not just something used to talk about science, but a form of technical writing that experts and scientists use to explain and communicate their research to the world. A good piece of scientific writing should maintain the same clarity and precision of that used in research work. In communication between the author and the audience, scientific writing demands precision- a precise use of words and phrases, and most important clarity.

All the above three criteria are crucial because of the highly technical terms and phrases used by the author to represent his/her work especially to an audience with very less or no knowledge on the subject. It must be acknowledged that sometimes the audience might be from a different discipline and may not be a native speaker of the language used in the writing.

Due to the vast number of audiences which a journal attracts, it is important to keep the work as precise as possible which helps in preventing any mistranslations and misunderstandings. It is also essential to portray communicating figures, and facts used in research as well as the description of results, precise and exact.

What does it mean to be clear and precise in scientific writing?

A key to any writing is to focus on words and punctuation. Subtle differences in the word choice or correct use of punctuation can significantly elevate ones writing.

An organization of writing is crucial. The paper should be telling a story, making it logical, with specific rules going into each section. In academic wiring, your work needs to be unambiguous and accurate. Though not as simple as it sounds,

it will help in making it more readable to the audience. Writing precisely requires careful thinking and editing. If a person has to work too hard to comprehend what he reads, then a problem persists in the authors writing skills.

Remember you’re not trying to impress, you’re are writing to communicate.

If you want your work to be read, you as an author should do most of the work for the audience, and a key important part of this is implementing a flow in your writing.

What strategies to use in scientific writing?

When writing your piece, you should be clear in the information you are providing. The key to any great writing is its structure. For example, if you are covering three different topics in a paragraph and don’t give a coherence, then the reader will not be able to comprehend and find it hard to read.

Another crucial guideline to achieve flow is to always provide ample information to your audience so that each sentence is lucid. Every sentence provided by you as an author should comprehend each other. This can be achieved by providing information or referring to the previous sentence before introducing new information. Below are some pointers:

Using effective transitions between paragraphs, sections, and within sentences when applicable.

Writers are recommended to start their sentences using strong verbs and nouns, and not use weak phrases.

Always strive to have clarity in your writing, try to make the unspoken spoke. Just because a sentence or piece of information is comprehensible by you as a writer doesn’t mean your audience is on the same wavelength as you are.

There is always a point of exhaustion an author reaches. At times like this, try to take the break you need, step away from your writing and have a look at it again from a fresh perspective. This will not only help you rectify your mistakes but also helps you view your work from a reader’s point of view.

Why is it so important to maintain a standard in scientific writings?

In the field of science, good writing skills is not a luxury, but a much-needed skill. It is fundamental to spread knowledge, but also for creating knowledge among the audience. During the writing process as an author, we are forced to keep things precise and simple. It is by our writing that we bridge the gap with respect to the lack of clarity or information. According to the great philosopher Artur Schopenhauer

“Unclear writing is an indication of unclear thinking”

If an author cannot concisely, clearly, and logically represent his collected and analyzed data, it doesn’t matter even if its groundbreaking discovery, the reader will not be able to understand and question your results. So it should be really stressed that the clearer authors explain their work, the better understood by more number of people.

May, 2020

Adapting to survive: How Candida overcomes host-imposed constraints during human colonization

The human body is well known to host a large number of microbes, mostly harmless but when triggered might turn virulent. A large fungal ecosystem resides inside a human body mainly including Candida species, constituting a large part of the human body’s microbial flora. Usually asymptomatic, Candida forms small colonies, but when triggered such as environmental change, can potentially help the microbes to break barriers and cause life-threatening diseases.

Though multiple numbers of antifungal drugs are available, it is recently found that Candida species is capable of building resistance against the drugs by forming biofilms. The article further talks about the environment within the host body paving way to such resistance.

Within the human host, Candida is capable of changing morphology and functions according to the change in the environment it resides in. Several factors play a role including temperature, ph, and oxygen supply. Candida depending on the environment can take forms such as hyphae, budding, or even pseudohyphae.

Another crucial role played in a microbial existence within the human host is nutrients availability. It is reported that microbes thrive in the area of high glucose content. When deprived of glucose is when microbes turn to another source of nonfermentable nutrients. Research performed in labs using Candida flora has reported that in the presence of glucose the microbe is known to morph into hyphae and promote antifungal resistance.

The limitations of micronutrients such as iron magnesium, and copper are known to limit the growth of invading microbes. But this is quite tricky as micronutrients are needed both by the host and microbes in functioning such as biochemical and cellular functions.

It is very well known that oxygen and ph levels vary within every niche in the human body. While some are alkaline and high on oxygen concentration others are hypoxic and acidic. Candida microbes being versatile they are, can adapt their cell walls according to the change in ph. It is also interesting to note that Candida microbes thrive under hypoxic conditions, inducing their hyphal growth and causing immune evasion.

The above has described the flexibility of the microbes to overcome multiple constraints faced in the host body. This ability of Candida helps it to form colonies and invade niches around the body. Another strategy imparted by the microbes is biofilm formation against the host body or biomedical devices. Biofilms consist of a 3D community of adherent cells with different biological properties. These cells are embedded in the ECM, which helps in maintaining the overall integrity of the biofilm. The ECM also acts as a protective barrier against any drug invasion. These features play a crucial role in Candida microbes resistance against antifungals and biomedical devices.

With the emergence of resistant Candida species, the need to develop new antifungals is inevitable. Research using an in vivo model to mimic the host conditions is giving close insights to unravel the mysteries of the microbes. These approaches are paving the way to novel therapeutic vaccines and anti-fungal treatments, enhancing the body’s ability to fight off the infections.

Source

May, 2020

Artificial intelligence-enabled rapid diagnosis of patients with COVID-19

Since December 2019, multiple cases of pneumonia due to unknown reasons have emerged in Wuhan, China. Through testing multiple patient samples, scientists extrapolated a new coronavirus termed COVID-19. With no FDA approved therapeutics or treatment available for the disease, diagnosis plays an important role in containing COCVID-19, giving a path to the rapid implementation of control measures to limit the spread. With the disease spreading to almost 100 countries, a million cases have been confirmed worldwide to date. Imaging is one of the main principles used in diagnosing and evaluating the disease, with the final diagnosis depending on reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

In response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases, there is currently a shortage of diagnostic kits worldwide. Multiple industries are coming forward to develop rapid, easy to use diagnostic kits to facilitate testing. However before these kits can be commercialized, they must be tested and validated. With the current available tests taking almost 2 days to complete and produce a result, serial testing is required to rule out any negative cases. Additionally, it is a mystery as to whether an RT-PCR is a gold standard and whether a false positive/ negative result is common. The above reasons highlight the need for alternative testing methods to produce rapid and accurate results to identify, isolate, and treat the affected people.

Chest computed tomography is also a much-used valuable component in testing COVID-19. With some of the patients showing early-stage symptoms in radiological finding, limits the CT ability to differentiate between a positive and negative case. In this current study, the authors have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to help in integrating CT scanning in finding the symptoms of the virus, exposure history and reliable lab testing to rapidly diagnose the patients affected with COVID-19.

A trial was performed on 905 patients diagnosed using RT-PCR and next-generation RT-PCR and around 46% (419) people were declared positive for COVID-19. Parallelly in a test set of 279 participants, the AI system managed to achieve accuracy to about 92% of the population and had equal or even better sensitivity than a senior radiologist. The AI system also improved the detection of COVID-19 positive patients with negative CT scans, identifying 17 out of 25 participants who were tested positive via RT-PCR but negative with normal CT scans. In comparison, the radiologists’ declared the said 17 participants to be COVID negative.

AI shows signs of analyzing huge amounts of data quickly, a quality that is much needed in the current pandemic. A major limitation of the above study is the small sample size, with available CT scans and clinical history data, the AI system can help in diagnosing COVID-19 patients rapidly. Though a promising tool, further data collection is required to test the generalization of AI mapping on other patient populations.

Source

May, 2020

A brief insight on ACE receptors role in COVID-19

With the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is spreading across the world and the fact that no drug or treatment has been found against it is creating fear among people. Coronavirus is a large family of enveloped, single-stranded RNA that infects mainly mammals including humans. In humans, coronavirus causes mild to severe respiratory illness. These viruses exhibit strong virulence and are highly contagious. While a person infected, produces mild symptoms, certain individuals respond severely, sometimes leading to death.

The SARS pandemic, back in 2002 is known to belong to the same family of viruses as COVID-19. According to WHO, SARS rapidly spread through 29 countries, with 8096 confirmed cases, but the current pandemic has surpassed all numbers by infecting over millions of people across the world. Today, it is due to SARS that has resulted in a coordinated effort to develop treatments targeting the virus or host cell components responsible for viral replication.

The deadly virus, COVID-19 enters the human body and binds to the target cells through angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which is mainly expressed in endothelial cells and Leydig cells. ACE-2, a transmembrane metallo carboxypeptidase, is an enzyme which for years has been important for the treatment of hypertension. With further Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis it was determined that the ACE-2 receptor is also present in the lung and gastrointestinal tract, tissues harboring COVID-19.

Inhibiting ACE2 receptor blocks COVID-19 entry:

ACE-2 belonging to the family of ACE receptors, plays a key role in the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) and in the treatment of hypertension. ACE2 is known to degrade angiotensin II and thereby, negatively regulating RAS. Recently experts have revealed that the COVID-19 virus uses ACE-2 receptors as their entry in HeLa cells. Additionally, it was found that by using anti- ACE-2 antibodies in other mammals like monkeys, it was seen that there was an entry blockage of pseudotypes expressing the COVID-19 virus.

For the virus to enter the host cell, its spike glycoprotein (S) needs to be cleaved at 2 sites, termed S protein primming so the viral and host cells membrane can fuse. A serine protease TMPRSS2 is essential for cleaving the S protein. It was found by treating Calu-3 human lung cell line with a serine inhibitor- camostat mesylate the entry of the COVID-19 virus was partially blocked. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is also found to play a role in preventing the formation of angiotensin II. ACE multifaceted functions include treating heart failure, controlling high blood pressure, and preventing kidney failure in diabetic patients.

Existing concerns about ACE inhibitors:

Though ACE inhibitors might seem like a promising solution for COVID-19, there are certain concerns regarding the increased susceptibility to COVID-19. These are considered based on the fact that ACE inhibitors are also used in treating millions of people with hypertension, heart, and kidney disease. When administered with inhibitors, diabetes and hypertension patients were observed to have an increase in ACE2, which in turn would facilitate infection with COVID-19. It is hence hypothesized that treating diabetic and hypertension patients with ACE inhibitors might make them more susceptible to COVID-19.

Furthermore, several studies have reported that long term usage of ACE inhibitors can modify the adaptive immune response, which is a key and much-needed defense against any infection. These particular effects must be taken into noticed and investigated further in context to COVID-19.

Road to COVID-19 therapies:

These findings could greatly impact the efforts being taken in developing treatments for the current pandemic. For instance, TMPRSS2 inhibitors can be potentially used to prevent virus entry into the host cells. Though there are certain drawbacks in using ACE inhibitors, there is a lack of scientific evidence and clinical data to support the discontinuing of ACE inhibitors in COVID-19 patients with existing hypertension and diabetes. The proof that reduction in mortality due to ACE inhibitors and the beneficial effects outweigh the theoretical risks.

Our interpretation of this hypothesis should not lead to changing drugs for patients with diabetes or hypertension, without consulting an expert physician. Though it’s of utmost urgency for the scientific community to come up with some solution for this deadly virus, further research and clinical trials need to be performed before any of the said theory can become a reality.

Source

May, 2020

Mutant Poliovirus from vaccine more infectious than the wild type

How it all began?

Back in the 20th century, there were many more diseases that worried parents then Polio did. Polio struck during summer, making its way through towns, every few years. Most people were reported to recover quickly, though some suffered temporary or permanent damage leading to paralyzation and even worse, death. With many polio survivors disabled for life, it was a constant reminder to the society the toll it took on young lives. Polio reached the level of epidemic proportions back in the 1900s affecting the infant and young kids, where the infant’s immune system is still aided by maternal antibodies could not fight the virus.

Polio is caused by a family of viruses belonging to the Enterovirus genus. These viruses are highly contagious usually spreading through contact with people either by oral or nasal secretions, or by contacting a contaminated area. The virus enters the mouth and is found to multiply by the time it reaches the digestive tract, where it continues to multiply. In cases of paralytic polio, the virus makes its way from the digestive tract to the bloodstream attacking nerve cells.

Development of vaccines to eradicate polio:

A vaccine is made from a very small amount of wither weak or dead germs that cause the disease, for example-poliovirus. When administered, the vaccine introduces the said virus into the body to trigger an immune response, causing it to recognize and combat the actual disease if encountered in the future.

The antibodies specific to the poliovirus was first discovered in 1910. Using immunologic techniques, it was in 1931 different serotypes of the poliovirus were identified. By identifying that the virus can be grown in large amounts using tissue culture, it was just a short time before the first inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was developed. With human trials being deemed a success, the number of polio cases drastically dropped over the years. Later an improved version of the vaccine using live attenuated virus was developed, which could be administered orally, known as oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Soon it became the predominant go-to vaccine for developing countries all over the world, declining the number of cases drastically till a new problem raised recently.

Vaccine-derived poliovirus:

Over the past few years, more than 10 billion doses of OPV have been administered to millions of children worldwide, preventing more than 10 million cases during that period, bringing down the number of cases drastically.

So far in the year 2017, only as many as 6 “wild” polio cases were detected worldwide. By wild it means that the number of cases affected by polio “wild type” strain found naturally in the environment. Recently, new cases have been reported of children paralyzed by a vaccine-derived poliovirus. Around nine new cases were identified in countries- Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Angola last November, along with Afghanistan and Pakistan. The WHO reported that as long as a single child is infected, all the other children are at risk.

In developing countries, the oral vaccine is used profusely among all children due to its low cost and accessibility. The vaccine-associated paralytic polio is caused by a strain of poliovirus which was previously termed wild type. The onset was found to be caused by a type 2 virus contained in the oral vaccine. Type 2 virus was a wild type virus eradicated years ago, but in rare cases can mutate into a form that can breach the vaccine protection.

Erradication possible:

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the WHO has also additionally undertaken the goal of eradicating the new mutant poliovirus before its too late. The role model here is smallpox, which was completely wiped out thanks to a consistent vaccination strategy. The same applies to polio. Similar to smallpox, the polio vaccine also offers impeccable protection, though not applicable to virus mutants. Reports state that the latest mutant outbreak is due to the low vaccination rates. The rise in vaccine-derived polio cases is due to the mutant form of the disease affecting the non-vaccinated children through contaminated matter.

The coverage of vaccination and hygiene measures must be extended so that the new mutant can no longer continue to survive, the same way the previous polio epidemic in Congo was eradicated. Though the current vaccines appear to be good enough to be effective, the new pathogen is nonetheless a warning. The need for new protectant vaccines is more important now than ever. It is only this way there is a chance of permanently wiping out polio.

Source

May, 2020

Difference between a blog and an article- Simplified

Ever wonder what is the difference between a blog and an article? It’s a topic that makes people wonder. Though they are often used interchangeably, an article and blog post are not the same thing. No matter what, it all starts at one point “great content”. Great content helps you stand apart from the crowd.

With digitization expanding at a fast pace, everyone is switching coherently towards it, where content reigns king! In the era of digitization, without content, you will not be able to convey your intentions to the audience. That’s where understanding the material required, plays a major role for researchers and scientists. Here’s an in detail look at the difference between a blog and an article.

Writing style and length:

A most noticeable difference- a blog is a relatively new form of writing, whereas an article has been existing for hundreds of years now. A blog is usually written from a personal perspective, an inside point of view. Based on this it is safe to say, a blog is something more casual and provides a great way for you to personally connect with the audience you are trying to reach.

It can include interviews and facts, however, it should be based on experience and should include more personality.

While on the other hand articles usually have a more sophisticated and journalistic tone due to the amount of detailed information involved. The author’s opinion is not encouraged and is mostly kept formal, where an editor is usually involved.

Blog posts are usually short in nature, consisting of around 500 words but this is not the limit. You can also find blog posts as long as 1000-1500 words. However, it is recommended to post short blogs to keep your audience engaged as people don’t prefer reading long items. The usage of the first-person language and recent updates makes it easy for the audience to relate to what you are trying to convey. Blogs are meant to be intriguing, capturing but don’t usually contain a lot of intellectual tones usually found in an article. It is meant to be more laid back and even amusing in some cases. On the other hand, an article is crafted by a third person point of view, and is usually long with a minimum of 1000 words. They use more intricate language that discusses the topic more formally.

The purpose:

The informal nature of a blog makes it relatively easy to write. They serve the purpose of instant satisfaction- an urge to communicate. If the goal of yours is to build a relationship with your target audience, a blog is your friend. It will help you convey a great amount of information without getting into the little details.

Articles cannot be scanned through with ease like a blog, due to the fact that it is not their sole purpose. A lot of time is invested by the author in carrying out long hours of research and creating content to convey detailed information to make sure it gives the targeted audience a feel of sitting in a classroom.

Editing:

A blog post is to keep your audience up to date. It is usually published on a blog page or a website, giving the writer the freedom to edit and update it according to the time. Articles being long, once written cannot be changed again.

A blog goes through very minimal straight forward, simple editing, while on the other hand articles are edited meticulously making sure to avoid any type of error whether its grammar or facts. Articles are usually published in a journal or magazine, hence editing is very crucial here.

SEO perspective:

To speak in a more digital point of view, a blog would help you create a more authoritative status and build leads for your business. It will serve an important purpose of building your SEO ranking by strategically including keywords, several links to serve the purpose and keep the visitors on the site for as long as possible.

On the other hand the objective of an article is to provide the necessary topic information in full description and don’t emphasize the keywords required for SEO. Being written in an extended format and published in journals, the use of keywords is not a crucial part of an article.

The final showdown

So the above are some of the crucial differences between a blog and an article to help writers to target their audience more effectively. Keeping that aside both blogging and article writing are extremely important for any business to create additional awareness for their brand and there is no reason a website can’t contain both. After all CONTENT IS KING! Now that you know the difference, let’s get cracking and get the increased traffic you are looking for!

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