University of Alabama orders faculty to keep quiet about outbreak

Administration officials at the University of Alabama reportedly have ordered the school’s professors to keep quiet about the coronavirus amid an outbreak that infected more than 500 students during the first week of classes.

Faculty in multiple departments said they received emails this week telling them not to discuss the situation in classrooms and to keep students in the dark if they became aware of anyone contracting the virus, according to a report by The Daily Beast.

“Do not tell the rest of the class,” the email reads, with the word “not” underlined, the Beast reported.

Face masks and social distancing, the email states, would mitigate any exposure risk if infected students were actually in the classroom. The memo also warned faculty not to post anything about the matter on social media, claiming that would violate federal privacy laws, the Beast reported.

The state’s flagship school in Tuscaloosa reported 531 confirmed cases among students, faculty and staff since classes resumed last week, according to an online COVID-19 dashboard that was unveiled Monday.

Another 35 cases were reported throughout the greater UA System, which includes six cases at UAB Birmingham, eight cases at UAB Huntsville and 21 cases at UAB Clinical Enterprise — for a total of 566 positive tests since Aug. 19, according to data.

University officials called the high number of positive cases “unacceptable” and then appealed to Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, who announced the city would close bars for the next two weeks.

Alabama Provost James Dalton sent an email Tuesday telling professors to refrain from informing students about positive cases because the university already had a “robust program” in place to inform and isolate exposed students, the Beast reported.

“If the established rules for masks and physical distancing are followed in the classroom, then the risk of transmission from the positive student is minimal, and it is not necessary to inform the rest of the class they may have been in the same room as a positive classmate,” the email states. “For privacy reasons, the instructor should not announce to the class that a student in the class tested positive, even anonymously.”

The unexpected mandate was unsettling for some staff.

“A lot of my colleagues and people I’ve talked to, they’re terrified,” said Michael Innis-Jimenez, an American studies professor who decided to teach remotely after losing confidence in the university’s reopening plan.

“Every statement at least for the last month has been about this plan, they’ve got this plan,” he said, according to the Beast. “It makes it feel like a lot of this is for show, especially when they don’t want you to confirm it’s not working.”

Coronavirus guidelines posted on the University of Alabama website state “for privacy reasons, the instructor should not announce to the class that a student in the class has tested positive, even anonymously.”

Associate VP for Communications Monica Watts told the Beast that a 30-second questionnaire provided by the UA Healthcheck system gives professors the ability to “verify that students are in compliance with all health and safety protocols.”

At a news conference earlier this week, the Tuscaloosa mayor suggested sending students home for the semester for remote learning.

“The truth is that fall in Tuscaloosa is in serious jeopardy,” Maddox said.

University officials said the rapid rise in cases was particular among fraternities and sororities. Late last week, the school banned student gatherings on and off campus for the next 14 days.

Common areas of dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses are also closed, according to the new guidelines.

Visitors are not allowed in dormitories and sorority and fraternity houses.

Students who violate the moratoriums could face suspension.

“Although our initial reentry test was encouraging, the rise in COVID cases that we’ve seen in recent days is unacceptable and if unchecked threatens our ability to complete the semester on campus,” University of Alabama President Stuart Bell said at Monday’s news briefing.

The University of Alabama tested 29,938 students returning to campus and found 310 positive cases among them, according to the website’s data.

Testing a week later, however, revealed more alarming results.

“During that time, we encountered many students who have been exposed since returning to campus, particularly in the Greek system,” said Dr. Ricky Friend, dean of college of community health sciences, according to The Associated Press.

For now, UAB students accounted for little more than 1% of the total positive cases found, according to the data.

Colleges and universities elsewhere are also dealing with similar scenarios.

At Auburn University, 207 new positive cases of COVID-19 were reported between Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, including 202 students and five employees, according to the school’s Campus-Specific COVID-19 Data.

Although lower than the University of Alabama’s totals, Auburn’s numbers were still a dramatic increase from the 41 positive cases reported the week before. The university has had 545 total positive cases since March.

For the most part, students disregarded state mask mandates and packed the bars in downtown Auburn over the weekend, AL.com reported.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey praised the mayor and university officials for acting swiftly, according to the AP.

“They have made tough decisions, and I appreciate Mayor Walt Maddox and the University of Alabama leadership for tackling a serious problem as quickly as possible,” Ivey said.

In one of the biggest crackdowns on student gatherings, Ohio State University suspended more than 200 students last week for violations of the school’s coronavirus safety measures, and parties of 10 or more people on or off campus have been banned.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Notre Dame also moved to online-only classes after cases spiked this month.

https://www.ajc.com/news/university-of-alabama-orders-faculty-to-keep-quiet-about-outbreak/7ZAHSQPNDRBINBEF3A6YAVMPRE/

Sunlight UV dose negatively related to percent positive of SARS-CoV-2, other coronaviruses

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141816

PDF: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720352153/pdfft?md5=91c14fd3ab8355b362c9d8b6fa5a170d&pid=1-s2.0-S0048969720352153-main.pdf

Highlights

•

Significant negative correlation was found between sunlight UV dose and percent positive of four common HCoV in the U.S.•

Percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 in census regions 1 and 2 of U.S. showed significant negative correlation with sunlight UV.•

Negative association between the sunlight UV dose and the COVID-19 early transmission in the U.S. was further indicate.

Abstract

Human coronaviruses are RNA viruses that are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Sunlight contains UVA (320–400 nm), UVB (260–320 nm) and UVC (200–260 nm) action spectra. UVC can inactivate coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The incidence and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are considered to be correlated with vitamin D levels. Vitamin D synthesis in human skin is closely related to exposure to UVB radiation. Therefore, the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 are also considered to be correlated with Vitamin D levels. In this study, Spearman and Kendall rank correlation analysis tests were used to analyze the correlation between the average percent positive of five human coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2, CoVHKU1, CoVNL63, CoVOC43, and CoV229E) in the U.S. and the corresponding sunlight UV radiation dose The results indicated that the monthly average percent positive of four common coronaviruses was significantly negatively correlated with the sunlight UV radiation dose. The weekly percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 during April 17, 2020 to July 10, 2020 showed a significant negative correlation with the sunlight UV radiation dose in census regions 1 and 2 of the U.S. while no statistical significance in the other regions. Additionally, sunlight UV radiation also showed some negative effects with respect to the early SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720353456?via%3Dihub

Mutated coronavirus strain found in Indonesia as cases jump

A more infectious mutation of the new coronavirus has been found in Indonesia, the Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology said on Sunday, as the Southeast Asian country’s caseload surges.

Indonesia reported 2,858 new infections on Sunday, data by the health ministry showed, below the previous day’s record 3,308 but above the past month’s daily average. Its total number of cases was 172,053, with 7,343 COVID-19 fatalities.

The “infectious but milder” D614G mutation of the virus has been found in genome sequencing data from samples collected by the institute, deputy director Herawati Sudoyo told Reuters, adding that more study is required to determine whether that was behind the recent rise in cases.

The strain, which the World Health Organization said was identified in February and has been circulating in Europe and the Americas, has also been found in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.

Syahrizal Syarif, an epidemiologist with the University of Indonesia, warned Indonesians must remain vigilant, as his modelling suggests the country may see its caseload rise to 500,000 by the end of the year.

“The situation is serious …. Local transmission currently is out of control,” Syarif said, adding that the number of infections found daily could have been much higher if laboratories were able to process more specimens in a day.

The capital Jakarta on Sunday saw a record daily increase of more than 1,000 cases, which the city government linked to a higher mobility rate during a mid-August independence celebration.

“There needs to be an awareness and a collective effort, be it from the government or the people, in addressing the rising number of cases,” Dwi Oktavia, an official at the Jakarta health agency, said in a statement, urging people to stay at home and wear a face mask when they must go out.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-indonesia-cases/mutated-coronavirus-strain-found-in-indonesia-as-cases-jump-idUSKBN25Q08V

Hong Kong health workers, activists urge boycott of mass testing

A Hong Kong pro-democracy union of healthcare workers and several activists, including Joshua Wong, called on Sunday for a boycott of the government’s universal coronavirus testing plan, in which medical staff from mainland China are set to assist.

From Tuesday, a 60-strong mainland team is due to conduct tests in the first direct help from China’s health officials for the semi-autonomous city as it battles the pandemic.

But the effort comes at a sensitive time for the former British colony, as anxiety runs high over what many of its 7.5 million residents see as Beijing’s efforts to rein in their freedoms, in particular a national security law imposed in June.

The government has also postponed September’s legislative elections by a year, citing risks to public health and dealing a blow to the pro-democracy opposition camp, which had hoped for a historic majority win after overwhelming success in lower-level elections last year.

The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, formed during last year’s pro-democracy protests with 20,000 members, said universal testing was not an efficient use of resources and urged focused tests instead.

“It is clear to see that the government has one and only one goal … to use the pandemic to achieve their own political aims,” its leader Winnie Yu told a joint news conference with activists.

“They shall do whatever they can to please the central government of China, even if it means placing politics above all things else.”

Wong said a full closure of the border would be a better measure than the government plan, adding, “It’s like having a pregnancy test without having birth control.”

The city’s Beijing-backed chief executive, Carrie Lam, has hit back at critics of the initiative, dismissing their attempt to “smear the central government”.

Chinese state media have denounced the critics as ungrateful, while China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office in the financial hub has said in a statement it was “shocking” that people could question the plan.

It comes at a time when new daily infections have fallen substantially, to figures in the single digits or low double digits, from three digits during a surge a few weeks ago. The tally rose to 4,801 with 15 more cases reported on Sunday.

Police also dispersed a protest by dozens of pro-democracy activists in a shopping mall roughly a year since some of the most violent clashes in a metro station in train carriages, citing a virus precaution limiting gatherings to two.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-joshua-wong/hong-kong-health-workers-activists-urge-boycott-of-mass-testing-idUSKBN25Q0E0

New Breast Cancer Drug Shows Promise in Halting Disease Progression

According to data from Phase I clinical trials, a new breast cancer drug developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago can potentially stop disease progression without toxicity. The results were published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

There are several types of breast cancer, with estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) accounting for 80% of all cases. This indicates that cancer cells have receptors that are sensitive to estrogen within the body – estrogen, in short, fuels cancer growth.

To treat this variety of breast cancer, doctors typically prescribe medication to block hormone production or interfere with the effect hormones have on cancer cells. However, about half of women who receive this treatment become resistant.

“While there are many treatments for breast cancer, about half of women with ER-positive cancers become resistant to hormone therapy, leaving them with few treatments other than chemotherapy, with its well-known toxic side effects,” said Debra Tonetti, professor of pharmacology at the UIC College of Pharmacy and an author on the paper.

Tonetti, along with co-author Gregory Thatcher, developed a drug called TTC-352, which is a selective human estrogen receptor partial agonist. In testing, it appeared to result in complete tumor regression.

Fifteen women with metastatic breast cancer who were previously treated with hormone therapy took part in the Phase 1 clinical trial. The researchers discovered that there were no toxic side effects linked to the drug, even at high doses.

“The results of the phase 1 trial indicate that TTC-352 is a safe and tolerable alternative to chemotherapy – therefore, without the side effects of chemotherapy – for patients who have already been treated with hormone therapy,” Thatcher said.

On the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) front, there has been positive news in regards to a new treatment approach using precise targeted therapy. A study published in Nature Communications on Aug. 21 showed that researchers were able to test the vulnerability of various cell lines – from TNBC to chemical probes – against inhibitors of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). They ultimately discovered a link between cells with varying levels of RB1, a protein that suppresses tumors.

“In summary, we have discovered an RB1 protein-dependent metabolic addiction to GLUT1 function in a subset of TNBCs, identifying BAY-876 as an effective agent to block growth in patient-derived models that express RB1 protein,” wrote the authors in their study. “Our findings also suggest the importance of considering the heterogeneity of RB1 protein levels in the development of personalized metabolic chemotherapeutic approaches toward TNBC treatment.”

Cheryl Arrowsmith, PhD, one of the authors of the study, told Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News that the more we understand about the molecular complexity of cancer cells, the easier it will become to target them with precision. She added that when there are more cancer drugs matched to specific changes in the cancer cell, there is a greater chance of developing a cure.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the U.S. Approximately one out of eight women, or about 12%, will develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In addition, about 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These are typically due to genetic mutations that naturally occur within the body.

https://www.biospace.com/article/new-breast-cancer-drug-shows-promise-in-halting-disease-progression/

Type 2 Diabetes Treatments May Be More Effective When Combined

A new study published in the August 26 edition of Science Advances shows that the effectiveness of a two-pronged Type 2 diabetes treatment improves when drugs are linked by a heat-sensitive tether. This is compared to when treatments are concurrently administered, according to biomedical engineers at Duke University.

This new approach is centered around Type 2 diabetes drug, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and the drug candidate, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). In experimentation with diabetic mice, these two drugs appeared to create tight glycemic control and weight reduction. When they were coupled with the slow-release function of an elastin-like polypeptide, the effects also lasted longer than one week with a single injection.

“In the burgeoning field of multi-functioning single-molecule diabetes drug design, researchers primarily unite drugs that are similar in size, structure and function,” said Caslin Gilroy, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the research. “Being able to combine such structurally distinct drugs into a single molecule while maintaining the bioactivity and stability of each is a big technological achievement.”

Most drug combinations use small peptides from the same family as GLP-1. However, Gilroy and Ashutosh Chilkoti, the Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke, chose to work with FGF21 for their research. FGF21 regulates insulin sensitivity, energy expenditure and fat metabolism.

“FGF21 functions through a different mechanism than GLP-1, and we hypothesized that the two drugs would complement each other nicely,” said Gilroy. “GLP-1 increases insulin secretion by the pancreas, while FGF21 enhances the body’s response to the insulin. GLP-1 reduces food intake, while FGF21 helps burn more calories.”

The researchers’ study verified that GLP-1 and FGF21 retain their respective functions and potencies when they are linked together. Mice treated with the GLP-1/FGF21 combination drug were also better able to recover from a glucose challenge, compared to either drug alone.

This is not the first batch of research to show that combination therapies may be more effective for Type 2 diabetes A study published in Cell Metabolism in May by researchers from the UT Southwestern Medical Center showed that a lower dose of the drug, rosiglitazone, may be beneficial when paired with an experimental drug called Compound A.

In mice experimentation, the combination of Compound A with a minimal dose of rosiglitazone resulted in a similar degree of insulin sensitization as the maximum dose of rosiglitazone. This is critical, as some experts have deemed high doses of rosiglitazone to be risky.

“The very low dose we used in this study showed no side effects — no weight gain, no fluid retention — in mouse models,” said Dayoung Oh, Ph.D., senior author of the study, assistant professor of internal medicine, and a researcher in UT Southwestern’s Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research.

Additional research will be needed to check for bone loss and heart problems at a lower dose. However, those effects may be eliminated or lessened by reducing the dose of rosiglitazone.

Rosiglitazone acts on the anti-diabetic target, PPARy, in fat cells. It can be leveraged by combining it with an agonist or an activator as well. In experimentation, mice that received rosiglitazone alone did not show improved insulin sensitivity.

Approximately 34 million Americans live with diabetes, and 90 to 95% of those cases are Type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.biospace.com/article/study-type-2-diabetes-treatments-may-be-more-effective-when-combined/