Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in China in December 2019 and has become a pandemic that resulted in more than one million deaths and infected over 35 million people worldwide. In this study, a continent-wide analysis of COVID-19 cases from 31st December 2019 to 14th June 2020 was performed along with socio-economic factors associated with mortality rates as well as a predicted future scenario of COVID-19 cases until the end of 2020. Methods: Epidemiological and statistical tools such as linear regression, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and the Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model were used in this study. Results: This study shows that the highest number of cases per million population was recorded in Europe, while the trend of new cases is lowest in Africa. The mortality rates in different continents were as follows: North America 4.57%, Europe 3.74%, South America 3.87%, Africa 3.49%, Oceania and Asia less than 2%. Linear regression analysis showed that hospital beds, GDP, diabetes, and higher average age were the significant risk factors for mortality in different continents. The forecasting analysis since the first case of COVID-19 until 1st January 2021 showed that the worst scenario at the end of 2020 predicts a range from 0 to 300,000 daily new cases and a range from 0 to 16,000 daily new deaths. Conclusion: Epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 should be better defined, since they can play an import role in future strategies to control this pandemic.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) created a global pandemic (COVID-19) that has resulted in massive health and economic losses. The current unavailability of treatments leaves vaccination as the only way to control this disease. There are four vaccines (Sinopharm, Pfizer—BioNTech, Sputnik, and AstraZeneca) available in Bahrain. This project aimed to study the most common side effects resulting from the first and second doses of these four vaccines. Data were collected through an online questionnaire answered by 311 individuals who received both doses of one of these four vaccines. The results of this study revealed that regardless of the vaccine identity, participants experienced more side effects from the second dose. Among the different side effects, pain at the site of injection was primarily observed after the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine (43%), which was followed by the AstraZeneca vaccine (31%). Moreover, fever was observed in participants after the first dose of the Sputnik vaccine (37%), while headache was mainly observed after the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine (32%). It is important to note that fatigue was observed after the first dose of all four vaccines but was reported by the highest proportion of respondents in the Pfizer group (28%). Interestingly, there are some side effects, such as pain at the site of injection, that are correlated with fever (r = 0.909). Similarly, headache is correlated with fever (r = 0.801) and pain at the site of injection (r = 0.868). Overall, it was observed that recipients of the Sinopharm vaccine reported the mildest side effects among all four vaccines. The crucial finding of this study is that the first and second dosage post-vaccination side effects were modest and predictable with no occurrences of hospitalization; this information can assist in lessening vaccine apprehension.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus and its mutations have affected human health globally and created significant danger for the health of people all around the world. To cure this virus, the human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor, the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), and spike proteins were found to be likely candidates for the synthesis of novel therapeutic drug. In the past, proteins were capable of engaging in interaction with a wide variety of ligands, including both manmade and plant-derived small molecules. Pyrus communis L., Ginko bibola, Carica papaya, Syrian rue, and Pimenta dioica were some of the plant species that were studied for their tendency to interact with SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) in this research project (6LU7). This scenario investigates the geometry, electronic, and thermodynamic properties computationally. Assessing the intermolecular forces of phytochemicals with the targets of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro spike protein (SP) resulted in the recognition of a compound, kaempferol, as the most potent binding ligand, −7.7 kcal mol⁻¹. Kaempferol interacted with ASP-187, CYS-145, SER-144, LEU 141, MET-165, and GLU-166 residues. Through additional molecular dynamic simulations, the stability of ligand–protein interactions was assessed for 100 ns. GLU-166 remained intact with 33% contact strength with phenolic OH group. We noted a change in torsional conformation, and the molecular dynamics simulation showed a potential variation in the range from 3.36 to 7.44 against a 45–50-degree angle rotation. SAR, pharmacokinetics, and drug-likeness characteristic investigations showed that kaempferol may be the suitable candidate to serve as a model for designing and developing new anti-COVID-19 medicines.

This review aims to define the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet (KD) for the management of sarcopenic obesity. As the combination of sarcopenia and obesity appears to have multiple negative metabolic effects, this narrative review discusses the effects of the ketogenic diet as a possible synergic intervention to decrease visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and fatty infiltration of the liver as well as modulate and improve the gut microbiota, inflammation and body composition. The results of this review support the evidence that the KD improves metabolic health and expands adipose tissue γδ T cells that are important for glycaemia control during obesity. The KD is also a therapeutic option for individuals with sarcopenic obesity due to its positive effect on VAT, adipose tissue, cytokines such as blood biochemistry, gut microbiota, and body composition. However, the long-term effect of a KD on these outcomes requires further investigations before general recommendations can be made.

In this study, for the first time, boron oxide nanoflake is analyzed as drug carrier for favipiravir using computational studies. The thermodynamic stability of the boron oxide and favipiravir justifies the strong interaction between both species. Four orientations are investigated for the interaction between the favipiravir and the B₃O₃ nanoflake. The E_int of the most stable orientation is −26.98 kcal/mol, whereas the counterpoise-corrected energy is −22.59 kcal/mol. Noncovalent interaction index (NCI) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analyses are performed to obtain insights about the behavior and the types of interactions that occur between B₃O₃ nanoflake and favipiravir. The results indicate the presence of hydrogen bonding between the hydrogen in the favipiravir and the oxygen in the B₃O₃ nanoflake in the most stable complex (FAV@B₃O₃-C1). The electronic properties are investigated through frontier molecular orbital analysis, dipole moments and chemical reactivity descriptors. These parameters showed the significant activity of B₃O₃ for favipiravir. NBO charge analysis transfer illustrated the charge transfer between the two species, and UV-VIS analysis confirmed the electronic excitation. Our work suggested a suitable drug carrier system for the antiviral drug favipiravir, which can be considered by the experimentalist for better drug delivery systems.