In 2020 a significant threat to public health emerged. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic outbreak emerged in December 2019 from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and spread to the rest of the world. This disease was named COVID-19 by World Health Organization. To date (17 th April 2020) a total of 2,230,439 cases of COVID-19; 150,810 cases of deaths and 564,210 recovered cases have been reported worldwide. In this review the SARS-CoV-2 morphology, pathogenic mechanism, similarities and differences between SARS-CoV and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome, transmission mode, diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures were investigated. The outbreak of COVID-19 from a Malaysian perspective was explored and mental health care during the COVID-19 outbreak was explored. To date, there is no vaccine or no specific treatment for COVID-19. Therefore, preventive measures are very important to prevent and control the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Preparedness should be a priority for future pandemic outbreaks.

The purpose of exploring protein interactions between human adenovirus and heat shock protein 70 is to exploit a potentially synergistic interaction to enhance anti-tumoral efficacy and decrease toxicity in cancer treatment. However, the protein interaction of Hsp70 with E1A32 kDa of human adenovirus serotype 5 remains to be elucidated. In this study, two residues of ATPase domain of human heat shock 70 kDa protein 1 (PDB: 1 HJO) were mutated. 3D mutant models (K71L and T204V) using PyMol software were then constructed. The structures were evaluated by PROCHECK, ProQ, ERRAT, Verify 3D and ProSA modules. All evidence suggests that all protein models are acceptable and of good quality. The E1A32 kDa motif was retrieved from UniProt (P03255), as well as subjected to docking interaction with NBD, K71L and T204V, using the Autodock 4.2 program. The best lowest binding energy value of −9.09 kcal/mol was selected for novel T204V. Moreover, the protein-ligand complex structures were validated by RMSD, RMSF, hydrogen bonds and salt bridge analysis. This revealed that the T204V-E1A32 kDa motif complex was the most stable among all three complex structures. This study provides information about the interaction between Hsp70 and the E1A32 kDa motif, which emphasizes future perspectives to design rational drugs and vaccines in cancer therapy.

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Objective: In this study, the hyperthermia effect on the viability of human normal breast (MCF-10A) and cancer (MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7) cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Methods: Cells were exposed to heat at 38ºC, 39ºC, 40ºC, 41ºC, 42ºC, 43ºC, and 44ºC for five different durations of heat exposure (0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 h). Breakpoint temperatures of MCF-10A, MDA-MB 231, and MCF-7 were determined using cumulative equivalent 43°C (CEM43) model. This model was first time used to calculate thermal isoeffect dose (TID) for MCF-10A, MDA-MB 231, and MCF-7. Results: MCF-10A started to die at 42°C for 3 h while MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7 need a temperature of 38°C for 0.5 h; thus, they were identified as the threshold temperatures in CEM43 model. Furthermore, the effect of “43°C incubator 2 h” had similar total thermal dose as “44°C incubator 0.5 h” for MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7. In addition, “43°C incubator 3 h” effect had also almost the same thermal dose as “44°C incubator 1 h” for MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7. Conclusion: A better understanding of the significant correlations between CEM43 and response parameters in clinical trials could be useful to treat breast cancer patients.

Background There is a major public health challenge threatening the world with the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in December 2019 from Wuhan, China. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding COVID-19 and its transmission, causes and prevention among people living in Malaysia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among people living in Malaysia by using an online survey in March and April 2020. Results Out of 520 respondents, the mean age was 36.9 ± 14.9, between 19 and 67 years with the majority being female. Most respondents had good knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 with mean ± sd 18.2 ± 1.7, 5.2 ± 1.1 and 4.1 ± 1.4, respectively. In addition, the majority had good knowledge regarding cause, mode of transmission, signs and symptoms, prevention and treatment and quarantine measures after answering 21 questions. Conclusion To date, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, thus staying at home is the best preventive measure to curb the further growth of positive cases in the country. These findings could provide an insight in designing effective preparedness for future pandemic outbreaks.