Recently, due to the coronavirus pandemic, many guidelines and anti-contagion strategies continue to report unclear information about the persistence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the environment. This certainly generates insecurity and fear in people, with an important psychological component that is not to be underestimated at this stage of the pandemic. The purpose of this article is to highlight all the sources currently present in the literature concerning the persistence of the different coronaviruses in the environment as well as in medical and dental settings. As this was a current study, there are still not many sources in the literature, and scientific strategies are moving towards therapy and diagnosis, rather than knowing the characteristics of the virus. Such an article could be an aid to summarize virus features and formulate new guidelines and anti-spread strategies. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), belonging to the coronavirus family. An infected person may experience symptoms after an incubation period that could vary from about 2 to 14 days (there have rarely been cases of incubation periods of 29 days), during which time the person could still be contagious. To limit transmission, precautions should be taken, such as adopting careful personal hygiene, washing hands frequently and wearing masks. Coronavirus mainly affects the lower respiratory tract and causes a number of symptoms described as flu-like, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, tiredness and gastrointestinal complaints such as diarrhea. In severe cases, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and septic shock could occur, up to the death of the patient. Among the collective preventive measures, it should be noted that in 2003, during the SARS epidemic, the major collective catering companies in China and Hong Kong adopted the obligation to wear surgical masks for their service personnel to protect both the workers of companies and the public. This professional category is particularly exposed to potentially infectious contacts, both active and passive. In the same way, a person in charge of equipment who is not equipped with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) will find themselves exposed to contact with the dirty dishes and recent food remains of a large number of customers. Further interventions in the restaurant sector may include a prohibition on the distribution of buffets for both food and dishes [Door handles;Lift or light buttons;Mobile phones;Public transport handholds ,12,13,14In recent weeks there has been about a great deal of discussion about the contamination and decontamination of inanimate surfaces. In fact, the duration before inactivation of the COVID-19 virus on surfaces  is still debated. In most cases, the spread between people occurs through the respiratory droplets emitted by an infected individual through coughing or sneezing, which, are subsequently inhaled by a healthy person who is nearby. This also caused an initial diffidence on the part of people in purchasing products of any kind coming (including by post) from the areas affected by the epidemic, leading to economic damage. It is possible to become infected by touching surfaces or objects where the virus is present and then bringing your hands towards your mouth, nose or eyes ,7,8,9,10The viral titration, viral assay or viral count is the count, made in the laboratory, of the number of viral particles of a given virus under examination present in a biological sample. It is used in microbiological research, diagnostics and in the production of antiviral vaccines—all situations that require knowledge of the amount of virus being analyzed or used. We used tissue-culture infectious dose (TCID) per milliliter for COVID-19 persistence evaluation ,17,18,19The aim of this article is to evaluate, through the analysis of the current literature, how long this virus can remain active on different surfaces. It is too early to be able to carry out a review with meta-analysis of the literature given the incredible relevance of this topic, but it is certainly a step to clarify this pandemic.What is the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces?What is the mean persistence of coronaviruses compared to SARS-CoV-2?The following questions were used to develop the study framework according to the PICO (Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcomes) guidelines:An investigation methods protocol was used, according to the PRISMA statement; the aim of the PRISMA statement is to help authors improve the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. It can be used as a basis for reporting reviews of other types of research. The use of checklists like PRISMA is likely to improve the reporting quality of a systematic review and provides substantial transparency in the selection process of papers in a systematic review. Furthermore, PICO guidelines have been used to prepare summary questions ,21,22.SARS-CoV-2 features articles;SARS-CoV-2 persistence;The persistence of other coronaviruses.The full texts of all studies related to the main revision topics were obtained for comparing the inclusion parameters:Not enough information regarding the topic;Articles published prior to 1 January 2010;No access to the title and abstract.The following were the exclusion criteria:Research was conducted in five electronic databases, including MEDLINE, PubMed, and EMBASE. In addition, a manual search was conducted for relevant studies published.Digital and manual searches were then performed. The data search was performed in order to add significant studies and to increase the sensitivity of this study. For the search we used keywords according to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). (SARS-CoV-2 OR Coronavirus) AND (Persistence OR surface) terms were investigated on information sources, as specified in First, the manuscript titles list was highlighted to exclude irrelevant publications and search errors. The final selection was performed by reading the full texts of the papers in order to approve each study’s eligibility based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.Data selection and revision was performed by independent reviewers of three different affiliations . They singularly analyzed the obtained papers. Results obtained were compared and discussed with a fourth independent reviewer  when a consensus could not be reached. For the stage of the full-text articles’ revision, a complete independent analysis was performed.Results were singularly analyzed and items about viruses’ persistence on different materials were evaluated and shown.We created a table to show a summary of inherent virus features.Virus: type of investigated virus;Authors and Year: authors, reference  and year of publication;Investigated Material: investigated material surfaced by the study;Time: persistence time of virus;Note on Results: additional notes on results.The grade of bias risk was independently considered, as reported in ,24,25.Selection bias;Performance bias and detection bias;Attrition bias;Reporting bias;Examiner blinding, examiner calibration, standardized follow-up description, standardized residual graft measurement, standardized radiographic assessment.Potential causes of bias were investigated:We conducted a manual synthesis of article results.During the first search, 25 studies were obtained. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, only the remaining 5 articles were further analyzed. Then, articles were manually selected, and finally 4 articles were obtained . Results of individual studies were shown after an accurate analysis in 50). It is important to specify that the limit of detection for this experiment was 3.33 × 100.5 TCID50 per liter of air for aerosols; 100.5 TCID50 per milliliter of medium for plastic, steel, and cardboard; and 101.5 TCID50 per milliliter of medium for copper. Kampf et al. [3 plaque forming units (PFU) on different materials: polyfluorotetraethylene , polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ceramic tiles, glass and stainless steel. Coronaviruses’ persistence was at least 5 days (and 3 days for silicon rubber) at 21 °C. Despite this, it could be rapidly inactivated by brass and copper nickel surfaces in less than 60 min. Copper nickel surfaces were effective but less than brass copper; in these cases, the inactivation time was up to 5 min in the fingertip contamination model. Warnes et al. demonstrated how a higher percentage of copper could lead to superior antiviral properties. Another important factor reported in this study was that the release of ions from copper and the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) take part in the deactivation of the virus. Furthermore, the authors report that following an analysis carried out with a transmission electron microscope (TEM), the virus was normally present on common surfaces such as stainless steel, but on copper surfaces it appeared to be damaged and intact particles were few.Van Doremalen et al.  evaluatef et al.  showed hf et al.  evaluateIt was not possible to conduct a bias risk analysis according to the PRISMA statement as specified in the previous section. Unfortunately, the limited number of articles obtained does not allow for the realization of a systematic review. The individual studies were analyzed, and the experiments leading to the results shown in 10 or more. Sodium hypochlorite required a minimal concentration of at least 0.21% to be effective. Hydrogen peroxide was effective with a concentration of 0.5% and an incubation time of 1 min. An important finding is the ineffectiveness of chlorhexidine. Within 10 min, a concentration of 0.2% revealed no efficacy against coronavirus. It is a result that does not support some guidelines for dentistry [The literature concerning the characteristics of these viruses is still scarce, especially if one considers only COVID-19. The aspects related to the persistence of the virus on surfaces not only represent an environmental and public health problem concerning schools, roads, offices. It is a much bigger problem if hospitals, operating theaters, and sanitary waiting rooms are considered, especially in the new and continuously increasing “COVID departments”. Knowing how the virus behaves in contact with surfaces and with different disinfectants could be important for the sanitization of medical environments. In particular, some authors deal with the optimization of infection control in operating rooms. Some devices are used in hospital operating rooms for single use only, but other devices, surfaces, handles and cords could be transmission vehicles . Ong et entistry . Kampf eentistry  concludeentistry , coronaventistry  demonstrentistry . There hentistry . Most inMoreover, as suggested by Spagnuolo et al., dentists should avoid the scheduling of any patient: only such urgent dental diseases can be considered during the COVID-19 outbreak. The waiting time of patients in dental offices could highly predispose patients to be infected. When dentists treat patients, they should intercept potentially infected persons before they reach the operating areas; for example, identifying those with a fever measuring >37.5 °C and posing a few questions about the patient’s general health status in the last 7 days, and about the risk of having been in contact with other infected persons. Dentists as well as medical office employees should always be covered by facial masks, and they should remind patients to maintain the 1-m distance with each other during their waiting time ,35.Disinfecting surfaces is one of the aspects to which to give greater attention, being done with the detergents already in use today, along with the washing of hands and the use of suitable PPE. In regards to PPE, surgical masks must be used by those who could transmit the virus, but those who work in contact with the patient’s aerosol must use FFP2 and FFP3 (Filtering Facepiece Particles) masks. There should only be one patient in waiting rooms. This is also true in clinical areas; in the case of minors who need an escort, the escort must be at a distance from operators, and must wear a surgical mask. At the end of each session, the surfaces will then have to be cleaned, and the air exchanged. The same procedures should be adopted in the waiting room and in other areas where the patient might pass or touch objects. Certainly, some tools, such as quick tests , can become useful in the hands of the doctor/dentist to understand if the patient, or some member of their team, is potentially infected.We are aware of the limitations of this article; it is not possible to make a review of the literature due to the lack of data. So, this is only a summary of the available information. Further studies are needed in order to verify the persistence times of coronavirus on surfaces more precisely. However, we have considered proceeding with the creation of this summary, while respecting the guidelines of systematic reviews and also not having sufficient numbers. The reason for this choice lies in the incredible topicality and reliability of the data obtained, with the hope that this work could be widely and immediately used to contain the pandemic.The purpose of this summary is to draw a line and clarify the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 with regard to its persistence on surfaces. This article is of great interest and could be used to write new guidelines by epidemiologists, having a clear summary of the current situation. From our analysis it is possible to deduce some aspects. The virus can reach surfaces in the form of an aerosol. Therefore, following nebulization through people (sneezing or coughing) or electromedical machinery, infection via surfaces should be considered, since the latter could remain viable and infectious for hours or days. On average, the different coronaviruses persist in an infectious state on surfaces for several days, even up to nine. Surface disinfection could be performed with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite or 62%–71% ethanol for 1 minute. Copper has shown antiviral properties—so much so that the virus appears damaged or altered on copper surfaces.Other experiments are certainly needed, on different surfaces or even on biological surfaces, to better understand the persistence times of this virus and promote adequate standards.


Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), hepatitis B virus, rubella virus, herpes simplex virus, parvovirus B19, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, human T cell leukemia virus type-1, measles virus, varicella-zoster virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Treponema pallidum. For the selected four pathogens , the questionnaire also evaluated participants’ knowledge of transmission routes, the most susceptible time of infection that could yield severe fetal disease during pregnancy, the maximum frequency of fetal infection in cases of maternal infection, and methods to prevent maternal infection. In total, 1433 pregnant Japanese women were included in this study. There was no secular change in awareness of the pathogens concerning mother-to-child infections over time, and we also clarified that the detailed knowledge of the four pathogens of typical mother-to-child infections did not improve. Since knowledge about methods to prevent maternal infection is still insufficient for all pathogens, further advocacy is required to prevent mother-to-child infections.This study aimed to investigate the long-term changes in awareness of and knowledge about mother-to-child infections across 6 years in Japan. A questionnaire survey was conducted at our facility from October 2012 to January 2018, and the study periods were divided into 4 phases comprising 16 months each. A multiple-choice questionnaire assessed participants’ awareness of the following 13 pathogens of mother-to-child infections: cytomegalovirus (CMV),  Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) from 2714 obstetric facilities in Japan. Based on these findings, they determined that many neonates with congenital infections of CMV or T. gondii may be undiagnosed during the pre- and post-natal periods in obstetric facilities  vs. 187/328 [57%]) [Toxoplasma gondii, and parvovirus B19 was significantly higher. Compared to previous studies, we included more than 3 times the number of healthcare workers in this survey (n = 47), which might be reflected in the high awareness of congenital infections on the part of healthcare workers. Accordingly, our study depicts a correlation between awareness and detailed knowledge of 4 selected pathogens of mother-to-child infections. Still, less than 50% of people correctly deciphered the methods to prevent maternal infection against these 4 pathogens, and even healthcare workers demonstrated limited understanding. Since most pregnant women acquire knowledge from healthcare workers [In a previous study, we reported that awareness of  Click here for additional data file.S2 File(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.


Viruses have evolved to survive in hosts, presumably by devising meticulous strategies to elude or suppress host immunity. It is crucial to understand the interplay between viruses and host immunity from scientific and clinical standpoints. n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) interfere with MHC-TCR interactions in CD8+ T cells [+ T cells that endogenously synthesize n-3 PUFAs. In this Special Issue, several original research articles demonstrated the intriguing methods which immune evasion viruses utilize for their survival and pathogenicity. Dubrow et al. determined the structural basis by which the NS1 protein of the highly pathogenic 1918 influenza A virus hijacks the cellular proteins of PI3K p85β and CRK (CT-10 regulator of kinase) to promote viral propagation . They fo T cells . In thisInteresting review articles were reported to emphasize virus–host immunity interplay. These include the hepatitis B virus-mediated suppression of the host’s innate immunity , a summaCollectively, these reports exemplify the importance of virus–host immunity interplay and provide new avenues for exciting virus research.


Cardiovascular diseases are associated with growing public and private expenditure on healthcare regardless geographic region. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately estimate the overall societal costs—both direct and indirect expenses from the perspective of patients, caregivers and employers.The aim of this paper is to determine the direct and indirect costs related to cardiovascular diseases in Poland from 2015 to 2017. All costs are estimated based on data available in the public domain and obtained from the major Polish institutions. Indirect costs were calculated using a modified human capital approach.The financial burden of cardiovascular diseases in Poland is significant. This study revealed that total costs (direct and indirect) of cardiovascular diseases, for 2015–2017, range from 34.9 bn PLN (8.2 bn EUR) to over 40.9 bn PLN (9.6 bn EUR). Total direct cost and indirect costs were approximately 6.1 bn PLN (1.4 bn EUR) (16%) and 31.3 bn PLN (7.3 bn EUR) (84%), respectively.Collectively, the estimated direct and indirect cost of cardiovascular diseases provide a useful input for economic impact assessments of public health programs and health technology analyses. As was stated by World Health Organization (WHO), the four predominant types of NCD are cardiovascular diseases (CVD) including acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and stroke, cancer and other neoplasms, chronic respiratory diseases including chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma as well as diabetes mellitus (DM) . Among eCollectively, taking into consideration vast epidemiological range, it is not surprising that the CVD due to their associated long-term detrimental outcomes and equivalent socioeconomic constitutes substantial global economic burden regardless geographic region . The conTaking into account all mentioned clinico-epidemiological aspects it become essential to accurately estimate the overall societal costs of CVD, both direct and indirect from points of view including patients, caregivers and employers . PreciseAccording to the report, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (EOHSP), in collaboration with the European Commission in 2017, in Poland the CVD constitute leading cause of death is responsible for 50 and 40% of all deaths among women and men . At the The aim of this paper is to measure both direct and indirect costs of cardiovascular diseases (ICD-10: I00-I99) in Poland. The estimates were carried from the year 2015 to 2017. The period included in the analysis results directly from the availability of data enabling estimation of direct and indirect costs from publicly available data sources..We used data available in the public domain , Central Statistical Office of Poland (CSO) as well as publicly unavailable data, obtained from the Social Insurance Institution (SII). The estimates were carried out for both direct and indirect costs. In the case of the first category of costs, public payer (NHF) expenses related to reimbursement of medicines and medical services  were included. In terms of indirect costs , the costs of absenteeism, presenteeism and loss of production resulting from permanent or temporary inability to work or due to premature death have been taken into account. We did not include the costs of informal care in the analysis due to the lack of reliable data. The source data used to estimate the cost categories listed above are presented in Direct costs related to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in Poland from 2015 to 2017 are calculated based on data available in the public domain. The following categories of costs are taken into account: (i) cost of reimbursed drugs, (ii) cost of medical services used in cardiology in-hospital department and out-hospital consultation units, covered by the NHF. Other categories of costs (e.g. administration) were not included in the analysis due to the lack of data that would allow a reliable estimation.A patient with a health problem will first report to a primary care physician, who plans and carries out medical care over the insured and coordinates the provision of services. If the patient’s condition requires further examination and treatment, he or she is referred to a specialist (e.g. cardiologist). During a visit to a specialist, the patient’s health is assessed and the further course of treatment determined based on the diagnostic tests performed. If a one-time consultation is sufficient, the specialist physician sends the patient back to the referring physician (primary care). In other cases, the patient is taken care of by a specialist clinic (including diagnostics). Patients receive tests, medicines and medical devices to the extent necessary to provide guaranteed services as part of outpatient specialist care. If the goal of treatment cannot be achieved on an outpatient basis, the patient is referred to the hospital. During hospital treatment, the service provider is obliged to provide the insured with necessary diagnostic tests and medicines related to the course of hospitalization .An establishment that performs primary healthcare tasks receives an annual capitalization rate for each enrolled patient, regardless of the number of visits and diagnostic tests the patient receives in a given year. Such system does not distinguish a patient with cardiovascular disease in this analysis, therefore the cost of primary care has been omitted. Its inclusion would not be justified due to the inability to determine the number of visits or the type of diagnostic tests that the patient with CVD receives.A visit to a specialist doctor and all diagnostic tests are financed as part of outpatient specialist care, while all services provided in the hospital are settled as part of hospital treatment. Hospital treatment includes all hospitalizations carried out as part of the Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) system, including coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous valvuloplasty, coronary angioplasty with stent implantation, pacemaker implantation/replacement, treatment of congenital heart disease. Highly specialized procedures, such as e.g. heart transplantation or cardiological intervention in children under 18 years of age (including percutaneous leakage closure using closure kits) are financed as part of highly specialized services. The above cost categories have been included in our analysis.As a source of reimbursement data for drugs available within open pharmacies, the NHF Economic and Financial Department’s statements were used for the period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. We calculated expenditures on reimbursed drugs related to the cardiovascular system both from public payer and patient perspective. Identification of medicinal products was based on ATC  codes according to the EphMRA guidelines V2019 (class C – drugs related to the cardiovascular system). Such approach causes some overstatement of actual pharmacotherapy costs incurred for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases due to the fact that some of drugs from ATC class C are used for the treatment of arterial hypertension or essential hypertension. However, based on publicly available data, it is not possible to determine the percentage of patients using drugs in the above-mentioned indications. Data on the costs of non-reimbursement medications are not publicly available, and therefore not included in the analysis.The costs of medical services incurred in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases were estimated on the basis of the value of NHF contracts concluded by individual NHF’ Provincial Departments in a given year . The following types of medical services were included in the analysis:outpatient specialist care,hospital treatment,medical rehabilitation,health services contracted separately.The organization of services assumes that every procedure financed from public funds is reported by the healthcare provider to the appropriate NHF’ Provincial Department, where after checking the correctness of the information provided, appropriate financial resources are paid . Some heIndirect costs are divided into four categories. The first (absenteeism) concerns expenses related to the employee’s absence from work due to CVD. The second (presenteeism) takes into account the cost of loss in productivity of employee, who despite CVD, remains present at work, but whose performance due to illness is reduced. The third category of costs (incapacity for work) relates to expenses incurred as a result of the patient’s temporary or permanent inability to work. The last, fourth category is associated with the premature death of the patient due to CVD.We estimated the indirect costs of CVD using the human capital method, modified in accordance with the recommendations presented in the document “Methodology for Measuring Indirect Cost of Illness in the Polish Healthcare System published in 2013” .The unit of lost productivity is expressed in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per working person, however, the difference between the concept of an employee and a working person should be taken into account (as the former does not include self-employment). In addition to lost labor productivity, this measure also expresses the lost productivity of a summarized production input, which with high probability could be more efficiently utilized by a healthy individual.In connection with the occurrence of the phenomenon of diminishing marginal labor productivity, it was necessary to adopt a correction factor in the analysis. We used the value of 0.65 in accordance with the position adopted by the European Commission for EU-15 countries over the period of 1960 to 2003 , which cWe also implied the economic and demographic indicators from the years 2015 to 2017. (see A(y)). In the next step, we determined the indirect cost of absenteeism (AIC) using the data from The costs associated with an unplanned absence from work due to the cardiovascular diseases were estimated taking into account data from the SII Statistical Portal in Poland. We used the number of days of sick leave reported for ICD-10: I00-I99 codes from 2015 to 2017 . In total CVD accounted for 12,233,203, 12,239,697, and 12,210,793 sickness leave days in 2015, 2016, and 2017, consecutively  unit impact on the productivity is difficult. In our analysis we adopted the assumption presented in the Kotseva 2018P(y)) by multiplying the number of working people with CVD (N) and the impact on the productivity in relation to the number of business days per year:We combined the above impact on productivity with data on the population of patients with cardiovascular diseases in Poland, derived from the POLKARD report, according to which, the total number of CVD patients in Poland amounts to 1,160,667 PIC) was calculated as:Finally, the total indirect cost of presenteeism (IIC) was estimated as the sum of the cost of permanent  and temporary incapacity :Total costs related to incapacity for work (pension) were determined using data from SII regarding the number of people diagnosed with ICD-10: I00-I99 and taking into account following categories: i) incapacity for independent existence, ii) total incapacity for work, iii) partial incapacity for work ;the probability of survival in the above period of time (based on the patient’s age and life expectancy tables according to the CSO);the probability that a patient would have worked provided that he/she had not suffered from a CVD or deceased for any reason.E(Xn) results from the statutory retirement age k(n), and the age at which the decision on incapacity for work was made n:It has been presumed that working age begins at the age of 19, thanks to which compliance with available statistics was possible. The expected number of further potential working years where:np+1 – probability of death at the age of n+i , which may have a slight impact on the indirect costs of permanent incapacity for work or mortality.n is not available, we assumed that the distribution of all decisions . Age distribution was used in order to calculated statistical number of potential working years (up to 65).We calculated the average number of lost working years per patient subject to decision (IP(y)) was estimated as:In the next step, the number of lost working years due to permanent incapacity for work resulting form CVD  and (4):IT(y)), is calculated taking into account the annual number of temporary disability decisions attributed to CVD ):In order to estimate the costs of temporary incapacity for work, SII data on ICD-10 codes: I00-I99 were used, according to which the average time of temporary inability to work amounts to 16 months (1.33 years). Partial incapacity for work is parallel to 75% loss of working potential. This is in line with the social security statute that sets the benefit for partial disability at 75% of the benefit associated with full disability. The number of working person-years due to temporary incapacity for work, (Similarly to (9), the indirect costs component related to temporary incapacity for work is calculated as:n) according to the formula (11) —see M(y)) was calculated as a sum over all the cohorts with M,nN being the number of people that died at the age of n due to CVD:The indirect cost related to mortality was estimated as the sum of lost potential years of work taking into account the moment of premature death due to CVD and the expected moment of retirement. We also took into account the low probability of dying from causes other than CVD during this period. CSO data from 2015 to 2017 referring to the number of CVD-related deaths  in Poland amounted to 1.5 bn EUR in 2015, 1.5 bn EUR in 2016 and 1.3 bn EUR in 2017. The main factors determining costs are hospital treatment and drugs Table 2.Drugs cost (both reimbursement and patient co-payment) increased from approximately 611.0 mln EUR to 630.2 mln EUR per year. In case of medical services costs, we observe a decrease in their value in 2017 compared to 2015. The decrease in 2017 compared to the previous year is greater than the corresponding decrease in 2016—this is most likely due to regulatory changes that occurred in the way of contracting certain health services in 2017 that could have significantly underestimated the actual cost. It is worth noting that out of all direct medical services costs, the largest share is the cost of hospital treatment (86% on average).The estimated total indirect costs of cardiovascular diseases in Poland from 2015 to 2017 were respectively 8.0 bn EUR, 7.1 bn EUR and 6.8 bn EUR. These costs correspond to the loss of 494.4 thousand person-years in 2015, 432.5 thousand person-years in 2016 and 406.7 thousand person-years in 2017. Of the four categories included, costs related to incapacity for work and mortality have the largest share 4.Among the four analyzed categories of indirect costs related to CVD, the largest share  constitute costs related to the patient’s incapacity for work – estimates show a decrease from EUR 3.9 bn in 2015 to EUR 3.5 bn in 2017. Indirect costs of CVD-related deaths are the second largest category of costs and also have a downward trend (from 2.8 EUR bn in 2015 to EUR 2.1 bn in 2017). In the case of the remaining categories of costs (absenteeism and presenteeism), the reverse trend is noticeable, i.e. an increase in expenses incurred in subsequent years of analysis. According to our estimates, the cost of absence from work of a patient with CVD in Poland was 897.5 mln EUR in 2015 and 934.1 mln EUR in 2017. Similarly, the costs associated with reduced patient performance at work due to CVD increased from 459.9 mln EUR in 2015 to 508.1 mln EUR in 2017.The total annual average costs of CVD in Poland (both direct and indirect) amount to 37.5 bn PLN, (8.8 bn EUR), and it is 1.89% of GDP. The total estimated indirect costs of CVD amount to 31.3 bn PLN (7.3 bn EUR) and significantly exceeds the direct medical costs, which amount to 6.1 bn PLN (1.4 bn EUR) Table 5.It should be noticed that the direct as well as indirect cost appears to be gradually decreasing in time. Direct costs went from 6.4 bn PLN (1.5 bn EUR) in 2015 to 5.7 bn PLN (1.3 bn EUR) in 2017 and indirect costs from 34.5 bn PLN (8.1 bn EUR) in 2015 to 29.2 bn PLN (6.8 bn EUR) in 2017 Table 5.Treatment of cardiovascular diseases is one of the biggest challenges for health care systems. According to various data, they cost the European economy 160 bn to 210 bn EUR a year . Due to Our analysis focused on direct and indirect costs of CVD from 2015 to 2017 from the payer and societal perspective in Poland. We used data from Polish institutions  and the methodology presented in the EY  report on the methodology for measuring indirect costs in the Polish healthcare system . To our However, it seems that the total costs related to CVD in Poland may be higher than estimated, because our calculations do not take into account certain categories of costs  due to the lack of access to appropriate (reliable) data. Another limitation of the analysis is also the lack of data from the private sector  as such data are not available in the public domain.The higher total direct cost incurred by the National Health Fund for medical services in the field of cardiology (ICD-10 codes: from I00 to I99) is indicated by the publication, in which authors used the NHF internal databases and analyzed the size and structure of services (related to cardiovascular diseases) financed from public funds in Poland . ResultsAccording to the 10-year resource utilization and costs in the US it is suggested that CVD-related economic burdens on the health care system will increase, taking into consideration cumulative medications, office visits, diagnostic procedures, coronary revascularization, and hospitalizations . In thisAs mentioned earlier, due to differences in methods and data used in individual studies described above, cost comparison between countries is limited. Nevertheless, the direct and indirect costs associated with CVD in Poland estimated in this publication may be used in the future, e.g. while conducting health technology assessment  and, as a result, contribute to the improvement of both the state of health of the Polish society and the quality of life patients with CVD.CVD treatment is one of the biggest challenges for the healthcare system in Europe, with the estimation of total costs being difficult (due to the limited availability of data) as well as comparison between individual countries (due to the variety of methodology used).Estimated direct costs of CVD in Poland in years 2015–2017 amounted to 1.3–1.5 bn EUR and were mainly related to expenses incurred for hospital treatment and drug reimbursement.Permanent and temporary incapacity for work (pension) is the largest cost generator of the CVD indirect costs in Poland, which in total were over 5 times higher than direct costs estimated in the same period.The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.AM—conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. ER—drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content. ŁAP—interpretation of the data, revising paper critically for intellectual content. JJ—drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content. MF-N—drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content. MS-G—drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content. DO—drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content. MN—drafting of the paper and revising it critically for intellectual content. AS—revising paper critically for intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Environmental factors also have a wider impact, shaping viral transmission processes that rely on a complex set of interactions between, at least, the pathogen, the vector, and the host plant. This review considers how abiotic stresses influence the transmission and spread of plant viruses by aphid vectors, mainly through changes in host physiology status, and summarizes the latest findings in this research field. The direct effects of climate change and severe weather events that impact the feeding behaviour of insect vectors as well as the major traits  of viral plant pathogens are discussed. Finally, the intrinsic capacity of viruses to react to environmental cues in planta and how this may influence viral transmission efficiency is summarized. The clear interaction between biotic (virus) and abiotic stresses is a risk that must be accounted for when modelling virus epidemiology under scenarios of climate change.Plants regularly encounter abiotic constraints, and plant response to stress has been a focus of research for decades. Given increasing global temperatures and elevated atmospheric CO Hemiptera  being by far the most widespread vectors  decreased viral titres in N. benthamiana plants drastically compared with standard conditions , ultimately reducing the probability of transmission by M. persicae [A. thaliana accessions subjected to water deficit [However, this positive effect of eCO2 levels ,92,93. Ipersicae . In the persicae . Similar deficit . Moreove deficit ,94.B. campestris. Plants mechanically inoculated with TuMV and subjected to a temperature gradient (from 13° to 33 °C) showed a complete loss of viral symptoms associated with lower virus accumulation at higher temperatures. The authors assumed that the higher temperature prohibited virus replication and movement due to the activation of plant defence mechanisms [Peanut stunt virus showed a rapid increase at the beginning of the infection at a higher temperature (27 °C vs. 21 °C), followed by a dramatic decrease in N. benthamiana plants due to the induction of plant defences [Several factors, such as more efficient RNA silencing-mediated plant defence, may explain the lower incidence of virus disease under abiotic stress ,96,97. Cchanisms ,99. Simidefences .N. benthamiana was not affected when plants were grown at 30 °C, while PVY accumulation was strongly reduced by 50% compared with standard growing conditions (25 °C) [Lettuce chlorosis virus, induced local necrosis in N. benthamiana plants with increased severity at raised temperatures [However, it seems that the strength of antiviral silencing at a high temperature, or those of the viral suppressors that counteract it, may not be the only determinant, and is pathosystem specific . CMV acc (25 °C) . Intereseratures . This oberatures ,103,104.2, O3, water stress) can have a dramatic effect on viral transmission rates [Changes to plant distribution, growth rates, plant physiological status, and biochemistry mediated by future climates are likely to have a major impact on insect vector biology, feeding behaviour and, ultimately, the spread of viral disease. The unequivocal conclusion is that abiotic stresses  and a large panel of host plants, including rice (Oryza sativa), beet (Beta vulgaris), tobacco, N. benthamiana, tomato, Solanum habrochaities, pepper, watermelon (Cucumis lanatus), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo), Chenopodium amaranticolor, A. thaliana, barley (Hordeum vulgare) and B. rapa [Moreover, while beyond the scope of the present review—although it highlights the entanglement of plant–virus interactions—is the observation of the protective effect of virus infection on plant responses to abiotic stresses. This phenomenon has been observed for several viruses  and abiotic stresses is seen as a risk that must be accounted for when modelling virus epidemiology under scenarios of climate change.


Ebola virus disease (EVD) is an often-fatal infection where the effectiveness of medical countermeasures is uncertain. During the West African outbreak (2013–2016), several patients were treated with different types of anti-viral therapies including monoclonal antibody-based cocktails that had the potential to neutralise Ebola virus (EBOV). However, at the time, the efficacy of these therapies was uncertain. Given the scale of the outbreak, several clinical phenotypes came to the forefront including the ability of the same virus to cause recrudescence in the same patient—perhaps through persisting in immune privileged sites. Several key questions remained including establishing if monoclonal antibody therapy was effective in humans with severe EVD, whether virus escape mutants were selected during treatment, and what is the potential mechanism(s) of persistence. This was made possible through longitudinal samples taken from a UK patient with EVD.Several different sample types, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, were collected and sequenced using Illumina-based RNAseq. Sequence reads were mapped both to EBOV and the human genome and differential gene expression analysis used to identify changes in the abundance of gene transcripts as infection progressed. Digital Cell Quantitation analysis was used to predict the immune phenotype in samples derived from blood.The findings were compared to equivalent data from West African patients. The study found that both virus and host markers were predictive of a fatal outcome. This suggested that the extensive supportive care, and most likely the application of the medical countermeasure ZMab , contributed to survival of the UK patient. The switch from progression to a ‘fatal’ outcome to a ‘survival’ outcome could be seen in both the viral and host markers. The UK patient also suffered a recrudescence infection 10 months after the initial infection. Analysis of the sequencing data indicated that the virus entered a period of reduced or minimal replication, rather than other potential mechanisms of persistence—such as defective interfering genomes.The data showed that comprehensive supportive care and the application of medical countermeasures are worth pursuing despite an initial unfavourable prognosis. Ebola virus disease (EVD) has a high case fatality rate and is caused by infection of humans with Ebola virus (EBOV) . Once coThus, several key questions remained including establishing if monoclonal antibody therapy was effective in humans with severe EVD, whether virus escape mutants were selected during treatment, and what is the potential mechanism(s) of persistence. Such a study was made possible in a healthcare worker in the UK with EVD (referred to as UK2), who had recently returned from Sierra Leone and who developed relapse of EVD in association with meningoencephalitis 10 months after initial presentation . LongituSamples were collected as part of diagnostic testing process and retained for research purposes with patient consent. Samples were tested in accordance with consent and ethical approval. All blood specimens collected for RT-qPCR in this study were collected into EDTA blood collection tubes. CSF was collected directly into plastic tubes without buffer. Blood and CSF was processed for RNA extraction immediately on arrival into the diagnostic testing laboratory and residual RNA used in this analysis.For extraction and purification of viral RNA, the QiaAMP Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen) was used. This kit was validated as a suitable method for extraction of viruses by diagnostic clinical laboratories, and the ability of the contained Buffer AVL to neutralise Ebola virus has supporting evidence in the literature . InitialThe RT-qPCR primers were designed as described for EBOV targeting the glycoprotein (GP) gene sequence, including MGB probe design (Thermo Scientific). Forward primer (900 nM), 900 nM Reverse primer and 250 nM Probe were added to each reaction. Sequences of the primers and probe were Forward: 5′-TTT TCA ATC CTC AAC CGT AAG GC-3′, Reverse: 5′-CAG TCC GGT CCC AGA ATG TG-3′, and Probe: 6FAM-CAT GTG CCG CCC CAT CGC TGC-BHQ-3′. The TaqMAN Fast Virus kit was used for reverse transcription and PCR (Thermo Scientific), and water used in the reaction was nuclease free water (Qiagen).Samples from the patient from the initial infection or recrudescence were either sequenced on MiSeq or HiSeq platforms as described previously , 16, 20.In this analysis, a human genome assembly GRCh38 with its gene structures (release-91) from Ensembl and an EBOV genome (GenBank sequence accession: KY426690) were used as references. Tophat2 v2.1.1  was usedhttp://broadinstitute.github.io/picard/) with the option of “REMOVE_DUPLICATES=true”. The resultant Bam file was processed by Quasirecomb v1.2 [FPKM calculated using Cufflinks was used as input data into Digital Cell Quantitation, which uses transcriptomic patterns to infer the predicted activity of immune cell types. The unmapped reads were extracted by bam2fastq (v1.1.0) and then mapped on the EBOV reference genome using Bowtie2 v2.3.5.1  by settiomb v1.2  to generomb v1.2 . The conomb v1.2 . The aliomb v1.2  was thenomb v1.2 , a Bayesomb v1.2  programmStudies describing EVD over the course of an infection in humans under controlled conditions are rare. Generally, these have made use of laboratory accidents  or healtIn December 2014, a healthcare worker returned to the UK from West Africa with acute febrile illness. On presentation at hospital (referred to as day 1), the patient had a markedly elevated temperature of 39.3 °C and was haemodynamically unstable but responded rapidly to rapid intravenous fluids and antibiotic therapy. RT-qPCR for EBOV genome was performed by the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Clinical Virology Department in conjunction with the Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (days 1–2) and Virus Reference Department, Colindale (days 3–28) (part of PHE). The patient’s initial sample tested positive for EBOV RNA, and the patient was transferred to the high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital, London, UK, on the 2nd day after admission (referred to in this study as day 2). To ensure consistency, all samples used in this study were retested and EBOV quantified using the Trombley RT-qPCR assay that targets a region within the GP coding sequence.A Ct value of 23.9 in the GP gene qRT-PCR assay was recorded at presentation (day 1). On day 2, this changed to Ct 21.2 in the GP gene assay. The patient was treated with one oral dose of Brincidofovir (200 mg)  and two doses of convalescent plasma (300 ml) on consecutive days, obtained from a survivor of EVD. By day 5, symptoms worsened, and the patient developed severe watery diarrhoea and type 1 respiratory failure. The patient also developed erythroderma, mucositis and agitation, but did not develop overtly haemorrhagic manifestations.The highest viral load was recorded on day 6 (Ct 14.3), and the severity of the patient’s illness approximately correlated with viral load. The viral load data from this patient was compared with diagnostic findings from European Mobile Laboratory in the 2013–2016 West African outbreak . West Af9/L; normal range 150–400) and was discharged on low-molecular-weight aspirin and heparin [The patient was administered ZMAb (50 mg/kg) by infusion on day 5 and day 8. After day 12 of the illness, the viral load began to decrease. By day 21, the patient had developed a pronounced thrombocytosis  relative to normal or convalescent controls . TherefoThe abundance of several host transcripts/proteins has been shown to correlate with outcome in West African patients with EVD. For example, fatal EVD has been associated with the increase in abundance of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and eomesodermin (Eomes), suggestive of defects in T cell homeostasis . Where dOverall, the data suggested that the IFN response was robust and to be expected in an overwhelming infection. There was no evidence of any rare immunodeficiency in innate immunity. Indeed comparison of day 6 levels to equivalent Guinean patients with a fatal outcome [Potential changes in the blood/plasma transcriptome can be through either changes in gene regulation such as differential expression and/or through the influx and efflux of different cell types—such as those of the immune system. Conventionally flow cytometry is used to assess these—however, this was not possible with samples from this patient. Therefore, to investigate changes in the immune cell phenotype, digital cell quantification (DCQ)  was usedUK2 was administered ZMAb at day 5 and day 8. The specific targets of ZMab are known and found in GP. Both 2G4 and 4G7 target the base of GP, between them encompassing amino acids C511, N550, D552, G553 and C556. Monoclonal antibody 1H3 targets the glycan cap and encompasses amino acids W275, K276 and P279. To investigate whether there were any changes in GP (or other EBOV proteins), EBOV consensus genomes were assembled for each time point and sample and then used to derive EBOV protein sequences. Alignment of these sequences produced a consensus sequence covering the full length of the GP gene. All the amino acids identified to be critical for targeting by ZMAb were represented in each consensus sequence  and positive (anti-genome) strands Table . Mostly −3 substitutions per site per year, we would expect approximately 22 nucleotide substitutions over a 9- to 10-month period.As discussed, alternatively, the virus may have entered a state of low level replication, proposed by Young et al. for other viruses . Here, gThe ratio of non-synonymous substitutions (dN) and synonymous substitutions (dS) were compared between day 1 and day 12 showing a substitution rate of 0.4323 for the NP gene, 0.6717 for the VP35 gene, 0.0961 for the GP gene, and 0.3545 for the L gene, with VP40, VP30 and VP24 showing no evidence of nucleotide substitution. This shows potentially differential selection pressure acting along the EBOV genome during infection. The analysis was similarly performed between day 9 (when we postulate EBOV became established in a state of less active replication) and the samples taken in 2015 using yn00 in the paml package. Unlike the small rate of substitution seen between days 1 and 12, comparison between day 9 and recrudescent infection several months in 2015 later showed no significant genomic changes.Whilst both the host response , 7, 30 aUK2 was administered a monoclonal antibody cocktail, ZMab, on two occasions. Data from experiments in non-human primate models of EVD suggested that such therapeutics enhanced the chance of survival. For example, the monoclonal antibody cocktail MB-003, provided 50–100% survival in rhesus monkeys when administered within 24–72 h after EBOV inoculation . A diffeGiven the scale of the outbreak and attention, several aspects of EVD came to the forefront including the potential for recrudescence after the initial infection and persistence of the virus in immune privileged sites , 14, 16.Rather, based on the lack of viral sequence diversity/evolution between the initial infection and relapse, we favour a model of the virus entering a state of reduced virus replication, as suggested by the phylogenetic analysis based on coding versus non-coding changes Fig. . RecentlThese minor variants may have been deficient in replication and protected from the immune response. This would lead to persistence of the virus. In which case, the restoration of efficient replication through mutation and random chance led to a second EBOV infection and potentially the requirement for the generation of further neutralising antibodies. Analysis of the virus population genetics in the initial infected revealed a narrowing of the minor variants from day 4 to day 10. To account for this observation, we postulated that although the immune system will be directed against the whole virus population, the dominant immune response would have been against the consensus phenotype/genotype of the virus, potentially eliminating the consensus genotype viruses at an accelerated rate compared to viruses carrying minor variants. Analysis of the minor variant frequency in the samples taken during recrudescence indicated fewer variants compared to the original infection.This sequencing analysis provided a longitudinal natural history of infection and the corresponding host response in a patient with EVD. Together with the supportive care, the use of the medical countermeasure ZMab was likely to have changed UK2’s pathway from a fatal outcome to survival. The study thus provides direct molecular evidence to support the supposition by one of the authors (and attending physician for UK2)  that des


Polypropylene (PP) is an attractive polymer for use in automotive parts due to its ease of processing, hydrophobic nature, chemical resistance and low density. The global shift towards eliminating non-renewable resource consumption has promoted research of sustainable biocarbon (BioC) filler in a PP matrix, but this material often leads to reduction in composite strength and requires additional fillers. Graphene nano-platelets (GnPs) have been the subject of considerable research as a nanofiller due to their strength, while maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) is a commonly used compatibilizer for improvement of interfacial adhesion in composites. This study compared the thermo-mechanical properties of PP/BioC/MA-g-PP/GnP composites with varying wt.% of GnP. Morphological analysis revealed uniform dispersion of BioC, while significant agglomeration of GnPs limited their even dispersion throughout the PP matrix. In the optimal blend of 3 wt.% GnP and 17 wt.% BioC biocontent, tensile strength and modulus increased by ~19% and ~22% respectively, as compared to 20 wt.% BioC biocomposites. Thermal stability and performance enhancement occurred through incorporation of the fillers. Thus, hybridization of fillers in the compatibilized matrix presents a promising route to the enhancement of material properties, while reducing petroleum-based products through use of sustainable BioC filler in composite structures. Polypropylene (PP) is one such plastic that is commonly used in exterior and interior automotive parts such as bumpers, dashboards and hoods. PP sees wide use due to its high heat and chemical resistance, while still maintaining strong mechanical properties and a low density of 0.95 g/cm3 at a comparatively low cost2.Plastics have been embraced in the automotive industry specifically due to their durability, ease of moulding and low density, with percent plastic by weight in automobiles rising 75% from roughly 200 kg per car in 2014 to 350 kg in 2020 according to a study by IHS chemical3. In 2018, PP was the most demanded plastic, accountable for 19.3% of global plastic production as found in the 2019 PlasticsEurope Market Research Group consensus, meaning a reduction in the use of this polymer could significantly reduce oil dependence4. Thus, the incorporation of biobased fillers into a PP matrix has been a growing avenue of research. However, integration of biobased fillers presents several key challenges, including maintaining desirable thermal and mechanical properties at low weight and cost.Increased dependence on plastics has raised concerns about petroleum usage and waste disposal. Plastics are largely non-biodegradable, making disposal at landfills problematic, while incineration releases toxins that threaten the environment and contributes to climate change5. These are produced in varying ratios, depending on pyrolysis temperature, residence time and type of organic material5. BioC already sees use as a soil amendment and in wastewater treatment, but higher volume applications are required to increase the feasibility of pyrolysis as BioC is typically produced in excess6. The physical structure and properties of BioC vary widely depending on pyrolysis conditions. Heating up to 900 °C results in the release of volatiles, eliminating functionality and subsequently increasing surface area through greater material porosity7. Meanwhile, pyrolysis at 500 °C has produced BioC consisting of a 3D network of benzene rings with a high amount of functional groups in its structure, leading to the material having a more polar nature8.Biocarbon (BioC) is one such biobased material, produced through a process known as pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is the heating of low energy organic materials in the absence of oxygen, resulting in the production of higher energy syngas, bio-oil and BioC9. The density of BioC typically ranges from 1.3–1.4 g/cm3 depending on pyrolysis temperature and feedstock, which is much less than traditional mineral fillers like talc, described with a density between 2.6–2.7 g/cm3 6. This is advantageous, as lower density composite parts lead to direct cost-savings through improvement of fuel economy in automobiles. As a result, it has been found that BioC serves as an attractive low-cost support for nanoparticle incorporation in composites10. In a recent study comparing pyrolysis temperature, Behazin et al.11 found that nonpolar 900 °C BioC had better compatibility with an ethylene-octene copolymer modified PP matrix as compared to 500 °C BioC due to the loss of functionality at high pyrolysis temperatures. They described that this should increase the affinity of BioC with the non-polar polymeric chains of the matrix, but found that, overall, both temperatures led to a decrease in mechanical strength. However, pyrolysis does lead to a more thermally stable structure, which is attractive for high-temperature applications12. Despite poor compatibility, pyrolysis conducted at low temperatures produces a higher yield of BioC, making it more feasible for industrial use13. The effect of BioC particle size has also been analyzed, with smaller particles corresponding to superior mechanical properties and dispersion, indicating the need for ball milling following pyrolysis15.Use of BioC for automotive parts presents several key advantages, most prominent being the introduction of biocontent through reduction of the PP matrix. Furthermore, BioC can be generated from a wide range of waste feedstocks or undervalued biomass that would otherwise be discarded, leading to reduced production costs compared to other carbon-based fillers and also contributing to a circular economy16. Typically, optimal compatibilizer concentrations range from 1–5 wt.% depending on the composite material in question. Studies have found maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) to be a good compatibilizer between PP and BioC18. MA-g-PP results in separate dispersion of phases between BioC and PP, improving both stiffness and toughness of composites.Commonly, functionalized PP is added to the interface between polar fillers, such as low temperature BioC, and the non-polar polymeric chains of PP to improve adhesion. The amount added is of great importance, as excess compatibilizer will saturate the matrix, ceasing any further participation in improvement of interfacial adhesion and leading to raised costs19. Graphene is simply a single atomic layer of graphite, and multiple derivatives of graphene exist, including graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs), graphene oxide and reduced graphene20. Of these, GnPs hold great promise as a reinforcing agent in composites due to their unique morphology, lower cost and low density21. GnPs are comprised of small planar stacks of graphene sheets in the shape of platelets, formed from chemical or liquid phase exfoliation of bulk graphite22. This forms a mix between the structure of graphite and graphene, as it consists of single and few-layer graphene (2–10 layers), intermixed with nanostructured graphite. Their classifications depend on the thickness, lateral size, and elemental concentration. In any given batch, thickness can vary from 0.34 nm to 100 nm and the number of graphene layers is typically between 10–6024. This structure leads to the high surface area and stability of GnPs, and research has found that their integration into composites can increase mechanical, thermal and electrical conductivity properties25. GnPs are also less expensive than many common nano-fillers, such as carbon nanotubes or graphene oxide, and can bring performance improvements at low loadings to offset this cost26. GnPs lack functionalization, desirable for a non-polar PP matrix as compared to reduced graphene oxide, and have a low density for their comparably high surface area as compared to other nanofillers, like nanoclay. Jun et al.25 analyzed the effect of varying GnP size on a PP matrix and found that particle diameters below 15 µm exhibited a higher level of GnP dispersion in the matrix, improving stress transfer and hindering crack propagation. Larger particle size led to agglomeration that hindered improvement of mechanical and thermal properties25. Homogenous dispersion of this nanomaterial can prove difficult, as strong π- π interactions and van der Waals forces between graphene sheets increase the tendency to agglomerate27. Interestingly, the addition of both BioC and GnPs into a PP matrix has not been reported in literature and indicates the need for further study.The use of nanomaterials is a promising new avenue of research to further improve mechanical and thermal properties of composites. Graphene is one such nanomaterial, with a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice structure that gives it incredible stability and strength28. It is proposed that the combination of BioC and GnPs in compatibilized PP blends has the potential to enhance properties while simultaneously increasing biocontent and maintaining a low-density material. The aim of this research is to study the influence of GnP addition on performance of compatibilized PP/BioC composites. Mechanical, thermal and morphological characterizations of these composites were performed to determine the feasibility of their use in automotive applications.BioC can improve thermal properties of composites while simultaneously reducing petroleum usage. Its immiscibility with a PP matrix has been shown to be greatly reduced through the addition of MA-g-PP, while incorporation of GnPs has been seen to enhance both mechanical and thermal properties in many composites14. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was also conducted on these powders and soyhull meal to further characterize their functionality, with the spectra displayed in Fig. 7. However, FTIR of GnP showed an absence of any functional groups, as shown in Fig. A comparison of particle size and aspect ratio of the BioC and GnP powder used was conducted through SEM imaging, and is outlined in Table −1, hydrocarbons at ~2950 cm−1, carbon monoxide at ~2150 cm−1, carbonyl compounds at ~1750cm−1, ether compounds at ~1200 cm−1, and carbon dioxide asymmetric and bending stretches at ~2350 cm−1 and ~650 cm−1, respectively. As identified by the absorbance peaks and Fig. TGA-FTIR analysis was performed on the raw soyhull feedstock to examine the volatiles released during the pyrolysis process, as observed in Fig. 29. There was no evidence through SEM analysis of interactions occurring between BioC particles and GnPs. This was to be expected given the highly carbonaceous nature of the fillers, and consistent with literature findings of fillers of this nature30.Figure et al.31 found pine wood BioC to have an elastic modulus ranging between 4–9 GPa. While this value will differ for BioC from different feedstocks, it does not compare to the natural modulus of GnP, which can range from 100 GPa to several TPa once introduced into a matrix21. Thus, the white spots seen in Fig. The 77/17/3/3 composite was further analyzed through AFM imaging, as displayed in Fig. 32. It appeared that BioC had poor bonding with the PP matrix, rendering it less efficient in stress transfer, as corroborated by other findings11. Addition of MA-g-PP compatibilizer partly restored the tensile strength, enforcing the idea that improved adhesion and stress transfer between BioC and the PP matrix occurred, as suggested by SEM analysis. With 3 wt.% compatibilizer, tensile strength was raised from around 29 MPa to 33 MPa. Increasing GnP content led to minor improvements in tensile strength at 1 wt.% and 3 wt.% loadings, which then diminished again at 5 wt.%. The improvements seen are probably due to the large surface area GnPs offer for their comparatively small size, which acted to enhance stress transfer between matrix and filler21. M5 GnP is characterized by a particle thickness of 6–8 nm and a particle diameter of 5 µm, which is relatively small compared to many commercially available GnP grades. This is advantageous, as it has been found that reduced GnP size improves reinforcement properties33. However, the improvement in tensile strength seen is less pronounced than other findings due to poor dispersion of GnPs in the PP matrix. Tensile strength is thought to have decreased in the 5 wt.% GnP blend due to excessive agglomeration, as higher loading levels increased the amount of interaction between graphene sheets. Further, a study by Wang et al.34 indicated that sudden mechanical property drops are common when using GnPs due to the formation of continuous graphene networks, which may be the case for high loadings like 5 wt.%.Figure et al.14 confirmed that Miscanthus BioC increased the storage modulus of PP composites through DMA testing, indicating a restriction of molecular mobility at the interface and a resulting increase in tensile modulus. The modulus improvement is supported by the heat deflection temperature (HDT) results in section 3.6.2, as addition of BioC served to prevent polymer chain deformation under load. Addition of compatibilizer diminished the modulus to 2.2 GPa due to its rubbery nature and naturally low elastic modulus35. Furthermore, incorporation of GnP significantly improved modulus up to 3 wt.%, with a 41% increase compared to the compatibilized blend. This is largely due to GnP material strength, which served to improve interfacial strength and prevent deformation in the elastic region of the matrix36. However, this strength was limited with higher loading levels of GnPs due to reduced dispersion, explaining the decrease in modulus seen with 5 wt.% GnP content.Tensile modulus saw a large increase through addition of BioC due to particle stiffness that acted to restrict PP matrix mobility. A study by Codou et al.36 suggested. This was observed through SEM imaging in both Fig. Flexural strength and modulus are shown in Fig. 36. This imposes a trade-off between stiffness and toughness of the material, with one blend presenting an optimal balance. The effect of GnP on impact strength was supported by a recent study on PP/kenaf fibre/GnP composites36. Fig. 14.Impact strength of neat PP and all biocomposites tested is shown in Fig. From the mechanical data collected in this study, it was apparent that both a 1 wt.% and 3 wt.% GnP loading level provided a similar stiffness-toughness balance. These blends maintained the impact strength of neat PP, while maximizing tensile strength and modulus, as well as improving flexural strength and modulus. Further examination of thermal properties was needed to elucidate an optimal blend.37. The MFI of neat PP and all composites tested is found in Table 38. These findings matched a similar study on the addition of switch grass BioC to a high-density polyethylene matrix39. MFI was slightly diminished on addition of compatibilizer, which indicated formation of good adhesion between BioC particles and the PP matrix. This hypothesis was reinforced by the results seen through SEM analysis. Addition of 0.5 and 1 wt.% GnP content raised MFI from the compatibilized PP/BioC blend, and this is attributed to the lubricating properties of GnPs. The unique multilayered structure served to reduce contact between sliding bodies, as found in similar studies42. However, at 3 and 5 wt.% GnP loading levels, MFI decreased. This was due to significant agglomeration, which reduced lubricating capability and increased viscosity due to the large aspect ratio of GnPs, and is consistent with previous studies38.MFI is a relevant characteristic of composites as it describes ease of flow of the thermoplastic melt. It is also inversely proportional to the average molecular weight of a material, with higher MFI’s found to correlate with a lower molecular weight3, while the GnPs used have a density of 2.2 g/cm3, which is much lower compared to common inorganic fillers, such as calcium carbonate that has a density of 2.83 g/cm3, or talc that has a density between 2.6–2.7 g/cm3 43. PP had a density around 0.91 g/cm3, and addition of BioC increased this to 0.99 g/cm3, which remained relatively constant upon further addition of GnPs. As seen in Table 3. In comparison, another study found that utilization of 20 wt.% talc filler in a PP matrix resulted in composites with a density around 1.058 g/cm3, denser than the PP/BioC/GnP formulations43. Thus, substitution of traditional mineral fillers with BioC has the potential for weight reduction of fabricated parts.Maintaining low density composites is essential for automotive applications, as any weight reduction serves to improve fuel efficiency. BioC powder has a density ranging from 1.3–1.4 g/cmT10) of the material had degraded and char yield were determined. Neat PP had a T10 of 419 °C, which increased to 438 °C for the compatibilized PP/BioC blend. GnP addition led to a minor increase, with 3 wt.% raising T10 to 444 °C, being the largest increase of all GnP blends tested. The rightward shift in Fig. 44. BioC has strong thermal stability due to a loss of functionality during the pyrolysis process7. GnP also lacks functional groups, confirmed through FTIR testing, that improve its stability. This was seen through the difference in char yield between neat PP and the biocomposites. Neat PP only had 0.1% material remaining following TGA heating, while BioC and GnP had close to 17% char yield as the majority of the BioC and GnPs persisted. This trend was also seen in PP/polyamide 6/BioC composites in a study conducted by Codou et al.14Thermal stability of the composites was analyzed through TGA testing, an extremely important property for automotive parts to ensure proper function over time. The results obtained are displayed in Fig. et al.28 Further increase in thermal stability through addition of GnPs was likely due to graphene’s barrier properties and its ability to remove antioxidants, which protected PP from oxidative degradation45. The ability of GnPs to act as a thermal conductor and their high surface area also served to help improve heat spread along the polymer matrix, and it is hypothesized that improved dispersion would increase thermal stability further. The decrease in maximum degradation temperature at 5 wt.% loading supports this, as SEM analysis in Fig. 2 movement. At similar loading levels, the peak heat release rate saw a significant decrease from addition of either filler, and indicates that the biocomposites in this study should benefit from higher flammability retardation as well47. Supplementary data on the thermal and electrical conductivity of the composites is found in Figure 25.The derivative weight of composites is also displayed in Fig. Tc of 121.5 °C, which increased to 127.4 °C on addition of BioC. These results indicate that BioC acted as a nucleating agent for PP. Abdelwahab et al.2 showed that the incorporation of fillers such as talc, glass fiber and BioC increased the Tc of PP. This also indicated that use of BioC pyrolyzed at higher temperatures could prove more effective in raising Tc, as this BioC has a higher ash content. To a lesser extent, incorporation of GnPs also raised Tc, showing that they also served as nucleating agents. The morphology of GnPs gives a large surface area for crystallization to occur at relatively higher temperatures, and this trend had also been found in PP/GnP composites studied elsewhere25. However, the effect was less pronounced than addition of BioC, probably due to agglomeration of GnPs, as this would reduce the surface area available for crystallization to occur.The thermal characteristics were determined through DSC analysis, summarized in Fig. 2. As Tm is largely dependent on the forms of crystals present, these results indicate that neither BioC nor GnP significantly affected crystal type. GnPs have been seen to cause β-crystal formation in PP composites that are characterized by a secondary melting peak between 150–160 °C, but in insignificant amounts and as such do not affect Tm25. The formulations tested in this study showed no sign of a secondary melting peak.In both the first and second heating cycles, crystallinity had a minor increase with addition of BioC and the subsequent incorporation of GnPs. However, based on the filler content, this is rather insignificant, as in the second heating cycle neat PP crystallinity increased from 51% to around 53% in the 3 wt.% GnP composite. Likewise, melting temperature remained relatively invariant on addition of fillers and compatibilizer, as seen in Fig. 15. BioC particles restricted PP chain mobility, limiting material deformation when subjected to a force. Incorporation of compatibilizer served to lower HDT, as expected from its rubbery nature and the lowered tensile modulus of this formulation. However, once GnP was added to the compatibilized PP/BioC blend, increasing loading led to a relatively linear increase in HDT. GnP led to enhancement of modulus, explaining the subsequent increase in HDT, as this material also served to block chain mobility of PP. These HDT findings are supported by a similar study by Idumah et al.36HDT is another important material characteristic for automotive applications as it describes heat resistance to a specified load. HDT values of PP and all biocomposites are displayed in Fig. Tg), described as an area of polymer matrix relaxation and an increase in free volume. While not measured in this study, different forms of PP  have a glass transition region ranging from −20 to 0 °C, but can vary up to ~15 °C depending on the grade15. A recent study by Abdelwahab et al.2 found that the glass transition for grade PP1350N was 15.7 °C according to tan δ curves obtained through dynamic mechanical analysis. Thus, to follow ASTM standards for PP, the data collected includes the glass transition and does not solely describe the glassy and rubbery states, but rather serves as a comparison in trends between formulations tested. Both normal direction (ND) and flow direction (FD) were tested in this study and results can be found in Fig. CLTE describes the rate of change of material size with varying temperature and gives insight into the dimensional stability of the material. CLTE is typically evaluated in two distinct regions, the glassy and rubbery states. At lower temperatures in the glassy state, there is a lack of molecular motion, while motion of polymeric chains in the rubbery state is more frequent due to the higher temperature. As such, the rubbery state has a higher CLTE, since chain movement is less restricted and expansion is easier. The glassy state of PP and biocomposites was measured from −30 to 30 °C, and the rubbery state was analyzed from −30 to 100 °C, as per ASTM D696. Between these two states lies the glass transition temperature , which was lowered by 18.5% to 88.6 µm/(m· °C) upon addition of BioC. Addition of compatibilizer and GnP led to subsequent decreases, but only by 2.5% and 1%, respectively. A similar trend was also seen from −30 to 100 °C in the rubbery region, as well as both measurements in the FD. One noticeable difference in the FD was that addition of GnP led to a more significant decrease in CLTE. In the compatibilized PP/BioC blend, CLTE was diminished by 7.6% on addition of 3 wt.% GnP, a change from 88.3 µm/(m· °C) to 81.6 µm/(m· °C) as measured from −30 to 100 °C. This data suggests that BioC acted to constrain polymer movement due to its high available surface area and dispersion within the matrix, supported by other recent studiesCompatibilized PP/BioC/GnP composites were prepared through injection molding, and the effect of varying GnP content was analyzed. Morphological analysis highlighted the presence of voids and a lack of adhesion in the PP/BioC composite, which was improved through addition of compatibilizer. There was evidence of significant agglomeration of GnPs in the compatibilized PP/BioC matrix due to adsorption of moisture and intermolecular forces between platelets, which was reinforced by mechanical and thermal data. Addition of compatibilizer and GnP improved tensile and flexural strength of the 20 wt.% BioC composites, as well as both moduli by ~41% and ~21%, respectively. However, GnP addition had no significant effect on impact strength. It was determined that 3 wt.% loading of GnP led to optimal properties, but the effect of this nanomaterial was limited due to agglomeration. BioC and GnPs both served to improve the thermal stability of the composites, as seen through TGA analysis, by ensuring even heat distribution. DSC testing showed that crystal type and overall crystallinity remained relatively constant on addition of both fillers, but they did serve to improve crystallization temperature, indicating that they were possible nucleating agents. The HDT of neat PP was significantly improved by incorporation of both BioC and GnPs due to restricted chain mobility, with the optimized blend having a 29.5% increase. The dimensional stability of composites was also analyzed, which both fillers improved by lowering CLTE through constraining polymer movement. Overall, these composites have the potential to benefit the automotive field, as almost all thermal and mechanical properties saw improvement beyond the neat polymer. Additionally, these formulations had a higher biocontent and lower density compared to mineral filled PP composites, thereby reducing dependence on petroleum products.48.The soyhull meal used was purchased locally from Nieuwland Feed & Supply Ltd. based in Elora . The chemical composition of the soyhull meal consisted of 5% cellulose, 15% hemicellulose, 2% lignin, 44% acid detergent fiber, 10% crude protein, ash content below 5% and trace minerals. Acid detergent fiber is primarily comprised of cellulose, and to a lesser extent, lignin and silica. Thus, the true cellulose content is likely closer to the average 20% for soybean hulls3, and elongation at yield of 9%, which coincides well with the technical data sheet. The MA-g-PP compatibilizer, under the commercial grade Fusabond P353, was acquired from Dupont . It had a density of 0.904 g/cm3 and MFI of 22.4 g/10 min, as described by the technical data sheet. The nano-filler used in this work was M5 GnPs supplied by XG Sciences , characterized by a surface area of 120 to 150 m2/g, thickness between 6 to 8 nm and average particle diameter of 5 µm, as indicated on the technical data sheet. Its structure had short stacks of graphene sheets that came together to form a platelet shape.Polypropylene (PP), grade PP1350N, was purchased from Pinnacle Polymers, USA. It was characterized by an MFI of 55 g/10 min, notched Izod impact strength of 25.9 J/m, density of 0.9 g/cm−1 was employed to reach the set operating temperature of 500 °C. This temperature was maintained for a residence time of 60 minutes, at which point the furnace was cooled to room temperature prior to removal of the sample. The low temperature BioC was then collected and ball milled using a Pulverisette 5 , for two hours in alternating 30 minute forward and reverse rotation cycles. This process was performed with 354 g of zirconium oxide balls and 65 g of BioC per chamber, with a total of 4 chambers. The samples were collected following ball milling and left to cool for a minimum of one day. The BioC did not undergo sieving prior to incorporation into composites.The soyhull meal was pretreated by drying at 80 °C for a minimum of 24 h prior to pyrolysis until a moisture content below 2 wt.% was achieved, as measured by a moisture analyzer. Pyrolysis of the fibers was conducted in a Carbolite GLO 10/11–1 G industrial front loading retort furnace with a horizontal configuration. Approximately 1 kg of soyhull meal was put in a steel vessel and then placed in the furnace. Once closed, the furnace atmosphere was flushed with nitrogen gas to create an inert atmosphere. A heating rate of 7.5 °C·minPrior to composite fabrication, all materials except the hydrophobic PP pellets were dried at 85 °C for a minimum of 24 hours to prevent moisture absorption that could lead to hydrolysis reactions. Composites were prepared in the proportions indicated in Table Flexural and tensile tests for the composites were carried out on a Universal Testing instrument, Instron Model 3382 (USA). Tensile properties of neat PP were measured following ASTM D638 with type 4 specimens at a rate of 50 mm/min, while all the composites were tested at 5 mm/min in order to conform to the ASTM standard. This standard dictated that the sample must break between 30 seconds and 5 minutes during the testing process. All samples underwent flexural testing following ASTM D790 at a crosshead speed of 14 mm/min. Impact samples were notched directly after processing using a notching cutter  and left for 48 hours, as required by ASTM D256. Notched Izod impact strength was measured by a Monitor impact tester, HIT25P Plus (Zwick/Roell) with a hammer pendulum of 2.75 J. All mechanical data used 5 samples for each measurement.Prior to imaging, flexural bars were placed in liquid nitrogen for 5 minutes and then fractured using a Monitor impact tester. The cryo-fractured biocomposites were analyzed using a Phenom ProX (Netherlands) microscope. Accelerating voltage of 15 kV was applied for all composite imaging. The impact fracture surface was sputter coated with gold for 10 seconds prior to imaging.Prior to AFM imaging, injection moulded samples were microtomed through use of a Leica ultramicrotome to produce a flat sample surface. Measurements were performed on a Bruker AFM instrument Multimode 8  utilizing the peak force quantitative nano-mechanical mode. Analysis of imaging was performed using Nanoscope software.GnP nanoparticles were examined through use of a Jeol 2010F microscope operated with an accelerating voltage of 200 kV. Prior to analysis, composite samples were prepared through collection of thin fragments from use of the Leica ultramicrotome. To allow tunneling to occur, sample width aimed to be below 100 nm during preparation.−1.A Nicolet 6700 ATR-FTIR  was used to collect the spectra of powder samples and analyzed using OMNIC spectra software analysis. The spectra were collected using 64 scans per sample with a resolution of 4 cmA TA 5500 thermogravimetric analyzer system coupled with a Thermo Scientfic Nicolet iS20 Mid-Infrared FT-IR spectrometer was employed to conduct TGA-FTIR analysis. The chamber was put under a nitrogen atmosphere, set at a flow rate of 50 ml/min. Roughly 10 mg of soyhull fiber was heated at a rate of 20 °C/min from room temperature to 900 °C.Tm), crystallization temperature (Tc) and crystallinity (Xc) of neat PP and the biocomposites was carried out with a DSC Q200 analyser, TA Instruments. Between 7–12 mg of specimen was loaded into a 40 µL aluminum pan and introduced into nitrogen gas at a flow rate of 50 mL/min. A heat/cool/heat cycle was employed, where the sample was equilibrated at −60 °C and heated at 10 °C/min to 210 °C, at which point it was cooled back down to −60 °C at a rate 10 °C/min and then reheated to 210 °C at the same rate. For each measurement, two samples were tested. Crystallinity was calculated using [Eq.  in the DSC experiment, calculated as the integral of the fusion peak, ϕ is the weight fraction of reinforcing agent in the composite, and ΔHm* is the theoretical melting enthalpy of 100% crystalline PP (207.1 J/g)2.Determination of melt temperature  tests were performed on a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) Q800, TA Instruments. ASTM D648 was followed for all testing, with a load of 0.455 MPa and a heating rate of 2 °C/min using a three-point bending cantilever. Two samples were tested for each HDT measurement.α is the coefficient of linear thermal expansion, ΔL is the change in length due to heating, Lo is the specimen length at room temperature, and ΔT is the temperature change tested in the experiment ( °C).Determination of the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) was performed using a ramp rate of 5 °C/min and a force of 0.05 N on a Thermomechanical Analyzer (TMA) Q400, TA Instruments. The sample was first heated to 80 °C starting from −60 °C, and then cooled back down to −60 °C. The displacement change was then recorded as the sample was heated to 130 °C. Both the normal and flow directions were tested using expansion mode, with specimen dimensions of 3.2 mm/6.0 mm/6.0 mm. A nitrogen flow rate of 50 mL/min was employed, and two specimens were tested for every measurement. CLTE was calculated according to [Eq.  following ASTM D1238. Tests were conducted at 230 °C using a load of 2.16 kg.Densities of all specimens were performed on a MD-300S Densimeter . As the samples floated in water, the Archimedes principle was utilized to determine density by using a sinker to keep samples under water during measurements.A Hot-Disk TPS 500 Thermal Constants Analyzer from ThermTest, Inc. (Canada) was used to measure thermal conductivity, based on the transient plane source method with a Kapton disk sensor. Test parameters included a heating power of 120 mW and a measurement time of 40 s and is present in Fig. The electrical conductivity of the sample formulations was measured at room temperature with a two-probe method in the normal direction with an Autolab PGSTAT302N . Nova 1.8.17 software was used to measure the current over a potential range from −5 to 5 V, followed by determination of the slope from the IV curve. The IV curve was linear but contained significant variable signal-to-noise due to the low conductivity of the samples. As such, conductance was calculated based on Ohm’s law and converted to conductivity according to sample dimensions to allow for easy interpretation. This data can be seen in Fig. Supplementary Information.


Drosophila developing organs as the model system.First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Sneh Harsh is first author on ‘ Sneh HarshHow would you explain the main findings of your paper to non-scientific family and friends?Drosophila adults and larvae (developing stage) as the model system. We infected Drosophila adults with one of the most pathogenic strains of ZIKV and examined the whole transcriptional profile in the infected host. Based on the analysis of the transcriptional profile and the underlying genetic perturbations, we then switched to the developing larval stage to examine the effect of ZIKV on different developing organs and to confirm if the resulting pathogenesis could indeed be attributed to the same set of genetic perturbations. We found that ZIKV infection results in retarded growth of the developing eye and wing. We further linked the retarded growth with the perturbations of the signaling pathways conserved and known to regulate crucial developmental events in the mammalian system. Therefore, we think this Drosophila model for host-ZIKV interaction has the potential to provide useful insights to the community.Zika virus (ZIKV), belonging to the same family as that of dengue or West Nile virus, has emerged as a global pathogen. Though mostly asymptomatic, its infection in pregnant woman is associated with microcephaly or retarded growth of brain of the newborn child. Being an acellular organism, virus propagation depends on its interaction with the host; a successful interaction results in propagation of virus and, in turn, debilitating outcome for the host, which in turn starts exhibiting severe forms of pathologies. In order to understand the pathogenic mechanism of ZIKV infection, we have used What are the potential implications of these results for your field of research?Drosophila to model viral infections, but also show that the reason that viral infections are so difficult to tackle is because they perturb some of the crucial events in the host development. We believe that these findings will boost host-virus research, especially from the perspective of host pathogenesis and not merely the viral replication machinery.While the replication machinery of viruses has been studied extensively, how the virus interacts with the host and how this interaction dictates the final outcome has not been dealt with extensively. We believe that understanding the host-virus interaction is as critical as understanding the replication machinery of the virus, especially from a therapeutics point of view. Our findings implicating the perturbation of conserved signaling pathways upon ZIKV infection further signify the importance of host pathogenesis in an overall understanding of the host-virus interaction. These findings not only prove the efficacy of What are the main advantages and drawbacks of the model system you have used as it relates to the disease you are investigating?Drosophila has been an excellent system to model viral infections. The main advantage of Drosophila in the context of viral infections is the genetic tools available and the ease with which you can knock out or overexpress any gene of interest in a cell- and time-specific manner. Furthermore, the conservation of most of the Drosophila signaling pathways in the mammalian system enhances the overall significance and impact of the study.Drosophila and Drosophila is not a natural carrier of this virus, so the effect it shows in Drosophila needs to be taken with a pinch of salt when it comes to its applicability to the mammalian system.However, the main drawback is that ZIKV is not a natural virus of What has surprised you the most while conducting your research?Drosophila for some time now, so I am familiar with the efficiency of this organism in modeling diseases like cancer. However, the fact that a non-natural virus, which to date is only known to be causing infection in mammals and carried by mosquitoes, can cause such a drastic host pathology and perturb some of the most crucial signaling pathways in an artificial host like Drosophila has really surprised and amazed me!I have been working on Describe what you think is the most significant challenge impacting your research at this time and how will this be addressed over the next 10 years?A major challenge in Zika virus infection is to understand the stages of the infection including the tropism and the dynamics with the host. Until now, there is no clear understanding of how ZIKV enters inside the host cells, how it facilitates its own replication once inside the host and how it hijacks the host machinery and affects the host growth. For a successful infection, one of the prerequisites is to evade the host immunity. With the increasing advent of new viral infections, it becomes more imperative to identify the host immune responses triggered upon these viral infections and the mechanism for successful evasion from this response. In particular, it would be interesting to examine immune priming, where the host immune response has been primed for other similar viruses like dengue, and then examine the effect on the host immune response when encountering ZIKV infection. With the emergence of new studies increasingly implicating lipid droplets in several infections, I believe that host lipid droplets could be instrumental in overall host-virus interaction and the outcome thereof. Lipid profiling of an infected host and understanding how the host lipid composition affects the viral infection would play a major role in overall understanding of host-virus interaction.What changes do you think could improve the professional lives of early-career scientists?I think communication is a key aspect of science. Developing initiatives at the university level to enhance scientific communication skills would definitely improve the professional lives of early-career scientists. Specifically, the ability to explain science to a diverse audience and advocate the importance of science to the general public should be the main aspect of such training, which in turn will also be instrumental in connecting science with the society.Drosophila has really surprised and amazed me!”“[…] the fact that a non-natural virus […] can cause such a drastic host pathology and perturb some of the most crucial signaling pathways in an artificial host like What's next for you?Drosophila testis as the model system. I am excited to learn these new aspects of Drosophila biology, which I would like to explore in the context of cancerous systems. In the near future, I would like to open my own research lab, which will focus on different aspects of cancer development or progression, and also incorporate my experience and expertise on viral studies and stem cell behavior.I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health working in the lab of Dr Erika Bach. The main focus of the lab is to understand the dynamics of stem cells during development and special circumstances such as stress or genetic aberrations using