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Background: After the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), research has highlighted several aspects of the pandemic, focusing on clinical features and risk factors associated with infection and disease severity. However, emerging results on the role of smoking in SARS-CoV-2 infection susceptibility or Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes are conflicting, and their robustness remains uncertain. Objective: In this context, this study aims at quantifying the proportion of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence, studying the changes in antibody levels over time, and analyzing the association between the biochemically verified smoking status and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: The research design involves a 6-month prospective cohort study with serial sampling of the same individuals. Each participant will be surveyed about their demographics and COVID-19- related information, and blood sampling will be collected upon recruitment and at specified follow-up time points (namely, after 8 and 24 weeks). Blood samples will be screened for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies and serum cotinine, being the latter the principal metabolite of nicotine, which will be used to assess participants' smoking status. Results: The study is ongoing. It aims to find a higher antibody prevalence in individuals at high-risk for viral exposure (i.e., healthcare personnel), and to refine current estimates on the association between smoking status and SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Conclusions: The added value of this research is that the current smoking status of the population to be studied will be biochemically verified, in order to avoid the bias associated with self-reported smoking status. As such, the results from this survey may provide actionable metric to study the role of smoking in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 outcomes, and therefore implement the most appropriate public health measures to control the pandemic. Results may also serve as a reference for future clinical research and the methodology could be exploited in public health sectors and policies.

Deferiprone (DFP) is a hydroxypyridinone-derived iron chelator currently in clinical use for iron chelation therapy. DFP has also been known to elicit antiproliferative activities, yet the mechanism of this effect has remained elusive. We herein report that DFP chelates the Fe 2+ ion at the active sites of selected iron-dependent histone lysine demethylases (KDMs), resulting in pan inhibition of a subfamily of KDMs. Specifically, DFP inhibits the demethylase activities of six KDMs - 2A, 2B, 5C, 6A, 7A and 7B - with low micromolar IC 50 s while considerably less active or inactive against eleven KDMs - 1A, 3A, 3B, 4A-E, 5A, 5B and 6B. The KDM that is most sensitive to DFP, KDM6A, has an IC 50 that is between 7- and 70-fold lower than the iron binding equivalence concentrations at which DFP inhibits ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) activities and/or reduces the labile intracellular zinc ion pool. In breast cancer cell lines, DFP potently inhibits the demethylation of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, two chromatin posttranslational marks that are subject to removal by several KDM subfamilies which are inhibited by DFP in cell-free assay. These data strongly suggest that DFP derives its anti-proliferative activity largely from the inhibition of a sub-set of KDMs. The docked poses adopted by DFP at the KDM active sites enabled identification of new DFP-based KDM inhibitors which are more cytotoxic to cancer cell lines. We also found that a cohort of these agents inhibited HP1-mediated gene silencing and one lead compound potently inhibited breast tumor growth in murine xenograft models. Overall, this study identified a new chemical scaffold capable of inhibiting KDM enzymes, globally changing histone modification profiles, and with specific anti-tumor activities.

The combined effect of cyclophosphamide and ascorbic acid on plasma lipids and lipoprotein profiles are important since, ascorbic acid encumbered the lipid abnormalities initiated by cyclophosphamide during cancer chemotherapy. Hence, the study was launched to appraise the salutary role of ascorbic acid in cyclophosphamide administered fibrosarcoma bearing rats. Fibrosarcoma cell line induced rats were treated with cyclophosphamide (10 mg/kg body weight) and ascorbic acid (200 mg/kg body weight) individually and in combination for 28 days. The concentration of plasma lipids and lipoprotein profiles were determined in control and experimental animals. The untreated, as well as cyclophosphamide administered fibrosarcoma bearing rats, divulged significantly increased levels of plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, VLDL- and LDL-cholesterol, as compared with their respective control animals. In contrast, ester and HDL-cholesterol levels exhibited a marked decrease in these animals. Similar observations were also noticed in liver lipid values, as well. However, these lipid abnormalities were corrected by the co-administration of ascorbic acid. These results suggested, that some clinical entanglement of cyclophosphamide was refrained by co-administration of ascorbic acid in tumor stress condition.

This article 'Influence of Azolla, Sesbania, and Urea Supergranules (USG) on Rice Yield and Nitrogen Uptake' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Azolla Application and Rice Crop Response in Tamil Nadu' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Effect of Neem Cake on Azolla Growth and Nitrogen Fixation' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Effect of Azolla Inoculation on Weed Growth in Wetland Rice' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

Previous research yielded conflicting results on the association between cigarette smoking and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Since the prevalence of smoking is high globally, the study of its impact on COVID-19 pandemic may have considerable implications for public health. This study is the first to investigate the association between the SARS-CoV-2 antibody sero-positivity and biochemically verified smoking status, to refine current estimates on this association. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and serum cotinine levels (a well-known marker of tobacco exposure) were assessed in a large sero-epidemiological survey conducted in the town of Troina (Sicily, Italy). A propensity score matching was carried out to reduce the effect of possible factors on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among study participants. Of the 1785 subjects included in our study, one-third was classified as current smokers, based on serum cotinine levels. The overall proportion of subjects with positive serology for SARS-CoV-2 IgG was 5.4%. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity and previous COVID-19 diagnosis were reduced in smokers. This reduced prevalence persisted after adjusting for possible confounders (such as sex, age, previous infection, chronic conditions, and risk group) at regression analyses, and the point estimates based on the PS-matched models resulted consistent with those for the unmatched population. This study found a lower proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 serology among current smokers, using direct laboratory measures of tobacco exposure and thus avoiding possible bias associated with self-reported smoking status. Results may also serve as a reference for future clinical research on potential pharmaceutical role of nicotine or nicotinic-cholinergic agonists against COVID-19.