XREAL One

Carola Engler, R. Kandzia, S. Marillonnet

Current cloning technologies based on site-specific recombination are efficient, simple to use, and flexible, but have the drawback of leaving recombination site sequences in the final construct, adding an extra 8 to 13 amino acids to the expressed protein. We have devised a simple and rapid subcloning strategy to transfer any DNA fragment of interest from an entry clone into an expression vector, without this shortcoming. The strategy is based on the use of type IIs restriction enzymes, which cut outside of their recognition sequence. With proper design of the cleavage sites, two fragments cut by type IIs restriction enzymes can be ligated into a product lacking the original restriction site. Based on this property, a cloning strategy called ‘Golden Gate’ cloning was devised that allows to obtain in one tube and one step close to one hundred percent correct recombinant plasmids after just a 5 minute restriction-ligation. This method is therefore as efficient as currently used recombination-based cloning technologies but yields recombinant plasmids that do not contain unwanted sequences in the final construct, thus providing precision for this fundamental process of genetic manipulation.

M. E. El Zowalaty, J. Järhult

Human coronaviruses continue to pose a threat to human health. The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 which causes coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), an acute respiratory disease marked the third introduction of a highly pathogenic coronavirus into the human population in the twenty-first century. This recent emergence of a previously unknown coronavirus in China leads to huge impacts on humans globally. Covid-19 is a challenge to global public health. Here, we discuss the COVID-19 outbreak in a one health context, highlighting the need for the implementation of one health measures and practices to improve human health and reduce the emergence of pandemic viruses.

K. Acharya, S. Karki, Kshitiz Shrestha, Krishna Kaphle

One Health (OH) is a collaborative effort to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. The concept of OH is still in its infancy in Nepal but is increasingly growing. The Government of Nepal (GoN) has taken some initiatives to tackle burgeoning problems such as antimicrobial resistance, highly pathogenic avian influenza and rabies using OH approach but there are several challenges at the level of implementation. Few non-governmental organizations support GoN to promote an OH approach. The major bottlenecks in implementing OH in Nepal include poor organizational structure to support OH, absence of a legal framework to implement OH, poor coordination among different governmental agencies, insufficient technical expertise, poor data sharing mechanism across sectors, limited budget and poor understanding at political level. We encourage GoN to address these gaps and prioritize the health problems where OH approach would give the best outcome. Institutional and legal frameworks need to be created to effectively implement an OH approach in Nepal. Increasing awareness among policy makers including political leadership and increasing regular government budget for OH activities would be helpful to promote OH in Nepal.

E. Leroy, Meriadeg Ar Gouilh, J. Brugère-Picoux

Infection with the new coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), termed coronavirus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19), came to the attention of health workers in December 2019 when a cluster of people who attended the seafood and animal market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China presented with a severe respiratory illness [1,2]. The outbreak, first localized to Wuhan, quickly spread to neighbouring provinces and within three months was declared a pandemic, with cases reported in nearly 200 countries in all regions of the world. As of 8 April 2020, the pandemic has been resulted in over one million four hundred thousand confirmed cases and over 76, 000 deaths, including over 655,000 cases and 51, 000 deaths in Europe. While China has not registered new cases for several days, parts of western Europe have become the foci of the COVID-19 pandemic. The close association between humans and their pets has led to an examination of the potential risks of transmission. Viral RNA has been detected in two dogs and two cats, belonging to SARS-CoV-2 infected owners, in Hong Kong and Liège, Belgium. While pale in comparison with the scale of infection in the human population, these observations have nonetheless provoked many violent reactions towards dogs and cats. More recently, National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) of the US the Animal and Plant Health Inspection service (APHIS) in Ames, Iowa confirmed that a female Malayan Tiger at the Bronx zoo had positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV2. Bronx Zoo veterinarians confirmed that the Malayan tiger, her sister, two Amur tigers, and three African Lions had developed a dray cough [3]. The objective of this note is to inventory the risks of SARS-CoV-2 contamination of pets, especially dogs and cats, by their owners, and the potential role of pets in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Discovery of two dogs and two cats testing positive for SARSCoV-2

A. Masciantonio, D. Bourguignon, P. Bouchat, Manon Balty, B. Rimé

Prior studies indicated that actively using social network sites (SNSs) is positively associated with well-being by enhancing social support and feelings of connectedness. Conversely, passively using SNSs is negatively associated with well-being by fostering upward social comparison and envy. However, the majority of these studies has focused on Facebook. The present research examined the relationships between well-being—satisfaction with life, negative affect, positive affect—and using actively or passively various SNSs—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok—during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, two mediators were tested: social support and upward social comparison. One thousand four persons completed an online survey during the quarantine measures; the analyses employed structural equation modeling. Results showed that passive usage of Facebook is negatively related to well-being through upward social comparison, whereas active usage of Instagram is positively related to satisfaction with life and negative affect through social support. Furthermore, active usage of Twitter was positively related to satisfaction with life through social support; while passive usage was negatively related to upward social comparison, which, in turn, was associated with more negative affect. Finally, TikTok use was not associated with well-being. Results are discussed in line with SNSs’ architectures and users’ motivations. Future research is required to go beyond methodological and statistical limitations and allow generalization. This study concludes that SNSs must be differentiated to truly understand how they shape human interactions.