Omicron COVID Variant
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world. Following the original BA.1 variant, several subvariants of Omicron have emerged: BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5. Since October 2022, two subvariants of BA.5 named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have spread rapidly. Three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine provide protection against severe disease and hospitalisation caused by BA.1 and BA.2. The immunity effects of BA.2 are similar to those of BA.1. For three-dose vaccinated individuals, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are more infectious than previous subvariants, making it likely, , for a new peak in COVID-19 infections to occur. __TOC__ Classification On 26 November, the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution declared PANGO lineage B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Variant Of Concern
The term variant of concern (VOC) for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is a category used for variants of the virus where mutations in their spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) substantially increase binding affinity (e.g., N501Y) in RBD-hACE2 complex (genetic data), while also being linked to rapid spread in human populations (epidemiological data). Before this, an emerging variant may have been labeled a variant of interest, or in some countries a variant under investigation. During or after fuller assessment as a variant of concern the variant is typically assigned to a lineage in the PANGOLIN nomenclature system and to clades in the Nextstrain and GISAID systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been observed to mutate, with certain combinations of specific point mutations proving to be more concerning than others. This was principally for reasons of transmissibility and virulence, and also with regard to the possible emergence of escape ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sneezing
A sneeze (also known as sternutation) is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. A sneeze expels air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action. This action allows for mucus to escape through the nasal cavity. Sneezing is possibly linked to sudden exposure to bright light, sudden change (fall) in temperature, breeze of cold air, a particularly full stomach, exposure to allergens, or viral infection. Because sneezes can spread disease through infectious aerosol droplets, it is recommended to cover one's mouth and nose with the forearm, the inside of the elbow, a tissue or a handkerchief while sneezing. In addition to covering the mouth, looking down is also recommended in order to change the direction of the droplets spread and avoid high concentration in the human breathing heights. The function of sneezing is to expel mucus c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Xi (surname)
__NOTOC__ Xi ( ; ) is the romanization in Pinyin of several different Chinese family names, including: * (; see Chinese Wikipedia article) * (; see Chinese Wikipedia article) * (; see Chinese Wikipedia article) * (; see Chinese Wikipedia article) This is the most common surname romanized "Xi", making up approximately 0.01% of the population of Mainland China. * ( * (; see Chinese Wikipedia article) * (; see Chinese Wikipedia article) Xi is spelled "Hsi" in Wade-Giles. People 奚 It is the 45th name in the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem written during the Song dynasty, around 1000 years ago. *Ming Xi (; born 1990), Chinese fashion model *Xi Aihua (; born 1982), Chinese rower *Xi Xiaoming (; born 1954), Chinese judge 席 It is the 133rd name in the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem. During the Chu–Han Contention, many people surnamed Ji () changed their surname to Xi () because of naming taboo of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, whose given name was Ji (). *Xi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Greek Alphabet
The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as well as consonants. In Archaic Greece, Archaic and early Classical Greece, Classical times, the Greek alphabet existed in Archaic Greek alphabets, many local variants, but, by the end of the 4th century BCE, the Euclidean alphabet, with 24 letters, ordered from alpha to omega, had become standard and it is this version that is still used for Greek writing today. The letter case, uppercase and lowercase forms of the 24 letters are: : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /ς, , , , , , . The Greek alphabet is the ancestor of the Latin script, Latin and Cyrillic scripts. Like Latin and Cyrillic, Greek originally had only a single form of each letter; it developed the letter case distinction between uppercase and lowercase in parallel with Latin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Xi (letter)
Xi is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet (uppercase Ξ, lowercase ξ; el, ξι), representing the voiceless consonant cluster . It is pronounced in Modern Greek, and generally or in English. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 60. Xi was derived from the Phoenician letter samekh . Xi is distinct from the letter chi, which gave its form to the Latin letter X. Greek Both in classical Ancient Greek and in Modern Greek, the letter Ξ represents the consonant cluster /ks/. In some archaic local variants of the Greek alphabet, this letter was missing. Instead, especially in the dialects of most of the Greek mainland and Euboea, the cluster /ks/ was represented by Χ (which in classical Greek is chi, used for ). Because this variant of the Greek alphabet was used in Magna Graecia (the Greek colonies in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula), the Latin alphabet borrowed Χ rather than Ξ as the Latin letter that represented the /ks/ cluster ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nu (letter)
Nu ( ell, νι ''ni'' ) is the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet (uppercase Ν, lowercase ν), representing the voiced alveolar nasal . In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 50. It is derived from the ancient Phoenician language nun . Its Latin equivalent is N, though the lowercase (\nu) resembles the Roman lowercase v. The name of the letter is written in Ancient Greek and traditional Modern Greek polytonic orthography, while in Modern Greek it is written . Letters that arose from nu include Roman N and Cyrillic Н. Symbology Like Mu, the uppercase Nu is normally identical to Latin N and is therefore not used internationally in scientific or mathematical contexts. The lower-case letter is used as a symbol for: * Mathematics: ** Degree of freedom in statistics. ** The greatest fixed point of a function, as commonly used in the μ-calculus. ** Free names of a process, as used in the π-calculus. ** One of the Greeks in mathematical finance, known as "vega ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Omicron
Omicron (; uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, ell, όμικρον) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel in contrast to ''omega'' which represented the open-mid back rounded vowel and the digraph ''ου'' which represented the long close-mid back rounded vowel . In modern Greek, both omicron and omega represent the mid back rounded vowel or . Letters that arose from omicron include Roman O and Cyrillic O. The word literally means "little O" (''o mikron'') as opposed to "great O" (''ō mega''). In the system of Greek numerals, omicron has a value of 70. Use In addition to its use as an alphabetic letter, omicron is occasionally used in technical notation, but its use is limited since both upper case and lower case (Ο ο) are indistinguishable from the Latin letter "o" (O o) and difficult to distinguish from the Arabic numeral "zero" (0) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Greek Letter
The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as well as consonants. In Archaic and early Classical times, the Greek alphabet existed in many local variants, but, by the end of the 4th century BCE, the Euclidean alphabet, with 24 letters, ordered from alpha to omega, had become standard and it is this version that is still used for Greek writing today. The uppercase and lowercase forms of the 24 letters are: : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /ς, , , , , , . The Greek alphabet is the ancestor of the Latin and Cyrillic scripts. Like Latin and Cyrillic, Greek originally had only a single form of each letter; it developed the letter case distinction between uppercase and lowercase in parallel with Latin during the modern era. Sound values and conventional transcriptions for some of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
PANGOLIN
Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smutsia''. ''Manis'' comprises the four species found in Asia, while ''Phataginus'' and ''Smutsia'' include two species each, all found in sub-Saharan Africa. These species range in size from . A number of extinct pangolin species are also known. Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales, similar in material to fingernails and toenails, covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this feature. They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the species. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites, which they capture using their long tongues. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring, which they raise for about two years. Pangol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Radial Distance Tree 2021-Dec-01
Omicron (; uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, ell, όμικρον) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel in contrast to ''omega'' which represented the open-mid back rounded vowel and the digraph ''ου'' which represented the long close-mid back rounded vowel . In modern Greek, both omicron and omega represent the mid back rounded vowel or . Letters that arose from omicron include Roman O and Cyrillic O. The word literally means "little O" (''o mikron'') as opposed to "great O" (''ō mega''). In the system of Greek numerals, omicron has a value of 70. Use In addition to its use as an alphabetic letter, omicron is occasionally used in technical notation, but its use is limited since both upper case and lower case (Ο ο) are indistinguishable from the Latin letter "o" (O o) and difficult to distinguish from the Arabic numeral "zero" (0) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
COVID-19 Vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an established body of knowledge existed about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This knowledge accelerated the development of various vaccine platforms during early 2020. The initial focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic, often severe illness. In January 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence data was shared through GISAID, and by March 2020, the global pharmaceutical industry announced a major commitment to address COVID19. In 2020, the first COVID19 vaccines were developed and made available to the public through emergency authorizations and conditional approvals. Initially, most COVID19 vaccines were two ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It is connected to Zambia across the short Zambezi River border by the Kazungula Bridge. A country of slightly over 2.3 million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. About 11.6 percent of the population lives in the capital and largest city, Gaborone. Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s—it has since transformed itself into an upper-middle-income country, with one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Modern-day humans first inhabited the country over 200,000 years ago. The Tswana ethnic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |