Governor Asa Hutchinson will be joined by Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston for an economic development announcement Wednesday, July 29, 2020, live at 10:00 a.m. (Click on Play Button Above)
Tuesday's COVID-19 Numbers and Maps
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 906
Active Positive: 51
Recovered: 846
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 4,249
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 246
Active Positive: 57
Recovered: 187
Deaths: 2
Negatives: 2,184
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 82
Active Positive: 20
Recovered: 61
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,074
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 121
Active Positive: 16
Recovered: 105
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,981
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 58
Active Positive: 17
Recovered: 40
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 2,465
VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Tuesday (07.28.20) 130PM
Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response.
Latest COVID-19 Numbers for Monday from the AR Department of Health
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 900
Active Positive: 55
Recovered: 836
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 4,202
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 236
Active Positive: 72
Recovered: 162
Deaths: 2
Negatives: 2,147
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 80
Active Positive: 23
Recovered: 56
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,064
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 120
Active Positive: 17
Recovered: 103
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,952
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 57
Active Positive: 18
Recovered: 39
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,426
VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Monday (07.27.20) 130PM
Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Monday, July 27, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response.
Sunday's COVID-19 Numbers from the AR Dpt of Health
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 896
Active Positive: 53
Recovered: 834
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 4,103
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 228
Active Positive: 67
Recovered: 159
Deaths: 2
Negatives: 2,079
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 78
Active Positive: 23
Recovered: 54
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,041
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 120
Active Positive: 21
Recovered: 99
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,924
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 55
Active Positive: 19
Recovered: 36
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,400
COVID-19 Update for Saturday, July 25th
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 893
Active Positive: 61
Recovered: 823
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 4,050
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 222
Active Positive: 69
Recovered: 152
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 2,053
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 77
Active Positive: 26
Recovered: 50
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,028
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 111
Active Positive: 15
Recovered: 96
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,877
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 49
Active Positive: 18
Recovered: 31
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,346
Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly Address | For the Higher Calling of Health Care
LITTLE ROCK – This week, I met with doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville who have been on the front line of saving lives during this coronavirus pandemic. They were tired and stressed, but their work makes me grateful for their services and sacrifice. Today I’d like to talk about the need to find more people such as those to enter the field. I am hopeful that the sight of their heroic service will inspire others to choose a career in health care.
The numbers of those in the health care profession nationally and in Arkansas have been declining for years. This worldwide health crisis has highlighted the shortfall and the urgent need to correct it. There never has been a greater need for young people to enter the health care profession.
The reasons for the decline are many, but the result is that as health care professionals retire, there aren’t enough people to replace them. Americans are living longer, which means the number of people in need of medical care is growing as the number of providers shrinks. In the rural areas of Arkansas, the situation is even more challenging.
As the coronavirus has billowed across our nation like a toxic fog, the illness has illustrated the complicated nature of our health care system. We have seen how various medical specialties intersect, and that each is essential: Medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine. Paramedics. Emergency room doctors and registered nurses. Respiratory therapists and licensed practical nurses. Home health caregivers. Researchers. Medical technicians. That is a very short list of the many important jobs in the health care field.
A health care career offers many benefits. You can find a job almost anywhere you want to live, and the jobs pay well.
But there is more to it than the personal benefit. Health care is a higher calling, much like any other public service. Those who choose that path often are called upon to put the good of others before personal comfort and convenience, as thousands have done during the pandemic. The hours are long, the work can be difficult. But there are the bright moments when someone saves a life or a homebound patient rewards a health aide with a smile of gratitude.
Arkansas is growing and in need of more people who are willing to commit to that level of service. Our state needs young professionals with fresh perspectives to help us figure out new and better ways to deliver health care. We need tech-savvy professionals who elevate our health care system, which benefits all Arkansans: A tech-savvy health care system attracts high-quality business and industry and enhances Arkansas’s general quality of life.
COVID-19 has changed everything about our lives. We have no idea how long we will be fighting the current battle, but the health care professionals who are guiding us through this time inspire confidence and hope. My hope is that their inspiration will attract a new generation of professionals to accept the call.
Friday's COVID-19 Numbers
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 893
Active Positive: 68
Recovered: 816
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 4,030
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 217
Active Positive: 70
Recovered: 146
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 2,033
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 75
Active Positive: 26
Recovered: 48
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,019
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 109
Active Positive: 14
Recovered: 95
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,861
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 49
Active Positive: 20
Recovered: 29
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,333
Thursday's COVID-19 Updated Numbers and Maps
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 880
Active Positive: 66
Recovered: 805
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 4,015
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 209
Active Positive: 69
Recovered: 139
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 2,009
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 72
Active Positive: 23
Recovered: 48
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,013
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 106
Active Positive: 13
Recovered: 93
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,851
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 43
Active Positive: 15
Recovered: 28
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,267
VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Thursday (07.23.20) 130PM
Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Thursday, July 23, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response. (Click on Play Button Above)
COVID-19 Update for Wednesday, July 22nd
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 869
Active Positive: 60
Recovered: 800
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 3,962
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 196
Active Positive: 59
Recovered: 136
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,975
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 67
Active Positive: 18
Recovered: 48
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,001
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 106
Active Positive: 15
Recovered: 91
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,837
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 39
Active Positive: 13
Recovered: 26
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,242
VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update from Fayetteville Wednesday (07.22.20) 130PM
Governor Asa Hutchinson provides a COVID-19 update to media in Fayetteville on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas’s COVID-19 response
Stanford Epidemiologist Discusses COVID-19 Death Rate, Herd Immunity, Mutation
Sister Station, KUAF in Fayetteville, invites you to listen in to a two-part interview with Erin Mordecai, an assistant professor of biology at Stanford University, about COVID-19. Part one of the conversation includes discussions about the death rate, herd immunity and whether the virus has the potential to mutate. Click on the KUAF link below.
Stanford Epidemiologist Discusses COVID-19 Death Rate, Herd Immunity, Mutation
In a two-part interview, we speak with Erin Mordecai, an assistant professor of biology at Stanford University, about COVID-19. Part one of the conversation includes discussions about the death rate, herd immunity and whether the virus has the potential to mutate.
New Nano Drug Candidate Kills Aggressive Breast Cancer Cells, U of A Researchers Say
July 20, 2020
Whit Pruitt, University Relations
Hassan Beyzavi
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new nano drug candidate that kills triple negative breast cancer cells.
Triple negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and fatal types of breast cancer. The research will help clinicians target breast cancer cells directly, while avoiding the adverse, toxic side effects of chemotherapy.
Their study was published in June issue of Advanced Therapeutics.
Researchers led by Hassan Beyzavi, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, linked a new class of nanomaterials, called metal-organic frameworks, with the ligands of an already-developed photodynamic therapy drug to create a nano-porous material that targets and kills tumor cells without creating toxicity for normal cells.
Metal-organic frameworks are an emerging class of nanomaterials designed for targeted drug delivery. Ligands are molecules that bind to other molecules.
“With the exception of skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women,” said Beyzavi. “As we know, thousands of women die from breast cancer each year. Patients with triple negative cells are especially vulnerable, because of the toxic side effects of the only approved treatment for this type of cancer. We’ve addressed this problem by developing a co-formulation that targets cancer cells and has no effect on healthy cells.”
The chemical structure of multi-functional, anticancer drug candidate. Image provided by Hassan Beyzavi, University of Arkansas.
Researchers in Beyzavi’s laboratory focus on developing new, targeted photodynamic therapy drugs. As an alternative to chemotherapy – and with significantly fewer side effects – targeted photodynamic therapy, or PDT, is a noninvasive approach that relies on a photosensitizer that, upon irradiation by light, generates so-called toxic reactive oxygen species, which kill cancer cells. In recent years, PDT has garnered attention because of its ability to treat tumors without surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.
Beyzavi’s laboratory has specialized in integrating nanomaterials, such as metal-organic frameworks, with PDT and other and therapies. Metal-organic frameworks significantly enhance the effectiveness of PDT.
Doctoral student Yoshie Sakamaki from Beyzavi’s laboratrory prepared the nanomaterials and then bio-conjugated them with ligands of the PDT drug to create nanoporous materials that specifically targeted and killed tumor cells with no toxicity in normal cells.
In addition to cancer treatment, this novel drug delivery system could also be used with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or fluorescence imaging, which can track the drug in the body and monitor the progress of cancer treatment.
This collaborative project also included contributions from U of A research groups through Julie Stenken, professor of analytical chemistry; Yuchun Du, associate professor of biological sciences; and Jin-Woo Kim, professor of biological and agricultural engineering.
The American Cancer Society estimated 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer in 2019 and 41,760 deaths. Currently there are more than 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Since 2007, breast cancer death rates have been steady in women younger than 50 but have continued to decrease in older women. This decrease is believed to be the result of earlier detection and better treatments.
Triple negative breast cancer is aggressive and lacks estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, which means it cannot be treated with receptor-targeted therapy. It is difficult to treat with existing chemotherapy and often requires surgery because it quickly metastasizes throughout the body.
Cytotoxic chemotherapy is the only approved treatment for this type of breast cancer. More than 80% of women with triple negative breast cancer are treated with chemotherapy regimens that include anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin, which can cause cardiotoxicity as a serious side effect. Furthermore, chemotherapy treatment of breast cancer cell lines using either 5-FU, cisplatin, paclitaxel, doxorubicin or etoposide have shown multi-drug resistance.
Beyzavi joined the University of Arkansas in 2017 after serving as a research associate at Harvard University. Before that he was a postdoctoral awardee at Northwestern University under the co-guidance of Nobel Laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart.
About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.
Tuesday's COVID-19 Numbers and Maps
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 861
Active Positive: 63
Recovered: 789
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 3,939
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 178
Active Positive: 45
Recovered: 132
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,921
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 65
Active Positive: 17
Recovered: 47
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 993
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 104
Active Positive: 16
Recovered: 88
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,814
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 35
Active Positive: 15
Recovered: 20
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,210
VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Tuesday (07.21.20) 130PM
Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update for Monday
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 857
Active Positive: 68
Recovered: 780
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 3,895
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 169
Active Positive: 37
Recovered: 131
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,816
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 63
Active Positive: 15
Recovered: 47
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 959
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 103
Active Positive: 16
Recovered: 87
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,793
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 32
Active Positive: 15
Recovered: 17
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,170
VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Monday (07.20.20) 130PM
Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Monday, July 20, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response. (Click on Play Button Above)
Sunday's COVID-19 Updated Numbers and Maps
COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
Total Positive: 846
Active Positive: 61
Recovered: 776
Deaths: 9
Negatives: 3,849
COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
Total Positive: 167
Active Positive: 38
Recovered: 128
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 1,791
COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
Total Positive: 60
Active Positive: 13
Recovered: 46
Deaths: 1
Negatives: 945
COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
Total Positive: 101
Active Positive: 16
Recovered: 85
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 1,759
COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
Total Positive: 30
Active Positive: 13
Recovered: 17
Deaths: 0
Negatives: 2,154
