Working towards a “new normal”: HKUST’s innovations and adaptations in response to COVID-19

In this mini-chapter, we will describe how HKUST Library adapted flexibly in the face of challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, to eventually reach a “new normal” in delivering collections and services to students, faculty, and staff virtually and in-person. It will cover hygiene and physical protection of the facility and its collections;social distancing measures for library staff at work and for library patrons;virtual access at work and for patrons;user education;and new services developed in the face of COVID-19. It will consider what methods enabled the Library to cope with changes and what innovations will likely become the “new normal” going forward. © 2021 David Baker and Lucy Ellis Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Evaluation of an Automated High-Throughput Liquid-Based RNA Extraction Platform on Pooled Nasopharyngeal or Saliva Specimens for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR

SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR with pooled specimens has been implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic as a cost- and manpower-saving strategy for large-scale testing. However, there is a paucity of data on the efficiency of different nucleic acid extraction platforms on pooled specimens. This study compared a novel automated high-throughput liquid-based RNA extraction (LRE) platform (PHASIFY TM) with a widely used magnetic bead-based total nucleic acid extraction (MBTE) platform (NucliSENS^R easyMAG^R). A total of 60 pools of nasopharyngeal swab and 60 pools of posterior oropharyngeal saliva specimens, each consisting of 1 SARS-CoV-2 positive and 9 SARS-CoV-2 negative specimens, were included for the comparison. Real-time RT-PCR targeting the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp/Hel gene was performed, and GAPDH RT-PCR was used to detect RT-PCR inhibitors. No significant differences were observed in the Ct values and overall RT-PCR positive rates between LRE and MBTE platforms (92.5% (111/120] vs. 90% (108/120]), but there was a slightly higher positive rate for LRE (88.3% (53/60]) than MBTE (81.7% (49/60]) among pooled saliva. The automated LRE method is comparable to a standard MBTE method for the detection of SAR-CoV-2 in pooled specimens, providing a suitable alternative automated extraction platform. Furthermore, LRE may be better suited for pooled saliva specimens due to more efficient removal of RT-PCR inhibitors.