Colchicine anti-inflammatory therapy for non-intensive care unit hospitalized COVID-19 patients: results from a pilot open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial.

Systemic inflammation is a hallmark of severe coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Anti-inflammatory therapy is considered crucial to modulate the hyperinflammatory response (cytokine storm) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. There is currently no specific, conclusively proven, cost-efficient, and worldwide available anti-inflammatory therapy available to treat COVID-19 patients with cytokine storm. The present study aimed to investigate the treatment benefit of oral colchicine for hospitalized COVID-19 patients with suspected cytokine storm. Colchicine is an approved drug and possesses multiple anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This was a pilot, open-label randomized controlled clinical trial comparing standard of care (SOC) plus oral colchicine (colchicine arm) vs. SOC alone (control arm) in non-ICU hospitalized COVID-19 patients with suspected cytokine storm. Colchicine treatment was initiated within first 48 hours of admission delivered at 1.5 mg loading dose, followed by 0.5 mg b.i.d. for next 6 days and 0.5 mg q.d. for the second week. A total of 96 patients were randomly allocated to the colchicine (n=48) and control groups (n=48). Both colchicine and control group patients experienced similar clinical outcomes by day 14 of hospitalization. Treatment outcome by day 14 in colchicine vs control arm: recovered and discharged alive: 36 (75.0%) vs. 37 (77.1%), remain admitted after 14-days: 4 (8.3%) vs. 5 (10.4%), ICU transferred: 4 (8.3%) vs. 3 (6.3%), and mortality: 4 (8.3%) vs. 3 (6.3%). The speed of improvement of COVID-19 acute symptoms including shortness of breath, fever, cough, the need of supplementary oxygen, and oxygen saturation level, was almost identical in the two groups. Length of hospitalization was on average 1.5 day shorter in the colchicine group. There was no evidence for a difference between the two groups in the follow-up serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT pro-BNP). According to the results of our study, oral colchicine does not appear to show clinical benefits in non-ICU hospitalized COVID-19 patients with suspected cytokine storm. It is possible that the anti-inflammatory pathways of colchicine are not crucially involved in the pathogenesis of COVID-19.

Academic Excellence in E Learning Based Virtual Assistance

In today's fast-growing virtual world the use of web systems and e-learning sites are providing a future workforce and becoming the common successful learning method in the wider academic contexts especially after the COVID19 pandemic situation. The usage of web systems for educational needs in academic institutes is essential and provides new opportunities for education and development. It facilitates innovation, collaboration, teaching, and learning to improve learning support. In this present demand seeking valid sources and user feedback for information sharing with an academic perspective is challenging. For this purpose, there is a need for a strategy to be built for the effective sharing of knowledge under quality check parameters. This paper discusses and evaluates the quality of e-learning sites and ranks the most common quality characteristics under ISO/IEC-9126 extended quality modeling approach. In the literature review, modern web technology features for e-learning sites are presented. In this present demand 3.0 and above generation web technology where mind control interfaces by machines are implemented, ubiquitous in nature. In 'academic success' we have given several recommendations for technological use in an e-learning environment with online platforms. It is checked that quality characteristics are extended to check the sustainability of e-learning sites. © 2021 IEEE.

Impact of Covid-19 on the Academic Achievement of Students of District Faisalabad

Background: The education of college level badly affected by the Covid-19 because of several reasons. The educational activities of college level are neglected and the education system is becoming unsatisfactory during the deteriorated era of Covid-19. Objectives: The aim of study is to identify the impact of Covid-19 on the academic achievement of student of district Faisalabad. Methodology: Total population will be 267 students of graduation 4th year in the colleges of (Government College for women Karkhana bazar Faisalabad 101, Government Degree College Samanabad 77 and Government postgraduate Islamiya College for women Eidgah road Faisalabad 89). The sample size of this study was 134 (Government college for women karkhana bazar Faisalabad 54, Government degree college Samanabad 38 and Government postgraduate Islamiya college for women Eidgah road Faisalabad 42) by the confidence interval 6% and confidence level 95%.The sample size had been determined by using online available software i.e;www.surveysystem.com. Respondents were selected for research by simple random sampling technique. The data were collected through questionnaire keeping in view the objectives of the study. Collected data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The respondents of the present study were asked to give their opinion on a five Likert scale. The percentage, mean, standard deviation and rank order were calculated for presents the results. Conclusion: The study was concluded that students were faced numerous social problems due to the spreading of Covid-19 in all over the world. These social problems directly affected the educational system of every country. On the basis of results, it was concluded that the Covid-19 completely deteriorated the educational system and academic achievements of students. So it becomes crucial to reconstruct every fiber of educational society so that development of student’s academic achievement can be enhanced.

Intact Sense of Taste and Smell during COVID-19 Infection Is Associated with Absence of of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Antibody Responses within 3 Months of Symptomatic Illness

Background. Although studies show most COVID-19 survivors have post-infection immunity against SARS-CoV-2 that could prevent re-infection, there is still a need to identify the breadth of antibody (Ab) responses associated with clinical phenotypes. We characterized Ab profiles at the estimated peak of Ab diversity among adults with recovered SARS-CoV-2 infections and determined their relationships with clinical factors. Methods. From April-June 2020, 41 health system employees with PCRconfirmed symptomatic COVID-19 infection enrolled 8-10 weeks after symptom onset. Symptom questionnaires including baseline demographics, COVID-19 symptoms, disease severity, and disease duration were collected and plasma samples were assayed using a custom Luminex Multiplex platform (Figure 1) to measure the antibody response against 20 COVID-19 related antigens (Figure 2). Differences in Ab profile titers among different groups were tested using nonparametric t test and Benjamini-Hochberg adjustment for multiplicity. Associations were considered significant at FDR< 0.05. Figure 1: Description of the Luminex Serology Assay Figure 2: List of the COVID-19 Related Antigens and Controls Measured Results. Mean age was 48 years (range 27-68), with 51% female, 37% White, 32% Black, 29% Asian, and 17% LatinX. Ab profiles (Figure 3) showed 100% cross-reactivity with related alpha and beta coronavirus, and 95% with SARS-CoV-1. 78% had Abs against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NCP). However, 29% of patients had no immune response against the four spike protein epitopes. These participants also reported fewer symptoms, including no cases of anosmia/ageusia, suggesting mild illness. Anosmia/ageusia, fever, and cough associated significantly with higher Ab titers (Figure 4). Conclusion. Broad immune responses to various SARS-CoV-2 and related antigens were found among a heterogeneous patient population. However, less than 3 months after symptom onset, protective Ab responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins were not detected in nearly one-third of recovered patients, primarily with mild infection. Intact sense of smell and taste demonstrated the greatest association with loss of seroprotective SARS-CoV-2 Ab responses, which may be clinically useful to predict post-infection immunity. Next steps include comparing the magnitude of Ab responses following full series completion with mRNA vaccination among this cohort.

Knowledge, attitude, practices (KAP) and psychological impact of COVID-19 among Pakistani population: A quick cross-sectional online study

Background: Coronavirus causes extremely contagious infection and currently is a major threat for the public health globally. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current level of awareness towards Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Pakistani residents, their attitude, practices and psychological impact towards COVID-19 those contribute in an important way to control this pandemic. Methods: A cross sectional online study was conducted. A self-developed online questionnaire was made by Google forms and sent to the author's network with local residents in Pakistan. The questionnaire contained 35 questions among which 6 questions were related with the demographic features, 14 questions assess knowledge of participants, 4 questions evaluate the attitude, 7 questions assess the practices of the participants towards COVID-19 and 4 questions assess the psychological impact towards COVID-19. Results: Among the participants (n=528) 66.7% were female and 33.3% were male. Among them 49.8% of the participants were from the age group of 18-24 and the percentage of students was higher i.e. 39.8%. The overall range for correct answers for the knowledge questionnaire was 97.5%-46.8%, for attitude 75.2%-91.9% and for practices 39%-95%. 79% of the participants were confident that Pakistan will overcome the disaster situation of COVID-19. Conclusion: The findings of the current study indicated that Knowledge among the Pakistani residents about COVID-19 was found satisfactory. A significant number of the participants still lacking confidence when compared with the other countries. However, to effectively control the infection spread and improving COVID- 19 knowledge the well-structured awareness programs must be launched by the government those could be helpful for Pakistani residents to hold optimistic attitudes and maintain appropriate practices. © 2021 Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology. All right reserved.

Role of Chinese government and Public-Private Partnership in combating COVID-19 in China

COVID-19 has been called a Global Health Emergency worldwide. According to their available resources, developed and developing countries' public and private sectors are fighting against this pandemic. This paper examines how effective the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) strategies under the Chinese government response to control this COVID-19. The study takes the Chinese government and private sector's collective efforts for analysis and discussion from January 01 to October 31, 2020. Applying linear regression revealed that public governance strategies have worked to control this pandemic's severity and frequency. The results also show that despite the negative COVID-19 graph, the Chinese government has remained consistent in health and stringency measures. Furthermore, in cooperation with private sectors, China's emergency management has built two makeshift hospitals in 12 days and 5G technology implementation;Health Code application and volunteer works illustrate sharing governance by PPP. The study advises that by keeping in mind the strategy of PPP in China, other countries should also involve private sectors to mitigate emergency issues like COVID-19 for fast and effective outcomes and ask for assistance from the Chinese government and follow their quarantine and prudent policies to control this contagious disease. It further suggests that governments should engage private sectors before draft effective emergency preparedness policies to fight against future calamities.