ABSTRACT
Both in the United States and globally, we—scholars, policymakers, administrators, and practitioners alike—are positioned to make immensely consequential decisions with regard to providing the kinds of resources needed for learning and for teaching. This requires that the metaphorical, if not the physical, table at which we sit to make these decisions be enlarged and that we ensure that the voices of those who bring powerful experiences and scholarship are able to contribute in meaningful ways. It also requires that we broaden our perspectives about what evidence is necessary to make informed, sustainable decisions. We must also learn lessons from those teachers, schools, and school districts that seem to have successfully pivoted to serve students and their families effectively. Why? Because we need to understand better what contextual knowledge and practices were and are in place that facilitate the kind of pivoting that supports the learning of all students and enhances the well-being of families and communities.
ABSTRACT
Abstract COVID-19 has severely constricted global economic activities. This paper examines the joint effect of capital structure and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on firm risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that firms having excessive debt beyond the optimal level experienced high firm risk during the pandemic and the effect is more prevalent among firms with poor CSR performance. In contrast, firms with a debt level below the optimum are self-protected regardless of their CSR practices. Our study provides businesses with insights on post-pandemic directions of capital structure and CSR policies to build up sustainability and resilience in a volatile market.
ABSTRACT
Background: Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory disease that has spread rapidly across the world. Many studies have already evaluated the clinical features of COVID-19, but how it compares with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-negative community-acquired pneumonia (SN-CAP) is still unclear. Moreover, COVID-19 mortality is correlated with disease severity, but indicators for severity grading have not been specified. We aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in comparison with SN-CAP and find indicators for disease severity in COVID-19. Methods: Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and SN-CAP were enrolled. Clinical, radiological, and laboratory data were analyzed. Results: The numbers of COVID-19 and SN-CAP patients enrolled were 304 and 138, respectively. The age of the patients was not significantly different between the groups. Compared with SN-CAP, COVID-19 patients had more symptoms of fever and dyspnea; and showed significant difference in blood count results. Computed tomography (CT) imaging of COVID-19 patients showed patchy ground-glass opacities that correlated with disease severity, whereas the CT imaging of SN-CAP patients showed patchy high-density shadows. COVID-19 patients were classified into moderate, severe, and critically severe groups. The severe and critically severe groups had elevated levels of white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, platelets, C-reaction protein (CRP), lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), troponin-I, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). However, they had decreased levels of lymphocytes, lymphocyte ratio, and albumin. Compared with the younger patients, the older COVID-19 individuals had more chronic diseases and significantly elevated levels of WBC, neutrophil, and CRP levels. Conclusion: SN-CAP showed more inflammatory reaction than COVID-19. Old people with chronic diseases are more susceptible to COVID-19 and have a high likelihood of developing severe and critically severe infection. Levels of WBC, lymphocytes, neutrophils, CRP, NLR, PLR, troponin-I, creatinine, and BUN are important indicators for severity grading in COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/pathology , Pneumonia, Bacterial/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Bacterial/pathology , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/pathology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Betacoronavirus , Blood Chemical Analysis , C-Reactive Protein/analysis , COVID-19 , Community-Acquired Infections/mortality , Community-Acquired Infections/pathology , Comorbidity , Coronavirus Infections/mortality , Female , Humans , Inflammation/pathology , Leukocyte Count , Male , Middle Aged , Neutrophils/cytology , Pandemics , Platelet Count , Pneumonia, Bacterial/mortality , Pneumonia, Viral/mortality , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Young AdultABSTRACT
COVID-19 has become a global pandemic. However, the impact of the public health interventions in China needs to be evaluated. We established a SEIRD model to simulate the transmission trend of China. In addition, the reduction of the reproductive number was estimated under the current forty public health interventions policies. Furthermore, the infection curve, daily transmission replication curve, and the trend of cumulative confirmed cases were used to evaluate the effects of the public health interventions. Our results showed that the SEIRD curve model we established had a good fit and the basic reproductive number is 3.38 (95% CI, 3.25-3.48). The SEIRD curve show a small difference between the simulated number of cases and the actual number; the correlation index (H2) is 0.934, and the reproductive number (R) has been reduced from 3.38 to 0.5 under the current forty public health interventions policies of China. The actual growth curve of new cases, the virus infection curve, and the daily transmission replication curve were significantly going down under the current public health interventions. Our results suggest that the current public health interventions of China are effective and should be maintained until COVID-19 is no longer considered a global threat.