Investigation of imported malaria cases at a COVID-19 isolation point in Qingdao

The epidemiological data were collected from travellers who returned from Guinea on the 23rd of September, 2020 and were diagnosed with malaria at a C OVID -19 quarantine site in Qingdao, Shandong Province. The epidemiological characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of the cases and the epidemiology investigation and the rapid test screening results for other travellers on from the same flight and the interventions in reaction to the imported malaria cases were analyzed. The results showed that 4 out of 231 Guinean returned travellers had developed malaria symptoms, including chills and fever, during the isolation period. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) indicated Plasmodium falciparum infection. Considering the patients ' travel history, clinical manifestations, and laboratory RDT test results, a confirmed diagnosis of imported P. falciparum malaria was made. The four malaria cases, who are male workers aged 29 to 55, were transferred to Jiaozhou People ' s Hospital for treatment. All four patients were administrated of artemether tablets upon diagnosis. One of the cases experienced severe malaria complications and were administrated with 12 doses (60 mg/dose) of artesunate intravenously for five days. The other three patients were treated with dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine phosphate tablets for one course of 8 tablets in 2 days (40 mg dihydroartemisinin and 320 mg piperaquine phosphate), respectively. Among the 231 returned travellers, 111 (48.1 %) had a history of malaria overseas. There were 23 positive cases detected by RDT, including the four symptomatic cases. The other 19 cases were asymptomatic. One of the asymptomatic cases became symptomatic three months later and was diagnosed as an imported P. malariae infection. Laboratory blood smear microscopic tests at the Jiaozhou City and Qingdao Municipal Center For Disease Control and Prevention showed negative results for the four malaria cases and the 19 RDT positive case. The samples from the four malaria cases were rechecked by the provincial reference laboratory of Shandong Institute of parasitic Disease. The results were negative for malaria infection by microscopic examination but positive for P. falciparum infection by nucleic acid test. It is suggested that during the routine control of COVID-19, the awareness of COVID-19 and malaria should be established among the returned travellers from high malaria-endemic areas. The health education "gate" should be moved forward to improve the treatment compliance for malaria cases and reduce the relapse or recrudescence caused by sub-optimal treatment.Copyright © 2022, Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis. All rights reserved.

Forming of Soft Competencies Educational Process Management Changes (Distance Education)

The impetus and innovative idea for research was the rapid transformational changes in society. These changes were expressed in the experimental search activities of the development in education and other social and humanitarian sciences, which are now taking place in the world in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and the maximum distanceization of processes, including educational ones. The authors concluded that these changes concern: teaching methods, organization and management of educational processes. In practical teaching, the authors noticed the peculiarities of soft competencies formation in distance learning. Unlike knowledge, soft competencies are formed in social interaction. It is completely different in content and forms of construction in online education than in the offline one. These changes in educational transformations and management of educational processes take place due to fundamental transformations under the influence of: scientific and technological progress, global security challenges, wide access to information, significant part of life virtualization, restructuring of the axis of the teaching paradigm, etc. The main idea of the article is focused on changes of soft competencies formation as they are understood in distance learning;also it was emphasized the changes, necessary for successful teachers' work management in this area. Research methods: general scientific (analysis, synthesis, collection of information, expert opinions, forecasting and modeling), special scientific (analysis of changes in law, recommended practices, observation, authors' own practice and fixation in changes in the educational results of their students).

Mass Spectrometry Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Reveals Camouflaging Glycans and Unique Post-Translational Modifications

The devastating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted worldwide efforts to study structural biological traits of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its viral components. Compared to the Spike protein, which is the primary target for currently available vaccines or antibodies, knowledge about other virion structural components is incomplete. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, we report a comprehensive post-translational modification (PTM) analysis of nucleocapsid phosphoprotein (NCP), the most abundant structural component of the SARS-CoV-2 virion. In addition to phosphoryl groups, we show that the SARS-CoV-2 NCP is decorated with a variety of PTMs, including N-glycans and ubiquitin. Based on newly identified PTMs, refined protein structural models of SARS-CoV-2 NCP were proposed and potential immune recognition epitopes of NCP were aligned with PTMs. These data can facilitate the design of novel vaccines or therapeutics targeting NCP, as valuable alternatives to the current vaccination and treatment paradigm that is under threat of the ever-mutating SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.

The impact of COVID-19 on the cascade of care of HCV in the u.s. and china

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically imperiled the health system worldwide. It may also negatively impact the cascade of care of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the progress on WHO 2030 goal of HCV elimination. In this study, we used a multinational, multicenter cohort to estimate the change in the completion of DAA therapy, HCV RNA testing, and clinical encounter during pandemic. Methods: We collected data patients who underwent DAA therapy at three tertiary medical centers in Los Angeles (US), Xi'an (China), and Nanjing (China) between January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 and followed until November 30, 2020. We compared the proportions of HCV patients who completed DAA therapy as well as had HCV RNA testing and follow-up visits during and after the end of the HCV therapy between COVID-19 pandemic and the periods before pandemic. Additionally, we determined the frequency and predictive factors of utilization of telemedicine. Results: A total of 256 patients with HCV infection were included. Despite no significant reduction in the completion of DAA before and during the pandemic, the proportion of patients undergoing HCV RNA testing during DAA treatment decreased from about 80% before pandemic to 67% during the pandemic, with a more prominent decrease in the US. There were less than 10% of patients who had HCV RNA testing 12 weeks post-treatment during COVID-19 era. Compared to pre-pandemic period, post-treatment clinic encounter decreased significant in China but elevated in the US. Further analysis showed that the increase was due to the surge in utilization of telemedicine. However, the increased number of follow-up visits during COVID-19 pandemic period did not result in an increase in HCV RNA testing. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic carried profound impact on the cascade of care for HCV patients in both the US and China. Despite the increased use of telemedicine in the US, the adherence to recommendations for HCV RNA testing was still disappointingly low. Stakeholders should identify the modifiable barriers and reinforce the care while withstanding the pandemic.

Use of convalescent plasma therapy in eight individuals with mild COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a global epidemic. Several studies of individuals with severe COVID-19 regard convalescent plasma (CP) transfusion as an effective therapy. However, no significant improvements are found in randomized clinical trials of CP treatment. Until now, data for individuals with mild COVID-19 transfused CP were lacking. This study recruited eight individuals with mild COVID-19 who received at least one dose of CP transfusion. After CP therapy, the clinical symptoms of all individuals improved. Lymphocyte counts tended to increase, and lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase tended to decrease. However, C-reactive protein increased transiently in three individuals. The median time for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid test to become negative was 2.5 days after CP transfusion. The study shows the potential benefits of CP. Meanwhile, CP probably enhances the inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 temporarily in people with insufficient antiviral immunity. However, the effects of CP are not permanent.