Antibacterial and Antiviral Activities of Microwave-assisted Thuja orientalis Extracts

In this study, the components of microwave-assisted extracts obtained from Thuja orientalis leaves were analyzed, and the cytotoxicity, antibacterial and antiviral activities were evaluated. The predominant components from microwave-assisted extraction were catechin, leucopelargonidin, arecatannin, quinolone, and kaempferol derivatives, which are classified in the fla-vonoid and tannin groups. We observed that the 0.11 mg/mL of extract concentration did not show cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. The antibacterial activities were tested according to the guidelines of methods for determining the bactericidal activity of antimicrobial agents. The extracts showed 99.9% antibacterial efficiency against gram-positive S. aureus, while the anti-bacterial effect on gram-negative E. coli was insignificant. When the extract concentration and contact time with bacteria were increased, 99.9% antibacterial efficiency was observed for E. coli as well as S. aureus. Following the standard to assess the activity of microbicides against viruses in suspension (ASTM-E1052-20), the antiviral efficiency was more than 99.99% for influenza A (H1N1) and SARS-CoV-2. These results suggest its potential use in antiviral disinfectants, surface coatings, personal protective equipment, and textiles. © 2023 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. All rights reserved.

Intrapleural therapy for pleural infection from bronchopleural fistula in an adult with hyper-IgE syndrome.

We presented the case of an adult patient with hyper-IgE syndrome (HIES) who was admitted acutely with a large hydropneumothorax from lung consolidation, a bronchopleural fistula and pleural infection. He has had recurrent pulmonary and skin infections since childhood and longstanding pneumatoceles. He was treated with systemic antibiotics and chest tube drainage. Administration of two doses of low-dose intrapleural therapy (1 mg tissue plasminogen activator and 5 mg deoxyribonuclease) allowed complete evacuation of his residual loculated pleural fluid, aided resolution of his infection without provoking a significant air leak and avoided the need for surgery.

Antibacterial and Antiviral Activities of Microwave-assisted Thuja orientalis Extracts

In this study, the components of microwave-assisted extracts obtained from Thuja orientalis leaves were analyzed, and the cytotoxicity, antibacterial and antiviral activities were evaluated. The predominant components from microwave-assisted extraction were catechin, leucopelargonidin, arecatannin, quinolone, and kaempferol derivatives, which are classified in the fla-vonoid and tannin groups. We observed that the 0.11 mg/mL of extract concentration did not show cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. The antibacterial activities were tested according to the guidelines of methods for determining the bactericidal activity of antimicrobial agents. The extracts showed 99.9% antibacterial efficiency against gram-positive S. aureus, while the anti-bacterial effect on gram-negative E. coli was insignificant. When the extract concentration and contact time with bacteria were increased, 99.9% antibacterial efficiency was observed for E. coli as well as S. aureus. Following the standard to assess the activity of microbicides against viruses in suspension (ASTM-E1052-20), the antiviral efficiency was more than 99.99% for influenza A (H1N1) and SARS-CoV-2. These results suggest its potential use in antiviral disinfectants, surface coatings, personal protective equipment, and textiles. © 2023 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. All rights reserved.

Modern pandemic crises and R&D investment

This study investigates the impact of crises caused by pandemics on firms' R&D investments. We explore these associations by utilizing a comprehensive cross-country sample of 261,959 firm-year observations collected from 39 countries during five modern health crises (SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009, MERS in 2012, Ebola in 2012, and Zika in 2016). The results indicate that pandemics have a positive and significant impact on R&D investment. Furthermore, we show that private firms in civil-law countries were more likely to adopt conservative financial policies than those in common-law countries. We conclude that the difference between the legal origins of private firms influences the impact on R&D investment. Moreover, it promotes conservative policies to reduce private firms' R&D investment in countries with civil law.

Influence of institutional differences on trade credit use during pandemics

This study examines the formal and informal institutions that affected trade credit during the pandemic periods. To this end, we analyze 590,025 firm-year observations across 107 countries during six recent pandemic crises: SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009), MERS (2012), Ebola (2014), Zika (2016), and COVID-19 (2020). The study finds that formal legal institutions and firms' information transparency during pandemic periods act as a "brake” for trade credit usage. By contrast, informal institutions with religious connotations or attributes, social trust, and policy stability play a "cushion” role in softening the impact of pandemic crises when a firm applies for trade credit. These results remain robust after alternating the estimation techniques, trade credits, pandemic variables, and different samples. This study offers new evidence on the role of trade credit from the perspectives of formal and informal institutions during pandemic crises. The outcomes thus provide information worthy of consideration by policymakers when faced with informal institutional conditions and support government efforts to improve unstable formal systems and prevent severe shocks in the future. © 2022

Manifesting the embedded developmental state: the role of South Korea's National Pension Service in managing financial crisis

Financial liberalization has noticeably reduced the role of the state in effectively influencing the economy in post-developmental states. Yet many studies have found that the legacies of the developmental model continue to influence the policies, institutions, and socioeconomic challenges that are faced by the states that previously adopted the model. These studies, however, do not clearly identify when and how such legacies may be manifested in state behavior. This paper contributes to filling this gap in the literature by arguing that financial crises can serve as a trigger to more clearly reveal the structural evidence of the legacy in institutions that were previously established and utilized for developmental objectives. By conducting a rigorous case analysis using historical and market data on the crisis responses of South Korea's public pension fund, this paper finds that South Korea's developmental legacy remains passively embedded in the governance structure of the pension fund in non-crisis times but manifests during financial crises.

A review of thermal impact of surface acoustic waves on microlitre droplets in medical applications

The surface acoustic waves (SAW) propagate inside the microdroplets resulting in kinetic and thermal impacts. The kinetic drives fluid particles inside the droplet while thermal impact increases the liquid’s temperature. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research investigations related to internal kinetics and heating inside the microdroplet caused by the acoustic waves. The main factors that affect the kinetics and convection heat transfer are the piezoelectric materials, shape of the interdigital transducer (IDT) and mode of acoustic waves. Internal streaming (kinetic) leads to particle mixing, particle manipulation, cell sorting, cell patterning, cell separation, measuring the concentration of immunoglobulin and so forth. The effect of changing the mode of waves and the shape of IDT on the relevant applications are presented. Internal convection heat transfer is important where heating of the liquid is essential for many applications such as monitoring blood coagulation in the human plasma and an acoustic tweezer for particle trapping. Experimental methods developed by researchers to realise uniform temperature with constant heating and cooling cycles are also discussed. Such methods are widely used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect COVID-19 infection. The heating of the droplet can be efficiently controlled by changing the input power and by varying the duty factor. © The Author(s) 2022.

Will proximity mobile payments substitute traditional payments? Examining factors influencing customers' switching intention during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The objective of this study is twofold: first, to investigate the determinants of customers' switching intention from traditional payments to proximity mobile payments (PMPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic for specific insight on how these factors shape customers' switching intentions;second, this study discusses the relationship between traditional payments and PMP services. Design/methodology/approach The study data were collected from individual customers who used both traditional payments and PMP in a physical store during the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze the validity of the variables and the causal relationships among variables based on 305 valid data. Findings The results show that the factor of traditional payments, that is, dissatisfaction positively and significantly influenced customers' switching intention. Factors of PMP, namely perceived usefulness (PUF) and perceived ease of use (EOU), positively and significantly impacted switching intention. In addition, the relationship between traditional payments and PMP, that is, low perceived substitutability was found to negatively influence switching intention, PUF and EOU. Research limitations/implications First, the study targets are customers with experience in using PMP after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is suggested to compare customers who had experience using PMP before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, although cash and bank cards belong to the category of traditional payments, they have different degrees of contact when transactions occur. The contact rate of bank cards is lower than that of cash. This study did not differentiate between cash and bank cards, which is the main limitation. Originality/value First, this study provides a reference to examine mobile payment usage from the perspective of both incumbent and alternative services conjointly under emergency situations, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the application of migration theory to the context of mobile payment extends existing research on mobile payment. Third, this study is among the first to investigate the relationship between traditional payments and PMP.

Investigating the Effects of Face Mask and Gender on Interpersonal Distance Judgments

Face masks and social distancing are widely encouraged as barrier gestures against the Covid-19 pandemic. In the aspect of social psychology, severe public hygiene might change people’s perception of interpersonal distance (IPD). The purpose of the current study was to study the effects of face mask and gender on IPD performances. Under the isolation condition, the paper-and-pencil test was selected and conducted into an online version of visual distance scale for IPD measurement. Thirty participants were required to drag the picture-confederates for determining the comfort distance under facing confederates with/without face masks of different genders. The result of the ANOVA showed the significant effect by face mask and confederate’s gender on IPD. For confederate’s gender, the IPD of male was larger than female. Moreover, the results of face mask effect were found that participants preferred a larger IPD when facing the confederate without a face mask than that with a face mask. In other words, the image of the face mask can arouse the feeling of safety and contribute to social intercourse promotion during the Covid-19 pandemic. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The Critical Factors of Student Performance in MOOCs for Sustainable Education: A Case of Chinese Universities

COVID-19 has drastically changed human life, both in the current era and, no doubt, in the years to come. One of the hot topics during this period is whether and how COVID-19 will change education patterns in the next few years. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between massive open online courses (MOOCs) and students' learning performance. To that end, this study combined the gamification concept with the modified information systems (IS) success model and the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) for building a research model. We surveyed 586 students through an online survey and tested the hypotheses. The research results indicated that MOOCs' information quality (IQ), system quality (SQ), and service quality (SEQ) had positive influences on the confirmation, which then affected MOOCs' usefulness, satisfaction, and gamification. Students' continued usage intention and course performance were positively influenced by usefulness and gamification. Students' continued usage intention of MOOCs also positively affected course performance. The relationship between gamification and satisfaction, however, was not proved. The research results also showed that gamification, which was composed of entertainment, challenge, and social interaction, played a critical role in improving students' continued usage intention of MOOCs and their course performance.

Inflammatory markers in gynecologic oncology patients hospitalized with covid-19

Introduction Elevated inflammatory markers in COVID-19 infection are predictive of disease severity and mortality. It is unclear if these markers are associated with severe disease in patients with cancer due to underlying tumor related inflammation. We sought to further understand the inflammatory response related to COVID-19 in gynecologic cancer patients. Methods Patients with history of gynecologic cancer hospitalized for COVID-19 infection with available laboratory data were identified. Laboratory values at the time of hospital admission and clinical outcomes were abstracted from electronic medical records. Severe infection was defined as infection requiring ICU admission or resulting in death. Results 86 patients with gynecologic cancer were hospitalized with COVID-19 infection with median age of 68.5 years (interquartile range (IQR), 59.0 to 74.8 years). Of the 86 patients, 29 (33.7%) patients required ICU admission and 25 (29.1%) patients died of COVID-19 complications. There were 36 (41.9%) patients in remission and 50 (58.1%) had active disease. Patients with severe infection had significantly higher ferritin (median 1163.0, IQR 640.0-1967.0) and Creactive protein (CRP) (median 142.0, IQR 62.5-217.1) levels than those with non-severe disease (median 624.0, IQR 269.7-954.0, P=0.01;median 62.3, IQR 13.0-159.1, P=0.02 respectively) (table 1). White blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, and lactate were also associated with severe disease. Procalcitonin and D-Dimer levels were not significantly associated with severe disease (P=0.2;P=0.7 respectively). Conclusion/Implications Inflammatory markers (ferritin and CRP) in gynecologic cancer patients are associated with COVID-19 severity and can be used as prognostic markers at the time of admission.

Patterns of COVID-19 on computed tomography imaging.

PURPOSE: As the designated tertiary referral centre for infectious diseases in Hong Kong, our hospital received the city's first group of patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Herein, we studied the earliest patients admitted to our centre in order to clarify the typical radiological findings, particularly computed tomography (CT) findings, associated with COVID-19. METHODS: From 22 January 2020 to 29 February 2020, 19 patients with confirmed COVID-19 underwent high-resolution or conventional CT scans of the thorax in our centre. The CT imaging findings of these patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Hong Kong were reviewed in this study. RESULTS: Ground-glass opacities (GGO) with peripheral subpleural distribution were found in all patients (100%). No specific zonal predominance was observed. All lobes were involved in 16 (84.2%) patients, focal subsegmental consolidations were observed in 14 (73.7%) patients, and interlobular septal thickening was present in 12 (63.2%) patients. No mediastinal lymph node enlargement, centrilobular nodule, or pleural effusion was detected in any of the patients. Other imaging features present in several patients include bronchial dilatation, bronchial wall thickening, and crazy-paving patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral subpleural GGO without zonal predominance in the absence of centrilobular nodule, pleural effusion, and lymph node enlargement were consistent findings in patients with confirmed COVID-19. The observed radiological patterns on CT scans can help identify COVID-19 and assess affected patients in the context of the ongoing outbreak.