Innovative Approaches to Managing Scale

Enrollments in computer science courses and majors are at or exceeding capacity at the college level. This context drives local innovations that may benefit individuals across the SIGCSE community. The panelists will share how, in the context of booming enrollments and COVID, they strive to protect faculty time, engage students in larger classes, take advantage of scale, improve student-TA interactions, motivate faculty to teach larger classes, and better monitor students in large classes. During the panel Q&A, attendees will be invited to share additional strategies live on Course.Care, which will then be disseminated through CSTeachingTips.org.

Secondary Prevention of Stroke or Transient Ischaemic Attack: An Investigation of Patient Experience of a Novel Dietetic Service

Introduction: Patients who have had a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) are at high risk of recurrent events. Around 90% of strokes are associated with ten modifiable risk factors. The prevalence of modifiable risk factors is high, with 89% of stroke clinic patients at Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital having at least one. This study aimed to explore the patient experience of a novel virtual dietetic secondary prevention service, between November and December 2020, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): A questionnaire was developed to explore patients' experience of receiving virtual consultation with the Specialist Stroke Dietitian for the secondary stroke or TIA prevention. The questionnaire, informed by a literature review, was piloted with dietitians and patients. The Questionnaire was used to develop a topic guide for structured in-depth telephone interviews. Patients (n=8) who completed a telephone consultation with the Stroke Dietitian were invited to participate in a structured telephone interview with the researcher. The Framework method was used for thematic analysis. Result(s): Six patients aged 30-69 years discussed their experience of secondary prevention dietetic consultations. Thematic analysis suggests that new knowledge obtained, nutrition education provided, and the Dietitian's interpersonal communication style were key factors that improved confidence, facilitated behaviour change and contributed to a positive patient experience. Participants expressed a preference for telephone appointments rather than face-to-face or video. Conclusion(s): Exploration of patient experience is central to the design of novel clinical services. Our pilot questionnaire can be modified for use in future stroke service development.

Early Clinical Development of Lufotrelvir as a Potential Therapy for COVID-19

Lufotrelvir was designed as a first in class 3CL protease inhibitor to treat COVID-19. Development of lufotrelvir was challenged by its relatively poor stability due to its propensity to epimerize and degrade. Key elements of process development included improvement of the supply routes to the indole and lactam fragments, a Claisen addition to homologate the lactam, and a subsequent phosphorylation reaction to prepare the prodrug as well as identification of a DMSO solvated form of lufotrelvir to enable long-term storage. As a new approach to preparing the indole fragment, a Cu-catalyzed C-O coupling using oxalamide ligands was demonstrated. The control of process-related impurities was essential to accommodate the parenteral formulation. Isolation of an MEK solvate followed by the DMSO solvate ensured that all impurities were controlled appropriately. © 2023 American Chemical Society.

Baseline Levels of Inflammation in Association with Functional Recovery in COVID-19 Patients

Background and/or Objectives: Elevated levels of inflammatory laboratory markers have been shown to be associated with increased severity of acute COVID- 19 infection, and may have prognostic value in predicting mortality. However, the relationship between inflammatory markers and functional outcomes in inpatient rehabilitation has not yet been studied. Our study examines this relationship, with the goal of investigating if there is prognostic value of these labs for rehabilitation potential. Design(s): Retrospective cohort study Setting: Acute inpatient rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago IL Participants: N=182 patients admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) for functional impairment secondary to acute COVID-19 infection. Intervention(s): Not applicable Main Outcome Measure(s): The relationship between change in mobility, self-care, and cognition functional independence measures from admission to discharge, and selected laboratory values on admission: leukocyte count, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and c-reactive protein (CRP). Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman's rank correlation for lab values as continuous variables and two-sample t-tests for labs as categorical values (normal vs abnormal). Result(s): There were no statistically significant associations between change in functional outcomes and selected inflammatory laboratory values. However, the baseline laboratory values of ESR and CRP trended towards an association with change in self-care (p=0.09 and p=0.08, respectively), and baseline CRP trended towards an association with change in mobility (p=0.07). An abnormal platelet count trended towards less improvement in self-care scores in IRF from admission to discharge (p=0.08). Conclusion(s): Inflammatory laboratory markers do not show a clear association with functional improvement through inpatient rehabilitation for COVID-19-related debility. However, given the near significance of several lab values, a larger sample size may elucidate prognostic value of several of these markers, which would provide utility for expected rehabilitation needs after infection with acute COVID-19.

Host protein kinases required for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphorylation and viral replication.

Multiple coronaviruses have emerged independently in the past 20 years that cause lethal human diseases. Although vaccine development targeting these viruses has been accelerated substantially, there remain patients requiring treatment who cannot be vaccinated or who experience breakthrough infections. Understanding the common host factors necessary for the life cycles of coronaviruses may reveal conserved therapeutic targets. Here, we used the known substrate specificities of mammalian protein kinases to deconvolute the sequence of phosphorylation events mediated by three host protein kinase families (SRPK, GSK-3, and CK1) that coordinately phosphorylate a cluster of serine and threonine residues in the viral N protein, which is required for viral replication. We also showed that loss or inhibition of SRPK1/2, which we propose initiates the N protein phosphorylation cascade, compromised the viral replication cycle. Because these phosphorylation sites are highly conserved across coronaviruses, inhibitors of these protein kinases not only may have therapeutic potential against COVID-19 but also may be broadly useful against coronavirus-mediated diseases.

Erratics on the Road to Wigan Pier The Creation of TouchAR

This paper focuses on the augmented reality project TouchAR to reveal creative collaborative approaches the authors took to site, technology, ecology, and gesture in their production of interactive public realm artworks in direct response to the Covid19 pandemic. Informed by the uncanny (re-animation, the double) ontology (affect, sensing embodied encounter) and ecology (speculative fabulation, deep time), the project explores 3D scanning and AR technology as tools for transformation and engagement with ecological deep time;addressing complications involved in offering an embodied experience with AR and as a means of enchantment. The authors will discuss how they use technology to suture analogue and computational art making, explore ideas of touch and engagement with ecology in a technological society and address the deep past, present challenges and possible futures.

Rapid Implementation of Remote Online Patient Portal Activation in a Children's Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose/Objectives: To describe the rapid implementation of remote patient portal activation in a pediatric integrated delivery network during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to increase the percentage of patients with active portal status upon discharge by 15% (absolute change) across inpatient units within 3 months. Design/Methods: A multidisciplinary taskforce utilized QI tools (fishbone diagram, process map) to identify barriers to successful inpatient patient portal activation. PDSA cycles included rapid cycle training of the remote MyChart enrollment workflow for hospital unit clerks (HUCs), increased patient education about portal functionality, standardized portal enrollment workflow across all inpatient units, and improved visibility of portal status for clinical staff and HUCs. The primary measure was the percentage of admitted patients with active MyChart status upon discharge. Baseline data was collected retrospectively via Epic Reporting Workbench. A patient portal activation dashboard was used to monitor progress on a weekly basis. We used statistical process control charts to examine the impact. Results: We completed training and clinical decision support tools (Unit Manager view and MyChart® status Epic column) creation within 2 weeks from the start of the initiative. Active online patient portal status upon hospital discharge increased from 44% to 66% (a 22% absolute increase) within 12 weeks. The process demonstrated a consecutive upward trend of 5 or more data points, consistent with special cause variation at the end of April 2020. During the same time period, the percentage of online patient portal activation within 7 days after hospital discharge increased from 6.0% to 24%, and the patient portal offer rate increased from 73% to 85% across all inpatient units. Conclusion/Discussion: We rapidly and effectively implemented a remote proxy portal activation process in the inpatient setting. Remote activation, training, clinical decision support, multidisciplinary involvement, and emphasis on the portal as integral to ongoing care allowed us to dramatically increase activation.

Virtual Field Trips: Experience from a Global Pandemic and Beyond

Traditionally, field geology and the use of outcrop analogues have been crucial to aid subsurface understanding, with fieldwork and excursions playing an important role in the training and continued professional development of multidisciplinary geoscientists. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major disruption to industry training programs and university geoscience courses as travel restrictions and lockdowns created the need for digital alternatives. Although virtual field trips (VFTs) had been gaining traction prior to the pandemic, the sudden need to replace physical field activities has driven a rising interest to allow geologists and geoscientists to keep in touch with the rocks. In this contribution we present the state of the art of virtual field trips, covering the process of conceptualizing and building a VFT, as well as delivery methods available. We argue that VFTs have an important place in geoscience education, not as a replacement for physical field trips, but as a complement to assist participants' orientation prior to a course, retention of learning outcomes post-trip, as well as an enabler of accessible and non-discriminatory experience of field geology to a wider group of people than those conventionally given the opportunity for physical excursions. Central to the successful creation of virtual field trips is the availability of 3D virtual outcrops and other geospatial data to populate a VFT. Databases of virtual outcrops, such as SAFARI and V3Geo, make it efficient to create a high-resolution framework for a field trip, which is then used to integrate conventional field or subsurface data. Finally, the VFT leader adds their narrative and learning process around the 3D virtual environment and delivers the content to participants. A VFT can be organized by topic (e.g. depositional environment or structural setting) rather than restricted to a limited geographical area. In addition, a VFT can be created to fit any available timescale, from a tour lasting minutes to look at a particular geological feature, through to a multi-day agenda mirroring a conventional field trip. We illustrate our contribution using example VFTs designed for different audiences and geological topics. Copyright © 2022, Society of Petroleum Engineers

Evolution of host protease interactions among SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and related coronaviruses (preprint)

Previously, we showed that coagulation factors directly cleave SARS-CoV-2 spike and promote viral entry (Kastenhuber et al., 2022). Here, we show that substitutions in the S1/S2 cleavage site observed in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) exhibit divergent interactions with host proteases, including factor Xa and furin. Nafamostat remains effective to block coagulation factor-mediated cleavage of variant spike sequences. Furthermore, host protease usage has likely been a selection pressure throughout coronavirus evolution, and we observe convergence of distantly related coronaviruses to attain common host protease interactions, including coagulation factors. Interpretation of genomic surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and future zoonotic spillover is supported by functional characterization of recurrent emerging features.

Spiritual Awakening among Church Members during the Pandemic: An Empirical Study in England and Wales

For some church members the pandemic may have been a challenge to faith, while for others the pandemic may have been an opportunity to re-kindle faith and to trigger spiritual awakening. A sample of 3,673 churchgoers (Anglican and Catholic) completed an online survey during the early months of the lockdown including the Lewis Index of Spiritual Awakening (LISA). The data demonstrated that more participants experienced a sense of spiritual awakening than a spiritual decline. Spiritual awakening was associated with personal factors (being female and older), with psychological factors (feeling types, intuitive types, and emotional stability), with religious identity (being Catholic), with theological tradition (being charismatic and conservative), and with active engagement in online services (lighting candles or typing in prayer requests). Experiencing spiritual awakening during the early months of the lockdown is, thus, associated with religious, theological, and spiritual practices, as well as with personal and psychological factors. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2022

Brief research commentary: the US indigenous food sovereignty movement's impact on understandings of COVID-19 in Indian country. (Special Issue: More than disaster: creativity in growing, distributing, and accessing food during covid-19.)

This research commentary provides an overview of contemporary anthropological research regarding the US Indigenous food sovereignty movement and demonstrates how it informs the impacts of COVID-19 on Indian Country. Past anthropological research on US Indigenous foodways, while useful, has lacked US Indigenous voices and in-depth political context. Alternatively, many current Indigenous scholars prioritize integration of this crucial political landscape, thus increasing the relevancy and application of this work. For this review, I begin by coalescing a selection of these recent research developments, primarily focusing on research undertaken by Indigenous scholars currently in, and affiliated with, anthropology. I then connect the ways in which their ethnographic and community-based findings shed insight into challenges that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Finally, I critique anthropology's lack of support for these research projects and offer suggestions regarding future US Indigenous food sovereignty research directions.

Innovative Approaches to Managing Scale

Enrollments in computer science courses and majors are at or exceeding capacity at the college level. This context drives local innovations that may benefit individuals across the SIGCSE community. The panelists will share how, in the context of booming enrollments and COVID, they strive to protect faculty time, engage students in larger classes, take advantage of scale, improve student-TA interactions, motivate faculty to teach larger classes, and better monitor students in large classes. During the panel Q&A, attendees will be invited to share additional strategies live on Course.Care, which will then be disseminated through CSTeachingTips.org. © 2022 Owner/Author.

Measuring COVID-19 anxiety among russians: Examining the psychometric properties of russian translations of the covid-anxiety scale and the fear of coronavirus-19 scale

IntroductionBoth the COVID-Anxiety Scale and the Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale have been recently developed to facilitate research on COVID-19 anxiety.ObjectivesTo examine the psychometric properties of Russian translations of the COVID-Anxiety Scale and the Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale.MethodsIn order to examine the psychometric properties of Russian translations of the COVID-Anxiety Scale and the Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale, a total of 341 Russian adults completed both measures.ResultsFirst, a high level of COVID-19 anxiety was found in the sample. Second, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the Russian translations of both the COVID-Anxiety Scale and the Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale had satisfactory psychometric properties, with both scales having a hypothesised one-factor structure. Third, a significant positive association was found between both the COVID anxiety scales. Fourth, higher COVID anxiety scores were associated with being female, and being older.ConclusionsThese findings provide initial evidence for the satisfactory properties of the Russian translations of the COVID-Anxiety Scale and the Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale. Further research is suggested that examines the prevalence and psychological correlates of COVID-19 anxiety.

Coagulation factors directly cleave SARS-CoV-2 spike and enhance viral entry (preprint)

Coagulopathy is recognized as a significant aspect of morbidity in COVID-19 patients. The clotting cascade is propagated by a series of proteases, including factor Xa and thrombin. Other host proteases, including TMPRSS2, are recognized to be important for cleavage activation of SARS-CoV-2 spike to promote viral entry. Using biochemical and cell-based assays, we demonstrate that factor Xa and thrombin can also directly cleave SARS-CoV-2 spike, enhancing viral entry. A drug-repurposing screen identified a subset of protease inhibitors that promiscuously inhibited spike cleavage by both transmembrane serine proteases as well as coagulation factors. The mechanism of the protease inhibitors nafamostat and camostat extend beyond inhibition of TMPRSS2 to coagulation-induced spike cleavage. Anticoagulation is critical in the management of COVID-19, and early intervention could provide collateral benefit by suppressing SARS-CoV-2 viral entry. We propose a model of positive feedback whereby infection-induced hypercoagulation exacerbates SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.

Identification of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors using lung and colonic organoids.

There is an urgent need to create novel models using human disease-relevant cells to study severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) biology and to facilitate drug screening. Here, as SARS-CoV-2 primarily infects the respiratory tract, we developed a lung organoid model using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC-LOs). The hPSC-LOs (particularly alveolar type-II-like cells) are permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and showed robust induction of chemokines following SARS-CoV-2 infection, similar to what is seen in patients with COVID-19. Nearly 25% of these patients also have gastrointestinal manifestations, which are associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes1. We therefore also generated complementary hPSC-derived colonic organoids (hPSC-COs) to explore the response of colonic cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that multiple colonic cell types, especially enterocytes, express ACE2 and are permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Using hPSC-LOs, we performed a high-throughput screen of drugs approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and identified entry inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, including imatinib, mycophenolic acid and quinacrine dihydrochloride. Treatment at physiologically relevant levels of these drugs significantly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection of both hPSC-LOs and hPSC-COs. Together, these data demonstrate that hPSC-LOs and hPSC-COs infected by SARS-CoV-2 can serve as disease models to study SARS-CoV-2 infection and provide a valuable resource for drug screening to identify candidate COVID-19 therapeutics.