Occurrences of similar viral diversity in campus wastewater and reclaimed water of a university dormitory.

Water reuse from wastewater sources still remain some critical safety concerns associated with treacherous contaminants like pathogenic viruses. In this study, viral diversities in campus wastewater (CWW) and its reclaimed water (RCW) recycled for toilet flushing and garden irrigation of a university dormitory were assessed using metagenomic sequencing for acquisition of more background data. Results suggested majority (>80%) of gene sequences within assembled contigs predicted by open reading frame (ORF) finder were no-hit yet believed to be novel/unrevealed viral genomic information whereas hits matched bacteriophages (i.e., mainly Myoviridae, Podoviridae, and Siphoviridae families) were predominant in both CWW and RCW samples. Moreover, few pathogenic viruses (<1%) related to infections of human skin (e.g., Molluscum contagiosum virus, MCV), digestion system (e.g., hepatitis C virus, HCV), and gastrointestinal tract (e.g., human norovirus, HuNoV) were also noticed raising safety concerns about application of reclaimed waters. Low-affinity interactions of particular viral exterior proteins (e.g., envelope glycoproteins or spike proteins) for disinfectant ligand (e.g., chlorite) elucidated treatment limitations of current sewage processing systems even with membrane bioreactor and disinfectant contactor. Revolutionary disinfection approaches together with routine monitoring and new regulations are prerequisite to secure pathogen-correlated water quality for safer reuse of reclaimed waters.

Prediction of Contaminated Areas Using Ultraviolet Fluorescence Markers for Medical Simulation: A Mobile Phone Application Approach.

The use of ultraviolet fluorescence markers in medical simulations has become popular in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers use ultraviolet fluorescence markers to replace pathogens or secretions, and then calculate the regions of contamination. Health providers can use bioimage processing software to calculate the area and quantity of fluorescent dyes. However, traditional image processing software has its limitations and lacks real-time capabilities, making it more suitable for laboratory use than for clinical settings. In this study, mobile phones were used to measure areas contaminated during medical treatment. During the research process, a mobile phone camera was used to photograph the contaminated regions at an orthogonal angle. The fluorescence marker-contaminated area and photographed image area were proportionally related. The areas of contaminated regions can be calculated using this relationship. We used Android Studio software to write a mobile application to convert photos and recreate the true contaminated area. In this application, color photographs are converted into grayscale, and then into black and white binary photographs using binarization. After this process, the fluorescence-contaminated area is calculated easily. The results of our study showed that within a limited distance (50-100 cm) and with controlled ambient light, the error in the calculated contamination area was 6%. This study provides a low-cost, easy, and ready-to-use tool for healthcare workers to estimate the area of fluorescent dye regions during medical simulations. This tool can promote medical education and training on infectious disease preparation.

The effects of online peer-facilitated learning and distributed pair programming on students' learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities and schools around the world to adopt online learning. Teachers may wonder if their students can attain satisfactory learning performance in an online learning environment without teachers' on-the-spot attention. In order to develop students' skills in programming, promote their enjoyment of learning and intention to learn to program, the researchers integrated two innovative teaching approaches, using online peer-facilitated learning and distributed pair programming, and investigated the effects of these on students' online learning performance. This study conducted an experiment that included 128 undergraduates from four class sections of Department of Finance. Thus, the experimental design in this research was a 2 (Peer-facilitated learning vs. non-peer-facilitated learning) × 2 (Distributed pair programming vs. non-distributed pair programming) factorial pretest/post-test design. The participants in this research mainly consisted of four classes of students from a non-computer or information department who took a compulsory course on programming design.' Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in this study. According to the results, the peer-facilitated learning group exhibited significantly better development of programming skills, enjoyment of learning, and intention to learn, than the non-peer-facilitated learning group. However, expected effects of enhancing the learning of the students in this study who received the distributed pair programming were not found. The design of online pedagogy can be a reference for online educators. The implications of applying online peer-facilitated learning and distributed pair programming to support students' learning and the design of online programming courses are discussed.

A review of epidemic investigation on cold‐chain food‐mediated SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission and food safety consideration during COVID‐19 pandemic

COVID‐19 has brought speculations on potential transmission routes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), the causal agent of the pandemic. It is reported that the main route of virus transmission to be person‐to‐person by respiratory droplets;however, people have raised concerns on the possible transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to humans via food and packaging and its potential effects on food safety. This review discusses food safety issues in the COVID‐19 pandemic and reveals its possible transmission in cold‐chain food. The first outbreak of COVID‐19 in late 2019 was associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, China, while the second outbreak of COVID‐19 in June 2020 was also related to a seafood market in Beijing, China. As of 2020, several frozen seafood products linked with SARS‐CoV‐2 have been reported in China. According to the current survey and scientific studies, the risk of infection by SARS‐CoV‐2 from cold‐chain food, food products, and food packaging is thought to be very low. However, studies on food cold chain contamination have shown that SARS‐CoV‐2 remained highly stable under refrigerated (4°C) and even in freezing conditions (−10 to −80°C). Since one mode of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission appears to be touching contaminated surfaces, it is important to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces properly. Understanding food safety hazard risks is essential to avoid potential negative health effects and SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission in the food supply chain during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Exploring the interior of 3D endoluminal lesions in the air spaces by a novel electronic biopsy technique: A preliminary study of endoluminal colon lesions.

To explore the interior of a lesion in a 3D endoluminal view, this study investigates the application of an 'electronic biopsy' (EB) technique to computed tomographic colonography (CTC) for further differentiation and 2D image correlation of endoluminal lesions in the air spaces. A retrospective study of sixty-two various endoluminal lesions from thirty patients (13 males, 17 females; age range, 31 to 90 years) was approved by our institutional review board and evaluated. The endoluminal lesions were segmented using gray-level threshold and reconstructed into isosurfaces using a marching cube algorithm. EB allows users to interactively erode and apply grey-level mapping (GM) to the surface of the region of interest (ROI) in 3D CTC. Radiologists conducted the clinical evaluation, and the resulting data were analyzed. EB significantly improves 3D gray-level presentation for evaluating the surface and inside of endoluminal lesions over that of SR, GM or target GM (TGM) (P < 0.01) with preservation of the 3D spatial effect. Moreover, 3D to 2D image correlation were achieved in any layer of the lesion using EB as did GM/TGM on the surface. The specificity and diagnostic accuracy of EB are significantly greater than those of SR (P < 0.01). These performance can be better further with GM/TGM and reach the best with EB (specificity, 89.3-92.9%; accuracy, 95.2-96.8%). EB can be used in CTC to improve the differentiation of endoluminal lesions. EB increases 3D to 2D image correlations of the lesions on or beneath the lesion surface.

Facile and Unplugged Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor with NIR-Emitting Perovskite Nanocomposites for Fast Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted researchers to develop portable biosensing platforms, anticipating to detect the analyte in a label-free, direct, and simple manner, for deploying on site to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. Herein, we developed a facile wavelength-based SPR sensor built with the aid of a 3D printing technology and synthesized air-stable NIR-emitting perovskite nanocomposites as the light source. The simple synthesis processes for the perovskite quantum dots enabled low-cost and large-area production and good emission stability. The integration of the two technologies enabled the proposed SPR sensor to exhibit the characteristics of lightweight, compactness, and being without a plug, just fitting the requirements of on-site detection. Experimentally, the detection limit of the proposed NIR SPR biosensor for refractive index change reached the 10-6 RIU level, comparable with that of state-of-the-art portable SPR sensors. In addition, the bio-applicability of the platform was validated by incorporating a homemade high-affinity polyclonal antibody toward the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The results demonstrated that the proposed system was capable of discriminating between clinical swab samples collected from COVID-19 patients and healthy subjects because the used polyclonal antibody exhibited high specificity against SARS-CoV-2. Most importantly, the whole measurement process not only took less than 15 min but also needed no complex procedures or multiple reagents. We believe that the findings disclosed in this work can open an avenue in the field of on-site detection for highly pathogenic viruses.

An important call: Suggestion of using IL-10 as therapeutic agent for COVID-19 with ARDS and other complications.

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a detrimental impact on public health. COVID-19 usually manifests as pneumonia, which can progress into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) related to uncontrolled TH17 immune reaction. Currently, there is no effective therapeutic agent to manage COVID-19 with complications. The currently available anti-viral drug remdesivir has an effectiveness of 30% in SARS-CoV-2-induced severe complications. Thus, there is a need to identify effective agents to treat COVID-19 and the associated acute lung injury and other complications. The host immunological pathway against this virus typically involves the THαß immune response. THαß immunity is triggered by type 1 interferon and interleukin-27 (IL-27), and the main effector cells of the THαß immune response are IL10-CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, NK cells, and IgG1-producing B cells. In particular, IL-10 exerts a potent immunomodulatory or anti-inflammatory effect and is an anti-fibrotic agent for pulmonary fibrosis. Concurrently, IL-10 can ameliorate acute lung injury or ARDS, especially those caused by viruses. Owing to its anti-viral activity and anti-pro-inflammatory effects, in this review, IL-10 is suggested as a possible treatment agent for COVID-19.

Ivermectin role in the prevention of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review was performed to determine the population that benefited from prophylactic ivermectin. Seven databases of health-related studies were searched for eligible trials without language restrictions. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) and cohort studies investigating ivermectin for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) prevention were included. Data were pooled using a random-effects model, and subgroups were analyzed by study type and the pre- or post-exposure population. The certainty of the evidence was determined by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Furthermore, four RCTs and four cohort studies with a moderate to high risk of bias were included in the analysis. The prophylactic use of ivermectin significantly decreased the overall incidence of COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR], 0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16-0.44). Nevertheless, the positive result was not supported by the RCT. Ivermectin was associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 (OR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.12-0.40) in the pre-exposure population, whereas no protective effect was observed in the post-exposure population (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.09-1.67). In summary, prophylactic ivermectin did not prevent COVID-19 in the post-exposure population. Although the protective effect of ivermectin was shown in the overall and pre-exposure populations, the results were unreliable owing to poor-quality evidence. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Improved nasal recovery and intact olfactory function after a transseptal approach for endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal adenomectomy: A retrospective analysis.

Objectives: Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal adenomectomy (TSA) is the most frequently performed skull base surgery, and researchers have recently focused on preserving nasal function. The endoscopic transseptal approach is a promising procedure due to its reduced injury to the nasal mucosa; however, there are no studies comparing rhinological and neurosurgical outcomes concurrently with the standard endoscopic transnasal approach. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate whether the transseptal approach could reduce nasal morbidities with comparable neurosurgical outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 25 patients who underwent endoscopic endonasal transseptal TSA for pituitary adenoma without encasement of internal carotid artery from January 2019 to December 2020. Another 25 patients who received transnasal approach from January 2017 to December 2018 were selected as controls. Patients with diseases affecting the nasal cavity/olfaction or usage of a nasoseptal flap were excluded for a better comparison of the two procedures. We collected data from radiological studies, endocrine studies, endoscopic evaluations, 22-item sinonasal outcome tests (SNOT-22) and Top International Biotech Smell Identification Test (TIBSIT) for comparison. Results: Lower postoperative SNOT-22 and Lund-Kennedy endoscopic scores were observed in the transseptal group. The effect size of differences were classified as large effect (The absolute value of Cohen's d > 0.8). Nevertheless, the TIBSIT scores were not significantly different. The rates of gross total resection, recovery of hormonal abnormalities, and complications were not significantly different. After controlling possible confounding factors using multivariate analysis, the endoscopic transseptal approach remained an independent factor for lower SNOT-22 scores and Lund-Kennedy endoscopic scores. Conclusions: The endoscopic transseptal approach provides improved recovery of nasal mucosa and intact olfaction without compromising neurosurgical outcomes. Level of Evidence: 2b.

Integrating online meta-cognitive learning strategy and team regulation to develop students' programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use in a cloud classroom.

With the development of technology and demand for online courses, there have been considerable quantities of online, blended, or flipped courses designed and provided. However, in the technology-enhanced learning environments, which are also full of social networking websites, shopping websites, and free online games, it is challenging to focus students' attention and help them achieve satisfactory learning performance. In addition, the instruction of programming courses constantly challenges both teachers and students, particularly in online learning environments. To overcome and solve these problems and to facilitate students' learning, the researchers in this study integrated two teaching approaches, using meta-cognitive learning strategy (MCLS) and team regulation (TR), to develop students' regular learning habits and further contribute to their programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use, in a cloud classroom. In this research, a quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of MCLS and TR adopting the experimental design of a 2 (MCLS vs. non-MCLS) × 2 (TR vs. non-TR) factorial pre-test/post-test. In this research, the participants consisted of four classes of university students from non-information or computer departments enrolled in programming design, a required course. The experimental groups comprised three of the classes, labelled as G1, G2, and G3. G1 concurrently received both the online MCLS and TR intervention, while G2 only received the online MCLS intervention, and G3 only received the online TR intervention. Serving as the control group, the fourth class (G4) received traditional teaching. This study investigated the effects of MCLS, TR, and their combination, on improving students' programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use in an online computing course. According to the results, students who received online TR significantly enhanced their programming design skills and their refusal self-efficacy of Internet use a cloud classroom. However, the expected effects of MCLS on developing students' programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use were not found in this study. The teaching strategy of integrating MCLS and TR in an online programming course in this study can serve as a reference for educators when conducting online, blended, or flipped courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Hospital Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Hospital-Based Repeated Measures Study.

Although many studies have investigated burnout, stress, and mental health issues among health care workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, few have linked these relationships to chronic physiological illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases. This study assessed changes in cardiovascular risk factors in HCWs and other hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and identified vulnerable groups at a higher risk of increased adverse cardiovascular conditions. Five hundred and fourteen hospital employees ≥ 20 years of age underwent physical examinations and laboratory testing once before and once after the first wave of the pandemic in Taiwan during 2020 and 2021. Their sociodemographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, blood biochemical parameters, and body mass index, were collected. The differences between pre- and post-pandemic measurements of their biophysical and blood biochemical parameters were analyzed using pairwise tests. The post-pandemic increases in their parameter levels and cardiovascular risk as a function of underlying factors were estimated from multivariate regressions. HCWs showed significant increases in levels and abnormal rates of BMI, blood pressure, plasma glucose, and total cholesterol after the pandemic. Post-pandemic increases in BMI, waist circumference, and blood pressure were higher in females than in males. Workers with higher levels of education or longer job tenure had greater increases in BMI, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels than other workers. Females had a higher incidence of abnormal BMI and hypertension than males (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] of 8.3 and 2.9, respectively). Older workers' incidence of hypertension was higher than younger workers' (AOR = 3.5). Preventive strategies should be implemented for HCWs susceptible to cardiovascular diseases during emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

Boosting the detection performance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test through a sensitive optical biosensor with new superior antibody.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus emerged in late 2019 leading to the COVID-19 disease pandemic that triggered socioeconomic turmoil worldwide. A precise, prompt, and affordable diagnostic assay is essential for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 as well as its variants. Antibody against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein was reported as a suitable strategy for therapy and diagnosis of COVID-19. We, therefore, developed a quick and precise phase-sensitive surface plasmon resonance (PS-SPR) biosensor integrated with a novel generated anti-S monoclonal antibody (S-mAb). Our results indicated that the newly generated S-mAb could detect the original SARS-CoV-2 strain along with its variants. In addition, a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, which could be processed in BSL-2 facility was generated for evaluation of sensitivity and specificity of the assays including PS-SPR, homemade target-captured ELISA, spike rapid antigen test (SRAT), and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Experimentally, PS-SPR exerted high sensitivity to detect SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus at 589 copies/ml, with 7-fold and 70-fold increase in sensitivity when compared with the two conventional immunoassays, including homemade target-captured ELISA (4 × 103 copies/ml) and SRAT (4 × 104 copies/ml), using the identical antibody. Moreover, the PS-SPR was applied in the measurement of mimic clinical samples containing the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus mixed with nasal mucosa. The detection limit of PS-SPR is calculated to be 1725 copies/ml, which has higher accuracy than homemade target-captured ELISA (4 × 104 copies/ml) and SRAT (4 × 105 copies/ml) and is comparable with qRT-PCR (1250 copies/ml). Finally, the ability of PS-SPR to detect SARS-CoV-2 in real clinical specimens was further demonstrated, and the assay time was less than 10 min. Taken together, our results indicate that this novel S-mAb integrated into PS-SPR biosensor demonstrates high sensitivity and is time-saving in SARS-CoV-2 virus detection. This study suggests that incorporation of a high specific recognizer in SPR biosensor is an alternative strategy that could be applied in developing other emerging or re-emerging pathogenic detection platforms.

A deep feature-level fusion model for masked face identity recommendation system

The widespread occurrences of airborne outbreaks (e.g., COVID-19) and pollution (e.g., PM2.5) have urged people in the affected regions to protect themselves by wearing face masks. In certain areas, wearing masks amidst such health-endangering times is even enforced by law. While most people wear masks to guard themselves against airborne substances, some exploit such excuses and use face masks to conceal their identity for criminal purposes such as shoplifting, robbery, drug transport, and assault. While automatic face recognition models have been proposed, most of these models aim to identify clear, unobstructed faces for authentication purposes and cannot effectively handle cases where masks cover most facial areas. To mitigate such a problem, this paper proposes a deep-learning-based feature-fusion framework, FIREC, that combines additional demographic-estimated features such as age, gender, and race into the underlying facial representation to compensate for the information lost due to mask obstruction. Given an image of a masked face, our system recommends a ranked list of potential identities of the person behind the mask. Empirical results show that the best configuration of our proposed framework can recognize bare faces and masked faces with the accuracy of 99.34% and 97.65% in terms of Hit@10, respectively. The proposed framework could greatly benefit high-recall facial identity recognition applications such as identifying potential suspects from CCTV or passers-by’s cameras, especially during crisis times when people commonly cover their faces with protective masks.

A full-face mask for protection against respiratory infections.

BACKGROUND: Aerosols and droplets are the transmission routes of many respiratory infectious diseases. The COVID-19 management guidance recommends against the use of nebulized inhalation therapy directly in the emergency room or in an ambulance to prevent possible viral transmission. The three-dimensional printing method was used to develop an aerosol inhalation treatment mask that can potentially prevent aerosol dispersion. We conducted this utility validation study to understand the practicability of this new nebulizer mask system. RESULTS: The fit test confirmed that the filter can efficiently remove small particles. The different locations of the mask had an excellent fit with a high pressure making a proper face seal usability. The full-face mask appeared to optimize filtration with pressure and is an example of materials that perform well for improvised respiratory protection using this design. The filtering effect test confirmed that the contamination of designated locations could be protected when using the mask with filters. As in the clinical safety test, a total of 18 participants (10 [55.6%] females; aged 33.1 ± 0.6 years) were included in the final analysis. There were no significant changes in SPO2, EtCO2, HR, SBP, DBP, and RR at the beginning, 20th, 40th, or 60th minutes of the test (all p >.05). The discomfort of wearing a mask increased slightly after time but remained within the tolerable range. The vision clarity score did not significantly change during the test. The mask also passed the breathability test. CONCLUSION: The results of our study showed that this mask performed adequately in the fit test, the filtering test, and the clinical safety test. The application of a full-face mask with antiviral properties, together with the newly designed shape of a respirator that respects the natural curves of a human face, will facilitate the production of personal protective equipment with a highly efficient filtration system. METHODS: We conducted three independent tests in this validation study: (1) a fit test to calculate the particle number concentration and its association with potential leakage; (2) a filtering effect test to verify the mask's ability to contain aerosol spread; and (3) a clinical safety test to examine the clinical safety, comfortableness, and visual clarity of the mask.

A booster dose of Delta × Omicron hybrid mRNA vaccine produced broadly neutralizing antibody against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants.

BACKGROUND: With the continuous emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that feature increased transmission and immune escape, there is an urgent demand for a better vaccine design that will provide broader neutralizing efficacy. METHODS: We report an mRNA-based vaccine using an engineered "hybrid" receptor binding domain (RBD) that contains all 16 point-mutations shown in the currently prevailing Omicron and Delta variants. RESULTS: A booster dose of hybrid vaccine in mice previously immunized with wild-type RBD vaccine induced high titers of broadly neutralizing antibodies against all tested SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs). In naïve mice, hybrid vaccine generated strong Omicron-specific neutralizing antibodies as well as low but significant titers against other VOCs. Hybrid vaccine also elicited CD8+/IFN-γ+ T cell responses against a conserved T cell epitope present in wild type and all VOCs. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that inclusion of different antigenic mutations from various SARS-CoV-2 variants is a feasible approach to develop cross-protective vaccines.

Co-location with marketing value activities as manufacturing upgrading in a COVID-19 outbreak era.

Co-location has been a relevant topic in the international business literature, yet the extant literature focuses on the co-location of research and development (R&D) and production activities and overlooks marketing value activities. Marketing innovation is an agile and effective way to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and many manufacturers in global value chains aim to upgrade functionally following the trajectory of the OEM-ODM-OBM. Thus, this study proposes the co-location of marketing activities as a flexible and organizational learning strategy for manufacturing upgrades, and explores the antecedents of marketing co-location in foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. The proposed research framework was examined using survey data from 343 Taiwanese manufacturing firms in China, which were drawn from a database compiled by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2020. The results show that the breadth of international experience, linkage to R&D, marketing as a primary knowledge source in the host country, upgrading for local demands, and new product development for global supply are all positively associated with the co-location of marketing and production functions. Additionally, it was found that there was a negative association between FDIs that had been impacted by COVID-19 and marketing co-location. The findings provide valuable theoretical, practical, and strategic insights into how firms should manage their global value chains with respect to marketing co-location in case of another crisis.

Service Innovation, Inter-organizational Trust, and Performance in Hospital Platforms: Social Network and Agency Perspectives.

Service industries contribute significantly to the economic, social, and even life aspect of the world. However, service innovation has been rarely discussed in healthcare context, especially in the digital healthcare context Service innovation needs to be organized in the premise of mutual trust to be efficient, thereby improving service performance. The trust and efficiency here demands a good online platform service to both virtualize the interaction processes and maintain trust and agency. This research uses social network theory and agency theory to emphasize the importance of trust in cooperation in hospitals, and the relationship between organizational trust and organizational performance. Furthermore, we analyzed the role of agents in enhancing the relationship between service innovation and trust. Based on the analyses, five propositions and future research directions are proposed.

Immunogenicity and safety of homologous and heterologous ChAdOx1-S and mRNA-1273 vaccinations in healthy adults in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: In Taiwan, the vaccination program started in March 2021, with ChAdOx1-S being the first available WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine, followed by Moderna vaccine. This study aimed to investigate the immunogenicity and safety of homologous and heterologous prime-boost regimens with ChAdOx1-S and mRNA-1273. METHODS: From March to November 2021, homologous or heterologous regimens with ChAdOx1-S and mRNA-1273 vaccination (ChAdOx1-S/ChAdOx1-S, mRNA-1273/mRNA-1273, ChAdOx1-S/mRNA-1273) were given to 945 healthy participants. Serum samples were collected at designated time points. The anti-RBD/S1 antibody titers and neutralizing ability were measured by three different immunoassays: Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany), AdviseDx SARS-CoV-2 IgG II (Abbott Diagnostics Division, Sligo, Ireland), and cPass™ SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit (GenScript, New Jersey, USA). RESULTS: We found that heterologous vaccination with ChAdOx1-S/mRNA-1273 had an acceptable safety profile and induced higher total anti-RBD/S1 antibody production (p < 0.0001), yet lower anti-RBD/S1 IgG titer (p < 0.0001) and neutralizing ability (p = 0.0101) than mRNA-1273/mRNA-1273 group. Both regimens showed higher antibody titers and superior neutralizing abilities than ChAdOx1-S/ChAdOx1-S. An age-dependent antibody response to ChAdOx1-S/mRNA-1273 was shown after both the priming and the booster doses. Younger age was associated with higher antibody production and neutralizing ability. CONCLUSIONS: Heterologous ChAdOx1-S/mRNA-1273 vaccination regimen is generally safe and induces a robust humoral immune response that is non-inferior to that of mRNA-1273/mRNA-1273.

Distribution of Yeast Species and Risk Factors of Oral Colonization after Oral-Care Education among the Residents of Nursing Homes.

Most yeasts causing infections in humans are part of commensal microflora and etiological agents of different infections when hosts become susceptible, usually due to becoming immunocompromised. The colonization of potentially pathogenic microbes in the oral cavity is increased by poor oral hygiene. This follow-up survey was conducted approximately two months after providing information on proper oral care at 10 nursing homes in Taiwan. Among the 117 of 165 residents colonized by yeasts, 67 were colonized by more than one yeast species. A total of 231 isolates comprising eight fungal genera and 25 species were identified. Candida albicans (44.6%) was the dominant species, followed by Candida glabrata (17.7%), Candida parapsilosis (8.7%), Candida tropicalis (7.8%), and Candida pararugosa (7.3%). Residents having a yeast colony-forming unit >10 (OR, 8.897; 95% CI 2.972-26.634; p < 0.001) or using a wheelchair (OR, 4.682; 95% CI 1.599-13.705; p = 0.005) were more likely to be colonized by multiple species. By comparing before and after oral-care education, dry mouth (OR, 3.199; 95% CI 1.448-7.068; p = 0.011) and having heart disease (OR, 2.681; 95% CI 1.068-6.732; p = 0.036) emerged as two independent risk factors for increased density of colonizing yeast.