Hybrid Model Teaching in the Postepidemic Period: From Nucleic Acid to Antigen for the Fluorescence Analysis of SARS-CoV-2

Owing to the global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), education has shifted to distance online learning, whereas some face-to-face courses have been resumed with the improvement of the outbreak prevention and management situation, including a laboratory course for senior undergraduate students in chemical biology. Here, we present an innovative chemical biology experiment covering COVID-19 topics, which was created for third-year undergraduates. The basic principles of two nucleic-acid- and antigen-based diagnostic techniques for SARS-CoV-2 are demonstrated in detail. These experiments are designed to provide students with comprehensive knowledge of COVID-19 and related diagnoses in daily life. Crucially, the biosafety of this experimental manipulation was ensured by using artificial nucleic acids and recombinant protein. Furthermore, an interactive hybrid online-facing teaching model was designed to cover the key mechanism regarding PCR and serological tests of COVID-19. Finally, a satisfactory evaluation was obtained through a questionnaire, and simultaneously, reasonable improvements to the course design were suggested. The proposed curriculum provides all the necessary information for other instructors to create new courses supported by research. © 2023 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

IMPROVEMENTS IN PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES AMONG PATIENTS WITH RESOLUTION OF ENTHESITIS AND/OR DACTYLITIS: POST HOC ANALYSES FROM THE KEEPSAKE 1 AND 2 TRIALS OF RISANKIZUMAB IN PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS

BackgroundEnthesitis and dactylitis are associated with greater disease activity and reduced quality of life. Results from the phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled KEEPsAKE 1 and 2 studies (NCT03675308;NCT03671148) of risankizumab in active PsA showed greater resolution of enthesitis and dactylitis with risankizumab 150 mg vs placebo at week 24.ObjectivesThis post hoc analysis evaluated improvements in patient-reported outcomes (PROs) among patients who had enthesitis (n=444), dactylitis (n=188), or both (n=128) at baseline and achieved resolution of enthesitis, dactylitis, or both with blinded risankizumab at weeks 0, 4, 16, and open-label risankizumab every 12 weeks thereafter.MethodsAssessments included achievement of minimal clinically important differences (MCID) in pain (≥10-mm decrease on visual analog scale), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI;≥0.35-unit decrease), and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT-Fatigue;≥4-point increase). Nonresponder imputation (with multiple imputation for COVID-19–related missing data at week 24) was used.ResultsMany patients who achieved resolution of enthesitis at week 24;week 52 also achieved MCID in pain (66.4%;71.4%), HAQ-DI (58.2%;63.4%), and FACIT-Fatigue (59.0%;72.1%). Many patients who achieved resolution of dactylitis at week 24;week 52 also achieved MCID in pain, (72.2%;81.7%), HAQ-DI (56.3%;66.2%), and FACIT-Fatigue (67.7%;69.9%). Many patients who achieved resolution of both enthesitis and dactylitis at week 24;week 52 also achieved MCID in pain (82.1%;86.4%) HAQ-DI (66.7%;69.2%), and FACIT-Fatigue (71.4%;74.6%). PRO results for patients for who did not achieve resolution of enthesitis and/or dactylitis will be presented.ConclusionMajority of patients who achieved resolution of enthesitis and/or dactylitis with risankizumab also reported improvements in pain, disability, and fatigue.AcknowledgementsAbbVie and the authors thank the patients who participated in the study and all study investigators for their contributions. Medical writing assistance, funded by AbbVie, was provided by Lisa M Pitchford, PhD, of JB Ashtin.Disclosure of InterestsShawn Kwatra Consultant of: AbbVie, Aslan Pharmaceuticals, Arcutis, Celldex, Galderma, Genzada Pharmaceuticals, Incyte, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, and Sanofi., Grant/research support from: Galderma, Incyte, Pfizer, and Sanofi., Saakshi Khattri Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, and UCB, Grant/research support from: Bristol Myers Squibb, LEO Pharma, Novartis, and Pfizer, Ahmad Amin Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dermavant, Eli Lilly, Janssen, LEO Pharma, Regeneron, Sanofi/Genzyme, Pfizer, and UCB, Ran Liu Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Byron Padilla Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Ahmed M. Soliman Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Blair Kaplan Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Dennis McGonagle Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Janssen, Novartis, and Pfizer., Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Janssen, Novartis, and Pfizer, UCB, BMS, Celgene.

A Simple, Pipette-free, and Power-free Device for Virus Nucleic Acid Detection

A portable, inexpensive, and easy-to-manufacture microfluidic device is developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 dsDNA fragments. In this device, four reaction chambers separated by carbon fiber rods are pre-loaded with isothermal amplification and CRISPR-Cas12a reagents. The reaction is carried out by simply pulling the rods, without the need for manual pipetting. To facilitate power-free pathogen detection, the entire detection is designed to be heated with a disposable hand warmer. After the CRISPR reaction, the fluorescence signal generated by positive samples is identified by naked eye, using an inexpensive flashlight. This simple and sensitive device will serve as a new model for the next-generation viral diagnostics in either hospital or resource-limited settings. © 2023 SPIE.

School Disruptions Exacerbated Inequality in High School Completion

Using school-month-level learning mode data and high school completion rates across three school years from 429 Wisconsin public high schools, this study examines the impact of disruptions to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic on high school completion rates, with a focus on socioeconomic disparities. Findings reveal that a longer time in virtual or hybrid learning mode in 2020-21 decreases overall school completion rates and increases the within-school gap in completion rates between economically disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students. This study provides further evidence of the unequal impact of the pandemic and calls for initiatives to support disadvantaged students during school disruptions.

How value drivers of internet medical business model affect value creation: a configurational approach

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how value drivers of internet medical business model affect value creation through a configurational approach. The internet medical business model (IMBM) is such a business model that integrates online and offline medical services with the driving force of internet technologies covering prediagnosis, in-diagnosis and postdiagnosis. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the support of national policies have boosted the development of internet health care. However, there are still many challenges in practice, such as the unclear innovation path, as well as difficulties in landing and profiting. Academic research has not yet provided sufficient theoretical insights. Therefore, to better explain and guide practice, it is urgent to clarify the innovation path and mechanism of value creation for IMBM. Design/methodology/approachBased on the sample of 58 internet medical firms in China, this paper adopts fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the configurational effects of IMBM's value drivers on value creation. FindingsBuilding on the business model canvas and the characteristics of internet health care, five value drivers of IMBM are identified, namely, functional value proposition, emotional value proposition, user involvement, resource capabilities and connection properties. And the five value drivers form three configurations, which are, respectively, labeled as resource-driven configuration, user-operated configuration and product-combined configuration. From the perspective of the integration of traditional and emerging theories, such as resource-based view, internet economics and value cocreation, each configuration leads to value creation and improves value results with different mechanisms behind it. Originality/valueFirst, combined with the business model canvas and the characteristics of internet health care, this paper identifies five value drivers of IMBM, thus improving the relevant research on internet health care. Second, based on the configurational effects, this paper discusses the mechanism behind the configurational effects of IMBM's value drivers on value creation, thus expanding relevant research on the value creation of business models. Third, applying fsQCA and combining the advantages of qualitative research and quantitative research, this paper adds to the configurations of IMBM's value drivers that achieve high-value results.

Longitudinal Follow-up of Pulmonary Function in Patients Hospitalized with Pulmonary Covid-19

Purpose of Study: The post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, as a multisystemic disease have been described in adults. Although some studies have described the pulmonary complications up to 3 months post-COVID infection, longitudinal data on pulmonary sequalae are sparse. The objective of this review was to summarize the findings of studies that included a longitudinal follow-up of patients with moderate to severe pulmonary COVID-19 infection. Methods Used: We performed a literature search using Pubmed, Google Scholar and Medline using key words: "pulmonary function test", PFT?, "long-COVID", longitudinal? and sequalae?. We included studies of adult patients (>18 years of age) who had been hospitalized with acute COVID-19 infection and had at least two follow-ups with PFT measurements, including one follow-up at least 6 months post-infection. Studies that did not account for co-morbidities and other lung diseases or those which only included one-time follow-up were excluded. Summary of Results: Five studies satisfied our inclusion criteria (See Table). The studies showed persistent lung injury for at least 3 months after discharge, with decreased forced expiratory volume (FEV1), total lung capacity (TLC), forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusion vital capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DCLO) and carbon monoxide transfer coefficient (KCO). Although these values improved at 6 and 12 months of follow-up, those with more severe disease continued to have decreased DLCO suggestive of restrictive lung damage. Studies that included symptomatic assessment revealed that a minority of patients continued with fatigue and dyspnea uf to 12 months after the infection. The limitations of the studies include availability of data from a single center, small sample size and the variability in controlling for different co-morbidities. In addition, baseline PFT measurement before COVID-19 infection was not available for most patients. Most of the studies were done at the time that the Delta variant was dominant, therefore the data may not be applicable to other variants. Conclusion(s): Our literature review shows that some adult patients hospitalized with acute covid pulmonary infection continue to have abnormal PFTs for up to 12 months after infection. Although PFTs improve overtime, a minority of patients with more severe disease on admission continue with abnormal functional abnormalities, specifically restrictive ventilatory pattern with impaired DLCO at 12 months of follow-up. It is important that patients hospitalized with moderate to severe pulmonary COVID-19 infection be followed up and managed for at least 12 months after the initial infection. Larger prospective studies including different variants of COVID-19 that take into account various co-morbidities and different management strategies are warranted.

Discrepancies in the portrayal of the COVID-19 vaccine in Chinese and US international media outlets: A corpus-based discursive news values analysis

This article compares the discursive construction of news values in English news reporting of China Daily and CNN about the COVID-19 vaccine, to reveal how the two media packaged the vaccine and improved the acceptance of the international community towards the vaccines made in the respective countries. Adopting corpus linguistic methods and Discursive news values analysis (DNVA) framework, this study examines news values through keywords, nomination strategies, and photographs. The results show that the two media outlets constructed the news value of Eliteness dominantly through a systematic combination of words and images, albeit in different ways. China Daily prominently consists of references to China's international communications in the production and application of the COVID-19 vaccine, at the same time packaging the COVID-19 vaccine as foreign aid to enhance diplomatic relations as well as protect and promote the order of the international community. In contrast, CNN chiefly demonstrates references to domestic medical experts and the well-known manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccine, packaging the COVID-19 vaccine as the US' medical/commercial product. The respective ways in which they portray the COVID-19 vaccine have helped to bolster the acceptance of each country's vaccine by the international community.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Developing a Place–Time-Specific Transmissibility Index to Measure and Examine the Spatiotemporally Varying Transmissibility of COVID-19

The transmission rate of COVID-19 varies by location and time. A proper measure of the transmissibility of an infectious disease should be place- and time-specific, which is currently unavailable. This research aims to better understand the spatiotemporally changing transmissibility of COVID-19. It contributes to COVID-19 research in three ways. First, it presents a generally applicable modeling framework to estimate the transmissibility of COVID-19 in a specific place and time based on daily reported case data, called space-time effective reproduction number, denoted as (Formula presented.) Then, the developed model is used to create a spatiotemporal data set of (Formula presented.) values at the county level in the United States. Second, it investigates relationships between (Formula presented.) and dynamically changing context factors with multiple machine learning and spatial modeling techniques. The research examines the relationships from a cross-sectional perspective and a longitudinal perspective separately. The longitudinal view allows us to understand how local human dynamics and policy factors influence changes in (Formula presented.) over time in the place, whereas the cross-sectional view sheds light on the demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors behind spatial variations of (Formula presented.) at a specific time slice. Some general trends of the relationships are found, but the level of impact by each context factor varies geographically. Third, the best performing local longitudinal models have promising potential to simulate or forecast future transmissibility. The random forest and the exponential regression models based on time-series data gave the best performances. These models were further evaluated against ground truth data of county-level reported cases. Their good prediction accuracies in the case study prove that these machine learning models are promising in their ability to predict transmissibility in hypothetical or foreseeable scenarios. © 2023 by American Association of Geographers.

Research on the time-varying effects among green finance markets in China: A fresh evidence from multi-frequency scale perspective

Green finance is an essential instrument for achieving sustainable development. Objectively addressing correlations among different green finance markets is conducive to the risk management of investors and regulators. This paper presents evidence on the time-varying correlation effects and causality among the green bond market, green stock market, carbon market, and clean energy market in China at multi-frequency scales by combining the methods of Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition Method (EEMD), Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) GARCH model, Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregression with Stochastic Volatility Model (TVP-VAR-SV), and Time-varying Causality Test. In general, the significant negative time-varying correlations among most green finance markets indicate a prominent benefit of risk hedging and portfolio diversification among green financial assets. In specific, for different time points and lag periods, the green finance market shock has obvious time-varying, positive and negative alternating effects in the short-term scales, while its time delay and persistence are more pronounced in the medium-term and long-term scales. Interestingly, a positive event shock will generate positive connectivity among most green finance markets, whereas a negative event including the China/U.S. trade friction and the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate the reverse linkage among green finance markets. Furthermore, the unidirectional causality of "green bond market - carbon market - green stock and clean energy markets” was established during 2018–2019. © 2023

Preliminary Recommendations on the Timing of Lung Surgery after Novel Coronavirus Infection in Patients with Pulmonary Nodules and Lung Cancer.

In recent years, the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a huge impact on the global medical, political and economic fields. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 has grown exponentially. Recently, the COVID-19 epidemic has changed rapidly in China, and there has been controversy over how to carry out surgical operations for patients with lung neoplastic lesions. Some studies have shown that lung cancer patients undergoing surgery are more likely to experience respiratory failure and perioperative death after contract-ing COVID-19 than the general population, however, delays in cancer treatment are also associated with increased mortality among these patients. In particular, the novel coronavirus Omikron variant has a higher transmissibility and may escape the immunity obtained through the previous novel coronavirus infection and vaccination. In order to minimize the risk of novel coronavirus infection in surgical patients, it is necessary to develop new treatment guidelines, expert consensus and preventive measures. However, the current rapid change of the epidemic situation has led to insufficient time and evidence to develop guidelines and consensus. Therefore, thoracic surgeons need to evaluate specific patient populations at higher risk of severe complications before surgery and weigh the benefit of surgical treatment against the risk of novel coronavirus infection. We try to give some recommendations on lung surgery during the current domestic epidemic situation based on the guidelines and consensus of oncology and thoracic surgery organizations in different regions on lung surgery.Copyright © 2023, Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer. All rights reserved.

A single center experience in prevention and control of infection risk related to liver transplantation during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Objective: To investigate the clinical evaluation effects of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk assessment scale on preoperative and surgical risk of liver transplantation during the COVID-19 outbreak. Method(s): The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 6 liver transplant recipients who were admitted to Southern Theater Command General Hospital of PLA between January 20 and March 27, 2020 were collected. There were 5 males and 1 female, aged from 42.0 to 62.0 years, with a median age of 53.0 years. There were 6 donors including 5 males and 1 female, aged from 24.0 to 60.0 years, with a median age of 41.5 years. All the donor livers were obtained through the China Organ Transplant Response System. Liver transplantation was performed in the fixed negative pressure operating room, and secondary protective measures were adopted for low-risk donors. Classic orthotopic liver transplantation or Piggyback liver transplantation was performed according to the specific situations of the recipients. Medical staffs in the ward were exposed to the secondary protective measures, and the three-grade protective measures were adopted for medical staffs when the liver transplant recipients had fever or suspected infection. Observation indicators: (1) risk assessment of COVID-19 on liver transplant recipients;(2) risk assessment of COVID-19 on medical staffs of liver transplantation;(3) treatment situations of liver transplant recipients;(4) postoperative situations of liver transplant recipients;(5) follow-up of liver transplant recipients;(6) infection of medical staffs of liver transplantation. Follow-up was performed using outpatient examination or telephone interview to detect whether liver transplant recipients had suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection up to March 2020. Medical staffs who were involved in organ acquisition, transplantation surgery and ward management were followed up to detect whether they had suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection within 14 days. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean+/-SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (range). Count data were expressed as absolute numbers. Result(s): (1) Risk assessment of COVID-19 on liver transplant recipients: all the 6 recipients and their related families were confirmed no contact with suspected COVID-19 patients or travel history in the epidemic area within 14 days. Of the 6 recipients, 1 was diagnosed with fever with body temperature of 38.1 and was tested negative for chest computer tomography (CT) examination and nucleic acid test for COVID-19;1 was diagnosed with fever and hypoxemia with body temperature of 38.5 and was tested negative for nucleic acid test for COVID-19, and the results of chest CT examination showed large amount of pleural effusion in both lungs without invasive pneumonia;other 4 recipients had no clinical symptoms of COVID-19 with negative results of chest CT examination and nucleic acid test for COVID-19. Five of the 6 recipients had no history of contact with COVID-19 patients and 1 recipient had treatment history at hospital of risk level 1. The preoperative risk level of COVID-19 was low in all the 6 liver transplant recipients. (2) Risk assessment of COVID-19 on medical staffs of liver transplantation: of the 6 recipients, 5 had the waiting hospital of risk level 0 and 1 had the waiting hospital of risk level 1. Six recipients had the transplant hospital of risk level 0. (3) Treatment situations of liver transplant recipients: of the 6 recipients, 2 underwent classic orthotopic liver transplantation and 4 underwent piggyback liver transplantation. The cold ischemia time of liver, time of anhepatic phase, volume of intraoperative blood loss, operation time, treatment time at intensive care unit of the 6 recipients were (5.9+/-2.4)hours, (49+/-14)minutes, 1 500 mL(range, 800-1 800 mL), (8.9+/-2.1)hours, 2 days(range, 1-4 days), respectively. Of the 6 recipients, 2 required adjustment of the immunosuppression progr m, and 4 did not change the immunosuppression program. (4) Postoperative situations of liver transplant recipients: of the 6 recipients, 5 had no postoperative serious infection and 1 had postoperative serious infection. The 5 recipients without postoperative serious infection had the range of the highest temperature as 37.8-38.5 , and returned to normal temperature within postoperative 3 days. All of the 5 recipients who had no postoperative serious infection received chest CT examination with no obvious manifestation of viral pneumonia and were tested negative for nucleic acid test for COVID-19 at 1 week postoperatively, and then were discharged from hospital. One recipient who had postoperative serious infection had gastrointestinal fistula and repeated fever at postoperative 7 days with the highest temperature as 39.2 . This recipient had body temperature returned to normal and good function of the graft after treatment in the isolation ward with active drainage, and was transferred back to local hospital for further rehabilitation treatment. The duration of hospital stay of the 6 recipients were 30 days(range, 15-74 days). (5) Follow-up of liver transplant recipients: all the 6 recipients were followed up for 31.5 days(range, 12.0-64.0 days) with the normal body temperature, and they had negative results of viral pneumonia for chest CT examination and nucleic acid test for COVID-19. (6) Infection of medical staffs of liver transplantation: surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, medical staffs at ICU and medical staffs at liver transplantation center who participated in liver transplantation had good health within postoperative 14 days, without suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. Conclusion(s): The COVID-19 risk assessment scale has good safety for liver transplant recipients during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is suggested that organ transplantation can be carried out in low-risk recipients and cautiously carried out in recipients of uncertain risk, but organ transplantation should not be carried out in high-risk recipients.Copyright © 2020 by the Chinese Medical Association.

A single center experience in prevention and control of infection risk related to liver transplantation during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Objective: To investigate the clinical evaluation effects of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk assessment scale on preoperative and surgical risk of liver transplantation during the COVID-19 outbreak. Method(s): The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 6 liver transplant recipients who were admitted to Southern Theater Command General Hospital of PLA between January 20 and March 27, 2020 were collected. There were 5 males and 1 female, aged from 42.0 to 62.0 years, with a median age of 53.0 years. There were 6 donors including 5 males and 1 female, aged from 24.0 to 60.0 years, with a median age of 41.5 years. All the donor livers were obtained through the China Organ Transplant Response System. Liver transplantation was performed in the fixed negative pressure operating room, and secondary protective measures were adopted for low-risk donors. Classic orthotopic liver transplantation or Piggyback liver transplantation was performed according to the specific situations of the recipients. Medical staffs in the ward were exposed to the secondary protective measures, and the three-grade protective measures were adopted for medical staffs when the liver transplant recipients had fever or suspected infection. Observation indicators: (1) risk assessment of COVID-19 on liver transplant recipients;(2) risk assessment of COVID-19 on medical staffs of liver transplantation;(3) treatment situations of liver transplant recipients;(4) postoperative situations of liver transplant recipients;(5) follow-up of liver transplant recipients;(6) infection of medical staffs of liver transplantation. Follow-up was performed using outpatient examination or telephone interview to detect whether liver transplant recipients had suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection up to March 2020. Medical staffs who were involved in organ acquisition, transplantation surgery and ward management were followed up to detect whether they had suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection within 14 days. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean+/-SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (range). Count data were expressed as absolute numbers. Result(s): (1) Risk assessment of COVID-19 on liver transplant recipients: all the 6 recipients and their related families were confirmed no contact with suspected COVID-19 patients or travel history in the epidemic area within 14 days. Of the 6 recipients, 1 was diagnosed with fever with body temperature of 38.1 and was tested negative for chest computer tomography (CT) examination and nucleic acid test for COVID-19;1 was diagnosed with fever and hypoxemia with body temperature of 38.5 and was tested negative for nucleic acid test for COVID-19, and the results of chest CT examination showed large amount of pleural effusion in both lungs without invasive pneumonia;other 4 recipients had no clinical symptoms of COVID-19 with negative results of chest CT examination and nucleic acid test for COVID-19. Five of the 6 recipients had no history of contact with COVID-19 patients and 1 recipient had treatment history at hospital of risk level 1. The preoperative risk level of COVID-19 was low in all the 6 liver transplant recipients. (2) Risk assessment of COVID-19 on medical staffs of liver transplantation: of the 6 recipients, 5 had the waiting hospital of risk level 0 and 1 had the waiting hospital of risk level 1. Six recipients had the transplant hospital of risk level 0. (3) Treatment situations of liver transplant recipients: of the 6 recipients, 2 underwent classic orthotopic liver transplantation and 4 underwent piggyback liver transplantation. The cold ischemia time of liver, time of anhepatic phase, volume of intraoperative blood loss, operation time, treatment time at intensive care unit of the 6 recipients were (5.9+/-2.4)hours, (49+/-14)minutes, 1 500 mL(range, 800-1 800 mL), (8.9+/-2.1)hours, 2 days(range, 1-4 days), respectively. Of the 6 recipients, 2 required adjustment of the immunosuppression progr m, and 4 did not change the immunosuppression program. (4) Postoperative situations of liver transplant recipients: of the 6 recipients, 5 had no postoperative serious infection and 1 had postoperative serious infection. The 5 recipients without postoperative serious infection had the range of the highest temperature as 37.8-38.5 , and returned to normal temperature within postoperative 3 days. All of the 5 recipients who had no postoperative serious infection received chest CT examination with no obvious manifestation of viral pneumonia and were tested negative for nucleic acid test for COVID-19 at 1 week postoperatively, and then were discharged from hospital. One recipient who had postoperative serious infection had gastrointestinal fistula and repeated fever at postoperative 7 days with the highest temperature as 39.2 . This recipient had body temperature returned to normal and good function of the graft after treatment in the isolation ward with active drainage, and was transferred back to local hospital for further rehabilitation treatment. The duration of hospital stay of the 6 recipients were 30 days(range, 15-74 days). (5) Follow-up of liver transplant recipients: all the 6 recipients were followed up for 31.5 days(range, 12.0-64.0 days) with the normal body temperature, and they had negative results of viral pneumonia for chest CT examination and nucleic acid test for COVID-19. (6) Infection of medical staffs of liver transplantation: surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, medical staffs at ICU and medical staffs at liver transplantation center who participated in liver transplantation had good health within postoperative 14 days, without suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. Conclusion(s): The COVID-19 risk assessment scale has good safety for liver transplant recipients during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is suggested that organ transplantation can be carried out in low-risk recipients and cautiously carried out in recipients of uncertain risk, but organ transplantation should not be carried out in high-risk recipients.Copyright © 2020 by the Chinese Medical Association.

Preliminary Recommendations on the Timing of Lung Surgery after Novel Coronavirus Infection in Patients with Pulmonary Nodules and Lung Cancer.

In recent years, the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a huge impact on the global medical, political and economic fields. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 has grown exponentially. Recently, the COVID-19 epidemic has changed rapidly in China, and there has been controversy over how to carry out surgical operations for patients with lung neoplastic lesions. Some studies have shown that lung cancer patients undergoing surgery are more likely to experience respiratory failure and perioperative death after contract-ing COVID-19 than the general population, however, delays in cancer treatment are also associated with increased mortality among these patients. In particular, the novel coronavirus Omikron variant has a higher transmissibility and may escape the immunity obtained through the previous novel coronavirus infection and vaccination. In order to minimize the risk of novel coronavirus infection in surgical patients, it is necessary to develop new treatment guidelines, expert consensus and preventive measures. However, the current rapid change of the epidemic situation has led to insufficient time and evidence to develop guidelines and consensus. Therefore, thoracic surgeons need to evaluate specific patient populations at higher risk of severe complications before surgery and weigh the benefit of surgical treatment against the risk of novel coronavirus infection. We try to give some recommendations on lung surgery during the current domestic epidemic situation based on the guidelines and consensus of oncology and thoracic surgery organizations in different regions on lung surgery.Copyright © 2023, Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer. All rights reserved.

Plant-derived nanovesicles: further exploration of biomedical function and application potential

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are phospholipid bilayer vesicles actively secreted by cells, that contain a variety of functional nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids, and are important mediums of intercellular communication. Based on their natural properties, EVs can not only retain the pharmacological effects of their source cells but also serve as natural delivery carriers. Among them, plant-derived nanovesicles (PNVs) are characterized as natural disease therapeutics with many advantages such as simplicity, safety, eco-friendliness, low cost, and low toxicity due to their abundant resources, large yield, and low risk of immunogenicity in vivo. This review systematically introduces the biogenesis, isolation methods, physical characterization, and components of PNVs, and describes their administration and cellular uptake as therapeutic agents. We highlight the therapeutic potential of PNVs as therapeutic agents and drug delivery carriers, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, wound healing, regeneration, and antiaging properties as well as their potential use in the treatment of liver disease and COVID-19. Finally, the toxicity and immunogenicity, the current clinical application, and the possible challenges in the future development of PNVs were analyzed. We expect the functions of PNVs to be further explored to promote clinical translation, thereby facilitating the development of a new framework for the treatment of human diseases.Copyright © 2023 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Variations of air pollutant response to COVID-19 lockdown in cities of the Tibetan Plateau

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) accidentally appeared in Tibet on August 7, 2022, and broke the 920 consecutive epidemic-free days. The cities in Tibet completely kept lockdown to restrict the public to homes. It provided a valuable opportunity for understanding how variations of urban air pollutants responded to the COVID-19 lockdown in the special highland cities of the third polar. Compared with the global COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, a slightly negative O3 anomaly and greater PM2.5 and NO2 reductions were found. The study showed PM10 (−65%) < NO2 (−53%) < PM2.5 (−52%) < O3 (−15%) < CO (−11%) < SO2 (10%) in the Tibetan Lockdown 2022. The total gaseous oxidant (Ox = NO2 + O3) decreased 18% in the Tibetan Lockdown 2022, but showed a limited change in the Lockdown 2020. Moreover, the diurnal profiles of NO2 and PM10 disappeared and the diurnal profiles of Ox, PM2.5, and PM2.5/CO became weakened. Via the random forest model-based weather normalization technique, we obtained the decoupled meteorological effects 1.3 ± 0.6 times higher than the net emission reduction due to the Tibetan Lockdown 2022. Meanwhile, we found that the deweathered PM2.5 was mainly from residential combustion emissions due to the weak industrialization in Tibet. Here we roughly estimated that vehicle-related sources can contribute about 28% and 29% to PM2.5 and NO2 in urban cities of Tibet respectively. For eco-vulnerability protection and sustainable development in Tibet, more attention should be paid to reducing the more intensive local pollutant emissions from vehicles and residential combustion of urban cities. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Stroke Care and Potential Solutions

Background and Purpose: When the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak became paramount, medical care for other devastating diseases was negatively impacted. In this study, we investigated the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on stroke care across China. Method(s): Data from the Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China consisting of 280 hospitals across China demonstrated a significant drop in the number of cases of thrombolysis and thrombectomy. We designed a survey to investigate the major changes during the COVID-19 outbreak and potential causes of these changes. The survey was distributed to the leaders of stroke centers in these 280 hospitals. Result(s): From the data of Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China, the total number of thrombolysis and thrombectomy cases dropped 26.7% (P<0.0001) and 25.3% (P<0.0001), respectively, in February 2020 as compared with February 2019. We retrieved 227 valid complete datasets from the 280 stroke centers. Nearly 50% of these hospitals were designated hospitals for COVID-19. The capacity for stroke care was reduced in the majority of the hospitals. Most of the stroke centers stopped or reduced their efforts in stroke education for the public. Hospital admissions related to stroke dropped =40%;thrombolysis and thrombectomy cases dropped =25%, which is similar to the results from the Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China as compared with the same period in 2019. Many factors contributed to the reduced admissions and prehospital delays;lack of stroke knowledge and proper transportation were significant limiting factors. Patients not coming to the hospital for fear of virus infection was also a likely key factor. Conclusion(s): The COVID-19 outbreak impacted stroke care significantly in China, including prehospital and in-hospital care, resulting in a significant drop in admissions, thrombolysis, and thrombectomy. Although many factors contributed, patients not coming to the hospital was probably the major limiting factor. Recommendations based on the data are provided.Copyright © 2020 Authors. All rights reserved.

Reform and Practice of "Integrated” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Based on New Engineering

Build and practice innovation and entrepreneurship education reform combining the revision of training programs with experimental platform construction under the background of new engineering. The reform solves the problems of poor cognition, low positioning, and an imperfect practical teaching system. The reform also provides a coping strategy for the highly difficult situation of student employment in the context of COVID-19. Based on improving the experimental platform and following the OBE (Outcome Based Education) education concept, the "integrated” innovation and entrepreneurship education reform and practice plan appears. It builds a progressive, organic, scientific, and reasonable experimental teaching system. It forms a platform to consolidate primary practical teaching, improve professional practical ability, exercise innovation and entrepreneurship ability. Based on "course ideology and politics”, the reform enhances the quality of teachers and creates a good atmosphere for students to establish correct socialist core values. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Delays in Stroke Onset to Hospital Arrival Time during COVID-19

Background and Purpose: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents a global public health crisis, disrupting emergency healthcare services. We determined whether COVID-19 has resulted in delays in stroke presentation and affected the delivery of acute stroke services in a comprehensive stroke center in Hong Kong. Method(s): We retrospectively reviewed all patients with transient ischemic attack and stroke admitted via the acute stroke pathway of Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, during the first 60 days since the first diagnosed COVID-19 case in Hong Kong (COVID-19: January 23, 2020-March 24, 2020). We compared the stroke onset to hospital arrival (onset-to-door) time and timings of inpatient stroke pathways with patients admitted during the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID-19: January 23, 2019-March 24, 2019). Result(s): Seventy-three patients in COVID-19 were compared with 89 patients in pre-COVID-19. There were no significant differences in age, sex, vascular risk factors, nor stroke severity between the 2 groups (P>0.05). The median stroke onset-to-door time was =1-hour longer in COVID-19 compared with pre-COVID-19 (154 versus 95 minutes, P=0.12), and the proportion of individuals with onset-to-door time within 4.5 hours was significantly lower (55% versus 72%, P=0.024). Significantly fewer cases of transient ischemic attack presented to the hospital during COVID-19 (4% versus 16%, P=0.016), despite no increase in referrals to the transient ischemic attack clinic. Inpatient stroke pathways and treatment time metrics nevertheless did not differ between the 2 groups (P>0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusion(s): During the early containment phase of COVID-19, we noted a prolongation in stroke onset to hospital arrival time and a significant reduction in individuals arriving at the hospital within 4.5 hours and presenting with transient ischemic attack. Public education about stroke should continue to be reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Tracking disclosure change trajectories for financial fraud detection

The global economic disruption brought by COVID-19 crisis can set a stage for the prevalence of financial statement frauds, which jeopardize the efficient functioning of capital markets. In this paper, we propose a nuanced method to detect frauds by tracking granular changes in disclosures over time. Specifically, we first align paragraphs between consecutive disclosures by their similarities. This alignment can be solved as an optimization-based matching problem. Then we identify three types of changed contents: recurrent, newly added, and deleted contents. For each type, we measure the changes in terms of fraud-relevant linguistics features, such as sentiment and uncertainties. Further, we formulate a firm's Management Discussion and Analysis change trajectory over years as a multivariate time series composed of these granular metrics. We implement a deep learning model to predict frauds using the change trajectory as an input. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our model significantly outperforms benchmark models, and its performance increases with the length of the change trajectory. Moreover, we found specific types of changes are strongly associated with frauds, including weak modal or reward words in newly added or deleted contents. Our work provides an optimization-based method to define change trajectories and trace information mutation in narratives. Finally, our study contributes to the fraud detection literature with a new predictive signal—disclosure change trajectories with an effective deep learning architecture. © 2022 Production and Operations Management Society.

Free energy perturbation–based large-scale virtual screening for effective drug discovery against COVID-19

As a theoretically rigorous and accurate method, FEP-ABFE (Free Energy Perturbation-Absolute Binding Free Energy) calculations showed great potential in drug discovery, but its practical application was difficult due to high computational cost. To rapidly discover antiviral drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and TMPRSS2, we performed FEP-ABFE–based virtual screening for ∼12,000 protein-ligand binding systems on a new generation of Tianhe supercomputer. A task management tool was specifically developed for automating the whole process involving more than 500,000 MD tasks. In further experimental validation, 50 out of 98 tested compounds showed significant inhibitory activity towards Mpro, and one representative inhibitor, dipyridamole, showed remarkable outcomes in subsequent clinical trials. This work not only demonstrates the potential of FEP-ABFE in drug discovery but also provides an excellent starting point for further development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs. Besides, ∼500 TB of data generated in this work will also accelerate the further development of FEP-related methods. © The Author(s) 2022.