A Visual Analytics Approach to Facilitate the Proctoring of Online Exams

Online exams have become widely used to evaluate students' performance in mastering knowledge in recent years, especially during the pandemic of COVID-19. However, it is challenging to conduct proctoring for online exams due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. Also, prior research has shown that online exams are more vulnerable to various cheating behaviors, which can damage their credibility. This paper presents a novel visual analytics approach to facilitate the proctoring of online exams by analyzing the exam video records and mouse movement data of each student. Specifically, we detect and visualize suspected head and mouse movements of students in three levels of detail, which provides course instructors and teachers with convenient, efficient and reliable proctoring for online exams. Our extensive evaluations, including usage scenarios, a carefully-designed user study and expert interviews, demonstrate the effectiveness and usability of our approach.

Detection of microorganisms in hospital air before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Microorganisms present a global public health problem and are the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Therefore, it is essential to study the prevalence of microorganisms in hospital environments. The conclusion from such a study can contribute to identify the areas most likely to be contaminated in a hospital and appropriate measures that can decrease the exposure risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prevalence of microorganisms in hospital air was examined in different departments by obtaining air samples with an impactor before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A total of 2145 microorganisms were identified, and the corresponding data were jointly analyzed by area, sampling period, and concentration. RESULTS: The most frequently detected microorganisms in hospital air were Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Neisseria, and fungi, and the more polluted departments were the hemodialysis department, respiratory department, treatment room, and toilet. Significant differences were found between the concentration of bacteria and fungi before and during the pandemic, which could be related to multiple environmental conditions. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 was negative in all the air samples. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study confirmed the existence and dynamic characteristics of airborne microorganisms in a hospital. The results contribute to the adaptation of specific measures which can decrease the exposure risk of patients, visitors, and staff.

Repurposing face mask waste to construct floating photothermal evaporator for autonomous solar ocean farming

Plastic waste caused by the extensive usage of face masks during COVID-19 pandemic has become a severe threat to natural environment and ecosystem. Herein, an eco-friendly approach to repurpose face mask waste for clean water production via solar thermal evaporation is proposed. By taking advantage of its interwind structure, face mask holds the promise to be an ideal candidate material for constructing photothermal evaporator. In-situ surface modifications are performed successively with polyvinyl alcohol and polypyrrole to improve its wettability and solar absorption (97%). The obtained face mask-based evaporator achieves significantly enhanced solar efficiency (91.5%) and long-term salt-rejection stability. The harvested clean water befits plant growing to enable farming on sea surface. A floating photothermal evaporation prototype is then developed to demonstrate autonomous solar ocean farming, with plants successfully cultivated over time. As such, the proposed strategy provides a promising solution towards ecological sustainability by tapping multiple benefits.

The Coronavirus Pandemic: The Growing Relevance of Moral Cosmopolitan Justice?

The essay attempts to conceptualise the adverse repercussions of coronavirus in an unequal global order. The changing security regime has intensified the increased probabilities of potential non-conventional threats. The coronavirus has uncovered the unpleasant realities of the socio-economic and political structure of the global north encountering financial crises and lack of health care resources. Contradictorily, the Pandemic has pushed the developing countries into the realm of extreme poverty, destroyed their minimum living conditions with the marginal provision of financial assistance. The contemporary unequal scenario exposed the unequal treatment for different social and economic classes questioning the neo-liberal policy discourse. Therefore, the central theme of the essay is to understand the multidimensional underpinnings of the health crises and global inequality upholding the relevance of cosmopolitan justice, adopting an analytical and deductive methodology of driving conclusions from general premises. © 2021, Fudan University.

Exploration of bioactive constituents and immunoregulatory mechanisms of a hanshi-yufei formulation for treating COVID-19

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical compounds of a Hanshi-Yufei formulation (HSYF;a modified formulation of a traditional Chinese medicine used for treating COVID-19) to elucidate the mechanism of action and to evaluate potential anti-inflammatory effects of HSYF. Materials and Methods: The chemical constituents of HSYF extract were characterized using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Subsequently, a set of TCM network pharmacology methods was applied to identify disease-associated genes and to predict target profiles and pharmacological actions associated with the constituents of HSYF. Then, the antiviral effects of HSYF on H1N1 were assessed in RAW264.7 cells using MTT assays. Expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α following infection of RAW264.7 cells with H1N1 were measured using an enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA), and expression levels of inflammatory-related factors were detected using western blotting. Results: In total, 165 chemical constituents (including glycosides, tannins, volatile oils, amino acids, triterpenoids, polyphenols, phenylpropanoids, sesquiterpenes, alkaloids, and flavonoids, among others) were tentatively identified in HSYF. Network pharmacology demonstrated that HSYF can regulate immunomodulatory- and anti-inflammatory-related targets of multiple pathways through its active ingredients, suggesting potential anti-COVID-19 effects. Furthermore, cell viability assays and ELISA showed that HSYF significantly inhibited H1N1 replication in RAW64.7 cells and markedly reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 at the proteins level. Conclusions: The results of the present study help improve our understanding of the therapeutic effects of HSYF in COVID-19 treatment from multi-level perspectives.

Efficacy of diammonium glycyrrhizinate combined with vitamin C for treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a retrospective, observational study.

BACKGROUND: The current global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has shown limited responses to medical treatments. AIMS: To observe the effect of combination treatment of giammonium glycyrrhizinate and vitamin C (DV) on the prognoses of patients with COVID-19. METHODS: This retrospective observational study recruited 207 COVID-19 patients from Tongji Hospital, patients were assigned to DV and non-DV groups on the basis of the DV treatment. To make the results more credible, a propensity score matching (PSM) approach was adopted at a 1:3 ratio to determine the participants. Logistic analysis was used to assess the effect of DV therapy in the progress of COVID-19. RESULTS: In the DV group, the new-onset incidence rate of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after admission was clearly lower than that in the non-DV group (DV vs. non-DV groups, 15.2% vs. 35.7%; P = 0.002). Compared with the non-DV group, the DV group showed fewer new onset of complications (such as ARDS, acute liver injury and acute myocardial injury) (DV vs. non-DV groups, 19.6% vs. 46.1%; P = 0.000). Moreover, DG+VC may help to recover the count of NK cells and decrease the level of sIL-2R. CONCLUSIONS: DG+VC might be a promising candidate for preventing the deterioration of COVID-19 patients, which is worthy to be studied in large and perspective cohort.

Data visualization and data fusion on the visual performance of illustration

The influence of COVID-19 causes a certain impact on data visualization and data fusion on the visual performance of illustration. Based on the development of illustration, this paper discusses the relationship between illustration, text information and media. This paper studies the feasibility of the combination of illustration and information visualization. In this paper, the interactive image segmentation and gridding methods are proposed. Then, the background theory and significance of flow field design are described, and the flow field generation method based on heat source diffusion is proposed. In this paper, the shadow of the topology of the convective field through the interaction input of the flow field design is analyzed, and then compared with the related work. In the visualization of flow field, based on the weighted distance field formed by the diffusion of heat source, a visualization method of stratified flow field line is proposed. Finally, the visualization method of stratified flow field is explained and its effect is demonstrated. Experimental data show that the information visualization method proposed in this paper can improve the efficiency and accuracy of illustration information extraction. © 2020 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

Effect of lopinavir/ritonavir on blood lipid levels in patients with coronavirus disease 2019

Objective: To study the effect of lopinavir/ritonavir on blood lipid levels in the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: Forty COVID-19 patients admitted to the First Ward of Hubei Shiyan Second Medical Treatment Hospital from February 3 to February 6, 2020. Among them, 34 patients were tested for blood lipids before oral lopinavir/ritonavir. The blood lipid changes were observed during the treatment of oral lopinavir/ritonavir. Results: The blood lipid levels of 34 patients who underwent oral lopinavir/ritonavir treatment for 7-10 days were higher than those before treatment with significant difference. Among the 34 patients, fourteen patients showed significantly increased blood lipid levels after oral lopinavir/ritonavir (9-10 days of treatment), and their blood lipid levels were re-assayed 3-5 days after lopinavir/ritonavir discontinuance. The overall levels of triglyceride and cholesterol were still elevated, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Lopinavir/ritonavir has a significant effect on blood lipid levels in patients with COVID-19. Blood lipid levels should be monitored regularly and intervention measures should be given in time to prevent cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and other possible complications. © 2020, Editorial Board of Medical Journal of Wuhan University. All right reserved.