ABSTRACT
The emergence and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants may affect vaccine efficacy substantially. The Omicron variant termed BA.2, which differs substantially from BA.1 based on genetic sequence, is currently replacing BA.1 in several countries, but its antigenic characteristics have not yet been assessed. Here, we used antigenic cartography to quantify and visualize antigenic differences between early SARS-CoV-2 variants (614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta, Delta, and Mu) using hamster antisera obtained after primary infection. We first verified that the choice of the cell line for the neutralization assay did not affect the topology of the map substantially. Antigenic maps generated using pseudo-typed SARS-CoV-2 on the widely used VeroE6 cell line and the human airway cell line Calu-3 generated similar maps. Maps made using authentic SARS-CoV-2 on Calu-3 cells also closely resembled those generated with pseudo-typed viruses. The antigenic maps revealed a central cluster of SARS-CoV-2 variants, which grouped on the basis of mutual spike mutations. Whereas these early variants are antigenically similar, clustering relatively close to each other in antigenic space, Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 have evolved as two distinct antigenic outliers. Our data show that BA.1 and BA.2 both escape vaccine-induced antibody responses as a result of different antigenic characteristics. Thus, antigenic cartography could be used to assess antigenic properties of future SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern that emerge and to decide on the composition of novel spike-based (booster) vaccines.
ABSTRACT
The role of a higher education institution is to train specialists who have the necessary skills for their integration into the labor market. The Faculty of Management and Rural Development is one of the 7 faculties of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest and which, through the mission and objective, it has proposed as the university curriculum to increase the quality of the didactic act with the aim of training specialists who can integrate into the current knowledge-based society, specialists who can assume responsibilities, be creative, original, flexible, adaptable, with an analytical thinking, innovative and able to run businesses, so that the motto of the faculty is "Preparing to lead!". The new challenges facing today's society make higher education institutions rethink their priorities, having to continuously adapt to meet the challenges that accompany modern society. Therefore, they need modern teaching-learning-evaluation strategies, which respond to the changing requirements and require a digital transformation. The experience gained during the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated progress in this direction, but more is needed so that the needs of young people raised in a digital society, with digital needs and digital skills can be met. The present study aims to measure the perception of the Faculty of Management and Rural Development students regarding the extent to which digital technology has been applied in the online teaching-learning-evaluation process and its effectiveness. The research methodology assumed the analysis of specialized literature regarding the use of digitization in the application of modern methods in the teaching-learning-evaluation process. The case study was carried out starting with a questionnaire that contained 15 questions addressed to the students of the Faculty of Management and Rural Development. The processing of the answers was carried out with the help of statistical methods, and the results obtained after their interpretation showed that both the teaching staff and the students adapted quite quickly to the online education system. The teaching-learning methods were varied, as were the learning tools used. Among the strong points of online education were flexibility, accessibility, and a variety of methods used in the teaching-learning activity, and among the weak points were identified: maintaining the students' attention during the teaching-learning activity, time management, or the level of digital skills of the teaching staff..
ABSTRACT
With knowledge being at the center of societal development, global policy forums, such as OECD, promote policies to improve national education systems. According to the most recent PISA evaluation, 40% of Romanian 15-year students are considered functionally illiterate. The Romanian education system's mission to catch up with international standards was challenged by the policy shocks following the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In an attempt to adapt to the new situation, the Minister of Education implemented a substantial reduction of the curricula covered by the National Evaluation exam held in 2020. In 2021, the exam was restructured so to resemble the PISA tests. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how these changes have impacted the Romanian upper education system. We used the 2019-2021 high school admission data published by the Ministry of Education. Our results indicate apparent progress of high school efficacy due to the inflationary grade effects. We provided an alternative metric based not on grades but high school candidates' rank. The classification of high schools based on this instrument is revealed as more robust. Most high schools in Bucharest run in the lowest performance category with the upper education system relying on a few top-performing high schools. For administrators and policymakers, this type of instrument is crucial for a proper evaluation of educational institution efficacy and authentic progress. This type of evaluation is the first action in the process to meet OECD requirements to close the gap between the lowest and highest education institutions in the EECA region.