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Since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, scholars and practitioners have put much effort into testing effective advertising strategies for COVID-19 vaccinations. Guided by humor theories, this study aimed to examine (1) the effect of humor on persuading COVID-19 vaccination and (2) the moderating role of trust in government for the unvaccinated population. Across two studies (college students and general adult populations), for lower trust in government individuals, through greater public service advertisement (PSA) processing depth and believability, there was a higher vaccination intention after the humor (non-humor) advertisement. For higher trust in government individuals, there was evidence that the vaccination intention was lowered after the humor (vs. non-humor) message through lowered PSA processing depth and believability. This study expands humor theory into testing COVID-19 vaccination messages while considering an individual psychological factor, trust in the government, that has emerged as an essential determinant to COVID-19 messaging. The contributions to COVID-19 vaccination advertising strategy and advertising to the unvaccinated population, in general, are discussed.
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Background: This study analyzed the causes of death in the Korean population in 2020. Method(s): Cause-of-death data for 2020 from Statistics Korea were examined based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death, 7th revision and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision. Result(s): In total, 304,948 deaths occurred, reflecting an increase of 9,838 (3.3%) from 2019. The crude death rate (the number of deaths per 100,000 people) was 593.9, corresponding to an increase of 19.0 (3.3%) from 2019. The 10 leading causes of death, in descending order, were malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, pneumonia, cerebrovascular diseases, intentional self-harm, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer disease, liver diseases, hypertensive diseases, and sepsis. Cancer accounted for 27.0% of deaths. Within the category of malignant neoplasms, the top 5 leading organs of involvement were the lung, liver, colon, stomach, and pancreas. Sepsis was included in the 10 leading causes of death for the first time. Mortality due to pneumonia decreased to 43.3 (per 100,000 people) from 45.1 in 2019. The number of deaths due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was 950, of which 54.5% were in people aged 80 or older. Conclusion(s): These changes reflect the continuing increase in deaths due to diseases of old age, including sepsis. The decrease in deaths due to pneumonia may have been due to protective measures against SARS-CoV-2. With the concomitant decrease in fertility, 2020 became the first year in which Korea's natural total population decreased.Copyright © Korean Medical Association.
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Background: This study analyzed the causes of death in the Korean population in 2020.Methods: Cause-of-death data for 2020 from Statistics Korea were examined based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death, 7th revision and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision.Results: In total, 304,948 deaths occurred, reflecting an increase of 9,838 (3.3%) from 2019. The crude death rate (the number of deaths per 100,000 people) was 593.9, corresponding to an increase of 19.0 (3.3%) from 2019. The 10 leading causes of death, in descending order, were malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, pneumonia, cerebrovascular diseases, intentional self-harm, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer disease, liver diseases, hypertensive diseases, and sepsis. Cancer accounted for 27.0% of deaths. Within the category of malignant neoplasms, the top 5 leading organs of involvement were the lung, liver, colon, stomach, and pancreas. Sepsis was included in the 10 leading causes of death for the first time. Mortality due to pneumonia decreased to 43.3 (per 100,000 people) from 45.1 in 2019. The number of deaths due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was 950, of which 54.5% were in people aged 80 or older.Conclusion: These changes reflect the continuing increase in deaths due to diseases of old age, including sepsis. The decrease in deaths due to pneumonia may have been due to protective measures against SARS-CoV-2. With the concomitant decrease in fertility, 2020 became the first year in which Korea's natural total population decreased.
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Senior housing with age-friendly design and elderly care services contributes to the health and well-being of older people. Previous research has evidenced that the immediate environment factors of senior housing, such as the design of housing features and facilities, have a direct bearing on the satisfaction and quality of life of older people. However, external environment factors, such as political, economic, and social ones that affect key stakeholders' behaviors in senior housing development, are relatively under-researched. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the external environmental factors influencing the development of senior housing. Taking Hong Kong as case study, this study first commenced with a systematic review to identify the factors in political, economic, and social domains from global evidence. Following this, we interviewed local experts from academia, industry, and government to solicit their opinions on the relative importance of these factors. We then determined the factor rankings using the analytical hierarchy process method. The results showed that local experts perceived economic factors as the most critical ones in influencing senior housing development in Hong Kong, including land costs, funding from financial institutions, and government incentives. If policymakers tend to promote senior housing in densely populated cities like Hong Kong, the policies should be attractive for housing developers, such as land premium concessions and innovative financial channels for supporting the long-term development of senior housing. © 2023 by the authors.
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Background In recent years, research has demonstrated the disparities in cardiovascular disease diagnosis and outcomes for various populations. We aim to study the demographic and COVID-19-related disparities in the door to electrocardiogram (DtE) time for patients presenting with chest pain in a diverse public city hospital. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency department between June 1, 2019 and July 31, 2022. Data regarding age, sex, race, COVID-19 status, and DtE time were collected. Wilcoxon rank sum and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to compare medians. Linear regression was performed to further understand the relationship between age and DtE time. Results Of 10,918 patients, 51% were female (age: 49 +/- 17) and 49% were male (age: 48 +/- 16). A significantly lower median DtE time was noted in males (z=2, p=0.045), patients without COVID-19 (z= -2.84, p=0.004) and in age less than 45 years (z=2.38, p=0.017). In a linear regression adjusting for age, sex, race, and COVID-19 status, advancing age was directly correlated with greater DtE time. For every 10-year increase in age, the DtE time increased by 6.2 minutes (p<0.001). Conclusion DtE time was longer in females and in patients with COVID-19. No race-based disparities were found in this analysis. Paradoxically, younger patients presenting with chest pain had a significantly shorter DtE time, despite a higher prevalence of acute coronary syndrome in older age groups. [Formula presented]Copyright © 2023 American College of Cardiology Foundation
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This study empirically analyzed the effect of Korea's regulation of total amount of loans in household sector on bank prices like lending rate, interest business profitability, and loan portfolio decisions. Korea, which is known as a country with tight financial regulations among OECD countries, recently implemented a regulation on the total amount of household debt as a measure in response to the recent surge in household loan demand in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. While macro-prudential policy focusing on capital regulation is recognized as a global standard, confirming the effect of tightening household loan supply on changes in lending market is different from previous studies. The main research results and theoretical discussion confirmed in this study are as follows. First, restrictions on the amount of household loans, the possibility of tighter loan supply, and changes in loan regulation stance have led to an increase in lending rates at banks, as suggested by Kim (2019) and Castro et al. (2022). Second, the strengthening of regulations on the total amount of loans has improved the interest profitability of banks. It is presumed that Korean banks with strong market dominance are profitable with high interest margins despite a decrease in loan volume. Third, the effect of the total loan amount regulation on the bank loan portfolio decision was confirmed. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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Although face masks have been used for over a century to provide protection against airborne pathogens and pollutants, close scrutiny of their effectiveness has peaked in the past two years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The simplicity of face masks belies the complexity of the physical phenomena that determine their effectiveness as a defense against airborne infections. This complexity is rooted in the fact that the effectiveness of face masks depends on the combined effects of respiratory aerodynamics, filtration flow physics, droplet dynamics and their interactions with porous materials, structural dynamics, physiology, and even human behavior. At its core, however, the face mask is a flow-handling device, and in the current review, we take a flow physics-centric view of face masks and the key phenomena that underlie their function. We summarize the state of the art in experimental measurements, as well as the growing body of computational studies that have contributed to our understanding of the factors that determine the effectiveness of face masks. The review also lays out some of the important open questions and technical challenges associated with the effectiveness of face masks.
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Background and objective: With rapid urbanization, the introduction of plants in interior environments has become an essential factor owing to insufficient green areas and increased indoor living hours. In commercial spaces, the "planterior" can play an important role in spatial branding and marketing. With recent changes in lifestyle, including those induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of plants into indoor spaces has increased. This study aimed to analyze the current status and design characteristics of domestic commercial spaces and propose a future interior design direction for development. Methods: Eighty-eight case sites of domestic commercial spaces were selected nationwide to analyze the design characteristics and current status of planteriors. The basic status of the case sites was investigated, and the bestcase site was selected based on an assessment of the landscape's excellence and topicality. Results: Most commercial spaces selected as planterior case sites were located in the metropolitan area and were large cafés. Most places were built within the last year, with natural styles that use more plants than that required by the space, and accounted for the highest percentage by utilizing the direct method of fresh flowers. In most cases, excellent planterior landscapes were created, and more than 85% of the cases were found to have high online exposure, indicating that the planterior of a commercial space was effectively used as a marketing element. The design characteristics of the commercial space planterior analyzed as the bestcase site were topicality, simplicity, leadership, and unexpectedness, which was required for the space design due to the branding. These design characteristics were found to have a synergistic effect with the maintenance of plants. Conclusion: Overall, this study confirmed that the creation of planteriors in various types of commercial spaces plays an important role in spatial branding and marketing functions, and enables potential continuous development for the space design using plants. To continuously expand and develop planteriors in the future, a multilateral plant interior design study from the perspective of design, plants, and users is needed. © 2022 by the Society for People, Plants, and Environment.
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Despite the growing protectionist policies from major developed and developing countries, multinational corporations (MNCs) tend to adjust their current efficiency-oriented global value chains (GVCs) to more resilient ones, instead of reshoring overseas businesses back home. In this respect, this chapter seeks to introduce a comprehensive framework across four directions: agile response, alternative routes, diversification, and sustainability orientation, for establishing resilient GVCs in the pandemic era. In reviewing and reorganizing the suggestions of existing studies, this chapter argues firms need to be more globalized while maintaining the key principles of GVCs. As such, countries will also need to improve their national business environment and make it more attractive for firms to locate parts of the entire GVCs in their countries. This chapter takes two countries: Vietnam and Singapore - as examples which have been widely recognized as successful countries that have opened up their economies and utilized international resources for economic development. This chapter shows that despite the potential challenges from the global pandemic, both countries tend to push forward the globalization of their economy and introduce various measures, such as strengthening the global relations with other economies and investments for digital transformations, to upgrade their positions in the GVCs. © 2022 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
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Background. Peak counts of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have followed each COVID-19 peak by 2-5 weeks. Fewer cases of MIS-C occurred after the Delta-predominant period compared to early waves of the pandemic. The Chicago Department of Public Health analyzed the ratio of MIS-C to pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization by period of variant predominance from March 2020 - mid-March 2022 to evaluate differences by variant. Methods. MIS-C in Chicago residents was reported using the standard CDC MIS-C case report form. Four periods of COVID-19 infection were identified with dates defined by variant predominance (>=50%);date ranges for corresponding MIS-C periods were defined as starting 21 days after the COVID-19 period (Table 1). MIS-C cases were compared to hospitalizations as a measure of COVID-19 disease activity in children (rather than case counts which are more subject biases inherent in disease testing) among confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in children <=21 years reported to CDPH. Ratios of MIS-C cases per 100 corresponding pediatric hospitalizations for each variant period were calculated. Proportions of MIS-C hospitalizations with intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation (MV), and receipt of vasopressors (VP) were calculated as markers of disease severity in MIS-C for each wave. Results. 90 cases of MIS-C and 1,597 pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations were reported (Table 2). The overall ratio was 5.6 MIS-C cases/100 pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations. The first period with predominance of the original lineage had a ratio of 10.2;subsequent periods with variant predominance all had lower ratios. The Delta period had the second highest ratio which was 68% of the first period. Across waves, 74% of MIS-C patients were admitted to ICU (range, 67-82%);11% underwent MV (range, 0-14%);and 52% received VP (range, 45-71%). Conclusion. The ratio of MIS-C to pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations varied by period of SARS-CoV-2 variant predominance. The ratio was highest in the early pandemic. There was no consistent change in MIS-C severity. Further study is needed to determine if the change in ratio is due to increased immunologic exposure (vaccination or previous infection) or if it is variant dependent.
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A small proportion of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop severe pneumonia. We reported the severe COVID-19 pneumonia in children aged <18 years with COVID-19 treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone from August 2021 to November 2021 by a retrospective review of their medical records. Eight children were included (5 males and 3 females). Their median age was 16 years (range: 9 to 17 years) and their median body mass index was 30.5 kg/m2 (range: 22.8–38.5 kg/m2). All patients had fever and dyspnea with hypoxia. Chest radiographic findings were variable and included diffuse or multifocal consolidation, nodules, and ground-glass opacities in the lungs. After receiving intravenous remdesivir and dexamethasone, 7 of the 8 children experienced an improvement in their symptoms within 2 days. In our case series, obesity was present in 6 out of 8 children with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
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This study proposes a new assistive device that ensures consistency and improves safety in sample collection for detecting upper respiratory diseases such as COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic and the various mutations of the coronavirus have increased the demand for swab-sampling–based specimen collection. Currently, the most accurate method of collecting respiratory specimens is to insert a cotton swab through the nasal passage and touch the nasopharyngeal wall. Here, the success of sampling is subjectively determined by the force applied to the swab;test results may therefore vary based on the degree of training of the medical staff, and excess force can sometimes cause pain and aftereffects in patients. Therefore, we developed a device that measures the force applied to the swab when it is inserted up to the nasopharyngeal wall and indicates this to medical staff with an audiovisual signal. In this study, we introduce the details of the sample collection devices and validate the developed device through phantom model experiments. The results of five model experiments confirm that when both visual and auditory signals were given to medical staff, more consistent swab sampling was achieved than the conventional method without signals. © ICROS 2022.
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STATEMENT OF PROBLEM/QUESTION: How can systems-based changes increase the rate of diabetic retinal scan (DRS) completion in a primary care clinic during the COVID pandemic with decreased in-person visits? DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM/INTERVENTION: The intervention was based in a primary care clinic associated with a public county-based health system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person clinic visits were drastically reduced to prevent transmission, leading to a significant decrease in DRS completion rates. Additional barriers to completion of DRS screening included the following: (1) patients needed a separate, scheduled visit in our electronic medical record system (EPIC) for the DRS exam, (2) DRS clinic had limited hours during the primary care visit day, (3) many of our underserved patients could not afford consecutive clinic visits within a short period of time, and (4) providers signed the orders for DRS at the end of the visit;thus, nursing staff could not start scheduling patients an appointment until the end of the primary care visit. The intervention included two Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. The first PDSA cycle involved a physician manually screening all patients due for DRS on a weekly basis if they were scheduled for a clinic visit in the upcoming week. For those identified, our nursing staff scheduled and completed a separate DRS appointment for the same day as the patient's clinic visit to minimize multiple visits. The second PDSA cycle involved using an EPIC tool, SlicerDicer, to automatically identify patient charts with overdue DRS screenings and upcoming clinic visits. The list of identified patients were then sent over to our nursing staff in order to schedule patients for their DRS on the same day as their clinic visit. MEASURES OF SUCCESS: We recorded diabetic retinal scan completion rate each month for one year from September 2020 to August 2021 to assess if rates would improve after our interventions. Monthly completion rates were measured on a rolling basis and based on the completion of the annual DRS for all clinic patients within the last 12 months. FINDINGS TO DATE: The percent of completed annual diabetic retinal exams for all clinic patients increased from 32.4% in September 2020 to 70.9% in August 2021 after implementation of our interventions. KEY LESSONS FOR DISSEMINATION: We identified system-based barriers that were negatively impacting our patients' ability to complete an important health maintenance screening such as the DRS exam. After identifying these barriers, we utilized existing tools and technology within our electronic medical record system to help patients complete their annual DRS exams and drastically increased overall clinic DRS completion rates.
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Introduction/Rationale: People with multiple chronic diseases, such as heart failure (HF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are at elevated risk of unplanned repeated hospitalization. Transitional care has been recognized as reducing unexpected rehospitalization after discharge from hospital to home. As the COVID-19 pandemic is prolonged, individual home healthcare services are getting increased attention for post-acute care. However, less is known about the effectiveness of nurse-led transitional care programs, including home-visit intervention. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of nurse-led home-visit transitional care programs in improving health service utilization, functional status, and quality of life (QoL) among people discharged from hospital to home. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the EBSCOMedline, Cochrane Library and Embase databases searching for articles containing a combination of “home care,” “transitional care,” and “care coordination” between 1973 and 2021. Inclusion criteria were: randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental studies, adults who need continuing healthcare after discharged to home, and affecting at least one of the following outcomes: hospital readmission, functional status, and QoL. Results: Initial searching identified 1552 potential records, 1328 s were screened, and 105 full texts were retrieved. A total of 16 studies met the selection criteria. Seven studies were conducted in North America and most were RCTs (n=14). Most participants (mean=73 years) had multiple chronic diseases, such as stroke, COPD, or HF. Regarding discharge plans, two-thirds of the studies included a pre-and a post-discharge plan (n=11). All studies included a home-visit intervention regularly or as needed over a period from one week to two years. Intervention team providers were the research team only (n=2), a collaboration with a hospital team (n=4), a community team (n=4), or a hospital team plus a community team (n=6). Hospital readmissions were assessed in 12 studies and found to be significantly lower in the intervention group (n=4). Physical function status was assessed in seven studies and was significantly better in the intervention group (n=2). QoL was assessed in eight studies and was significantly greater in the intervention group (n=3). Conclusions: About 30% of the studies reported that home-visit transitional care interventions had positive effects on hospital readmissions, physical function status, and QoL. More studies are required to include patient engagement and the use of technology, such as telehealth, in transitional care plans to improve selfcare at home.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors influencing the health promoting behavior(s) of office worker males in the COVID-19 pandemic by applying Pender's health promotion model. Methods: The participants in this study were 149 male office workers at companies located in S, G and S cities. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient and a stepwise multiple regression using the SPSS Window 25.0 program. Results: The subject's health promoting behaviors and prior related behaviors (r=.58, p<.001), perceived benefits of action (r=.41, p<.001), self-efficacy (r=.53, p<.001), social support (r=.39, p<.001), self-esteem (r=.47, p<.001) and commitment to a plan of action (r=.67, p<.001) showed a high positive correlation. The factors affecting the subjects' health promoting behaviors were the commitment to a plan of action (β=.35, p<.001), self-esteem (β=.27, p=.005), prior related behavior (β=.26, p<.001), health status (good) (β=.20, p=.001) and self-efficacy (β=.14, p=.047). These variables explained 63.0% of the subjects' health promoting behaviors. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, subjects are more likely to be exposed to disease due to reduced outdoor activity time and irregular eating habits due to the strengthening of social distancing. Health promoting behaviors are an important concept that can maintain health and prevent diseases. To improve the health promoting behaviors of men engaged in office work, it is necessary to develop and operate a health promotion behaviors program considering those variables. Copyright © 2021 Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education.
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Introduction: Banana Lectin (BanLec) is a glycoprotein-binding lectin derived from banana fruit that has antiviral activity. BanLec binds high mannose glycans expressed on the viral envelopes of HIV, Ebola, influenza, and coronaviruses. BanLec mitogenicity can be divorced from antiviral activity via a single amino acid change (H84T). The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein is decorated with high mannose N-glycosites that are in close proximity to the viral receptor binding domain (RBD). Our goal was to use the H84T-BanLec as the extracellular targeting domain of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). We hypothesized that engineering NK cells to express an H84T-BanLec CAR would specifically direct antiviral cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV-2. Methods: H84T-BanLec was synthesized and added to a 4-1BB.ζ CAR by subcloning into an existing retroviral vector. To modify primary human NK cells, CD3-depleted peripheral blood mononuclear cells were first activated with lethally irradiated feeder cells (K562.mbIL15.4-1BBL), then transduced with transiently produced replication incompetent γ-retrovirus carrying the H84T-BanLec.4-1BB.ζ CAR construct. Vector Copy Number (VCN) per cell was measured and CAR protein expression detected with Western blotting. 293T cells were engineered to express human ACE2 (hACE2.293T), the binding receptor for SARS-CoV-2. CAR expression on NK cells and SARS-CoV-2 S-protein binding to hACE2.293T were measured using FACS. S-protein pseudotyped lentivirus carrying a firefly Luciferase (ffLuc) reporter was produced. Viral infectivity was measured using bioluminescence (BL) detection in virally transduced cells. H84T-BanLec CAR NK cells were added to our S-protein pseudotyped lentiviral infectivity assay and degree of inhibited transduction was measured. NK cell activation was assessed with detection of IFNγ and TNFα secretion using ELISA. Results: A median of 4.5 integrated H84T-BanLec CAR copies per cell was measured (range 3.5-7.45, n=4). The CAR was detected by Western blot in NK cell lysates using antibodies to TCRζ and H84T-BanLec. Surface expression of the CAR on primary NK cells was recorded on day 4 after transduction (median [range], 67.5% CAR-positive [64.7-75%], n=6;Fig. 1). CAR expression was maintained on NK cells in culture for 14 days (58.9% CAR-positive [43.6-66.7%], n=6;Fig. 1). ACE2 expression and binding of recombinant S-proteins to hACE2 on hACE2.293T but not parental 293Ts was verified. S-protein pseudotyped lentiviral transduction of hACE2.293T was confirmed with increase in BL from baseline across diminishing viral titer (n=3;Fig. 2). Control 293T cells without hACE2 expression were not transduced, confirming specificity of viral binding and entry dependent on hACE2 (n=3;Fig. 2). S-protein pseudoviral infectivity of hACE2.293T cells was inhibited by both H84T-BanLec CAR-NK and unmodified NK cells, with enhanced inhibition observed in the CAR-NK condition (mean % pseudovirus infectivity +/- SEM of hACE2.293T in co-cultures with unmodified NK vs. H84T-BanLec CAR-NK;65 +/-11% vs 35%+/- 6% for 1:1 effector-to-target ratio, p=0.05;78 +/-3% vs 68%+/- 3% for 1:2.5 effector-to-target ratio, p=0.03;n=6;Fig.3). Both unmodified and H84T-BanLec CAR-NK cells were stimulated to secrete inflammatory mediators when co-cultured with pseudoviral particles and virally infected cells. CAR-NK cells showed overall higher cytokine secretion both at baseline and with viral stimulation. Conclusions: A glycoprotein binding H84T-BanLec CAR was stably expressed on the surface of NK cells. CAR-NK cells are activated by SARS-CoV-2 S-pseudovirus and virally infected cells. Viral entry into hACE2 expressing cells was inhibited by H84T-BanLec CAR-NK cells. Translation of H84T-BanLec CAR-NK cells to the clinic may have promise as an effective cellular therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infection. [Formula presented] Disclosures: Markovitz: University of Michigan: Patents & Royalties: H84T BanLec and of the H84T-driven CAR construct. Bonifant: Merck, Sharpe, Dohme: Research Funding;BMS: Research Funding;Kiadis Pharma: Rese rch Funding.
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Since the first identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China in late December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread fast around the world. RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, have higher gene mutations than DNA viruses during virus replication. Variations in SARS-CoV-2 genome could contribute to efficiency of viral spread and severity of COVID-19. In this study, we analyzed the locations of genomic mutations to investigate the genetic diversity among isolates of SARS-CoV-2 in Gwangju. We detected non-synonymous and frameshift mutations in various parts of SARS-CoV-2 genome. The phylogenetic analysis for whole genome showed that SARS-CoV-2 genomes in Gwangju isolates are clustered within clade V and G. Our findings not only provide a glimpse into changes of prevalent virus clades in Gwangju, South Korea, but also support genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 to aid in the development of efficient therapeutic antibodies and vaccines against COVID-19. © This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License.
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By analyzing cases in South Korea, this study examined high school physics teachers’ online teaching practices during the first semester of school lockdown due to COVID-19. A total of eight physics teachers participated in this study. Data sources included observations of online classes, interviews with the teachers, and lesson materials. Data analysis was informed by social practice theory and literature on online learning. As a result, teachers’ practices were distinguished based on teaching emphases including content explanation, participatory learning, and independent first-hand experience. Through the application of various technological tools, teaching practices varied in terms of the degree of interactions and student self-directedness. Three essential practices of physics teaching, defined as those preserved from on-site teaching, were identified. Those features reflected the nature of schooling and the subject matter. The teachers were found to have professional development opportunities through online teaching experiences. Implications for professional development and further research topics are suggested. © Kang and Seo, 2021