Strategy and practice of online and offline effective blended teaching: taking Microbiology course as an example

Influenced by the epidemic of Covid-19 pneumonia, online and offline blended teaching has gradually become a new normal teaching mode. How to improve the teaching effect, ensure the substantive equivalence between online teaching and offline teaching, and realize effective teaching is the key. Adhering to the teaching philosophy of student-centered, result-oriented and continuous improvement, and aiming at the problems existing in the current Microbiology teaching, the course team used the effective teaching mode of O-AMAS to reconstruct the teaching process of Microbiology course based on the analysis and grasp of students' learning characteristics and cognitive style,construction of online teaching resources and optimization of teaching content. Our team adopted a diversified teaching mode, implemented effective evaluation and feedback, promoted deep learning through simple summary, and fully mobilized students' enthusiasm for autonomous learning, thus enhancing the teaching effect of the course.

COVID‐19 Pandemic in the New Era of Big Data Analytics: Methodological Innovations and Future Research Directions

Although scholars in management recognize the value of harnessing big data to understand, predict and respond to future events, there remains little or very limited overview of how various analytics techniques can be harnessed to provide the basis for guiding scholars in studying contemporary management topics and global grand challenges raised by the COVID‐19 pandemic. In this Methodology Corner, we present a review of the methodological innovations in studying big data analytics and how they can be better utilized to examine contemporary organizational issues. We provide insights on methods in descriptive/diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and how they can be leveraged to study ‘black swan' events such as the COVID‐19‐related global crisis and its aftermath's implications for managers and policymakers.

Concurrent outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus types 1 and 2 affecting the Republic of the Philippines and Malaysia, 2019-2021.

Concurrent outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus serotypes 1 and 2 (cVDPV1, cVDPV2) were confirmed in the Republic of the Philippines in September 2019 and were subsequently confirmed in Malaysia by early 2020. There is continuous population subgroup movement in specific geographies between the two countries. Outbreak response efforts focused on sequential supplemental immunization activities with monovalent Sabin strain oral poliovirus vaccine type 2 (mOPV2) and bivalent oral poliovirus vaccines (bOPV, containing Sabin strain types 1 and 3) as well as activities to enhance poliovirus surveillance sensitivity to detect virus circulation. A total of six cVDPV1 cases, 13 cVDPV2 cases, and one immunodeficiency-associated vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 case were detected, and there were 35 cVDPV1 and 31 cVDPV2 isolates from environmental surveillance sewage collection sites. No further cVDPV1 or cVDPV2 have been detected in either country since March 2020. Response efforts in both countries encountered challenges, particularly those caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Important lessons were identified and could be useful for other countries that experience outbreaks of concurrent cVDPV serotypes.

[Preparation and immungenicity of recombinant protein containing intramolecular adjuvant in SARS-CoV-2 RBD domain].

A fusion protein containing a tetanus toxin peptide, a tuftsin peptide and a SARS-CoV-2S protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) was prepared to investigate the effect of intramolecular adjuvant on humoral and cellular immunity of RBD protein. The tetanus toxin peptide, tuftsin peptide and S protein RBD region were connected by a flexible polypeptide, and a recombinant vector was constructed after codon optimization. The recombinant S-TT-tuftsin protein was prepared by prokaryotic expression and purification. BALB/c mice were immunized after mixed with aluminum adjuvant, and the humoral and cellular immune effects were evaluated. The recombinant S-TT-tuftsin protein was expressed as an inclusion body, and was purified by ion exchange chromatography and renaturated by gradient dialysis. The renaturated protein was identified by Dot blotting and reacted with serum of descendants immunized with SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine. The results showed that the antibody level reached a plateau after 35 days of immunization, and the serum antibody ELISA titer of mice immunized with recombinant protein containing intramolecular adjuvant was up to 1:66 240, which was significantly higher than that of mice immunized with S-RBD protein (P < 0.05). At the same time, the recombinant protein containing intramolecular adjuvant stimulated mice to produce a stronger lymphocyte proliferation ability. The stimulation index was 4.71±0.15, which was significantly different from that of the S-RBD protein (1.83±0.09) (P < 0.000 1). Intramolecular adjuvant tetanus toxin peptide and tuftsin peptide significantly enhanced the humoral and cellular immune effect of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein RBD domain, which provideda theoretical basis for the development of subunit vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.

Developing Capabilities for Supply Chain Resilience in a Post-COVID World: A Machine Learning based Thematic Analysis

This study examines the past, present, and future of supply chain resilience (SCR) research in the context of COVID-19. Specifically, a total of 1,717 papers in the SCR field are classified into eleven thematic clusters, which are subsequently verified by a supervised machine learning approach. Each cluster is then analyzed within the context of COVID-19, leading to the identification of three associated capabilities (i.e., interconnectedness, transformability, and sharing) that firms should focus on to build a more resilient supply chain in the post-COVID world. The derived insights offer invaluable guidance not only for practicing managers, but also for scholars as they design their future research projects related to SCR for greatest impact. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Development of a duplex real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection and differentiation of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi.

Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by three apicomplexan protozoan parasites, Theileria equi (T. equi), Babesia caballi (B. caballi) and T. haneyi, which can cause similar clinical symptoms. There are five known 18S rRNA genotypes of T. equi group (including T. haneyi) and three of B. caballi. Real-time PCR methods for detecting EP based on 18S rRNA analysis have been developed, but these methods cannot detect all genotypes of EP in China, especially genotype A of T. equi. In this study, a duplex real-time PCR detection method was developed for the simultaneous detection and differentiation of T. equi and B. caballi. The primers and probes for this duplex real-time PCR assay were designed based on the conserved 18S rRNA gene sequences of all genotypes of T. equi and B. caballi including Chinese strain. Double-quenched probes were used in this method, which provide less background and more signal to decrease the number of false positives relative to single-quenched probes. The newly developed real-time PCR assays exhibited good specificity, sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility. The real-time PCR assays were further validated by comparison with a nested PCR assay and a previous developed real-time PCR for EP and sequencing results in the analysis of 506 clinical samples collected from 2019 to 2020 in eleven provinces and regions of China. Based on clinical performance, the agreements between the duplex real-time PCR assay and the nPCR assay or the previous developed real-time PCR assay were 92.5% (T. equi) and 99.4% (B. caballi) or 87.4% (T. equi) and 97.2% (B. caballi). The detection results showed that the positivity rate of T. equi was 43.87% (222/506) (10 genotype A, 1 genotype B, 4 genotype C, 207 genotype E), while that of B. caballi was 5.10% (26/506) (26 genotype A), and the rate of T. equi and B. caballi co-infection was 2.40% (12/506). The established method could contribute to the accurate diagnosis, pathogenic surveillance and epidemiological investigation of T. equi and B. caballi infections in horses.

Managing inventory financing in a volatile market: A novel data-driven copula model

Inventory financing is crucial to helping businesses survive during an economic crisis—such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic—and supporting economic recovery in the aftermath. However, inventory financing is particularly risky in a volatile market environment since fluctuating collateral prices increase default risk. This paper presents an innovative data-driven copula model that was combined with the European call option theory to set loan-to-value ratios and determine interest rates that can help improve inventory finance providers’ (IFPs) competitiveness and manage their risk in volatile market environments. Specifically, the loan-to-value ratio estimated by the data-driven GARCH-EVT-Copula can help IFPs extract more value from collateral units due to its ability to capture both the autocorrelations among collateral prices and the dependencies among prices in different collateral units. The interest rate determination model derived from the European call option theory is employed to derive interest rates and reveal the risks of collateral units. The generated loan-to-value ratio and interest rate can serve as a reference for IFPs when preparing inventory financing contracts. Furthermore, the copula parameterization process can help IFPs identify the least risky and most predictable collateral unit. Finally, an extended analysis over the COVID-19 period demonstrates that the proposed approach can offer superior performance in a highly volatile market environment.

A Sustainability Improvement Strategy of Interconnected Data Centers Based on Dispatching Potential of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

With the rapid development of information technology, the electricity consumption of Internet Data Centers (IDCs) increases drastically, resulting in considerable carbon emissions that need to be reduced urgently. In addition to the introduction of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), the joint use of the spatial migration capacity of IDC workload and the temporal flexibility of the demand of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCSs) provides an important means to change the carbon footprint of the IDC. In this paper, a sustainability improvement strategy for the IDC carbon emission reduction was developed by coordinating the spatial-temporal dispatch flexibilities of the IDC workload and the EVCS demand. Based on the Minkowski sum algorithm, a generalized flexible load model of the EVCSs, considering traffic flow and Road Impedance (RI) was formulated. The case studies show that the proposed method can effectively increase the renewable energy consumption, reduce the overall carbon emissions of multi-IDCs, reduce the energy cost of the DCO, and utilize the EV dispatching potential. Discussions are also provided on the relationship between workload processing time delay and the renewable energy consumption rate.

Preparation of different fragments of SARS-co V-2 urine protein and its application in fluorescent layer system

Expression and purification of different fragments of the new coronavirus nucleocapsid (N) protein, establish a new coronavirus total antibody fluorescence immunochromatographic method and evaluate the influence of different protein fragments on the method. Using bioinformatics technology to analyze, synthesize, express and purify the N protein sequence, prepare different N protein fragments;use 1-ethyl-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (1-( 3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) method of fluorescent microspheres coupled with antigen was established to establish a sandwich fluorescence chromatography antibody detection method, and the performance was evaluated respectively. In the prepared 4 N protein fragments, the full-length N protein (N419) is preferably coated, and N412 is labeled with 0.5mol/L NaCl as the optimal combination;the 91-120th amino acid (N412) of the N-terminus of the N antigen is deleted It can reduce 87.5% of non-specific interference;the linear range is 0.312-80U/L, the lowest detection limit is 0.165U/L, and the accuracy is above 95%. The fluorescence immunochromatographic detection method for total antibodies of the new coronavirus established by pairing the N protein fragments has a total coincidence rate of 98% compared with the Guangzhou Wanfu test strip. The improvement provides experimental basis and reference.

[Preparation of different fragments of SARS-CoV-2 N protein and its application in fluorescence chromatography].

Different fragments of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein were expressed and purified, and a fluorescence immunochromatography method for detection of SARS-CoV-2 total antibody was established. The effect of different protein fragments on the performance of the method was evaluated. The N protein sequence was analyzed by bioinformatics technology, expressed in prokaryotic cell and purified by metal ion affinity chromatography column. Different N protein fragments were prepared for comparison. EDC reaction was used to label fluorescence microsphere on the synthesized antigen to construct sandwich fluorescence chromatography antibody detection assay, and the performance was systemically evaluated. Among the 4 prepared N protein fragments, the full-length N protein (N419) was selected as the optimized coating antigen, N412 with 0.5 mol/L NaCl was used as the optimal combination; deleting 91-120 amino acids from the N-terminal of N412 reduced non-specific signal by 87.5%. the linear range of detection was 0.312-80 U/L, the limit of detection was 0.165 U/L, and the accuracy was more than 95%. A fluorescence immunochromatographic detection method for analysis of SARS-CoV-2 total antibody was established by pairing N protein fragments. The detection result achieved 98% concordance with the commercially available Guangzhou Wanfu test strip, which is expected to be used as a supplementary approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2. The assay could also provide experimental reference for improving the performance of COVID-19 antibody detection reagents.

Subnational Mortality Modelling: A Bayesian Hierarchical Model with Common Factors

We propose a new model in a Bayesian hierarchical framework to project mortality at both national and subnational levels based on sparse or missing data. The new model, which has a country–region–province structure, uses common factors to pool information at the national level and within regions consisting of several provinces or states. We illustrate the model’s use by drawing on a new database containing provincial-level mortality data for China from four censuses conducted during the period 1982–2010. The new model provides good estimates and reasonable forecasts at both the country and provincial levels. The model’s forecast intervals reflect provincial- and regional-level uncertainty. Using subnational data for the period 1999–2018 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we also apply the model to the United States. We use mortality forecasts to compute and compare national and subnational life expectancies for China and the United States. The model predicts that, in 2030, China will have a similar national life expectancy at age 60 and a similar heterogeneity in subnational life expectancy as the United States.

Additional Value of Non-contrast Chest CT in the Prediction of Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has outbroken in China and subsequently spread worldwide since the end of 2019. Chest computed tomography (CT) plays an important role in the diagnosis of lung diseases, but its value in the diagnosis of cardiac injury remains unknown. Methods: We enrolled 241 consecutive hospitalized patients (aged 61 ± 16 years, 115 males) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 11 to March 2, 2020. They were divided into two groups according to whether major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) occurred during the follow-up. The anteroposterior diameter of the left atrium (LAD), the length of the left ventricle (LV), and cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) were measured. The values of myocardial CT were also recorded. Results: Of 241 patients, 115 patients (47.7%) had adverse cardiovascular events. Compared with no MACEs, patients with MACEs were more likely to have bilateral lesions (95.7% vs. 86.5%, p = 0.01). In multivariable analysis, bronchial wall thickening would increase the odds of MACEs by 13.42 (p = 0.01). LAD + LV and CTR was the best predictor for MACEs (area under the curve = 0.88, p < 0.001) with a sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 80.2%. Plasma high-sensitivity troponin I levels in patients with cardiac injury showed a moderate negative correlation with minimum CT value (R 2 = -0.636, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Non-contrast chest CT can be a useful modality for detection cardiac injury and provide additional value to predict MACEs in COVID-19 patients.

Integrating Chinese and western medicine for COVID-19: A living evidence-based guideline (version 1).

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has turned into a pandemic and resulted in huge death tolls and burdens. Integrating Chinese and western medicine has played an important role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. PURPOSE: We aimed to develop a living evidence-based guideline of integrating Chinese and western medicine for COVID-19. STUDY DESIGN: Living evidence-based guideline. METHODS: This living guideline was developed using internationally recognized and accepted guideline standards, dynamically monitoring the release of new clinical evidence, and quickly updating the linked living systematic review, evidence summary tables, and recommendations. Modified Delphi method was used to reach consensus for all recommendations. The certainty of the evidence, resources, and other factors were fully considered, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence and the strength of recommendations. RESULTS: The first version of this living guidance focuses on patients who are mild or moderate COVID-19. A multidisciplinary guideline development panel was established. Ten clinical questions were identified based on the status of evidence and a face-to-face experts' consensus. Finally, nine recommendations were reached consensus, and were formulated from systematic reviews of the benefits and harms, certainty of evidence, public accessibility, policy supports, feedback on proposed recommendations from multidisciplinary experts, and consensus meetings. CONCLUSION: This guideline panel made nine recommendations, which covered five traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription granules/decoction (MXXFJD, QFPD, XFBD, TJQW, and JWDY), three Chinese patent medicines (LHQW granules/capsule, JHQG granules, and LHQK granules), and one Chinese herbal injection (XBJ injection). Of them, two were strongly recommended (LHQW granules/capsule and QFPD decoction), and five were weakly recommended (MXXFJD decoction, XFBD decoction, JHQG granules, TJQW granules, and JWDY decoction) for the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19; two were weakly recommended against (XBJ injection and LHQK granules) the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19. The users of this living guideline are most likely to be clinicians, patients, governments, ministries, and health administrators.

Considerations and perspectives on digestive diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: a narrative review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was initially reported in December 2019, and since then it has become a pandemic with newly confirmed cases and deaths increasing continuously. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the organization and execution of activities in the clinical sector. Asymptomatic infections are increasingly being identified when patients seek medical advice for non-respiratory system illnesses, particularly digestive system symptoms. This has posed a significant challenge for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Based on the clinical symptoms of patients with COVID-19 reported to date, patients with typical clinical symptoms of COVID-19 may also present with symptoms associated with the digestive system. Digestive illness symptoms in patients with COVID-19 are underscored by a bidirectional relationship between respiratory and digestive systems. Because the clinical diagnosis and treatment of digestive illnesses caused by COVID-19 have been challenging so far, we hypothesized that investigating the pathogenesis of digestive system diseases in patients with COVID-19 will provide potential novel targets for its prevention and treatment, and concurrently reduce COVID-19 virulence and socio-sanitary burden. This review summarizes the relationship between the digestive and respiratory systems in patients with COVID-19 from the perspective of the "gut-lung" axis. We discuss extant literature on the pathogenesis of COVID-19-related digestive symptoms, which may facilitate differential diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

Effects of Chinese Medicine on Symptoms, Syndrome Evolution, and Lung Inflammation Absorption in COVID-19 Convalescent Patients during 84-Day Follow-up after Hospital Discharge: A Prospective Cohort and Nested Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of symptoms, Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome, and lung inflammation absorption during convalescence in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who had not totally recovered after hospital discharge and whether CM could promote the improvement process. METHODS: This study was designed as a prospective cohort and nested case-control study. A total of 96 eligible patients with COVID-19 in convalescence were enrolled from Beijing Youan Hospital and Beijing Huimin Hospital and followed up from the hospital discharged day. Patients were divided into the CM (64 cases) and the control groups (32 cases) based on the treatment with or without CM and followed up at 14, 28, 56, and 84 days after discharge. In the CM group, patients received the 28-day CM treatment according to two types of CM syndrome. Improvements in clinical symptoms, CM syndrome, and absorption of lung inflammation were observed. RESULTS: All the 96 patients completed the 84-day follow-up from January 21 to March 28, 2020. By the 84th day of follow-up, respiratory symptoms were less than 5%. There was no significant difference in the improvement rates of symptoms, including fatigue, sputum, cough, dry throat, thirst, and upset, between the two groups (P>0.05). Totally 82 patients (85.42%) showed complete lung inflammation absorption at the 84-day follow-up. On day 14, the CM group had a significantly higher absorption rate than the control group (P<0.05) and the relative risk of absorption for CM vs. control group was 3.029 (95% confidence interval: 1.026-8.940). The proportions of CM syndrome types changed with time prolonging: the proportion of the pathogen residue syndrome gradually decreased, and the proportion of both qi and yin deficiency syndrome gradually increased. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with COVID-19 in convalescence had symptoms and lung inflammation after hospital discharge and recovered with time prolonging. CM could improve lung inflammation for early recovery. The types of CM syndrome can be transformed with time prolonging. (Registration No. ChiCTR2000029430).

SARS-CoV-2 not found in pressure injury exudates from COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of COVID-19 has become a global health emergency. The transmissibility of the disease is of great interest to healthcare workers and scientists alike. The primary route of transmission is via respiratory droplets, but viral RNA has also been found in feces and body fluids such as urine, serum, and semen. So far, there has been no report on whether SARS-CoV-2 is present in the exudates of cutaneous lesions. This study was designed to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the pressure injury exudates in patients with severe COVID-19 infections. METHODS: 46 critically ill COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the ICU of the Sino-French New City Branch of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan between February 4 and April 12 developed pressure injuries. 22 patients with pressure injuries had wound exudates. Wound and pharyngeal swabs of the 22 patients were collected and RT-PCRs were conducted to detect SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. RESULTS: At the time of pressure injury, 5 patients still tested positive by pharyngeal swabs, the rest of the 17 patients tested negative. However, none of the wound exudate swabs from the participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that it is rather unlikely that COVID-19 can be transmitted via pressure injury exudates, but we still recommend standardized personal protective equipment, face shield and an additional pair of gloves when treating pressure injuries.

COVID-19 Pandemic in the New Era of Big Data Analytics: Methodological Innovations and Future Research Directions

Although scholars in management recognize the value of harnessing big data to understand, predict and respond to future events, there remains little or very limited overview of how various analytics techniques can be harnessed to provide the basis for guiding scholars in studying contemporary management topics and global grand challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Methodology Corner, we present a review of the methodological innovations in studying big data analytics and how they can be better utilized to examine contemporary organizational issues. We provide insights on methods in descriptive/diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and how they can be leveraged to study 'black swan' events such as the COVID-19-related global crisis and its aftermath's implications for managers and policymakers.

Stem Cell Transplantation Therapy: A Potential Method for Treating Cytokine Storm Syndromes Induced by COVID-19.

Novel therapies are urgently needed to combat the severe cytokine storm syndromes induced by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). An increasing number of preclinical and clinical investigations of stem cell and derivatives therapy for COVID-19 were being carried out, among which several studies have preliminarily demonstrated the safety and possible efficacy of stem cell transplantation therapy, providing a hint to solve the tricky situation of anti-COVID-19.

Chinese medical students' interest in COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) happened in early December and it has affected China in more ways than one. The societal response to the pandemic restricted medical students to their homes. Although students cannot learn about COVID-19 through clinical practice, they can still pay attention to news of COVID-19 through various channels. Although, as suggested by previous studies, some medical students have already volunteered to serve during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall willingness of Chinese medical students to volunteer for such has not been systematically examined. AIM: To study Chinese medical students' interest in the relevant knowledge on COVID-19 and what roles they want to play in the pandemic. METHODS: Medical students at Peking Union Medical College were surveyed via a web-based questionnaire to obtain data on the extent of interest in the relevant knowledge on COVID-19, attitude towards volunteerism in the pandemic, and career preference. Logistic regression modeling was used to investigate possible factors that could encourage volunteerism among this group in a pandemic. RESULTS: A total of 552 medical students responded. Most medical students showed a huge interest in COVID-19. The extent of students' interest in COVID-19 varied among different student-classes (P < 0.05). Senior students had higher scores than the other two classes. The number of people who were 'glad to volunteer' in COVID-19 represented 85.6% of the respondents. What these students expressed willingness to undertake involved direct, indirect, and administrative job activities. Logistic regression analysis identified two factors that negatively influenced volunteering in the pandemic: Student-class and hazards of the voluntary job. Factors that positively influenced volunteering were time to watch COVID-19 news, predictable impact on China, and moral responsibility. CONCLUSION: More innovative methods can be explored to increase Chinese medical students' interest in reading about the relevant knowledge on COVID-19 and doing voluntary jobs during the pandemic.