ABSTRACT
Research shows that about 40% of postsecondary students faced a significant mental health challenge even before the pandemic. In the rush to deliver the curriculum and deal with the pressures of academic life, many faculty members are overwhelmed, on the verge of or experiencing burnout. After three years of adjusting education approaches in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students and teachers, having had little time to reassess and recharge, are feeling the ripple effects of that disruption. The Teaching with Heart project (https://twh.mines.edu) aims to support educators as they develop the mindset and teaching habits to create a caring class environment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields in higher education. The project, which is supported by the John Templeton Foundation, offers workshops, creates an online community of faculty participants, and studies the impact those practices have on students and teachers.
ABSTRACT
The lack of techniques for noninvasive imaging of inflammation has challenged precision medicine management of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Here, we determined the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) of chemokine-like receptor-1 (CMKLR1) to monitor lung inflammation in a murine model of lipopolysaccharide-induced injury. Lung uptake of a CMKLR1-targeting radiotracer, [64Cu]NODAGA-CG34, was significantly increased in lipopolysaccharide-induced injury, correlated with the expression of multiple inflammatory markers, and reduced by dexamethasone treatment. Monocyte-derived macrophages, followed by interstitial macrophages and monocytes were the major CMKLR1-expressing leukocytes contributing to the increased tracer uptake throughout the first week of lipopolysaccharide-induced injury. The clinical relevance of CMKLR1 as a biomarker of lung inflammation in ARDS was confirmed using single-nuclei RNA-sequencing datasets which showed significant increases in CMKLR1 expression among transcriptionally distinct subsets of lung monocytes and macrophages in COVID-19 patients vs. controls. CMKLR1-targeted PET is a promising strategy to monitor the dynamics of lung inflammation and response to anti-inflammatory treatment in ARDS.
Subject(s)
Acute Lung Injury , COVID-19 , Respiratory Distress Syndrome , Humans , Mice , Animals , Lipopolysaccharides/toxicity , Acute Lung Injury/chemically induced , Acute Lung Injury/diagnostic imaging , Acute Lung Injury/metabolism , Lung/diagnostic imaging , Lung/metabolism , Chemokines/metabolism , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/diagnostic imaging , Molecular Imaging , Receptors, ChemokineABSTRACT
Objective: As a heavily populated megacity, Shanghai faces major epidemic risks. However, Shanghai's control of COVID-19 has been successful owing to both the strict government policy and wide community participation. Here, we investigated the impact of these stakeholders and examined who played a major role across different epidemic stages. Design: We extended the classic susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model considering the heterogeneous contact structure in four social sceneries, i.e., school, workplace, public entertainment venues, and neighborhood community, which could reflect the impact of lockdown policy and wide participation of residents happened at the community level. Result: The simulation results showed that without lockdown policy and only with community participation, the daily new confirmed cases would gradually increase to more than 7,000 [292/1,000,000] at the end of Sep. However, without community participation and only with a lockdown policy, the daily new confirmed cases sharply decreased to 30 [1.2/1,000,000] at the end of the 1st month and remained low for several months. However, when a lockdown policy was gradually lifted, the new confirmed cases increased exponentially, eventually reaching more than 17,000 [708/1,000,000]. Therefore, a government lockdown policy was necessary for the rapid control of COVID-19 during the outbreak stage while community participation is more important in keeping the number of new confirmed cases low during the reopening stage. Conclusion: Government lockdown policy and community participation play different roles in the control of COVID-19 at different stages of the epidemic: although the government played a leading role in setting up policies, the broader participation of community fever clinics (CFCs) and the general public were especially crucial in winning the battle against COVID-19 in the long run.