Determinants of Foreign exchange exposure during the COVID-19 crisis: A Multi-country evidence

The research question of which firm-level factors make firms more vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations during periods of crisis has rarely been explored by prior literature. Using a large sample of 1577 firms from 9 developed and 11 emerging countries, this study presents a comprehensive analysis of how firm-level factors affect firms' foreign exchange exposure before and during the COVID-19 crisis. The results provide evidence of a substantial increase in firms' linear exposure during the COVID-19 period. The cross-sectional analysis reveals that the effects of firm-level variables on exposure are more pronounced during crisis periods and are different from non-crisis periods. Firms that have effective asset utilization or large operating profit margins remain less exposed during times of stress. Contrary to hedging theory, firms that have high incentives to hedge such as firms with high financial leverage become highly exposed to currency fluctuations during crisis periods. The interaction analysis provides further evidence that firms with high leverage can limit their foreign exchange exposure during periods of crisis if they have high asset turnover or high operating profits. The results offer important practical implications to firms for risk management during periods of crisis.

Online Instructional Coaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With COVID-19 necessitating a shift to online teaching and professional development, a unique opportunity to study online instructional coaching emerged. With prior evidence that the provision of a STEM curriculum unit and online coaching supported a first-year science teacher in improving his instructional practices, this study utilized interaction analysis to explore the coaching moves that were implemented by three STEM instructional coaches and identify the online coaching moves that prompted teacher reflection. Findings highlight the distinct coaching styles of the individual coaches and the range of moves that preceded teacher reflection. Implications for online instructional coaching are considered. © ISLS.

Development of a database of RNA helicase inhibitors(VHIMDB) of pathogenic viruses and in silico screening for the potential drug molecules

The pathogenic RNA virus that infects human beings contains the RNA helicase enzyme, responsible for the replication of the viral genome. The enzyme is used as a suitable target against which the drug molecule acts. Therefore, the identification and proposal the novel compounds that can be targeted toward the helicase enzymes to stop the functioning of the enzyme is desirable. Although many viral helicase inhibitor molecules have been identified, still yet no unique database is available for these compounds. This research work envisages developing a curated database of RNA helicase inhibitors. The database contains in total of 353 entries that are computationally predicted and experimentally verified RNA helicase inhibitors. The database contains information like compound name, chemical properties, chemical format, and name of the target virus to which it acts against it with a user-friendly menu-driven search engine. Presently, the database is freely available at: https://vhimdb.rsatpathy.in/. Further, in silico screening of the whole database by drug-likeness and toxicity resulted in 14 potential drug molecules. The selected molecules were analyzed for their effectiveness in binding by using molecular docking score and interaction with the helicase enzymes of three categories of pathogenic viruses (SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV).

Comparing effects of instructor-led and technology-enhanced scaffolding on student knowledge construction in online discussion forums

Discussion board forums have become commonplace within online learning environments (OLEs). With student enrollment in online classes continuing to rise and the emergence of COVID-19, more students will be utilizing discussion forums within OLEs than ever before. Positive pedagogical support for the use of discussion forums abounds, but studies on the efficacy of discussions in online forums show mixed results. This study seeks to compare two types of discussion forums. One type, instructor-led scaffolding, was designed with pedagogy such as feedback, discussion prompts, and scaffolding implemented by the instructor. The second type, technology-enhanced scaffolding, was designed to foster autonomous motivation in students, while some feedback and scaffolding were implemented automatically by the technology-enhanced platform and offloaded onto discussion TAs provided for instructors by the platform. The study used the Interaction Analysis Model (IAM) to measure student knowledge construction levels and interpreted results to determine the impact of pedagogical design implementation on student knowledge construction in undergraduate online learning environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

CORONAVIRUS „IN A NUTSHELL“: ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL DISCOURSE FRAGMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF EXPLANATION VIDEOS ON THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC ON YOUTUBE

YouTube is one of the most popular digital platforms in the world. Videos on current and socially relevant topics - such as explanation videos on the COVID 19 pandemic - can achieve a very wide reach. They are viewed millions of times and are discussed from a myriad of different point of view by thousands of Internet users in the comment sections. In this sense, YouTube can be understood as a space of digital discourses for the negotiation of knowledge. In this article, the complexity of YouTube as a discourse space is demonstrated with the help of an example and it is explained which methodological approaches to digital discourses on YouTube are adequate. The qualitative analysis focuses on metaphors through which the participants construct through language shared imaginary worlds about the corona virus. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Anti-viral effectuality of plant polyphenols against mutated dengue protein NS2B47-NS3: A computational exploration

Dengue fever is a tropical endemic disease that is transmitted by the female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes around the world. In dengue patients, the severe vascular leak, bleeding and organ failure underlines the severity of this disease. It affects 100 million people each year and half a million cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever are recorded worldwide. In addition, the combined infections of COVID-19 and dengue fever cause serious health problems for those infected. Because polyphenolic compounds have the ability to regulate and restore the immune system, the intervention of biological tools is required to find an accurate polyphenolic compound from plants to combat these viral diseases. In this computational study, we used a range of software to explore the anti-dengue potential of the selected polyphenols, while the database was also used to explore diseased enzymes and drug targets in the dengue pathways of Homo sapiens. All examined polyphenols showed excellent docking values after molecular docking and also showed remarkable hydrogen bond interactions between the ligand and the dengue protein. Among the polyphenols tested, (R)-(+)-rosmarinic acid has a docking score of −8451 with an energy value of −59,860. After that, curcumin has the second best docking score of −8.221, followed by D - (+) - catechin (−7.042) and epicatechin (−7.069). In addition, molecular dynamic simulations demonstrate that the complex of (R) - (+) - rosmarinic acid and dengue protein has a solid understanding of the precise interactions. The current study suggests that this is the first report of such compounds against the dengue virus, despite extensive research on these substances in previous research. Moreover, we expect these polyphenols to show promising effects when used in antiviral research such as in-vitro and in-vivo studies. In addition, toxicological studies such as adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion are required before further exploration of the polyphenols, as this will help to understand the biological processes of these potential polyphenols. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Essential oils as an effective alternative for the treatment of COVID-19: Molecular interaction analysis of protease (Mpro) with pharmacokinetics and toxicological properties.

BACKGROUND: The current health concern to the entire world is the chronic respiratory disease caused by coronavirus 2 (COVID-19). A specific treatment or proper therapy is still lacking, and the investigations from across the world for proper drug/vaccine development towards disease control are in progress. The Coronavirus replication takes place by the conversion of the polypeptide into functional protein and this occurs due to the key enzyme Main protease (Mpro). Therefore, identification of natural and effective Mpro inhibitors could be a safe and promising approach for COVID-19 control. METHODS: The present in silico study evaluates the effect of bioactive compounds found in Eucalyptus and Corymbia species essential oil on Mpro by docking. Molecular docking of the major seven compounds of essential oil (citronellol, alpha-terpineol, eucalyptol, d-limonene, 3-carene, o-cymene, and alpha-pinene) with Mpro was studied by AutoDock 4.2, and the properties were analysed by PreADMET and Biovia Discovery Studio visualizer. RESULTS: The calculated parameters such as binding energy, hydrophobic interactions, and hydrogen bond interactions of 6LU7 (Mpro) with Eucalyptus and Corymbia volatile secondary metabolites represented its scope as an effective therapy option against covid-19. Among the docked compounds, eucalyptol shows the least binding energy without toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this study reported that the essential oil of Eucalyptus and Corymbia species, mainly eucalyptol can be utilized as a potential inhibitor against COVID-19 and also it can be used in its treatment. Hence, further analysis was required to explore its potential application in medicine.

COVID-2019: The role of the nsp2 and nsp3 in its pathogenesis.

Last December 2019, a new virus, named novel Coronavirus (COVID-2019) causing many cases of severe pneumonia was reported in Wuhan, China. The virus knowledge is limited and especially about COVID-2019 pathogenesis. The Open Reading Frame 1ab (ORF1ab) of COVID-2019 has been analyzed to evidence the presence of mutation caused by selective pressure on the virus. For selective pressure analysis fast-unconstrained Bayesian approximation (FUBAR) was used. Homology modelling has been performed by SwissModel and HHPred servers. The presence of transmembrane helical segments in Coronavirus ORF1ab non structural protein 2 (nsp2) and nsp3 was tested by TMHMM, MEMSAT, and MEMPACK tools. Three-dimensional structures have been analyzed and displayed using PyMOL. FUBAR analysis revealed the presence of potential sites under positive selective pressure (P < .05). Position 723 in the COVID-2019 has a serine instead a glycine residue, while at aminoacidic position 1010 a proline instead an isoleucine. Significant (P < .05) pervasive negative selection in 2416 sites (55%) was found. The positive selective pressure could account for some clinical features of this virus compared with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Bat SARS-like CoV. The stabilizing mutation falling in the endosome-associated-protein-like domain of the nsp2 protein could account for COVID-2019 high ability of contagious, while the destabilizing mutation in nsp3 proteins could suggest a potential mechanism differentiating COVID-2019 from SARS. These data could be helpful for further investigation aimed to identify potential therapeutic targets or vaccine strategy, especially in the actual moment when the epidemic is ongoing and the scientific community is trying to enrich knowledge about this new viral pathogen.

Intermolecular interaction among Remdesivir, RNA and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 analyzed by fragment molecular orbital calculation.

COVID-19, a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) originating from Wuhan, China, has now spread around the world, triggering a global pandemic, leaving the public eagerly awaiting the development of a specific medicine and vaccine. In response, aggressive efforts are underway around the world to overcome COVID-19. In this study, referencing the data published on the Protein Data Bank (PDB ID: 7BV2) on April 22, we conducted a detailed analysis of the interaction between the complex structures of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2 and Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, from the quantum chemical perspective based on the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method. In addition to the hydrogen bonding and intra-strand stacking between complementary strands as seen in normal base pairs, Remdesivir bound to the terminus of an primer-RNA strand was further stabilized by diagonal π-π stacking with the -1A' base of the complementary strand and an additional hydrogen bond with an intra-strand base, due to the effect of chemically modified functional group. Moreover, stable OH/π interaction is also formed with Thr687 of the RdRp. We quantitatively revealed the exhaustive interaction within the complex among Remdesivir, template-primer-RNA, RdRp and co-factors, and published the results in the FMODB database.