Past, present and future of RTT training in mainland China: Evaluation of trainee perspectives

Objective: The radiation therapy technologist fundamentals training program (RFTP) facilitates knowledge and skills development of newly employed radiation therapy technologists (RTTs) within our China network. Since its initial implementation in 2019, the RFTP has evolved to address the diversity of RTTs' education and experience, as well as changing local clinical contexts. In particular, a shift to remote delivery and assessment has been required during the COVID-19 pandemic. This quality improvement initiative aimed to evaluate the impact of the RFTP on learning engagement and outcomes, from trainee perspectives. Method(s): Online pre-interview surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 RTTs from five China sites in July and August 2022.1 Participants provided verbal informed consent regarding the survey and interview recordings for subsequent analysis. Surveys were reported with descriptive statistics, and interview themes were developed using direct content analysis.2 Results: 15/16 participants qualified in a non-RTT field of study, with most practiced in medical imaging (N = 7);12/12 participants with previous RTT experience reported differences in practice standards. All participants rated the RFTP highly (see Figure), with IGRT (13/16), ARIA (14/16), and SimCT (7/16) most frequently identified as new areas of learning;14 participants who completed the RFTP reported the preparation for IGRT standard workflow was most valuable. Discussion/Conclusion: Results show that the RFTP is an essential on-boarding program that advances RTTs' knowledge and reduces the skills gap to perform our network's established workflows. Additional feedback gained through this initiative will be considered for future development of the RFTP.

[Latent period and incubation period with associated factors of COVID-19 caused by Omicron variant].

Objective: To estimate the latent period and incubation period of Omicron variant infections and analyze associated factors. Methods: From January 1 to June 30, 2022, 467 infections and 335 symptomatic infections in five local Omicron variant outbreaks in China were selected as the study subjects. The latent period and incubation period were estimated by using log-normal distribution and gamma distribution models, and the associated factors were analyzed by using the accelerated failure time model (AFT). Results: The median (Q1, Q3) age of 467 Omicron infections including 253 males (54.18%) was 26 (20, 39) years old. There were 132 asymptomatic infections (28.27%) and 335 (71.73%) symptomatic infections. The mean latent period of 467 Omicron infections was 2.65 (95%CI: 2.53-2.78) days, and 98% of infections were positive for nucleic acid test within 6.37 (95%CI: 5.86-6.82) days after infection. The mean incubation period of 335 symptomatic infections was 3.40 (95%CI: 3.25-3.57) days, and 97% of them developed clinical symptoms within 6.80 (95%CI: 6.34-7.22) days after infection. The results of the AFT model analysis showed that compared with the group aged 18-49 years old, the latent period [exp(ß)=1.36 (95%CI: 1.16-1.60), P<0.001] and incubation period [exp(ß)=1.24 (95%CI: 1.07-1.45), P=0.006] of infections aged 0-17 years old were prolonged. The latent period [exp(ß)=1.38 (95%CI: 1.17-1.63), P<0.001] and the incubation period [exp(ß)=1.26 (95%CI: 1.06-1.48), P=0.007] of infections aged 50 years old and above were also prolonged. Conclusion: The latent period and incubation period of most Omicron infections are within 7 days, and age may be a influencing factor of the latent period and incubation period.

PLASMA-BASED ANTIGEN PERSISTENCE IN THE POST-ACUTE PHASE OF SARS-CoV-2 INFECTION

Background: There is mounting evidence regarding the frequency and spectrum of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), but a search for causes has been elusive. Recently, a plasma-based assay for SARS-CoV-2 antigen has been developed, which in initial use revealed that a high fraction of severely affected patients with PASC had circulating antigen. It is unknown whether detectable SARS-CoV-2 antigen is specific for PASC or how the assay performs in a broader clinical spectrum of patients with PASC. Method(s): We evaluated a cohort of patients with RNA-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection enrolled >=3 weeks following initial symptoms. Participants, both with and without PASC at enrollment, were identified via facility- and communitybased advertising and examined every 4 months. An interviewer-administered questionnaire ascertained presence of 30 different symptoms (new or worse compared to pre-COVID) in the prior 2 days at each exam. Using the single molecule array (Simoa) assay, we measured spike, S1, and nucleocapsid SARSCoV- 2 antigens in plasma collected at time of symptom assessment. Result(s): We examined 172 participants (50% men, 46% non-white, median age 46 years) who contributed 667 timepoints from 0.7 to 15.4 months following infection, at which 66% featured report of >=1 symptom. Sixty-one of 667 timepoints (9.1%) representing 24% of persons had >=1 detectable SARSCoV- 2 antigen. Among the 437 timepoints at which >=1 symptom was present, 9.8% had >=1 detectable antigen;this compares to 7.8% of timepoints at which symptoms were absent. In comparison to those without symptoms, individuals with several specific symptom complexes (gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and central neurologic) more commonly had detectable antigen (Figure). Hospitalization during acute COVID-19 was strongly related to antigen detection. Conclusion(s): Among a diverse group of SARS-CoV-2-infected persons in the post-acute phase of infection, SARS-CoV-2 antigen is detectable in plasma in both those with and without symptoms but more commonly in those with gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and central neurologic complaints. The findings indicate that antigen persists in at least some persons and suggest (but do not prove) that antigen is causally related to symptoms. That antigen is found in only a fraction of those with PASC indicates either that not all symptoms are driven by antigen, current plasma antigen detection is insensitive relative to tissue, or nominal PASC symptoms are sometimes unrelated to SARS-CoV-2. (Figure Presented).

Monitoring of CT dose and analysis of radiological protection in CT modules applied for COVID-19.

Objective: To investigate the safety and protection level of radiological treatment in the CT modules in the makeshift hosptials in Wuhan during the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 cases. Method(s): The layout of the CT modules in makeshift hospitals, radiological protection facilities and personal protective equipment were investigated. Based on the national standards, the CT dose index was estimated and the radiological protection level at the CT modules were measured. Result(s): The layout of the CT modules in makeshift hospitals is reasonable, with well-equipped radiological protection facilities. Of 23 CT modules, 20 were up to standards with acceptability of 87.0%. The other three were unqualified each with 1 detection points having values in excess of the national standards. Which, after being modified immediately reached the national standards. In addition, CT dose index for 7 CT modules were estimated, with CTDIW within +/-7.5%. Conclusion(s): The CT modules in Wuhan meet the requirements of radiological safety and protection during the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 cases.Copyright © 2020 by the Chinese Medical Association.

Effects of the Pandemic on Observing the Global Ocean

The years since 2000 have been a golden age in in situ ocean observing with the proliferation and organization of autonomous platforms such as surface drogued buoys and subsurface Argo profiling floats augmenting ship-based observations. Global time series of mean sea surface temperature and ocean heat content are routinely calculated based on data from these platforms, enhancing our understanding of the ocean's role in Earth's climate system. Individual measurements of meteorological, sea surface, and subsurface variables directly improve our understanding of the Earth system, weather forecasting, and climate projections. They also provide the data necessary for validating and calibrating satellite observations. Maintaining this ocean observing system has been a technological, logistical, and funding challenge. The global COVID-19 pandemic, which took hold in 2020, added strain to the maintenance of the observing system. A survey of the contributing components of the observing system illustrates the impacts of the pandemic from January 2020 through December 2021. The pandemic did not reduce the short-term geographic coverage (days to months) capabilities mainly due to the continuation of autonomous platform observations. In contrast, the pandemic caused critical loss to longer-term (years to decades) observations, greatly impairing the monitoring of such crucial variables as ocean carbon and the state of the deep ocean. So, while the observing system has held under the stress of the pandemic, work must be done to restore the interrupted replenishment of the autonomous components and plan for more resilient methods to support components of the system that rely on cruise-based measurements. © 2023 American Meteorological Society.

Masked Face Recognition Dataset and Application

During COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, almost everyone wears a mask to prevent the spread of virus. It raises a problem that the traditional face recognition model basically fails in the scene of face-based identity verification, such as security check, community visit check-in, etc. Therefore, it is imminent to boost the performance of masked face recognition. Most recent advanced face recognition methods are based on deep learning, which heavily depends on a large number of training samples. However, there are presently no publicly available masked face recognition datasets, especially real ones. To this end, this work proposes three types of masked face datasets, including Masked Face Detection Dataset (MFDD), Real-world Masked Face Recognition Dataset (RMFRD) and Synthetic Masked Face Recognition Dataset (SMFRD). Besides, we conduct benchmark experiments on these three datasets for reference. As far as we know, we are the first to publicly release large-scale masked face recognition datasets that can be downloaded for free at https://github.com/X-zhangyang/Real-World-Masked-Face-Dataset.. IEEE

COVID-19 Severity, Cardiological Outcome, and Immunogenicity of mRNA Vaccine on Adult Patients With 22q11.2 DS

Ammonia-nitrogen, a grave environmental concern, is a typical pollutant in deliming process due to the inclusion of ammonium salts as deliming agents in leather manufacture. In order to reduce the emission of ammonianitrogen and improve the biological treatment of mixed tannery wastewater, an ammonium-free deliming method was designed and optimized based on the synergistic effects of aromatic sulfonic acids and sodium dihydrogen phosphate. The results indicated that, the penetrating and buffering performance of the mixtures of p-Hydroxybenzene sulfonic acid (pHBSA) and sodium dihydrogen phosphate (SDHP) at weight ratio of 2:1 was good enough to fulfill the requirement of deliming. The organoleptic and mechanical properties of the crust leather produced by pHBSA-SDHP mixtures deliming were similar with the conventional ammonium sulfate deliming, and the grain pattern was found to be protected against the damage caused by enzymes during bating. The concentrations of ammonia-nitrogen and total nitrogen in pHBSA-SDHP deliming effluent were dramatically cut down by 99% and 94%. It is anticipated that the mixed tannery wastewater could be disposed of more easily by means of adjusting the total organic ratios of C:N:P to their natural ratio by introducing an additional carbon and phosphorus source to the tannery wastewater. This investigation provides an improved method of leather making with significant reduction of ammonia nitrogen emission in deliming operation and fulfills the integral requirements of the modern sustainable leather industry.

Fiscal decentralization, intergovernmental mobility, and the innovativeness of local governments' policy response in COVID-19: Evidence from China

Policy innovation is an essential approach for local governments to deal with external challenges, which is also the case in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses the effects of fiscal decentralization and leaders' intergovernmental mobility on the innovativeness of local governments in pandemic response. By investigating the economic relief policy of local governments in China, we find that both fiscal decentralization and local leaders' intergovernmental mobility in their previous careers facilitate the innovativeness of local governments' economic relief policy for pandemic recovery, and the business experience of local leaders enhances the positive influence of fiscal decentralization on the innovativeness of local policy. The results indicate that fiscal decentralization and the intergovernmental connection based on leaders' political mobility are likely to be two predominant factors for local governments to enable horizontal mutual learning and central-local policy coordination, and as a result foster policy innovativeness in response to the pandemic. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of the performance of two commercial SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody test kits

Objective To evaluate the performance of two commercial EIA kits for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralizing antibodies. Methods Two commercial SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody ELISA test kits (A and B) were used to detect serum panel consists of the following sera: 44 collected before vaccination, 120 collected one month after vaccination and 64 collected six months after recovery from convalescent patients of COVID-19. In the meantime, the above samples were also taken for live virus micro-neutralization test (micro-NT) indicated as the 50% neutralization antibody titer (NT50 ) . The consistency of qualitative and quantitative results between the two commercial kits and live virus neutralization test was analyzed. Results Taking the micro-NT results as the standard, the positive coincidence rates of A and B kits were 97. 40% and 100. 00%, respectively;the negative coincidence rates were 97. 30% and 95. 95%, respectively;the Youden indices were 0. 95 and 0. 96, respectively. Furthermore, quantitative analysis indicated that the correlation coefficients between A and B kits and micro-NT results were 0. 24 (P<0. 05) and 0. 52 (P<0. 000 1) for samples collected after vaccination, respectively;while the correlation coefficients were 0. 81 (P<0. 000 1) and 0. 89 (P<0. 000 1) for convalescent serum samples, respectively. Conclusions The results obtained by the two commercial neutralizing antibody detection kits were in good agreement with the qualitative results of micro-NT. The neutralizing antibody titers in convalescent serum samples detected by the two kits showed a stronger correlation with the micro-NT results. © 2022 Society of Microbiology and Immunology. All rights reserved.

The impact of some economic and financial variables on the employment change during Covid-19 in China

This chapter examines the impact of some economic and financial variables on the employment change covering the period of Covid-19 in China. We apply the annual data of China during the period of 1989-2019 by building a long-term model and find that industrial upgrading and economically active population cause economic development, along with the increase of unemployment population. The results show a reverse change in variables of GDP and registered unemployed persons in urban areas. We then apply the quarterly data of 2019-2020 by constructing a short-term model and find that GDP and unemployment conditions still show a reverse change. Because of the lag effect, the increase in national financial expenditure is not associated with a slowdown in the employment market;a rise in GDP or business prosperity is consistent with a fall in unemployment. The Vector Autoregression Model thus provides an empirical prediction of recovery in labour markets of China. © 2022 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Recent advances in nanozymes for combating bacterial infection

Bacterial infection is a major threat to public health around the world. Currently, antibiotics remain the most extensive mode of medical treatment for bacterial infection. However, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics have exacerbated the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the improper and excessive use of biocides and disinfectants has a catastrophic impact on antibiotic management plans worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative antibacterial treatments to alleviate this crisis. In recent years, nanozymes have become promising new antibacterial agents because of their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, less drug resistance, and high stability. This review focuses on the classification of nanozymes and research progress of nanozymes as antibacterial agents, as well as perspectives for future research in this field.

Cross-neutralization of antibodies induced by inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine against Beta and Delta variants

Objective To evaluate the in vitro cross-neutralization of serum antibodies in human and mice immunized with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine against Delta and Beta variants. Methods Human serum samples after a second and a third dose of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and mouse serum samples after a two-dose vaccination were collected. The neutralizing antibodies in the samples against SARS-CoV-2 strains of prototype, Delta and Beta variants were detected using micro-neutralization assay in biosafety level III laboratory. The seroconversion rates and geometric mean titers (GMTs) of antibodies were calculated. Results The seroconversion rates of antibodies in human serum samples against different SARSCoV-2 strains were all above 95%. After two-dose vaccination, the GMTs of neutralizing antibodies against the prototype, Delta and Beta strains were 109, 41 and 15, respectively. The GMTs decreased by 2. 7 folds and 7. 3 folds for the Delta and Beta variants as compared with the prototype strain. After the booster vaccination, the GMTs of neutralizing antibodies against the prototype, Delta and Beta strains were 446,190 and 86, respectively. The GMTs of neutralizing antibodies against Delta and Beta variants decreased by 2. 3 folds and 5. 2 folds as compared with that against the prototype strain. The seroconversion rates of antibodies against different SARS-CoV-2 strains in mouse serum samples were all 100%. The GMTs of neutralizing antibodies against the prototype, Delta and Beta strains were 2 037, 862 and 408, respectively. The GMTs decreased by 2.4 folds and 5.0 folds for the Delta and Beta variants. Conclusions Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could induce a certain level of neutralizing antibodies against Delta and Beta variants in both human and mouse models. Moreover, a third dose of vaccine induced higher levels of neutralizing antibodies against Delta and Beta variants in human. This study provided valuable data for the clinical application and protective evaluation of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Colorectal cancer screening in Appalachian Kentucky primary care clinics during COVID-19

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality is disproportionately higher in Appalachian counties of Kentucky than in non-Appalachian regions. Part of the mortality gap can be explained by lower screening rates in Appalachian counties. Researchers at Markey Cancer Center partnered with primary care clinics in eastern Kentucky to address this disparity by identifying strategies to implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to improve CRC screening and follow-up in Appalachian Kentucky. Methods: Members of the research team conducted formative research activities to identify multilevel barriers to CRC screening. A menu of EBIs was then created to address these barriers, and clinic champions selected EBIs that were feasible in their respective practices. However, because of restrictions during COVID-19, clinics experienced multiple changes to workflow and operations, necessitating modifications to program activities. Over a series of virtual meetings, clinic champions selected adaptations that could allow clinics to continue promoting CRC screening in their practices despite COVID-related limitations. Results: Changes in clinic staffing and workflow resulting from COVID-19 included provider furloughs, a state-mandated pause in elective procedures, mandatory parking lot visits for many in-person visits, and an increase in telehealth. Among our clinic partners, total in-person visits were reduced by nearly half from first to second quarter of 2020, whereas telehealth visits were 23 times higher, though telehealth visits were cut in half by third quarter. To match these changing modes of practice, clinics adapted creative strategies for communicating CRC screening recommendations to patients, including shifting from paper to digital educational tools, promoting screening via telehealth visits, and prioritizing recommendations for stool-based tests over colonoscopy for average-risk patients. As a result, orders for FIT and FIT-DNA were 2 and 3 times higher, respectively, from second to third quarter of 2020. Conclusion: Rural primary care clinics in Appalachia continue to promote CRC screening despite the multiple challenges related to COVID-19. One relevant reference for clinicians is the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable's playbook for reigniting CRC screening during COVID-19, a document that promotes stool-based screening for average-risk patients. While elective procedures remain backlogged in rural areas due to state regulations, research partners should emphasize the need to prioritize stool-based CRC screening for average-risk populations and reserve scheduling colonoscopies for high-risk individuals or those with abnormal stool-based test results. While our clinical partners had previously focused on a “colonoscopy first” approach to screening, our findings suggest that our clinic partners increased orders for stool-based CRC tests. Nevertheless, continued outreach is needed to ensure CRC screening rates remain optimal.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought disruptions and constraints to K-12 STEM education, such as the shortened classroom time and the restrictions on classroom interactions. More empirical evidence is needed to inform educators and practitioners which strategies work and which do not in the pandemic context. In response to the call for more empirical evidence and the need for cultivating responsible and competent 21st century citizens, we designed and implemented a transdisciplinary STEM curriculum during the COVID-19 outbreak. In order to facilitate the smooth delivery of the learning contents and authentically engage learners in the learning process, multi-model video approaches were employed considering the characteristics of three disciplines, STEM, social service, and writing, as well as learner diversity. Pre- and post-test results indicated that students’ transdisciplinary STEM knowledge improved significantly after completing the curriculum. The integration of STEM, social service, and writing disciplines promoted the growth of students’ empathy, interest, and self-efficacy. Consistent with the quantitative results, students responded in the interview that their STEM knowledge and empathy were both enhanced. Some implementation strategies introduced in the current study are also applicable when the standard teaching order is restored in the post-COVID-19 era. © 2022, Educational Technology and Society. All rights reserved

Masked Face Recognition Datasets and Validation

In order to effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus, almost everyone wears a mask during coronavirus epidemic. This nearly makes conventional facial recognition technology ineffective in many scenarios, such as face authentication, security check, community visit check-in, etc. Therefore, it is very urgent to boost performance of existing face recognition systems on masked faces. Most current advanced face recognition approaches are based on deep learning, which heavily depends on a large number of training samples. However, there are presently no publicly available masked face recognition datasets. To this end, this work proposes three types of masked face datasets, including Masked Face Detection Dataset (MFDD), Real-world Masked Face Recognition Dataset (RMFRD) and Synthetic Masked Face Recognition Dataset (SMFRD). As far as we know, we are the first to publicly release large-scale masked face recognition datasets that can be downloaded for free at: https://github.com/X-zhangyany/Real-World-Masked-Face-Dataset.

Insights on In-Situ Photochemistry Associated with Ozone Reduction in Guangzhou during the COVID-19 Lockdown

Increases in ground-level ozone (O3 ) have been observed during the COVID-19 lockdown in many places around the world, primarily due to the uncoordinated emission reductions of O3 precursors. In Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in South China, O3 distinctively decreased during the lockdown. Such a phenomenon was attributed to meteorological variations and weakening of local O3 formation, as indicated by chemical transport models. However, the emission-based modellings were not fully validated by observations, especially for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, we analyzed the changes of O3 and its precursors, including VOCs, from the pre-lockdown (Pre-LD) to lockdown period (LD) spanning 1 week in Guangzhou. An observation-based box model was applied to understand the evolution of in-situ photochemistry. Indeed, the ambient concentrations of O3 precursors decreased significantly in the LD. A reduction of 20.7% was identified for the total mixing ratios of VOCs, and the transportation-related species experienced the biggest declines. However, the reduction of O3 precursors would not lead to a decrease of in-situ O3 production if the meteorology did not change between the Pre-LD and LD periods. Sensitivity tests indicated that O3 formation was limited by VOCs in both periods. The lower temperature and photolysis frequencies in the LD reversed the increase of O3 that would be caused by the emission reductions otherwise. This study reiterates the fact that O3 abatement requires coordinated control strategies, even if the emissions of O3 precursors can be significantly reduced in the short term. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Cloning and functional characterization of a terpene synthase gene AlTPS1 from Atractylodes lancea

Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC has been used widely as a medicinal herb for centuries and is now being used to treat COVID-19 pneumonia. Terpenoids are thought to be its main pharmacologically active constituents. However, their biosynthesis remains uncharacterized in this species. In this study, the terpene synthase gene AlTPS1 was cloned and functionally characterized. We found that AlTPS1 was a bifunctional enzyme that catalyzed the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to nerolidol and geranyl diphosphate to linalool in vitro. However, it functioned only in the nerolidol production in vivo by transient expression of the AlTPS1 gene in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves maybe due to subcellular compartmentalization of the AlTPS1 in the cytosol. Furthermore, AlTPS1 was highly expressed in leaves, considered to be the sites of nerolidol synthesis. This study is the first in which the cloning and expression of the AlTPS1 gene from A. lancea were analyzed, and it has provided new insights into terpene biosynthesis in A. lancea.

Efficacy and safety of upadacitinib as induction therapy in patientswith moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis: Results from phase 3 u-accomplish study

Introduction: U-ACCOMPLISH is one of two phase 3 induction trials evaluating safety and efficacy of upadacitinib-45 mg once daily (UPA) in adults with ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: U-ACCOMPLISH, a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT03653026), enrolled patients (pts) with moderate-to-severe UC (defined as adapted Mayo score 5-9 with centrally read endoscopic score of 2-3) who had inadequate response, loss of response, or intolerance to aminosalicylates, immunosuppressants, corticosteroids and/or biologics. Pts were randomized 2:1 to UPA or placebo (PBO) for 8 weeks (wks). At wk 8, responders entered the maintenance phase and non-responders entered the extended treatment period to receive open-label UPA for additional 8 wks. Primary endpoint (clinical remission per adapted Mayo Score) and ranked secondary endpoints including symptomatic, endoscopic-histologic evaluations from 8-wk PBO-controlled period are reported here. Non-responder imputation incorporating multiple imputation for missing data due to COVID-19 are reported. Results: 522 pts were randomized (UPA, n = 345;PBO, n = 177);intent-to-treat population included 341 pts in UPA and 174 pts in PBO group. Baseline demographics and disease characteristics were similar between groups;50.7% and 51.1% were biologic inadequate responders in UPA and PBO groups, respectively (Table 1). A significantly higher proportion of pts receiving UPA (33.5%) versus PBO (4.1%) achieved primary endpoint (adjusted treatment difference: 29.0% [23.2, 34.7];P<0.001). A significantly higher proportion of pts receiving UPA versus PBO also achieved all ranked secondary endpoints (all P<0.001;Figure 1).Serious adverse events were reported by 3.2% and 4.5% of pts in UPA and PBO groups, respectively (Table 1). Similar rates of serious infection were observed in both groups (0.6%);2 events each of herpes zoster and opportunistic infection were reported in UPA group. No active tuberculosis, malignancy, adjudicated major adverse cardiovascular events, or deaths were reported. One pt with venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) and 1 pt with gastrointestinal perforation were reported in the placebo group. Conclusion: UPA 45 mg QD induction treatment led to statistically significant improvements in clinical, endoscopic, and combined endoscopic-histologic endpoints. Treatment was well tolerated, and safety profile and AE prevalence were comparable with previous studies of UPA with no new safety signals identified.

Efficacy and safety of upadacitinib induction therapy in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis: Results from the phase 3 u-achieve study

Introduction: U-ACHIEVE is one of two phase 3 induction trials evaluating safety and efficacy of the selective JAK-1 inhibitor upadacitinib-45 mg once daily (UPA) in adults with ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: U-ACHIEVE, a multicentre, double-blind, placebo (PBO)-controlled trial (NCT02819635) randomized patients (pts) with moderately-to-severely active UC 2:1 to UPA or PBO for 8 weeks (wks). Randomization was stratified by biologic inadequate responder (Biologic-IR) status (Biologic-IR vs non-biologic-IR), baseline corticosteroid use (yes or no), and baseline adapted Mayo score (≤7 or≥7). Primary endpoint was proportion of pts achieving clinical remission (per adapted Mayo Score) at wk 8. Ranked secondary endpoints included wk 8 endoscopic improvement, endoscopic remission, clinical response per adapted Mayo Score, and histologic-endoscopic mucosal improvement;and wk 2 clinical response per partial adapted Mayo Score. Non-responder imputation incorporating multiple imputations for missing data due to COVID-19 are reported. Safety was assessed through wk 8. Results: 474 pts were randomized (UPA, n=319;PBO, n=155). Baseline characteristics were well balanced between groups (Table 1). A significantly higher proportion of pts receiving UPA (26.1%) vs PBO (4.8%) achieved wk 8 clinical remission (adjusted treatment difference [95% CI]: 21.6% [15.8, 27.4];P<0.001;Figure 1a). For all ranked secondary endpoints, UPA was superior to PBO (P<0.001;Figure 1a). A significant difference vs PBO in clinical response favouring UPA was seen as early as wk 2 (60.1% vs 27.3%) and was sustained thereafter up to wk 8 (79.0% vs 41.6%;Figure 1b). Serious AEs, severe AEs, and AEs leading to study drug discontinuation were higher in PBO group (Table 1). Acne, creatine phosphokinase elevation, and nasopharyngitis were most common AEs with UPA and worsening UC and anaemia with PBO. Incidence of serious infection was similar between UPA and PBO. Neutropenia and lymphopenia were reported more frequently with UPA vs PBO (Table 1). No adjudicated gastrointestinal perforation, major adverse cardiovascular events, or thrombotic events, and no active tuberculosis, malignancy, or deaths were reported. Conclusion: In pts with moderately-to-severely active UC, UPA induction therapy was superior to PBO in inducing clinical and endoscopic remission/response, over 8 wks;responses were significant and rapid. UPA was well-tolerated;safety was comparable with the known safety profile of UPA, and no new safety signals were identified.

WHEN FACE RECOGNITION MEETS OCCLUSION: A NEW BENCHMARK

The existing face recognition datasets usually lack occlusion samples, which hinders the development of face recognition. Especially during the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, wearing a mask has become an effective means of preventing the virus spread. Traditional CNN-based face recognition models trained on existing datasets are almost ineffective for heavy occlusion. To this end, we pioneer a simulated occlusion face recognition dataset. In particular, we first collect a variety of glasses and masks as occlusion, and randomly combine the occlusion attributes (occlusion objects, textures,and colors) to achieve a large number of more realistic occlusion types. We then cover them in the proper position of the face image with the normal occlusion habit. Furthermore, we reasonably combine original normal face images and occluded face images to form our final dataset, termed as Webface-OCC. It covers 804,704 face images of 10,575 subjects, with diverse occlusion types to ensure its diversity and stability. Extensive experiments on public datasets show that the ArcFace retrained by our dataset significantly outperforms the state-of-the-arts. Webface-OCC is available at https://github.com/Baojin-Huang/Webface-OCC.