Did A Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program Support low-income Households in North Carolina during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Mixed Methods Assessment of the Healthy Helping Program and Other Pandemic-Related Food Assistance

In 2020, the Healthy Helping Fruit and Vegetable Program provided SNAP-eligible beneficiaries with $40/month, for up to 3 months, to purchase fruits and vegetablesata chainsupermarket inNorthCarolina.A survey to describeparticipants' experiences with the program and interviews to explore whether these experiences were shaped byparticipating inotherpandemic-related food access programs were conducted.In conjunction with other food access programs,programs that allow participants freedom to choose what they purchase mayalleviate household hardships and provide greater access tonutrient-dense foods during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond..Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

What Has Been the Impact of COVID-19 on Driving Digitalization, Innovation and Crisis Management of Higher Education and Quality Assurance?-A Taiwan Case Study in Alignment with the INQAAHE Virtual Review.

The impact of COVID-19 on higher education and quality assurance (QA) has already elicited global attention and discussion. QA agencies and networks quickly learned to adapt in order to carry out assessments, accreditations, recognitions, and reviews in a full virtual mode. These practices include using shared folders for virtual desk review, video conferencing platforms for interviews, and virtual site visits. In order to respond to the 2020 pandemic, The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) swiftly adopted a virtual mode of the GGP review exercise for the GGP alignment applicants. The Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) was the first case that underwent a thorough virtual review process of GGP alignment during the 2020 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to outline the impact of the pandemic in Taiwan higher education as well as provide the meta-analysis of the virtual review process of the INQAAHE GGP alignment by using HEEACT as a case study.

What Has Been the Impact of COVID-19 on Driving Digitalization, Innovation and Crisis Management of Higher Education and Quality Assurance?—A Taiwan Case Study in Alignment with the INQAAHE Virtual Review

The impact of COVID-19 on higher education and quality assurance (QA) has already elicited global attention and discussion. QA agencies and networks quickly learned to adapt in order to carry out assessments, accreditations, recognitions, and reviews in a full virtual mode. These practices include using shared folders for virtual desk review, video conferencing platforms for interviews, and virtual site visits. In order to respond to the 2020 pandemic, The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) swiftly adopted a virtual mode of the GGP review exercise for the GGP alignment applicants. The Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) was the first case that underwent a thorough virtual review process of GGP alignment during the 2020 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to outline the impact of the pandemic in Taiwan higher education as well as provide the meta-analysis of the virtual review process of the INQAAHE GGP alignment by using HEEACT as a case study.

Big Data Analysis for Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Ambient PM2.5 in Areas that Were Not Locked Down

COVID-19, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first broke out at the end of 2019. Despite rapidly spreading around the world during the first half of 2020, it remained well controlled in Taiwan without the implementation of a nationwide lockdown. This study aimed to evaluate the PM2.5 concentrations in this country during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and compare them with those during the corresponding period from 2019. We obtained measurements (taken every minute or every 3 minutes) from approximately 1,500 PM2.5 sensors deployed in industrial areas of northern and southern Taiwan for the first quarters (January-March) of both years. Our big data analysis revealed that the median hourly PM2.5 levels decreased by 3.70% (from 16.3 to 15.7 mu g m(-3)) and 10.6% (from 32.4 to 29.3 mu g m(-3)) in the north and south, respectively, between these periods owing to lower domestic emissions of PM2.5 precursors (viz., nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) and, to a lesser degree, smaller transported emissions of PM2.5, e.g., from China. Additionally, the spatial patterns of the PM2.5 in both northern and southern Taiwan during 2020 resembled those from the previous year. Finally, controlling local PM2.5 emission sources critically contributes to reducing the number of COVID-19 cases.

Neurological Manifestations of COVID-19 Feature T Cell Exhaustion and Dedifferentiated Monocytes in Cerebrospinal Fluid.

Patients suffering from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can develop neurological sequelae, such as headache and neuroinflammatory or cerebrovascular disease. These conditions-termed here as Neuro-COVID-are more frequent in patients with severe COVID-19. To understand the etiology of these neurological sequelae, we utilized single-cell sequencing and examined the immune cell profiles from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Neuro-COVID patients compared with patients with non-inflammatory and autoimmune neurological diseases or with viral encephalitis. The CSF of Neuro-COVID patients exhibited an expansion of dedifferentiated monocytes and of exhausted CD4+ T cells. Neuro-COVID CSF leukocytes featured an enriched interferon signature; however, this was less pronounced than in viral encephalitis. Repertoire analysis revealed broad clonal T cell expansion and curtailed interferon response in severe compared with mild Neuro-COVID patients. Collectively, our findings document the CSF immune compartment in Neuro-COVID patients and suggest compromised antiviral responses in this setting.