Résumé
Background: RNA viruses evolve very fast, with a mutation rate of 103 to 105 base sub-stitution per nucleotides per copy. The mutation is a survival strategy for the viruses, which leads them to survive in the new host. Fitness is defined as the replication capacity of the virus in an ex-perimental setup. Generally, the large population passage of the virus leads to fitness gain, but the world data of the coronavirus infection and death shows the flattened curve with time. It is contra-dictory to the principle of fitness gain due to large population passage. The coronavirus is losing its potency but remains infectious as it is passaging into millions that leads to a decline in the death of COVID patients and high recovery rates. Fitness loss of coronaviruses attributed to a high level of mutation in the RNA genome as well as host immune response. The current outbreak of SARS CoV-2 is surfaced in December 2019 in Hubei province of China and considered as bats/pangolin origin, spreading 235 countries of the world, infecting nearly 31,664,104 people, and claimed nearly 972,221 lives as of September 24, 2020 (Death rate approximately 3%). This coronavirus has passaged into 31,664,104 people from the beginning of this pandemic until September 24, 2020. Now the virus is losing potency rather than being monotonous and continuous in producing virus-related complications. The population is still getting infected at the same rate, but the severity of the disease is reduced due to the potency of the virus diminished due to the passage effect as well as fitness loss of the virus due to high mutation rates. The death rate is reduced to 3% as compared to 6% in June 2020, when this paper was first submitted. Objective(s): The purpose of the study is to prove the fact that the coronavirus loses its potency with time but, they remain infective. It becomes more infectious due to mutation of the gene but loses the capacity to kill the host. Method(s): Since the WHO announces the COVID-19 outbreak is an emergency of international con-cern, every country in the world is taking many measures to mitigate the viral load to their popula-tion. Simultaneously, the WHO, CDC USA, CDC Europe, and much other organization is updating the COVID cases and death online daily as reported by the respective country. With the help of the COVID-19 outbreak data published by the European CDC and ourworldindata.org, we correlate the total cases of coronavirus and total death in the top ten affected countries in the world. We also link the trends of total cases vs. total death and total new cases vs. total new death related to COVID-19 in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and New Zealand from January 30, 2020, until September 24, 2020. The reason to select these countries for the study is that these countries updating the COVID cases and deaths regularly and said to achieve the peak of COVID related infections and recovering from the pandemic. Result(s): We have tried to correlate the high mutation rate of the virus that leads to losing its potency to severe infection and death in the human. Viral extinction through high mutation could be considered as the new anti-viral strategies. Conclusion(s): Coronavirus is losing its potency to causing death to the human. The new infection is still being reported from every corner of the world, but the death rate is significantly decreasing.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
Résumé
The paper proposes a framework to demonstrate the effectiveness through blended learning in Digital Circuits Course by redesigning the content delivery and mode of hands-on experimentation. The present situation of pandemic has created scope for experimenting with various modes of course redesign and delivery for effective teaching/learning of the courses. A Digital Circuit course in third semester of Engineering discipline is redesigned w.r.t. video lectures, course content, number of experiments, mode of learning, mode of teaching, simulations, hands on experimentation and evaluation rubrics. A webpage was designed for students comprising of all the information needed to conduct the laboratory efficiently. The video lectures were prepared by the course instructors on the concepts and design aspects of all the experiments. The designed experiments were simulated and shown to the students for its appropriateness. The designed circuits were hard wired on the breadboard and the results were demonstrated through the recorded videos of the same. Lab was conducted in marathon from morning to evening with more focus on detailed resources shared and learnt by students before conduction in lab without compromising learning in hardware related labs. All these details helped the students to gather extra knowledge for effective implementation of designed circuits. The effectiveness of learning was measured through designed rubrics and graded accordingly. The students were exposed to another way of efficient learning i.e., blended mode. © 2021 IEEE.