The effects of personalised mathematic instruction supported by an intelligent tutoring system during the COVID-19 epidemic and the post-epidemic era

It is hard to find an empirical study that examines the online learning or blended learning's effect on school pupils' regular exam performance during the COVID-19 epidemic and afterwards. This study attempts to fill in this research gap. An intelligent tutoring system (ITS) was utilised in mathematics online instruction in many elementary and middle schools in China. It supports individualised teaching and learning and has positive effect on students' learning. Two case studies are introduced to illustrate the system's functions and effects on students' mathematics learning performance. In the first case, a mathematics teacher in a junior high school provided the students with differentiated assignments during the epidemic. In the second case, a teacher in a primary school utilised the ITS to implement blended learning after the epidemic. Quasi-experiments were conducted and the regular examination's data analysis result shows that the treatment group outperformed the control group.

Strategy for covid-19 vaccination for patients with tuberculosis during the covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic of COVID-19 is still rampaging all over the world, so it is urgent to popularize vaccination. Meanwhile, pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the chronic infectious diseases with a high incidence in China. Since these diseases all occur in lung tissue, patients with TB and COVID-19 co-infection show more serious conditions and poorer treatment effects. However, we have limited knowledge about the protective efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with TB at present, with a lack of corresponding evidence-based medicine as well. Therefore, this paper reviews the pathogenesis and epidemiology of TB, discusses the immune status of patients with TB and summarizes the existing proposals for vaccination of patients with TB at home and abroad. Furthermore, we analyze the existing clinical trials in TB patients and other special populations, and finally discuss the strategy of vaccination for patients with TB during the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of clinical research on COVID-19 vaccines with target population of TB patients.Copyright © 2022, Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.

Strategy for covid-19 vaccination for patients with tuberculosis during the covid-19 pandemic

The pandemic of COVID-19 is still rampaging all over the world, so it is urgent to popularize vaccination. Meanwhile, pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the chronic infectious diseases with a high incidence in China. Since these diseases all occur in lung tissue, patients with TB and COVID-19 co-infection show more serious conditions and poorer treatment effects. However, we have limited knowledge about the protective efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with TB at present, with a lack of corresponding evidence-based medicine as well. Therefore, this paper reviews the pathogenesis and epidemiology of TB, discusses the immune status of patients with TB and summarizes the existing proposals for vaccination of patients with TB at home and abroad. Furthermore, we analyze the existing clinical trials in TB patients and other special populations, and finally discuss the strategy of vaccination for patients with TB during the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of clinical research on COVID-19 vaccines with target population of TB patients.

Strategy for covid-19 vaccination for patients with tuberculosis during the covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic of COVID-19 is still rampaging all over the world, so it is urgent to popularize vaccination. Meanwhile, pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the chronic infectious diseases with a high incidence in China. Since these diseases all occur in lung tissue, patients with TB and COVID-19 co-infection show more serious conditions and poorer treatment effects. However, we have limited knowledge about the protective efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with TB at present, with a lack of corresponding evidence-based medicine as well. Therefore, this paper reviews the pathogenesis and epidemiology of TB, discusses the immune status of patients with TB and summarizes the existing proposals for vaccination of patients with TB at home and abroad. Furthermore, we analyze the existing clinical trials in TB patients and other special populations, and finally discuss the strategy of vaccination for patients with TB during the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of clinical research on COVID-19 vaccines with target population of TB patients. Copyright © 2022, Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.

Strategy for covid-19 vaccination for patients with tuberculosis during the covid-19 pandemic

The pandemic of COVID-19 is still rampaging all over the world, so it is urgent to popularize vaccination. Meanwhile, pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the chronic infectious diseases with a high incidence in China. Since these diseases all occur in lung tissue, patients with TB and COVID-19 co-infection show more serious conditions and poorer treatment effects. However, we have limited knowledge about the protective efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with TB at present, with a lack of corresponding evidence-based medicine as well. Therefore, this paper reviews the pathogenesis and epidemiology of TB, discusses the immune status of patients with TB and summarizes the existing proposals for vaccination of patients with TB at home and abroad. Furthermore, we analyze the existing clinical trials in TB patients and other special populations, and finally discuss the strategy of vaccination for patients with TB during the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of clinical research on COVID-19 vaccines with target population of TB patients. Copyright © 2022, Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.

Discovery and translation of functional nucleic acids for clinically diagnosing infectious diseases: Opportunities and challenges

Functional nucleic acids (FNAs) are short, single-stranded nucleic acids that can be derived from synthetic nucleic acid libraries using test-tube selection experiments. Due to their excellent chemical stability, high binding affinities and specificities, compatibility with a variety of signal-transduction mechanisms, and ease of synthesis and modification, FNAs have a great potential to overcome some of the limitations of current pathogen diagnostic methods by acting as molecular recognition elements (MREs) for point-of-care testing. This review summarizes the development of FNA-based biosensors for viral and bacterial detection in clinical samples. We first discuss examples of selecting FNAs for recognizing biomarkers of viral and bacterial pathogens. This is followed by discussion on integrating FNAs into fluorescent, colorimetric, and electrochemical biosensors and applying these sensors towards clinically diagnosing infectious diseases caused by many important bacterial and viral pathogens. Finally, the challenges of making FNA-based biosensors for infectious diseases are provided. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research on Students' Course Selection Preference based on Collaborative Filtering Algorithm

Due to the events caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the education industry is no longer limited to offline, and online classroom education is widely used. The rapid development of online education provides users with more abundant educational course resources and flexible learning methods. Various online education platforms are also constantly improving their service models to give users a better learning experience. However, at present, there are few personalized information recommendation services in student course selection. Students receive the same course selection information and cannot be "tailored" according to their specific preferences. This paper focuses on the integration of collaborative filtering technology into a college course selection system to construct a rating matrix based on students' ratings of the courses they take through correlation between courses and correlation between students. Based on the collaborative filtering algorithm, a predictive rating matrix is generated to produce a recommendation list to achieve intelligent recommendation of suitable courses for students. The experimental results show that, based on the traditional collaborative filtering recommendation technique, the improved collaborative filtering algorithm based on both item and user weighting is used to achieve course recommendation with higher recommendation accuracy. The application of the improved collaborative filtering technique in the course selection recommendation system of colleges and universities is very good at recommending courses for students intelligently, and the recommended courses for students have good rationality and accuracy, and achieve more intelligent course selection for students, which has great practicality and practical significance.

Immunogenicity and safety of a SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine in healthy adults: randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials

BACKGROUND: The significant morbidity and mortality resulted from the infection of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) call for urgent development of effective and safe vaccines. We report the immunogenicity and safety of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, KCONVAC, in healthy adults. METHODS: Phase 1 and phase 2 randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trials of KCONVAC were conducted in healthy Chinese adults aged 18-59 years. The participants in the phase 1 trial were randomized to receive two doses, one each on Days 0 and 14, of either KCONVAC (5 mug/dose or 10 mug/dose) or placebo. The participants in the phase 2 trial were randomized to receive either KCONVAC (at 5 or 10 mug/dose) or placebo on Days 0 and 14 (0/14 regimen) or Days 0 and 28 (0/28 regimen). In the phase 1 trial, the primary safety endpoint was the proportion of participants experiencing adverse reactions/events within 28 days following the administration of each dose. In the phase 2 trial, the primary immunogenicity endpoints were neutralization antibody seroconversion and titer and anti-receptor-binding domain immunoglobulin G seroconversion at 28 days after the second dose. RESULTS: In the phase 1 trial, 60 participants were enrolled and received at least one dose of 5-mug vaccine (n = 24), 10-mug vaccine (n = 24), or placebo (n = 12). In the phase 2 trial, 500 participants were enrolled and received at least one dose of 5-mug vaccine (n = 100 for 0/14 or 0/28 regimens), 10-mug vaccine (n = 100 for each regimen), or placebo (n = 50 for each regimen). In the phase 1 trial, 13 (54%), 11 (46%), and 7 (58%) participants reported at least one adverse event (AE) after receiving 5-mug vaccine, 10-mug vaccine, or placebo, respectively. In the phase 2 trial, 16 (16%), 19 (19%), and 9 (18%) 0/14-regimen participants reported at least one AE after receiving 5-mug vaccine, 10-mug vaccine, or placebo, respectively. Similar AE incidences were observed in the three 0/28-regimen treatment groups. No AEs with an intensity of grade 3+ were reported, expect for one vaccine-unrelated serious AE (foot fracture) reported in the phase 1 trial. KCONVAC induced significant antibody responses;0/28 regimen showed a higher immune responses than that did 0/14 regimen after receiving two vaccine doses. CONCLUSIONS: Both doses of KCONVAC are well tolerated and able to induce robust immune responses in healthy adults. These results support testing 5-mug vaccine in the 0/28 regimen in an upcoming phase 3 efficacy trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx (No. ChiCTR2000038804, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=62350;No. ChiCTR2000039462, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=63353).

Spatio-temporal propagation of COVID-19 pandemics (vol 131, 58003, 2020)

Original article: EPL, 131 (2020) 58003.

Association of acute kidney injury and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 in Shenzhen, China: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) was found in some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and accompanied with poor outcomes. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of AKI with clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Methods: In this cohort study, we reviewed electronic medical data from patients with COVID-19 in Shenzhen from January 11 to February 19, 2020. Clinical features and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients with and without AKI were analyzed. Further, we evaluated the association between AKI development and clinical outcomes. Results: In this study, 9.6% patients developed AKI during hospitalization. Those with AKI presented older age, severer pneumonia, more comorbidity and lower lymphocyte count. Totally, more patients (77.5%) had primary composite outcomes (intensive care unit (ICU) admission, use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and mechanical ventilation) in AKI group compared to non-AKI group (2.9%) during the observation period. The median length of stay (LOS) and ICU stay were longer among those with AKI. After adjusted for related covariates, AKI development was independently correlated with LOS (β (95% CI): 9.16 (3.87-14.46)), rather than primary outcomes (HR (95% CI): 1.34 (0.56-3.21)) in COVID-19 patients. Conclusions: The development of AKI was not one of the reasons for ICU admission, use of HFNC and mechanical ventilation, but a kind of manifestation of severe illness in COVID-19 hospitalized patients.

Antiviral properties of traditional chinese medicine against coronavirus: Research clues for coronavirus disease-2019

The objective of this study was to provide research clues for the prevention and treatment of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and coronavirus (CoV) infection using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A review on research and clinical trials that using TCM extracts and active ingredients against CoV was performed, and a table of TCM agents and their effects on CoV were summarized. Relevant analysis was performed and visual expression of the data included summarizing the types of TCM and treatment methods for COVID-19. TCM fighting against CoV is mainly used in the lung and heart channels, and its medicinal properties are mainly cold and mild, while its taste is mainly bitter and sweet. The majority of research focused on treatments that clear away heat and toxic materials and those that strengthen body resistance and tonify deficiencies. TCM has unique advantages to fight against CoV. The development of new anti-CoV therapy using TCM is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia and various viral infectious diseases.

[Clinical feature changes of a COVID-19 patient from mild to critical condition and cardiopulmonary pathological results].

Objective: To analyse the clinical history, laboratory tests and pathological data of a patient who suffered from novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19) and provide reference for the clinical treatment of similar cases. Methods: Data of clinical manifestation, laboratory examination, bronchoscopy, echocardiography and cardiopulmonary pathological results were retrospectively reviewed in a case of COVID-19 with rapid exacerbation from mild to critical condition. Results: This patient hospitalized at day 9 post 2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV) infection, experienced progressive deterioration from mild to severe at day 12, severe to critical at day 18 and underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO) and continuous renal replacement therapy(CRRT) as well as heart lung transplantation during day 28-45 post infection, and died at the second day post heart and lung transplantation. The patient had suffered from hypertension for 8 years. At the early stage of the disease, his symptoms were mild and the inflammatory indices increased and the lymphocyte count decreased continuously. The patient's condition exacerbated rapidly with multi-organ infections, and eventually developed pulmonary hemorrhage and consolidation, pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure, malignant ventricular arrhythmias, liver dysfunction, etc. His clinical manifestations could not be improved despite viral RNAs test results became negative. The patient underwent lung and heart transplantation and finally died of multi organ failure at the second day post lung and heart transplantation. Pathological examination indicated massive mucus, dark red secretions and blood clots in bronchus. The pathological changes were mainly diffused pulmonary hemorrhagic injuries and necrosis, fibrosis, small vessel disease with cardiac edema and lymphocyte infiltration. Conclusions: The clinical course of severe COVID-19 can exacerbate rapidly from mild to critical with lung, liver and heart injuries.