COVID-19 in South Korea: epidemiological and spatiotemporal patterns of the spread and the role of aggressive diagnostic tests in the early phase.

BACKGROUND: South Korea experienced the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the early period; thus data from this country could provide significant implications for global mitigation strategies. This study reports how COVID-19 has spread in South Korea and examines the effects of rapid widespread diagnostic testing on the spread of the disease in the early epidemic phase. METHODS: We collected daily data on the number of confirmed cases, tests and deaths due to COVID-19 from 20 January to 13 April 2020. We estimated the spread pattern with a logistic growth model, calculated the daily reproduction number (Rt) and examined the fatality pattern of COVID-19. RESULTS: From the start date of the epidemic in Korea (18 February 2020), the time to peak and plateau were 15.2 and 25 days, respectively. The initial Rt was 3.9 [95% credible interval (CI) 3.7 to 4.2] and declined to <1 after 2 weeks. The initial epidemic doubling time was 3.8 days (3.4 to 4.2 days). The aggressive testing in the early days of the epidemic was associated with reduction in transmission speed of COVID-19. In addition, as of 13 April, the case fatality rate of COVID-19 in Korea was 2.1%, suggesting a positive effect of the targeted treatment policy for severe patients and medical resources. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide important information for establishing and revising action plans based on testing strategies and severe patient care systems, needed to address the unprecedented pandemic.

Ab initio and DFT studies on hydrolyses of phosphorus halides.

Hydrolyses of phosphorus halides, (RO)(2)POX where R = H or Me and X = F or Cl, in the gas phase and in the reaction field have been investigated theoretically with ab initio and the density functional theory (DFT). The free energy of activation in the reaction field was also estimated using the Onsager method with a correction of entropy change and basis set superposition error (BSSE). The reaction of (MeO)(2)POF proceeds through a path with bifunctional catalysis regardless of the medium, but the reaction of (MeO)(2)POCl proceeds through bifunctional and general base catalysis in the gas phase and in water, respectively. The estimated free energy barrier of 23 kcal/mol for the hydrolysis of (MeO)(2)POF is in good agreement with the experimental values of 24 kcal/mol, and relative barrier of 3 kcal/mol to the (MeO)(2)POCl is also in good agreement with the experimental values of 5 kcal/mol of diisopropyl phosphorus halides ((Pr(i)O)(2)POX, X = F and Cl).

Role of the [4.2.2] Bicyclic Unit in Bicyclomycin: Synthesis, Structure, Chemical, Biochemical, and Biological Properties.

Twelve bicyclomycin derivatives were synthesized to determine the effect of modification of the [4.2.2] bicyclic unit in bicyclomycin (1) on drug function. Few bicyclomycin derivatives have been described in which the [4.2.2] ring system has been modified. The compounds evaluated were divided into two categories: the two N-methyl-modified bicyclomycins (2, 3) and the ten C(6)-substituted bicyclomycins (4-13). Substituents introduced at the C(6) site included alkoxy, thioalkoxy, thiophenoxy, anilino, and hydrogen. A procedure was developed to synthesize select C(6)-substituted bicyclomycins. Bicyclomycin was first converted to bicyclomycin C(2'),C(3')-acetonide (16) and then treated with methanesulfonyl chloride to give in situ the corresponding C(6) mesylate 17. Treatment of 17 with the appropriate nucleophile followed by removal of the C(2'),C(3')-acetonide group gave the desired C(6)-substituted bicyclomycin. The chemical properties of C(6) O-methylbicyclomycin (4) were examined. Treatment of THF-H(2)O mixtures of 4 with excess EtSH maintained at "pH" 8.0-9.0 led to no detectable reaction, while at more basic "pH" values 4 underwent stereospecific conversion to the bis-spiro derivative 33 and no appreciable EtSH addition to the C(5)-C(5a) exomethylene unit. These results were compared to the reactivity of 1 with EtSH. The stability (pH 7.4, 37 degrees C) of C(6)-substituted bicyclomycins 4, 6, and 10-13 in aqueous solutions were examined. We observed that most of these compounds (4, 6, 10-12) underwent near complete change (>75%) within 200 h. The [4.2.2] bicyclic-modified bicyclomycins were evaluated in the rho-dependent ATPase assay and their antimicrobial activities determined using a filter disc assay. Most of the compounds were also tested in the transcription termination assay. We observed that all structural modifications conducted within the [4.2.2] bicyclic unit led to a loss of rho-dependent ATPase (I(50) > 400 &mgr;M) and to transcription termination (I(50) > 100 &mgr;M) inhibitory activities, as well as a loss of antimicrobial activity (MIC > 32 mg/mL). Only N(10)-methylbicyclomycin (2) displayed moderate inhibitory activities in these assays. These findings indicated that the [4.2.2] bicyclic unit played an important role in the antibiotic-rho recognition process. Potential factors that govern this interaction are briefly discussed. We concluded that placement of an irreversible inactivating unit at the N- and O-sites within the [4.2.2] bicyclic unit in 1 would likely prohibit the bicyclomycin derivative from efficiently binding to rho.