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Drawing upon 15 semi-structured interviews with teachers at a Catholic school in the British city of Hull, we offer new qualitative insights on the effects of students’ unequal access to digital tools when switching to distance learning in the context of COVID-19 school closures. During the 2020–2021 academic year, this school serving pupils from highly dissimilar socioeconomic backgrounds distributed 300 laptops to students who did not own any digital learning device. It emerges that students with limited access to devices suffered negative impacts on their academic performance, and that this effect also applied to students who had access to a mobile device and hence did not receive a laptop. Our interviews also suggest that having to share a device with another family member leads to more absenteeism and a fall in academic attainment. Low parental involvement is shown to have negative effects on students’ attainment, particularly for children from deprived backgrounds. Finally, poorer students are seen to become isolated from peers, with diminishing social skills throughout lockdowns due to their lack of access to digital tools.

High efficacy in terms of protection from severe COVID-19 has been demonstrated for several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. However, patients with compromised immune status develop a weaker and less stable immune response to vaccination. Strong immune response may not always translate into clinical benefit, therefore it is important to synthesise evidence on modified schemes and types of vaccination in these population subgroups for guiding health decisions. As the literature on COVID-19 vaccines continues to expand, we aimed to scope the literature on multiple subgroups to subsequently decide on the most relevant research questions to be answered by systematic reviews.To provide an overview of the availability of existing literature on immune response and long-term clinical outcomes after COVID-19 vaccination, and to map this evidence according to the examined populations, specific vaccines, immunity parameters, and their way of determining relevant long-term outcomes and the availability of mapping between immune reactivity and relevant outcomes.We searched the Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, the Web of Science Core Collection, and the World Health Organization COVID-19 Global literature on coronavirus disease on 6 December 2021. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included studies that published results on immunity outcomes after vaccination with BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, AZD1222, Ad26.COV2.S, Sputnik V or Sputnik Light, BBIBP-CorV, or CoronaVac on predefined vulnerable subgroups such as people with malignancies, transplant recipients, people undergoing renal replacement therapy, and people with immune disorders, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children. We included studies if they had at least 100 participants (not considering healthy control groups); we excluded case studies and case series.We extracted data independently and in duplicate onto an online data extraction form. Data were represented as tables and as online maps to show the frequency of studies for each item. We mapped the data according to study design, country of participant origin, patient comorbidity subgroup, intervention, outcome domains (clinical, safety, immunogenicity), and outcomes. MAIN RESULTS: Out of 25,452 identified records, 318 studies with a total of more than 5 million participants met our eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Participants were recruited mainly from high-income countries between January 2020 and 31 October 2021 (282/318); the majority of studies included adult participants (297/318). Haematological malignancies were the most commonly examined comorbidity group (N = 54), followed by solid tumours (N = 47), dialysis (N = 48), kidney transplant (N = 43), and rheumatic diseases (N = 28, 17, and 15 for mixed diseases, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease, respectively). Thirty-one studies included pregnant or breastfeeding women. The most commonly administered vaccine was BNT162b2 (N = 283), followed by mRNA-1273 (N = 153), AZD1222 (N = 66), Ad26.COV2.S (N = 42), BBIBP-CorV (N = 15), CoronaVac (N = 14), and Sputnik V (N = 5; no studies were identified for Sputnik Light). Most studies reported outcomes after regular vaccination scheme. The majority of studies focused on immunogenicity outcomes, especially seroconversion based on binding antibody measurements and immunoglobulin G (IgG) titres (N = 179 and 175, respectively). Adverse events and serious adverse events were reported in 126 and 54 studies, whilst SARS-CoV-2 infection irrespective of severity was reported in 80 studies. Mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported in 36 studies. Please refer to our evidence gap maps for more detailed information.Up to 6 December 2021, the majority of studies examined data on mRNA vaccines administered as standard vaccination schemes (two doses approximately four to eight weeks apart) that report on immunogenicity parameters or adverse events. Clinical outcomes were less commonly reported, and if so, were often reported as a secondary outcome observed in seroconversion or immunoglobulin titre studies. As informed by this scoping review, two effectiveness reviews (on haematological malignancies and kidney transplant recipients) are currently being conducted.

O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) is a post-translational modification which occurs on the hydroxyl group of serine or threonine residues of nucleocytoplasmic proteins. It has been reported that the presence of this single sugar motif regulates various biological events by altering the fate of target proteins, such as their function, localization, and degradation. This study identified SMAD4 as a novel O-GlcNAc-modified protein. SMAD4 is a component of the SMAD transcriptional complex, a major regulator of the signaling pathway for the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). TGF-β is a powerful promoter of cancer EMT and metastasis. This study showed that the amount of SMAD4 proteins changes according to cellular O-GlcNAc levels in human lung cancer cells. This observation was made based on the prolonged half-life of SMAD4 proteins. The mechanism behind this interaction was that O-GlcNAc impeded interactions between SMAD4 and GSK-3β which promote proteasomal degradation of SMAD4. In addition, O-GlcNAc modification on SMAD4 Thr63 was responsible for stabilization. As a result, defects in O-GlcNAcylation on SMAD4 Thr63 attenuated the reporter activity of luciferase, the TGF-β-responsive SMAD binding element (SBE). This study’s findings imply that cellular O-GlcNAc may regulate the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway by stabilizing SMAD4.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of female sex hormones on the clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 patients using national claims data. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the Health Insurance Review and Assessment data of 5,061 adult patients with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 in South Korea from January 20 to April 8, 2020. To evaluate the effect of hormone therapy on clinical outcomes among women, subgroup analyses using age-matched case-control data were performed. Results: Coronavirus disease 2019 was most prevalent in women in the 20-39 years age group (1,250 [44.14%]). Men were more likely to receive oxygen therapy (144 [6.46%] vs 131 [4.63%], P = 0.004), be admitted to the intensive care unit (60 [2.69%] vs 53 [1.87%], P = 0.049), and have a longer length of stay after admission to the intensive care unit (19.70 ± 11.80 vs 14.75 ± 9.23, P = 0.016). However, there was no significant difference in the mortality rate (men vs women: 42 [1.88%] vs 42 [1.48%], P = 0.267). In the multivariable Cox analysis, older age and underlying comorbidities, but not sex, were independent risk factors for mortality. Hormone therapy was not significantly associated with clinical outcomes. Conclusions: This study, using nationwide data, suggests that female sex hormones are not associated with the morbidity and clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in South Korea.

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is an enzyme that catalyzes the O-GlcNAc modification of nucleocytoplasmic proteins and is highly expressed in many types of cancer. However, the mechanism regulating its expression in cancer cells is not well understood. This study shows that OGT is a substrate of the E3 ubiquitin ligase X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) which plays an important role in cancer pathogenesis. Although LSD2 histone demethylase has already been reported as an E3 ubiquitin ligase in lung cancer cells, we identified XIAP as the main E3 ubiquitin ligase in colon cancer cells. Interestingly, OGT catalyzes the O-GlcNAc modification of XIAP at serine 406 and this modification is required for the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of XIAP toward specifically OGT. Moreover, O-GlcNAcylation of XIAP suppresses colon cancer cell growth and invasion by promoting the proteasomal degradation of OGT. Therefore, our findings regarding the reciprocal regulation of OGT and XIAP provide a novel molecular mechanism for controlling cancer growth and invasion regulated by OGT and O-GlcNAc modification.

Limited data describing the effect of sex hormone on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is available. We evaluated the effect of sex hormone on prevalence and clinical outcomes of COVID-19. Retrospective cohort study was performed using the nationwide claims data of 5061 adult patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in South Korea, from January 20 to April 8, 2020. COVID-19 was most prevalent in women of the 20-39 age group (1250 [44.14%]). Men were more likely to receive oxygen therapy (144 [6.46%] vs 131 [4.63%], P=0.004), be admitted to the intensive care unit (60 [2.69%] vs 53 [1.87%], P=0.049), and stay longer after admission to the intensive care unit (19.70±11.80 vs 14.75±9.23, P=0.016). However, there was no significant difference in mortality rates between men and women. In multivariable Cox analysis, independent risk factors for mortality were older age and underlying co-morbidities, rather than sex. To evaluate the effect of HRT among women, subgroup analysis was implemented using age-matched case-control data with a 1:3 ratio of females receiving HRT to those who did not. HRT did not have statistically significant association with clinical outcomes. This study suggests that sex hormone may not affect prevalence and clinical outcome of COVID-19 in South Korea.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the SUVmax of primary breast cancer lesions and the molecular subtypes based on the recommendations of the St. Gallen consensus meeting 2013. Clinical records of patients who underwent F-18 FDG PET/CT for initial staging of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast were reviewed. A total of 183 patients were included. SUVmax was correlated with the molecular subtypes defined by the St. Gallen Consensus Meeting 2013, i.e., luminal A-like (LA), luminal B-like HER2 negative (LBHER2-), luminal B-like HER2 positive (LBHER2+), HER2 positive (HER2+), and triple negative (TN), and with the clinicohistopathologic characteristics. The molecular subtype was LA in 38 patients, LBHER2- in 72, LBHER2+ in 21, HER2+ in 30, and TN in 22. The mean SUVmax in the LA, LBHER2-, LBHER2+, HER2+, and TN groups were 4.5 ± 2.3, 7.2 ± 4.9, 7.2 ± 4.3, 10.2 ± 5.5, and 8.8 ± 7.1, respectively. Although SUVmax differed significantly among these subtypes (p

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the value of clinical prognostic factors and semiquantitative metabolic parameters from initial staging fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG PET/CT) in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients treated with stem cell transplantation (SCT). METHODS: A total of 39 malignant lymphoma patients who underwent initial staging F-18 FDG PET/CT were enrolled in this study. SUVmax, MTV_wb, and TLG_wb were measured during the initial staging PET/CT. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was adopted to dichotomize continuous variables. Log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were used to evaluate disease-free survival (DFS) rate. RESULTS: Among the 39 patients with malignant lymphoma, 17 (43.6%) had a relapse. For several clinical factors such as age, ECOG performance score, AMC/ALC score, stages, and revised International Prognostic Index score, differences between the two dichotomized groups were statistically insignificant. In univariate analysis, DFS estimates were 71.0 ± 7.8 months and 18.0 ± 5.9 months in high-SUVmax and low-SUVmax group, respectively (P

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of Houttuyniae Herba water extract (HC) on calcium release and production of various inflammatory mediator s such as nitric oxide (NO), interferon-inducible protein (IP)-10, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-5 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages. Methods : NO production was measured by Griess reagent assay. Intracellular calcium level was measured with Fluo-4 assay. Levels of cytokines were measured by High-throughput multiplex bead array cytokine assay based on xMAP (multi-analyte profiling beads) technology. Results : HC significantly decreased NO production for 24 hrs incubation at the concentrations of 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/mL in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 (P < 0.05). HC significantly decreased production of IP-10, KC, VEGF, and PDGF-BB for 24 hrs incubation at the concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/mL in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 (P < 0.05). HC also significantly decreased intracellular calcium release for 24 hrs incubation at the concentrations of 25, 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/mL in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 (P < 0.05). But HC did not show any significant effect on production of IL-4 and IL-5 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7. Conclusions : The results suggested that HC has anti-inflammatory property related with its inhibition on the production of NO, IP-10, KC, VEGF, and PDGF-BB in LPS-induced macrophages via calcium pathway.

Spinel structured highly dense NiMn2O4-based (NMO) negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor thick films were fabricated by aerosol-deposition at room temperature. To enhance the thermistor B constant, which represents the temperature sensitivity of the NMO thermistor material, Co and Co-Fe doping was applied. In the case of single element doping of Co, 5 mol% doped NMO showed a high B constant of over 5000 K, while undoped NMO showed -4000 K. By doping Fe to the 5 mol% Co doped NMO, the B constant was more enhanced at over 5600 K. The aging effect on the NTC characteristics of Co doped and Fe-Co co-doped NMO thick film showed very stable resistivity-time characteristics because of the highly dense microstructure.

Uniform spreading of injection current in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is one of the crucial requirements for better device performances. It is reported that non-uniform current spreading leads to low output power, high current crowding, heating, and reliability degradation of the LED device. This paper reports on the effects of different surface and electrode geometries in the LEDs. To increase the output power of LEDs and reduce the series resistance, a rectangular-type LED (RT-LED) with a centered island cathode has been fabricated and investigated by comparison with a conventional LED (CV-LED). The performances of RT-LEDs were prominently enhanced via uniform current spreading and low current crowding. Performances in terms of increased output power and lower forward voltage of simulated RT-LEDs are much superior to those of CV-LEDs. Based on these results, we investigated the correlation between device geometries and optical characteristics through the fabricated CV and RT-LEDs. The measured output power and forward voltage of the RT-LEDs at 100 mA are 64.7% higher and 8% smaller compared with those of the CV-LEDs.

SiO2Al2O3 double dielectric stack layer was deposited on the surface of the GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED). The double dielectric stack layer enhances both the electrical characteristics and the optical output power of the LED because the first Al2O3 layer plays a role of effectively passivating the p-GaN surface and the second lower index SiO2 layer increases the critical angle of the light emitted from the LED surface. In addition, the effect of the Fresnel reflection is also responsible for the enhancement in output power of the double dielectric passivated LED. The leakage current of the LED passivated with Al2O3 layer was -3.46 × 10-11 A at -5 V, at least two and three orders lower in magnitude compared to that passivated with SiO2 layer (-7.14 × 10-9 A) and that of non-passivated LED (-1.9 × 10-8 A), respectively, which indicates that the Al2O3 layer is very effective in passivating the exposed GaN surface after dry etch and hence reduces nonradiative recombination as well as reabsorption of the emitted light near the etched surface.

Elevated thyroglobulin (Tg) levels, along with a negative radioiodine scan, present a clinical problem for the diagnosis of recurrence in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients. The purpose of this study was to assess (1) the usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for PTC patients with negative diagnostic radioiodine scan and elevated serum Tg level or positive anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb), and (2) the effect of endogenous thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulation (ETS) on detecting recurrence in these circumstances. Eighty-four patients with negative diagnostic radioiodine scan and elevated serum Tg or positive TgAb under ETS were included. Correlation with clinicopathological features and recurrence, detectability of FDG PET/CT and cut-off value of serum Tg for recurrence in PTC patients with these circumstance were assessed. In addition, detectability of F-18 FDG PET/CT under ETS and suppression were compared. In Cox regression analysis, only serum Tg level was significantly associated with recurrence (P

GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on circular mesa structure are fabricated and their electrical and optical characterizations are performed. The uniform current flow in the circular LED (C-LED) was conducted in the radial direction, from the n-type GaN island electrode at the center to the p-type GaN ring electrode around the perimeter. The symmetric electrode structuring substantially improved the electrical and optical performances. The operating voltage for C-LED at a reference current (100 mA) was 20.9% lower than that of a conventionally structured LED (CV-LED). Also, C-LED showed 19.4% higher optical output power than CV-LED.

Purpose Nitric oxide (NO) has been known as an important regulator of osteoblasts and periodontal ligament cell activity. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between NO-mediated cell death of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs) and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10, 11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5, 10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK801). Methods Human PDLFs were treated with various concentrations (0 to 4 mM) of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) with or without 200 µM MK801 in culture media for 16 hours and the cell medium was then removed and replaced by fresh medium containing MTS reagent for cell proliferation assay. Western blot analysis was performed to investigate the effects of SNP on the expression of Bax, cytochrome c, and caspase-3 proteins. The differences for each value among the sample groups were compared using analysis of variance with 95% confidence intervals. Results In the case of SNP treatment, as a NO donor, cell viability was significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, a synergistic effect was shown when both SNP and NMDA receptor antagonist was added to the medium. SNP treated PDLFs exhibited a round shape in culture conditions and were dramatically reduced in cell number. SNP treatment also increased levels of apoptotic marker protein, such as Bax and cytochrome c, and reduced caspase-3 in PDLFs. Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling was activated by treatment of SNP and NMDA receptor antagonist. Conclusions These results suggest that excessive production of NO may induce apoptosis and that NMDA receptor may modulate NO-induced apoptosis in PDLFs.