LIVING EXPERIENCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DURING COVID-19: A STUDY AT HUZHOU UNIVERSITY, CHINA

The rapid spread of the Covid-19 around the world following the discovery of a new outbreak in December 2019 has completely paralyzed the lives of all people. The main purpose of this study is to observe the experiences and challenges of international students living at Huzhou University during the epidemic. Qualitative methods in a phenomenological manner have been used in the study through which in-depth research has been conducted and data has been collected through semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling. The results of this study showed that, international students have been able to cope with the challenges they have faced such as psychological, academic & social. At the time of the epidemic, they were paralyzed, but over time, they were able to make a living, as well as communicate regularly with peoples close to them. Article visualizations

Hand Sign to Bangla Speech: A Deep Learning in Vision based system for Recognizing Hand Sign Digits and Generating Bangla Speech

Recent advancements in the field of computer vision with the help of deep neural networks have led us to explore and develop many existing challenges that were once unattended due to the lack of necessary technologies. Hand Sign/Gesture Recognition is one of the significant areas where the deep neural network is making a substantial impact. In the last few years, a large number of researches has been conducted to recognize hand signs and hand gestures, which we aim to extend to our mother-tongue, Bangla (also known as Bengali). The primary goal of our work is to make an automated tool to aid the people who are unable to speak. We developed a system that automatically detects hand sign based digits and speaks out the result in Bangla language. According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of people in the world live with some kind of disabilities. Among them, individuals with communication impairment such as speech disabilities experience substantial barrier in social interaction. The proposed system can be invaluable to mitigate such a barrier. The core of the system is built with a deep learning model which is based on convolutional neural networks (CNN). The model classifies hand sign based digits with 92% accuracy over validation data which ensures it a highly trustworthy system. Upon classification of the digits, the resulting output is fed to the text to speech engine and the translator unit eventually which generates audio output in Bangla language. A web application to demonstrate our tool is available at http://bit.ly/signdigits2banglaspeech

Development of a cost efficient platform for the industrial manufacturing of pluripotent stem cell derived products for cell therapy: Cell expansion is the starting point

The development of stem cell-derived allogeneic therapeutics requires manufacturing processes able to generate high-density cultures of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to be further differentiated to target somatic cells. The Cell Plasticity platform of The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT) is a core program that focuses on the cost efficient development of bioprocesses for the industrial manufacture of PSC-derived products in 2D and 3D culture systems. We started this program by establishing banks of PSCs adapted to defined culture systems and used conventional analytical techniques to characterise the cells to industry standards. Defined media were evaluated for the expansion of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in adherent culture. Scale-down high-throughput tools along with Design of Experiment methodology have been employed to establish a baseline process for the expansion of PSC as cellular aggregates in stirred-suspension culture and targeting cell yield \u3e 5x106 viable cells/mL. We are currently investigating bioengineering parameters for scale-up and evaluating cell retention devices for the dissociation of PSC aggregates in a closed and automated fashion. In parallel, a framework of analytical assays comprising imaging, flow-cytometry and gene expression is under development for process monitor and control using a proprietary multi-parametric analysis approach

Cauliflower stem-derived biochar for effective adsorption and reduction of hexavalent chromium in synthetic wastewater: A sustainable approach

Contamination with hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) has drawn immense interest of national and global regulatory authorities due to its toxic and carcinogenic threat. Although various approaches have been applied for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution, adsorption has been proven to be the most promising method. Biochar, a cost-effective adsorbent, is one of the prominent adsorbents for environmental remediation that can be produced from different biowaste precursors. Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) is one of the common vegetables around the world. The cauliflower stem is not commonly edible and therefore discarded as waste. In this work, the cauliflower waste-based biochar, with and without chemical modification, was prepared from a simple oxygen-limited pyrolysis. With the assistance of TGA, DSC, and SEM-EDS, the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the generation of biochar, reaction energy as well as reaction temperature, and morphology of the prepared biochar were analyzed. Pyrolytic temperature of 450°C was found to be the best for tailoring biochar. Chromium(VI) removal from the synthetic solution was performed by using biochar as an adsorbent. H3PO4-activated biochar (PBC) performs better than other biochar. The adsorption kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamic parameters were studied in batch-wise experiments by varying the contact time, initial Cr(VI) concentration, and operating temperature. The Cr(VI) removal on PBC biochar follows a pseudo-second-order kinetics and fits with Langmuir isotherm resulting in Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 64.10 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters and XPS analysis of spent biochar adsorbent reveal that Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) happens simultaneously during the removal process. The spent biochar can be regenerated using 0.1 M NaCl and used for several cycles. Thus, the cauliflower stem-derived biochar can be effectively applied for Cr(VI) removal for multiple cycles through regeneration, which would contribute to the circular economy for environmental purposes

Design, synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity, molecular docking, and in-silico ADMET analysis of the novel cefuroxime derivatives

This research aims to design and synthesize novel derivatives of Cefuroxime to evaluate their antibacterial effectiveness in comparison to Cefuroxime and to decrease resistance.Schotten Baumann's reaction synthesizes anhydride from acyl chlorides and carboxylate anion. Cefuroxime sodium was reacted with benzoyl chloride, 4-bromobenzoyl chloride, and 4-nitrobenzoyl chloride to make benzoyl derivatives. The derivatives were characterized using spectral analysis. Antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity, in-silico molecular docking with nine different class of (Penicillin Binding Proteins) PBPs, and ADMET analysis were assessed for the analogs.Three molecules, Cef-1, Cef-2, and Cef-3, are synthesized from benzoyl derivatives. In various organisms, the derivatives outperformed Cefuroxime in antimicrobial activity. In many organisms, Cef-1 has the highest zone of inhibition. Cef-1 and Cef-3 inhibit Klebsiella pneumoniae better than Cef-2 and Cefuroxime. The greatest Cef-2-induced inhibition zone in Salmonella Typhimurium was 29.33 ± 0.47 mm. Significant antimicrobial susceptibility test activity was observed with lower inhibitory concentration (12.5 μg/ml) of derivatives compared to Cefuroxime across many species. Compound cytotoxicity is low, according to research. The consensus docking scores show that all synthesized derivatives bind better than cefuroxime. According to the results of the study, Cef-3 has the strongest correlation with PBP1a, PBP2a, PBP3, PBP4, and PBP6, whereas Cef-2 has a stronger association with PBP1b, PBP2b, PBP2x, and PBP5. Like Cef-2, Cef-1 has a greater affinity for PBP2x. Docking research indicated that all drugs bound better than Cefuroxime, indicating superior antibacterial efficacy. The ADMET studies showed oral bioavailability increased by increasing lipophilicity score 0.17 and cefuroxime 0.11

Process analysis of pluripotent stem cell differentiation to megakaryocytes to make platelets applying European GMP.

Quality, traceability and reproducibility are crucial factors in the reliable manufacture of cellular therapeutics, as part of the overall framework of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). As more and more cellular therapeutics progress towards the clinic and research protocols are adapted to comply with GMP standards, guidelines for safe and efficient adaptation have become increasingly relevant. In this paper, we describe the process analysis of megakaryocyte manufacture from induced pluripotent stem cells with a view to manufacturing in vitro platelets to European GMP for transfusion. This process analysis has allowed us an overview of the entire manufacturing process, enabling us to pinpoint the cause and severity of critical risks. Risk mitigations were then proposed for each risk, designed to be GMP compliant. These mitigations will be key in advancing this iPS-derived therapy towards the clinic and have broad applicability to other iPS-derived cellular therapeutics, many of which are currently advancing towards GMP-compliance. Taking these factors into account during protocol design could potentially save time and money, expediting the advent of safe, novel therapeutics from stem cells

Process analysis of pluripotent stem cell differentiation to megakaryocytes to make platelets applying European GMP.

Quality, traceability and reproducibility are crucial factors in the reliable manufacture of cellular therapeutics, as part of the overall framework of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). As more and more cellular therapeutics progress towards the clinic and research protocols are adapted to comply with GMP standards, guidelines for safe and efficient adaptation have become increasingly relevant. In this paper, we describe the process analysis of megakaryocyte manufacture from induced pluripotent stem cells with a view to manufacturing in vitro platelets to European GMP for transfusion. This process analysis has allowed us an overview of the entire manufacturing process, enabling us to pinpoint the cause and severity of critical risks. Risk mitigations were then proposed for each risk, designed to be GMP compliant. These mitigations will be key in advancing this iPS-derived therapy towards the clinic and have broad applicability to other iPS-derived cellular therapeutics, many of which are currently advancing towards GMP-compliance. Taking these factors into account during protocol design could potentially save time and money, expediting the advent of safe, novel therapeutics from stem cells

Evolving Infection Paradox of SARS-CoV-2: Fitness Costs Virulence?

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is continuously spreading worldwide at an unprecedented scale in 2020. Within the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has evolved into six clades according to GISAID where three (G, GH, and GR) are now globally prevalent (>75%). Here we report the prevalence of these dominant clades, both individually and in combination, with disease progression and death-case scenario that leads to infer fitness of the SARS-CoV-2 by compromising its virulence. Unlike G or GH clades, the GR clade strains represent a significant negative association with the death-case ratio (R= -0.558, p=0.019). Docking analysis revealed the molecular scenario behind more infectiousness of S protein D614G mutation and reasoned more favorable binding of G614 with the elastase-2. Viral RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase (RdRp) mutation p.P323L facilitated significantly higher (p<0.0001) genome-wide mutations because more flexible RdRp (mutant)-NSP8 interaction may accelerate replication. Superior RNA stability and structural variation at NSP3:C241T might change the protein’s conformation with a speculated impact on 5'UTR, nucleocapsid, and replication complex interactions. Another silent 5'UTR:C241T mutation might affect translational efficiency and viral packaging. These G-featured coevolving mutations might together increase the viral load, quicker cell death, and potentially a stronger immune response within the host, hence can modulate intra-host genomic plasticity. In addition, viroporin ORF3a:p.Q57H mutation of GH-clade prevents ion permeability by constricting the channel pore more tightly due to additional ionic interaction with the cysteine (C81) of transmembrane-domain-2, which possibly reduces viral release and immune response. GR strains (four G clade mutations with N:p.RG203-204KR) would have maintained more stability with stronger RNA interaction, a flexible linker region, and the molecular effect of hypo-phosphorylation at SR-stretch. These empirical assumptions need further retrospective and prospective studies to understand detailed molecular and evolutionary events featuring the fitness and virulence of SARS-CoV-2