University Administrators’ Visions for the Recovery of International Student Exchange in a Post–COVID-19 World

Objectives: Little is known about how international functions of higher education, such as exchange programmes, can be resumed during recovery from a disruptive global crisis, such as COVID-19. We collected the opinions of administrators of international exchange programmes regarding their plans to resume their exchange programmes in the recovery phase and identified variations in the responses concerning institution type (public vs. private) and the presence or absence of a medical school. Method: We used multiple-choice survey questions in our study, resulting in 180 valid responses. We examined overall patterns using descriptive statistics and institutional uniqueness using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Governing organisations and domestic university networks are expected to initiate the resumption of student exchange programmes. Respondents indicate that they would rely on infection prevention experts at their institutions as sources of information for their decision-making. Public universities would rely more extensively on their staff’s opinions whilst private universities would consult with external experts. Universities with a medical school indicated a greater likelihood of referring to the opinions of experts at their institutions. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: Higher education systems vary across nations. However, extant studies have shown some shared features, and the findings may have implications for higher education institutions internationally. Policy incentives and support may encourage public universities to participate in the global recovery of international education. During global public health infectious crises, institutions without a medical school may require more government support. Conclusions: Institutional variations should be considered to effectively encourage universities to adapt to changing dynamics in the recovery of international education. Method: The study used multiple-choice survey questions, resulting in 180 valid responses. The study examined overall patterns using descriptive statistics and institutional uniqueness using Fisher\u27s exact test. Results: Governing organisations and domestic university networks are expected to initiate the resumption of student exchange. Respondents indicate that they would rely on infection prevention experts at their institutions as sources of information for their decision-making. Public universities would rely more extensively on their staff’s opinions whilst private universities would consult with external experts. Universities with a medical school indicated a greater likelihood of referring to the opinions of experts at their institutions. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: The higher education systems vary across nations. However, extant studies have shown some shared features, and the findings may have implications for higher education institutions internationally. Policy incentives and support may encourage public universities to participate in the global recovery of international education. During global public health infectious crises, institutions without a medical school may require more government support. Conclusions: Institutional variations should be considered to effectively encourage universities to adapt to changing dynamics in the recovery of international education

Differential Infectivity of Human Neural Cell Lines by a Dengue Virus Serotype-3 Genotype-III with a Distinct Nonstructural Protein 2A (NS2A) Amino Acid Substitution Isolated from the Cerebrospinal Fluid of a Dengue Encephalitis Patient

Dengue encephalitis is considered as a severe but unusual clinical presentation of dengue infection. Limited molecular information is available on the neurotropism of dengue virus (DENV), highlighting the need for further research. During a dengue outbreak in Vietnam in 2013, two DENV-3 strains were isolated, in which one was isolated from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from a dengue encephalitis patient and another strain was isolated from a patient with classical dengue fever in Hai Phong, Vietnam. DENV serotype-3 (DENV-3) isolated from these samples belonged to genotype III, marking the first report of this genotype in the country at that time. Genetic variation between both strains was elucidated by using a full genome sequencing by next-generation sequencing (NGS). The infectivity of the isolated DENV-3 strains was further characterized using human and mouse neuronal cell lines. Phylogenetic analysis of the isolates demonstrated high homogeneity between the CSF-derived and serum-derived DENV-3, in which the full genome sequences of the CSF-derived DENV-3 presented a Thr-1339-Ile mutation in the nonstructural 2A (NS2A) protein. The CSF-derived DENV-3 isolate grew preferentially in human neuronal cells, with a significant proportion of cells that were positive for nonstructural 1 (NS1), nonstructural 4B (NS4B), and nonstructural 5 (NS5) antigens. These results suggest that NS2A may be a crucial region in the neuropathogenesis of DENV-3 and its growth in human neuronal cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that a CSF-derived DENV-3 has unique infectivity characteristics for human neuronal cells, which might play a crucial role in the neuropathogenesis of DENV infection

Isolation of dengue serotype 3 virus from the cerebrospinal fluid of an encephalitis patient in Hai Phong, Vietnam in 2013

Dengue encephalitis (DE) is characterized as unusual presentation of dengue infection. Despite the reports that DE accounts for only 1-5% of dengue cases, this disease tends to be increasingly reported to threaten global human health throughout dengue endemic areas particularly in Southeast Asia. The molecular information of clinically characterized, neurotropic dengue virus (DENV) in human beings is extremely scarce despite it playing an important role in deciphering the pathogenesis of dengue-related neurological cases. Here we report a case of DE caused by DENV3 genotype III in a male patient with atypical symptoms of DENV infection in Hai Phong, Vietnam in 2013. The virus isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of this case-patient was closely related to DENV3 genotype III strains isolated from serum of two other patients, who manifested classical dengue in the same year and residing in the same area as the case-patient. It is noteworthy to mention that in 2013, DENV3 genotype III was detected for the first time in Vietnam