The Stress Gradient Hypothesis (SGH) predicts primary producer competition and facilitation is related to environmental stress. Despite being well-documented in terrestrial systems, facilitation is rarely integrated into our understanding of the dynamics in marine forests. Critical coastal habitats created by canopy-forming seaweeds have recently been seen to transition to less biodiverse regimes dominated by turf algae and populations are predicted to increasingly transition based on the paradigm that turf algae negatively affect canopy seaweeds. Meta-analysis was used to estimate the effect of turfs on canopy species using experimental and observational data. We found that turf species do compete with marine canopies in subtidal kelp forests, however, these interactions become increasingly facilitative at shallower depths and high latitude, supporting the SGH. This work provides new insight into the dynamics of a highly-studied ecosystem, and emphasizes the need to re-assess the importance of facilitation when predicting the response of systems to global change.

There is an urgent need for targeted and effective COVID-19 treatment. A number of medications, including hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, lopinavir-ritonavir, fapiravir, and tocilizumab, have been identified as potential treatments for COVID-19. Bringing these repurposed medications to the public for COVID-19 will require robust and high-quality clinical trials. This article reviews translational science principles and strategies for conducting clinical trials in a pandemic and evaluates recent trials for each drug candidate. We hope that this knowledge will help focus efforts during this crisis and lead to the expedited development and approval of COVID-19 therapy.

Tetralogy Of Fallot (TOF) with absent pulmonary valve (APV) and unilateral absence of pulmonary artery (UAPA) is an extremely rare congenital cardiac anomaly. “Complete” unilateral absence implies absence of both intrapericardial and hilar segments. Co- existence of both free pulmonary regurgitation (PR) and decrease in the cross sectional area for right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) in this substrate, are detrimental for right ventricular (RV) function. Early intervention to preserve RV function is imperative. Durable and competent valve in RVOT can be extremely helpful in improving the overall prognosis. We present a case of a two year old child, TOF with APV, absent left pulmonary artery (ALPA) who underwent RVOT reconstruction, with a pulmonary valve (PV) made from polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) membrane. To our knowledge construction of PV using Graham Nunn technique, has not been reported with this morphology.

The SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, has been established to gain access to the human cell via the ACE2 receptor similar to its familial coronavirus SARS-CoV which led to the outbreak in 2003. A concern with the newer 2019 coronavirus is its 10-20-fold higher affinity to the ACE2 receptor that of SARS-CoV, aiding its effective human-to-human transmission which has led to this pandemic. ACE2 receptor expression is thought to be upregulated in use with ACE inhibitors. As ACE inhibitors are known to be a used extensively in the treatment of hypertension it was a concern regarding the risk of using these medications alongside a SARS-COV-2 infection. ACE inhibitors are also used in the treatment regime of other common conditions including diabetes and Cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is worth noting that ACE2 expression has found to be upregulated by the use of thiazolidinediones and ibuprofen too. Consequently, the increased expression of ACE2 would facilitate infection with COVID-19. Therefore, it would hypothesise that diabetes and hypertension treatment with ACE2-stimulating drugs would increase the risk of developing severe and fatal COVID-19.

Initiation of statin treatment is suggested to increase the international normalised ratio (INR) among warfarin users. However, available data is limited and conflicting. We conducted a register-based cohort study to evaluate the drug-drug interaction between warfarin and statins. By linking data on INR measurements and filled prescriptions, we identified warfarin users 2000-2015 initiating simvastatin (n=1,363), atorvastatin (n=165), or rosuvastatin (n=23). Simvastatin initiation led to an increase in mean INR from 2.40 to 2.71, with INRs peaking after 4 weeks, corresponding to a mean change of 0.32 (95%CI 0.25-0.38). High-dose and low-dose simvastatin led to comparable changes (mean change 0.33 vs 0.29). Initiation of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin lead to INR increases of 0.27 (95%CI 0.12-0.42) and 0.30 (95%CI -0.09-0.69). In conclusion, initiation of simvastatin, atorvastatin, or rosuvastatin among warfarin users led to a minor increase in INR. The magnitude of this change is for most patients likely of limited clinical relevance.

Biofilms commonly develop in flowing aqueous environments, where the flow causes the biofilm to deform. Because biofilm deformation affects the flow regime, and because biofilms behave as complex heterogeneous viscoelastic materials, few models are able to predict biofilm deformation. In this study, a phase field continuum model coupled with the Oldroyd-B constitutive equation was developed and used to simulate biofilm deformation. The accuracy of the model was evaluated using two types of biofilms: a synthetic biofilm, made from alginate mixed with bacterial cells, and a Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. Shear rheometry was used to experimentally determine the mechanical parameters for each biofilm, as inputs for the model. Biofilm deformation under fluid flow was monitored experimentally using optical coherence tomography. The fit between the experimental and modeling geometries after fluid-driven deformation was very good, with relative errors of 12.8% for synthetic biofilm and 22.2% for homogenized P. aeruginosa biofilm. This is the first demonstration of the effectiveness of a viscoelastic phase field biofilm model. This model provides an important tool for predicting biofilm viscoelastic deformation. It also can benefit the design and control of biofilms in engineering systems.

Heterologous production of 3-hydroxy-lanosta-8, 24-dien-26 oic acid (HLDOA) was recently achieved by expressing CYP5150L8 from Ganoderma lucidum in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but post-modification of HLDOA remains unclear. In this study, another P450 from G. lucidum, CYP5139G1, was identified to be responsible for C-28 oxidation of HLDOA, resulting in the formation of a new ganoderic acid (GA) 3,28-dihydroxy-lanosta-8, 24-dien-26 oic acid (DHLDOA) by the engineered yeast, whose chemical structure was confirmed by LC-MS and NMR. In vitro enzymatic experiments confirmed the oxidation of HLDOA to DHLDOA by CYP5139G1. As the DHLDOA production was low (0.27 mg/L), to improve it, the strategy of adjusting the dosage of hygromycin and geneticin G418 to respectively manipulate the copy number of plasmid pRS425-Hyg-CYP5150L8-iGLCPR (harboring CYP5150L8, iGLCPR and hygromycin resistant gene hygR) and pRS426-KanMx-CYP5139G1 (harboring CYP5139G1 and G418 resistant gene KanMx) was adopted. Finally, 2.2 mg/L of DHLDOA was obtained, which was 8.2 fold of the control (without antibiotics addition). The work not only enriches the library of GAs and GA biosynthetic enzymes, but also helps to construct heterologous cell factories for other GA production as well as to elucidate the authentic GA biosynthetic pathway in G. lucidum.

Human olfactory mucosa cells (hOMCs) have potential as a regenerative therapy for spinal cord injury. In our earlier work we derived the PA5 cells, a polyclonal population that retains functional attributes of primary OMCs. Microcarrier suspension culture is an alternative to planar 2D culture to produce cells in quantities that can meet the needs of clinical development. This study aimed to screen the effects of 10 microcarriers on PA5 hOMCs yield and phenotype. Studies performed in well plates led to a 2.9-fold higher cell yield on Plastic compared to Plastic Plus microcarriers with upregulation of neuronal markers β-III tubulin and nestin for both conditions. Microcarrier suspension culture resulted in concentrations of 1.4x105 cells/mL and 4.9x104 cells/mL for Plastic and Plastic Plus, respectively, after 7 days. p75NTR transcript was significantly upregulated for PA5 hOMCs grown on Plastic Plus compared to Plastic. Furthermore, co-culture of PA5 hOMCs grown on Plastic Plus with a neuronal cell line (NG108-15) led to increased neurite outgrowth. This study presents the successful expansion of PA5 cells using microcarrier suspension culture and it reveals competing effects of microcarriers on cell expansion versus functional attributes, showing that designing scalable bioprocesses should not only be driven by cell yields.

The COVID-19 pandemic is upon us and although currently the epicenters are Europe and United States of America the prospects of consequences for health systems, health workers and populations in low and middle-income countries are daunting.One of the major challenges in a pandemic is reaching health workers with essential information on epidemiology, clinical guidelines, personal protection measures and infection control. This is particularly the case for resource constraint environments in low and middle-income countries. Mobile health solutions have the last decade claimed ability to reach large volumes of health workers in resource constraint environments with up-to-date clinical guidelines and health information. It is now time to raise up to expectations.In-service training has long been used to improve health workers’ competences with varying degrees of success (1, 2). However traditional in-service trainings are designed as a group-based workshop design removes the health care providers from their facilities. Evidence also show that the one-time training does not always improve providers performance (1, 3) and it is suggested onsite repetitive, targeted skill-based learning activities which are spaced overtime improves learning outcome (3). With the current COVID-19 emergency where face to face training and mentoring is a challenge, use of mobile technology could help to fill the gap in training of front line health workers (4). Most emergencies also in the COVID-19 era likely take place peripherally where health workers have inadequate access to clinical guidelines and reference materials to handle situations that are beyond their skills (5). Promotion of health services via mobile electronic media (mHealth) like mobile phones has been suggested as a means to bridge this outreach gap (6). In 2019, 98% of adult people in low and middle income countries had a cellular subscription, and approximately 72% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa have a cellular subscription and more than half of people in remote areas have a mobile phone (7). Mobile devices are in increasing number being used to provide continued training support to frontline health workers and remote providers, through access to educational videos, information, interactive exercises, and can allow for continued clinical and skills monitoring (8). Necessity is a driver for technological innovation as previously seen in sub Saharan Africa with development of the mobile banking systems and dual sim cards, and we are now witnessing examples of health care innovation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.We have, in a consortium of non-governmental organizations, academia and the private sector, and in a collaboration with International Confederation of Midwifes (ICM) and UNFPA, responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by rapid development of a COVID-19 module in an existing mobile job and training aid called the Safe Delivery App (SDA) (9). The SDA, a freely available tool, is an emergency obstetric and neonatal care training aid for skilled birth attendants in low- and middle-income countries. Launched in 2015 it uses animated videos for clinical instructions and provides access to evidence-based and up-to-date clinical guidelines. In addition to the animated videos four basic features guide health workers in the App: action cards, drug lists, practical procedures, and MyLearning an individualised e-learning component. MyLearning, was developed in 2016 in response to requests from partners to move beyond push messages and simulate self-learning within the App through gamification principles. The app is free of charge and follows WHO guidelines. Through continuous development it currently exists in two global versions (English, French) and 14 language versions and has more than 120,000 downloads globally, with greater use across Africa and South East Asia.The COVID-19 module in the SDA contains an animated short movie on infection prevention and personal protection equipment during COVID-19, figure 1. It also contains latest evidence on COVID-19 consequences for pregnant women and newborns and practical procedures for handling deliveries and newborns during the pandemic. The language and illustrations are simple with a focus on local adaptable measures such as recipes and procedures for making your own alcohol rub. One challenge is the rapid evolving evidence and ever-changing guidelines. To make ongoing changes cost-effective the film speaks and visual is held in general terms while written text in the film and action cards/practical procedures is changeable in a content management system. User patterns of the module in the app will be monitored continuously.mHealth responses to the COVID-19 are emerging. The potential for telemedicine is obvious as well as health information systems support for outbreak monitoring and management (10, 11). Interestingly, there is also a push towards open sharing of not only clinical and epidemiological data but also social media data from technological compagnies that can support community surveillance, contact tracing, social mobilization and health promotion (12). The global community claim that mHealth have the potential for rapid response, real time data, up-to-date clinical guidelines in the hands of health workers. The ultimate test is here in the COVID-19 pandemic. We are calling for the mobile health community and global partners – it is time to raise up to expectations of the potentials of mobile health.

The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2-beta (PYK2) are implicated in cancer progression and metastasis and represent promising biomarkers and targets for cancer therapy. FAK and PYK2 are recruited to Focal Adhesions (Fas) via interactions between their Focal Adhesion Targeting (FAT) domains and conserved segments (LD motifs) on the proteins Paxillin, Leupaxin and Hic-5. A promising new approach for the inhibition of FAK and PYK2 targets interactions of the FAK domains with proteins that promote localization at Focal Adhesions. Advances toward this goal include the development of surface plasmon resonance, HSQC-NMR and fluorescence polarization assays for the identification of fragments or compounds interfering with the FAK-Paxillin interaction. We have recently validated this strategy, showing that Paxillin mimicking polypeptides with 2-3 LD motifs displace FAK from FAs and block kinase-dependent and independent functions of FAK, including downstream integrin signalling and FA localization of the protein p130Cas. In the present work we study by all-atom molecular dynamics simulations the recognition of peptides with the Paxillin and Leupaxin LD motifs by the FAK-FAT and PYK2-FAT domains. Our simulations and free-energy analysis interpret experimental data on binding of Paxillin and Leupaxin LD motifs at FAK-FAT and PYK2-FAT binding sites, and assess the roles of consensus LD regions and flanking residues. Our results can assist in the design of effective inhibitory peptides of the FAK-FAT:Paxillin and PYK2-FAT:Leupaxin complexes and the construction of pharmacophore models for the discovery of potential small-molecule inhibitors of the FAK-FAT and PYK2-FAT focal adhesion based functions.

A deep neural network-based program for sequence-based prediction of supersecondary structure codes (SSSCs), called SSSCPrediction (SSSCPred) was constructed. Furthermore, to predict the flexibility and conformational change of proteins, a comparison program of three deep-neural-network-based prediction systems (SSSCPred200, SSSCPred100, and SSSCPred) was developed. I compared the predicted and observed flexible conformations of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV spike proteins by using SSSCs and the comparison program. The SARS-CoV SSSC sequences of the receptor-binding motif predicted by the three deep-neural-network-based systems well reproduced those of the Protein Data Bank (PDB) data, including the structured loops. In contrast, the receptor-binding motif SSSCs of SARS-CoV-2 differs greatly from those of SARS-CoV, with that of SARS-CoV-2 being more flexible. Only one common identical motif (SSSC: SSSHSSHHHH) among all of the compared SSSC sequences, including predicted and observed ones, was found at the S2 subunit. This motif has an extremely rare and relatively undeformable conformation. The comparison program may be helpful to explore undeformable drug discovery targets of many unsolved protein structures.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurological disorder mostly caused by a genetic variation in MECP2. Various RTT causing and benign variants in MECP2 have been identified and due to the advent of sequencing in clinical diagnosis new variants are identified daily. Making new MECP2 variants and the related phenotypes available provides data for better understanding of disease mechanisms and faster identification of variants for diagnosis. This is, however, currently hampered by the lack of interoperability between genotype-phenotype databases. Here, we demonstrate on the example of MECP2 in RTT that by making the genotype-phenotype data more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR), we can facilitate prioritization and analysis of variants. In total, 10,968 MECP2 variants were successfully integrated. Among these variants 863 unique confirmed RTT causing and 209 unique confirmed benign variants were found. This dataset was used for comparison of pathogenicity predicting tools, protein consequences, and identification of ambiguous variants. Prediction tools generally recognised the RTT causing and benign variants, however, there was a broad range of overlap. 19 variants were identified, which were annotated as both, disease-causing and benign suggesting that there are more disease-causing factors than a mutation contributing to the disease development.

Background: Despite improved survival and morbidity after durable left ventricular assist device (dLVAD), outcomes for cardiogenic shock patients are suboptimal. Temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS) can permit optimization prior to dLVAD. Excellent outcomes have been observed using minimally-invasive dLVAD implantation. However, some feel tMCS contraindicates this approach. To evaluate whether left thoracotomy/hemisternotomy (LTHS) dLVAD placement is safe in this setting, we compared patients who did and did not require tMCS. Methods: Outcomes for patients receiving dLVADs via LTHS were compared among those bridged with ECMO, IABP, or no tMCS. We evaluated demographics, comorbidities, laboratory and hemodynamic data, and intra- and postoperative outcomes. Results: Eighty-three patients underwent LTHS dLVAD placement. Fifty did not require tMCS, while 22 (26%) required IABP, and 11 (13%) ECMO. Non-tMCS patients were primarily INTERMACS 3 (56%), while IABP recipients were mainly INTERMACS 2 (45%). All ECMO patients were INTERMACS 1. Patients with tMCS had worse end-organ function. Operative outcomes were similar except more concomitant procedures and red-cell transfusions in ECMO patients. ICU and hospital length of stay and inotrope duration were also similar. There were no differences in bleeding, stroke, and infection rates. Three- and twelve-month survival were: No tMCS: 94%, 86%; IABP: 100%, 88%; ECMO: 81%, 81% (p=0.45). Conclusions: Patients with cardiogenic shock can safely undergo LTHS dLVAD implantation after stabilization with ECMO or IABP. Outcomes and complications in these patients were comparable to a less severely ill cohort without tMCS.

Background Post-Cardiotomy ECMO (PC-ECMO) represents a unique subset of critically ill patients, with a paucity of data regarding long-term survival, and characteristics correlated with short and long-term outcomes. We present a retrospective cohort PC patients supported with ECMO at a single institution, with outcomes at 1 and 3-year follow-up. Methods Data was collected retrospectively for all patients requiring ECMO within 72 hours of index cardiac operation, excluding assist devices and heart transplantation. Operative data, frozen mediastinum status, cannulation site, postoperative hemorrhage, and timing of cannulation (immediate versus delayed) were all collected and examined. Primary outcomes were ability to wean from ECMO, hospital survival, and long-term survival. Results 33 patients required PC ECMO, representing a total of 179 days of ECMO support. Overall survival data were: ability to wean 61%, hospital survival 55%, one month survival 45%. The estimated 12 and 36 month survival for all PC ECMO patients was 40% and 33% respectively. Twelve and 36 month survival for all hospital survivors was 66% and 60% respectively Operative times, type of operation performed, open chest status, reoperation for hemorrhage and cannulation location (central/peripheral) were all compared. There were no statistically significant relationships of these variables short or long-term survival. Conclusions Overall 12 month survival for PC-ECMO patients was 40%, and was 33% at 36 months. For hospital survivors, 1 year survival was 66%, and was 60% at 36 months. These data support PC-ECMO as a reasonable salvage strategy, with mid-term survival comparable to other surgically treated diseases.

Isoflavonoid is one of the groups of flavonoids that play pivotal roles in the survival of land plants. Chalcone synthase (CHS), the first enzyme of the isoflavonoid biosynthetic pathway, catalyzes the formation of a common isoflavonoid precursor. We have previously reported that an isozyme of soybean CHS (termed GmCHS1) is a key component of the isoflavonoid metabolon, a protein complex to enhance efficiency of isoflavonoid production. Here, we determined the crystal structure of GmCHS1 as a first step of understanding the metabolon structure, as well as to better understand the catalytic mechanism of GmCHS1.

Background: Since the declaration of the global pandemic of COVID-19 by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020; we have continued to see a steady rise in the numbers of people infected by SARS-CoV-2. However, there is still very limited data on the course and outcomes of this serious infection in a vulnerable population of pregnant patients and their fetuses. International perinatal societies and institutions including SMFM, ACOG, RCOG, ISUOG, CDC, CNGOF, ISS/SIEOG and CatSalut have released guidelines for the care of these patients. Objectives: We aim to summarize these current guidelines in a comprehensive review for patients, healthcare workers and healthcare institutions. Search Strategy: A literature search was performed through PubMed, and direct review of professional society’s website and journal publications. A total of 15 papers were identified from 10 societies and reviewed by two authors who were in agreement. Selection Criteria: The most updated guideline including information on antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care put forth by each society was included. Data Collection and Analysis: Data specific to antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum were abstracted from the publications and summarized into tables 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Main Results: The summary of guidelines for management of COVID-19 in pregnancy across different perinatal societies is consistent, with some variation in the strength of recommendations. Conclusions: It is important to recognize that these guidelines are frequently updated, as we continue to learn more about the course and impact of COVID-19 in pregnancy. The references to access all these guidelines are provided.

Minimum energy structures of neutral and radical cations of end substituted thia[n]helicenes (n=1-10) in DCM solvent are reported. For both neutral and radical cations of these helicenes, calculated structures are non-planar for n=3-10. Helical structures are obtained for higher helicenes and thia[8]helicene system has a helical structure with one complete turn. Equilibrium geometries are predicted applying B3LYP-D/6-311++G(d,p) method in conjunction with SMD solvent model. Single point energy calculations are also performed at MP2 level to improve certain energy parameters. Excited state calculations are performed using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) formalism to predict UV-Visible spectra of neutral and radical cations of thia[n]helicenes in DCM solvent. Thia[n]helicenes radical cation have strong absorption in the near IR region. Calculations also suggest that dimerization is not a favourable process in DCM solvent for the end substituted neutral and radical cation of thia[7]helicene. The present theoretical study examines the molecular and electronic properties of thia[n]helicenes in search of near infrared electronic devices.

Obesity is closely associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease which will develop into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Obesity per se is also an independent risk factor for HCC. Lipotoxicity, adipose tissue remodeling, modulation of immune infiltrates in tumors and adipocytes, changes in intestinal microbiome all contribute to the pathogenesis of HCC under obesity condition. These obesity-associated pathogenic factors increase the clinical challenges for the management of obesity-driven HCC. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a perennial herb of the Lamiaceae family. It is clinically used for the treatment of hyperlipemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension and inflammatory diseases. This article reviews the current findings on the molecular basis of the anti-HCC effects of S. baicalensis and its bioactive compounds, and discuss whether the treatments can alleviate or ameliorate the obesity-associated pathogenic factors. This is the first review unravels the therapeutic potential of S. baicalensis and its bioactive compounds for the treatment obesity-driven HCC.

In their natural habitats, plants are inevitably exposed to different biotic and abiotic stresses, to maximize fitness, their adaptation to these stresses should be appropriately coordinated by trade-offs among growth and stress response. However, the involved players and their possible mode of action remain to be investigated. Herein, by approaches of reverse genetics including virus induced gene silencing (VIGS), transient overexpression in pepper or ecoptic overexpression in Nicotiana benthamiana, ChIP-PCR and physiology, CaNAC2c was functionally characterized in trade-offs between growth and immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum inoculation (RSI) or thermotolerance. Our results demonstrate that CaNAC2c remains lower level of transcripts in absence of stress and functions negatively in pepper growth, but is upregulated and functions positively in pepper response to high temperature stress (HTS) and to RSI probably via signaling mediated by ABA and JA, respectively. CaNAC2c functions by directly targeting CaHSFA5 and decreasing H2O2 accumulation upon HTS. On the other hand, it acts positively in pepper response to RSI by upregulating JA- and enhancing accumulation of H2O2, while downregulating SA-signaling mediated PR genes, but does not target or regulate CaHSFA5. In addition, CaNAC2c exhibits redundancy with CaNAC2d in response to challenge of RSI but not to that of HTS, indicating that immunity against RSI is more robust than thermotolerance. These findings collectively unveil that tradeoff between growth and thermotolerance/immunity mediated by CaNAC2c is mainly determined by its differential transcription, while tradeoff between thermotolerance and immunity mediated by CaNAC2c is conferred by its context dependent post-translational regulation.

Many salmonid species exist in highly structured and isolated populations, and are susceptible to habitat fragmentation and disturbances. Gila Trout (Oncorhynchus gilae) is a threatened species found in the Southwestern United States. Gila trout is managed to preserve remnant populations (i.e. lineages) distributed across a fragmented landscape. We evaluated genomic variation within and among remaining lineages of Gila Trout using RADseq to assess how drift and selection have structured populations using neutral and outlier loci. We also examined whether a signature of hybridization was evident in relict populations. Despite Gila Trout lineages being significantly differentiated and highly structured with low effective population sizes, we found that most lineages maintained genomic diversity and were potentially locally adapted. Hybridization with non-native Rainbow Trout (O. mykiss) was not detected in any lineage. Some lineages may have experienced recent population bottlenecks perhaps associated with mortality from drought and severe wildfires. Current management strategies should be reevaluated and adapted to better account for long-term effects of climate change. Specifically, we suggest reconnecting some populations via dendritic stream networks to facilitate natural dispersal in a metapopulation context. This would allow natural genetic mixing on the landscape and potentially increase adaptive potential. Furthermore, genetic rescue should be implemented to preserve integrity of the unique Spruce Creek lineage that is currently compromised by extremely low diversity.

The pandemic outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first discovered in Wuhan, Hubei, China in December 2019. The COVID-19 was caused by the novel coronavirus, namely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It took 30 days to spread to all provinces of China [1]. Recently, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported from about 200 countries or regions on March 30, 2020, and killed almost 30 thousand people [2]. Efficient identification of the infection by SARS-CoV-2 has been one of the most important tasks to facilitate all the following counter measurements in dealing with infectious disease. In Taiwan, a COVID-19 Open Science Platform adhering to the spirit of open science: sharing sources, data, and methods to promote progress in academic research while corroborating findings from various disciplines has established in mid-February 2020, for collaborative research in support of the development of detection methods, therapeutics, and a vaccine for COVID-19. Research priorities include infection control, epidemiology, clinical characterization and management, detection methods (including viral RNA detection, viral antigen detection, and serum antibody detection), therapeutics (neutralizing antibody and small molecule drugs), vaccines, and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. In addition, research on social ethics and the law are included to take full account of the impact of the COVID-19 virus.

A series of polymer ionic liquid (PIL)-based polyoxometalate (POM) salt is and synthesized through self-assembly method. Whereafter, supported catalysts are prepared by adding graphene oxide during the self-assembly process. The presence of polymer ionic liquid of hybrid not only can increase the lipophilicity via abundant carbon chains, but also immobilized the hybrid on the surface of GO through specific π-π complexation, improving the stability during desulfurization process. Two group materials are characterized and used as catalysts for the removal sulfides in oil. By contrast, the supported catalyst has better performance. Then, the response surface methodology is used to analyze the influence of reaction conditions on removal thiophene and explore the optimum conditions. And the maximum sulfur removal efficiency of T, BT and DBT can achieve to 98.47, 99.98 and 99.28 %, respectively. Besides, the catalyst can be easily recovered and reused without significant decrease in activity after ten cycles.

Membranes with asymmetric wettability-Janus membranes-have recently received considerable attention for a variety of critical applications. Nonetheless, the current methods for making such membranes are still challenging. Here, we report on a simple approach to introduce asymmetric wettability into hydrophilic porous domains. Our approach is based on the physicochemical-selective deposition of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on hydrophilic polymeric substrates. The physicochemical inhibition was achieved through prefilling the substrates with glycerol, containing a known amount of free radical inhibitors. We showed that the glycerol/inhibitor mixture hinders the deposition of PTFE within the membrane pores. As a result, the surface of the substrates remains open and porous. The fabricated Janus membranes show stable wetting-resistant properties, evaluated through sessile drop contact angle measurements and direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD).

Performance of bubble columns under transport processes is dependent on bubble size distribution and void fraction. These multiphase parameters are sensitive to the operation regime of a bubble column. The current work presents a systematic study of bubble size and void fraction in a batch bubble column within the homogeneous and heterogeneous regimes. Effect of liquid viscosity and gas superficial velocity on bubble size distribution, void fraction, and operation regime was investigated. Results showed that increasing the viscosity accelerates the regime transition. Bubble size distributions were statistically characterized using probability density function and probability plots. It was shown that bubble size distribution shifts from near-Gaussian in the homogenous regime to lognormal (in parts) in the heterogeneous regime. Dimensional reasoning was used to scale the bubble size and void fraction with respect to the operation regime.