Characterization of COVID-19 outbreaks in three nursing homes during the first wave in Berlin, Germany

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the coronavirus family and is characterized by its high transmission competence. Elderly COVID-19 patients are at significantly higher risk of severe course of disease and death. Therefore, outbreaks in nursing homes are particularly challenging for facility managers and health authorities. Here, we report three outbreaks of COVID-19 related to nursing homes (NH01.a, NH02 and NH03) with almost 1000 affected individuals during the first COVID-19 wave in Berlin, Germany. The occurrence of cases and the measures taken were analyzed retrospectively. In all three outbreaks, the index persons were nursing home employees or volunteers. Measures taken were quarantine of contacts, close-meshed tests, separation of the affected housing unit, suspension of admission, ban on visiting, and equipping staff with personal protective equipment, of which there was a shortage in Germany at the beginning of the pandemic. A court-ordered quarantine became necessary for three residents of NH01.a due to cognitive disabilities. In total, 61 persons were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in NH01.a, ten persons in NH02, and sixteen persons in NH03. Seventeen patients (27.9%) of NH01.a and three patients (18.8%) of NH03 were referred to hospital. Of all confirmed cases, thirteen (21.3%) related to NH01.a and four (25.0%) related to NH03 died as a result of the infection. Besides one 82 year old volunteer, all deceased persons were residents aged between 66 and 98. Our results emphasize the importance of a previously developed containment and cluster strategy for nursing homes. Due to the particular vulnerability of the residents, immediate action, close cooperation and communication between the facility management, residents, visitors and the health authorities are essential in the case of confirmed COVID-19 cases in healthcare facilities.

Improving Last-mile Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines: The Cluster Strategy

Vaccination against the COVID 19 virus is the most effective way to prevent infection and save lives. It is estimated that 285 million doses per month will be needed over the next five months to vaccinate all remaining adults by the end of 2021. To accelerate the vaccination coverage for its population, the state of Uttar Pradesh, North India, has planned a cluster approach to vaccination in rural areas. The cluster strategy is a micro-plan for vaccination by the government of U.P involving intensive mobilisation activities followed by vaccination at centres set up in schools, Panchayat Bhavans and other selected places. It is a people-centred and comprehensive approach, modelled on listening to the intended beneficiaries and stakeholders is vital. It will reduce expenses related to travel and loss of wages for those missing work while travelling far to get vaccinated. The cluster approach is also along the lines of the Near to Home COVID Vaccination Centres (NHCVC) for Elderly and Differently Abled Citizens. The main fear of the health workers regarding the cluster approach is concerning adverse events and their management at the peripheral level. This strategy is only practically possible if an adequate supply of vaccines is available. The cluster approach to vaccination ensures accessibility, includes community participation and is provided free of cost. This is thus in line with the concept of Primary Health Care (PHC) which is essential health care made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community by means acceptable to them, through their full participation and at a cost the community and country can afford. Popularising this strategy and applying it to other states in a tailored manner based on social and cultural practices can give the nation the necessary momentum to attain the target of herd immunity quickly and curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

MODERN CONTENT OF STRATEGY OF REGIONAL INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER

Reasonable expediency of application of cluster strategy for the revival of national production on the whole and, in particular, industrial. Different approaches are considered in scientific publications in relation to a concept to the cluster and authorial актуалізоване determination is presented innovative regional industrial to the cluster. Certain features of institutional environment and possibility of state influence are on development of inter-branch co-operation in the conditions of застосуванняч of cluster politics. It is marked that in the conditions of кластерізації economy these processes in a country must be part of strategy of regional development. In a modern world economy clusters became one of the most effective forms of integration of productive, scientific, educational, financial and intellectual capita, what provides forming and effective development of competitive edges of regions. Certain functions and directions of activity of institute of regional cluster politics and prospect of development clusters of on a period 2027 to.

Developing an Industry and Innovation Cluster Strategy Through the Parallel and Sequential Real Options Method

Subject. This article considers the issues of formation of an innovation and industrial cluster's strategy through the parallel and sequential real options method. Objectives. The article aims to develop an innovation and industrial cluster's strategy formation methodology using parallel and sequential real options. Methods. For the study, we used the compound real options technique. Results. The article presents an original methodology for developing an innovation and industrial cluster's development strategy, taking into account the assessment of the priorities of the cluster itself and the region where it is located. The process of forming a strategy for the development of a pilot cluster of the electric power industry in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, represented by PAO TNS Energo NN, is considered as a case study of the implementation of the presented methodology. Conclusions and Relevance. The presented methodology will help further realize the innovative potential available in the region. The results obtained can be useful to public authorities when planning the development of industrial and innovation clusters and the harmonious development of the country's regions.

Articulating the development strategy for the innovation and industrial cluster by the compound option method

Subject. The article focuses on the development strategy for the innovation and industrial cluster by the compound option method. Objectives. We articulate the development strategy for the innovation and industrial cluster by the compound option method, which would allow for flexible administrative decisions on the cluster evolution. Methods. The proposed method is based on the use of the compound option method, which includes constituents as follows: 1) the option for the reduction in the cluster strategy and withdrawal from it; 2) the option for the development and dissemination of experience across the cluster; 3) the option for the rearrangement and temporary suspension of the cluster strategy. Results. To illustrate the proposed method, we formulated the development strategy for the pilot innovation and industrial cluster of power engineering in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, which is represented with the backbone company PAO TNS Energo NN. The real option method helped increase the value of the cluster’s strategy. Combining the compound real option just as we suggest, it will be possible to avoid unreasonable administrative decisions on the withdrawal from the current strategy, which would provide for multiple, already existing tactical opportunities for the cluster’s development. The value of the current strategy, first of all, absorbs a put option. This is an option to reduce the cluster’s strategy or withdraw from it. Afterwards if the current strategy is continued, three call options are added to it. Conclusions and Relevance. The findings can be useful for governmental authorities in planning the development of innovation and industrial clusters and the harmonious advancement of the country.

Identification of Disease-Related 2-Oxoglutarate/Fe (II)-Dependent Oxygenase Based on Reduced Amino Acid Cluster Strategy

The 2-oxoglutarate/Fe (II)-dependent (2OG) oxygenase superfamily is mainly responsible for protein modification, nucleic acid repair and/or modification, and fatty acid metabolism and plays important roles in cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases. They are likely to become new targets for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, so the accurate identification of 2OG oxygenases is of great significance. Many computational methods have been proposed to predict functional proteins to compensate for the time-consuming and expensive experimental identification. However, machine learning has not been applied to the study of 2OG oxygenases. In this study, we developed OGFE_RAAC, a prediction model to identify whether a protein is a 2OG oxygenase. To improve the performance of OGFE_RAAC, 673 amino acid reduction alphabets were used to determine the optimal feature representation scheme by recoding the protein sequence. The 10-fold cross-validation test showed that the accuracy of the model in identifying 2OG oxygenases is 91.04%. Besides, the independent dataset results also proved that the model has excellent generalization and robustness. It is expected to become an effective tool for the identification of 2OG oxygenases. With further research, we have also found that the function of 2OG oxygenases may be related to their polarity and hydrophobicity, which will help the follow-up study on the catalytic mechanism of 2OG oxygenases and the way they interact with the substrate. Based on the model we built, a user-friendly web server was established and can be friendly accessed at http://bioinfor.imu.edu.cn/ogferaac.

МИРОВОЙ ОПЫТ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ КЛАСТЕРНОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ РАЗВИТИЯ ТЕКСТИЛЬНОЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ

The article provides an analysis of the world experience in the implementation of the cluster strategy for the development of the textile industry and the possibility of applying this experience in the conditions of Uzbekistan.

MODELLING INNOVATIVE LOGISTIC CLUSTERS FOR REINFORCING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION USING AN EXAMPLE OF A METALLURGICAL COMPLEX

The aim of the article is to present the proposed model of an international innovative logistics cluster, which aims to stimulate the renewal of the economic potential of all interested partners with a focus on the metallurgy. Experts analyse ongoing changes and trends that have affected business and logistics processes and define certain trends that could lead to an improvement in the situation, such as the use of a "Cluster strategy". The subject of the research is the analysis of the cooperation between international scientific organizations, research centers and companies within the proposed cluster. A model of the structure of the cluster was created, which will make it possible to monitor global processes in the field of economics and logistics. A simulation of the production of a new product was performed to verify the proposed cluster's expected effects. Therefore, a model was used to determine the value of the company to capture complex links. This model is based on Method DCF using structural analysis principles to objectively evaluate the influence of factors affecting the change of cost potential in the immediate vicinity of the enterprise. During the verification of specific data, the considered project's value was quantified, and obtained results showed that synergy effects could be expected. The verification results show that the interaction and cooperation between universities, research centers, and industrial enterprises at the international level can be made more efficient with an emphasis on effective and lasting cooperation in the field of innovation and technology transfer.