In this essay, we provide an overview of a social worker-led, interdisciplinary practice model designed to combine essential online psycho-social support and local community self-governance for COVID-19 patients with minor symptoms in quarantine field hospitals in the city of Wuhan from February to May 2020. The interdisciplinary bridging response teams (IBRTs) model was designed for congregating settings to bridge offline community mobilization and online interdisciplinary professional services. We discuss the two-tier structure and organization of the practice model, the professionals’ roles and main tasks, and the key features that ensured the success of the model.

Wuhan was the first large city where the initial breakout of COVID-19 took numerous lives. A group of social workers and mental health specialists coordinated the “Be Together Program” (BTP), a psychosocial grief intervention program to help a group of Wuhan COVID-19 bereaved people. Under the Dual-process model framework, BTP used the internet and social media as the main tools, combined with group and individual intervention. Additionally, it employed a “Supermarket Mode” with abundant intervention themes and approaches for BTP participants to choose according to their special needs. Additionally, Chinese cultural elements are integrated into the program. At the end of the program, the grief scores of participants in the qualified sample reduced significantly, and the prevalence of the potential Prolonged Grief Disorder diagnosis reduced from 75% to 12%. The study also found that the BTP was especially effective for those who had high levels of grief reaction.

As a form of vegetable in China, freshly cut corms of Chinese water chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis) are well received by consumers. Few studies have investigated the metabolites present in fresh‐cut E. dulcis, particularly during the storage stage. Two compounds, triterpenoids and apocarotenoids, were identified in fresh‐cut E. dulcis during the late storage period using thin‐layer chromatography (TLC), high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The content of these two compounds gradually increased in the surface tissue of fresh‐cut E. dulcis during storage. Moreover, the transcript levels of 10 genes involved in terpenoid backbone biosynthesis and five genes involved in carotenoid precursor biosynthesis were evaluated via quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR). Expression of the rate‐limiting enzyme‐coding genes CwDXS and CwHMGS was significantly induced by wounding. CwMYC and CwbHLH18, which belong to bHLH transcription factors (TFs) IIIe and VIa subgroup, were isolated from E. dulcis corm. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CwMYC and CwbHLH18 grouped with other terpenoid‐regulated bHLHs, and their transcript levels were strongly induced after fresh‐cut processing. These results suggested that the biosynthesis of terpenoids and apocarotenoids in fresh‐cut E. dulcis strongly depended on the transcriptional regulation of structural genes involved in the methylerythritol 4‐phosphate (MEP) and mevalonate (MVA) pathways. However, the complex secondary metabolism of fresh‐cut E. dulcis during late storage requires further investigation.

This essay provides a brief introduction of a social-worker-led interdisciplinary work model and its operating process which is inspired by the well-known Holistic Model of Spirituality. The Interdisciplinary Bridging Response Team(IBRTs) model was applied to communities, centralized isolation sites, and shelter hospitals in Wuhan. A survey of 316 clients after 53 days of service revealed that the mental and physical health of most clients improved. Moreover, compared to the early days of the pandemic, most clients’ social relationships were strengthened. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF scores show that this service was more effective for uninfected rather than infected people.