Potential targets and traditional Chinese medicine treatment strategy of cough after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variants BA.5.2 and BF.7 have become the main epidemic strains in China since the quarantine policy was lifted in 7th December 2022. Cough is one of the main symptoms induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection-associated cough injuries the lung and upper respiratory tract, while the infected people cough out virus and liquid which forms virus-containing aerosols, a medium for quickly spreading. Furthermore, cough is one of primary sequelae of discharged patients in corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). By now, there are no efficacious drugs for treatment of upper respiratory tract infection associated cough induced by omicron. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history on treating cough. By reviewing the mechanisms of the occurrence of cough after SARS-CoV-2 infection, potential therapeutic targets and cough suppressant herbs with significant efficacy in clinical and basic research, we provide a reference for the treatment of cough after SARS-Cov-2 infection and a basis for the majority of infected patients to select appropriate herbs for cough relief under guidance of physicians.Copyright © 2023 Editorial Office of Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs. All rights reserved.

Neurological complications of COVID-19.

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused several pandemic peaks worldwide due to its high variability and infectiousness, and COVID-19 has become a long-standing global public health problem. There is growing evidence that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) frequently causes multi-organ injuries and more severe neurological manifestations. Therefore, increased awareness of possible neurological complications is beneficial in preventing and mitigating the impact of long-term sequelae and improving the prognostic outcome of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Here, we review the main pathways of SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion and the potential mechanisms causing neurological damage. We also discuss in detail neurological complications, aiming to provide cutting-edge basis for subsequent related basic research and clinical studies of diagnosis and treatment.

Moderating Mechanism in the Relationship between Social Isolation and Mental Health among College Students during High-Risk Period of COVID-19 Transmission in Hubei, China

This study explored the effect of perceived social isolation on the mental health of college students during the high-risk period of COVID-19 transmission in Hubei, China and the role of social support from online friends in alleviating this effect. The questionnaire responses of 213 college students from four universities in Hubei were included. Measurement and structural models were constructed using structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that perceived social isolation while under home quarantine was a negative predictor of the mental health of college students in Hubei. Low social support from online friends may lead to a relatively strong relationship between perceived social isolation and mental health in these college students, whereas high social support from online friends may lead to a relatively weak relationship between perceived social isolation and mental health. © 2023, Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.

Strategic Perspective of Leveraging New Generation Information Technology to Enable Modernization of Emergency Management

The application and development of the new generation information technology is a vital support to realize the modernization of emergency management. At present, the new generation information technology such as big data and artificial intelligence has been widely used in natural disasters, safe production, and other fields. It has improved the monitoring and early warning, regulation and law enforcement, command and decision support, rescue, and social mobilization capabilities of governments, promoted the level of intrinsic safety of enterprises, provided important support for the precise prevention and control of the COVID-19, and increased the efficiency of China's emergency management and sense of security of the public. In the process of comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with the Chinese modernization, driven by the strategic need of using the new security paradigm to ensure the new development paradigm, the application of the new generation information technology shall not only meet single and specific needs of operations, but also pay more attention to the management of unconventional emergencies, the value guidance of the overall national security concept, the support to the institutional advantages of China's emergency management, and the standard articulation, open innovation of data resources, and intelligent utilization, so as to realize the co-evolution between emergency management and information technology based on the decrease of uncertainty. The modernization of emergency management supported by the new generation information technology also needs to play an important role in developing independent knowledge, promoting interdisciplinary integration, leading information technology innovation, facilitating industrial prosperity and development, and making more contributions to the Chinese modernization. © 2022, Science Press. All rights reserved.

Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) in hospital wastewater (WW) and its correlation with hospitalized cases of COVID-19 and the occurrence of outbreaks

Background. WW surveillance enables real time monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 burden in defined sewer catchment areas. Here, we assessed the occurrence of total, Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage from three tertiary-care hospitals in Calgary, Canada. Methods. Nucleic acid was extracted from hospital (H) WW using the 4S-silica column method. H-1 and H-2 were assessed via a single autosampler whereas H-3 required three separate monitoring devices (a-c). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was quantified using two RT-qPCR approaches targeting the nucleocapsid gene;N1 and N200 assays, and the R203K/G204R and R203M mutations. Assays were positive if Cq< 40. Cross-correlation function analyses (CCF) was performed to determine the timelagged relationships betweenWWsignal and clinical cases. SARS-CoV-2 RNA abundance was compared to total hospitalized cases, nosocomial-acquired cases, and outbreaks. Statistical analyses were conducted using R. Results. Ninety-six percent (188/196) of WW samples collected between Aug/ 21-Jan/22 were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Omicron rapidly supplanted Delta by mid-December and this correlated with lack of Delta-associated H-transmissions during a period of frequent outbreaks. The CCF analysis showed a positive autocorrelation between the RNA concentration and total cases, where the most dominant cross correlations occurred between -3 and 0 lags (weeks) (Cross-correlation values: 0.75, 0.579, 0.608, 0.528 and 0.746 for H-1, H-2, H-3a, H-3b and H-3c;respectively). VOC-specific assessments showed this positive association only to hold true for Omicron across all hospitals (cross-correlation occurred at lags -2 and 0, CFF value range between 0.648 -0.984). We observed a significant difference in median copies/ ml SARS-CoV-2 N-1 between outbreak-free periods vs outbreaks for H-1 (46 [IQR: 11-150] vs 742 [IQR: 162-1176], P< 0.0001), H-2 (24 [IQR: 6-167] vs 214 [IQR: 57-560], P=0.009) and H-3c (2.32 [IQR: 0-19] vs 129 [IQR: 14-274], P=0.001). Conclusion. WWsurveillance is a powerful tool for early detection andmonitoring of circulating SARS-CoV-2VOCs.Total SARS-CoV-2 andVOC-specificWWsignal correlated with hospitalized prevalent cases of COVID-19 and outbreak occurrence.

'Traffic light' theory for Covid-19 spatial mitigation policy design

We suggest the use of outdegrees from graph theory to rank locations in terms of their contagiousness. We show that outdegrees are equal to the column sums of spatial autoregressive matrices, which may be estimated using econometric methods for spatial panel data. In contrast to outdegree, R is invalid for 'traffic light' shading because it fails to distinguish between the export and import of contagion between sub-national locations. Simulation methods are used to illustrate the concept of outdegrees and its structural determinants in terms of centrality, indigenous contagion and spatial contagion. An empirical illustration is presented for Israel. A secondary criterion for traffic light shading involves the stochastic structure of morbidity shocks, which induce 'spiking' through their autoregressive persistence, conditional heteroscedasticity and diffusion jump parameters.

The Effect of Media on Tourists’ Perceptions of a Country-Target of Animosity in the China–US Context

This study examines the impact of media on animosity and the effect that animosity has on destination image and visitation intent. The context is the China–US relations where the US is a country-destination which is the target of animosity in China, as the bilateral relations have been suffering from long-lasting and more current conflicts. We found that media coverage of the newly emerged points of contention related to COVID-19 mainly affects situational animosity but has little influence on general animosity. While visitors and non-visitors to the US had the same exposure to media coverage of the conflict, visitors had more favorable attitudes toward the US. It was also found that in a situation of intense conflict, animosity toward the US not only decreases intent to travel to the US but positively impacts intent to travel domestically and to the in-group countries that were supportive of China during the pandemic. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The impact of energy-exporting countries’ EPUs on China's energy futures investors: Risk preference, investment position and investment horizon

This study brings some new insights into EPU risk management. By categorizing China's energy futures (CEF) investors by risk preference, investment position and investment horizon, we identify how EPU in four energy-exporting countries affects CEF investors. The Russian EPU mainly produces influence on short-run investors and risk-seeking investors. The Australian EPU affects risk-seeking investors heavily, while the Brazilian EPU acts on risk-seeking investors with short positions. In terms of China's coking coal futures, changes in Russian EPU generate the weakest impact on various types of investors, while the US EPU affects medium-run risk-averse and long-run investors. The Australian EPU's impact on investor types covers a wide range, while the Brazilian EPU affects short-run risk-averse and long-run investors. Moreover, for medium-run CEF investors, energy-exporting countries’ EPU risk characteristics is most dynamic. Changes in the EPU risk impact type mainly occurred during the US-China trade war and the outbreak of COVID-19. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

STRONG HUMORAL IMMUNE RESPONSE TO SARS-COV-2 VACCINE ADDITIONAL DOSE AMONG PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES

Background: Current recommendations in many countries support additional COVID-19 vaccine doses in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who are treated with immunosuppressants, yet real-world data on the effectiveness and safety of additional vaccine doses is lacking. We sought to quantify the humoral immune response to an additional (third) dose of mRNA vaccines in adolescents and adult patients with IBD. Methods: We performed a direct-to-patient, internet-based cohort study of patients with IBD in the United States who have received any SARS-CoV-2 vaccine granted EUA. Participants completed baseline and follow-up surveys and had blood work obtained approximately 8 weeks following completion of the initial vaccination series and 6 weeks following administration of an additional (third) vaccine dose. We performed quantitative measurement of antireceptor binding domain (RBD) IgG antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 using the LabCorp Cov2Quant IgG™ assay. Results: A total of 659 participants were included [415 participants (63%) initially received BNT162b2, 243 participants (37%) initially received mRNA-1273, and 5 participants (1%) initially received Ad26.COV2.S]. Demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics of the study population are provided in Table 1. Over 98% of those receiving an initial mRNA vaccine received the same type additional dose. Whereas 93% had detectable antibody after the initial vaccination series, 99.5% had detectable antibodies following an additional dose. Mean (SD) increase in antibody level was 61 ug/mL (103) in those receiving BNT162b2 and 78 ug/mL (143) for those receiving mRNA-1273 (Figure 1). Importantly, of 47 of patients without initial antibody response, 45 (96%) had detectable antibodies following an additional dose. Additional vaccination was generally well tolerated in this population, with 44%, 24%, 25%, and 6% reporting no, mild, moderate, and severe side effects respectively. Discussion: These findings demonstrate robust immunogenicity to additional doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, even amongst patients with undetectable antibody following the initial series. Adverse event rates were low. These data can be used to inform vaccine decisions in patients with a broad array of immune-medicated conditions frequently managed by immunosuppression. (Table Presented) (Figure Presented)

Research on effective measures for prevention and control management of outpatient radiotherapy during COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To analyze and summarize the effective management measures for the prevention of COVID-19 infection during outpatient radiotherapy in general hospitals. Method: Based on the requirements of pandemic prevention and control, combined with the possible problems during diagnosis and treatment process in the radiotherapy outpatient of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, the prevention and control measures such as process adjustment, environmental zoning, protection control and disinfection were retrospectively reviewed under the prevalence of COVID-19, and the effectiveness of the prevention and control was evaluated. Results: The targeted protective measures were taken during outpatient radiotherapy. Through strengthening the entrance management, strict escort management and appointment treatment, a pandemic prevention and control model for outpatient radiotherapy was summarized during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 1 959 patients were admitted to our medical center from January to December 2020. All of them accepted radiotherapy and no infection was found among patients and medical personnel, achieving good prevention and control effects. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, effective preventative management measures must be taken for the treatment process, the environment, and the personnel in the radiotherapy outpatient clinics of general hospitals, so as to minimize the medical risk of infection, ensure the safety of the medical personnel and patients, and ensure the safe and orderly work of outpatient radiotherapy. © 2022, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University.. All right reserved.

An Epidemic Spread Risk Prediction Model Coupled with LSTM Algorithm and Cloud Model

The COVID-19 epidemic poses a great threat to public health and people's lives, which has initiated new challenges to the prevention and control system of the epidemic in China. In all efforts for epidemic control and prevention, predicting the risk of epidemic spread is of great practical importance for scientific prevention and control, and precise strategies. To predict the risk of an epidemic rapidly and quantitatively, this paper fused multi-source spatiotemporal data and established a risk prediction model for epidemic transmission by coupling LSTM algorithm and cloud model. Firstly, a simulation model of the spatiotemporal spread of infectious diseases was built based on GIS and LSTM algorithm, which simulated the infectious disease's spatiotemporal transmission process by learning rules in historical epidemic data. At the same time, to improve the simulation accuracy, this paper took 1 km × 1 km for the spatial scale, and days for the temporal scale as the study scale. Secondly, this paper applied the simulated data of infectious cases and the spatiotemporal influence factors on the spread of the epidemic to construct risk evaluation indicators. Finally, the cloud model and adaptive strategies were applied to construct an epidemic risk assessment model. In this way, the epidemic risk assessment at multiple spatial scales was achieved. In the empirical study phase, based on the Beijing COVID-19 epidemic data from 11 June 2020 to 25 June 2020, this paper simulated the process of the spatial evolution of the epidemic from 26 June 2020 to 1 July 2020. To test the advantage of the LSTM model applied to simulate spatiotemporal spread of infectious diseases, four machine learning models were introduced for comparison, including GA-BP Neural Network, Decision Regression Tree, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine. The results were as follows: ① Compared with other conventional machine learning models, the LSTM model with time-series relationship had higher simulation accuracy (MAE=0.002 61) and better fitting degree (R-Square=0.9455). This showed that the LSTM model considering the temporal relationship between epidemic data was more suitable for epidemic spatial evolution simulation. ② The application results showed that the coupled model can not only fully consider the influence of infection source factors, weather factors, epidemic spread factors and epidemic prevention factors on the spread of transmission risk and reflect the trend of risk evolution, but also quickly quantify regional risk levels. Therefore, the coupled model based on LSTM algorithm and cloud model can effectively predict the transmission risk of epidemic, and also provide a method reference for establishing spatial-temporal transmission models and assessing epidemic risk. 2021, Science Press. All right reserved.

PAWG Pilot Study on Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody - Part 1

Under the auspices of the Protein Analysis Working Group (PAWG) of the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) a pilot study, CCQM-P216, was coordinated by the Chinese National Institute of Metrology (NIM), National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Eleven Metrology Institutes or Designated Institutes and the BIPM participated in the first phase of the pilot study (Part 1). The purpose of this pilot study was to develop measurement capabilities for larger proteins using a recombinant humanized IgG monoclonal antibody against Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (Anti-S IgG mAb) in solution. The first phase of the study was designed to employ established methods that had been previously studies by the CCQM Protein Analysis Working Group, involving the digestion of protein down to the peptide or amino acid level.The global coronavirus pandemic has also led to increased focus on antibody quantitation methods. IgG are among the immunoglobulins produced by the immune system to provide protection against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG can therefore be detected in samples from affected patients. Antibody tests can show whether a person has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, and whether or not they potentially show lasting immunity to the disease. With the constant spread of the virus and the high pressure of re-opening economies, antibody testing plays a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping healthcare professionals to identify individuals who have developed an immune response, either via vaccination or exposure to the virus. Many countries have launched large-scale antibody testing for COVID-19. The development of measurement standards for the antibody detection of SARS-CoV-2 is critically important to deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody is being used as a model system to build capacity in methods that can be used in antibody quantification. Amino acid reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 36.10 ± 1.55 mg/kg, 38.75 ± 1.45 mg/kg, 18.46 ± 0.78 mg/kg, 16.20 ± 0.67 mg/kg and 30.61 ± 1.30 mg/kg have been established for leucine, valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and proline, respectively. Agreement between nearly all laboratories was achieved for the amino acid analysis within 2 to 2.5 %, with one participant achieving markedly higher results due to a technical issue found in their procedure;this result was thus excluded from the reference value calculations. The relatively good agreement within a laboratory between different amino acids was not dissimilar to previous results for peptides or small proteins, indicating that factors such as hydrolysis conditions and calibration procedures could be the largest sources of variability.Peptide reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 4.99 ± 0.28 mg/kg and 6.83 ± 0.65 mg/kg have been established for ALPAPIEK and GPSVFPLAPSSK, respectively. Not surprisingly due to prior knowledge from previous studies on peptide quantitation, agreement between laboratories for the peptide-based analysis was slightly poorer at 3 to 5 %, with one laboratory's result excluded for the peptide GPSVFPLAPSSK. Again, this level of agreement was not significantly poorer than that achieved in previous studies with smaller or less complex proteins.To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report.

[Investigation of contamination of SARS-CoV-2 in imported frozen seafood from a foreign cargo ship and risk factors for infection in stevedores in Qingdao].

Objective: To investigate the contamination status of SARS-CoV-2 in imported frozen seafood from a Russia cargo ship in Qingdao and to analyze the risk factors for infection in local stevedores. Methods: The method of "two-stage, full coverage and mixed sampling" was used to collect the seafood packaging samples for the nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR. A unified questionnaire was designed to investigate 71 stevedores in two shifts through telephone interview. The stevedores were divided into two groups, with 23 in the shit with two infections was group A and 48 in the shift without infection was group B. Software Epi Info7.2 was used to identify the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections in the stevedores. Results: In the frozen seafood from a Russia cargo ship, the total positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in the frozen seafood was 11.53% (106/919). The positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in the frozen seafood unloaded by group A (14.29%,70/490) was significantly higher than that in the frozen seafood unloaded by group B (8.39%,36/429)(χ2=7.79,P=0.01) and the viral loads detected in the frozen seafood unloaded by group A were higher than those detected in the frozen seafood unloaded by group B. The scores of personal protection and behaviors in the stevedores in group A were significantly lower than those in group B (P<0.05), and toilet use, smoking and improper hand washing before meals were the risk factors for the infection. Conclusions: The imported frozen seafood was contaminated by SARS-CoV-2 and the contamination distribution was uneven. Supervision and management of personal occupational protection and behaviors of workers engaged in imported frozen food transportation should be strengthened. It is suggested that a closed-loop monitoring and management system for the whole process of "fishing-transport- loading/unloading" should be established by marine fishery authority.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on air quality in Xianyang

Using a Machine Learning Model (MLM) to decouple meteorological parameters, this paper quantified true impacts of emission reduction by pollution sources resulting from COVID-19 on air quality in Xianyang. Compared with the non-epidemic scenario, the results showed that concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO in Xianyang had significantly decreased by 19.3%, 26.0%, 13.4%, 60.1% and 9.1%, respectively, with NO2 decreasing the most, SO2 and CO decreasing slightly, and O3 increased by 50.9% conversely. Under the condition that both primary emission and precursors of secondary particulate matter decreased, the concentration of PM2.5 dropped lower than expected, and O3 increased though, showing the complexity of PM2.5 and O3 control, in the meanwhile implying that the impact of operating pollution sources during the epidemic on air quality was greater than malfunctioned sources, and official regulations to restrict and suspend production in factories (similar to the impact of the pandemic) had limited improvement on air quality. In the future, emphases should be put on the treatment of operating pollution sources during the pandemic such as scattered coal and biomass combustion, heat production and supply, and crude oil processing and petroleum product manufacturing. © 2021, Editorial Board of China Environmental Science. All right reserved.

The trinity teaching mode of wisdom tree, tencent classroom and QQ group - Online teaching practice

At the beginning of 2020, a sudden outbreak of COVID-19 forced us to take online teaching methods in engineering mechanics courses. The design details of the course and the trinity teaching mode of Wisdom Tree, Tecent Classroom, and QQ group were introduced in this paper. Also, the assessment method and score analysis was given. Finally, according to the course report provided by the Wisdom Tree, the online open course of engineering mechanics was explained. © 2020 IEEE.

Development of Reference Material of SARS-CoV-2 Genomic RNA

High and low concentrations of reference material of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA were developed(GBW(E)091098 and GBW(E)091099)based on the inactivated RNA extraction of the novel coronavirus from infected patients as the potential material,of which the concentrations of E,ORF1ab and N gene were qualified by digital PCR. The reference values with expanded uncertainty of high concentration of reference material were(1.06±0.11)×103 copy/μL,(8.96±0.61)×102 copy/μL and(1.73±0.1)×103 copy/μL,respectively. And those for the low concentration of reference material were(1.29±0.26)×102 copy/μL,(9.5±1.8)×101 copy/μL and(2.05±0.31)×102 copy/μL,respectively. The reference material here developed had been widely applied to method establishment of nucleic acid detection for SARS-CoV-2,quality control for detection kits and testing laboratory. © 2021, Acta Metrologica Sinica Press. All right reserved.

Assessment of thirty-day readmission rate, timing, causes and predictors after hospitalization with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on the characteristics of 30-day readmission after hospitalization with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVES: To examine the rate, timing, causes, predictors and outcomes of 30-day readmission after COVID-19 hospitalization. METHODS: From 13 March to 9 April 2020, all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and discharged alive were included in this retrospective observational study. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of 30-day readmission, and a restricted cubic spline function was utilized to assess the linearity of the association between continuous predictors and 30-day readmission. RESULTS: A total of 1062 patients were included in the analysis, with a median follow-up time of 62 days. The mean age of patients was 56.5 years, and 40.5% were women. At the end of the study, a total of 48 (4.5%) patients were readmitted within 30 days of discharge, and a median time to readmission was 5 days. The most common primary diagnosis of 30-day readmission was a hypoxic respiratory failure (68.8%) followed by thromboembolism (12.5%) and sepsis (6.3%). The patients with a peak serum creatinine level of ≥1.29 mg/dL during the index hospitalization, compared to those with a creatinine of <1.29 mg/dL, had 2.4 times increased risk of 30-day readmission (adjusted odds ratio: 2.41; 95% CI: 1.23-4.74). The mortality rate during the readmission was 22.9%. CONCLUSION: With 4.5% of the thirty-day readmission rate, COVID-19 survivors were readmitted early after hospital discharge, mainly due to morbidities of COVID-19. One in five readmitted COVID-19 survivors died during their readmission.