Simulation Analysis of COVID-19 Epidemic Model in Wuhan Based on SIR Model

Based on SIR model, combined with the mode of COVID-19 epidemic spread in Wuhan, the SIR model of COVID-19 epidemic spread is constructed, which mainly includes three aspects: simulation of the average number of infected people in COVID-19, simulation of cross-infection in COVID-19 and simulation of contact infection in COVID-19. Using the results of these three simulations, we can predict the spread of COVID-19 epidemic in the region, and find out the methods to prevent and control the outbreak or spread of the epidemic. © 2023 SPIE.

Combined Effect of Changes in Transit Service and Changes in Occupancy on Per-Passenger Energy Consumption

Many transit providers changed their schedules and route configurations during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing more frequent bus service on major routes and curtailing other routes, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure. This research first assessed the changes in Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) service configurations by reviewing the prepandemic versus during-pandemic General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) files. Energy use per route for a typical week was calculated for pre-pandemic, during-closure, and post-closure periods by integrating GTFS data with MOVES-Matrix transit energy and emission rates (MOVES signifying MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator). MARTA automated passenger counter data were appended to the routes, and energy use per passenger-mile was compared across routes for the three periods. The results showed that the coupled effect of transit frequency shift and ridership decrease from 2019 to 2020 increased route-level energy use for over 87% of the routes and per-passenger-mile energy use for over 98% of the routes. In 2021, although MARTA service had largely returned to pre-pandemic conditions, ridership remained in an early stage of recovery. Total energy use decreased to about pre-pandemic levels, but per-passenger energy use remained higher for more than 91% of routes. The results confirm that while total energy use is more closely associated with trip schedules and routes, perpassenger energy use depends on both trip service and ridership. The results also indicate a need for data-based transit planning, to help avoid inefficiency associated with over-provision of service or inadequate social distancing protection caused by under-provision of service. © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2022.

Difference in general practice telehealth utilisation associated with birth country during COVID-19 from two Australian states.

Objective: Telehealth has been an integral part of ensuring continued general practice access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether telehealth was similarly adopted across different ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups in Australia is unknown. In this study, we assessed how telehealth utilisation differed by birth country. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, electronic health record data from 799 general practices across Victoria and New South Wales, Australia between March 2020 to November 2021 were extracted (12,403,592 encounters from 1,307,192 patients). Multivariate generalised estimating equation models were used to assess the likelihood of a telehealth consultation (against face-to-face consultation) by birth country (relative to Australia or New Zealand born patients), education index, and native language (English versus others). Results: Patients born in Southeastern Asia (aOR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.52-0.55), Eastern Asia (aOR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.60-0.66), and India (aOR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.63-0.66) had a lower likelihood of having a telehealth consultation compared to those born in Australia or New Zealand. Northern America, British Isles, and most European countries did not present with a statistically significant difference. Additionally, higher education levels (aOR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.26-1.42) was associated with an increase in the likelihood of a telehealth consultation, while being from a non-English-speaking country was associated with a reduced likelihood (aOR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.81-0.84). Conclusions: This study provides evidence showing differences in telehealth use associated with birth country. Strategies to ensure continued healthcare access for patients, whose native language is not English, such as providing interpreter services for telehealth consultations, would be beneficial. Perspectives: Understanding cultural and linguistic differences may reduce health disparities in telehealth access in Australia and could present an opportunity to promote healthcare access in diverse communities.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis In Healthcare: Scientometric And Bibliometric Analysis

Introduction. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a useful tool in complex decision-making situations and has been used in medical fields to evaluate treatment options and drug selection. We aimed to provide valuable insights on the use ofMCDAin health care through examining the research focus of existing studies, major fields, major applications, most productive authors and countries, and most common journals in the domain using a scientometric and bibliometric analysis. Methods. Publications related to MCDA in health care were identified by searching the Web of Science Core Collection on 14 July 2021. Three bibliometric software programs (VOSviewer, Bibliometrix, and CiteSpace) were used to conduct the analysis. Results. A total of 410 publications were identified from 196 academic journals (average yearly growth rate of 32% from 1999 to 2021), with 23,637 co-cited references by 871 institutions from 70 countries or regions. The USA was the most productive country (n=80), while the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (n=16), Universite de Montreal (n= 13), and Syreon Research Institute (n=12) were the most productive institutions. The biggest nodes in every cluster of author networks were Aos Alaa Zaidan, Mireille Goetghebeur, and Zoltan Kalo. The top journals in terms of number of articles (n=17) and citations (n=1,673) were Value in Health and the Journal of Medical Systems, respectively. The research hotspots mainly included the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), decision-making, health technology assessment, and healthcare waste management. In the recent literature there was more emphasis on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarities to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Big data, telemedicine, TOPSIS, and the fuzzy AHP, which are well-developed and important themes, may be the trends in future research. Conclusions. This study provides a holistic picture of the MCDArelated literature published in health care. MCDA has a broad application in different topic areas and would be helpful for practitioners, researchers, and decision makers working in health care when faced with complex decisions. It can be argued that the door is still open for improving the role ofMCDAin health care, both in its technologies and its application.

Telehealth in long-term care facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic – Lessons learned from patients, physicians, nurses and healthcare workers

Background: Telehealth and telecare are particularly important and beneficial to long-term care facilities due to care demands, workforce, and the unique environment. Stemming from the recent findings on telehealth utilisation in residential aged-care facilities in Australia, this commentary seeks to identify lessons and perspectives learned during the Covid-19 pandemic from multiple users, including patients, physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers in long-term care (LTC) settings. Main body: From patients' perspectives, older adults residing in LTC settings often opt not to use virtual care, with the majority preferring in-person visits. This is despite residents expressing their willingness to use telehealth, and virtual care has advantages in LTC settings or in remote areas. Additionally, hearing, vision, or cognitive impairment can limit residents' ability to use information technology to access care, so their preferences for phone or video consultations depend on the health conditions or care requirement. From physicians' perspectives, most healthcare practitioners have a positive attitude toward using telehealth. However, telephone consultations tended to be the dominant mode during the early period of the Covid-19 pandemic. Physicians also raised several major concerns, including technical and equipment-related issues, expanded roles, or additional workloads of LTC staff that could negatively affect clinical decision-making and unequal access in rural, older, and cognitively impaired patients. Most nurses and healthcare workers perceived telehealth positively as a way to enhance patients' care access. However, the majority had concerns about acquiring appropriate knowledge of using the technology for themselves and their patients. In remote areas, nurses expressed higher efficiency and higher care quality when utilising telehealth in caring for older patients than in the regular in-person care mode. Conclusion: Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, telehealth has continued as an alternative platform in clinical services. However, as a healthcare platform that offers flexibilities of time, location, and improved efficiency, changing the traditional mindset is essential to shift the paradigm to use telehealth when appropriate. Importantly, telehealth needs substantial support in rural or remote long-term care facilities. Doing so will contribute to the reduction of healthcare inequity in long-term care facilities in remote settings and those with social disparities.

Rabeprazole is an agonist of HIF-1 and promotes vascular repair and resolution of inflammatory lung injury

Background: There are no effective treatments for inflammatory lung injury, including acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Severe COVID-19 patients commonly suffer from ARDS. The repositioning of existing drugs is one possible strategy for treatment of ALI/ARDS. We previously showed that vascular repair and resolution of inflammatory lung injury is dependent upon endothelial hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1a) and forkhead box M1 (FoxM1). Aim(s): To identify a candidate agonist of HIF1a/FoxM1 signaling that could effectively treat ALI/ARDS. Method(s): FDA-approved drugs were screened using reporter assays, toxicity assays, and gene expression analyses in vitro. Inflammatory lung injury was assessed in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxemia. Result(s): We used high throughput screening of a library 1200 FDA-approved drugs, along with hypoxia-response element-driven luciferase reporter assays, cell toxicity assays, and molecular analyses of human lung microvascular endothelial cells, to identify candidate drugs that enhance HIF1 signaling in vitro. One of these drugs, Rabeprazole (Aciphex), caused dose-dependent increases in hypoxia-response element activity without increasing cell death. By treating wild type mice orally with Rabeprazole on 2 consecutive days after sepsis challenge, we were able to identify a dose of Rabeprazole that is well tolerated and enhances vascular repair and resolution of inflammatory lung injury. In timeline studies, we found that Rabeprazole treatment reduces lung vascular leakage, edema, and inflammatory cytokine expression during the repair phrase. We next used conditional knockout mice to show that Rabeprazole increases vascular repair and resolution of inflammatory lung injury through endothelial HIF1a and FoxM1. Rabeprazole-dependent decreases in lung vascular leakage, edema, and inflammatory cytokine expression were completely absent in the conditional HIF1a and FoxM1 knockout mice. Conclusion(s): Rabeprazole improves murine vascular repair and resolution of sepsis-induced inflammatory lung injury via endothelial HIF1a/FoxM1. This drug represents a promising candidate for repurposing to effectively treat ALI/ARDS.

Study on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Tumor Subjects in Clinical Trials in the Prevention and Control of the COVID-19

The outbreak of the COVID-19 has had a big impact on the implementation of clinical trials of tumor drugs and the prevention and control measures such as traffic control and home isolation has caused clinical trials couldn’t proceed normally, so the protection of tumor subjects in clinical trials faces many new challenges. Based on Western and Chinese policies and guidelines on the management of clinical trials during the COVID-19, this paper expounded the impacts of the COVID-19 on tumor patients and tumor clinical trials, analyzed the challenges faced by the protection of tumor subjects in the prevention and control of the COVID-19, and then protected tumor subjects from aspects of optimizing the allocation of health resources, improving non-face-to-face informed consent procedures, strengthening subject visit management, and enhancing clinical trial safety evaluation. It is hoped that these optimization measures can face the future and continue to protect subjects after the end of the epidemic or in new public health emergencies. © 2022, Editorial department of Chinese Medical Ethics. All rights reserved.

BEV-Net: Assessing Social Distancing Compliance by Joint People Localization and Geometric Reasoning

Social distancing, an essential public health measure to limit the spread of contagious diseases, has gained significant attention since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this work, the problem of visual social distancing compliance assessment in busy public areas, with wide field-of-view cameras, is considered. A dataset of crowd scenes with people annotations under a bird's eye view (BEV) and ground truth for metric distances is introduced, and several measures for the evaluation of social distance detection systems are proposed. A multi-branch network, BEV-Net, is proposed to localize individuals in world coordinates and identify high-risk regions where social distancing is violated. BEV-Net combines detection of head and feet locations, camera pose estimation, a differentiable homography module to map image into BEV coordinates, and geometric reasoning to produce a BEV map of the people locations in the scene. Experiments on complex crowded scenes demonstrate the power of the approach and show superior performance over baselines derived from methods in the literature. Applications of interest for public health decision makers are finally discussed. Datasets, code and pretrained models are publicly available at GitHub(1).

Construction of Information Bank of Chemical Components in Isatidis Radix

OBJECTIVE: Isatidis Radix is the dried root of Isatis indigotica Fortune of Cruciferae. As a representative traditional Chinese medicine for heat-clearing and detoxification, Isatidis Radix and its preparations are widely used in the prevention and treatment of all kinds of colds and have played an active role in the prevention and treatment of SARS, H1N1 and COVID-19. Although the chemical ingredient of Isatidis Radix has been studied deeply, there is no information bank, website or literature that can comprehensively query the information of all compounds at home and abroad, which is not conducive to the development of related research. So establishment of the chemical composition information bank is in need. METHODS: According to the category of chemical ingredients, the Chinese and English names, molecular formulas, exact molecular weights, structural formulas and references of nearly 400 chemical components in Isatidis Radix were comprehensively sorted out, and the chemical composition information bank of Isatidis Radix was constructed. RESULTS: By September 2020, a total of 392 compounds in 17 categories had been extracted, isolated and identified from Isatidis Radix. CONCLUSIONT: The established chemical composition information bank can provide the basis for the separation and identification of chemical components, quality control, material basis mining, network pharmacology research and so on. Copyright 2022 by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

[Emergency training need and effect evaluation analysis of novel coronavirus pneumonia in centers of disease control and prevention].

A questionnaire was used to investigate the emergency training needs of novel coronavirus pneumonia of disease prevention and control institutions in provinces, deputy provincial level regions and cities specifically designated in the state plan, and the effect evaluation of emergency training activities conducted by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC). The results showed that 67.4% of 47 disease prevention and control institutions (31/46) believed that the emergency training at the initial stage of the epidemic should be conducted as soon as possible, and the form of network training should be given priority. The training should focus on the urgently needed technologies such as epidemiological investigation, formulation and response of prevention and control strategies, laboratory testing, etc. The teaching materials should highlight pertinence and practicability and be presented in the form of electronic video. The average satisfaction score of the video training conducted by China CDC was (8.81±1.125) and the score of audio-video courseware was (8.97±0.893). The needs analysis and evaluation of novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control in disease prevention and control institutions could provide reference for the follow-up training and improve the emergency training management.

COVID-19 as a factor influencing air quality? A city study in China

To prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which emerged in late December 2019, the Chinese government immediately adopted lockdown measures, such as restricting traffic and closing factories. By analyzing the spatiotemporal distribution of the air quality index (AQI) values in Dongying, a city dominated by the petrochemical industry (specifically, petroleum exploration), during February 2020, when the strictest measures were in force, this study investigates the effect of short-term lockdowns on air quality. We observed a statistically significant reduction in the monthly average AQI—24.6%, or an absolute decrease of 25.4—compared to February 2019. Additionally, the difference between the maximum and the minimum hourly average AQI dropped to almost one-third of the value that in the normal time during winter. We also assessed the influence of meteorological factors and industrial exhaust emissions. Quantitative analysis revealed a strong positive correlation (p < 0.01) between the AQI and exhaust emissions, confirming the latter’s contribution to air pollution. However, this contribution shrunk by approximately 38.3% during February 2020. Our results indicate that the improvement in air quality was related to traffic reduction and enterprise closures during the lockdown, which only marginally affected the spatial distribution of the AQI values. This research serves as a reference for controlling air pollution in Dongying and areas with similar conditions. © The Author(s).

Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus pneumonia with diarrhea

Introduction: This study aimed to understand the clinical characteristics of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (2019-nCoV) combined with diarrhea and to explore its pathogenic mechanism. Materials and methods: The clinical data of 108 2019-nCoV patients (16 with diarrhea and 92 without diarrhea) were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Sixteen 2019-nCoV patients (14.8%) had diarrhea. This was watery stool, 2–5 times a day. The volume was about 150-200 mL/time, lasting 2-7 days, but the patients had no obvious abdominal pain, abdominal distension, digestive tract symptoms, or dehydration. Routine stool examination showed no obvious abnormal changes. The number of patients with or without diarrhea who had a history of contact with the epidemic area in Wuhan was seven (43.8%) and 48 (52.2%), respectively, P = 0.53. The average length of hospital stay for the group with diarrhea was 15.7 days, and 16.0 days for the group without diarrhea. The number of critically ill patients in the two groups was two (12.5%) and 12 (13%), respectively. Both groups of patients had symptoms such as fever, cough and sputum, chest tightness, and shortness of breath (P>0.1 for all). Both groups of patients had abnormal liver function, myocardial damage (increased LDH/HBDH, increased CK/CK-MB), increased CRP and interleukins, and the number of patients with decreased white blood cells, platelets, and lymphocytes in the two groups was similar (P>0.1). Conclusion: The mechanism of 2019-nCoV causing diarrhea may be that the virus enters the host cell by S1-protein binding to the human ACE2 receptor and infects the epithelial cells of the digestive tract to cause watery diarrhea, but the symptoms are mild, and the duration is short. The virus exists and replicates in the digestive tract;therefore, there is the possibility of a fecal-oral route of transmission. © 2021 A. CARBONE Editore. All rights reserved.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with COVID-19: a rapid systematic review of case studies.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 can cause severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can support gas exchange in patients failing conventional mechanical ventilation, but its role is still controversial. We performed a rapid systematic review focusing on the use of ECMO in patients with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Embase, the Cochrane Library, EBSCO and Ovid (updated 30 April 2020) were systematically searched. Case reports/Case series from COVID-19 patients treated with ECMO were included in the study. Three reviewers assessed, selected, and abstracted data from studies. All disparate opinions were resolved through discussion. RESULTS: We included 13 articles for systematic evaluation, including 10 case reports and 3 case series studies, with a total of 72 patients. We search for the following information: First author of articles; Patient's location; age; gender; body mass index (BMI); Comorbidities; Time on ECMO; Mode of ECMO; treatments and clinical outcomes. As of all reporting times, our data show that 38 patients (52.8%) have died definitively, 13 patients (18.0%) were still receiving ECMO treatment, 12 patients (16.7%) were alive, 7 patients (9.7%) were recovery and 2 cases (2.8%) remained hospitalized. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO plays an important role in the stabilization and survival critically ill patients with COVID-19, but the usefulness of ECMO in reducing the mortality of severe ARDS caused by COVID-19 was limited. Therefore, a larger sample size study and a comprehensive analysis of evaluating the medical value of using ECMO on COVID-19 patients are urgently required.