The Impact of Social Media Use on Online Collective Action During China’s COVID-19 Pandemic Mitigation: A Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA) Perspective

The role of social media in fostering collective action in China is under constant debate, and the mechanism underlying the effects of social media use on collective action has not garnered sufficient scholarly attention. This study aims to investigate the (in)direct effects of attention to social media—administered by the governmental (gov) and nongovernmental sectors (nongov), respectively—for information about COVID-19 mitigation in China on intention to participate in online collective action (IPOCA). Findings from a survey suggest that attention to both social media (gov) and social media (nongov) directly predicted IPOCA. The indirect effect of attention to social media (gov) on IPOCA was significantly mediated by social identification. This study evidences the impact of social media on collective action in China and theoretically underpins its mechanisms through the social identity model of collective action © 2022 (Xin Zhao, Mengfei Guan, and Xinya Liang). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available at http://ijoc.org

Expert consensus on quality management for point-of-care testing of pathogen nucleic acid

COVID-19 continues to fluctuate worldwide in 2021, while under the precise policy implementation of China's public health system, the epidemic was quickly controlled, and society and the economy have recovered, but the overseas input pressure continues to increase, and the risk of epidemic rebound still exists. The nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 has played an indispensable role in the first line of defense for epidemic prevention. In the scenarios of fever clinics, emergency surgery, etc., nucleic acid detection is required to be followed up and reported quickly. Therefore, nucleic acid point-of-care-testing (POCT) technology for SARS-CoV-2 identification has emerged, and has been widely carried out in medical institutions at all levels. SARS-CoV-2 POCT has served as a complementary test to conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) batch tests, thus forming an experimental diagnosis platform that not only guarantees medical safety but also improves quality services. However, in view of the complexity of molecular diagnosis and the biosafety requirements involved, pathogen nucleic acid POCT is different from traditional blood-based physical and chemical index detection. No rule-based guidelines currently exist for POCT quality management, and there have been various cognitive confusion and inconsistency in the operation in practical work. Therefore, Shanghai Society of Molecular Diagnostics, Shanghai Society of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Microbiology Division of Shanghai Society of Microbiology and Shanghai Center for Clinical Laboratory collaborated to prepare this expert consensus. Based on the current spectrum of major infectious diseases in China, the whole-process operation management of pathogen POCT, including its application scenarios, biosafety management, personnel qualification, performance verification, quality control, and result reporting, was described here. This expert consensus is expected to promote the rational use and healthy development of this technology in public health defense and nosocomial infection management. Copyright © 2021 by the Chinese Medical Association.

Disruption in Chinese E-Commerce During COVID-19

The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected millions of citizens worldwide and claimed many lives. This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese e-commerce by analyzing behavioral changes observed on a large online shopping platform. We first conduct a time series analysis to identify product categories that faced the most extensive disruptions. The time-lagged analysis shows that behavioral patterns of shopping actions are highly responsive to the epidemic's development. Based on these findings, we present a consumer demand prediction method by encompassing the epidemic statistics and behavioral features of COVID-19-related products. Experimental results demonstrate that our predictions outperform existing baselines and further extend to long-term and province-level forecasts. Finally, we discuss how our market analysis and prediction can help better prepare for future pandemics by gaining extra time to launch preventive measures.

Properties of materials considered for improvised masks

During a pandemic in which aerosol and droplet transmission is possible, such as the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the demand for face masks that meet medical or workplace standards can prevent most individuals from obtaining suitable protection. Cloth masks are widely believed to impede droplet and aerosol transmission, but most are constructed from materials with unknown filtration efficiency, airflow resistance and water resistance. Here we provide data on a range of common fabrics that might be used to construct masks, complimenting existing studies by largely considering particles in the micron range (a plausible challenge size for human generated aerosols). None of the materials were suitable for N95 masks, but many could provide useful filtration (>90%) of 3 micron particles, with low pressure drop. These were: nonwoven sterile wraps, dried baby wipes and some double-knit cotton materials. Decontamination of N95 masks using isopropyl alcohol produces the expected increase in particle penetration, but for 3 micron particles, filtration efficiency is still well above 95%. Tightly woven thin fabrics, despite having the visual appearance of a good particle barrier, had remarkably low filtration efficiency and high pressure drop. The better material structures expose individual fibers to the flow while the poor materials may have small fundamental fibers but these are in tightly bundled yarns. Despite the complexity of the design of a very good mask, it is clear that for the larger aerosol particles, any mask will provide substantial protection to the wearer and those around them. Copyright © 2020 American Association for Aerosol Research.

[Laboratory testing, prevention and control of asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus disease 2019].

With many hard efforts, the epidemic prevention and control work in China has borne successful, accelerating the gradual restoration of production, living order and routine medical work. However, there is increasing evidence that many patients with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, but they are potential transmitter of the virus. There are difficulties in screening for asymptomatic infections, which makes it more difficult for national prevention and control of this epidemic. Therefore, it is urgent to develop better screening and laboratory testing for asymptomatic infections with COVID-19 with high speed, sensitivity and specificity. It is also important to improve our risk assessment, prevention and control strategies to further prevent the spread of the epidemic.

Understanding the influence factors in viral nucleic acid test of 2019 novel coronavirus

At present, the prevention and control of new coronavirus has entered a critical period. However, the use of quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)assays for the detection of viral nucleic acid, as a crucial diagnostic approach, has been doubted in clinical practice. Herein, we have reviewed the current status of epidemic prevention and control, latest development of detection technologies, disease characteristics, clinical sampling and transport. It has also discussed the factors that may affect the performance of viral nucleic acid detection, and suggested some effective methods to improve the detection performance of the assays.

The position and role of department of laboratory medicine in the construction of national public health system: experiences from public health emergencies efforts

At present, the situation of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control in China is gradually improving, but the situation of overseas import prevention and control remains difficult. The COVID-19 epidemic may exist for long due to the undetermined source of infection, the difficulty in completely cutting off the transmission route, and a large number of susceptible people. Therefore, prevention and control will be a long-term and arduous task, making it necessary to adhere to the principle of combining emergency response with regular prevention and control, coordinating the epidemic prevention and social-economic development in a balanced way. In retrospect, the epidemic has exposed the ambiguous positioning and unsatisfying hardware construction of hospital laboratory departments, and delayed intervention of laboratory experts in the public health treatment system of China. This paper reflects on the hospital laboratory departments' problems during the anti-epidemic activities, and put forward suggestions to improve the future development of clinical laboratories in the national public health system.