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European Union (EU) becomes the largest trade partner of China since 2005, and China is the second-largest trade partner of the EU. However, the deepening interdependence between these two major economies also brings worries about the ecological unequal exchange (EUE). Comparing the carbon emissions of China and the EU, the most distinct difference is that the carbon emissions of China have raised greatly from 2010 to 2020, while the carbon emissions of the EU dropped significantly in the same period. The EUE between China and the US has been studied by many scholars, while the EUE between China and the EU is rarely explored in literature, especially during the China-US trade disputes since 2018 and Coronavirus pandemic since 2019. Employing the MRIO model, we assess embodied carbon emission from the value-added perspective of China and EU bilateral trade with 26 sectors, then investigate the embodied carbon emission sectors in import for intermediate and final consumption. The results suggest that global value chains mean "global pollution chains”, too, and emissions produced from the export trade of the EU countries to China much less China's emissions produced from the export trade of China to the EU, which endorse the EUE theory. © 2023 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control
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Aiming at the complex and changeable environment and the low public participation in emergency decision making, this article proposes a method for the dynamic collaboration of the public and experts in large-scale group emergency decision-making (LSGEDM) based on social media data. First, sentiment analysis is carried out on text data from social media platforms to evaluate the quality of LSGEDM at both the attribute and comprehensive levels. Then, according to the decision-making quality at the attribute level, a method for the dynamic updating of attribute weights is proposed. Next, in the social network environment, the trust relationship between experts is dynamically updated based on the comprehensive quality of decision-making and the distance between the expert and group preferences, and expert weights are calculated by the improved PageRank algorithm. Finally, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method are verified via its application to the COVID-19 epidemic in China and a comparative analysis.
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Objective: To explore the potential action mechanism of Bupleuri Radix and Puerariae Lobatae Radix herb-pair in the treatment of Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by 2019-nCoV virus through network pharmacology method, so as to provide theoretical guidance for further mechanism and clinical translational research. Method(s): The potential active ingredients and their respective related action targets of Bupleuri Radix and Puerariae Lobatae Radix were obtained through the TCMSP, and the COVID-19-related disease targets were searched by GeneCards database.The common targets from the both screenings were input into the STRING protein interaction online database to construct the interaction network of potential targets.The potential core targets were further screened by MCODE plug-ins.The "ingredients-targets-diseases" network and PPI network were constructed by Cytoscape 3.2.1 software, and GO function enrichment analysis and KEGG signal pathway enrichment analysis were carried out by DAVID v6.8 online software. Result(s): A total of 22 active ingredients and 226 drug targets were screened from Bupleuri Radix and Puerariae Lobatae Radix herb-pair, among which 47 were co-acting targets with COVID-19 and 21 were potential core targets.The results of GO functional enrichment analysis showed that it was mainly related to gene transcriptional expression, inflammatory response and immune system response, while KEGG signal pathway enrichment analysis showed that it was mainly associated with influenza A virus, TNF pathway, Toll-like receptor signal pathway and others. Conclusion(s): Bupleuri Radix and Puerariae Lobatae Radix herb-pair can exert an anti-2019-nCoV effect through its regulatory role in inflammatory reaction and immune system with a multi-ingredients, multi-targets and multi-pathways pharmacological characteristics. Copyright © 2021, Central Station of Chinese Medicinal Materials Information, National Medical Products Administration. All right reserved.
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Background: Rheumatologists recommend vaccination in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients, but there are few studies on the occurrence of adverse events (AEs), particularly worsening disease related activity and unrelated immune reactions in these groups. Objectives: To evaluate the uptake of COVID vaccination in RA and axSpA patients, compare the frequency of AEs, and identify risk factors associated with vaccine AEs in two prospective cohorts comprised of these patients. Methods: The IMPACT study is a monthly survey of two prospective cohorts of established RA and axSpA patients in northern Alberta, Canada from November 2020-2021 who answered at least one or more Redcap surveys through de-iden-tifed email link surveying demographics, disease characteristics, COVID symptoms, treatment of RA and axSpA, health care utilization, vaccination status, vaccine AEs and use of cannabis. Univariate analyses evaluated independent variables associated with the dependent variables of (1) any AE, (2) any severe AE, (3) any arthritis fare, and (4) any severe arthritis fare, followed by multi-variate analyses of these four dependant variables using all clinically relevant variables from the univariate analysis. Results: 773/2167 patients (RA 574, axSpA 197) responded to at least one survey. 32/663 (5%) were single vaccinated, 631 (95%) double vaccinated and 230 (54%) triple vaccinated with 80% receiving Pfzer, 24% Moderna, 28% Astra-Zeneca and 30% 'other'. 456 (69%) reported at least one AE (Figure 1) with 21 (3%) patients seeing a physician for their AE. Increased age was associated with all AEs. RA patients had lower reported AEs versus axSpA patients for all AE defnitions except for severe arthritis fares. Generally, males reported worse AEs (Table 1). 'Any arthritis fare' was lower in patients reporting cannabis use. Conclusion: RA and axSpA patients showed high uptake of COVID vaccination with largely minor AEs. Older age and male gender were associated with more general and arthritis specifc AEs. The association of any AE and/or arthritis-spe-cifc AEs in SpA versus RA patients is a novel fnding which may correlate with the male predominance of SpA. The association of cannabis with fewer arthritis AEs may refect the nociceptive properties of cannabis.
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Background: Throughout the pandemic, there has been ongoing concern that people with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) will have more severe COVID-19 disease due to immune dysfunction associated with autoimmune diseases and their treatment. Objectives: We aimed to compare the severity of COVID-19 in patients with RA versus axSpA and characterize the predictors of COVID-19 severity during the pre-Omicron pandemic phases. Methods: The IMPACT (IMPact of infammatory Arthritis on COVID Outcomes STudy) study is a monthly survey of two established northern Alberta, Canada prospective cohorts of RA and axSpA patients from November 2020-2021 who answered Redcap surveys through de-identifed email link surveying patient demographics, disease characteristics, COVID-19 symptoms, treatment of RA and axSpA, health care utilization, vaccination status and vaccine adverse events. Descriptive and univariate analyses (dependent variable = severe COVID-19) were performed followed by multivariate analyses of all signifcant and clinically relevant independent variables from the univariate analysis. Infection severity was defned as any patient with COVID-19 symptoms who visited a doctor, ER or required hospital admission. Results: 773 of 2167 (36%) patients (RA n=574, axSpA n=197) registered in both cohorts answered at least one baseline survey, 28 (4%) reporting positive COVID-19 tests (24 positive once). Of 442 reporting COVID-19 symptoms during the survey, 11 (3%) were admitted for a mean of 4 days, 2 requiring ICU or blood clot treatment and 1 requiring advanced therapy. 116 (26%) visited a physician for Covid symptoms. Univariate analysis showed that the use of steroids, NSAIDs and increased disease activity were associated with having less severe infection but these associations were not signifcant in the multivariate analysis (Table 1). There were no signifcant impacts of RA vs axSpA, age, gender, treatment, disease activity, or smoking. Conclusion: Possible disease related risk factors for increased COVID-19 severity in RA and axSpA patients preceding the onset of the Omicron variant including use of steroids or DMARDs were not associated with severe infection. These fndings are consistent with other international studies whereby other non-rheumatic disease comorbidities played a greater role in infection severity.
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With the rapid spread of COVID-19, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been infected. In order to cope with the epidemic, experts from various countries have carried out a lot of research works. Most of these works chose to use the traditional SEIR model, but the traditional model doesn't consider the individual's movement in the city. Based on the transmission characteristics of COVID-19, this paper optimized the traditional SEIR model by combining the in-depth mining and processed multiple data, such as the real epidemic data published by some official organizations, as well as data with certain credibility obtained from reference papers, journals or newspapers. Compared with the traditional SEIR model, the proposed model takes into account the impact of individuals' movement and the division of urban functional areas. The outcomes can play a certain role in the prediction and analysis of the spread of the epidemic in cities with regular individuals' movements and functions of urban areas. © 2021 IEEE.
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COVID-19 was first reported in China and quickly spread throughout the world. Weak investor confidence in government efforts to control the pandemic seriously affected global financial markets. This study investigated chaos in China's futures market during COVID-19, focusing on the degree of chaos at different periods during the pandemic. We constructed a phase diagram to observe the attractor trajectory of index futures (IFs). During the COVID-19 outbreak, overall chaos in China's futures market was increasing, and there was a clear correlation between market volatility and the macroenvironment (mainly government regulation). The Hurst index, calculated by rescaled range (R/S) analysis, was 0.46. The price and return of IFs showed long-term correlation and fractal characteristics;the relevant dimensions of the futures market were 2.17. Overall, under the influence of an emergency (COVID-19), chaos in China's financial market intensified, creating a need for timely government intervention and macrocontrol of the market. This study's findings can help improve the government's understanding of the phenomenon of financial chaos caused by emergencies. This study also provides theoretical guidance for controlling financial chaos and maintaining healthy economic development when faced with similar events in the future.
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Background: To evaluate the potential pharmacological activity of polygonum cuspidatum, a popular Chinese herb medicine (CHM), against COVID-19. Methods: The TCMSP database was utilized to screen the active ingredients and potential drug-targets of polygonum cuspidatum. Then GO/KEGG enrichment analysis of these common targets was performed, followed with the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction and core target extraction by Cytoscape and MCODE plugin, respectively. The molecular docking analysis was conducted by using CB-Dock. Furthermore, a newly developed TCMATCOV platform was employed to predict therapeutic effects of polygonum cuspidatum for COVID-19. Results: Fifteen key ingredients and 62 common targets were obtained from the above screening. The GO/KEGG enrichment analyses of these common targets and the core targets extracted from the PPI network suggested that polygonum cuspidatum had antiviral and immunoregulatory activities. Further molecular docking analysis showed that two key ingredients, physciondiglucoside and chrysophanol, had good binding affinities with the core targets, suggesting an important role for them in mediating the pharmacological activity of polygonum cuspidatum. The therapeutic effect of polygonum cuspidatum for COVID-19 was further validated by using the TCMATCOV platform. Conclusion: These results based on network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis suggest polygonum cuspidatum is a promising CHM candidate against COVID-19.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic that began in late December 2019. The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 is primarily due to person-to-person transmission. To understand the epidemiological traits of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, we conducted phylogenetic analysis on genome sequences from >54K SARS-CoV-2 cases obtained from two public databases. Hierarchical clustering analysis on geographic patterns in the resulting phylogenetic trees revealed a co-expansion tendency of the virus among neighboring countries with diverse sources and transmission routes for SARS-CoV-2. Pairwise sequence similarity analysis demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted locally and evolves during transmission. However, no significant differences were seen among SARS-CoV-2 genomes grouped by host age or sex. Here, our identified epidemiological traits provide information to better prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and to facilitate the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against the virus.
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Laboratory medicine has learnt a lot in response to COVID-19. This experience would be beneficial to the development of laboratory medicine.
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Since the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 epidemic spread rapidly around the world. Prolonged exposure to high concentrations of aerosol in a relatively confined environment may favor the transmission of COVID-19 through aerosols, a potential threat to laboratory safety. This article introduced the sources and hazards of laboratory aerosols, the monitoring methods to microbial aerosol, and explored strategies of biosafety protection on potential laboratory infections.
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The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) broke out in December 2019 and has been rapidly escalating throughout the world. Clinical findings show that the patients with either symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID-19 can be a potential source of infection. Although respiratory droplets and close contact are considered to be the main routes of transmission, there is the possibility of aerosol transmission in a relatively closed environment. The nucleic acid of the novel coronavirus can be detected in nasopharyngeal swabs, sputum and other lower respiratory tract secretions, blood, feces, urine and so on, but whether it exists in the semen has not been confirmed. It is reported that the novel coronavirus may affect the testis that highly expresses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and theoretically the semen is a possible carrier of the virus considering the fact that it is discharged from the same channel as the urine. Andrology laboratorians are exposed to most of the specimens above, including semen, and some open operations in the laboratory increase the risk of aerosol generation. Therefore, corresponding protective procedures are necessitated in andrology laboratories to reduce the risk of infection during the outbreak of COVID-19. Based on the knowledge and experience available as regards the pandemic and the characteristics of the work in the andrology laboratory, we summarize some biosafety points for andrology laboratorians to attend to during the outbreak of COVID-19.
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Objective: To explore the action mechanism of five Chinese medicines targeting ACE2 for the treatment of COVID-19. Methods: Chinese medicines with human angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) targeting activity were screened through the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) system pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP), and the TCMSP platform was further utilized to identify the active ingredients of Chinese medicines and their corresponding drug targets. Then, the protein interaction of the above protein targets was analyzed by STRING online database and the relevant data were downloaded. Next, the core sub-network modules in the PPI network system were screened through the MCODE plug-in in CytoScape 3.2.1 software. The functional enrichment analyses of gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome (KEGG) were carried out, using online enrichment analysis software DAVID v6.8, to predict the pharmacological mechanism of the above five Chinese medicines, and to verify and explore the feasibility of compatibility and clinical application of related herb-pair or formula under the theoretical system of TCM. Results: Five Chinese medicines with potential therapeutic effects on ACE2 were selected through the TCMSP platform, namely Bupleuri Radix, Puerariae Lobatae Radix, Puerariae Lobatae Flos, Cyathulae Radix, and Hemerocallis Radix, which contained 42 active ingredients and 240 drug targets. The results of GO biological function enrichment analysis showed that the above five Chinese medicines could affect the biological processes such as inflammatory response, cell apoptosis and proliferation and etc. The results of KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the pharmacological mechanisms of these Chinese medicines were closely related to PI3K-Akt pathway, TNF pathway, FoxO pathway, MAPK pathway, and so on. In TCM theory, Bupleuri Radix and Puerariae Lobatae Radix is a classic herb-pair for the treatment of infectious and febrile diseases. Chaige Jieji Decoction is widely used in febrile diseases in ancient and modern clinics, and has achieved good clinical effects. The main febrile disease treated by this herb-pair is the triple-yang combination of diseases in the syndrome differentiation of the six meridians, which is in line with the syndrome differentiation of TCM in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. It can be used with Cyathulae Radix and Hemerocallis Radix in addition and subtraction. Conclusion: The identified five Chinese medicines have multi-target, multi-function and multi-pathway pharmacological effects on the treatment of COVID-19. According to the theoretical analysis of TCM and previous clinical experience, it is suggested that Chaige Jieji Decoction or Bupleuri Radix and Puerariae Lobatae Radix herb-pair can be used to treat COVID-19.