[Analysis of chest imaging features of novel coronavirus pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia and viral pneumonia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and summarize the chest CT imaging features of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), bacterial pneumonia and other viral pneumonia. METHODS: Chest CT data of 102 patients with pulmonary infection due to different etiologies were retrospectively analyzed, including 36 patients with COVID-19 admitted to Hainan Provincial People's Hospital and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University from December 2019 to March 2020, 16 patients with other viral pneumonia admitted to Hainan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2018 to February 2020, and 50 patients with bacterial pneumonia admitted to Haikou Affiliated Hospital of Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine from April 2018 to May 2020. Two senior radiologists and two senior intensive care physicians were participated to evaluated the extent of lesions involvement and imaging features of the first chest CT after the onset of the disease. RESULTS: Bilateral pulmonary lesions were more common in patients with COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia, and the incidence was significantly higher than that of bacterial pneumonia (91.6%, 75.0% vs. 26.0%, P < 0.05). Compared with other viral pneumonia and COVID-19, bacterial pneumonia was mainly characterized by single-lung and multi-lobed lesion (62.0% vs. 18.8%, 5.6%, P < 0.05), accompanied by pleural effusion and lymph node enlargement. The proportion of ground-glass opacity in the lung tissues of patients with COVID-19 was 97.2%, that of patients with other viral pneumonia was 56.2%, and that of patients with bacterial pneumonia was only 2.0% (P < 0.05). The incidence rate of lung tissue consolidation (25.0%, 12.5%), air bronchial sign (13.9%, 6.2%) and pleural effusion (16.7%, 37.5%) in patients with COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia were significantly lower than those in patients with bacterial pneumonia (62.0%, 32.0%, 60.0%, all P < 0.05), paving stone sign (22.2%, 37.5%), fine mesh sign (38.9%, 31.2%), halo sign (11.1%, 25.0%), ground-glass opacity with interlobular septal thickening (30.6%, 37.5%), bilateral patchy pattern/rope shadow (80.6%, 50.0%) etc. were significantly higher than those of bacterial pneumonia (2.0%, 4.0%, 2.0%, 0%, 22.0%, all P < 0.05). The incidence of local patchy shadow in patients with COVID-19 was only 8.3%, significantly lower than that in patients with other viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia (8.3% vs. 68.8%, 50.0%, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of peripheral vascular shadow thickening in patients with COVID-19, other viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia (27.8%, 12.5%, 30.0%, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The probability of ground-glass opacity, paving stone and grid shadow in chest CT of patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher than those of bacterial pneumonia, and it was more common in the lower lungs and lateral dorsal segment. In other patients with viral pneumonia, ground-glass opacity was distributed in both upper and lower lungs. Bacterial pneumonia is usually characterized by single lung consolidation, distributed in lobules or large lobes and accompanied by pleural effusion.

The coverage of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and the willingness to receive the SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccine among employees in China.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a major global health threat. The dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 has changed over time due to continuous evolution. We aimed to evaluate the coverage of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among employees in China, explore their willingness to receive the SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccine and examine the potential factors influencing vaccination coverage and willingness. METHODS: A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was conducted online from January 1, 2022, to January 30, 2022. The information collected in the survey included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, vaccination coverage, willingness to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 variants and the reasons for vaccination and willingness. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of potential factors with the rate of vaccination and the willingness to be vaccinated. RESULTS: Among 62,395 eligible participants, the coverage of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was 98.9% for at least one dose and 70.1% for a booster. The great majority of vaccinated individuals (94.4%) voluntarily received the vaccine. A total of 60,694 respondents (97.7%) were willing to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 variants, mainly due to confidence in the effectiveness of vaccines (92.8%). A total of 1431 respondents were unwilling to be vaccinated, mainly because of concerns about the adverse effects of vaccines (77.6%). Longer education duration was associated with a higher rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and willingness to be vaccinated. General or poor health status and having no history of influenza vaccination were associated with a lower rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and willingness to be vaccinated. Additionally, we observed a significant positive association of abuse experience with the willingness to be vaccinated. CONCLUSION: Although the rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and the willingness to be vaccinated were relatively high in the study population, there were still some respondents with vaccine hesitancy. Relevant strategies based on significant related factors should be developed and implemented to encourage vaccination.

How does centralized isolation treatment strategy affect the medical staff's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Background: During the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Chinese Government adopted a centralized isolation treatment (CIT) strategy for patients, which has greatly improved the efficiency of the pandemic response. However, compared to those in local hospitals, anti-COVID-19 medical staff in mobile cabin hospitals, where the CIT strategy was adopted, suffered more mental health problems. This study aimed to explore how the CIT strategy affected the medical staff's mental health by comparing anti-COVID-19 medical staff who worked in mobile cabin hospitals to those in fever clinics of local hospitals. Methods: Following the standard scale development procedure, this study first developed a scale measuring the mental health of anti-COVID-19 medical staff. Using SPSS 23.0 and Amos 23.0 software, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analysis method were conducted to support the scale development. In the main investigation, a survey method using the developed scale was used, and 839 anti-COVID-19 medical staff from five hospitals in northern China were recruited as participants by snowball-sampling method. The first survey was conducted in February 2020, when the first round of COVID-19 was at a serious time. In April 2020, after the first round of COVID-19 in China was initially contained, and medical staff who worked in mobile cabin hospitals returned to local hospitals, a follow-up survey was conducted on these participants. Using SPSS 23.0 software, a series of 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA was conducted, in which working conditions (mobile cabin hospital vs. local hospital) served as a between-subject factor, time points (during vs. after the first round of COVID-19) served as a within-subject variable, and the indicators of the medical staff's mental health served as dependent variables respectively. Results: The reliability and validity of the developed scale were desirable. The mental health problems of anti-COVID-19 medical staff were mainly manifested as anxiety, powerlessness, fear of infection, and somatization. Compared to those who worked in local hospitals, anti-COVID-19 medical staff who worked in mobile cabin hospitals where the CIT strategy was adopted suffered more powerlessness, fear of infection, and somatization. After returning to local hospitals, symptoms of fear of infection and powerlessness of medical staff who used to work in mobile cabin hospitals decreased significantly. However, their anxiety symptoms were not relieved, and their somatization symptoms even increased. Conclusion: This study implied that the mental health of anti-COVID-19 medical staff in mobile cabin hospitals adopting CIT was worse than in local hospitals. Moreover, with the first outbreak in remission, the mental health recovery of medical staff in CIT hospitals was slower than in local hospitals. Relevant practitioners should pay more attention to the mental health condition of anti-COVID-19 medical staff who work in CIT hospitals. The psychological assistance service for them should continue even after they return to the local hospitals.

The impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions on HIV care continuum in China: An interrupted time series analysis.

Background: China implemented strict non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain COVID-19 at the early stage. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on HIV care continuum in China. Methods: Aggregated data on HIV care continuum between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020 were collected from centers for disease control and prevention at different levels and major infectious disease hospitals in various regions in China. We used interrupted time series analysis to characterize temporal trend in weekly numbers of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) prescriptions, HIV tests, HIV diagnoses, median time intervals between HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation (time intervals, days), ART initiations, mean CD4+ T cell counts at ART initiation (CD4 counts, cells/µL), ART collections, and missed visits for ART collection, before and after the implementation of massive NPIs (23 January to 7 April 2020). We used Poisson segmented regression models to estimate the immediate and long-term impact of NPIs on these outcomes. Findings: A total of 16,780 PEP prescriptions, 1,101,686 HIV tests, 69,659 HIV diagnoses, 63,409 time intervals and ART initiations, 61,518 CD4 counts, 1,528,802 ART collections, and 6656 missed visits were recorded during the study period. The majority of outcomes occurred in males (55·3-87·4%), 21-50 year olds (51·7-90·5%), Southwestern China (38·2-82·0%) and heterosexual transmission (47·9-66·1%). NPIs was associated with 71·5% decrease in PEP prescriptions (IRR 0·285; 95% CI 0·192-0·423), 36·1% decrease in HIV tests (0·639, 0·497-0·822), 32·0% decrease in HIV diagnoses (0·680, 0·511-0·904), 59·3% increase in time intervals (1·593, 1·270-1·997) and 17·4% decrease in CD4 counts (0·826, 0·746-0·915) in the first week during NPIs. There was no marked change in the number of ART initiations, ART collections and missed visits during the NPIs. By the end of 2020, the number of HIV tests, HIV diagnoses, time intervals, ART initiations, and CD4 counts reached expected levels, but the number of PEP prescriptions (0·523, 0·394-0·696), ART collections (0·720, 0·595-0·872), and missed visits (0·137, 0·086-0·220) were still below expected levels. With the ease of restrictions, PEP prescriptions (slope change 1·024/week, 1·012-1·037), HIV tests (1·016/week, 1·008-1·026), and CD4 counts (1·005/week, 1·001-1·009) showed a significant increasing trend. Interpretation: HIV care continuum in China was affected by the COVID-19 NPIs at various levels. Preparedness and efforts to maintain the HIV care continuum during public health emergencies should leverage collaborations between stakeholders. Funding: Natural Science Foundation of China.

Mapping abandoned cropland using Within-Year Sentinel-2 time series.

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and various armed conflicts, the world is experiencing an unprecedented food crisis. The reclamation of abandoned cropland with food production potential may increase the global food supply in a short period of time, ensuring food security. At present, the extraction of abandoned cropland is mainly based on low- and medium-resolution remote sensing image data, making it difficult to extract fragmented areas in mountainous regions and to distinguish between abandoned cropland and transitional classes (such as fallow cropland). We developed a change-detection method based on within-year Sentinel-2 time series to extract cropland abandoned from 2018 to 2021 and defined four types of croplands, namely spontaneously abandoned, induced abandoned, fallow, and lost cropland, using Linxia County in mountainous China as the study region. First, cropland objects were generated from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 images using the multi-resolution segmentation method, and the land use map of Linxia County from 2017 to 2021 was drawn using random forest classifier. Second, through defining and identifying different cropland types, the interannual dynamic changes in cropland from 2018 to 2021 were extracted by analyzing the annual land use change trajectory. Third, by analyzing the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series of cropland within-year, the active and cultivated cropland sites within-year were extracted by threshold segmentation. Finally, the changes in the four cropland types were extracted by intersecting the two result types. Our method captured the object level changes well (overall mapping accuracy = 93 ± 5 %), and the extraction accuracy of abandoned cropland reached 81 ± 2 %. Abandoned cropland was mostly located in areas of medium quality and with a moderate distance from rural settlements. Reclamation can potentially increase the grain production in Linxia County by at least 3.6 % and needs to be combined with the local natural geography and human activities. Our method is a robust method for extracting abandoned cropland and may be applied to other research related to land use change.

Thrombosis and lymphocyte subsets of COVID-19 omicron BA.2 variant patients with cancer.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused an ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19. It has been found that COVID-19 has an influence on the changes of blood coagulation parameters and the high incidence of thrombosis. Changchun experienced the epidemic of the Omicron BA.2 variant SARS-CoV-2 in March 2022 in China. Once infected, BA.2 spreads rapidly and most of them are asymptomatic. The purpose of this study is to research venous thrombosis and laboratory changes (including PLT, PT, APTT, DD, FDP, CRP, WBC, IL-6 and lymphocyte subsets) among 92 cancer patients with COVID-19 and 73 COVID-19 patients with non-cancer by Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square test. It was found that the levels of D-dimer, FDP, CRP and IL-6 in cancer patients were significantly higher than those in the COVID-19 cohort. There were 9 (9.8%) cancer patients and 2 (2.7%) non-cancer patients found VTE, with no significant difference. The results showed that WBC, lymphocytes and B cells in cancer patients were significantly lower than those in the other group. Prophylactic anticoagulation was recommended for cancer patients with high risk factors, while paying attention to the occurrence of bleeding events. The detection of leukocyte classification, D-dimer, prothrombin time and fibrinogen at different time points are helpful for the diagnosis and anticoagulation of COVID-19 patients with cancer.

Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of Intravenous Doses of PF-07304814, a Phosphate Prodrug Protease Inhibitor for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2, in Healthy Adult Participants.

Studies on targeted antivirals for treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the ongoing pandemic, are limited. PF-07304814 (lufotrelvir) is the phosphate prodrug of PF-00835231, a protease inhibitor targeting the 3C-like protease of SARS-CoV-2. This phase 1 study evaluated the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of single ascending intravenous doses of lufotrelvir (continuous 24-hour infusion of 50, 150, 500, or 700 mg) versus placebo in healthy volunteers (2 interleaving cohorts: 1, n = 8; 2, n = 7). Each dosing period was separated by a washout interval (≥5 days). Treatment-emergent adverse events, PK, and biomarker concentrations were estimated from plasma/urine samples. Lufotrelvir was administered to 15 volunteers (mean [SD] age 39.7 [11.8] years). No serious adverse events, discontinuations, or deaths were reported. Mean maximum observed concentration of PF-00835231 (active moiety; 97.0 ng/mL to 1288 ng/mL) were observed between median time to maximum concentration of 14 to 16 hours after the start of the lufotrelvir infusion. Near-maximum plasma concentrations of PF-00835231 were observed ≈6 hours after infusion start and sustained until infusion end. PF-00835231 plasma concentrations declined rapidly after infusion end (mean terminal half-life: 500 mg, 2.0 hours; 700 mg, 1.7 hours). Approximately 9%-11% of the dose was recovered in urine as PF-00835231 across doses. A continuous, single-dose, 24-hour infusion of lufotrelvir (50-700 mg) was rapidly converted to PF-00835231 (active moiety), with dose-proportional PK exposures and no significant safety concerns. A daily, 24-hour continuous infusion of 270 to 350 mg is expected to maintain PF-00835231 concentration at steady state/above effective antiviral concentrations. Further studies exploring lufotrelvir efficacy in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 are ongoing.

HIV Testing Services Outcomes in CDC-Funded Health Departments During COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Organizations offering HIV prevention services have reported interruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The national extent of these interruptions and their public health impact remain largely unexplored. METHODS: Using data from 60 state and local health departments, we compared HIV testing services outcomes in calendar years 2019 and 2020, including the number of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded HIV tests conducted, the percentage of persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection (ie, HIV positivity), and the percentage linked to HIV medical care within 30 days after new diagnoses (ie, linkage to care) using χ2 and robust Poisson models. We also assessed the independent associations between the pandemic period (ie, March-December 2020) and the number of COVID-19 cases with monthly HIV testing services outcomes using multivariable robust Poisson models. RESULTS: There was a 46.0% (P < 0.001) reduction in the number of CDC-funded HIV tests conducted in 2020 (n = 1,255,895) compared with 2019 (n = 2,324,421). Although there were fewer persons with newly diagnosed HIV in 2020 (n = 5581 vs. n = 7739 in 2019), HIV positivity was greater in 2020 (0.4% vs. 0.3% in 2019; adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05 to 1.69). When adjusting for the monthly number of COVID-19 cases, the pandemic period was associated with a 56% reduction in the number of monthly CDC-funded HIV tests (adjusted rate ratio = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.52) but 28% higher monthly HIV positivity (aPR = 1.28 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.41) and 10% higher linkage to care (aPR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.18). DISCUSSION: Despite increased HIV positivity, a drastic reduction in the number of CDC-funded HIV tests was observed in 2020, affecting the ability to identify persons with newly diagnosed HIV. CDC and health departments will need to expand testing strategies to cover tests not conducted in 2020 while adapting to the continuing pandemic.A visual abstract is available for this article at: http://links.lww.com/QAI/B941.

Undiagnosed HIV Infections May Drive HIV Transmission in the Era of "Treat All": A Deep-Sampling Molecular Network Study in Northeast China during 2016 to 2019.

Universal antiretroviral therapy (ART, "treat all") was recommended by the World Health Organization in 2015; however, HIV-1 transmission is still ongoing. This study characterizes the drivers of HIV transmission in the "treat all" era. Demographic and clinical information and HIV pol gene were collected from all newly diagnosed cases in Shenyang, the largest city in Northeast China, during 2016 to 2019. Molecular networks were constructed based on genetic distance and logistic regression analysis was used to assess potential transmission source characteristics. The cumulative ART coverage in Shenyang increased significantly from 77.0% (485/630) in 2016 to 93.0% (2598/2794) in 2019 (p < 0.001). Molecular networks showed that recent HIV infections linked to untreated individuals decreased from 61.6% in 2017 to 28.9% in 2019, while linking to individuals with viral suppression (VS) increased from 9.0% to 49.0% during the same time frame (p < 0.001). Undiagnosed people living with HIV (PLWH) hidden behind the links between index cases and individuals with VS were likely to be male, younger than 25 years of age, with Manchu nationality (p < 0.05). HIV transmission has declined significantly in the era of "treat all". Undiagnosed PLWH may drive HIV transmission and should be the target for early detection and intervention.

The evolution of structural resilience of global oil and gas resources trade network

This paper establishes anetwork resilience evaluation framework of the global oil and gas resourcetrade network in 2010, 2015 and 2020. The results are as follows: The links of the oil trade network present a gradually shrinking trend, and the gas tradenetwork presents a trend of close connection first and then reduced. In termsof network density, network centrality, network connectivity and network size, the structural resilience of the oil and gas resource trade network displays ashrinking trend, and the gas trade network is superior. Concerninginvulnerability and recovery, the resilience of the oil trade network issuperior to the natural gas trade network. In simulated attacks, the oil tradenetwork reveals a higher resilience towards intentional attacks, and the gastrade network shows a higher resilience towards random attacks. The Strait ofHormuz and the Strait of Malacca are critical chokepoints in the networks.

How Positive and Negative Emotions Promote Ritualistic Consumption Through Different Mechanisms.

Ritualistic consumption refers to integrating ritual elements into the process of product design and usage. By conducting three studies, we find that ritualistic consumption can offer new and interesting experiences and help consumers gain a sense of control. Both positive and negative emotions can promote ritualistic consumption tendencies. However, their underlying psychological mechanisms are different. Specifically, positive emotion can arouse consumers' desire for interesting experience and thus promotes their preference for ritualistic consumption, while negative emotion can arouse consumers' need for control and thus promote their preference for ritualistic consumption. Our research results offer a theoretical contribution and practical inspiration for emotional marketing.

Utility of urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) in diagnosing mycobacteria infection among hospitalized HIV-positive patients.

OBJECTIVES: Cross-reactivity with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species might limit the use of urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) test to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in people living with HIV (PLWH). This study aimed to investigate the utility of the LAM test among hospitalized HIV-positive patients. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled HIV-positive inpatients with any TB symptom or seriously ill patients with advanced immunodeficiency. Urine samples were tested using the Alere Determine LAM Ag, and participants were categorized as confirmed TB, confirmed NTM infection, unclassified mycobacteria infection, and no mycobacteria infection based on microbiologic reference standards. RESULTS: A total of 382 participants were included. The prevalence of confirmed TB and NTM infection was 5.24% (20 of 382) and 4.45% (17 of 382), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the urine LAM for TB diagnosis were 65.00% (95% confidence interval [CI] 40.78-84.61) and 89.36% (95% CI 85.68-92.36), respectively. The LAM test for NTM yielded a sensitivity of 58.82% (95% CI 32.92-81.56) and specificity of 88.61% (95% CI 84.87-91.70). Notably, the negative predictive values of the urine LAM for TB and NTM were 97.85% (95% CI 95.63-99.13) and 97.85% (95% CI 95.63-99.13), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-reactivity with NTM cause high false-positive LAM for TB diagnosis in PLWH. The correct identification of mycobacteria species is crucial for deciding treatment strategies.

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions Implemented to Control the COVID-19 Were Associated With Reduction of Influenza Incidence.

BACKGROUND: Non-pharmaceutical interventions were implemented in most countries to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. We aimed to describe the incidence of influenza in four countries in the 2019-2020 season and examined the effect of these non-pharmaceutical interventions on the incidence of influenza. METHODS: We used the network surveillance data from 2015 to 2020 to estimate the percentage increase in influenza cases to explore the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to control the COVID-19 on the incidence of influenza in China, the United States, Japan, and Singapore. RESULTS: We found that the incidence of influenza has been almost zero and reached a persistent near-zero level for a continuous period of six months since epidemiologic week 14 of 2020 in the four countries. Influenza incidence decreased by 77.71% and 60.50% in the early days of COVID-19 in the 2019-2020 season compared to the same period in preceding years in Japan and Singapore, respectively. Furthermore, influenza incidence decreased by 60.50-99.48% during the period of compulsory interventions in the 2019-2020 season compared to the same period in preceding years in the four countries. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the application of non-pharmaceutical interventions, even everyday preventive action, was associated with a reduction of influenza incidence, which highlights that more traditional public health interventions need to be reasserted and universalized to reduce influenza incidence.

Decrease in ambient volatile organic compounds during the COVID-19 lockdown period in the Pearl River Delta region, south China.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, ambient ozone levels are widely reported to show much smaller decreases or even dramatical increases under substantially reduced precursor NOx levels, yet changes in ambient precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been scarcely reported during the COVID-19 lockdown, which is an opportunity to examine the impacts of dramatically changing anthropogenic emissions on ambient VOC levels in megacities where ozone formation is largely VOC-limited. In this study, ambient VOCs were monitored online at an urban site in Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta region before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown. The average total mixing ratios of VOCs became 19.1% lower during the lockdown than before, and those of alkanes, alkenes and aromatics decreased by 19.0%, 24.8% and 38.2%, respectively. The levels of light alkanes (C < 6) decreased by only 13.0%, while those of higher alkanes (C ≥ 6) decreased by 67.8% during the lockdown. Disappeared peak VOC levels in morning rush hours and the drop in toluene to benzene ratios during the lockdown suggested significant reductions in vehicle exhaust and industrial solvent emissions. Source apportioning by positive matrix factorization model revealed that reductions in industrial emissions, diesel exhaust (on-road diesel vehicles and off-road diesel engines) and gasoline-related emissions could account for 48.9%, 42.2% and 8.8%, respectively, of the decreased VOC levels during the lockdown. Moreover, the reduction in industrial emissions could explain 56.0% and 70.0% of the reductions in ambient levels of reactive alkenes and aromatics, respectively. An average increase in O3-1 h by 17% and a decrease in the daily maximum 8-h average ozone by 11% under an average decrease in NOx by 57.0% and a decrease in VOCs by 19.1% during the lockdown demonstrated that controlling emissions of precursors VOCs and NOx to prevent ambient O3 pollution in megacities such as Guangzhou remains a highly challenging task.

How Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect People's Willingness to Pay for Health in the Short and Long Term? A Longitudinal Study during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a substantial threat to people's lives and aroused health concerns. This study aims at exploring the following questions. First, how does the COVID-19 pandemic affect people's willingness to pay for health (WPH) in the short and long term? Second, what is the psychological mechanism underlying such an effect? Finally, what are the boundary conditions for this effect? To answer these questions, we conducted three longitudinal surveys. The first survey was launched in February 2020-the time of the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 in China. Data were obtained from 1548 participants through questionnaires on an online survey platform. The sample covered 297 prefecture-level cities in 31 provincial administrative regions. Subsequently, we conducted two follow-up surveys in August 2020 and July 2021. The samples of these surveys were randomly selected from the sample of the first survey. The findings showed that the pandemic promoted people's WPH in the outbreak period. The fear of death and self-esteem mediated and moderated this effect, respectively. Moreover, the effect persisted for six months after the COVID-19 pandemic had been brought under control (August 2020). However, the effect disappeared after a year and a half (July 2021). These results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic promoted people's WPH and that this effect was sustained in the short term after the pandemic had been brought under control but not in the long term.

Genetic Risk and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Independently Predict the Risk of Incident Severe COVID-19.

Rationale: Both genetic variants and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) contribute to the risk of incident severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Whether genetic risk of incident severe COVID-19 is the same regardless of preexisting COPD is unknown. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential interaction between genetic risk and COPD in relation to severe COVID-19. Methods: We constructed a polygenic risk score for severe COVID-19 by using 112 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 430,582 participants from the UK Biobank study. We examined the associations of genetic risk and COPD with severe COVID-19 by using logistic regression models. Results: Of 430,582 participants, 712 developed severe COVID-19 as of February 22, 2021, of whom 19.8% had preexisting COPD. Compared with participants at low genetic risk, those at intermediate genetic risk (odds ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.66) and high genetic risk (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.18-1.92) had higher risk of severe COVID-19 (P for trend = 0.001), and the association was independent of COPD (P for interaction = 0.76). COPD was associated with a higher risk of incident severe COVID-19 (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.12-1.67; P = 0.002). Participants at high genetic risk and with COPD had a higher risk of severe COVID-19 (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.35-3.04; P < 0.001) than those at low genetic risk and without COPD. Conclusions: The polygenic risk score, which combines multiple risk alleles, can be effectively used in screening for high-risk populations of severe COVID-19. High genetic risk correlates with a higher risk of severe COVID-19, regardless of preexisting COPD.

The Effect of Nursing Students' Self-Efficacy on Patient-Centered Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effect of Learning Burnout.

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has put the global health system under the spotlight. As part of the medical workforce, nurses play an important role in interacting with and caring for patients; hence, patient-centered communication (PCC) has been emphasized in nursing education. Thus, it is worth investigating how future nurses perceive PCC and PCC-related factors under the special circumstances of COVID-19. For this purpose, the present study analyzed the mechanisms underlying the association between self-efficacy and nurse-patient communication tendency through learning burnout among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The general self-efficacy questionnaire, college students' learning burnout scale, and doctor-patient communication tendency scale were used to survey 2,231 nursing students in higher vocational medical colleges at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: General self-efficacy can directly negatively correlate with the degree of nursing students' overall nurse-patient communication, including caring, sharing, and health promotion. Dejection from learning burnout partially mediated the relationships between self-efficacy and caring and between self-efficacy and sharing; it fully mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and health promotion. Reduced personal accomplishment partially mediated between self-efficacy and caring, while it fully mediated between self-efficacy and health promotion; however, it did not play a role in the sharing model. Conclusion: Self-efficacy influences nurse-patient communication through learning burnout. Specifically, dejection and reduced personal accomplishment-two aspects of learning burnout-may compromise nursing students' willingness to engage in PCC. Thus, the importance of PCC, especially during critical health situations such as pandemics, should be emphasized further in future nursing education.

SCOPE2: A Platform for Sars-COv-2 Primer covErage Evaluation.

Currently, there is an increasing number and speed of SARS-CoV-2 mutation taking place around the world, posing a threat to promising public health and challenge to existing diagnostic tools. RT-PCR technology is recognized as the gold standard diagnosing methodology but has shown inaccuracy under some mutated SARS-CoV-2 circumstances. In this study, we developed a platform named SCOPE2 (Sars-COv-2 Primer covErage Evaluation) based on our previous publication. Testing by commonly-used SARS-COV-2 PCR primers, SCOPE2 is proved to effectively and efficiently assess the quality in terms of detection coverage, which may provide a practical tool for primer selection acceleration and primer design improvement.Clinical Relevance-This assists in single SARS-COV-2 Primer selection and suggestion of different SARS-COV-2 Primer combinations.

CIDO-COVID-19: An Ontology for COVID-19 Based on CIDO.

To realize integration, organization and reusability of knowledge related to COVID-19, an ontology for COVID-19 (CIDO-COVID-19) was constructed which extended the Coronavirus Infectious Disease Ontology (CIDO) by adding terms of COVID-19 related to symptoms, prevention, drugs and clinical domains. First, terms from the existing ontologies, literature, clinical guidelines and other resources about COVID-19 were merged. Then, the Stanford seven-step approach was used to define and organize the acquired terms. Finally, the CIDO-COVID-19 was built on basis of the terms mentioned above using Protégé. The CIDO-COVID-19 is a more comprehensive ontology for COVID-19, covering multiple areas in the domain of COVID-19, including disease, diagnosis, etiology, virus, transmission, symptom, treatment, drug and prevention.Clinical Relevance- The CIDO-COVID-19 covers multiple areas related to COVID-19, including diseases, diagnosis, etiology, virus, transmission, symptoms, treatment, drugs, prevention. Compared with the CIDO, it is expanded to cover drugs, prevention, and clinical domain. The definition of terms in CIDO-COVID-19 refers to biomedical ontologies, Clinical glossaries and clinical guidelines for COVID-19, which can provide clinicians with standard terminology in the clinical domain.

Cropland Abandonment and Influencing Factors in Chongqing, China

Cropland abandonment occurs frequently in many countries and regions around the world, particularly in those with poor environmental conditions, such as mountainous regions. In Chongqing county, China, over 76% of the total area is mountainous. Due to the lack of reliable remote sensing monitoring and identification methods, the spatial and temporal distribution of abandoned cropland areas and its underlying causes are poorly understood. Thus, the extent of cropland abandonment in Chongqing, since 2001, was estimated using land use trajectories. The following results were obtained: (1) the cropland abandonment rate was 12.2–15.4% from 2001 to 2020, with an average of 13.3%;(2) hotspots of abandoned cropland were concentrated in the north and southeast. Cropland abandonment was clustered in the northern, southeastern, and southwestern areas;(3) socio-economic factors (including gross domestic product density, population density, and road density) had a greater impact on the spatial distribution of abandoned cropland than environmental factors. Based on the results, the government should strive to reduce production costs associated with poor agricultural infrastructure, sporadic cropland, and higher labor costs by providing grain subsidies, undertaking cropland consolidation, encouraging land transfer, and improving agricultural infrastructure.