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Objective: To quantitatively estimate the incidence of COVID-19 in different backgrounds, including vaccination coverage, non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) measures, home quarantine willingness and international arrivals, and the demands of healthcare resource in Shanghai in the context of optimized epidemic prevention and control strategies. Methods: Based on the natural history of 2019-nCoV, local vaccination coverage and NPI performance, an age-structured Susceptible-Exposed-Infections-Removed (SEIR) epidemic dynamic model was established for the estimation of the incidence of COVID-19 and demand of hospital beds in Shanghai by using the data on December 1, 2022 as the basis. Results: Based on current vaccination coverage, it is estimated that 180 184 COVID-19 cases would need treatment in hospitals in Shanghai within 100 days. When the booster vaccination coverage reaches an ideal level, the number of the cases needing hospitalization would decrease by 73.20%. School closure or school closure plus workplace closure could reduce the peak demand of regular beds by 24.04% or 37.73%, respectively, compared with the situation without NPI. Increased willingness of home quarantine could reduce the number of daily new cases and delay incidence peak of COVID-19. The number of international arrivals has little impact on the development of the epidemic. Conclusions: According to the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 and the actual situation of vaccination in Shanghai, the incidence of COVID-19 and health resource demand might be reduced by increasing vaccination coverage and early implementation of NPI.
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COVID-19 , Epidemics , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Incidence , China/epidemiology , Epidemics/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 vaccination campaign was implemented in Sibu, Malaysia in February 2021. We assessed the effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine against severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) hospitalisation associated with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 by time since vaccination. Method(s): A test-negative case-control design was employed using a web-based national information system for PCR results of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination, and the hospitalisation dataset in Sibu Hospital. Eligible SARI cases with SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive were matched to those SARI cases with negative RT-PCR tests by age and workplace. Vaccine effectiveness was measured by conditional logistic regression with adjustment for gender, comorbidity, smoking and education level. Result(s): Between 15 March and 30 September 2021, in the dominance of lineages B.1.466.2 and B.1.617.2 (Delta variant), a total of 838 eligible SARI patients were identified. Vaccine effectiveness was 42.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -28.3, 74.1), and 76.5% (95% CI: 45.6, 89.8) for partial vaccination (after the first dose through 14 days after the second dose) and complete vaccination (at 15 days or more after receipt of the second dose), respectively. Sensitivity analysis using propensity score matching yielded a conservative estimate of 57.4% (95% CI: 9.2, 80.1) for complete vaccination. Conclusion(s): Primary immunisation with two doses of CoronaVac vaccine provided satisfactory protection against SARI caused by SARS-CoV-2 in the short term. However, the duration of protection, incremental effectiveness induced by boosting, as well as performance against new variants need to be studied continuously.
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Fritillaria ussuriensis Bulbus, a genuine medicinal material of Northeast China, is the dry bulb of Fritillaria ussuriensis Maxim. It contains various active ingredients, such as alkaloids, alkaloids glycosides, adenosines, polysaccharides, and trace elements . It has antitussive, eliminating phlegm, antiasthmatic, antiulcer, antiplatelet aggregation, and anti-inflammatory. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of alkaloids, polysaccharides, nucleosides, and trace elements in Fritillaria ussuriensis Bulbus were reviewed, which is helpful for its cultivation and accurate application, and would provide a new choice for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). © 2022
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The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic seriously threatens people's lives and health all over the world. Public information service is an important way for the public to understand the pandemic development and pandemic prevention and control measures. However, more people become vulnerable rather than the typical vulnerable groups due to the pandemic encounter difficulties in accessing public information services. To better help vulnerable people during the emergencies, based on related vulnerable groups theory, this chapter identifies two types of vulnerable groups in China. It collects information from news, journal papers, conference papers and other relevant perspectives to examine the difficulties that vulnerable people have encountered. Moreover, this chapter puts forward some suggestions from the aspect of policies and regulations, technologies and information systems, service content, and operating mechanism of public information services to better meet the information needs of vulnerable people. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Nucleic acid vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA) is a kind of mRNA technology emerging in recent years. mRNA vaccines have many advantages over traditional vaccines, which can be manufactured in a cell-free manner, enabling rapid, economical and efficient production. In addition, single mRNA vaccines can encode multiple antigens, enhance the immune response against certain pathogens, improve the efficiency of treatment process of diseases, and can target multiple microbial or viral variants in a single formulation. mRNA is seen as a revolutionary vaccine technology in COVID-19 prevention and control, which has been developed and successfully applied in record time. The mRNA vaccine is with poor stability, so the development and applications of novel delivery systems are essential. With the intensive study of pharmacology of mRNA vaccines, the clinical applications of mRNA vaccines enter into a new stage. Recently, mRNA technologies were used in the prevention and therapies of diseases, and some results were published. Here, the output of mRNA vaccines used in prevention and therapies of diseases was summarized, and the development of mRNA vaccines was also discussed. © 2022, China Biotechnology Press. All rights reserved.
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While the immunogenicity of inactivated vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been characterized in several well-conducted clinical trials, real-world evidence concerning immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) raised by such vaccines is currently missing. Here, we comprehensively characterized various parameters of SARS-CoV-2-specific cellular and humoral immune responses induced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in 126 individuals under real-world conditions. After two doses of vaccination, S-receptor binding domain IgG (S-RBD IgG) and neutralizing antibody (NAb) were detected in 87.06% (74/85) and 78.82% (67/85) of individuals, respectively. Female participants developed higher concentrations of S-RBD IgG and NAb compared to male vaccinees. Interestingly, a longer dosing interval between the first and second vaccination resulted in a better long-term SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD IgG response. The frequencies of CD4+ T cells that produce effector cytokines (IFN-gamma, IL-2, and TNF-alpha) in response to stimulation with peptide pools corresponding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S), nucleocapsid (N) or membrane (M) protein were significantly higher in individuals received two doses of vaccine than those received one dose of vaccine and unvaccinated individuals. S, N, or M-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were detectable in 95.83% (69/72) and 54.16% (39/72) of double-vaccinated individuals, respectively. The longitudinal analysis demonstrated that CD4+ T cell responses recognizing S, N, and M waned quickly after a single vaccine dose, but were boosted and became more sustained following a second dose. Overall, we provide a comprehensive characterization of immune responses induced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in real-world settings, suggesting that both humoral and cellular SARS-CoV-2 specific immunity are elicited in the majority of individuals after two doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines.
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Objective To explore the application pattern and mechanism of medicine and food homologous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) against modern viral diseases. Methods The method of literature mining was applied based on the characteristics of modern viral diseases, combining with ancient books and modern prescriptions for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases to build a relevant prescription database. Then SPSS and R language were used to analyze the high-frequency medicine and food homologous TCM and high confidence medicine and food homologous prescriptions in these prescriptions, and cluster analysis was carried out. The antiviral characteristic active ingredients of high-frequency medicinal and food homologous TCN were identified and analyzed, and the action mechanism of active ingredients against modern viral diseases was evaluate by network pharmacology. Results In the prevention and treatment of modern viral diseases, Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma)-Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium)-Fuling (Poria) had the highest confidence, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix) had the highest support. At the same time, the prescriptions were clustered and analyzed to obtain Jinyinhua (Lonicerae Japonicae Flos)-Huangqi (Astragali Radix)-Huoxiang (Agastache rugosa), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Xingren (Armeniacae Semen Amarum)-Poria-Platycodonis Radix-Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, Ganjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma)-Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma), Zisu (Perilla frutescens)-Gegen (Puerariae Lobatae Radix), Lugen (Phragmitis Rhizoma)-Sangye (Mori Folium), Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens)-Dazao (Jujubae Fructus) clustering new prescription. The core action targets of EGFR, CASP3, VEGFA, STAT3, MMP9, HSP90AA1, mTOR, PTGS2, MMP2, TLR4, MAPK14, etc were identified. The action mechanism involved human cytomegalovirus infection, coronavirus disease-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), etc. The core action pathway were phosphatidylinositol-3/kinase protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signal pathway, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathway, interleukin-17 (IL-17) signal pathway, Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signal pathway, etc. Conclusion Through data mining, six new prescriptions for preventing and controlling modern viral diseases were obtained, and the mechanism of action was preliminarily discussed, which provided some reference for the research and development of medicine and food homologous TCM prescriptions for the prevention and treatment of viral epidemics and related health products.
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The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant influence on all aspects of society, and it is necessary to comprehend the responses of various stakeholders as well as the challenges that higher education has encountered in the aftermath of the outbreak. This study systematically analyses the measures taken by higher education stakeholders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges faced by higher education in the post-COVID-19 era. To analyse the actions taken by higher education stakeholders and the challenges that remain, this study critically analyses government policy documents, reports from international organisations and perspectives of experts in the field of higher education, studies from Chinese journals, and international scientific literature. While stakeholders responded quickly during the outbreak, providing financial and material assistance, developing online learning, and facilitating international student mobility, the study finds that these measures are insufficient when compared to those in other sectors, and higher education stakeholders' responses to COVID-19 have been fragmented, uncoordinated, and fraught with conflict and ambivalence. The study finds that higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic faces multiple challenges, with COVID-19 exacerbating inequities in educational access and educational achievement due to uneven educational infrastructure and resource allocation. The availability of infrastructure and the lack of preparedness of faculty and students have dimmed large-scale experiments in online education. Future international student mobility patterns may need to be restructured.
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The outbreak of COVID-19 calls for the improvement of infectious disease dynamics model to meet the requirements of future infectious disease's prediction and risk assessment. On the basis of SEIR model, a new transmission dynamics model named as SSEIR is proposed. In order to describe the dynamics evolution of the SSEIR model, a new set of ordinary differential equations (ODE) is constructed. The SSEIR dynamics model is used to simulate and predict the progress of pandemic situation inWuhan, China. Because that the suspected people have different dynamics characteristics from the susceptible people and the exposed people, this paper put them in a new independent category. To describe the dynamics evolution of SSEIR model, a new set of ordinary differential equations (ODE) is constructed. The SSEIR model can be used to simulate and predict the progress of infectious diseases.
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To study the effect of feedforward nursing quality management control in the disinfection supply room in improving the sterilization qualification rate and reducing the nosocomial infection rate under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),the feedforward control of nursing quality management in disinfection supply room were implemented when the COVID-19 occurred.Through the summary analysis of nursing quality factors in disinfection supply room and the analysis of the reasons for nursing quality,the feedforward control management scheme in disinfection supply room was established.Moreover,the qualified rate of sterilization and nosocomial infection rate before and after the implementation of feedforward control of nursing quality management in disinfection supply room were counted respectively.Furthermore,the self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the satisfaction of clinical medical staff on the use of device before and after the implementation of feedforward control of nursing quality management in disinfection supply room.In that case,the effect of feedforward control of nursing quality management in disinfection supply room was evaluated.The qualification rate of device sterilization,the nosocomial infection rate and the satisfaction rate of clinical medical staff were 95.20%,4.20% and 83.00%,respectively,before the implementation of feedforward nursing quality management control in disinfection supply room.While,the qualification rate of device sterilization,the nosocomial infection rate and the satisfaction rate of clinical medical staff were changed to 99.10%,0.40% and 98.00%,respectively,after the implementation of feedforward nursing quality management control in disinfection supply room,which have statistical differences (P<0.05).The application of feedforward nursing quality management control in the disinfection supply room under the COVID-19 could effectively prevent the spread of the virus through non-disposable medical devices in hospitals,increase the qualification rate of device sterilization,reduce the nosocomial infection rate,and improve the satisfaction of clinical care staff. © 2021, Editorial Board of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. All right reserved.
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A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has attracted global attention due to its highly infectious and pathogenic properties. Most of current studies focus on aerosols released from infected individuals, but the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater also should be examined. In this review, we used bibliometrics to statistically evaluate the importance of water-related issues in the context of COVID-19. The results show that the levels and transmission possibilities of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater are the main concerns, followed by potential secondary pollution by the intensive use of disinfectants, sludge disposal, and the personal safety of workers. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater requires more attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the most effective techniques, i.e., wastewater-based epidemiology and quantitative microbial risk assessment, for virus surveillance in wastewater are systematically analyzed. We further explicitly review and analyze the successful operation of a sewage treatment plant in Huoshenshan Hospital in China as an example and reference for other sewage treatment systems to properly ensure discharge safety and tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. This review offers deeper insight into the prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 and similar viruses in the post-COVID-19 era from a wastewater perspective.
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A large number of people suffer from anxiety in modern society. As an effective treatment with few side effects, music therapy has been used to reduce anxiety for decades in clinical practice. Yet therapists continue to perform music selection, a key step in music therapy, manually. Considering the growing need for music therapy services and social distancing amid public emergencies, an automatic method for music selection would be of great practical utility. This paper marks the first effort to identify music with therapeutic effects on anxiety reduction via a novel music scoring model. We formulate the calculation of a therapeutic score as a quadratic programming problem, which minimizes score variance among known therapeutic songs while maintaining their superiority over other songs. The proposed model can uncover common features that contribute to anxiety reduction by learning from small and unbalanced data. Using a music therapy experiment, we find that the proposed model outperforms existing techniques in predicting therapeutic songs. Feature analysis is also conducted, revealing that high-frequency spectrums are important in therapeutic scoring.
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Purpose Although there have been considerable discussions on the business value of adopting blockchain in supply chains, it is unclear whether such blockchain-enabled supply chains (BESCs) can help firms mitigate the negative impact resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to answer this important question. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct an event study to quantify the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare the differences in such effects between treatment firms that have adopted BESCs and matched control firms that have not adopted BESCs. The authors also perform a regression analysis to examine how the role of BESCs in mitigating COVID-19's negative impact varies across firms with different levels of supply chain leanness and complexity. The analysis is based on 88 treatment firms and 88 matched control firms, all of which are publicly listed on the US stock markets. Findings The test results suggest that although both the treatment and control firms are negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect is less negative for the treatment firms compared to the control firms, demonstrating the role of BESCs in mitigating the negative impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the mitigating role of BESCs is more pronounced for firms with lean and complex supply chains. Originality/value This study is among the first to provide empirical evidence on the mitigating role of BESCs during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of adopting blockchain in supply chains with high uncertainties and disruption risks.
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Human pathogenic coronaviruses can be divided into seven types, namely HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKUl, HCoV-NL63, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Among them, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which are caused by the last three coronaviruses respectively, are enormous threats that challenge human health and social and economic development. Despite the huge investment in drug development for pathogenic coronaviruses, there is no specifically effective anti-coronavirus drug approved so far. In this review we systematically summarize 146 representative anti-coronavirus active compounds reported in the past 20 years and list 26 potential target proteins involved in the process of viral infection and replication. In addition, we predict the target proteins of those active compounds with unclear antiviral activity mechanisms. We hope that the information will be useful to accelerate the development of new anti-coronavirus drugs. © 2020 Zhonghua Yixuehui Zazhishe. All rights reserved.
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The unprecedented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still a worldwide threat to human life since its invasion into the daily lives of the public in the first several months of 2020. Predicting the size of confirmed cases is important for countries and communities to make proper prevention and control policies so as to effectively curb the spread of COVID-19. Different from the 2003 SARS epidemic and the worldwide 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, COVID-19 has unique epidemiological characteristics in its infectious and recovered compartments. This drives us to formulate a new infectious dynamic model for forecasting the COVID-19 pandemic within the human mobility network, named the SaucIR-model in the sense that the new compartmental model extends the benchmark SIR model by dividing the flow of people in the infected state into asymptomatic, pathologically infected but unconfirmed, and confirmed. Furthermore, we employ dynamic modeling of population flow in the model in order that spatial effects can be incorporated effectively. We forecast the spread of accumulated confirmed cases in some provinces of mainland China and other countries that experienced severe infection during the time period from late February to early May 2020. The novelty of incorporating the geographic spread of the pandemic leads to a surprisingly good agreement with published confirmed case reports. The numerical analysis validates the high degree of predictability of our proposed SaucIR model compared to existing resemblance. The proposed forecasting SaucIR model is implemented in Python. A web-based application is also developed by Dash (under construction).
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During the COVID-19 lockdown period (from January 23 to February 29, 2020), ambient PM2.5 concentrations in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region were observed to be much lower, while the maximum daily 8 h average (MDA8) O-3 concentrations became much higher compared to those before the lockdown (from January 1 to 22, 2020). Here, we show that emission reduction is the major driving force for the PM2.5 change, contributing to a PM2.5 decrease by 37% to 55% in the four YRD major cities (i.e., Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Hefei), but the MDA8 O-3 increase is driven by both emission reduction (29%-52%) and variation in meteorological conditions (17%-49%). Among all pollutants, reduction in emissions mainly of primary PM contributes to a PM2.5 decrease by 28% to 46%, and NOx emission reduction contributes 7% to 10%. Although NOx emission reduction dominates the MDA8 O-3 increase (38%-59%), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission reduction lead to a 5% to 9% MDA8 O-3 decrease. Increased O-3 promotes secondary aerosol formation and partially offsets the decrease of PM2.5 caused by the primary PM emission reductions. The results demonstrate that more coordinated air pollution control strategies are needed in YRD.
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Objective: To study the clinical features of children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 13 children with SARS-CoV-2 infection who hospitalized in a Changsha hospital. Results: All 13 children had the disease onset due to family aggregation. Of the 13 children, 2 had no symptoms, and the other 11 children had the clinical manifestations of fever, cough, pharyngeal discomfort, abdominal pain, diarrhea, convulsions, or vomiting. As for clinical typing, 7 had mild type, 5 had common type, and 1 had severe type. The median duration of fever was 2 days in 6 children. All 13 children had normal levels of peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, immunoglobulins, CD4, CD8, and interleukin-6. The median time to clearance of SARS-CoV-2 was 13 days in the nasopharyngeal swabs of the 13 children. Three children presented false negatives for RT-PCR of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 RNA remained detectable in stools for 12 days after the nasopharyngeal swab test yielded a negative result. Abnormal CT findings were observed in 6 children. All 13 children were cured and discharged and they were normal at 2 weeks after discharge. Conclusions: Intra-family contact is the main transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, and there is also a possibility of fecal-oral transmission. Mild and common types are the major clinical types in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and cytokine storm is not observed. Children with SARS-CoV-2 infection tend to have a good short-term prognosis, and follow-up is needed to observe their long-term prognosis. Multiple nucleic acid tests should be performed for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and their close contacts by multiple site sampling.