Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China.

OBJECTIVE: Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, is responsible for numerous infections in China. This study investigates the association between the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea (SFHT) and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to develop precise and differentiated strategies for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted at shelter hospitals and quarantine hotels in China. A total of 5348 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled between April 1 and May 31, 2022, while 2190 uninfected individuals served as healthy controls. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, underlying diseases, vaccination status, and use of SFHT. Patients were propensity-score-matched using 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching of the logit of the propensity score. Subsequently, a conditional logistic regression model was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 7538 eligible subjects were recruited, with an average age of [45.54 ± 16.94] years. The age of COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of uninfected individuals ([48.25 ± 17.48] years vs [38.92 ± 13.41] years; t = 22.437, P < 0.001). A total of 2190 COVID-19 cases were matched with uninfected individuals at a 1:1 ratio. The use of SFHT (odds ratio = 0.753, 95% confidence interval: 0.692, 0.820) was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to untreated individuals. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that taking SFHT reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a useful study in the larger picture of COVID-19 management, but data from large-sample multi-center, randomized clinical trial are warranted to confirm the finding. Please cite this article as: Zhang SX, Chen XX, Zheng Y, Cai BH, Shi W, Ru M, Li H, Zhang DD, Tian Y, Chen YL. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):369-376.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-associated immunological effects triggered by clinically relevant lipid nanoparticles (preprint)

Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated lipid has significantly contributed to the success of three approved lipid nanoparticles (LNP)-delivered therapeutics, particularly two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. It is known that some PEG derivatives could elicit anti-PEG antibodies and subsequently form “antigen-antibody” complexes with newly injected PEGylated agents, leading to pharmacokinetic changes, reduced therapeutic efficacy and even hypersensitivity reactions. With the large-scale vaccination of mRNA vaccines, it has become an imminent task to elucidate the possible PEG-associated immunological effects induced by clinically relevant LNP. Up to date there are only four related studies, all of which are clinical observations emphasizing on the changes of PEG-specific antibodies upon injection of mRNA vaccines. Unfortunately, contradictory and inconclusive data were obtained due to significant person-to-person and study-to-study variabilities. To clarify the PEG-associated immunological effects of clinically relevant LNP in a model system with least “noise”, we initiated an animal study using the PEGylated LNP of BNT162b2 (with the largest number of recipients) as a representative LNP and simulated the clinical practice. Through designing a series of time points and three doses correlated with the PEG amount contained in three approved LNP-based drugs, we demonstrated that generation and changes of anti-PEG IgM and IgG were time- and dose-dependent. Unexpectedly, our data revealed that unlike other PEG derivatives belonging to thymus-independent antigens (TI-Ag), PEGylated LNP not only induced isotype switch and production of anti-PEG IgG, but caused immune memory, leading to rapid enhancement and longer lasting time of both anti-PEG IgM and IgG upon repeated injection. Importantly, pharmacokinetic studies discovered that initial injection of PEGylated LNP accelerated the blood clearance of subsequently injected LNP. These findings will refresh our understandings on PEGylated LNP and possible other PEG derivatives, and may lead to optimization of both premarket guidelines and clinical protocols of PEGylated LNP-delivered therapeutics.

How Does Persuasion Happen? A Novel Bounded Confidence Opinion Dynamics Model Based on Social Judgment Theory

Persuasion exists in every aspect of social life. It is important to understand how persuasion works and how strong it is. In this article, we improve the classic Hegselmann-Krause model, one of the most famous bounded confidence models, and propose a novel opinion dynamics model to explain the process by which persuasion occurs from a systematic perspective. In our model, the concepts of latitudes of acceptance, noncommitment, and rejection from social judgment theory and the cognitive error in the process of persuasion, namely assimilation, are introduced. When people are exchanging their opinions with their neighbors, the opinions in the latitude of acceptance will be assimilated, those in the latitude of noncommitment will keep unchanged, and those in the latitude of rejection will not be considered. Theoretical proofs show that our model will converge to a stable state in a finite time. Numerical results of extensive simulation experiments on four datasets show the performance of the model. Furthermore, real social platform data and global COVID-19 vaccination data are analyzed to verify the effectiveness of the model in the decision-making process.

Epidemiological and virological surveillance of influenza viruses in China during 2020-2021.

BACKGROUND: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, seasonal influenza activity declined globally and remained below previous seasonal levels, but intensified in China since 2021. Preventive measures to COVID-19 accompanied by different epidemic characteristics of influenza in different regions of the world. To better respond to influenza outbreaks under the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed the epidemiology, antigenic and genetic characteristics, and antiviral susceptibility of influenza viruses in the mainland of China during 2020-2021. METHODS: Respiratory specimens from influenza like illness cases were collected by sentinel hospitals and sent to network laboratories in Chinese National Influenza Surveillance Network. Antigenic mutation analysis of influenza virus isolates was performed by hemagglutination inhibition assay. Next-generation sequencing was used for genetic analyses. We also conducted molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of circulating influenza viruses. Viruses were tested for resistance to antiviral medications using phenotypic and/or sequence-based methods. RESULTS: In the mainland of China, influenza activity recovered in 2021 compared with that in 2020 and intensified during the traditional influenza winter season, but it did not exceed the peak in previous years. Almost all viruses isolated during the study period were of the B/Victoria lineage and were characterized by genetic diversity, with the subgroup 1A.3a.2 viruses currently predominated. 37.8% viruses tested were antigenically similar to reference viruses representing the components of the vaccine for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 Northern Hemisphere influenza seasons. In addition, China has a unique subgroup of 1A.3a.1 viruses. All viruses tested were sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors and endonuclease inhibitors, except two B/Victoria lineage viruses identified to have reduced sensitivity to neuraminidase inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza activity increased in the mainland of China in 2021, and caused flu season in the winter of 2021-2022. Although the diversity of influenza (sub)type decreases, B/Victoria lineage viruses show increased genetic and antigenic diversity. The world needs to be fully prepared for the co-epidemic of influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus globally.

The Synergy Green Innovation Effect of Green Innovation Subsidies and Carbon Taxes

The economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has led governments around the world to attach more importance to green innovation to accomplish their carbon reduction schemes. To improve the green innovation encouraging effect of an environmental policy system, this study introduces a unit progressive carbon tax on the basis of a green innovation subsidy to discuss the synergy green innovation effect between them. We set up a dynamic evolutionary game model to analyze the respective influences of green innovation subsidies and an environmental policy system containing a unit progressive carbon tax on Low Carbon Technology (LCT) heterogeneous enterprises' endogenous green innovation strategies. The Evolutionary Stable Strategy analysis of dynamic game models demonstrate that there does exist a synergy green innovation effect between green innovation subsidies and unit carbon taxes. The numerical simulation shows that the synergy green innovation effect of green innovation subsidies and carbon taxes contains both an overlapping policy effect and a more significant green innovation stimulating effect on enterprises with high LCT. Additionally, the introduction of a carbon tax will increase enterprises' affordability on the green innovation cost coefficient. Furthermore, introducing a unit progressive carbon tax would also create additional stimulation for enterprises to pursue a larger carbon reduction amount for the carbon emission cost-saving advantage. Based on the synergy green innovation effect mentioned above, we also investigate the policy implications of varying the tax rate and subsidy proportion in different situations.

The potential of virtual tourism in the recovery of tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Special Issue: COVID-19 and tourism.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed tremendous impacts on the tourism industry worldwide. The tourism sector can take advantage of the new technology (e.g. virtual tourism), to respond to the challenges. This study aims to investigate factors influencing people's acceptability in using virtual tourism during the pandemic in China and explore how virtual tourism can aid the recovery of tourism industry during and after the pandemic. We explore this through a mixed-methods approach. Our results show that the use of virtual tourism can be partially explained by the theory of planned behaviour. Virtual tourism has a strong influence on people's on-site destination choices and can be used as an effective marketing tool to promote destinations and a platform to sell souvenirs and products. Virtual tourism can be an entertainment activity to bring immersed experience to people without being actually in the destinations, and thus reinforce stay-at-home order and help contain COVID-19. Even after the pandemic is over, people still show willingness to use virtual tourism for diverse purposes. The qualitative data also suggest virtual tourism can help promote sustainable tourism by reducing unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and enhance 'virtual accessibility' especially for the elderly and disabled with limited mobility.

Progress in drug development for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the number of people infected worldwide has been increasing, and the medical situation is very severe. In emergency situations, the development of innovative drugs and the treatment of new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) new adaptations on the market The development of the certificate has become the only way to find specific therapeutic drugs and the best treatment plan for COVID-19. The mechanism of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) that mediates the invasion of host cells by SARS-CoV-2 has been discovered and is based on SARS-CoV- 2. Potential therapeutic targets of host and host, mainly including RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, 3CL protease, papain-like protease, Janus kinase, interleukin 6 and immunomodulators, etc. According to the above-mentioned pharmacological mechanism of action, the treatment of marketed drugs Great progress has been made in the development of new indications for COVID-19 and the clinical research and development of innovative drugs, but no specific drugs have been found. Some traditional Chinese medicines in China can block the SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle, regulate the body's immune response, and treat COVID-19. Biopharmaceuticals are currently undergoing phase I clinical studies in the world for the treatment of COVID-19. Biopharmaceuticals are progressing rapidly, accounting for 67%. At present, the research and development of drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 in China is facing severe challenges and biosafety The number of protection laboratories is small, the research on the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the body's response mechanism is not in-depth, the resources of non-clinical cells and animal models are scarce, and the professional quantitative pharmacology research platform and professional talent training system are not perfect to treat COVID-19 The informatization of drug clinical trials and sample testing capabilities are in urgent need of improvement. If China can use this to improve its ability to develop new drugs in emergency situations, it will be able to better protect people's health.

A synthetic nanobody targeting RBD protects hamsters from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-191, features a receptor-binding domain (RBD) for binding to the host cell ACE2 protein1-6. Neutralizing antibodies that block RBD-ACE2 interaction are candidates for the development of targeted therapeutics7-17. Llama-derived single-domain antibodies (nanobodies, ~15 kDa) offer advantages in bioavailability, amenability, and production and storage owing to their small sizes and high stability. Here, we report the rapid selection of 99 synthetic nanobodies (sybodies) against RBD by in vitro selection using three libraries. The best sybody, MR3 binds to RBD with high affinity (KD = 1.0 nM) and displays high neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses (IC50 = 0.42 µg mL-1). Structural, biochemical, and biological characterization suggests a common neutralizing mechanism, in which the RBD-ACE2 interaction is competitively inhibited by sybodies. Various forms of sybodies with improved potency have been generated by structure-based design, biparatopic construction, and divalent engineering. Two divalent forms of MR3 protect hamsters from clinical signs after live virus challenge and a single dose of the Fc-fusion construct of MR3 reduces viral RNA load by 6 Log10. Our results pave the way for the development of therapeutic nanobodies against COVID-19 and present a strategy for rapid development of targeted medical interventions during an outbreak.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 65 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Liaoning, China.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly to multiple countries through its infectious agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The severity, atypical clinical presentation, and lack of specific anti-viral treatments have posed a challenge for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Understanding the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 cases in different geographical areas is essential to improve the prognosis of COVID-19 patients and slow the spread of the disease. AIM: To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and main therapeutic strategy for confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Liaoning Province, China. METHODS: Adult patients (n = 65) with confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in this retrospective study from January 20 to February 29, 2020 in Liaoning Province, China. Pharyngeal swabs and sputum specimens were collected from the patients for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 nucleic acid. Patient demographic information and clinical data were collected from the medical records. Based on the severity of COVID-19, the patients were divided into nonsevere and severe groups. All patients were followed until March 20, 2020. RESULTS: The mean age of 65 COVID-19 patients was 45.5 ± 14.4 years, 56.9% were men, and 24.6% were severe cases. During the 14 d before symptom onset, 25 (38.5%) patients lived or stayed in Wuhan, whereas 8 (12.3%) had no clear history of exposure. Twenty-nine (44.6%) patients had at least one comorbidity; hypertension and diabetes were the most common comorbidities. Compared with nonsevere patients, severe patients had significantly lower lymphocyte counts [median value 1.3 × 109/L (interquartile range 0.9-1.95) vs 0.82 × 109/L (0.44-1.08), P < 0.001], elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase [450 U/L (386-476) vs 707 U/L (592-980), P < 0.001] and C-reactive protein [6.1 mg/L (1.5-7.2) vs 52 mg/L (12.7-100.8), P < 0.001], and a prolonged median duration of viral shedding [19.5 d (16-21) vs 23.5 d (19.6-30.3), P = 0.001]. The overall median viral shedding time was 19.5 d, and the longest was 53 d. Severe patients were more frequently treated with lopinavir/ritonavir, antibiotics, glucocorticoid therapy, immunoglobulin, thymosin, and oxygen support. All patients were discharged following treatment in quarantine. CONCLUSION: Our findings may facilitate the identification of severe cases and inform clinical treatment and quarantine decisions regarding COVID-19.

Cancer Patient Management Strategy in a Cancer Center of Zhejiang, China During the COVID-19 Pandemic (preprint)

Background: Due to the increased risk of viral infection and the severe shortage of medical resources during the pandemic of COVID-19, most hospitals in the epidemic areas significantly reduced non-emergency admissions and services, if not closed. As a result, it has been difficult to treat cancer patients on time, which adversely affects their prognosis. To address this problem, cancer centers must develop a strategic plan to manage both inpatients and outpatients during the pandemic, provide them with the necessary treatment, and at the same time prevent the spread of the virus among patients, visitors and medical staff. Methods: : Based upon the epidemic situation in Zhejiang Province, China, the number of running non-emergency medical wards in the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital was gradually increased in a controlled manner. All staff of the hospital received COVID-19 preventive training and was provided with three different levels of protection according to the risks of their services. Only patients without a known history of SARS-CoV-2 contact were eligible to schedule an appointment. Body temperature was measured on all patients upon their arrival at the hospital. Chest CT image, blood cell counting and travel/contact history were investigated in patients with fever. Respiratory tract samples, such as sputum and throat swabs, from all patients, including those clinically suspected of SARS-CoV-2 infection, were collected for nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 before treatment. Results: : A total of 3697 inpatients and 416 outpatients seeking cancer treatment were enrolled from February 1 to April 3, 2020, in compliance with the hospital’s infection-control interventions. The clinicopathological parameters of the patients were summarized herein. 4237 samples from 4101 patients produced negative RNA testing results. Four clinically suspected patients all presented negative RNA test results and were excluded from the SARS-CoV-2 infection through follow-up retesting and monitoring. Seven patients with only N-gene positive results were retested, followed by CT scan and SARS-CoV-2 contact history investigation. All of them were finally diagnosed as non-infected patients. There was one outpatient who was confirmed positive by virus RNA test and then followed up. She might be an asymptomatic laboratory-confirmed case. During the study period, there was no SARS-CoV-2 infection among staff, patients and escorts of patients in the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. Conclusion: This study suggested our infection-control interventions, including viral nucleic acid test, could be used as a reliable method to screen cancer patients in the area with moderate COVID-19 prevalence. Cancer may not be a high-risk factor of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Nurses' psychological changes and coping strategies during home isolation for the 2019 novel coronavirus in China: A qualitative study.

AIMS: To explore the psychological changes of nurses during home isolation, the factors that related with these changes, and coping strategies in home isolation during the epidemic of COVID-19 in China. DESIGN: A qualitative study based on grounded theory. METHODS: Individual semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted from January 2020-February 2020 with 10 nurses who were isolated at home sharing the experiences of the epidemic of COVID-19. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analysed using constant comparative data analysis. RESULTS: Analyses of the collected data reveal that the psychological changes of nurses during home isolation reflect a complex, dynamic, and gradually adaptive process that was affected by many factors. Nurses had many negative emotional reactions in the early stages of isolation and positive emotions gradually increased during home isolation. After release from home isolation, they become more confident and calm after. Six categories of coping strategies were identified, including reasoned cognition; autosuggestion; develop healthy protective behaviours; shifting attention; social support; and the power of a role model. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides a better understanding of the psychological changes and the coping strategies used among nurses isolated at home. It is necessary to pay more attention to negative emotions in the early stages of home isolation to help nurses adjust quickly. The coping strategies used by nurses are likely to help those in home isolation reduce negative psychological changes and experience more optimal self-adjustment. IMPACT: This study explored the psychological changes and coping strategies of home isolation among nurses, providing useful advice for psychologists to develop psychological crisis interventions to help individuals reduce negative psychological and have more actively coping strategies when faced sudden stressful infectious diseases.

Reopening Effect of COVID-19 Vaccines on Corporate Earnings (preprint)

We model the contribution of a vaccine to the rebound in corporate earnings the year following the onset of COVID-19 while accounting for the role of fiscal and monetary measures. A vaccine that reopens the economy leads to a jump in earnings, while temporary fiscal and monetary support for households and businesses leads to higher short-run earnings growth before a vaccine arrives. We show that our model can be consistently estimated using revisions of value-weighted industry-level consensus earnings forecasts. We first present reduced-form evidence that security analysts account for both effects. Our model estimates then suggest that the reopening effect is as important as the short-run growth effect in explaining the rebound in corporate earnings.

Differential impact of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions on COVID-19 epidemics in the United States (preprint)

Background: The widespread pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented global health crisis. In the United States (US), different state governments have adopted various combinations of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions (NPIs), such as non-essential business closures and gathering bans, to mitigate the epidemic from February to April, 2020. Quantitative assessment on the effectiveness of NPIs is greatly needed to assist in guiding individualized decision making for adjustment of interventions in the US and around the world. However, the impacts of these approaches remain uncertain. Methods: Based on the reported cases, the effective reproduction number (B) of COVID-19 epidemic for 50 states in the US was estimated. Measurements on the effectiveness of nine different NPIs were conducted by assessing risk ratios (RRs) between a and NPIs through a generalized linear model (GLM). Results: Different NPIs were found to have led to different levels of reduction in c. Stay-at-home contributed approximately 51% (95% CI 46%-57%), wearing (face) masks 29% (15%-42%), gathering ban (more than 10 people) 19% (14%-24%), non-essential business closure 16% (10%-21%), declaration of emergency 13% (8%-17%), interstate travel restriction 11% (5%-16%), school closure 10% (7%-14%), initial business closure 10% (6%-14%), and gathering ban (more than 50 people) 7% (2%-11%). Conclusions: This retrospective assessment of NPIs on k has shown that NPIs played critical roles on epidemic control in the US in the past several months. The quantitative results could guide individualized decision making for future adjustment of NPIs in the US and other countries for COVID-19 and other similar infectious diseases.