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The global pandemic of COVID-19 poses significant challenge to the recycling of disposable polypropylene (PP)-based waste masks. Herein, a simple but effective sulfonation route has been proposed to transform PP-based waste masks into value-added hard carbon (CM) anode materials for advanced sodium-ion batteries. The sulfonation treatment improves the thermal stability of the PP molecule, preventing their complete decomposition and the release of massive gas molecules during the carbonization process. Meanwhile, the oxygen functional groups introduced during sulfonation effectively facilitates the cross-linking between the PP chains, hindering the rearrangement of carbon microcrystalline structures and enhancing its structural disorder. As a result, the prepared hard carbon anode (CM-180) with a high disorder degree and minimal surface defects realizes a high sodium storage capacity of 327.4 mAh g−1 with excellent cycle and rate capability. In addition, when coupled with O3–NaNi1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode, the fabricated sodium-ion full cell delivers a high energy density of 238 Wh kg−1 and achieves an outstanding rate capability with a retained capacity of 75 mAh g−1 even at an ultrahigh current rate of 50 C. This work offers a novel insight into transforming the waste masks to value-added hard carbons with promising prospects for sodium-ion batteries. © 2023
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Background China has made some achievements in the construction of hierarchical medical system，but the development of its primary healthcare settings is still relatively slow. Objective To analyze the changes in patient visits and associated determinants in primary healthcare settings in Guangdong during 2013 to 2020，providing a basis for deepening the construction of hierarchical medical system. Methods In December 2021，this study extracted patient visits in primary healthcare institutions of Guangdong from Guangdong Health Statistics Yearbook（2013—2015），Guangdong Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook（2016—2017），and Guangdong's Hygiene and Health Statistical Yearbook（2018—2020） as the reference sequence，and extracted the population data and per capita disposable income from Guangdong Statistical Yearbook 2021，and the financial subsidy for primary healthcare institutions and the number of medical insurance participants from China Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook（2015—2017） and China's Hygiene and Health Statistical Yearbook（2018—2021） as the comparative sequence. Grey relational analysis was used to evaluate the strength of correlation between the number of patient visits and its potential associated determinants involving demographic and socioeconomic status，health resource allocation and medical insurance participation. Results The number of hospital visits in Guangdong increased from 334.592 million in 2013 to 401.317 million in 2019，with an average annual growth of 3.08%. The number of patient visits in primary healthcare settings in the province reached 437.317 million in 2019，and the average annual growth in these settings was 2.10% during 2013 to 2019. In 2020，the number of patient visits in hospitals and in primary healthcare settings both decreased significantly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of patients visits in primary healthcare settings accounted for 50.7% of all patients visits in medical institutions in 2013，which declined to 48.1% in 2020. Grey relational analysis showed that both the number of residents（r=0.913） and the number of people aged over 65 years old（r=0.913） had the strongest correlation with the number of patient visits in primary healthcare settings，followed by the number of urban-rural resident basic medical insurance participants（r=0.899），the number of beds in primary healthcare settings（r=0.893），the number of primary healthcare settings（r=0.886） and the number of urban employee basic medical insurance participants（r=0.872）. Conclusion At present，many patients still choose to hospitals for medical services，which calls for actions to strengthen the first contact in primary care system. It is suggested to meet the needs of residents for nearby medical treatment by enriching the connotation of primary care services，widening the gap of healthcare expenses reimbursed by medical insurance among medical institutions and improving the service capacity of primary healthcare settings under the background of population aging. © 2023 Chinese General Practice. All rights reserved.
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At present, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2)infection is still rampant worldwide.As of September 10, 2021, there were about 222 million confirmed cases of corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)and more than 4.6 million deaths worldwide.With the development of COVID-19 vaccines and the gradual vaccination worldwide, the increasing number of cases in children and unvaccinated young people has drawn attention.According to World Health Organization surveillance data, the proportion of COVID-19 infection cases in children gradually increased, and the proportion of cases in the age groups of under 5 years and 5-14 years increased from 1.0% and 2.5% in January 2020 to 2.0% and 8.7% in July 2021, respectively.At present, billions of adults have been vaccinated with various COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, and their protective effects including reducing infection and transmission, reducing severe disease and hospitalization, and reducing death, as well as high safety have been confirmed.Canada, the United States, Europe and other countries have approved the emergency COVID-19 vaccination in children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, and China has also approved the phased vaccination of COVID-19 vaccination in children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years. For smooth advancement and implementation of COVID-19 vaccination in children, academic institutions, including National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Center for Children's Health, and The Society of Pediatrics, Chinese Medical Association organized relevant experts to reach this consensus on COVID-19 vaccination in children.Copyright © 2021 by the Chinese Medical Association.
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Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP) is a class B infectious disease, which is prevented and controlled according to class A infectious diseases. Recently, children's NCP cases have gradually increased, and children's fever outpatient department has become the first strategic pass to stop the epidemic.Strengthening the management of the fever diagnosis process is very important for early detection of suspected children, early isolation, early treatment and prevention of cross-infection. This article proposes prevention and control strategies for fever diagnosis, optimizes processes, prevents cross-infection, health protection and disinfection of medical staff, based on the relevant diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control programs of the National Health and Health Commission and on the diagnosis and treatment experience of experts in various provinces and cities. The present guidance summarizes current strategies on pre-diagnosis;triage, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of 2019-nCoV infection in common fever, suspected and confirmed children, which provide practical suggestions on strengthening the management processes of children's fever in outpatient department during the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic period.Copyright © 2020 by the Chinese Medical Association.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2)infection is still worldwide.As a vulnerable group, severe and dead pediatric cases are also reported.Under this severe epidemic situation, children should be well protected.With the widespread vaccination of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in adults, the infection rate have decreased.Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 vaccine inoculation for children groups step by step is of great significance to the protection of children and the prevention and control of corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19) as a whole.But the safety of children vaccinated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is a main concern of parents.Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of vaccination and the implementation of vaccination work, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Center for Children's Health and the Society of Pediatrics, Chinese Medical Association organized experts to interpret the main issue of parents about SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for children, in order to answer the doubts of parents.Copyright © 2021 by the Chinese Medical Association.
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2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV) outbreak is one of the public health emergency of international concern.Since the 2019-nCoV outbreak, China has been adopting strict prevention and control measures, and has achieved remarkable results in the initial stage of prevention and control.However, some imported cases and sporadic regional cases have been found, and even short-term regional epidemics have occurred, indicating that the preventing and control against the epidemic remains grim.With the change of the incidence proportion and the number of cases in children under 18 years old, some new special symptoms and complications have appeared in children patients.In addition, with the occurrence of virus mutation, it has not only attracted attention from all parties, but also proposed a new topic for the prevention and treatment of 2019-nCoV infection in children of China.Based on the second edition, the present consensus further summarizes the clinical characteristics and experience of children's cases, and puts forward recommendations on the diagnostic criteria, laboratory examination, treatment, prevention and control of children's cases for providing reference for further guidance of treatment of 2019-nCoV infection in children.Copyright © 2021 Chinese Medical Association
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Overall survival (OS) is considered the standard clinical endpoint to support effectiveness claims in new drug applications globally, particularly for lethal conditions such as cancer. However, the source and reliability of OS in the setting of clinical trials have seldom been doubted and discussed. This study first raised the common issue that data integrity and reliability are doubtful when we collect OS information or other time-to-event endpoints based solely on simple follow-up records by investigators without supporting material, especially since the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. Then, two rounds of discussions with 30 Chinese experts were held and 12 potential source scenarios of three methods for obtaining the time of death of participants, including death certificate, death record and follow-up record, were sorted out and analysed. With a comprehensive assessment of the 12 scenarios by legitimacy, data reliability, data acquisition efficiency, difficulty of data acquisition, and coverage of participants, both short-term and long-term recommended sources, overall strategies and detailed measures for improving the integrity and reliability of death date are presented. In the short term, we suggest integrated sources such as public security systems made available to drug inspection centres appropriately as soon as possible to strengthen supervision. Death certificates provided by participants' family members and detailed standard follow-up records are recommended to investigators as the two channels of mutual compensation, and the acquisition of supporting materials is encouraged as long as it is not prohibited legally. Moreover, we expect that the sharing of electronic medical records and the legal disclosure of death records in established health registries can be realized with the joint efforts of the whole industry in the long-term. The above proposed solutions are mainly based on the context of China and can also provide reference for other countries in the world. © 2022 The Authors
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The COVID-19 pandemic changed behaviors, at least temporarily, and possibly more permanently, with implications for both work and leisure activities. Some of those behavioral changes, such as dining in restaurants, have significant ripple effects on businesses and employment. We investigate the response to health risks in China with a study of decisions about eating out during the pandemic. We find that compared to a traditional measure of financial risk attitude, dining out behavior better captures individuals' attitude toward the health risk posed by the pandemic and is more significant in predicting their expected total consumption during the recovery phase of the pandemic. In addition, we find that the effect of domestic in-migration is positive with respect to dining out, a signifier of confidence in the government response to the safety of internal flows. In contrast, international migration and port city of entry status are strongly negative with respect to dining out. The risk from the virus is perceived to be much stronger in such contexts. From a policy perspective establishing border controls was critical in re-creating a robust economy. Additional city and household level characteristics that affect dining-out behavior are also identified. © The Author(s) 2022.
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Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory disease. There is no recommended antiviral treatment approved for COVID-19 in Sierra Leone, and supportive care and protection of vital organ function are performed for the patients. This study summarized the clinical characteristics, drug treatments, and risk factors for the severity and prognosis of COVID-19 in Sierra Leone to provide evidence for the treatment of COVID-19.Methods:Data of 180 adult COVID-19 patients from the 34th Military Hospital in Freetown Sierra Leone between March 31, 2020 and August 11, 2020 were retrospectively collected. Patients with severe and critically ill are classified in the severe group, while patients that presented asymptomatic, mild, and moderate disease were grouped in the non-severe group. The clinical and laboratory information was retrospectively collected to assess the risk factors and treatment strategies for severe COVID-19. Demographic information, travel history, clinical symptoms and signs, laboratory detection results, chest examination findings, therapeutics, and clinical outcomes were collected from each case file. Multivariate logistic analysis was adopted to identify the risk factors for deaths. Additionally, the clinical efficacy of dexamethasone treatment was investigated.Results:Seventy-six (42.22%) cases were confirmed with severe COVID-19, while 104 patients (57.78%) were divided into the non-severe group. Fever (56.67%, 102/180) and cough (50.00%, 90/180) were the common symptoms of COVID-19. The death rate was 18.89% (34/180), and severe pneumonia (44.12%, 15/34) and septic shock (23.53%, 8/34) represented the leading reasons for deaths. The older age population, a combination of hypertension and diabetes, the presence of pneumonia, and high levels of inflammatory markers were significantly associated with severity of COVID-19 development (P < 0.05 for all). Altered level of consciousness [odds ratio (OR) = 56.574, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.645-566.940, P = 0.001], high levels of neutrophils (OR = 1.341, 95%CI 1.109-1.621, P = 0.002) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 1.014, 95%CI 1.003-1.025, P = 0.016) might be indicators for COVID-19 deaths. Dexamethasone treatment could reduce mortality [30.36% (17/56) vs. 50.00% (10/20)] among severe COVID-19 cases, but the results were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).Conclusions:The development and prognosis of COVID-19 may be significantly correlated with consciousness status, and the levels of neutrophils and CRP. © 2022 Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Inc.. All rights reserved.
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Under the global background of the New Coronavirus , the container transportation market at home and abroad has been affected to a certain extent, and there have been large fluctuations. The transportation of ocean containers is extremely vulnerable to external influences.If the port nodes cannot function effectively, it will affect the connectivity and efficiency of the shipping network and hinder the trade between countries. Therefore, it is necessary and urgent to assess the vulnerability of the ocean container transportation network.In view of this, in order to explore the impact and changes of container ports along the Maritime Silk Road in recent years. In this paper , the Maritime Silk Road shipping network is constructed based on route data. On the basis of disruption simulation, the vulnerability factors affecting the Maritime Silk Road are explored from the aspects of network and node transmissibility and diversity by using complex network characteristic indicators.The results show that the overall scale of ports and routes in the Maritime Silk Road network shows an obvious expansion trend, with a significant increase. Further research shows that the shipping network structure of the Maritime Silk Road is fragile, and port failure has different effects on network transmissibility and diversity. The dominant port and the vulnerable port have different influencing mechanisms. The research results reveal the vulnerability change mechanism and main influencing factors of the Maritime Silk Road in recent years, which is of great significance for ensuring the connectivity of maritime Silk Road ports and improving the security of maritime transport network. © 2022 IEEE.
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Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, sterilization of deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs) has attracted increasing attention. Effectively improving the radiative recombination efficiency and mitigating the efficiency degradation, mainly caused by electron leakage and nonradiative recombination, have also emerged as two of the main issues to be addressed. In this study, a DUV LED epitaxial structure with a novel electron-blocking layer (EBL) is proposed. The DUV LED with a luminescence wavelength of similar to 297 nm was formed by the stepwise variation of the Al component. Through the simulation and analysis of its performance parameters, we found that, compared to the conventional EBL structure, this new EBL structure not only reduces the electron leakage to the p-region effectively but also increases the hole injection into the active region, resulting in an increase in carrier concentration in the active region, a two-to-three-fold increase in the radiative recombination rate, and a 58% increase in the internal quantum efficiency, thus alleviating the efficiency droop and achieving a more efficient operation at high current densities. (C) 2022 Author(s).
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Detailed, accurate data related to a disease outbreak enable informed public health decision making. Given the variety of data types available across different regions, global data curation and standardization efforts are essential to guarantee rapid data integration and dissemination in times of a pandemic.
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Significance In 2009, influenza A (H1N1) broke out in Mexico and the United States, influencing 214 countries and killing at least 14000 people. The novel coronavirus epidemic which broke out in 2020 has still been raging all over the world for two years as the results of the huge difficulty in the rapid and real-time epidemic prevention detection and the other reasons. In addition, the spread of other viruses including dengue virus (DENV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is also threatening human health significantly. Virus detection is the key to curb the spread of the viruses. At present, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), as the gold standard in the field of virus detection, can be used to detect and trace virus samples with a high sensitivity. But these samples need to be collected to the laboratory, and the viruses must be isolated and determined using the sophisticated lab equipment operated by professionals in order to get accurate results. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)and local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensors may be an effective alternative, as their structures are simple and easy to be miniaturized. Especially, the LSPR-based device only needs a light source and some sensing elements. Once the sensing elements successfully capture the virus, the detection process will be quickly, sensitively, and selectively finished. These characteristics of the SPR and LSPR techniques show their great application potential in the field of virus detection, especially for the point-of-care testing with limited conditions. With the rapid development of SPR and LSPR-based virus detection researches, researchers have reviewed the progress of materials and structures of sensors, methods for plasmonic virus detection, and their characteristics of signal amplification, and so on. According to the four general virus detection methods and starting from the four kinds of target analytes captured by the sensor, this paper systematically outlines the latest researches of the SPR and LSPR techniques for detecting viruses, which are of great significance for their clinical application (Fig. 1). Progress First, according to the four methods for virus detection, the application progress of SPR and LSPR in the fields of antibody, antigen, nucleic acid, and virus particle detection is reviewed successively. For the SPR or LSPR sensors based on the binding principle of specific antigen-antibodies, the detection limit is further optimized by modifying the appropriate antigens or antibodies. More stable and inexpensive aptamers and molecularly imprinted polymers are expected to replace antibodies as sensor recognition elements to detect virus antigens or particles. Because the number of virus genomes in clinical samples is usually very small, the detection of nucleic acid by SPR or LSPR alone is limited. However, the detection of virus samples with the concentration at the femto scale can be realized by combining SPR or LSPR with DNA amplification and fluorescent substances. Second, the problems of biological medium contamination and repeatability encountered by biosensors as well as their solutions are introduced (Fig. 13). As for the contamination of biological media, self-assembled monolayers (SAM) can be synthesized on the surface of sensor elements to alleviate this problem. Riedel et al. further reduced or even completely inhibited the biological contamination of plasma and serum by synthesizing polymer brushes. In order to ensure the repeatability of sensing elements, Yoo et al. used magnetic beads replaced under the control of magnetic field as the sensing element, allowing that the sensor chip could still work stably after many repeated measurements. Third, the configurations and parameters of the SPR and LSPR sensors for virus detection in the past 15 years are listed (Table 1), and the advantages of the SPR and LSPR techniques are described. Finally, the optimization strategies of the SPR and LSPR techniques and the present existing problems are summarized. Moreover, e application prospect is also forecasted. Conclusion and Prospect According to the current research progress, the optimization strategy of the SPR sensor mainly focuses on film material sensitization and metal particle coupling sensitization. The former includes the application of 2D materials and molecular imprinting through the construction of surface films to enhance practicality and applicability. In contrast, the latter uses nanoparticles to form sandwich structures. The LSPR sensing strategies are concentrated on the design and optimization of nanoparticles or nanostructures, which are often combined with fluorescent substances such as quantum dots (QDs) to form sensing probes for virus detection by the light absorption peak shift or the fluorescence intensity change. The LSPR biosensors are normally easier to be miniaturized than the SPR counterparts. In a word, the SPR and LSPR sensors show great application prospects in the field of virus detection. Predictably, owing to the diversity of the SPR and LSPR virus sensor modifiers, it may be possible to detect specific viruses for multiple target analytes at the same time through the integration of sensor recognition elements, which enables the multi-dimensional evaluation of virus infection in a short time to avoid false negative and false positive cases. © 2022 Science Press. All rights reserved.
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Aim Human TMPRSS2 is a transmembrane serine protease.In this paper, the structure and function of the protein were systematically analyzed by bioinformatics, the codon was optimized and the pro- karvotie expression vector was constructed to explore the molecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infecting host cells.Methods The recombinant expression vector pET-22b-TMPRSS2 was generated by molecular cloning technology.The homology, functional sites, subcellular localization, three-dimensional structure and evolutionary characteristics of TMPRSS2 protein were systematically analyzed by using analytical tools such as Protparam, NetPhos3.1, Blast, Clustal X2 and MEGA7.0.Results The prokarvotic expression plas- mid was constructed correctly;TMPRSS2 belongs to medium molecular weight protein, which is composed of 492 amino acid residues.The theoretical isoelectric point is 8.12, the molecular extinction coefficient is 118 145 L * mol~1 * cm"1 , and the half-life is 30 h;TMPRSS2 has 15 potential glycosylation sites and 49 possible phosphorylation sites.It is a transmembrane hydrophilie protein without signal sequenee.In addition, the protein has 13 potential B-cell epitopes and 7 T-eell epitopes.Seeondarv structure analysis showed that random coil accounted for the highest proportion of TMPRSS2 protein ( 0.453 3) , followed by extended strand (0.252 0).Sequence comparison and evolutionary analysis showed that the highest sequence consistency and closest genetic relationship with human TMPRSS2 was Pan troglodytes, followed by gorilla.Conclusions Human-derived TMPRSS2 protein is ev- olutionarilv conserved and functionally important.Hie results of this study can help to reveal the structure and mechanism of action of TMPRSS2 protein, provide ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of COYID-19, and accelerate the research and development process of new drugs targeting TMPRSS2 protein. Copyright © 2022 Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 posed a serious threat to the world population. Some effective vaccines are currently approved and widely used, but the long-term efficacy and safety of this intervention is controversial given the highly mutagenic nature of the coronavirus. In addition, some antiviral drugs show better effects, but their safety and universality have not been supported by more data. Coronavirus main protease (3CLpro) is a special cysteine protease in the coronavirus family, responsible for processing viral polyproteins to produce yield mature non-structural proteins, which play an important role in the life cycle of coronaviruses and are highly conserved, and therefor is considered as a prominent target for antiviral drug. Strucure studies provide valuable insight into the function of this protease and structural basis of rational inhibitor design. This paper reviews the structure of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro and the research progress of bright spot inhibitors targeting 3CLpro so far, and introduces binding mode and the structure-activity relationships of inhibitors and 3CLpro in detail. Additionally, we broadly examine available antiviral activity, ADMET and animal tests of these inhibitors. © 2022 Chinese Chemical Society & SIOC, CAS.
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The widespread use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials has accelerated their entry into aquatic environment, which in turn can adversely affect aquatic organisms and humans, especially in the COVID-19 outbreak and the post-pandemic era. For early detection and intervention of adverse effects, this study develops a new carbon nanoprobe (CNP) that can reveal the adverse effects of trace amount triclosan (TCS), a commonly used broad-spectrum antimicrobial (BSA), through a direct visualization method. CNP has excellent fluorescent properties and strong positive charges, which can be applied as fluorescent indicator and trapped in mitochondria by electrostatic attraction. The highly sensitive responsiveness of CNP to mitochondrial membrane potential ensures the visualization method can be used for monitoring the adverse effects of TCS. The trace amount TCS monitoring is achieved according to the decrease of fluorescence signal in mitochondria and the change of mitochondrial morphological structure from lines to dots. Moreover, monitoring TCS level in aquatic organisms of zebrafish is further realized. Compared with the morphological toxicity test, this visualizing strategy reveals the adverse effects in organisms under low-dose TCS exposure more sensitively. This developed highly sensitive nanoprobe is cruical for direct BSA monitoring and thus prevents the harm of BSA to aquatic organisms and humans.