ABSTRACT
This paper adopts an indigenous approach to explain why China can contain the COVID-19 Crisis swiftly and efficiently. For this purpose, it proposes a new conceptualization for studying the Chinese self—the Zhong-yong action self. The action self refers to the self, activated by the situation an individual is facing, based on which the actor thinks about and decides the proper action to take. During the COVID-19 Crisis, beside the individuated self (the small self), many other more inclusive selves (the large selves), such as the family self, the community self, and the country self, are being mobilized at the same time, all of which demand the actor to exercise self-control and to help others to achieve the common goal—defeating the virus. This concerted effort thereby creates strength and flexibility in managing the crisis. In every-day life situation, the many selves activated may demand conflicting actions from the actor. An adoption of the Zhong-yong deliberation process negotiate the most appropriate action, to help maintain inner peace and outer harmony with others and the flux environment. The author hopes that this new formulation will lead to new directions to the study of "the Chinese self.”. © 2023, Science Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
This paper adopts an indigenous approach to explain why China can contain the COVID-19 Crisis swiftly and efficiently. For this purpose, it proposes a new conceptualization for studying the Chinese self—the Zhong-yong action self. The action self refers to the self, activated by the situation an individual is facing, based on which the actor thinks about and decides the proper action to take. During the COVID-19 Crisis, beside the individuated self (the small self), many other more inclusive selves (the large selves), such as the family self, the community self, and the country self, are being mobilized at the same time, all of which demand the actor to exercise self-control and to help others to achieve the common goal—defeating the virus. This concerted effort thereby creates strength and flexibility in managing the crisis. In every-day life situation, the many selves activated may demand conflicting actions from the actor. An adoption of the Zhong-yong deliberation process negotiate the most appropriate action, to help maintain inner peace and outer harmony with others and the flux environment. The author hopes that this new formulation will lead to new directions to the study of "the Chinese self.”. © 2023, Science Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose : Patients on systemic immunomodulatory therapy (IMT) for uveitis are at higher risk of infection and infectious complications. While other medical specialties have studied the safety of IMT in non-ocular, autoimmune conditions vis-à-vis coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), little is known about the effects of these drugs in uveitis patients specifically. The objective of this study was to determine if uveitis patients with COVID-19 were at higher risk of hospitalization for this pandemic illness and whether systemic IMT affected this risk. Methods : Retrospective cohort study of uveitis patients in 2020 in the United States. The Symphony health insurance claims dataset was used. Inclusion criteria were an ICD10 code for COVID-19, a code for any form of non-infectious uveitis or scleritis, and age 18 or greater. Drugs studied included methotrexate, mycophenolate, azathioprine, tacrolimus, cyclosporine, adalimumab, infliximab, tocilizumab, rituximab, and JAK, IL-17, and IL-12/23 inhibitors. The main outcome measure was adjusted odds of hospitalization for COVID19. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for major risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease, including age, biological sex, cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, and renal disease, obesity, organ transplant, stroke, and certain cancers. Results : 3,974,272 patients in the dataset were diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020. Of these, 6389 (0.16%) had established diagnoses of uveitis or scleritis. Within the uveitis group, mean age was 54 years (SD 16), and 62% were female. 708 (11.1%) of the uveitis patients were hospitalized for COVID-19, significantly greater than the 7.3% rate amongst all adult, COVID-19-positive patients in the dataset (p < 0.001) and the CDC estimate of 7.5% for the US population in 2020 (p < 0.001). No agent showed a statistically significant effect on hospitalization. The higher rate of hospitalization in uveitis patients was partly, though not completely, explained by higher rates in uveitis-associated autoimmune conditions in the dataset as a whole. Conclusions : Uveitis patients have a greater risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 compared with the general population. As a whole, conventional IMT and biologics do not increase the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization amongst uveitis patients infected with the virus.