When national identity meets conspiracies: the contagion of national identity language in public engagement and discourse about COVID-19 conspiracy theories

There are growing concerns about the role of identity narratives in spreading misinformation on social media, which threatens informed citizenship. Drawing on the social identity model of deindividualization effects (SIDE) and social identity theory, we investigate how the use of national identity language is associated with the diffusion and discourse of COVID-19 conspiracy theories on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China. Our results reveal a pattern of identity communication contagion in public conversations about conspiracies: national identity language usage in original posts is associated with more frequent use of such language in all subsequent conversations. Users who engaged in discussions about COVID-19 conspiracies used more national identity expressions in everyday social media conversations. By extending the SIDE model and social identity theory to misinformation studies, our article offers theoretical and empirical insight into how identity-contagious communication might exacerbate public engagement with misinformation on social media in non-Western contexts. Lay Summary This article examined the use and consequences of national identity language in public discourse related to COVID-19 conspiracy theories on Weibo, one of the largest social media platforms in China. We investigated how social media users discussed conspiracy theories about the origins of COVID-19 to understand how national identity expressions on Weibo affected public engagement with these conspiracy theories. Our findings reveal a contagion of national identity language between the original posts and all subsequent replies. We also discovered that users who employed national identity language during discussions about COVID-19 conspiracy theories subsequently used more of this language, even in everyday posts that were unrelated to COVID-19. Our findings uncover how social media platforms are used as public spheres for identity-contagious communication that challenges misinformation correction and public understanding of other social groups.

Molnupiravir-an oral drug for COVID-19 and its comparative analysis

Objective: The mechanism of action, metabolic kinetics, efficacy, safety and drug-drug interaction of molnupiravir were reviewed to provide a basis for clinical use. Method(s): Literature related to molnupiravir was systematically searched in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, clinicaltrials.gov, Pubmed, Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CNKI) and Wanfang database, and the relevant information was reviewed. Results & Conclusion(s): Molnupiravir was the world's first small-molecule oral drug for COVID-19, which had been approved or authorized for emergency use in more than 40 countries all over the world. Molnupiravir was a ribonucleoside analogue that could be caused mutations in RNA products by viral RNA polymerase, and thus halt viral replication. Clinical trial results showed that molnupiravir could be reduced hospitalization and mortality rates in patients with mild and moderate COVID-19, and might be effective against SARS-CoV-2 mutant strains.Molnupiravir had good safety and tolerability, to provide reference for the treatment of COVID-19 in the future. Copyright © 2022, Chinese Journal of New Drugs Co. Ltd. All right reserved.

A new domestic passenger points layout method of some normally operating city on the regular COVID-19 prevention and control stage

The domestic passenger points layout method of some normally operating city was analyzed in this paper by introducing potential point importance on the regular COVID-19 prevention and control stage. In the case of the abnormal operation scenario of a sudden COVID-19 epidemic in a certain place in the future, a normal operating city with a transport airport in China is taken as the research object, focusing on all the potential destination cities in China. This paper comprehensively considers the key influencing factors such as epidemic prevention and control policy, comprehensive transport demand and comparative advantage of civil aviation, and puts forward the destination importance index to quantitatively evaluate the layout order of each potential destination. Following the qualitative layout principle of the combination of important priority and balanced development, a "two-step" domestic passenger points layout method is established. The empirical analysis shows that for a city owning 30 domestic passenger points in China, within one month after the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic in Shenyang, Yingkou and Hefei, 10 new domestic passenger points are added to achieve the development goal of domestic passenger route network, and the "two-step" domestic passenger points layout method is feasible and effective. © 2021 SPIE

Mechanism and Clinical Research Progress of Nirmatrelvir Tablets/Ritonavir Tablets: A New Therapeutic Agent for COVID-19

OBJECTIVE: To review the mechanism and the clinical research progress of nirmatrelvir tablets/ritonavir tablets(PaxlovidTM), so as to provide references for its rational usage. METHODS: Literatures related to nirmatrelvir tablets/ritonavir tablets in the official website of US Food and Drug Administration, Pubmed, Embase, CNKI, CBM and Wanfang were systematically searched. The basic information, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy evaluation, safety, drug interaction, drug use in special populations were reviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Nirmatrelvir tablets/ritonavir tablets inhibit the replication of SARS-COV-2 virus by inhibiting the processing of SARS-CoV-2 protein precursor mediated by the main protease. Based on current trial results, nirmatrelvir tablets/ritonavir tablets can significantly reduce hospitalization and mortality rates in adult patients with mild and moderate COVID-19. More research is required to determine whether the drug is appropriate for the clinical treatment of all COVID-19 patients.

[Epidemiological characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases in Tianjin].

Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases in Tianjin, and provide references for risk assessment and control of imported COVID-19 cases. Methods: The information of imported COVID-19 cases were obtained from National Notifiable Disease Report System of China CDC. The data of imported COVID-19 cases reported from Tianjin airport and epidemiological surveys by CDCs at all levels from March 15, 2020 to August 31, 2021 were collected and analyzed by using software Excel 2010, SPSS 25.0 and R. Results: From March 15, 2020 to August 31, 2021, a total of 606 imported cases of COVID-19 were reported in Tianjin, in which 552 cases were finally included in the analysis. The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.8∶1, the age of the cases ranged from 3 to 77 years, and the cases were mainly reported in age group 20-39 years (59.8%). The areas where the imported case sojourned within 14 days included Europe (242 cases, 43.8%), Africa (139 cases, 25.2%), Americas (85 cases, 15.4%) and Asia (86 cases, 15.6%). The proportion of confirmed cases in autumn and winter was relatively high. During the study period, the proportion of infected persons found in custom entry quarantine decreased, and the proportion of persons with personal health declaration and under medical isolation observation increased. The interval between entry and diagnosis of infected persons tended to increase. Conclusion: The proportion of imported COVID-19 cases detected on the first day of entry at Tianjin airport decreased, and the interval to detect the infected persons trended to increase, to which close attention must be paid.

[Spatial accessibility of fever clinics for multi-tiered prevention and control on COVID-19 in Beijing]

OBJECTIVE: To simulate the different prevalence of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Beijing as the spreading and the outbreak city and analyze the response capacity of its medical resources of fever clinics, and to provide a scientific basis for optimizing the spatial layout in Beijing under severe epidemics. METHODS: The study obtained epidemiological indicators for COVID-19, factors about medical resources and population movement as parameters for the SEIR model and utilized the model to predict the maximum number of infections on a single day at different control levels in Beijing, simulated as an epidemic spreading city and an epidemic outbreak city respectively. The modified two-step floating catchment area method under ArcGIS 10.6 environment was used to analyze spatial accessibility to fever clinics services for the patients in Beijing. RESULTS: According to the results of the SEIR model, the highest number of infections in a single day in Beijing simulated as an epidemic spreading city at low, medium and high levels of prevention and control were 8 514, 183, and 68 cases, the highest number of infections in a single day in Beijing simulated as an outbreak city was 22 803, 10 868 and 3 725 cases, respectively. The following result showed that Beijing was simulated as an epidemic spreading city: among the 585 communities in Beijing, under the low level of prevention and control, there were 17 communities (2.91%) with excellent accessibility to fever clinics, and that of 41 communities (7.01%) with fever clinics was good. Spatial accessibility of fever clinics in 56 communities (9.57%) was ranked average, and 62 communities' (10.60%) accessibility was fair and 409 communities (69.91%) had poor accessibility;at the medium level of prevention and control, only the west region of Fangshan District and Mentougou District, the north region of Yanqing District, Huairou District and Miyun District had poor accessibility;under the high level of prevention and control, 559 communities' (95.56%) had excellent accessibility. The accessibility in 24 communities (4.10%) was good and in 2 communities (0.34%) was average. In brief, the existing fever clinics could meet the common demand. Beijing was simulated as an outbreak city: under the low level of prevention and control, only 1 community (0.17%) had excellent accessibility to fever clinics, and 5 communities (0.86%) had good accessibility. The accessibility of fever clinics in 10 communities (1.71%) was average and in 12 communities (2.05%) was fair. The accessibility of fever clinics in 557 communities (95.21%), nearly all areas of Beijing, was poor;under the middle and high level of prevention and control, the accessibility of ecological conservation areas was also relatively poor. CONCLUSION: The distribution of fever clinic resources in Beijing is uneven. When Beijing is simulated as an epidemic spreading city: under the high level of prevention and control, the number of fever clinics can be appropriately reduced to avoid cross-infection;at the medium level of prevention and control, the fever clinics can basically meet the needs of patients with fever in Beijing, but the accessibility of fever clinics in ecological conservation areas is insufficient, and priority should be given to the construction of fever clinics in public hospitals above the second level in the ecological conservation areas. When the level of prevention and control is low, the accessibility of fever clinics in ecological conservation areas is poor. Priority should be given to the construction of fever clinics in ecological conservation areas, and temporary fever sentinels can be established to relieve the pressure of fever clinics. When Beijing is simulated as an outbreak city and has low prevention and control, due to a large number of infections, it is necessary to upgrade the prevention and control level to reduce the flow of people to curb the development of the epidemic.

Cytokine Storm Induced by SARS-CoV-2 and the Drug Therapy

Novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) infection outbreak has occurred in Wuhan since December 2019.Cytokine storm (inflammatory factor storm)was suggested to be involved in the sudden deterioration of some SARS-CoV-2 infectors in the recent reports.However, no medicine was specific to the treatment of cytokine storm so far. This paper summarized the mechanism and potential therapeutic drugs of cytokine storm based on literature review and analysis, so as to provide references for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2.