US-China Rivalry and Its Implications for the Post-PandemicWorld

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the tension and underscores the importance of cooperation between the United States and China on shared interests even as they compete ferociously on almost all fronts. While a duopoly with China and the United States working in tandem is unlikely because of their increasingly competitive relationship, a large-scale conflict shall be extremely costly as neither is strong enough to prevail. Under above background, this paper describes the grim nature of the current Sino-US relations and the expected trend of Sino-US rivalry in the post-pandemic era. We expect that both United States and China can mutually prevent deeper and larger conflicts from happening, as well as maintain rational economic and political interactions under an integrated and effective global governance mechanism. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

COVID-19 Pandemic, Crisis Responses and the Changing World: Perspectives in Humanities and Social Sciences

This book comprehensively analyzes COVID-19 and its impact as well as the response from the perspectives of humanities and social sciences. This book covers topics ranging from geopolitical relations to regional integration, public health governance and even the evolution of professional practices in the time of COVID-19. It constitutes a precious and timely interdisciplinary reference for anyone aspiring not only to grasp the origins and dynamics of the present challenge, but also to identify future opportunities for further growth and holistic progress for humanity. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

Global Disorder for the Post-COVID-19 World

The COVID-19 Pandemic sweeping the globe has cost more than lives and livelihoods. It has rendered a heavy blow to the already shaking America's global leadership established after World War II. Instead of coordinating with its allies and international organizations to fight the common enemy, the Trump administration focused the bulk of its efforts on blaming China and the World Health Organization (WHO). Overwhelmed by the virus and doing a poor job of protecting its citizens, the US set a bad example for the world and offered no leadership to the rest of the world. The world has come to the post-American order. This Chapter argues that while US has failed to control the COVID-19 and created a vacuum on global leadership China was not yet ready to assume comprehensive leadership role by providing necessary public goods. China's good will was greatly undermined by politicians and public opinions in the West. Nevertheless China is a fast learner and it will play an increasingly important role in Global leadership. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

Molecular epidemiological analysis of COVID-19 imported cases in Ruili from July to November, 2021

Objective To analyze the epidemiological and genomic characteristics of COVID-19 cases imported by land in Ruili, and to provide reference for border epidemic prevention and control in Yunnan Province. Methods We collected information about SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from overseas land in Ruili, Yunnan from July to November, 2021. The epidemiological characteristics were statistically analyzed. The second-generation sequencing platform of Illumina was used to conduct high-through-put sequencing on the selected 40 positive samples and to analyze their genotyping and variation characteristics. Results During the study period,Ruili City reported 796 COVID-19 cases from abroad.The median age of COVID-19 cases was 28.5 years (Interquantile range 10, range 1–85). The gender ratio between men and women was 4.61 : 1, Most of these infected individuals engaged in business services, accounting for 49.75% (396/796) , 95.60% of COVID-19 cases were mild and moderate cases. The sequencing results of 34 cases can be divided into three clades according to Nextstrain typing method, including 24 cases belong to 21A(Delta) clade, 9 cases belong to 21I(Delta) clade and 1 case belongs to 20I (Alpha V1) clade. Conclusions The virus genotypes of the cases in this study were mainly divided into three branches and there were some differences among them, most of which were Delta mutants.We should continue to implement border control measures and continue to monitor the virus mutation of imported cases, so as to evaluate the threat of the mutant strain to the current situation of epidemic prevention and control in Yunnan Province. © 2023, Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.

Impact of COVID-19 on the quantity of visitation to leisure tourism facilities in China: cases of Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao

Based on mobile positioning big data, this study analyzes the quantity of visitation changes of leisure tourism facilities under the impact of COVID-19, which is a direct way to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the leisure tourism industry. The quantity of visitation to the four types of leisure facilities (scenic spots, shopping services, sports services, science and cultural education services) in the three Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao) decreased by 63.06% and 44.74% respectively on the Tomb Sweeping Day and the Labor Day in 2020 compared with 2019. The biggest decreasing was in science and cultural education services, followed by scenic spots and sports services, and finally shopping services. The curve of hourly visitations to leisure facilities in 2020 shows a smooth feature, indicating that the public has reduced the risk of pandemic through peak shifting leisure. The analysis of influencing factors shows that the influence of the floor area on visitation is different in different phases. From Tomb Sweeping Day to Labour Day in 2020, the influence of area on leisure behaviour changes from negative to positive. This paper provides a technical framework for assessing the impact of crisis event, and expands the protection motivation theory. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Health risk assessment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from landfill working surface via dispersion simulation enhanced by probability analysis

The assessment of the health risks of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from landfills via dispersion model is crucial but also challenging because of remarkable variations in their emissions and meteorological conditions. This study used a probabilistic approach for the assessment of the health risks of typical VOCs by combining artificial neural network models for emission rates and a numerical dispersion model enhanced by probability analysis. A total of 8753 rounds of simulation were performed with distributions of waste compositions and the valid hourly meteorological conditions for 1 year. The concentration distributions and ranges of the typical health-risky VOCs after dispersion were analyzed with 95% probability. The individual and cumulative non-carcinogenic risks of the typical VOCs were acceptable with all values less than 1 in the whole study domain. For individual carcinogenic risks, only ethylbenzene, benzene, chloroform, and 1, 2-dichloroethane at extreme concentrations showed minor or moderate risks with a probability of 0.1%-1% and an impact distance of 650-3000 m at specific directions. The cumulative carcinogenic risks were also acceptable at 95% probability in the whole study domain, but exceeded 1 x 10-6 or even 1 x 10-4 at some extreme conditions, especially within the landfill area. The vertical patterns of the health risks with height initially increased, and then decreased rapidly, and the peak values were observed around the height of the emission source. The dispersion simulation and health risk assessment of the typical health-risky VOCs enhanced by Monte Carlo can accurately reflect their probabilistic dispersion patterns and health risks to surrounding residents from both spatial and temporal dimensions. With this approach, this study can provide important scientific basis and technical support for the health risk assessment and management of landfills.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Molecular epidemiological analysis of COVID-19 imported cases in Ruili from July to November, 2021.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological and genomic characteristics of COVID-19 cases imported by land in Ruili, and to provide reference for border epidemic prevention and control in Yunnan Province. Methods We collected information about SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from overseas land in Ruili, Yunnan from July to November, 2021. The epidemiological characteristics were statistically analyzed. The second-generation sequencing platform of Illumina was used to conduct high-through-put sequencing on the selected 40 positive samples and to analyze their genotyping and variation characteristics. Results During the study period,Ruili City reported 796 COVID-19 cases from abroad.The median age of COVID-19 cases was 28.5 years (Interquantile range 10, range 1-85). The gender ratio between men and women was 4.61 : 1, Most of these infected individuals engaged in business services, accounting for 49.75% (396/796) , 95.60% of COVID-19 cases were mild and moderate cases. The sequencing results of 34 cases can be divided into three clades according to Nextstrain typing method, including 24 cases belong to 21A(Delta) clade, 9 cases belong to 21I(Delta) clade and 1 case belongs to 20I (Alpha V1) clade. Conclusions The virus genotypes of the cases in this study were mainly divided into three branches and there were some differences among them, most of which were Delta mutants.We should continue to implement border control measures and continue to monitor the virus mutation of imported cases, so as to evaluate the threat of the mutant strain to the current situation of epidemic prevention and control in Yunnan Province.Copyright © 2023, Publication Centre of Anhui Medical University. All rights reserved.

Spatial structure and influencing factors of regional city supply networks in manufacturing: A case study of Shandong, China

COVID-19 has driven the formation of regional supply chains. In addition, cities became the basic units of intra-regional supply chain organization under urban administrative economies. Based on the data mining of the buyer-supplier relationship of listed manufacturing firms, this study explores the spatial characteristics of city supply networks within Shandong by the indexes of degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, eigenvector centrality, and a community detection algorithm using the social network analysis (SNA) method and ArcGIS software. It investigates the influencing factors of city supply networks by the correlation and regression of the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP). The results show the following: 1) Shandong has formed a multi-center city supply network with Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai-Weihai, and the distribution pattern of city centrality measured by different centrality indicators shows differences. 2) Cities belonging to the same network community show a coexistence of spatial proximity and "enclave” distribution. 3) Geographic proximity, convenient transportation links, administrative district economy, similarity of business environments represented by development zones, export-oriented or domestic market-oriented division of labor between cities, value chain division of labor between cities, and land price differences between cities promote the formation of regional city supply networks. Conversely, differences in local market size and wage levels between cities hinder the formation of city supply networks. This study attempts to apply the analysis results to regional planning from the perspective of regional industrial synergy development. Additionally, as it is based on typical Chinese provinces, it can provide policy references for national administrative regions and countries/regions at similar spatial scales for manufacturing supply chains, as well as for regional spatial layout decisions of manufacturing enterprises. Copyright © 2023 Yan, Wang, Zhao and Zhang.

Approaching or avoiding? Mechanisms of host-country language proficiency in affecting virtual work adaptivity during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced expatriates in many organizations to do virtual work, while virtual communication is becoming a critical skill, especially for second-language speakers. We explore how expatriates with high and low levels of host-country language (HCL) proficiency use different mechanisms to improve their virtual work adaptivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, we argue that expatriates with high HCL proficiency tend to adopt approach crafting, whereas expatriates with low HCL proficiency tend to use avoidance crafting. We further examine the role of language-related human resource (HR) practices in reducing the tendency of expatriates with low HCL proficiency to choose avoidance crafting. We tested our predictions using data collected from 994 expatriates working in eight countries during the COVID-19 virtual work period, and the results generally supported our hypotheses. Our study sheds light on the importance of HCL skills in influencing expatriates' job-crafting behavior and adaptivity in virtual work, and the significant role of language-related HR practices. Last, we offer practical insights into improving virtual work during a crisis in relation to employees' HCL and organizational support. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Multimodal Semantic Mismatch Detection in Social Media Posts

Short videos have become the most popular form of social media in recent years. In this work, we focus on the threat scenario where video, audio, and their text description are semantically mismatched to mislead the audience. We develop self-supervised methods to detect semantic mismatch across multiple modalities, namely video, audio and text. We use state-of-the-art language, video and audio models to extract dense features from each modality, and explore transformer architecture together with contrastive learning methods on a dataset of one million Twitter posts from 2021 to 2022. Our best-performing method benefits from the robustness of Noise-Contrastive loss and the context provided by fusing modalities together using a cross-transformer. It outperforms state-of-the-art by over 9% in accuracy. We further characterize the performance of our system on topic-specific datasets containing COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine related tweets, and shows that it outperforms state-of-the-art by over 17% in accuracy.

Determining Risk Factors Associated with an Increased Incidence of Pulmonary Embolism: A Multi-Center Study of 3,675 Patients

Background. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with an increased incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE). Both conditions increase hospital complications and mortality, especially when exhibited concurrently. Unfortunately, both conditions may present similarly, and physicians often have a difficult time finding clinical indicators to suggest pursuing further evaluation of a PE during a COVID-19 infection. Methods. Using a multi-center facility database, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 3,675 COVID-19 patients at Methodist Health System from March 2020 to December 2020. COVID-19 infection was determined via molecular PCR testing and PE was determined by computed tomography (CT) scan with angiography. Patient demographics and laboratory values were determined by a manual review of patient charts. Chi-Square test was used to analyze observed variables. Odds ratios were calculated for variables with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Results. Of the 3,675 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, 150 (4.1%) were diagnosed with PE. Elevated D-dimer level had a statistically significant association with increased rate of PE (OR 0.1988, 95% CI 0.0727 - 0.5438, p < 0.001). Factors such as elevated C-reactive protein (p = 0.61), IL-6 (p = 0.26), smoking history (p = 0.70), age over 65 (p=0.54), BMI over 25 (p = 0.42), and history of chronic kidney disease (p = 0.16) did not show a significant association with PE incidence. Of note, patients with PE during admission were seen to have an increased incidence of intubation (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.2660 - 0.6029, p < 0.001). Conclusion. Our study suggests that COVID-19 patients with elevated D-dimer have higher odds of having a PE. This study also suggests that COVID-19 patients that develop a PE during hospitalization are more likely to require intubation.

A comprehensive and systematic review of the banking systems based on pay-as-you-go payment fashion and cloud computing in the pandemic era

The early identification of COVID-19 is critical to prevent the disease from spreading at the community level. Cloud computing allows healthcare providers to enhance patient care, exchange information more quickly, increase operational efficiency, and save expenses. Thus, this research investigates cloud computing applications in the context of an outbreak. We gathered, summarized, and evaluated scientific papers on cloud computing throughout an outbreak that were released between 2020 and April 2022 for this Systematic Literature Review (SLR). We employed a pre-defined review methodology to examine commonly known electronic datasets. Keywords were used to look for all publications connected to the subject. 18 papers were chosen for this SLR after thoroughly following the research selection method. This review paper offers current state-of-the-art outcomes and methodologies on cloud computing throughout an epidemic, outlining research gaps and providing directions for future research. The results showed that cloud computing plays a crucial role in addressing and relieving side effects in vital situations such as the coronavirus epidemic. We tried to provide a comprehensive study, but non-English articles were not included in this study, so future studies can provide a more comprehensive study by considering all articles in Chinese, Japanese, etc.

[Analysis of the whole genome traceability and transmission path simulation experiment of the local cluster COVID-19 epidemic].

Objective: To trace and characterize the whole genome of SARS-CoV-2 of confirmed cases in the outbreak of COVID-19 on July 31, 2021 in Henan Province. Method: Genome-wide sequencing and comparative analysis were performed on positive nucleic acid samples of SARS-CoV-2 from 167 local cases related to the epidemic on July 31, 2021, to analyze the consistency and evolution of the whole genome sequence of virus. Results: Through high-throughput sequencing, a total of 106 cases of SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences were obtained. The results of genome analysis showed that the whole genome sequences of 106 cases belonged to the VOC/Delta variant strain (B.1.617.2 clade), and the whole genome sequences of 106 cases were shared with the genomes of 3 imported cases from Myanmar admitted to a hospital in Zhengzhou. On the basis of 45 nucleotide sites, 1-5 nucleotide variation sites were added, and the genome sequence was highly homologous. Conclusion: Combined with the comprehensive analysis of viral genomics, transmission path simulation experiments and epidemiology, it is determined that the local new epidemic in Henan Province is caused by imported cases in the nosocomial area, and the spillover has caused localized infection in the community. At the same time, it spills over to some provincial cities and results in localized clustered epidemics.

Segmentation of lung parenchyma based on new U-NET network

As the risk of lung disease increases in people’s daily lives and COVID-19 spreads around the world, lung screening has become critical. Owing to the unique lung tissue, traditional image segmentation methods are difficult to achieve accurate segmentation of lung tissues. In view of the complexity of lung tissue structure, it was found in the experiment that the segmentation accuracy of upper lung and lower lung parenchyma tissue was low. Aiming at this phenomenon, a new network model, new U-NET, was proposed based on the improvement and optimisation of U-NET network model. Experimental data show that the proposed new U-NET network model solves the problem of low segmentation accuracy of the original U-NET network segmentation model at both ends of lung, improves the segmentation accuracy of lung parenchyma on the whole, and verifies that the new U-NET network model is more suitable for parenchyma segmentation. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

The Croydon Elective Centre-Surgical Hub supporting patient care and surgical training

Aims: NHSE/I and The RCS England have advocated that The separation of elective and surgical care is fundamental in recovering surgical services. It is suggested that The separation is physical and many Trusts are transforming pathways into elective and emergency hospitals. Croydon Hospital (CHS) have created an alternative, with 'a Hospital within a Hospital', separating these pathways within one estate, and considers whether this is a successful model for The future. Method(s): The day surgery unit On The ground floor was converted into an emergency centre with an ambulatory surgical hub, a hot clinic, clinical space, 4 emergency theatres and an USS room. The main theatre suite was converted into The Croydon Elective Centre (CEC) with a 12-bedded coronary catheter suite, a lift onto The second floor, 10 theatres, a 12 bedded children's day unit, Moorfields' eye unit, a new canteen, an admissions unit as well as a 28-bedded elective ward with a new 4-bedded level 1.5 critical care unit. Result(s): At The end of wave 1, 3,068 patients awaited treatment, an increase of 30.44% of baseline activity with theatre activity at 28% of normal activity. Activity resumed to 100% within 6 weeks of CEC go live. 2/9,606 patients were Covid-19 positive in The first year. During wave 2, 60% of pre-Covid-19 activity continued. Currently, 2,098 patients await treatment. Conclusion(s): The implementation of a surgical hub has supported The treatment of patients as well as provided continuous training opportunities for surgical and anaesthetic trainees as well as The theatre team.

A pilot study: Developing bespoke high volume low complexity (HVLC) theatre lists with a focus on training, in order to address the impact of CoVID-19 on training and elective waiting lists

Introduction: We are faced with long waiting lists coupled with a loss of training opportunities for surgical trainees as a result of CoVID-19. It is imperative to ensure training opportunities are optimised and trainees are encouraged to contribute to The service recovery efforts we are faced with. Method(s): A pilot 'The hernia fest' was undertaken with The aim of training core trainees, supporting senior trainees as independent practitioners coupled with supporting The delivery of high volume, low complexity (HVLC) care. Parallel bespoke theatre lists with The grouping of specific cases (hernias), have been run with a consultant surgeon overseeing 2-3 lists. Each list includes a selected senior trainee who is suitable to train colleagues. Cases were screened prior to booking. All theatre staff were briefed On The purpose of The lists. All patients, trainees and theatre staff completed a questionnaire. Result(s): 50 hernia training cases were carried out over 15 sessions. 100% of patients were confident with their treatment and would recommend The service. 100% of trainees felt they had progressed in their operative competence and skill acquisition. 100%oftrainees were satisfied. Senior trainees enjoyed The responsibility of running an independent list. 100% of theatre staff felt they would participate in future lists. Conclusion(s): This model cultivates a learning environment whilst addressing waiting lists. The grouping of operations together allows for repetitive practice and may encourage rapid skill acquisition. We discuss lessons learnt and a proposed framework & checklist which can be applied to The future planning of such lists.

Prediction of Post-COVID-19 economic and environmental policy and recovery based on recurrent neural network and long short-term memory network

COVID-19 has brought significant impacts on the global economy and environment. The Global Economic-and-environmental Policy Uncertainty (GEPU) index is a critical indicator to measure the uncertainty of global economic policies. Its prediction provides evidence for the good prospect of global economic and environmental policy and recovery. This is the first study using the monthly data of GEPU from January 1997 to January 2022 to predict the GEPU index after the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models have been adopted to predict the GEPU. In general, the RNN outperforms the LSTM networks, and most results suggest that the GEPU index will remain stable or decline in the coming year. A few results point to the possibility of a short-term increase in GEPU, but still far from its two peaks during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This forecast confirms that the impact of the epidemic on global economic and environmental policy will continue to wane. Lower economic and environmental policy uncertainty facilitates global economic and environmental recovery. Economic recovery brings more opportunities and a stable macroeconomic environment, which is a positive sign for both investors and businesses. Meanwhile, for the ecological environment, the declining GEPU index marks a gradual reduction in the direct impact of policy uncertainty on sustainable development, but the indirect environmental impact of uncertainty may remain in the long run. Our prediction also provides a reference for subsequent policy formulation and related research.

Covid-19 abortion experiences on reddit: A qualitative study

We sought to document the effects of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on people seeking abortion by analyzing posts on Reddit, a popular social media website. We compiled 528 anonymous posts on the abortion subreddit from March 20, 2020 to April 12, 2020 and applied deductive qualitative methods to identify codes and themes. In the first of four themes, posters reported several COVID-19-related barriers to abortion services: reduced in-person access due to clinic closures, mail delivery delays of self-managed medication abortion, and pandemic-related financial barriers to both self-managed and in-clinic abortion. The second theme encompassed quarantine-driven privacy challenges, primarily challenges with concealing an abortion from household members. Third, posters detailed how the pandemic constrained their pregnancy decision making, including time pressure from impending clinic closures. Finally, posters reported COVID-19-related changes to service delivery that negatively affected their abortion experiences — for example, being unable to bring a support person into the clinic due to pandemic visitor restrictions. This analysis of real-time social media posts reveals multiple ways that the COVID-19 pandemic limited people's abortion access and affected their termination decisions and experiences. Findings shed light on the consequences of sudden changes, whether pandemic- or policy-related, on abortion service delivery. [ FROM AUTHOR]