Post-COVID-19 pandemic and the Paris agreement: a socioeconomic analysis and carbon emissions forecasting in developed and developing countries

The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound impacts on the global economy, resulting in a sharp drop in carbon emissions as energy demand fell. The emissions reduction due to past extreme events often follows with a rebound after the economy recovers, but the pandemic's impacts on the long-term carbon emissions trend remain unknown. This study forecasts the carbon emissions of Group of Seven (G7) as developed countries and Emerging Seven (E7) as developing countries using socioeconomic indicators and artificial intelligence-powered predictive analytics to assess the pandemic's impacts on the long-term carbon trajectory curve and their progress toward achieving the Paris Agreement goals. Most E7's carbon emissions have strong positive correlations (> 0.8) with the socioeconomic indicators, whereas most G7's correlate negatively (> 0.6) due to their decoupled economic growth from carbon emissions. The forecasts show higher growth rates in the E7's carbon emissions after the rebound in the pandemic scenario compared to the pandemic-free scenario, while the impact on the G7's carbon emissions is negligible. The overall impact of the pandemic outbreak on long-term carbon emissions is small. Still, its short-term positive impact on the environment should not be misunderstood, and stringent emissions reduction policies must be implemented urgently to ensure the achievement of Paris Agreement goals. Graphical Research methodology for assessing the pandemic's impacts on the G7 and E7 countries' long-term carbon trajectory curve. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10098-023-02508-0.

Understanding the current status of patients with pulmonary hypertension during COVID-19 outbreak: a small-scale national survey from China.

Pulmonary hypertension is a chronic disease developing progressively with high mortality. Pulmonary hypertension patients need persistent medical care; however, limited reports focused on them when there was an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. This national survey was aimed to evaluate the overall condition of pulmonary hypertension patients during this period. A questionnaire regarding the living condition of pulmonary hypertension patients during coronavirus disease 2019 was designed by pulmonary hypertension diagnostic experts in Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital. Pulmonary hypertension patients and their family members were invited to participate in this survey online. One-hundred twenty pulmonary hypertension patients and 23 family members participated in the survey; 64.8% (n = 87) participants came from Hubei, and others were from 15 other provinces; 98.6% (n = 141) participants were in home quarantine; 65.8% (n = 79) were pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease; and 76.7% (n = 92) patients proclaimed their heart function was well maintained at class I or II. One (0.8%) patient was confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Two (1.7%) patients were hospitalized due to heart function worsening. Nearly 70% (n = 100) participants implied shortage in medications during coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. A total of 24.2% (n = 29) patients indicated that medications were discontinued due to the insufficient supply. Most of the participants stayed optimistic on either coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak or their pulmonary hypertension disease, and 61.7% (n = 74) patients would go to the hospital for follow-up immediately after outbreak. These preliminary data show pulmonary hypertension patients are able to avoid severe disease when they are in home quarantine. Medication supplement is important for pulmonary hypertension patients when their heart function is well maintained. In addition, there might be increasing requirements of medical care for pulmonary hypertension patients after the outbreak.

Serum IgM against SARS-CoV-2 correlates with in-hospital mortality in severe/critical patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.

Severe/critical patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have become the central issue in the current global pandemic due to their high mortality rate. However, the relationship between antibody response and clinical outcomes has not been well described in this group. We conducted a single-center, retrospective, cohort study to investigate the relationship between serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM and clinical outcomes in severe/critical patients with COVID-19. Seventy-nine severe/critical patients with COVID-19 admitted in Wuhan Asia General Hospital in Wuhan, China during January 22, 2020 to March 6, 2020 were included. Serum antibodies were measured at day 25 (SD, 7) post illness onset. The median IgG titer was 113 (IQR 81-167) AU/ml, and IgM titer was 50 (IQR, 23-105) AU/ml. Patients whose IgM titer ≥ 50 AU/ml had higher in-hospital mortality (p=0.026). IgM titer ≥ 50 AU/ml was also correlated with higher incidences of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and sepsis shock. Antibody remeasurements were performed in 42 patients, where IgM titer declined significantly in survivors (p=0.031). Serum IgM titer changes according to the COVID-19 progression. The severe/critical patients with COVID-19 have a higher risk of clinical adverse events when IgM titer ≥ 50 AU/ml. Further decreasing of IgM could imply a better outcome in severe/critical cases.