Breeding Hope during the Crisis: A Study on Unemployed Laborers' Willingness to Receive Educational Compensation under the Chinese "Zero-COVID” Policy

Under the Chinese "Zero-COVID” policy, many laborers were forced out of work. Participating in educational compensation can effectively help unemployed laborers achieve re-employment. This paper selected Jining, Shandong Province, as the research area, analyzed the data using a questionnaire survey and key interviews, and observed factors that affect and change willingness to receive educational compensation (WTEC) and the willingness to accept the training duration (WTTD) of unemployed laborers. The study found that 77.78% of unemployed laborers are willing to receive educational compensation, and the WTTD is 12.05 days. Among them, eight factors affect WTEC, such as the years of education, the duration of unemployment, whether there are dependents in the family, and the family's size. Nine factors such as gender, age, education, unemployed duration, dependents, and other supportable incomes affect WTTD. Based on this, by taking measures from the government and laborers, WTEC and WTTD can be improved, and then the rate of re-employment can be enhanced, and finally, the employment problem can be ameliorated.

Relationship between attentional Bias, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in primary and middle school students

Objective: To investigate the relationship between negative attentional bias and post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) in the context of higher depression and anxiety symptoms after the outbreak of COVID-19, so as to provide scientific basis for mental health education in primary and secondary schools. Methods: From March to April 2021, a total of 708 students from primary school and junior high school (grade 6 through grade 9) in Beijing, Shanxi, Hunan, Shandong, Hebei, Hubei of China were selected. The Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale(CRIES), the Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale (APNI)and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21(DASS-21) were used in a questionnaire survey. Results: A total of 242 students were diagnosed with PTSD, and the detection rate was 34.2%. The scores of intrusion and high arousal of boys(7.92+or-5.33, 8.60+or-5.41) were lower than those of girls(8.72+or-4.85, 9.50+or-4.76), and the difference was statistically significant (t=-2.04, -2.32, P < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences of negative attention bias, CRIES score, intrusion, debarb and high arousal among primary and middle school students of different grades (F=3.57, 5.99, 4.45, 4.60, 7.40, P < 0.05). Negative attention bias, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms were significantly positively correlated (r=0.27-0.84, P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that anxiety (OR=1.13, 95%CI=1.06-1.20) and negative attention bias (OR=1.10, 95%CI=1.07-1.12) were positively associated with PTSD symptoms in primary and middle school students(P < 0.01). Conclusion: Anxiety and depressive symptoms show impacts on negative attention bias and might exacerbate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, emotional adjustments can help reduce the post-traumatic stress response in the post-epidemic period.

HPV prevalence and genotype distribution among women in eastern China during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since March 2020, the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has affected nearly all aspects of daily life. In this study, we investigated the age-stratified prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) among females in Shandong province (eastern China) and aimed to provide guidance on HPV-based cervical cancer screening and vaccination. The distribution of HPV genotypes was analyzed using PCR-Reverse Dot Hybridization. The overall infection rate of HPV was 16.4%, which was dominated by high-risk genotypes. The most prevalent genotype was HPV16 (2.9%), followed by HPV52 (2.3%), HPV53 (1.8%), HPV58 (1.5%), and HPV51 (1.3%). Among the positive cases with HPV infection, single-genotype infection was significantly higher than that of multi-genotype infection. In subgroup analyses by age (≤25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, >55), HPV16, 52, and 53 were consistently the three most common hrHPV genotypes in all age groups. The infection rate of multi-genotypes in the ≤25 and >55 age groups was significantly higher than that in other age groups. A bimodal distribution of HPV infection rate was observed in different age groups. Among lrHPV genotypes, HPV6, HPV11, and HPV81 were the three most common types in the ≤25 age group, while in other age groups, HPV81, HPV42, and HPV43 are the three most common lrHPV genotypes. This study provides basic information on the distribution and genotypes of HPV in the female population in eastern China, which could improve the application of HPV diagnostic probes and vaccines.

Air quality improvement assessment and exposure risk of Shandong Province in China during 2014 to 2020.

As one of the most polluted provinces in China, air pollution events occur frequently in Shandong. Based on the hourly (or daily) concentrations of six air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2 and CO), the situations of air quality improvement in three kinds of cities (key cities, coastal cities and general cities) are assessed comprehensively during 2014-2020. Contrary to the daily maximum 8-h average ozone (MDA8 O3), the annual average concentrations of other pollutants show the downward trends during 2014-2020. Therein, the improvement rates of annual average concentrations of air pollutants in key cities are highest. By 2020, the day proportions of O3 as the primary pollutant are up to 38% in three kinds of cities. Besides, due to the impact of COVID-19, the monthly average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2 and CO in February 2020 decrease by 32.1-49.5% year-on-year. There are still about 50% of population exposed to high-risk regions (R i > 2), which are mainly concentrated in main urban areas and industrial areas. Thus, the adjustment of industrial structure and energy composition in the context of carbon peak and carbon neutrality should be implemented in the future. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13762-022-04651-5.

Correlation between thyroid function and serum visfatin in patients with acute pancreatitis

Objective: To investigate the correlation between thyroid function index and serum visfatin in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP).

Clinical analysis of COVID-19 in the elderly

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in the elderly.

Current Situation and Optimization Countermeasures of Cotton Subsidy in China Based on WTO Rules

Cotton plays an important role in China’s agricultural production structure and international trade;therefore, China has implemented a variety of cotton subsidy policies. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, WTO rules have become substantive constraints on its agricultural subsidy policy. Therefore, in order to prevent appeal cases of China’s cotton subsidy, in this article, we investigate the current situation and optimization countermeasures with respect to China’s cotton subsidies based on WTO rules. According to calculation of the level of China’s cotton subsidy support under WTO rules, it currently exceeds 8.5% of the cotton production value. Secondly, we estimate the change in cotton subsidy effect when the support level of China’s cotton subsidy policy is directly reduced to 8.5%;the results show that such a reduction would have a considerable impact on the production scale. However, due to the constraints of the political and economic goals of cotton subsidies, the Chinese government can only “box shift” subsidies by changing the subsidy method and object in order to comply with WTO rules. Finally, from the perspective of how to use cotton subsidies to improve the efficiency of production factors, the Chinese government should focus on optimizing the cotton subsidy policy according to three aspects: improving the Amber Box subsidies, expanding the Green Box subsidies and increasing the Blue Box subsidies so as to maintain the existing level of cotton subsidy support.

Serum antibody levels in COVID-19 patients six months after hospital discharge

Objective: To investigate the level of serum antibodies in COVID-19 patients six months after discharge, and to provide data to evaluate the duration of IgM, IgG and neutralizing antibody titers in the patients.

Analysis of epidemiological characteristics of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Yiyuan of Shandong Province, from 2014 to 2019

Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in Yiyuan County, and provide scientific evidence for prevention and control strategies.

Optimization, validation and analysis of a 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To optimize the sensitivity and specificity of a 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit, so as to improve the positive detection rate and provide guidance for clinical use by comparison with different kits.

Development and clinical value evaluation of IgM-IgG antibody detection kit for SARS-CoV-2 infection in 15 cases. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To develop a colloidal gold kit for rapid detection of IgM-IgG antibodies of SARS-CoV-2, optimize the development and application strategy, and investigate the diagnostic value of SARS-CoV-2 IgM-IgG antibodies by detecting serum of clinically confirmed patients.

Comparison of the clinical characteristics between 37 adults and 10 children with COVID-19. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To explore the differences in clinical characteristics between children and adults with COVID-19. Methods The epidemiological characteristics, clinical symptoms, laboratory results, imaging results and treatment regimens of 37 adult and 10 children cases of COVID-19 were analyzed. Results Family clusters were more common in the adult group, while all children cases were caused by intra-family transmission. The adult group had a significantly higher incidence of symptoms such as fever, cough, pharyngeal pain(pharyngeal itch)and fatigue(muscle soreness)than the children group(P < 0.05), while there is no difference in symptoms like chest tightness and chest pain. The children group had a higher rate of non-changing pulmonary imaging than the adult group(P < 0.05). The children group had higher increase of myocardial enzyme than the adult group(P < 0.05), while there were no differences in the increases of liver enzyme, myoglobin and troponin. The children group had lower increase of CRP, IL-6 and SAA than the adult group(P < 0.05), while there were no significant differences in the increase of PCT and decreases of leukocyte and lymphocyte counts. The treatment regimen for the children group was simpler than that for the adults. Conclusion Intra-family transmission is the main way for children to catch COVID-19. Compared with adults, children have milder clinical symptoms, milder CT lesions, no obvious liver and myocardial damage, and no significant changes in inflammatory indicators.

Influence factors of COVID-19 in Shandong Province based on geographically weighted generalized linear model. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To explore the related influence factors of coronavirus diseases 2019(COVID-19)in Shandong Province and understand the regional distribution characteristics of the epidemic situation, and to provide a scientific basis for guiding prevention and control strategies.

Reproduction number estimation and epidemic analysis of coronavirus disease 2019 in Shandong Province based on poisson process. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To explore the epidemic dynamics of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in Shandong Province, and to provide a scientific basis for the future prevention and control of new outbreaks of COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases.

Investigation and analysis of the characteristics of a family cluster of coronavirus disease 2019 in Zibo. (Special Issue: Spatio-temporal dynamics analysis, risk assessment and emergency management for COVID-19 epidemic.) [Chinese]

Objective: To investigate a family cluster of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in Zibo, so as to analyze the characteristics of the epidemic.

Analysis on a nosocomial infection event in a designated COVID-19 hospital in Shandong from the perspective of disease control

Objective: To analyze a nosocomial infection event in a designated hospital of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Shandong province retrospectively from the perspective of disease control and provide evidence to prevent the incidence of similar event.

Investigation of imported malaria cases at a COVID-19 isolation point in Qingdao

The epidemiological data were collected from travellers who returned from Guinea on the 23rd of September, 2020 and were diagnosed with malaria at a COVID-19 quarantine site in Qingdao, Shandong Province. The epidemiological characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of the cases and the epidemiology investigation and the rapid test screening results for other travellers on from the same flight and the interventions in reaction to the imported malaria cases were analyzed. The results showed that 4 out of 231 Guinean returned travellers had developed malaria symptoms, including chills and fever, during the isolation period. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) indicated Plasmodium falciparum infection. Considering the patients' travel history, clinical manifestations, and laboratory RDT test results, a confirmed diagnosis of imported P. falciparum malaria was made. The four malaria cases, who are male workers aged 29 to 55, were transferred to Jiaozhou People's Hospital for treatment. All four patients were administrated of artemether tablets upon diagnosis. One of the cases experienced severe malaria complications and were administrated with 12 doses (60 mg/dose) of artesunate intravenously for five days. The other three patients were treated with dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine phosphate tablets for one course of 8 tablets in 2 days (40 mg dihydroartemisinin and 320 mg piperaquine phosphate), respectively. Among the 231 returned travellers, 111(48.1%) had a history of malaria overseas. There were 23 positive cases detected by RDT, including the four symptomatic cases. The other 19 cases were asymptomatic. One of the asymptomatic cases became symptomatic three months later and was diagnosed as an imported P. malariae infection. Laboratory blood smear microscopic tests at the Jiaozhou City and Qingdao Municipal Center For Disease Control and Prevention showed negative results for the four malaria cases and the 19 RDT positive case. The samples from the four malaria cases were rechecked by the provincial reference laboratory of Shandong Institute of parasitic Disease. The results were negative for malaria infection by microscopic examination but positive for P. falciparum infection by nucleic acid test. It is suggested that during the routine control of COVID-19, the awareness of COVID-19 and malaria should be established among the returned travellers from high malaria-endemic areas. The health education "gate" should be moved forward to improve the treatment compliance for malaria cases and reduce the relapse or recrudescence caused by sub-optimal treatment.

Association between social support, smartphone usage and loneliness among the migrant elderly following children in Jinan, China: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesAs the fast population ageing in the past few decades, China has also witnessed an increase in the number of migrant elderly following children (MEFC). This study aims to examine the relationship between MEFC’s social support, smartphone usage and loneliness in Jinan, China.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingShandong Province, China.ParticipantsThe participants were 656 MEFC aged 60 years or above.Primary and secondary outcome measuresLoneliness was measured by an eight-item version of the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (ULS-8). A t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were conducted to compare the level of loneliness across different sociodemographic variables, social support indicators and smartphone usage indicators. Structural equation modelling was used to validate the association between the above variables.ResultsThe MEFC’s mean score on the ULS-8 was 12.82±4.05, indicating a relatively lower level of loneliness. It was found that social support and smartphone usage exerted negative effects on loneliness of the MEFC, and the standardised direct effects were −0.165 (95% CI −0.257 to −0.070) and −0.094 (95% CI −0.180 to −0.003), respectively. Social support was found to be positively associated with smartphone usage of the MEFC, and the standardised direct effect was 0.147 (95% CI 0.052 to 0.246).ConclusionsThe loneliness of the MEFC was relatively low and was clarified to be negatively associated with social support and smartphone usage. Effective intervention measures on social support and smartphone usage to alleviate loneliness among the MEFC in China were recommended based on this study.

Clinical characteristics and treatment effect of 537 cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Shandong Province

Objective: To provide valuable references for improving the diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Shandong Province.