Azvudine reduces the mortality rate of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019: a single-center retrospective analysis study (preprint)

Background: Several therapeutic drugs have been authorized for the treatment of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, further research on the mechanisms of action, efficacy, and target populations of these novel therapeutic drugs are necessary. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of azvudine in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with COVID-19 admitted to our hospital from December 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. Patients were divided into retrospective cohorts receiving azvudine antiviral therapy and standard treatment, and were followed-up for up to 28 days. Results: Prior to data processing, azvudine treatment was associated with reduced mortality rates at 7 days (1.09/1000 persons vs.5.06/1000 persons, p<0.001)and 14 days (3.35/1000 persons vs. 5.65/1000 persons, p=0.001). After propensity score matching, a decrease in mortality rates at 7 days (0.08/1000 persons vs.6.29/1000 persons, p<0.001), 14 days (3.42/1000 persons vs. 7.26/1000 persons, p<0.001), and 28 days (4.33/1000 persons vs. 7.29/1000 persons, p=0.003) were observed following azvudine treatment. After inverse probability of treatment weighting adjustment, the results were consistent with propensity score matching. In the clinical subgroup analysis, for hospitalized severe and critical patients with COVID-19, azvudine treatment intervention significantly reduced patient mortality rates. Conclusions: The study suggests that in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, azvudine treatment significantly reduces patient mortality rates in hospitalized COVID-19 infections, wherein the effects are more pronounced in severe and critical patients.

Humoral immune response to omicron infection in long-term Wuhan-Hu-1-imprinted population (preprint)

Recent WHO vaccination guidance no longer recommends COVID-19 vaccination beyond the first booster in low risk population, citing high population-level hybrid immunity due to widespread omicron infections.1 Although SARS-CoV-2 infection confers durable protection against reinfection,2-4 it may also produce immune imprinting, which skews subsequent immune response to variant antigens toward the first-exposed antigen based on the antigenic distance.5,6 China has the earliest and exclusively Wuhan-Hu-1(WH1)-imprinted population before the 2022 nation-wide omicron outbreak,7 which offers a unique opportunity to study long-term immune imprinting between most antigenically distant strains. Here, we assessed pseudovirus neutralization activity and anti-WH1 receptor binding domain (RBD) antibodies in 4 Chinese cohorts with hybrid or vaccine-only imprinting, or naïve to SARS-CoV-2 prior to omicron BF.7 infection. Both hybrid and vaccine-only imprinting augmented post-infection serum neutralization of WH1 and omicron sub-variants BF.7/BQ.1.1/XBB.1.5 comparing to naïve background. Feedback from pre-existing high-affinity antibodies limited the magnitude of humoral immune response to omicron infection without compromising protection, while antigenic seniority of pre-existing cross-reactive B cells only slightly reduces forward neutralization breadth in hybrid- and RBD vaccine-imprinted participants. Our results support the effectiveness of hybrid immunity against omicron reinfection in long-term imprinted population and provide immunological basis for similar epidemiological findings.8-10

Assessment of Economic Recovery in Hebei Province, China, under the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Nighttime Light Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented disruptions to human society worldwide since late 2019, and lockdown policies in response to the pandemic have directly and drastically decreased human socioeconomic activities. To quantify and assess the extent of the pandemic's impact on the economy of Hebei Province, China, nighttime light (NTL) data, vegetation information, and provincial quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) data were jointly utilized to estimate the quarterly GDP for prefecture-level cities and county-level cities. Next, an autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) model was applied to predict the quarterly GDP for 2020 and 2021. Finally, economic recovery intensity (ERI) was used to assess the extent of economic recovery in Hebei Province during the pandemic. The results show that, at the provincial level, the economy of Hebei Province had not yet recovered;at the prefectural and county levels, three prefectures and forty counties were still struggling to restore their economies by the end of 2021, even though these economies, as a whole, were gradually recovering. In addition, the number of new infected cases correlated positively with the urban NTL during the pandemic period, but not during the post-pandemic period. The study results are informative for local government's strategies and policies for allocating financial resources for urban economic recovery in the short- and long-term.

Rapid point-of-care detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA with smartphone-based upconversion luminescence diagnostics

Accurate COVID-19 screening via molecular technologies is still hampered by bulky instrumentation, complicated procedure, high cost, lengthy testing time, and the need for specialized personnel. Herein, we develop point-of-care upconversion luminescence diagnostics (PULD), and a streamlined smartphone-based portable platform facilitated by a ready-to-use assay for rapid SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) gene testing. With the complementary oligo-modified upconversion nanoprobes and gold nanoprobes specifically hybridized with the target N gene, the luminescence resonance energy transfer effect leads to a quenching of fluorescence intensity that can be detected by the easy-to-use diagnostic system. A remarkable detection limit of 11.46 fM is achieved in this diagnostic platform without the need of target amplification, demonstrating high sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio of the assay. The capability of the developed PULD is further assessed by probing 9 RT-qPCR-validated SARS-CoV-2 variant clinical samples (B.1.1.529/Omicron) within 20 mins, producing reliable diagnostic results consistent with those obtained from a standard fluorescence spectrometer. Importantly, PULD is capable of identifying the positive COVID-19 samples with superior sensitivity and specificity, making it a promising front-line tool for rapid, high-throughput screening and infection control of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases.

Eight-year operation status and data analysis of the first human milk bank in East China.

BACKGROUND: Human milk banks (HMBs) are essential facilities for the selection, collection, testing, transportation,storage, and distribution of DHM for special medical needs. The aim of this analysis was to analyze the operation status and data over the last 8 years of operation of the first human milk bank (HMB) in East China. METHODS: Data related to the costs, donors, donation, pasteurization, and recipients were extracted from the web-based electronic monitoring system of the HMB for the period August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2021. RESULTS: Over the 8 years of operation, 1,555 qualified donors donated 7,396.5L of qualified milk at a cost of ¥1.94 million($306,051), with the average cost per liter of donor human milk being ¥262.3($41.4). The donors were between 25 and 30 years of age, and the majority (80.1%) were primipara. All the donated milk was pasteurized and subjected to bacteriological tests before and after pasteurization: 95.4% passed the pre-pasteurization tests, and 96.3% passed the post-pasteurization tests. A total of 9,207 newborns received 5,775.2L of pasteurized donor milk. The main reason for the prescription of donor human milk was preterm birth. As a result of continuous quality improvements, January 2016 witnessed a significant increase in the volume of qualified DHM and the number of qualified donors. However, in 2020, as a result of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of qualified DHM and the number of qualified donors decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Over its 8 years of operation, our HMB has made steady quality improvements in its screening and information processes. Continuous quality improvement is on ongoing need, along with recruiting more qualified donors and collecting donor human milk for vulnerable newborns.

Rejection of Acellular Porcine Corneal Stroma Transplantation During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

: To report 2 successfully managed cases of graft rejection with acellular porcine corneal stroma (APCS) transplantation in patients with fungal corneal ulcer. Two patients were diagnosed with fungal corneal ulcer and received APCS transplantation. Graft rejection developed due to the lost follow-up during the period of coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. Amniotic membranes transplantation and cauterization of neovascularization was performed, respectively. The graft failure resolved successfully after the procedure. To the best of our knowledge, amniotic membranes transplantation and cauterization of new vessels are the firstly reported in treating APCS graft failure. Amniotic membranes transplantation or cauterization of neovascularization appear to be a safe and costeffective method for treating graft failure.

Application of negative pressure sealing drainage technology combined with silver ion sterilization nursing solution in the nursing of necrotizing fasciitis

Objectives: To study the application effect of negative pressure sealing drainage technology combined with silver ion sterilization nursing solution in the nursing of necrotizing fasciitis. Methods: Medical records of patients with necrotizing fasciitis, treated in our hospital from June 2019 to June 2021, were selected. Patients were retrospectively assigned into two groups based on the debridement method used: debridement with silver ion sterilization nursing solution Group-I, or debridement with negative pressure sealing drainage technology combined with silver ion sterilization nursing solution. Group-II. Wound healing, dressing change times, healing time, treatment cost and patient satisfaction in both groups were statistically compared. Results: The wound healing rate of patients in Group-II group was higher than that of Group-I on the 5th, 10th and 15th day after operation (P < 0.05). Dressing change times, healing time and treatment cost of patients in the Group-II were lower than those of Group-I (P < 0.05). Patient satisfaction in the Group-II was 91.4% (54 / 59), which was higher than that of Group-I (75.4% (40 / 53) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Negative pressure sealing drainage technology combined with silver ion sterilization nursing solution in the nursing of necrotizing fasciitis is effective. It can promote wound healing, shorten the healing time, reduce the times of wound dressing change and treatment cost. It also improves the overall patient satisfaction, making it an efficient method in clinical application.

A potential controlling approach on surface ozone pollution based upon power big data

Surface ozone pollution has attracted extensive attention with the decreasing of haze pollution, especially in China. However, it is still difficult to efficiently control the pollution in time despite numbers of reports on mechanism of ozone pollution. Here we report a method for implementing effective control of ozone pollution through power big data. Combining the observation of surface ozone, NO2, meteorological parameters together with hourly electricity consumption data from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitting companies, a generalized additive model (GAM) is established for quantifying the influencing factors on the temporal and spatial distribution of surface ozone pollution from 2020 to 2021 in Anhui province, central China. The average R2 value for the modelling results of 16 cities is 0.82, indicating that the GAM model effectively captures the characteristics of ozone. The model quantifies the contribution of input variables to ozone, with both NO2 and industrial VOCs being the main contributors to ozone, contributing 33.72% and 21.12% to ozone formation respectively. Further analysis suggested the negative correlation between ozone and NO2, revealing VOCs primarily control the increase in ozone. Under scenarios controlling for a 10% and 20% reduction in electricity use in VOC-electricity sensitive industries that can be identified by power big data, ozone concentrations decreased by 9.7% and 19.1% during the pollution period. This study suggests a huge potential for controlling ozone pollution through power big data and offers specific control pathways. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42452-022-05045-5. Article Highlights Surface ozone pollution in central China was investigated during the prevalence of the COVID-19 (2020.1–2021.5) NO2 and industrial VOCs contributing 33.72% and 21.12% to ozone formation Potential controlling pathway was proposed Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42452-022-05045-5.

The Impact of the Infectious diseases and Commodity on Stock Markets

We investigate short and long-run effects of commodities and the EMVID indices in stocks. It pre-dominantly compares the magnitude of the effect in China and the USA and analyzes the differences utilizing the QARDL method. It becomes evident that the impacts of the EMVID and commodity indexes vary depending on the stock market developments. The short-run results reveal that the US stocks are negatively affected by the extreme quantiles, while almost all quantiles are negatively affected by commodity shocks in the long-run before pandemic. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the EMVID index is positively correlated with the stocks for both countries.

The effect of opening window position on aerosol transmission in an enclosed bus under windless environment Note: This paper is part of the special topic, Flow and the Virus

The potential risk of spreading a virus during bus transportation motivates us to understand the aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and seek effective ways to protect passengers in a bus. In this paper, a typical scenario in which the virus spreads in a bus under a windless environment is numerically studied for further understanding of the spreading characteristics of aerosol transmission in an enclosed space. The air flow in the bus and the spreading processes of droplets with different open windows configurations are obtained and analyzed. The variations of droplet concentration in the air with time are examined and analyzed. In addition, the transient droplet concentration deposited on the passengers is also counted to analyze the potential contact transmission. The results indicate that opening a window next to an infected person shows an unsatisfactory performance in limiting droplet spreading range and reducing droplet concentration, eventually leading to a high risk of infection by aerosol transmission following contact transmission. In addition, opening multiple windows also shows an unsatisfactory result for removing droplets in a bus since the turbulence flow accelerates the spreading speed and expands the spreading range. In contrast, the droplets are removed from the indoor space of the bus quickly if a window is opened in the row in front of the infected person, which is beneficial for reducing aerosol and contact transmission in the bus. Furthermore, it is strongly recommended to avoid sitting in the row in front of the infected person where the highest droplet concentration can be observed.

Eight-year Operation Status and Data Analysis of the First Human Milk Bank in East China (preprint)

Objectives: To analyze the operation status and data over the last 8 years of operation of the first human milk bank (HMB) in East China.MethodsData related to the costs, donors, donation, pasteurization, and recipients were extracted from the web-based electronic monitoring system of the HMB for the period August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2021. ResultsOver the 8 years of operation, 1,555 qualified donors donated 7,396.5 L of qualified milk at a cost of ¥1.94 million, with the average cost per liter of donor human milk being ¥262.3. The donors were between 25 and 30 years of age, and the majority (80.1%) were primipara. All the donated milk was pasteurized and subjected to bacteriological tests before and after pasteurization: 95.4% passed the pre-pasteurization tests, and 96.3% passed the post-pasteurization tests. A total of 9,207 newborns received 5,775.2 L of pasteurized donor milk. The main reason for the prescription of donor human milk was preterm birth. As a result of continuous quality improvements, January 2016 witnessed a significant increase in the volume of qualified DHM and the number of qualified donors. However, in 2020, as a result of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of qualified DHM and the number of qualified donors decreased. ConclusionsOver its 8 years of operation, our HMB has made steady quality improvements in its screening and information processes. Continuous quality improvement is on ongoing need, along with recruiting more qualified donors and collecting donor human milk for vulnerable newborns.

Studies on the level of neutralizing antibodies produced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in the real world (preprint)

BackgroundAlthough effective vaccines have been developed against COVID-19, the level of neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) induced after vaccination in the real world is still unknown. To evaluate the level and persistence of NAbs induced by two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in China. Methods and findingsSerum samples were collected from 1,335 people aged 18 and over who were vaccinated with COVID-19 inactivated vaccine in Peking University Peoples Hospital from January 19 to June 23, 2021, for detection of COVID-19 antibodies. The WHO standard of SARS-CoV-2 NAbs was detected. The coefficients of variation between the detection results and the true values of the NAbs detected by the WHO standard were all lower than the WHO international standard 3% after the dilution of the original and the dilution of the theoretical concentrations of 500 IU/mL, 250 IU/mL, 125 IU/mL, 72.5 IU/mL, 36.25 IU/mL and 18.125 IU/mL. On day 11-70, the positive rate of NAbs against COVID-19 was 82% to 100%; From day 71 to 332, the positive rate of NAbs decreased to 27%. The level of NAbs was significantly higher at 3-8 Weeks than at 0-3 Weeks. There was a high linear correlation between NAbs and IgG antibodies in 1335 vaccinated patients. NAbs levels were decreased in 31 of 38 people (81.6%) at two time points after the second dose of vaccine. There was no significant difference in age between the group with increased and decreased neutralizing antibody levels ({chi}2 =-0.034, P>0.05). The positive rate of NAbs in the two-dose vaccine group (77.3%) was significantly higher than that in the one-dose group (18.1%), with statistical difference ({chi}2=312.590, P<0.001). A total of 206 people who were 11-70 days after receiving the second dose were tested and divided into three groups: 18-40 years old, 41-60 years old and >60 years old. The positive rates of NAbs in three groups (18-40 years old, 41-60 years old and >60 years old) were 95.14%, 78.43% and 81.8%, respectively. The positive rate of NAbs was significantly higher in 18-40 years old than in 41-60 years old ({chi}2=12.547, P <0.01). The titer of NAbs in 18-40 years old group was significantly higher than that in 41-60 years old group (t=-0.222, P <0.01). The positive rate of NAbs in male group (89.32%) was lower than in female (91.26%), but there was no significant difference ({chi}2=0.222, P >0.05). ConclusionsThe positive rate of NAbs was the highest from 10 to 70 days after the second dose of vaccine, and the positive rate gradually decreased as time went by. There was a high linear correlation between COVID-19 NAbs and IgM/IgG antibodies in vaccinators, suggesting that in cases where NAbs cannot be detected, IgM/IgG antibodies can be detected instead. The level of NAbs produced after vaccination was affected by age, but not by gender. The highest levels of NAbs were produced between shots 21 to 56 days apart, suggesting that 21 to 56 days between shots is suitable for vaccination. Author summaryO_ST_ABSWhy was this study done?C_ST_ABSO_LIAt present, the inactivated vaccines that have been approved to market in China have passed clinical trials to prove their effectiveness and safety. But the level of neutralizing antibodies induced by vaccination in the real world remains unclear. C_LIO_LISerological testing for neutralizing antibodies against COVID-19 is important for assessing vaccine and treatment responses and comparing multiple drug candidates. We assessed the levels of neutralizing antibodies produced in populations receiving inactivated vaccines and assessed the persistence of these vaccines in producing COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies in healthy adults. C_LI What did the researchers do and find?O_LIWe collected serum samples from 1,335 people aged 18 and above who had received COVID-19 vaccine in Peking University Peoples Hospital, and divided them into two groups according to one dose of inactivated vaccine and two doses of inactivated vaccine. C_LIO_LIOur study found that the positive rate of NAbs was 66.2% in adults who received one or two doses of inactivated vaccine and 77.3% in adults who received two doses of inactivated vaccine in the real world. C_LIO_LIFrom 11 to 70 days after the second dose of vaccine, the positive rate of neutralizing antibodies against COVID-19 was 82-100%; On days 71-332, the positive rate of neutralizing antibodies decreased to 27%. C_LIO_LIThe titer and the positive rate of NAbs in 18-40 years old group were significantly higher than that in 41-60 years old group. C_LI What do these findings mean?O_LIWhat is novel is we observed that in the real world, the positive rate of neutralization antibody was the highest at 10 to 70 days after the second vaccination, and with the extension of the vaccination time, the positive rate of antibody gradually decreased. Therefore, we recommend that the third dose of vaccine be administered at day 61 to day 70 for COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies levels. C_LIO_LIWe observed that there was a high linear correlation between COVID-19 neutralization antibodies and COVID-19 IgM/IgG antibodies in vaccinators, suggesting that in cases where NAbs cannot be detected, COVID-19 IgM/IgG antibodies can be detected instead. C_LIO_LIIn our manuscript, we found that the titer and positive rate of neutralizing antibodies in 18-40 years old group were higher than those in 41-60 years old group. The level of neutralizing antibodies produced after vaccination was affected by age, but not by gender. C_LIO_LIWe also observed that the highest levels of NAbs were produced between shots 21 to 35 days apart, suggesting that 21 to 35 days between shots is suitable for vaccination. C_LI

KRADA: Known-region-aware Domain Alignment for Open-set Domain Adaptation in Semantic Segmentation (preprint)

In semantic segmentation, we aim to train a pixel-level classifier to assign category labels to all pixels in an image, where labeled training images and unlabeled test images are from the same distribution and share the same label set. However, in an open world, the unlabeled test images probably contain unknown categories and have different distributions from the labeled images. Hence, in this paper, we consider a new, more realistic, and more challenging problem setting where the pixel-level classifier has to be trained with labeled images and unlabeled open-world images -- we name it open-set domain adaptation segmentation (OSDAS). In OSDAS, the trained classifier is expected to identify unknown-class pixels and classify known-class pixels well. To solve OSDAS, we first investigate which distribution that unknown-class pixels obey. Then, motivated by the goodness-of-fit test, we use statistical measurements to show how a pixel fits the distribution of an unknown class and select highly-fitted pixels to form the unknown region in each test image. Eventually, we propose an end-to-end learning framework, known-region-aware domain alignment (KRADA), to distinguish unknown classes while aligning the distributions of known classes in labeled and unlabeled open-world images. The effectiveness of KRADA has been verified on two synthetic tasks and one COVID-19 segmentation task.

Preliminary Evaluation of a New Initiative to Centralize Colorectal Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Epidemic in Shanghai, China: A Retrospective Study (preprint)

Background: A novel colorectal cancer center (CCC) was developed in the Tenth Hospital of Shanghai during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. We aimed to evaluate the CCC for the centralized management of colorectal cancer (CRC) on three dimensions during this distinctive period. Methods: This retrospective study used data from the Tenth Hospital’s patient databases. The research hypothesis was that the CCC reduces preoperative waiting time (PWT), length of stay (LOS) during hospitalization, and costs of hospitalization, without reducing the quality of surgery. Thus, we analyzed three dimensions: time, cost, and quality. We compared the expected outcomes between March 1–December 31, 2019, and March 1–December 31, 2020. Descriptive and inferential analyses of patient demographic characteristics, time, postoperative outcomes, and inpatient costs were conducted. Findings: A total of 965 hospitalizations for CRC were identified. In the CCC, PWT declined by 26.2 hours (p<0.01). Patients who entered the CCC express group only needed to wait for 24.5 hours before undergoing surgery, with shorter LOS during hospitalization than the normal group (p<0.01). No patients had any symptoms of COVID-19 or high-risk COVID-19 contacts, and the immediate postoperative complication incidence was low. The mean total inpatient cost (TIC) for all patients with CRC was 78309.824 Chinese yuan in 2020, which was slightly lower than this cost in 2019. Interpretation: This study examined the efficiency of the centralized management model for CRC care during the COVID-19 epidemic in terms of time, cost, and quality. Funding Information: This study was sponsored by the Clinical Research Plan of SHDC (No. SHDC2020CR5006-002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.71804128, 71904145), the Special Funds for Fundamental Research Expenses of Central Universities (No. 22120200407) and the Personnel Development Plan of Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University (No. 2021SYPDRC014).Declaration of Interests: None declared.Ethics Approval Statement: This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University (SHSY-IEC-4.1/20-272/01).

Epidemiological Traceability Investigation of a New Wave of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Beijing (preprint)

Background: To investigate a new wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in Beijing at the end of 2020, and to analyze the infection situation and transmission chain of each generation.Methods: Using a unified questionnaire, through the combination of field investigation and telephone survey, and with the help of trajectory big data technology to track the infected persons and close contacts for clues and case investigation. All nasal/pharyngeal swabs were collected and detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR method. The propagation relationship was analyzed by using the schematic diagram of transmission chain.Results: The outbreak involved 21 infected persons (15 confirmed cases and 6 asymptomatic). The first case was only an index case rather than the source of infection. The infected persons were spread through family exposure, workplace exposure, public premises exposure, vehicle exposure, diet exposure and so on. The average incubation period was 4 days, and those who had contact during both the virus incubation period and the symptom period had a higher risk of infection (c2=30.688, P<0.001). Unprotected family exposure, diet exposure, and exposure to small spaces, such as within transport, presented a higher risk of infection (c2=33.461, P<0.001). Conclusion: Against the background of global integration, the COVID-19 situation is still grim, still can not relax. While speeding up the recovery of the economy, "external defense input and internal defense rebound" is still the top priority in China's epidemic prevention and control work.

The impact of COVID-19 on China’s regional economies and industries

Scientifically assessing the economic impact of major public health emergencies, containing their negative effects, and enhancing the resilience of an economy are important national strategic needs. The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has, to date, been effectively contained in China, but the threat of imported cases and local risks still exist. The systematic identification of the virus’s path of influence and intensity is significant for economic recovery. This study is based on a refined multi-regional general equilibrium analysis model, which measures the economic and industrial impacts at different epidemic risk levels in China and simulates development trends and the degree of damage to industries and the economy under changes to supplies of production materials and product demand. The results show that, at the macroeconomic level, China’s GDP will decline about 0.4% to 0.8% compared to normal in 2020, with an average drop of about 2% in short-term consumption, an average drop in employment of about 0.7%, and an average increase in prices of about 0.9%. At the industry level, the epidemic will have the greatest short-term impact on consumer and laborintensive industries. For example, the output value of the service industry will fall 6.3% compared to normal. Looking at the impact of the epidemic on the industrial system, the province most affected by the epidemic is Hubei, which is the only province in China in the level-1 risk category. As the disease spread outward from Hubei, there were clear differences in the main industries that were impacted in different regions. In addition, simulation results of recovery intensity of regional economies under the two epidemic response scenarios of resumption of work and production and active fiscal stimulus policies show that an increase in fiscal stimulus policies produces a 0.3% higher rate of gross regional product growth but it causes commodity prices to rise by about 1.8%. Measures to resume work and production offer a wider scope for industrial recovery.

Issue Cover

The cover image is based on the Original Article Clinical characteristics of COVID‐19 patients with hepatitis B virus infection — a retrospective study by Rui Liu et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.14774.

Comparison laboratory data between children with Kawasaki Disease and COVID-19 (preprint)

Background:　 The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been an emerging, rapidly evolving situation in China since late 2019 and has even become a worldwide pandemic. The first case of severe childhood novel coronavirus pneumonia in China was reported in March 2020 in Wuhan. The severity differs between adults and children, with lower death rates and decreased severity for individuals under the age of 20 years old. Increased cases of Kawasaki disease (KD) have been reported from New York City and some areas of Italy and the U.K., with almost a 6-10 times increase when compared with previous years. We conducted this article to compare characters and laboratory data between KD and COVID-19 in children. Methods: We obtained a total of 24 COVID-19 children from the literature review and 234 KD cases from our hospital via retrospective chart review. Results: We found that patients with KD had higher levels of white blood cell (WBC), platelet, neutrophil percentage, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), and body temperature, while patients with COVID-19 had higher age, hemoglobin levels, and lymphocyte percentage. After performing multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that age, WBC, platelet, procalcitonin, and AST provide identical markers for distinguishing COVID-19 from KD in children. Conclusion: In this COVID-19 pandemic period, clinicians should pay attention to children with COVID-19 infection when high WBC, platelet, procalcitonin, and AST values are present in order to provide precision treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for KD or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).