Psychometric properties of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in Chinese military personnel.

Background: The 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) is a widely used assessment of resilience. However, psychometric properties of the Chinese version of CD-RISC-10 have not been well investigated in a Chinese military personnel sample. Methods: A total of 3,129 Chinese military personnel completed the CD-RISC-10, Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Among them, 528 recruits completed the CD-RISC-10, SAS, and SDS again after 3-month basic military training (BMT). Meanwhile, the commanding officers were asked to rate recruits' training performance on the training performance rating scale for recruits (TPRS). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was implemented to examine the single-factor model of the CD-RISC-10, and multigroup CFA was conducted to test measurement invariance across military rank (officers vs. enlisted), gender (male vs. female), and time (before and after 3-month BMT). Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω, and test-retest reliability was tested using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The criterion-related validity of CD-RISC was evaluated using Pearson's correlation analysis between the CD-RISC-10 total score and SAS scores, SDS scores, and training performance ratings. Results: The single-factor model of the CD-RISC-10 showed adequate fit (CFI = 0.955-0.970, TLI = 0.943-0.962, RMSEA = 0.059-0.072) in all examined subsamples (male, female, officer, and enlisted), and strict invariance was also supported across military rank, gender, and time (ΔCFI ≤ 0.001, ΔTLI ≤ 0.005, ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.006). The CD-RISC-10 showed good internal consistency in all subsamples (Cronbach's α of > 0.93 and McDonald's ω of > 0.93) and good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.88). Moreover, concurrent and predictive validity with the SAS and SDS scores were good (r = -0.68 to -0.49, p < 0.001). The resilience level of recruits at the beginning of BMT was significantly associated with training performance rated by supervisors after training (r = 0.29, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The psychometric evidence reported in this study suggests that the CD-RISC-10 is a reliable and valid assessment of resilience and a potential predictor for mental health and military performance in Chinese military personnel.

Real-time risk ranking of emerging epidemics based on optimized moving average prediction limit-taking the COVID-19 pandemic as an example.

BACKGROUND: Mathematical models to forecast the risk trend of the COVID-19 pandemic timely are of great significance to control the pandemic, but the requirement of manual operation and many parameters hinders their efficiency and value for application. This study aimed to establish a convenient and prompt one for monitoring emerging infectious diseases online and achieving risk assessment in real time. METHODS: The Optimized Moving Average Prediction Limit (Op-MAPL) algorithm model analysed real-time COVID-19 data online and was validated using the data of the Delta variant in India and the Omicron in the United States. Then, the model was utilized to determine the infection risk level of the Omicron in Shanghai and Beijing. RESULTS: The Op-MAPL model can predict the epidemic peak accurately. The daily risk ranking was stable and predictive, with an average accuracy of 87.85% within next 7 days. Early warning signals were issued for Shanghai and Beijing on February 28 and April 23, 2022, respectively. The two cities were rated as medium-high risk or above from March 27 to April 20 and from April 24 to May 5, indicating that the pandemic had entered a period of rapid increase. After April 21 and May 26, the risk level was downgraded to medium and became stable by the algorithm, indicating that the pandemic had been controlled well and mitigated gradually. CONCLUSIONS: The Op-MAPL relies on nothing but an indicator to assess the risk level of the COVID-19 pandemic with different data sources and granularities. This forward-looking method realizes real-time monitoring and early warning effectively to provide a valuable reference to prevent and control infectious diseases.

mTOR signaling regulates Zika virus replication bidirectionally through autophagy and protein translation.

Zika virus (ZIKV) reemerged in 2016 and attracted much more attention worldwide. To date, the limited knowledge of ZIKV interactions with host cells in the early stages of infection impedes the prevention of viral epidemics and the treatment of ZIKV disease. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway plays an essential role in the regulation of autophagy and protein synthesis during multiple viral infections. This study aimed to investigate the functional role of mTOR signaling in ZIKV replication in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Immunoblotting demonstrated that ZIKV infection inhibited mTORC1 signaling, enhancing autophagy but obstructing protein translation. Drugs or siRNA for interfering with mTOR signaling molecules were utilized to demonstrate that AKT/TSC2/mTORC1 signaling was involved in ZIKV infection and that autophagy promoted ZIKV production, but viral protein expression was regulated by mTORC1 signaling. Moreover, confocal microscopy indicated a robust correlation between autophagy and viral RNA transcription. This study clarifies the dual functions of mTOR signaling during ZIKV infection and provides theoretical support for developing potential anti-ZIKV drugs based on mTOR signaling molecules and deeper insights to better understand the mechanism between ZIKV and host cells.

2021-2022 monitoring, early warning, and forecasting of global infectious diseases.

COVID-19 has had a considerable impact on society since 2019, and the disease has high mortality and infection rates. There has been a particular focus on how to best manage COVID-19 and how to analyze and predict the epidemic status of infectious diseases in general. Methods The present study analyzed the COVID-19 epidemic patterns and made predictions of future trends based on the statistics obtained from a global infectious disease network data monitoring and early warning system (OBN, http://27.115.41.130:8888/OBN/). The development trends of other major infectious diseases were also examined. Results The global COVID-19 pandemic showed periodic increases throughout 2021. At present, there is a high incidence in European countries, especially in Eastern Europe, followed by in Africa. The risk of contracting COVID-19 was divided into high, medium-high, medium, medium-low, and low grades depending on the stage of the epidemic in each examined region over the current period. The occurrence and prevalence of major infectious diseases throughout the world did not significantly change in 2021. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted people's lives and the economy. The effects of global infectious diseases can be ameliorated by strengthening monitoring and early warning systems and by facilitating the international exchange of information.

Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 interventions on the incidence of hand, foot, and mouth disease in mainland China.

BACKGROUND: In early 2020, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented in China to reduce and contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission. These NPIs might have also reduced the incidence of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). METHODS: The weekly numbers of HFMD cases and meteorological factors in 31 provincial capital cities and municipalities in mainland China were obtained from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) and National Meteorological Information Center of China from 2016 to 2020. The NPI data were collected from local CDCs. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for the entire year of 2020, and for January-July 2020 and August-December 2020. The expected case numbers were estimated using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models. The relationships between kindergarten closures and incidence of HFMD were quantified using a generalized additive model. The estimated associations from all cities were pooled using a multivariate meta-regression model. FINDINGS: Stringent NPIs were widely implemented for COVID-19 control from January to July 2020, and the IRRs for HFMD were less than 1 in all 31 cities, and less than 0·1 for 23 cities. Overall, the proportion of HFMD cases reduced by 52·9% (95% CI: 49·3-55·5%) after the implementation of kindergarten closures in 2020, and this effect was generally consistent across subgroups. INTERPRETATION: The decrease in HFMD incidence was strongly associated with the NPIs for COVID-19. HFMD epidemic peaks were either absent or delayed, and the final epidemic size was reduced. Kindergarten closure is an intervention to prevent HFMD outbreaks. FUNDING: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81973102 & 81773487), Public Health Talents Training Program of Shanghai Municipality (GWV-10.2-XD21), the Shanghai New Three-year Action Plan for Public Health (GWV-10.1-XK16), the Major Project of Scientific and Technical Winter Olympics from National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFF0306000), 13th Five-Year National Science and Technology Major Project for Infectious Diseases (2018ZX10725-509) and Key projects of the PLA logistics Scientific research Program (BHJ17J013).

Braking Force Model on Virus Transmission to Evaluate Interventions Including the Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines - Worldwide, 2019-2021.

INTRODUCTION: Assessing the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and vaccines on controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is key for each government to optimize the anti-contagion policy according to their situation. METHODS: We proposed the Braking Force Model on Virus Transmission to evaluate the validity and efficiency of NPIs and vaccines. This model classified the NPIs and the administration of vaccines at different effectiveness levels and forecasted the duration required to control the pandemic, providing an indication of the future trends of the pandemic wave. RESULTS: This model was applied to study the effectiveness of the most commonly used NPIs according to the historic pandemic waves in different countries and regions. It was found that when facing an outbreak, only strict lockdown would give efficient control of the pandemic; the other NPIs were insufficient to promptly and effectively reduce virus transmission. Meanwhile, our results showed that NPIs would likely only slow down the pandemic's progression and maintain a low transmission level but fail to eradicate the disease. Only vaccination would likely have had a better chance of success in ending the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Based on the Braking Force Model, a pandemic control strategy framework has been devised for policymakers to determine the commencement and duration of appropriate interventions, with the aim of obtaining a balance between public health risk management and economic recovery.

The characteristics and implications of epidemic reports during COVID-19 in the United States.

We summarized the basic practices and characteristics of epidemic reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Based on the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of epidemic data reporting, we put forward some suggestions that should be used for reference and thus improve the epidemic data reports of infectious diseases.

Meteorological conditions are heterogeneous factors for COVID-19 risk in China.

Whether meteorological factors influence COVID-19 transmission is an issue of major public health concern, but available evidence remains unclear and limited for several reasons, including the use of report date which can lag date of symptom onset by a considerable period. We aimed to generate reliable and robust evidence of this relationship based on date of onset of symptoms. We evaluated important meteorological factors associated with daily COVID-19 counts and effective reproduction number (Rt) in China using a two-stage approach with overdispersed generalized additive models and random-effects meta-analysis. Spatial heterogeneity and stratified analyses by sex and age groups were quantified and potential effect modification was analyzed. Nationwide, there was no evidence that temperature and relative humidity affected COVID-19 incidence and Rt. However, there were heterogeneous impacts on COVID-19 risk across different regions. Importantly, there was a negative association between relative humidity and COVID-19 incidence in Central China: a 1% increase in relative humidity was associated with a 3.92% (95% CI, 1.98%-5.82%) decrease in daily counts. Older population appeared to be more sensitive to meteorological conditions, but there was no obvious difference between sexes. Linear relationships were found between meteorological variables and COVID-19 incidence. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the association and the results based on report date were biased. Meteorological factors play heterogenous roles on COVID-19 transmission, increasing the possibility of seasonality and suggesting the epidemic is far from over. Considering potential climatic associations, we should maintain, not ease, current control measures and surveillance.

Preclinical safety assessment of antipyrine combined with lidocaine hydrochloride as ear drops.

This study was designed to assess the preclinical toxicity of antipyrine combined with lidocaine hydrochloride ear drops (ALED) and support the clinical trials of ALED in clinical settings in China. All the experiments including acute toxicity in rodents, skin sensitization toxicity in guinea pigs, skin irritation toxicity in rabbits and chronic toxicity in rats were performed according to China Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of ALED administration for mice and rats was over (400 g antipyrine plus 100 g lidocaine hydrochloride)/kg and (240 g andtipyrine plus 60 g lidocaine hydrochloride)/kg, respectively. No obvious skin sensitization toxicity and skin irritation toxicity were observed. The main changes concentrated in chronic toxicity study in rats. For the chronic toxicity, rats were administrated once a day for 28 consecutive days, and a 14-day recovery period was followed. The side effects of ALED included decreased dietary intake in male rats, increased proportion of reticulocytes, decreased or even inversed granulocyte:erythrocyte ratio, fluctuated alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and slightly increased relative weight of liver. Conclusively, blood system (especially erythrocyte system) and digestive system, including liver and gastrointestinal tract, might be the toxic targets of ALED.

[Effects of simulated nitrogen-oxygen saturation exposure at a water depth of 50m on expression of inflammatory mediators in external auditory canal of rabbits].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of simulated nitrogen-oxygen saturation exposure at a water depth of 50 m on the expression of inflammatory mediators including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the external auditory canal (EAC) of rabbits. METHODS: Two batches of New Zealand rabbits were exposed to nitrogen-oxygen saturated at a water depth of 50 m. After exposure, the epithelial tissue in the EAC was analyzed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the changes in expression of inflammatory mediators including IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α in the EAC of rabbits were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: According to the result of HE staining, more inflammatory cell infiltration, small vascular congestion, and mucosal edema in the EAC of rabbits were observed in the exposure group than in the control group. Additionally, compared with the control group, the exposure group had increased expression of IL-6 and TNF-α and reduced expression of IL-10 in the EAC of rabbits according to the result of real-time PCR. CONCLUSION: The nitrogen-oxygen saturation exposure at a water depth of 50 m can cause inflammatory injuries in the EAC of rabbits. The mechanism may be associated with increased expression of IL-6 and TNF-α and reduced expression of IL-10.