Systematic review with meta-analysis of the epidemiological evidence in Europe,Israel,America and Australasia on smoking and COVID-19

BACKGROUND Previous meta-analyses related smoking to death or severe infection from coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in hospitalized patients,but considered only a few studies,did not adjust for demographics and comorbidities,and inadequately defined smoking.AIM To review and meta-analyse epidemiological evidence on smoking and COVID-19,considering a range of endpoints,populations and smoking definitions and the effect of adjustment.METHODS Studies were identified from publications in English up to 30 September,2020 involving at least 100 individuals,carried out in Europe,Israel,America or Australasia,not restricted to those with specific other diseases,and providing information relating smoking to various COVID-related endpoints.Meta-analyses were carried out for combinations of population and endpoint,with variation studied by smoking definition,adjustment level and other factors.RESULTS From 96 publications,74 studies were identified,37 in the United States,10 in the United Kingdom,with up to four in the other countries.Three involved over a million individuals,and 37 involved less than a thousand.Adjusted results for smoking were available in 42 studies,with adjustment not considered in 20 studies.Results were considered by endpoint.No significant effect of smoking on COVID-19 positivity was seen in the general population,but there was a reduced risk in those tested.Best-adjusted estimates for current(vs never)smoking were 0.87(95%confidence interval:0.52-1.47)in the general population and 0.52(0.43-0.64)in those tested.For those hospitalized due to COVID-19,unadjusted rates were significantly increased in current smokers(1.20,1.01-1.42)and ever smokers(1.64,1.41-1.91),but those adjusted for comorbidities showed no increase for current(0.82,0.52-1.30)or ever smokers(1.00,0.76-1.32).There was little evidence to suggest that smoking was associated with intensive care admission.For those hospitalized with COVID-19,best-adjusted estimates were 0.88(0.72-1.08)for current smokers and 1.10(0.99-1.22)for ever smokers.In those hospitalized with COVID-19,smoking was not significantly related to subsequent mechanical ventilation,with best-adjusted estimates of 1.12(0.60-2.09)for current smokers and 1.05(0.88-1.25)for ever smokers.For those hospitalized with severe COVID-19,best-adjusted estimates were 0.74(0.49-1.12)for current smokers and 1.15(0.87-1.51)for ever smokers;few estimates were adjusted for comorbidities.While smoking was associated with increased mortality in unadjusted analyses,the association disappeared after adjustment for comorbidities.For example,in those hospitalized with COVID-19,the unadjusted estimate for ever smokers of 1.59(1.37-1.83)reduced to 1.07(0.82-1.38)when adjusted for comorbidities.Studies on those with severe COVID-19 showed that smoking tended to be associated with worsening of the disease.However,no estimate was adjusted,even for demographics.Estimates did not clearly vary by location or study size,and there was too little evidence to usefully study variations by age,amount smoked or years quit.CONCLUSION The increased COVID-19 death rate in smokers seen in unadjusted analyses disappears following adjustment for demographics and comorbidities.Among those tested,smoking is associated with lower COVID-19 infection rates.

Prostate cancer screening in Europe and Asia

Prostate cancer(PCa)is the second most common cancer among men worldwide and even ranks first in Europe.Although Asia is known as the region with the lowest PCa incidence,it has been rising rapidly over the last 20 years mostly due to the introduction of prostate-specific antigen(PSA)testing.Randomized PCa screening studies in Europe show a mortality reduction in favor of PSA-based screening but coincide with high proportions of unnecessary biopsies,overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment.Conclusive data on the value of PSA-based screening and hence the balance between harms and benefits in Asia is still lacking.Because of known racial variations,Asian countries should not directly apply the European screening models.Like in the western world also in Asia,new predictive markers,tools and risk stratification strategies hold great potential to improve the early detection of PCa and to reduce the worldwide existing negative aspects of PSA-based PCa screening.

A Friendly Visit across Europe,Asia and Africa:Sidelights on the Visit of H.E.Ji Bingxuan to the Republic of Congo,Portugal and Tanzania

The visit to three countries took 10 days and nights via 8 flights. From 11 to 20 December, a fifteen-member delegation led by H.E. Ji Bingxuan, Deputy Chairman, Standing Committee of National People’s Congress and President of the Chinese Association for International Understanding(CAFIU) visited the Republic of Congo,Portugal and Tanzania.

Mitigation of Mycotoxins during Food Processing:Sharing Experience among Europe and South East Asia

Worldwide the issue of mycotoxins results in economic losses estimated at billions of dollars and toxicological risk for both humans and animals.Preventive measures also include decontamination and mitigation actions that can be carried out through food processing.Several proposals have been tested and illustrated also in scientific papers during the last decades,however clear,easy to implement,practical suggestions and guidelines for process adaptation are much more needed.Europe and South East Asia can find synergies and complementarities moving from processing to analysis,from risk assessment to reduction strategies,from gap-analysis to communication roadmaps.Stakeholders from both Europe and Southeast Asia must then ensure that there is a way to ease and harmonize the regulation in the food supply chain in order to ensure food safety and at the same time facilitate trade in both regions,taking into account of the various landscapes,agrosystems and also different consumer preferences within the countries themselves.Concerning the example of cereals,processing steps cover primary processing(cleaning and milling operations)and secondary processing procedures(such as fermentation and thermal treatments during baking),special attention is devoted to the production of baked goods and to the estimation of processing factors for DON in wheat bread production especially in Europe.With reference instead to the specific context of Asian producers,a case-study focuses on ochratoxin A in coffee in Southeast Asia region,combining the expertise of the farming community,coffee industry and science researchers.The strategy to reduce mycotoxins in a farm setting poses several challenges to coffee farmers:it needs to be analyzed in the context of good agricultural practices,socioeconomic and behavioral factors of both coffee producers and consumers.As the world becomes more globalized,food and feed supply chains also become more complexed and hence,a more comprehensive strategy to ensure food contaminants mitigation is needed.

Linkage Between European and East Asian Heatwaves on Synoptic Scales

Concurrent extreme weather events in geographically distant areas potentially cause high-end risks for societies.By using network analysis,the present study managed to identify significant nearly-simultaneous occurrences of heatwaves between the grid cells in East Asia and Eastern Europe,even though they are geographically far away from each other.By further composite analysis,this study revealed that hot events first occurred in Eastern Europe,typically with a time lag of3-4 days before the East Asian heatwave events.An eastward propagating atmospheric wave train,known as the circumglobal teleconnection(CGT)pattern,bridged the sequent occurrences of extreme events in these two remote regions.Atmospheric blockings,amplified by surface warming over Eastern Europe,not only enhanced local heat extremes but also excited a CGT-like pattern characterized by alternative anomalies of high and low pressures.Subsequent downstream anticyclones in the middle and upper troposphere reduced local cloud cover and increased downward solar radiation,thereby facilitating the formation of heatwaves over East Asia.Nearly half of East Asian heatwave events were preceded by Eastern European heatwave events in the 10-day time range before East Asian heatwave events.This investigation of heatwave teleconnection in the two distant regions exhibits strong potential to improve the prediction accuracy of East Asian heatwaves.

Between Asia and Europe

The two continents agree to set up more links between parliamentarians through legislative channels During the Fifth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) meeting in Beijing on June 18-20, parliamentarians from the two continents exchanged views and made de- cisions on regional and global issues that concerned all the participants.

Evolution of biogeographic disjunction between eastern Asia and North America in Chamaecyparis:Insights from ecological niche models

The disjunct distribution of plants between eastern Asia(EA) and North America(NA) is one of the most well-known biogeographic patterns. However, the formation and historical process of this pattern have been long debated. Chamaecyparis is a good model to test previous hypotheses about the formation of this disjunct pattern as it contains six species disjunctly distributed in EA, western North America(WNA)and eastern North America(ENA). In this study, we applied ecological niche models to test the formation of the disjunct pattern of Chamaecyparis. The model calibrated with the EA species was able to predict the distribution of eastern NA species well, but not the western NA species. Furthermore, the eastern Asian species were shown to have higher niche overlap with the eastern North American species. The EA species were also shown to share more similar habitats with ENA species than with WNA species in the genus. Chamaecyparis species in WNA experienced a significant niche shift compared with congeneric species. Chamaecyparis had a low number of suitable regions in Europe and the middle and western NA during the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM) period, and became extinct in the former region whereas it retains residual distribution in the latter. The extirpations in western NA and Europe in response to the late Neogene and Quaternary climatic cooling and the more similar habitats between ENA and EA ultimately shaped the current intercontinental disjunct distribution of Chamaecyparis. Both current hypotheses may be also jointly applied to explain more eastern Asian and eastern North American disjunctions observed today.

A Comparative Analysis of Primary and Extreme Characteristics of Dry or Wet Status between Asia and North America

In this study, the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) was used to analyze the average and extreme dry/wet states of Asia and North America from 1953 to 2003. The results indicate that the two continents underwent drying trends during this period. Compared with North America, Asia showed more severe drought trends. However, more significant and regular seasonal variation for drought was found in North America. The driest regions in Asia were located in the northern region of China, Mongolia, and eastern mid-Siberian plateau. Most regions in central North America were relatively wetter than other regions. The northern and southwestern regions of North America, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific coastal areas, experienced the most drought during this period. A sharp increase of the drought area and the number of extreme drought events took place from 1997 to 2003 in both Asia and North America. Severe drought events were more likely to occur during the summer on both continents. Asia had the most extreme drought events during July, but North America reached its highest drought frequency from June to September. In Asia, a persistent increasing trend of extreme drought emerged throughout the studied period. However, a more complex evolution of drought emerged in North America: a decreasing trend appeared before the mid-1960s and an increasing trend appeared after the late 1970s. A relatively steady dry/wet status was observed between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s. The role of exceptional, extreme drought events with respect to the La Nin?a event was considered during 1997–2003.

The“Leave Asia”Strategy of Japan Starting From“De-Sinicization”in Ideology and Culture

“Leave Asia”is a systematic and comprehensive social movement in modern Japan,involving national spirit,ideology,culture,politics,and diplomacy.In politics and diplomacy,“Leave Asia”is an aggression and a harm to Asia.It is not a self-estrangement from Asia in terms of culture and diplomacy.It is an attempt to get rid of the equal status with Asian compatriots and strive to override other Asian countries.“De-Sinicization”in ideology and culture is the advocacy serving Europeanization and Westernization.The foothold of“Leave Asia”is the strategic choice of diplomacy,the deconstruction of the“tribute system”centered on the Qing Dynasty,and the construction of a new Asian order led by Japan.

THE POSITION AND ROLES OF PORTS AND RAILWAYS IN THE EURASIA LAND BRIDGE TRANSPORTATION IN NORTHEAST CHINA

This paper systematically analyzes and proves the favorable factors of utilizing the ports and the railways in Northeast China for the Asia-Europe land bridge transportation. It will be more beneficial to Dalian Port and HaDa (Harbin-Dalian) and Binzhou (Harbin-Manzhouli) railways in Northeast China to the Siberia railway in Russia than 1) to other ports and the corresponding railways in China, 2) to the Nakhodka Port in Russia and the corresponding railways and 3) to the Chongjin Port in North Korea and the corresponding railways. This paper also puts forward the reform measures to adopt the ports and the railways in the northeast region in China for the land bridge transportation and the problems in transportation policies and management systems.

Toward a Security Community in Asia? The Limits of Constructivism, Developmental Statism, Liberalism, and Realism

This article asks whether a regional security community has emerged in Asia with the potential to grow mature and seeks to make a contribution to the ongoing debate on this controversial topic.It advances the argument that states in this broad region are far from being able to develop a security community for reasons different from those provided by political realists,developmental statists,liberals,and constructivists(social,discursive,and emancipationist).The role of Association of Southeast Asia(ASEAN)and that of China provide excellent test cases for the theoretical proposition that the building of a successful regional security community requires at least two necessary conditions:liberal democracy and regional democratic leadership,which remain absent in Asia.

Politics and the Science of COVID-19;Global Lessons

Politics is essentially about who gets what,when,and how.It involves realization of power relations and activities for impartial welfare of a populace.The varied human appeals invariably demand that politicians or institution advocate for means that meet physical and related needs of the public.Science is distinctly about experiential truths and how these truths distress human lives.It is broadly an intellectual activity about the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the corporeal and the natural world through observation and experiment leading to uncovering germane truths.The correlation between the dual disciplines is consequently symbiotic and relates to the welfare of the populace.This relationship is deepened in times of calamities as well as in times of natural disasters like medical tragedies,famine,draught,and social obliteration.While politics seeks to ameliorate such crisis by seeking short-term remedies for partisan contentment or as long as politicians have power,science demands caution and empirical truths regarding the causes for such misfortunes and proposes scientific solutions to the crisis.These scientific veracities are timeless,meant to provide remedies to such emerging calamities.The contemporary case of COVID-19 has validated how these two fields have either complemented or controverted each other occasioning weighty apprehensions regarding human lives around the globe.This paper is descriptive in nature and seeks to isolate the global lessons learnt since COVID-19 as politics encounters science.It has relied on obtainable and emerging literature regarding the subject.

欧美新污染物监测进展及启示

新污染物监测是新污染物环境和健康风险评估及管控的重要基础。欧美发达国家环保部门在20世纪70年代就开展了新污染物监测工作,并且2000年后形成了相应的监测制度,而我国新污染物监测工作正处于业务化起步阶段。通过深入调研欧美国家水中新污染物监测为主的发展历程、监测清单、监测要求等内容,总结出3个特点:建立动态更新的新污染物清单监测机制;将规范的新污染物监测方法作为开展监测的重要前提;充分考虑监测可行性和经济成本。结合我国现阶段新污染物监管需求及监测现状,提出我国新污染物监测工作的3点建议:明晰国家、地方新污染物监测的职责分工,建立优先监测新污染物清单动态更新机制;加强新污染物监测能力建设,建立新污染物监测标准体系;循序渐进开展新污染物监测,注重监测的可行性和可持续性。

在历史变迁和多维比较中探寻职业教育立法的规律——《欧美四国职业教育立法:路径·机制·模式》评介

法制建设是保障职业教育改革发展的重要基石。《欧美四国职业教育立法:路径·机制·模式》(荣艳红著)一书立足于民族国家,从现象和历史视角展现了德、法、英、美四国职业教育立法“是什么”“从哪里来”,从文化和制度层面揭示了四国职业教育立法的发展动力和运行逻辑,从共同特征和差异比较中归纳了四国职业教育立法的基本规律和镜鉴启示。该书对于我国职业教育政策和法律体系的完善,以及开展相关的职业教育制度比较和历史研究具有一定的理论和实践价值。

北约“亚太转向”对东盟中心地位的冲击

近年来,“全球北约”的发展促使北约“亚太转向”趋势愈加凸显,呈现聚焦“中国挑战”以服务美国战略转型、联合亚太关键盟伴以推升地区紧张局势、严守“欧主亚次”以管控战略转型限度的鲜明特点。北约“亚太转向”传播集团政治思想,激化地区力量对立,强化地区热点问题复杂性。同时,这一转向给东盟开放地区主义理念、对外协调机制有效性以及议程设置空间带来威胁,进而冲击东盟中心地位的观念和制度基础。针对北约“亚太转向”带来的风险和挑战,东盟坚持“中立平衡”的立场,发挥经济合作的优势并弥补国防军事合作的短板,以此维护地区事务主导权。展望未来,中国应充分理解和把握北约“亚太转向”及其作用于东盟的逻辑,加强与东盟的双边互信与合作,支持东盟中心地位和地区事务主导权,同时还应与北约及其成员国保持对话沟通,为地区和国际安全秩序稳定贡献中国力量。

欧美关键矿产战略布局及影响研究

[研究目的]研究分析欧美国家关键矿产领域的政策及战略规划,挖掘近期欧美布局“多元化”全球供应链的战略重点。[研究方法]采用文献分析和对比分析法,从评估战略环境、研究产业链供应链布局、界定国家利益、分析对我国影响等层面,剖析欧美关键矿产、清洁能源等领域的战略特点、战略举措及需求。[研究结论]欧美高度重视关键矿产供应链的风险防控,形成了遏制我国的战略同盟。我国应密切关注其关键矿产供应链战略动向,完善情报研究体系,通过强化风险预警能力、加大科研投入、加强多边合作、完善投资机制等多种方式应对当前面临的威胁和挑战。

欧美乡村旅游模式及其对青海省旅游规划的启示

为科学推动青海省旅游规划,促进青海省乡村旅游高质量发展,介绍了法国、英国、美国在乡村旅游发展过程中形成的典型经验和模式,结合青海省发展乡村旅游的优势和特色,得出了青海省加强乡村旅游规划的启示。结果表明,欧美乡村旅游具有以自然生态为基、民俗文化为魂、多元协同为要、惠民发展为本的特征;青海省旅游发展的特色和优势体现在旅游资源丰富多样、基础设施日益完善、市场需求逐步旺盛、政策保障不断加强等方面;青海省可从统筹城乡发展、坚持生态低碳、创新多元共治、推进文旅融合、加强规范管理等方面推动乡村旅游规划。

Naming Conventions and the Perception of Selfhood:A Cross-cultural Reflection on Women’s Surnames in the Anglosphere vs.the Hispanic Model

The naming convention in English-speaking countries(e.g.,USA and UK),and several others in the Western culture,where women traditionally have adopted their husbands’surnames,is compared with the naming convention in Spain and Latin America,where women do not relinquish their maiden surnames.From a cross-cultural perspective spanning over three centuries,from Madame de Staël and Virginia Woolf to Hillary Clinton,this essay renders instances of women who took on the surname of their spouse upon marriage.It appears that even nowadays many women,including feminists,choose to comply with this patriarchal habit.Entanglements arising upon divorce or remarriage,such as traceability and perception of selfhood,especially for women with academic and professional profiles,are discussed here.Samples collected from life and literature across a fairly representative cultural range and diverse moments in history help to reach conclusions and come up with a consistent argument.Winds of change seem to be blowing with Vice President Kamala Harris,whose case is mentioned at the end of this essay.To circumvent the confusion for individuals and families(especially“blended”ones)that could result in the discrimination between males and females,on the one hand,and on the other hand,between married and unmarried women,the Spanish naming convention is proposed as a perfect compromise.This consists in every person bearing two surnames from birth and for good:one of each parent.Thus,women would keep their name(s),and along with them their perception of their self and their social and professional identity.

The Latest Status and Progress of Domestic and Foreign Regulations on Cosmetic Efficacy Claims

The supervision and administration of cosmetics and its two supporting documents related to efficacy,cosmetics classification rules and classification catalogue and evaluation standard of cosmetic efficacy claims,have been successively introduced and implemented,making China’s cosmetics industry officially enter the era of efficacy evaluation.In the time window when the new era is coming,the definitions of cosmetics in China and other countries are compared.The latest status and progress of regulations on cosmetic efficacy claims in China and other countries are summarized,and the standard methods or guidance of cosmetic efficacy evaluation at home and abroad are introduced.The enlightenment from the supervision systems of cosmetic efficacy in other cosmetic consumer markets around the world are discussed.In addition,the opportunities and challenges for cosmetic enterprises under the background of cosmetic law reform in China are also prospected.