Scientists struggle to probe COVID’s origins amid sparse data from China
Scientists are anxious to obtain more data on the earliest days of the pandemic, following three tantalizing reports posted online in the past few weeks1,2,3. Although not yet published in peer-reviewed journals, the preprints provide further evidence supporting the hypothesis that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spread from animals to people who raised, butchered or bought them. But the reports don’t reveal exactly what happened.To get more news about coronavirus in china update, you can visit shine news official website.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) will soon put out a report specifying studies that are urgently needed, says Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist at the WHO. A principal ask in light of the new preprints is to collect and analyse samples from farmers and wildlife at farms that supplied the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan — to which many early COVID-19 cases were traced and where coronavirus samples from January 2020 were concentrated — as well as from market vendors. The WHO made these suggestions a year ago, but the studies either haven’t been conducted or haven’t been published. The scientific community has grown frustrated with the wait as the world seeks answers to help prevent future pandemics.
Researchers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia who have worked closely with colleagues in China have told Nature that they’re disappointed by the slow release of information from China about COVID-19’s origins. “We are all trying to find out what the bloody hell happened, but we are hamstrung by the data available,” says Edward Holmes, a virologist at the University of Sydney in Australia and a co-author of two of the latest preprints2,3.
Some Chinese scientists say that they, too, would like to see more origin studies, but that the topic is politically sensitive. In March 2020, a directive from the Chinese government — highlighted by the Associated Press — instructed researchers at universities, companies and medical institutions to have all studies on COVID-19 vetted by government research units and then published under the direction of public opinion teams. Those who don’t follow procedures, the document warned, “shall be held accountable”.
Investigations of an outbreak’s origins usually take many years to reach a conclusion, if one is ever reached. But the scientific community fears that political barriers are holding this one up — and they’re unsure of the best way to expedite matters. Van Kerkhove says that SAGO will continue to outline the most pertinent studies needed, and to offer help with analyses. Until these happen, she warns that gaps in knowledge will allow damaging and scientifically unsupported theories to flourish. “If we don’t get the information we need,” Van Kerkhove says, “then there’s a space to fill, and people will fill that space with assumptions.”
In a recent example, pundits and officials in the United States and China have linked unsupported allegations about COVID-19’s origins to conspiracy theories about Ukrainian ‘biolabs’, says Yanzhong Huang, a specialist on China and global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. “All of these accusations poison the water and make an earnest search for answers to the origin of the pandemic even harder.”
Chinese authorities closed the Huanan market on 1 January 2020, after physicians in China reported that many of the people they were treating for a mysterious form of pneumonia had worked there or visited it soon before falling ill. Researchers in China leapt to investigate. On 22 January 2020, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 33 of 585 swabs taken from around the market tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and that these samples were concentrated in two aisles of stalls where wild animals were sold. “It is highly suspected that the current epidemic is related to the trade of wild animals,” the report said.
Investigators also collected samples from stray cats, mice and slabs of frozen and refrigerated seafood and meat, all of which tested negative for the virus. They continued to collect specimens for the next couple of months, but none seem to have been from wildlife sold at the Huanan market, or from farms that reared wildlife to be sold there for food, medicine or fur.
When an international team of researchers assembled by the WHO and the Chinese government set out to study the pandemic’s origins in China in late January 2021, they asked about wildlife farms supplying Wuhan’s markets. Chinese researchers handed the team a list of farms that included several in southern China. This is a region where a close relative of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in bats4, notes Peter Daszak, one of the researchers on the team and president of EcoHealth Alliance, a scientific organization in New York City that has collaborated on coronavirus research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But the team didn’t visit the farms, and Daszak was told that they hadn’t been studied because the farms were shuttered following a ban on the consumption of wild animals in February 2020.
What’s more, he says, when the team drafted a report on its investigation, some Chinese researchers and officials with China’s foreign ministry wanted to change parts of it that discussed the sale of wild animals at the Huanan market. “We went into a room at 9:30 a.m. to talk about their changes — the rule was that any unpublished evidence had to be agreed upon,” he says. “We were there until 4:30 a.m., arguing for almost 24 hours. Some people were sleeping, some had gone home.”
Tencent revenue growth slows to a crawl following China’s crackdown on tech companies
Tencent Holdings has reported its slowest revenue growth on record, and cited China’s ongoing tech regulatory crackdown in a subsequent earnings call.To get more latest news on tencent, you can visit shine news official website.
Revenue throughout Q1 2022 reached 135.5 billion yuan, a marginal increase from 135.3 billion yuan a year ago. As such, profit for the period was 23.4 billion yuan – a 51 per cent year-on-year decrease from 47.8 billion in 2021.
Tencent’s gaming business earnings fell around 20 per cent to 10.6 billion yuan, which the company attributed to disappointing revenue from titles including PUBG Mobile, despite signs of considerable success for Krafton, of which Tencent is Krafton’s second-largest shareholder, with 15.35 per cent.
Regulated
Tencent attributed much of their decline to China’s regulatory crackdown on tech companies, including restrictions on duration of play for children. However, there are strong signs of a reversal of China’s strongarm tactics, including the recent decision to lift its games license freeze.
Although China has Martin Lau, president of Tencent, stated in an earnings call: “For this to translate to real impact on our business, there is going to be a time lag.
“It will take some time for the corrective measures to be turned into normalised regulation, and then the specific supportive measures will be introduced. We would be working closely with regulators in the hope of seeing this transition happen.”Tencent’s games revenue slowdown was not mirrored in the firm’s performance in 2021, which increased 9.9 per cent to almost 220 billion yuan.
Tencent Holdings Ltd said it will shut down a service that allowed Chinese gamers to access overseas platforms to play unapproved foreign games, in a sign of tightening compliance as Chinese regulators more closely scrutinize the industry.
The country’s largest social and gaming firm said late on Wednesday it will on May 31 update its games speed booster mobile and desktop apps to new versions that would only support games operating in China.
The new versions will no longer allow users to access foreign games.Tencent first launched the apps in 2018. Such apps, which other companies like NetEase Inc also offer, act as network acceleration tools that help users boost their internet speeds.Unlike most countries, gamers in China are only allowed to play titles approved by the government and are not allowed to play with foreigners on foreign servers. While such foreign games are not explicitly blocked by online curbs, local internet speeds are generally too slow for gamers to access them.
As such, many gamers in China used such apps in practice to access unapproved foreign games such as Grand Theft Auto or Nintendo Co Ltd’s smash-hit Animal Crossing. The apps also over the years became grey-area channels for foreign game developers to reach users in the world’s largest gaming market.
Tencent declined to provide further comment on why it had decided to make changes to the app. The move was greeted by Chinese gamers with dismay but also many said it was not surprising.This is expected given the direction things are going. It is harder to be a gamer in China by the day,” a Chinese internet user wrote on microblogging site Weibo.
The move comes days after China lifted a nine-month freeze on gaming licences. During this period gaming companies including Tencent made major adjustments to their business practices to comply with regulatory requests.
MSK-111A-E is a high-accuracy automatic stacking machine with many advanced features to ensure stable, repeatable, and precise electrode stacking. In its "Z" fashion stacking method, Anode and Cathode electrodes are alternatively stacked with the separator film in between. Get more news about cell stacking machine company,you can vist our website!
Winding and stacking machine used for make battery core with electrode and separator as roll. Winding machine can be used for both prismatic cell and cylindrical cell by changing winding blade. Stacking machine is used for prismatic cell, mainly used for big battery such as EV battery producing.
Advanced Features:
PLC Touch Screen Control allows easy condition setting
Continuous "Z" fashion stacking with a separator
Auto electrode pick-up & stacking via vacuum suction manipulator
Adjustable mechanical fixture for accurate electrode positioning
Unreeling rotors for separator film feeding
Auto-tension control for separator film delivery
One set of 80x50mm stocking die fixtures is included for immediate use.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, archaeologists found the earliest known locking devices at the Palace of Khorsabad in what is now Iraq. The contraption, a wooden pin lock, dates back to around 4000 B.C.To get more news about best wifi enabled smart lock, you can visit securamsys.com official website.
The pins inside the locking mechanism prevented the wooden bolt securing the door from being moved. If the correct key was used, it would push the pins up allowing the bolt to be unlocked.
Sound familiar? That’s because locks have changed relatively little over the many years they’ve been in use. Of course, they’ve been upgraded and diversified and we don’t use wood anymore, but the basic idea is the same.
Until now that it is. Smart technology is being introduced into practically every device we use. In the home of the future, every device is connected to the Internet and to every other device in the home through a network known as the Internet of Things or IoT. From thermostats to refrigerators to light bulbs, that technology is already being integrated into our lives.
Locks are not exempted from this trend. They’re currently undergoing one of the few major changes in their history – going from purely mechanical to electronic and gaining the ability to connect to the Internet. Locks with this new technology can do a lot more than non-connected locks can and offer homeowners capabilities and conveniences that traditional locks never could. They also come with potential security risks that have some people worried.
Smart locks are still developing and are gradually becoming more common. They can include a variety of different features, but there are a few characteristics that apply across the board and help define them as smart locks.Smart locks, while they come in many different forms, are electronic locking mechanisms that are often connected to the Internet in the style of IoT.
Different smart locks are opened in different ways. Some work with a smartphone and connect to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or both. With a Bluetooth lock, you can walk up to your door with your smartphone, and it will recognize your device and let you in. With Wi-Fi connected devices, you can unlock your door remotely from your phone.
Other smart locks use radio frequency identification, also known as RFID. A RFID device requires you to carry a key fob. Your lock detects the key fob when you get close and automatically unlocks. Locks that use RFID may or may not be smart – as in connected to the Internet.
Other smart locks use biometrics to identify the homeowner and open the door for them. Biometrics is the identification of characteristics that are specific to a particular person. Fingerprint scanning is probably the most common form. Another type is voice recognition.
Keypads, which use a pin code, are a technology used in older electronic locks. Some smart locks, however, use it too – sometimes as a backup entry method for a situation in which power or Internet connection is lost. One advantage of using a keypad is that you can create codes for trusted family members, friends, and neighbors or entry codes that expire after one use.
Although most of the attention has been given to front door locks, smaller padlock versions exist as well. Manufacturers are also producing variations for apartment dwellers, bicycle riders and more. This article will focus mostly on front door security systems.
Chinese tech group Tencent reported its slowest revenue growth on record after being hit by China’s crackdown on technology companies and tough Covid-19 restrictions.To get more tencent latest news, you can visit shine news official website.
The company’s revenue was largely flat in the three months to March, while its net profit plummeted 51 per cent to Rmb23bn ($3.4bn) compared with a year ago, missing analyst estimates.
Tencent’s results come a day after China’s top economic official met dozens of executives and industry experts, pledging “support” for technology companies amid a deepening economic slump. Tencent said this was encouraging but it would take time for this to equate to concrete action.
“From the senior most level there is clear supportive signals released [for “platform economy” companies like Tencent],” Martin Lau, Tencent’s president, said on an earnings call. “For this to translate to real impact on our business there is going to be a time lag.”
While the Shanghai lockdown only officially began in late March, Tencent on Wednesday said its fintech earnings started to feel the impact of the curbs from mid-March.
James Mitchell, the company’s chief strategy officer, said the effect was particularly acute because many companies’ headquarters were in Shanghai, where advertising budget decisions were made. “Covid is hurting consumption, which is unhelpful,” he added. “We’re not exempt from that.”
“Tencent and Alibaba are fair weather stocks for China’s new economy and this is a reflection of the terrible consumer and business confidence,” said Charlie Chai, an analyst with 86Research.
Tencent, China’s most valuable company, said revenue from domestic games, a significant segment for the group, dropped 1 per cent to Rmb33bn compared with a year ago, while online advertising earnings fell 18 per cent to Rmb18bn.
“Revenues from online advertising decreased . . . reflecting weak demand from advertiser categories including education, internet services and ecommerce,” Tencent said.
The company blamed “direct and indirect effects” of the government’s move last year to restrict children to about three hours of gaming a week for the hit to domestic gaming revenues. Executives said while game approvals had restarted, they expected the pace of approvals to continue to slow.
As it faces regulatory challenges closer to home, Tencent has been looking to expand abroad over the past year and has increased its investment in foreign start-ups.
But the company said it had experienced disappointing revenue from some of its international games such as PUBG Mobile, with global gaming business earnings down 20 per cent in the quarter to Rmb10.6bn.
The value of the company’s investments in listed companies also fell to Rmb606bn at March 31 from Rmb982.8bn at the end of last year. In January the group sold a $3bn stake in Singapore-based Sea. Mitchell said rising global interest rates posed risks to some of its investments in high- growth companies and it was managing this by stepping up the rate of divestments.
Bo Pei, a tech analyst at US Tiger Securities, said Tencent missed both revenue and profit estimates for the quarter, primarily owing to economic weakness and pandemic lockdowns in China.
“Given that lockdowns started in mid-March and are still in place in some cities including Shanghai, Tencent’s second-quarter outlook is even more challenging,” he added.
The Sinopharm COVID-19 (BBIBP-CorV, COVILO) is an inactivated vaccine made of virus particles grown in culture and lacks the disease-producing capability. This vaccine was developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm) and the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co in 2020.To get more news about sinopharm vaccine latest update, you can visit shine news official website.
The Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine teaches the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 beta coronavirus. For several decades, inactivated virus vaccines have been successfully applied, such as vaccines against hepatitis A. In addition, this development technology has been successfully used in many well-known vaccines, such as the rabies vaccine.
Sinopharm's SARS-CoV-2 strain (WIV04 strain and GenBank number (MN996528) was isolated from a patient in the Jinyintan Hospital, Wuhan, China. The virus was cultivated in a qualified Vero cell line for propagation, and the supernatant of the infected cells was inactivated with β-propiolactone (1:4000 vol/vol at 2 to 8 °C) for 48 hours. Following clarification of cell debris and ultrafiltration, the second β-propiolactone inactivation was performed in the same conditions as the first inactivation.
On December 31, 2020, China's National Medical Products Administration announced the experimental BBIBP-CorV vaccine, developed by a State-owned Sinopharm, was Approved.
On May 7, 2021, the WHO announced the vaccine's approval, becoming Emergency Use Listed to expedite regulatory approvals to import and administer vaccines. WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) also completed its vaccine review. And the WHO published 'Evidence Assessment: Sinopharm/BBIBP COVID-19 vaccine.' Based on available evidence, the vaccine efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalized diseases was estimated to be 79% for all age groups combined.
On September 2, 2021, the WHO confirmed Interim recommendations for using the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine BIBP developed by China National Biotec Group (CNBG), Sinopharm. The predecessor was the Central Epidemic Prevention Department of the Beiyang Government. In addition, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts issued recommendations for the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. On October 28, 2021, the WHO announced interim guidance for using the COVID-19 vaccine BIBP produced by Sinopharm based on advice issued by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization and the evidence summary included in the background document and annexes reviewed.
The JAMA Network published an Original Investigation on October 29, 2021, that concluded, 'In this cohort study of 663,602 participants, the use of non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause death, COVID-related death, and documented infection with the use of 1 dose and even more with the use of 2 doses.'
The phase 3 study (HUN-VE) conducted across three continents published an interim analysis on November 25, 2021; the effectiveness of Sinopharm in preventing Covid-19 related death varied between 67.5% and 100% according to age ≥ seven days after the second dose, with an adjusted overall efficacy of 87.8%.
The Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV COVID-19 vaccine Drug Bank accession number: DB15807. CAS Number: 2503126-65-4. ATC code: J07BX03. Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV Recent Phase 3 studies: ChiCTR2000034780; NCT04510207; NCT04612972; NCT04612972. WHO Evidence Assessment in 2021.mmission
China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm) is a large healthcare group directly under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration of the State Council, with 128,000 employees and a full chain in the industry covering R&D, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, retail chains, healthcare, engineering services, exhibitions and conferences, international business and financial services. The vaccine is also manufactured by G42 Healthcare (Hayat-Vax).
Welcome to Home on the Swan, a way of life brand that gives motivated living through high-quality items, select plans, and ageless fashion at reasonable prices. At Home on the Swan, they give Australians with a consistent online shopping encounter for all their furniture and homeware dreams. They clergyman motivation for the domestic, interfacing the inventive work of artisans and creators to individuals from places all around the world. Offering thousands of items, with the comfort of 24/7 opening hours, quick shipping around Australia and complemented with the 5-star client service. Get the genuine interior story from customers like you. As they approach 10,000 buyer item reviews. pick up Home on the Swan discounts on all items with enjoy up to 65% OFF on Home on the Swan products with attain maximum savings with Use our Home on the Swan Discount Codes and start your saving here right now! HotDeals rounds up all the best coupon codes and deals for our visitors. Browse the website by store, category, or just searching for promo codes, deals or free shipping coupons, you will be surprised with great discounts on HotDeals. You can find 40 Home on the Swan Discount Codes and Vouchers last updated on May 28, 2022. How about applying our coupons, promo codes now before you make a purchase? We promise that you will purchase those wanted products with the best price.To get more news about Swan Discount Code ,visit homepage
How to use a Home on the Swan Special Offer?
Click on shop now, add your favorite product to the cart and and go to view cart page to check further option leading towards checkout.
Browse and find a Home on the Swan promo code on this page. Click the "Get Code" button to open the code. And click "Copy Code" button to copy the coupon code to your clipboard.
Enter the title and email address and then press continue.
Look for the box labeled "Enter promo code/gift voucher" or "Enter discount code/gift voucher" and Press apply coupon to g the products at discounted prices.
HotDeals is one of the best place to get the latest Home on the Swan Discount Codes, Shop and save with Home on the Swan Vouchers and deals for June 2022 now!
As COVID-19 forced the shutdown of school districts across the country, millions of parents suddenly took on a second job: teaching their kids. Yes, some schools are reopening, but that doesn’t mean many of us aren’t stuck playing catch-up with our kids’ summer school via online and remote learning.To get more news about free voucher code ,Click to Buy
Thankfully, there are plenty of online resources that can help make this stressful time for parents a little easier. ABCmouse stepped in early to help parents and teachers. While that promo is over, they’re still offering a trial. Here’s what parents need to know about how to make the most of ABCMouse.
ABCmouse is a web-based and app-based learning program designed for kids aged 2-8. It’s a product of Age of Learning, a company that typically makes money through subscriptions.
The stated goal of ABCmouse is “to help children build a strong foundation for future academic success by providing a comprehensive and engaging online curriculum to greatly assist early learners to succeed in pre-K, kindergarten, and early elementary school programs.” Subscribers have access a comprehensive library of programs tailored to the early grades.
The best thing about ABCmouse is the quality of each lesson, book, and game. They don’t see using the website as a chore; rather, it’s just playing a fun adventure game or listening to a great story.
The “engagement factor is extremely important in a child’s learning, there are very specific curriculum objectives for every single activity in any of our products,” founder Doug Dohring explained to KTLA5 News.
As a mom of four, I can honestly say that ABCmouse is solid. It’s not a permanent substitute for hands-on learning, but it has given me more than a few guilt-free breaks.
How to Get Free Access to ABCmouse
Now that way more kids are out of school, A subscription that typically costs $10 a month to unlock more than 10,000+ learning activities, songs, books, games, and art projects is now free.
“Providing quality educational resources specifically in this crucial time to kids is very important,” explained Dohring. Their program is compatible with computers, phones, and tablets, so it doesn’t matter what kind of device your kid is using.
The company offered free access for kids through the school that each child attended. To gain access the schools had to first to request it using this form. According to KTLA5 News, the response to this free access was overwhelming, there was some delay between when the school requests the free subscriptions and when the form is processed. And so many kids were given access through the end of school and the summer.
If you missed the free promotion when ABCMouse offered it, there are still some ways to get access to try it out. If you’re not able to pay the $10 per month, or want to know what you’re getting into first, whether it’s worth the money, there are a few options.
Sword Master Story coupon code & reroll guide: find out Sword Master Story coupon codes and reroll guide to redeem for gift packs without cheats.To get more news about vouchersgo ,Read More
(Regular Updates on Sword Master Story Coupon Code: June 2022, 00:00 UTC). The total number of issued codes; +22. Active Valid codes: x7 Next new coupon code possible release date: This Week. Here’s the list of all new and active Sword Master Story coupon codes: –
Info: usually, the Sword Mastery Story coupon code gives free stamina or rubies. Stamina can be used to play the game and rubies can be used to summon the characters.
To redeem the Sword Master Story coupon codes, follow these steps: Step 1.) tap the menu button. It’s in the top-right corner. Step 2.) After tapping the menu button, on the left side, look for the “coupon” option. Tap it. Step 3,) Enter the coupon code. Step 4.) Tap the confirm button to redeem the Sword Master Story coupon code!
Reroll Step 2.) After completing the tutorial, check the mailbox. The mailbox is on the top-right side of the game screen. It should contain a 5-star ticket.
Reroll Step 3.) Go to the summon screen portal. Choose 5 star summon option. Spend the 5-star ticket.
Reroll Step 4.) Try the above-listed coupon codes; you may get free rubies.
Reroll Step 5.) Spend all rubies in character summon; x11 draw costs 2.7K rubies. You can complete the quests or stages and accumulate rubies or just go with individual summon.
Reroll Step 6.) If, from the summons, you get the top-tier 5-star character like Yui, etc.(check the tier list here), continue playing the game.
Reroll Step 7.) If, from the summon, you didn’t get the top-tier 5-star character, go to the menu. Tap the menu button; it’s in the upper-right corner. Tap the “reset” option on the left side to reset current progress and start over. It would only work if you are on level 10. Alternatively, you can choose to log in as a guest in the beginning. To reroll, clear the game’s data in the mobile settings. Or log out from the current account and login with another ID. Go to menu -> log out from the game -> log in with another ID to start from scratch.