Do Weather Conditions Still Have an Impact on the COVID-19 Pandemic? An Observation of the Mid-2022 COVID-19 Peak in Taiwan.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the role of weather conditions in influencing transmission has been unclear, with results varying across different studies. Given the changes in border policies and the higher vaccination rates compared to earlier conditions, this study aimed to reassess the impact of weather on COVID-19, focusing on local climate effects. We analyzed daily COVID-19 case data and weather factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and a diurnal temperature range from 1 March to 15 August 2022 across six regions in Taiwan. This study found a positive correlation between maximum daily temperature and relative humidity with new COVID-19 cases, whereas wind speed and diurnal temperature range were negatively correlated. Additionally, a significant positive correlation was identified between the unease environmental condition factor (UECF, calculated as RH*Tmax/WS), the kind of Climate Factor Complex (CFC), and confirmed cases. The findings highlight the influence of local weather conditions on COVID-19 transmission, suggesting that such factors can alter environmental comfort and human behavior, thereby affecting disease spread. We also introduced the Fire-Qi Period concept to explain the cyclic climatic variations influencing infectious disease outbreaks globally. This study emphasizes the necessity of considering both local and global climatic effects on infectious diseases.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan in late spring 2021: combinations of specific weather conditions and related factors.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of weather conditions on the daily incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic in late spring 2021 in Taiwan, which is unlike the weather conditions of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Meteorological parameters such as maximum daily temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were included. The Spearman rank correlation test was used to evaluate the relationship between weather and daily domestic COVID-19 cases. The maximum daily temperature had a positively significant correlation with daily new COVID-19 cases within a 14-day lag period, while the relative humidity and wind speed has a fairly high correlation with the number of daily cases within a 13- and 14-day lag, respectively. In addition, the weather characteristics during this period were an increasingly high temperature, with steady high relative humidity and slightly decreasing wind speed. Our study revealed the weather conditions at the time of the domestic outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan in May 2021 and the possible association between weather factors and the COVID-19 pandemic. Further large-scale analysis of weather factors is essential for understanding the impact of weather on the spread of infectious diseases.

Application of Meridian Electrical Conductance in the Setting of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Acupuncture is widely used for improving poststroke care. Knowing the condition of meridian can help traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors make a tailored choice of acupoints for every patient. The establishment of an objective meridian energy measurement for acute ischemic stroke that can be used for future acupuncture treatment and research is an important area in stroke-assisted therapy. In this study, a total of 102 subjects diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke within 7 days of onset were recruited, and the meridian energy analysis device (MEAD) was used to record the meridian electrical conductance (MEC) values of twelve meridians on unaffected and affected limbs. We found that the MEC value of the twelve meridians on the affected limbs was significantly higher than that on the unaffected limbs (P=0.001). Compared with the unaffected limbs, there was a higher value of MEC on the affected limbs of the lung meridian, heart meridian, pericardium meridian, and small intestine meridian, with significant differences (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.05, respectively). Further analysis revealed that the MEC values of both Yin and Yang meridians of the affected limbs were significantly higher than those of the unaffected limbs (P=0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively). Meanwhile, the mean of the index of sympathovagal balance in patients with acute ischemic stroke (5.49 ± 4.21) was higher than the normal range (1-1.5), indicating autonomic imbalance. The results of this study are consistent with TCM theory as well as clinical observation and pathological mechanisms, suggesting that the measurement of MEC values may be used as a supplementary diagnostic method for acupuncture in patients with acute ischemic stroke.