Noninvasive Rapid COVID Test Meets the Public

Noninvasive Rapid COVID Test Meets the Public

According to a study published recently in the Journal of Breath Research， an academic journal based in the United Kingdom， Chinese scientists and researchers have developed a noninvasive rapid COVID-19 screening test that analyzes breath-borne compounds. The technology was developed by a team led by Yao Maosheng， a professor at Peking Universitys College of Environmental Sciences and Technology， together with researchers from the center for disease control and prevention in Beijings Chaoyang District.

To complete the test， people only have to exhale into a disposable plastic bag for 30 seconds or less. Compared with nucleic acid tests， such screening is cheaper and faster. “Experiments with recruited subjects have proved that the system is effective，” Yao said.

The technology can provide novel coronavirus test results within five to 10 minutes with a simple exhalation of breath， eliminating uncomfortable throat or nostril swabs and long waits in line. The research team has applied for a national patent for the new system.

Scientists and researchers in some other countries， including Japan， Indonesia， Israel， France， and the Netherlands， have been working on developing similar technology since last year. Yao said the research team in China was the first to report experimental data.

First National Standard for Cultural Relics Repair Released

China recently published its first state-level working skills standard for the restoration of cultural relics. Released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， the standard specifies 13 types of professions that include restoring murals， textiles， pottery， and porcelain.

Gu Yucai， deputy director of the administration， said that the absence of an occupational standard for evaluating relic restorers had caused a bottleneck in the high-quality development of the nations cultural industry in recent years. Apart from lacking a uniform management and an evaluation standard， the sector has also been facing a labor shortage and low pay.

According to a report by the former Ministry of Culture， a government department which later merged into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018， China had preserved about 48.5 million cultural relics by 2017， with nearly 40 percent of them needing to be restored and 16 percent badly damaged.

Gu said that the implementation of the new standard will help shape a scientific evaluation and management mechanism for relic restorers and greatly benefit their career prospects.

Progress in Solid Waste Disposal

China has made solid progress in the prevention and control of solid waste pollution， said a report by a law enforcement inspection team to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress.

Household waste is sorted in all Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above. In 2020， the waste recycle rate in the 46 pilot cities reached an average of 36.2 percent， and 99.7 percent of urban household waste nationwide was disposed of safely. As for the countryside， household waste is collected and properly treated in more than 90 percent of administrative villages.

By the end of 2020， Chinas capacity for collection and disposal of hazardous waste had exceeded 140 million tons per year. The comprehensive utilization rates for urban building waste， domestic animal manure， crop straw， and agricultural films stood at more than 50 percent， 76 percent， 87.6 percent， and 80 percent respectively.