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2-6-2004 SARS-CoV ZJ01 spike glycoprotein mRNA https://genome.cshlp.org/content/suppl/2004/02/06/14.3.398.DC1/Wong-21410_Supp_Table_2.html
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...in our 788 confirmed COVID-19 patients, the decreased rate of severe/critical type, increased liver/kidney damage and prolonged period of nuclear acid positivity, when compared with Wuhan. To investigate underlining mechanisms, we isolated one strain of SARS-CoV-2 (ZJ01) in mild COVID-19 patient and found the existence of 35 specific gene mutation by gene alignment. Further phylogenetic analysis and RSCU heat map results suggested that ZJ01 may be a potential evolutionary branch of SARS-CoV-2. We classified 54 strains of viruses worldwide (C/T type) based on the base (C or T) at positions 8824 and 28247. ZJ01 has both T at those sites, becoming the only TT type currently identified in the world. The prediction of Furin cleavage site (FCS) and the sequence alignment of virus family indicated that FCS may be an important site of coronavirus evolution. ZJ01 had mutations near FCS (F1-2), which caused changes in the structure and electrostatic distribution of S protein surface, further affecting the binding capacity of Furin. Single cell sequencing and ACE2-Furin co-expression results confirmed that Furin level was higher in the whole body, especially in glands, liver, kidney and colon while FCS may help SARS-CoV-2 infect these organs. The evolutionary pattern of SARS-CoV-2 towards FCS formation may result in its clinical symptom becoming closer to HKU-1 and OC43 (the source of FCS sequence-PRRA) caused influenza, further showing potential in differentiating into mild COVID-19 subtypes. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.10.20033944v2
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HANGZHOU, July 12, 2011 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen observed an anti-terror drill and visited a People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force base in east China's Zhejiang and Shandong provinces on Tuesday. The drill was conducted by a mechanized infantry unit of the PLA's Nanjing Military Area Command stationed close to Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province. http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/gdxw/t838974.htm ………………………………………….........................................................… Currently the respiratory and critical care medicine department is recruiting additional capable personnel to join the respiratory care team. In this rich clinical and educational environment the respiratory care team at Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, will continue to develop. https://irccouncil.org/institutional-profile-the-chinese-pla-general-hospital-beijing-china/ ……………….................................................................................... Huiqing Ge, Msc, Respiratory Therapy Department Head, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University  ………………………...................................................................... In 1993 US intelligence officials stated that it was highly probable that China had an active and expanding offensive BWs programme, following assessment that two civilian-run biological research centers were actually controlled by the Chinese military.24 … A main facility of the National Development and Reform Commission is the State Research Center for Viro-Biotechnology Engineering, Beijing, affiliated with Beijing Kawin Technology Share-Holding Company (founded in 1999). It is mostly engaged with highly ranked special national ‘863’ and ‘973’ key R&D projects.31 Previously named ‘National Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Genetic Engineering’ and affiliated with the ‘Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine’, this facility stopped publishing—either scientifically or commercially—in 2001 but remained fully active. Its scientific publications until 2001 deal with several human viruses, of which the vaccinia virus is predominant since the 1980s and are sophisticatedly handled (for instance, reference number).32 Elsewhere, the centre is mentioned within the context of the members of the International Risk Governance Council, Geneva, where the centre appears as and headed by ‘Prof. Dr. Hou Yunde, Director, State Center for Viro-Biotech Engineering and State Key Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Engineering.’33 It is assumed that most of the activities of the centre are classified and connected to BW. A main facility of SASTIND is the Biological Engineering Design Institute, affiliated with the so-called ‘Eleventh Design and Research Institute’ of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Elsewhere the Biological Engineering Design Institute has been mentioned but twice: 1. In a publication on automatic control biohazard P3 laboratory ventilation and air conditioning systems (together with the RFs Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products).34 China’s Biological Warfare Programme 141 2. Within the context of a Japanese encephalitis vaccine project (together with the RF Chengdu Institute of Biological Products).35 The latter reference—the Institute’s website—notes that it deals with multiple aspects pertaining to planning and construction of biological installations and has productive interfaces with various Chinese biotechnological facilities and foreign institutions. A main body of SASAC is the China National Biotech Corporation (CNBC). The latter has an R&D centre in Beijing and various manufacturing sites affiliated with a system called ‘Institutes of Biological Products’ (in principle, vaccines and blood derivatives, officially), which are strategically located in various cities across China. Included are Changchun Institute of Biological Products, Chengdu Institute of Biological Products, Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products, Shanghai Institute of Biological Products, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, and the National Vaccine and Serum Institute, Beijing.36 The CNBC is apparently linked to the SASAC exclusively owned ‘China Poly Group Corporation’ and its subsidiary, that is, ‘Poly Technologies’, a defence manufacturing company. 37 Several universities and institutes are supervised by COSTIND, namely, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Interestingly, relevant biotechnological and biomedical R&D activities are carried out in all the mentioned seven universities and institutes and follow a certain pattern: concentrating mainly on epidemic modelling, space microbiology, and occasionally medical microbiology. The activities in Beijing Institute of Technology and in the Northwestern Polytechnical University, in particular, are attention drawing. Many universities and institutes are supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, such as the Beijing Institute of Genomic, of which some programmes are military-oriented. The Institute of Biophysics, affiliated as well with this Academy, and the Institute of Microbiology and the Institute of Hydrobiology are notable too. Of note, too, are Harbin Veterinary Research Institute (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) and the Institute of Medical Biology (Chinese Academy of Medical Science). The overseeing by the SASAC-owned China National Biotech Group—the predominant Chinese national sector of vaccine production 142 Journal of Defence Studies and research—is meaningful, in that it designs, controls and regulates the activities of a cardinal component of the Chinese BWP, namely, a component possessing large-scale production capacities at large, for both defensive and offensive purposes. The geographical distribution of the facilities is clearly regional, overall constituting strategically a huge biohazard technological infrastructure with enormous BW-oriented potential, either during routine or emergency conditions. Although the Lanzhou facility is clearly more BW oriented than the other SASAC-owned China National Biotech Group biotechnological facilities, the latter, or most of them, may similarly be profiled, and possess industrial production capacities. This applies to those located in Changchun and Wuhan, in particular. The vaccines produced by the SASAC-owned China National Biotech Group facilities, and not produced by the civilian vaccine manufacturers in China at large38, include anthrax, plague, brucellosis, botulinum, SARS, yellow fever, Hantan virus, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis, typhoid, and dysentery. Most, if not all of them, can be regarded as essential pathogens within any BWP. The segment of R&D conducted by the facilities, in addition to their major production capacities, is marked, secondarily. Facilities Owned by or Integral to the Military The PLA General Logistics Department controls and operates ‘Shenzhen 999 Conglomerate’—also called ‘Sanjiu (999) Enterprise Group’—a key conglomerate that operates ‘Sanjiu (999) Pharmaceuticals Group’, the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in China. The group conducts R&D as well. The concerned research facilities, RF, are located in different sites, and their affinity to the PLA as well as their actual activities are often masked (sometimes heavily), one way or another. Altogether they comprise a potent, appreciably self-sustained biotechnological system, while the main area of relevance that was indirectly brought out is toxins. At least it can be conjectured that part of them are presumably engaged in research, development and production of BWA and protective means. A wide spectrum of RFs that are integral to the PLA constitute a component of paramount importance within China’s BWP. They are militarily inbuilt institutions organized in several sub-systems, yet frequently appear as civilian-like entities. The scope of their relevant R&D activities is enormous and includes medical microbiology, China’s Biological Warfare Programme 143 veterinary microbiology, aerobiology, epidemiology, genetic engineering, biotechnology, and toxicology. An entire list of the presumably BWinvolved facilities, either affiliated with the defence establishment or the PLA, is presented next. Configuring a BW-Oriented Alignment In an article on chemical and biological weapons in China39, the author notes that information provided to him by a ‘security specialist in Taipei, in April 2001’ included: 1. Four unnamed BWA production facilities in Lanzhou, Shenyang, Shanghai and Guangzhou. 2. Four named BWA production facilities (mentioned as ‘factories’), affiliated, in general, with the ‘Institutes for Biological Products’ system in: Kunming—dealing with research and cultivation of BWA; Chongqing—research and cultivation of BWA; Wuhan– Wuchang—cultivation of BWA; and Changchun—cultivation and experimentation of BWA. 3. One named facility—Yan’an Bacteriological Factory—which produces warheads containing bacterial BWA, such as smoketype (probably aerosol) bombs as well as paper canister-type containers. Irrespective of the credibility of this information, it does contain the most concrete data published thus far on China’s BWP alignment. However the entire Chinese BWP alignment pointed to in the present study is much wider. Specifically it is assessed that the RF listed next are involved in research, development, production, testing or storage of BW, while, as mentioned earlier, ‘involved’ means here that even if one scientific team out of all the scientific teams of a given facility deals with BW-related aspects, the facility is listed as such. Frequently it was found that the names of the facilities were inconsistent during the two recent decades. Facilities affiliated with the defence establishment are as follows: 1. State Research Center for Viro-Biotechnology Engineering; 2. Biological Engineering Design Institute; 3. China National Biotech Corporation; 4. Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products; 5. Changchun Institute of Biological Products ; 6. Wuhan Institute of Biological Products; 7. Chengdu Institute of Biological Products; 144 Journal of Defence Studies 8. Beijing Institute of Technology; 9. Northwestern Polytechnical University; 10. National University of Defense Technology; 11. Shenyang Pharmaceutical University; and 12. Shenzhen Jiusheng Biotechnology Products Plant. Facilities affiliated with (owned by or integral to) the PLA are: 1. Zibo Baoding Biological Engineering Company; 2. Oriental Scientific Instruments Corporation; 3. Research Institute of Chemical Defense; 4. Institute of Biotechnology; 5. Institute of Bioengineering; 6. PLA Institute of Disease Control and Prevention; 7. Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology; 8. Beijing Huifenglong Biotechnology Development; 9. Institute of Medical Equipment; 10. Institute of Environment and Health; 11. PLA Key Genetic Engineering Laboratory; 12. Military Veterinary Institute; 13. General Hospital Number 301; 14. Infectious Diseases Hospital Number 302; 15. Second Military Medical University; 16. Third Military Medical University; 17. Institute of Military Medicine, Beijing (and/or Institute of Military Medicine, Lanzhou); 18. Institute of Military Medicine, Nanjing; 19. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Shenyang; and 20. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu. Another category of facilities that has not been considered in the present study (due to lack of relevant publications) is a group of several corporations administered by COSTIND and/or SASAC, which deals, among other things, with warheads and delivery systems. It is assumed that part of those corporations are engaged in development and production of sub-nuclear WMD, including BW. All in all the entire amplitude of facilities included in or connected to China’s BWP comprises some dozens, an amount that might be regarded to be superfluous, yet does not essentially exceed the then Soviet BW programme amplitude. The latter—constituting until the 1990s, at the least, the largest BW programme worldwide—in all probability was China’s Biological Warfare Programme 145 appreciably followed by China. To this significant factor should be added the magnitude of the Chinese state, its military-oriented potency, and its technological ambitiousness. Notably some of the mentioned facilities have frequent and systematic interactions with American scientists, often aiming to absorb—ostensibly academically—advanced know-how from the concerned scientists. Those interactions appear to represent an inherent line within China’s scientific international interfaces. It is directed primarily by COSTIND and by the PLA Military Intelligence Department.40 Considering the entire profile of activities of the 32 listed facilities profiled in the present study, one can conclude that China is capable of developing, producing and weaponizing on the whole some 40 antihuman pathogens and toxins (P&T), either intact or genetically upgraded if not largely engineered. In actuality it is highly plausible that at present China possesses a lessened inventory of employable weaponized BWA. Presumably it comprises a first generation of BWA (for example, plague and brucellosis germs) in an operational state; a second generation of BWA (for example, Hantan and Japanese Encephalitis viruses) in an operational state; plus a third generation of BWA (for example, SARS, Ebola and Influenza viruses) still under development, in part or entirely. Included are a considerable variety of P&T, both classic BWA and emergent P&T (probably pathogen, toxin). Anti-livestock and anti-crop BWA are included as well in the Chinese BW inventory. A spectrum of toxins has been weaponized and others are under development as well, and might replace chemical warfare agents (CWA). https://idsa.in/system/files/jds/jds_9_2_2015_DanyShoham.pdf …………......................................................................................... |
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