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Based on the data from the 13-month field visit spread over two trips (September 2016 to December 2016 and September 2017 to July 2018), this study highlights how securitisation efforts from the central government interact with environmental non-governmental organisation (ENGO) activism and advocacy in China, producing diverse outcomes across temporal and spatial dimensions. The trajectory of state–society relations in the context of environmental governance depends on (a) the ability of party-state to control ‘new media’ activism and manage ENGO advocacy to ‘maintain stability/rule by law’ and (b) ability of the assemblage of media activism and ENGO advocacy, along with other agents, to support the transition from ‘rule by law’ to ‘rule of law’. The overall findings are discussed in the context of the ‘Copenhagen School’ framework in International Relations Theory to examine the process of securitisation in the environmental sector in China. The securitising actor (the one who leads the process of securitisation such as States), referent object (the object under existential threat, i.e. human nature harmony) and functional actors (those who support or oppose the process of securitisation, i.e. ENGOs) are the major players involved.

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Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Dutch Heart Foundation (Nederlandse Hartstichting) Background/Introduction SARS-CoV-2 and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has substantial acute effects on cardiovascular health and physical functioning, but the long-term effects are less clear, especially in individuals that recover from COVID-19 at home, representing ~95% of all cases. Purpose We compared cardiovascular health and physical functioning of non-hospitalised ex-COVID-19 patients versus age- and sex-matched healthy peers. Methods We recruited non-hospitalised adults with PCR-proven COVID-19 and age- and sex-matched controls for this case-control study. Duration of COVID-19 illness and presence of residual complaints were inquired. Cardiovascular health status and physical functioning were assessed through a series of measurements: blood pressure, blood biomarkers (NT-proBNP, high-sensitive cardiac troponin I, C-reactive protein), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (ARTSENS), handgrip strength, 4-metre gait speed, habitual physical activity (days per week with at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity) and quality of life based on the 12-item short form. Results We included 101 ex-COVID-19 patients (median age 59.0 [54.5-65.5], 59 (58.4%) male) at a median of 5.0 [4.0-7.0] months post-infection and 101 age- and sex-matched controls (median age 58.0 [54.0-64.5], 58 (57.4%) male). Median duration of COVID-19 illness was 8.0 days [6.0-14.0] and 32.3% of the cases reported residual complaints at the time of inclusion. We found no differences between ex-COVID-19 patients and controls in blood pressure (134-81 vs. 133-81 mmHg, p=0.40 and p=0.30 for systolic and diastolic pressures respectively), concentrations of NT-proBNP (8.50 vs. 7.00 pmol/L, p=0.22), high-sensitive cardiac troponin I (4.11 vs. 3.38 ng/L, p=0.06), C-reactive protein (4.00 vs. 4.00 mg/L, p=0.93) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (6.63 vs. 7.01 m/s, p=0.30). Ex-COVID-19 patients showed higher handgrip strength compared to controls (43 kg vs. 38 kg, p=0.004), but 4-metre gait speed (2.62 vs. 2.56 s, p=0.33), habitual physical activity levels (6.0 vs. 6.0 days, p=0.16) and reported quality of life (86.4% vs. 88.6%, p=0.10) were not different between groups. Conclusion(s) Cardiovascular health and physical functioning parameters were not different between non-hospitalised ex-COVID-19 patients and age- and sex-matched controls at five months post-infection. This suggests that individuals who recovered from COVID-19 at home do not have an increased cardiovascular risk or impaired physical functioning in the long-term.

Emerging environmental challenges continuously push against the theoretical and methodological borders of the International Relations discipline, in terms of new understandings about agency‐structure dynamics and state behavior. A comparative analysis of non‐Western polities such as India and China bring forth interesting observations regarding state praxis in dealing with the above‐mentioned challenges. This study assesses environmental NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) protests in Xiamen, China using fieldwork observations from September 2016 to December 2016 and September 2017 to July 2018 and undertakes a comparison with a major protest movement in Tamil Nadu, India. (NIMBY stands for Not In My Backyard. NIMBY protests denote the objection of local citizens to the installation of environmentally hazardous projects in their vicinity.) The comparative assessment of protests in both countries reveals that despite dissimilarities in political cultures, new media advocacy and Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations (ENGOs) are the key factors directly responsible for facilitating public participation in environmental policy‐making in both countries. It also suggests that comparative analyses can unravel similarities among the interaction among social institutions in dealing with issues such as environmental threats across spatial and temporal dimensions. The study is based on a discursive analysis of technical study reports, media reporting, and extensive interviews and fieldwork observations.