Our understanding of the diversity and evolution of vertebrate RNA viruses is largely limited to those found in mammalian and avian hosts and associated with overt disease. Here, using a large-scale ...meta-transcriptomic approach, we discover 214 vertebrate-associated viruses in reptiles, amphibians, lungfish, ray-finned fish, cartilaginous fish and jawless fish. The newly discovered viruses appear in every family or genus of RNA virus associated with vertebrate infection, including those containing human pathogens such as influenza virus, the Arenaviridae and Filoviridae families, and have branching orders that broadly reflected the phylogenetic history of their hosts. We establish a long evolutionary history for most groups of vertebrate RNA virus, and support this by evaluating evolutionary timescales using dated orthologous endogenous virus elements. We also identify new vertebrate-specific RNA viruses and genome architectures, and re-evaluate the evolution of vector-borne RNA viruses. In summary, this study reveals diverse virus-host associations across the entire evolutionary history of the vertebrates.
The prevalence and prognosis of digestive system involvement, including gastrointestinal symptoms and liver injury, in patients with COVID-19 remains largely unknown. We aimed to quantify the effects ...of COVID-19 on the digestive system.
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for studies published between Jan 1, 2020, and April 4, 2020. The websites of WHO, CDC, and major journals were also searched. We included studies that reported the epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 and the prevalence of gastrointestinal findings in infected patients, and excluded preprints, duplicate publications, reviews, editorials, single case reports, studies pertaining to other coronavirus-related illnesses, and small case series (<10 cases). Extracted data included author; date; study design; country; patient demographics; number of participants in severe and non-severe disease groups; prevalence of clinical gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and belching; and digestive system comorbidities including liver disease and gastrointestinal diseases. Raw data from studies were pooled to determine effect estimates.
We analysed findings from 35 studies, including 6686 patients with COVID-19, that met inclusion criteria. 29 studies (n=6064) reported gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with COVID-19 at diagnosis, and the pooled prevalence of digestive system comorbidities was 4% (95% CI 2-5; range 0-15; I
=74%). The pooled prevalence of digestive symptoms was 15% (10-21; range: 2-57; I
=96%) with nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea, and loss of appetite being the three most common symptoms. The pooled prevalence of abnormal liver functions (12 studies, n=1267) was 19% (9-32; range 1-53; I
=96%). Subgroup analysis showed patients with severe COVID-19 had higher rates of abdominal pain (odds ratio OR 7·10 95% CI 1·93-26·07; p=0·003; I
=0%) and abnormal liver function including increased ALT (1·89 1·30-2·76; p=0·0009; I
=10%) and increased AST (3·08 2·14-4·42; p<0·00001; I
=0%) compared with those with non-severe disease. Patients in Hubei province, where the initial COVID-19 outbreak occurred, were more likely to present with abnormal liver functions (p<0·0001) compared with those outside of Hubei. Paediatric patients with COVID-19 had a similar prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms to those of adult patients. 10% (95% CI 4-19; range 3-23; I
=97%) of patients presented with gastrointestinal symptoms alone without respiratory features. Patients who presented with gastrointestinal system involvement had delayed diagnosis (standardised mean difference 2·85 95% CI 0·22-5·48; p=0·030; I
=73%). Patients with gastrointestinal involvement tended to have a poorer disease course (eg, acute respiratory distress syndrome OR 2·96 95% CI 1·17-7·48; p=0·02; I
=0%).
Our study showed that digestive symptoms and liver injury are not uncommon in patients with COVID-19. Increased attention should be paid to the care of this unique group of patients.
None.
Hospitals are important sources of pollutants resulted from diagnostic, laboratory and research activities as well as medicine excretion by patients, which include active component of drugs and ...metabolite, chemicals, residues of pharmaceuticals, radioactive markers, iodinated contrast media, etc. The discharge of hospital wastes and wastewater, especially those without appropriate treatment would expose the public in danger of infection. In particular, under the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic context in China, it is of great significance to reduce the health risks to the public and environment. In this study, technologies of different types of hospital wastes and wastewater disinfection have been summarized. Liquid chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, ozone, and ultraviolet irradiation disinfection are commonly used for hospital wastewater disinfection. While incineration, chemical disinfection, and physical disinfection are commonly used for hospital wastes disinfection. In addition, considering the characteristics of various hospital wastes, the classification and selection of corresponding disinfection technologies are discussed. On this basis, this study provides scientific suggestions for management, technology selection, and operation of hospital wastes and wastewater disinfection in China, which is of great significance for development of national disinfection strategy for hospital wastes and wastewater during COVID-19 pandemic.
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•O3, UV, chlorine disinfectants are used for hospital wastewater disinfection.•Incineration, chemical and physical techniques are used to disinfect hospital wastes.•Providing suggestions for hospital wastes and wastewater disinfection during COVID-19.•The chlorine disinfection and incineration are primarily recommended.
The pandemic of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has developed as a tremendous threat to global health. Although most COVID-19 patients present with respiratory symptoms, some present with ...gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms like diarrhoea, loss of appetite, nausea/vomiting and abdominal pain as the major complaints. These features may be attributable to the following facts: (a) COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and its receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) was found to be highly expressed in GI epithelial cells, providing a prerequisite for SARS-CoV-2 infection; (b) SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA has been found in stool specimens of infected patients, and 20% of patients showed prolonged presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in faecal samples after the virus converting to negative in the respiratory system. These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may be able to actively infect and replicate in the GI tract. Moreover, GI infection could be the first manifestation antedating respiratory symptoms; patients suffering only digestive symptoms but no respiratory symptoms as clinical manifestation have also been reported. Thus, the implications of digestive symptoms in patients with COVID-19 is of great importance. In this review, we summarise recent findings on the epidemiology of GI tract involvement, potential mechanisms of faecal–oral transmission, GI and liver manifestation, pathological/histological features in patients with COVID-19 and the diagnosis, management of patients with pre-existing GI and liver diseases as well as precautions for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection during GI endoscopy procedures.
The accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation plays a significant role in charge/discharge control, balance control, and safe management of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, due to the model ...mismatch issues, either from battery inconsistency or battery dynamic characteristics difference, the accuracy of the model-based SOC estimation method is usually unsatisfactory. To solve this problem, a joint moving horizon estimation (joint-MHE) approach that can simultaneously estimate the model parameter and state is proposed here. In this paper, the circuit-equivalent battery model is first constructed by parameterizing the circuit parameters as polynomial function of SOC. Then, by the sensitivity analysis, the update parameters are selected and added to the state-space model as additional states. Finally, the joint-MHE strategy is conducted for the simultaneous parameter and SOC estimation. To investigate the performance of the proposed method thoroughly, three model mismatch conditions are considered, including battery inconsistency, battery dynamic characteristics difference, and the combination of both. The results demonstrate that the joint-MHE approach is an effective way to solve the model mismatch problem. Moreover, compared to joint extended Kalman filtering, the proposed approach can offer a more reliable, robust, and accurate SOC estimation of LIBs under various model mismatch conditions.
Increased crop yields are required to support rapid population growth worldwide. Grain weight is a key compo- nent of rice yield, but the underlying molecular mechanisms that control it remain ...elusive. Here, we report the clon- ing and characterization of a new quantitative trait locus （QTL） for the control of rice grain length, weight and yield. This locus, GL3.1, encodes a protein phosphatase kelch （PPKL） family -- Ser/Thr phosphatase. GL3.1 is a member of the large grain WY3 variety, which is associated with weaker dephosphorylation activity than the small grain FAZ1 variety. GL3.I-WY3 influences protein phosphorylation in the spikelet to accelerate cell division, thereby re- suiting in longer grains and higher yields. Further studies have shown that GL3.1 directly dephosphorylates its sub- strate, Cyclin-TI;3, which has only been rarely studied in plants. The downregulation of Cyclin-T1;3 in rice resulted in a shorter grain, which indicates a novel function for Cyclin-T in cell cycle regulation. Our findings suggest a new mechanism for the regulation of grain size and yield that is driven through a novel phosphatase-mediated process that affects the phosphorylation of Cyclin-T1;3 during cell cycle progression, and thus provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying crop seed development. We bred a new variety containing the natural GL3.1 allele that demonstrated increased grain yield, which indicates that GL3.1 is a powerful tool for breeding high-yield crops.
Diseases caused by Rickettsiales bacteria are a global public health problem. To better understand the diversity and origins of Rickettsiales infection in humans and animals, we sampled 134 febrile ...patients, 173 rodents and 43 shrews, as well as 358 ticks, from two cities in Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces, China. Our data revealed a relatively high prevalence of scrub typhus cases in both localities. In addition, both serological tests and genetic analysis identified three patients infected with Anaplasma bovis, Rickettsia monacensis, and Orientia tsutsugamushi bacteria. Molecular epidemiological investigation revealed the co-circulation of multiple species of Rickettsiales bacteria in small mammals and ticks in both provinces, potentially including novel bacterial species. In sum, these data demonstrate the ongoing importance of Rickettsiales infection in China and highlight the need for the regular surveillance of local arthropods, mammals and humans.
Thermoelectric (TE) materials convert heat energy directly into electricity, and introducing new materials with high conversion efficiency is a great challenge because of the rare combination of ...interdependent electrical and thermal transport properties required to be present in a single material. The TE efficiency is defined by the figure of merit ZT=(S2σ) T/κ, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the total thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature. A new p‐type thermoelectric material, CsAg5Te3, is presented that exhibits ultralow lattice thermal conductivity (ca. 0.18 Wm−1 K−1) and a high figure of merit of about 1.5 at 727 K. The lattice thermal conductivity is the lowest among state‐of‐the‐art thermoelectrics; it is attributed to a previously unrecognized phonon scattering mechanism that involves the concerted rattling of a group of Ag ions that strongly raises the Grüneisen parameters of the material.
A p‐type thermoelectric material, CsAg5Te3, is presented. It exhibits ultralow thermal conductivity (ϰtol≈0.18 Wm−1 K−1) and a high figure of merit (ZT≈1.5 at 727 K). The low thermal conductivity is attributed to a previously unrecognized phonon scattering mechanism that involves the rattling of Ag ions, strongly raising the Grüneisen parameters of the material.
Diabetic foot (DF) has become a serious health problem in modern society, and it has been a hotspot of research for a long time. However, little scientometric analysis has been carried out on DF. In ...the present study, we analysed 8633 literature reports on DF in the Web of Science Core Collection from database inception until April 23, 2022. VOSviewer (Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands) and CiteSpace (College of Computing and Informatics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, United States) were employed to address high‐impact countries and institutions, journals, references, research hotspots, and key research fields in DF research. Our analysis findings indicated that publications on DF have increased markedly since 2016 and were primarily published in the United States of America. The recent studies focus on the amniotic membrane, foot ulcers, osteomyelitis, and diabetic wound healing. The five keyword clusters, which included DF ulcer and wound healing therapies, management and guidelines, neuropathy and plantar pressure, amputation and ischemia, and DF infection and osteomyelitis, are helpful for enhancing prevention, standardising treatment, avoiding complications, and improving prognosis. These findings indicated a method for future therapies and research in DF.
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•Evidence suggests the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via aerosols is plausible under favorable conditions.•We synthesized the evidence for aerosol transmission and highlight the ...scenarios where SARS-CoV-2 aerosols may be pertinent to transmission.•We summarize precautions and infection control strategies to mitigate aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
As public health teams respond to the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), containment and understanding of the modes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission is of utmost importance for policy making. During this time, governmental agencies have been instructing the community on handwashing and physical distancing measures. However, there is no agreement on the role of aerosol transmission for SARS-CoV-2. To this end, we aimed to review the evidence of aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Several studies support that aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is plausible, and the plausibility score (weight of combined evidence) is 8 out of 9. Precautionary control strategies should consider aerosol transmission for effective mitigation of SARS-CoV-2.
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