We estimate the distribution of serial intervals for 468 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease reported in China as of February 8, 2020. The mean interval was 3.96 days (95% CI 3.53-4.39 days), SD ...4.75 days (95% CI 4.46-5.07 days); 12.6% of case reports indicated presymptomatic transmission.
On January 23, 2020, China quarantined Wuhan to contain coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We estimated the probability of transportation of COVID-19 from Wuhan to 369 other cities in China before the ...quarantine. Expected COVID-19 risk is >50% in 130 (95% CI 89-190) cities and >99% in the 4 largest metropolitan areas.
We introduce a transformation from time series to complex networks and then study the relative frequency of different subgraphs within that network. The distribution of subgraphs can be used to ...distinguish between and to characterize different types of continuous dynamics: periodic, chaotic, and periodic with noise. Moreover, although the general types of dynamics generate networks belonging to the same superfamily of networks, specific dynamical systems generate characteristic dynamics. When applied to discrete (map-like) data this technique distinguishes chaotic maps, hyperchaotic maps, and noise data.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a major foodborne pathogen, particularly in Asian countries. Increased occurrence of outbreaks of V. parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis in China indicates the need to ...evaluation of the prevalence of this pathogenic species. V. parahaemolyticus distribution in shellfish from the eastern coast of China has been reported previously. However, to date, the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in retail aquatic products in North China has not been determined. To investigate the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in aquatic products in North China, 260 aquatic product samples were obtained from retail markets in 6 provinces of North China from November to December in 2012 and July to August in 2013.
V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 94 (36.2%) of the samples by the most probable number method. The density of V. parahaemolyticus ranged from 1.50 to 1100 MPN/g. V. parahaemolyticus was detected at a rate of 50.0% and 22.7% in summer and in winter, respectively. The density of V. parahaemolyticus was significantly higher in summer than in winter, with mean levels of 16.5 MPN/g and 5.0 MPN/g, respectively. Among 145 V. parahaemolyticus isolates examined, none of the isolates possessed tdh and trh. In multiplex PCR-based O-antigen serotyping of these 145 isolates, all serotypes, other than O6, O7, and O9, were detected, and serotype O2 was found to be the most prevalent (detected in 54 isolates). The 145 isolates were grouped into 7 clusters by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) at a similarity coefficient of 0.66. The antimicrobial resistance patterns of these 145 isolates to 12 antimicrobial agents revealed that most of the isolates were resistant to streptomycin (86.2%), while fewer were resistant to ampicillin (49.6%), cefazolin (43.5%), cephalothin (35.9%), and kanamycin (22.1%). All of the examined isolates were susceptible to azithromycin and chloramphenicol.
The findings of this study will help in defining appropriate monitoring programs, understanding of the dissemination of antibiotic resistant strains, and providing information for the assessment of exposure to this microorganism at the consumption level.
Cities across China implemented stringent social distancing measures in early 2020 to curb coronavirus disease outbreaks. We estimated the speed with which these measures contained transmission in ...cities. A 1-day delay in implementing social distancing resulted in a containment delay of 2.41 (95% CI 0.97-3.86) days.
Revealing the synoptic patterns related to hourly extreme precipitation (EP) is very important to deepen our recognition and understanding of EP formation. The predominant synoptic patterns ...associated with the summer regional hourly EP events (RHEPE) over the central‐eastern Tibetan Plateau (CETP) and Sichuan Basin (SCB) have been systematically identified. Results show the summer RHEPE over CETP and SCB are dominated by the background large‐scale circulations featured by the configuration of eastward‐extended South Asia high (SAH) and westward‐extended Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) and their northward advance, except for that an obvious low‐level vortex imbedded in the background large‐scale circulations is mainly responsible for the summer RHEPE over SCB. The frequency and intensity of the total summer RHEPE over CETP and SCB all show an obvious increasing trend during 2000–2020, which is largely contributed by the synoptic pattern characterized by the configuration of eastward extended SAH and westward extended WNPSH.
Plain Language Summary
To completely indicate the synoptic patterns leading to the summer regional hourly extreme precipitation events (RHEPE) over the central‐eastern Tibetan Plateau (CETP) and Sichuan Basin (SCB), this study has identified the dominant synoptic patterns of summer RHEPE over the two regions. Results show that the configuration of eastward extended South Asia high (SAH) and westward extended Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) and their northward advance dominates the prime circulation patterns of summer RHEPE over CETP and SCB. However, in addition to the opposing motion of the SAH and WNPSH, a low‐level vortex imbedded in the background large‐scale circulations is mainly responsible for the summer RHEPE over SCB. The findings of this study may help us to deepen our understanding of the RHEPE formation over the two regions with complex terrain and provide a base to further improve the prediction of extreme precipitation.
Key Points
Summer rainfall extremes over both central‐eastern Tibetan Plateau (CETP) and Sichuan Basin (SCB) are dominated by the combination of eastward extended SAH and westward extended Western North Pacific Subtropical High
The summer rainfall extremes over SCB are mainly induced by a low‐level vortex imbedded in the background of large‐scale circulations
The dominant synoptic patterns over CETP and SCB all contribute to the increasing trends of frequency and intensity of the summer regional hourly EP events
In this study, we perform a diachronic analysis of the temporal trends of scholarly articles over a fairly long time scale. Through the retweeting dynamics of 298 highly retweeted articles, we find ...that nearly 57% of the articles have multiple peaks on diffusion curves after their initial exposure on social media. We characterize this phenomenon by measuring the time interval between peaks, the height and width of peaks, diffusion performance and the similarities between peaks. We discover that bursts of multi-peak articles usually have short durations and small coverage and that the length of the peak interval determines correlations between peaks. We also find that overlapping users between peaks can act like weak ties and spread information from one group to another, catalyzing information to experience a renewed burst of retweets. Based on the presence or absence of overlapping users, we summarize the occurrence mechanism of the multi-peak phenomenon into two types: (1) Cross-community diffusion through overlapping users. (2) Bursty diffusion of key opinion leaders at different times.
The blast resistance gene Pik-p, mapping to the Pik locus on the long arm of rice chromosome 11, was isolated by map-based in silico cloning. Four NBS-LRR genes are present in the target region of ...cv. Nipponbare, and a presence/absence analysis in the Pik-p carrier cv. K60 excluded two of these as candidates for Pik-p. The other two candidates (KP3 and KP4) were expressed in cv. K60. A loss-of-function experiment by RNAi showed that both KP3 and KP4 are required for Pik-p function, while a gain-of-function experiment by complementation test revealed that neither KP3 nor KP4 on their own can impart resistance, but that resistance was expressed when both were introduced simultaneously. Both Pikp-1 (KP3) and Pikp-2 (KP4) encode coiled-coil NBS-LRR proteins and share, respectively, 95 and 99% peptide identity with the two alleles, Pikm1-TS and Pikm2-TS. The Pikp-1 and Pikp-2 sequences share only limited homology. Their sequence allowed Pik-p to be distinguished from Pik, Pik-s, Pik-m and Pik-h. Both Pikp-1 and Pikp-2 were constitutively expressed in cv. K60 and only marginally induced by blast infection.
The impact of ventriculoperitoneal shunt on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical profiles in HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis (HCM) patients remains unclear.
Twenty-nine HCM patients who ...underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt (the VPS group) and 57 HCM patients who did not undergo ventriculoperitoneal shunt (the non-VPS group) were enrolled in this propensity score matching analysis. Demographic characteristics, symptoms, CSF biochemical profiles, and adverse events were compared between the two groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the survival rate. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for increased CSF protein levels.
After 24 weeks of treatment, the intracranial pressure was significantly lower in the VPS group than in the non-VPS group (mmH
O; 155.0 120.0-190.0 vs. 200.0 142.5-290.0; P = 0.025), and the rate of neuroimaging improvement was significantly higher in the VPS group (16/17 94.1% vs. 2/10 20%; P < 0.001). Furthermore, the 24-week cumulative survival rates were also significantly higher in the VPS group (96.6% vs. 83.5%, P = 0.025). Notably, the CSF protein levels were higher in the VPS group than in the non-VPS group at each examination time, and the CSF glucose was lower in the VPS group than in the non-VPS group even at the 12-week follow-up. In the multivariate analysis, we found that VPS placement was an independent risk factor for increased CSF protein (odds ratio OR: 27.8, 95% confidence interval 95% CI 2.2-348.7; P = 0.010).
VPS decreased the intracranial pressure, improved neuroimaging radiology and reduced the 24-week mortality in HCM patients. However, VPS significantly altered the CSF profiles, which could lead to misdiagnosis of tuberculous meningitis and some of them were diagnosed with immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. Physicians should be aware of these changes in the CSF profiles of patients with HCM undergoing VPS.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is one of the most common foodborne pathogens in Asian countries. V. parahaemolyticus contamination of retail shrimp in China has been reported previously, and such ...contaminated shrimp have been linked to outbreaks of foodborne diseases. However, to date, the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in retail shrimp in China has not been determined. This study aimed at identifying the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in shrimps in Chinese retail market. From May 2012 to April 2013, a total of 273 shrimp samples was obtained from retail markets in 16 provinces (19 cities) of China. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 103 (37.7%) of 273 samples by the most probable number method. Bacterial densities were less than 100 MPN/g in 95.1% (98/103) of the samples. Five trh-positive isolates were identified from 247 isolates, and none of the isolates were tdh-positive. In multiplex PCR-based O-antigen serotyping of these 247 pathogenic isolates, all O-antigen serotypes, except O9, were detected, and serotype O2 was found to be the most prevalent (detected in 82 isolates). This is the first report on V. parahaemolyticus prevalence in retail shrimp in China, and the findings of this study can be used for microbiological risk assessment of shrimp in China.
•High prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was determined in Chinese retail shrimp.•V. parahaemolyticus isolates were characterised by pathogenicity and serotype.•Five trh-positive isolates were identified in fresh shrimp samples.•Serovar O2 was the predominant V. parahaemolyticus isolate in shrimp samples.
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