Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis E virus infections in Shanghai, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes acute or fulminant hepatitis in humans and is an important public health concern in many developing countries. China has a high incidence of HEV epidemics, with at least three genotypes (1, 3 and 4) and nine subtypes (1b, 1c, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4d, 4g, 4h and 4i) so far identified. Since genotype 3 and the newly identified subtype 4i have been exclusively limited geographically to Shanghai and its neighboring provinces, the epidemiology of HEV infections within the municipality, a major industrial and commercial center, deserves closer attention.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>A total of 65 sequences, 60 located within the HEV SH-SW-zs1 genome [GenBank:<ext-link ext-link-id="EF570133" ext-link-type="gen">EF570133</ext-link>], together with five full-length swine and human HEV genomic sequences, all emanating from Shanghai, were retrieved from GenBank. Consistent with the primary role of genotype 4 in China overall, analysis of the sequences revealed this to have been the dominant genotype (58/65) in Shanghai. Six HEV subtypes (3b, 4a, 4b, 4d, 4h and 4i) were also represented. However, although subtype 4a is the dominant subtype throughout China, subtype 4i (29/65) was the most prevalent subtype among the Shanghai sequences, followed by subtypes 4d (10/65) and 4h (9/65). Subtypes 4h, 4i and 4d were found in both swine and humans, whereas 4b was found only in swine and subtype 4a only in humans.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Six different swine and human HEV subtypes have so far been documented in Shanghai. More molecular epidemiological investigations of HEV in swine, and particularly among the human population, should be undertaken.</p

Influence Mechanism of Silicon on Carbide Phase Precipitation of a Corrosion Resistance Nickel Based Superalloy

The effect of silicon on diffusion behavior of the carbide forming elements in Ni-Mo-Cr-Fe based corrosion-resistant alloy is studied by diffusion couple experiment. One group of diffusion couples are made of the alloy with a different silicon content, another group of diffusion couples are made of pure nickel and the alloy with different silicon content (0Si, 2Si). Two groups of alloys with same silicon content and different carbon content are also prepared, the microstructure of solution and aging state of these two groups alloys are analyzed, and their stress rupture properties are tested. The effect of silicon on the diffusion of alloy elements and the interaction effect of carbon and silicon on the microstructure and stress rupture properties of the alloy are analyzed. The mechanism of Si on the precipitation behavior of carbide phase in Ni-Mo-Cr-Fe corrosion resistant alloy is discussed. The results show that silicon can promote the diffusion of carbide forming elements and the formation of carbide. The precipitation behavior of the secondary phase is the result of the interaction effect of silicon and carbon, and is related to the thermal history of the alloy. Combined with the characteristic of primary carbides, it is confirmed that the precipitation of M12C type secondary carbide is caused by the relative lack of carbon element and the relative enrichment of carbide forming elements such as molybdenum. The stress rupture properties of two silicon-containing alloys with different carbon contents in solution and aging state are tested. The stress rupture life of low carbon alloy is lower compared with high carbon alloy at solution state, but after aging treatment, the stress rupture life of low carbon alloy is significantly improved, and higher than that of high carbon alloy. The main aim of this research is to reveal the influence mechanism of silicon on carbide phase precipitation of a Ni-Mo-Cr-Fe based corrosion-resistant superalloy, which provides theoretical basis and reference for later alloy design and engineering application

SARS-CoV-2 genomic characterization and evolution in China

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affected global health worldwide due to its high contagiousness. During the viral spread, many mutations occurred within the virus genome. China has adopted nonpharmaceutical intervention (NPI) to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. In order to understand the evolution and genomic variation of SARS-CoV-2 in China under this policy, a total of 524 sequences downloaded from Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) between 2019 and 2022 were included in this study. The time-scaled evolutionary analysis showed that these sequences clustered in three groups (Group A-C). Group B and C accounted for the majority of the sequences whose divergence times were around 2020 and distributed in multiple regions. Group A was mainly composed of G variants, which were mainly isolated from several regions. Moreover, we found that 191 sites had mutations with no less than 3 times, including 30 amino acids that were deleted. Finally, we found that spike and nucleocapsid genes underwent positive selection evolution, indicating that the mutations within spike and nucleocapsid genes increased the SARS-CoV-2 contagiousness. Hence, this study preliminarily elucidates the evolutionary characteristics and genomic mutations of SARS-CoV-2 under the implementation of the NPI policy in China, providing scientific basis for further understanding the control effect of the NPI policy on the epidemic

Prevalence, Genotypic Characteristics, and Antibiotic Resistance of Listeria monocytogenes From Retail Foods in Huzhou, China

Listeria monocytogenes are considered to be the major foodborne pathogen worldwide. To understand the prevalence and potential risk of L. monocytogenes in retail foods, a total of 1243 retail foods in 12 food categories were sampled and screened for L. monocytogenes from 2020 to 2022 in Huzhou, China. A total of 46 out of 1234 samples were confirmed to be L. monocytogenes positive with a total rate of 3.7%. The contamination rate of seasoned raw meat (15.2%) was the highest, followed by raw poultry meat and raw livestock meat (9.9%) and salmon sashimi (9.5%). The L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to four serotypes, 1/2a,1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b, with the most prevalent serotype being 1/2a (47.9%). All isolates were grouped into 15 sequence types (STs) belonging to 14 clonal complexes (CCs) via multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The most prevalent ST was ST9/CC9 (23.9%), followed by ST3/CC3 (19.6%) and ST121/CC121 (17.4%). Notably, 11 STs were detected from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, some of them have been verified to be strongly associated with clinical origin listeriosis cases, such as ST3, ST2, ST5, ST8, and ST87. Listeria pathogenicity islands 1 (LIPI-1) and LIPI-2 were detected in approximately all L. monocytogenes isolates, whereas the distribution of both LIPI-3 genes and LIPI-4 genes exhibited association with specific ST, with LIPI-3 in ST3 and ST288, and LIPI-4 in ST87. The strains carrying LIPI-3 and LIPI-4 virulence genes in this study were all isolated from RTE foods. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that >90% of isolates were susceptible to PEN, AMP, ERY, CIP, SXT, VAN, CHL, and GEN, indicating the antibiotic treatment might be still efficient for most of the L. monocytogenes strains. However, for the three clinical first-line antibiotics (PEN, AMP, and GEN), we also observed three and four strains showing MIC values greater than the susceptibility standards for PEN and AMP, respectively, and one strain showing resistance to GEN

Determination of the full-genome sequence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) SAAS-FX17 and use as a reference to identify putative HEV genotype 4 virulence determinants

Abstract Background Four major genotypes of hepatitis E virus (HEV), the causative agent of hepatitis E, have so far been recognized. While genotypes 3 and 4 are both zoonotic, the disease symptoms caused by the latter tend to be more severe. To examine if specific nucleotide/amino acid variations between genotypes 3 and 4 play a role in determining the severity of hepatitis E disease, the complete genome of one swine HEV genotype 4 isolate, SAAS-FX17, was determined and compared with other genotype 4 and genotype 3 genomes to identify putative HEV genotype 4 virulence determinants. Results A total of 42 conformable nt/aa variations between genotype 3 and 4 HEVs were detected, of which 19 were proposed to be potential disease severity determinants for genotype 4 strains. Conclusions One potential determinant was located in each of the 5'-UTR and 3'-UTR, 3 and 12 within ORF1 and ORF2 respectively, and 2 in the junction region.</p

Distribution of drug resistance genes in 13 <i>Campylobacter</i> strains.

Distribution of drug resistance genes in 13 Campylobacter strains.</p

Rare-Earth Metal Yttrium-Modified Composite Metal Oxide Catalysts for High Selectivity Synthesis of Biomass-Derived Lactic Acid from Cellulose

Lactic acid is a versatile and potential building block for generating biodegradable plastics and polylactic acid, as well as in chemical and pharmaceuticals industry. Nevertheless, the achievement of lactic acid production in large quantities remains an enormous challenge. Herein, a series of yttrium-modified composite metal oxide catalysts were synthesized for production of lactic acid starting from renewable biomass cellulose. Interestingly, Y2O3/Al2O3 showed outstanding chemoselectivity towards lactic acid due to its predominant Lewis acid sites (Y3+) and weak Bronsted acid sites (hydroxyl group) together with appropriate total surface acidity. The structure-activity relationship was systematically investigated by a combination of XRD, BET, NH3-TPD, PyIR, SEM, FTIR, and XPS characterization techniques. A nearly complete conversion of cellulose and as high as 72.8 % yield of lactic acid could be achieved under the optimum conditions. Importantly, the resultant catalysts were reusable without appreciable loss in catalytic activity after five consecutive cycles. This study provides an efficient, cost-efficient and facile strategy for fabricating promising heterogeneous catalysts for conversion of biomass resources to highly valuable chemicals.Peer reviewe