Isolation and genomic characterization of Chaoyang virus strain ROK144 from \u3ci\u3eAedes vexansnipponii\u3c/i\u3e from the Republic of Korea

During June 2003, mosquito surveillance was conducted at a US Army installation and a US Military training site 2 km south of the demilitarized zone, Republic of Korea. Mosquitoes were collected using Mosquito MagnetsTM, sorted to species, and assayed for the presence of arboviruses. From the 3,149 mosquitoes that were sorted into126 pools, one Aedes vexan snipponii pool (out of 73 pools) tested positive for flavivirus RNA by reverse transcription-PCR. After isolation from C6/36 cell culture supernatant, the viral genome was sequenced and found to be 98.9% related to Chaoyang virus, a potential arthropod-specific flavivirus. This report details the first identification of Chaoyang virus in the Republic of Korea and highlights its relationship to other flaviviruses

Isolation and genomic characterization of Chaoyang virus strain ROK144 from \u3ci\u3eAedes vexansnipponii\u3c/i\u3e from the Republic of Korea

During June 2003, mosquito surveillance was conducted at a US Army installation and a US Military training site 2 km south of the demilitarized zone, Republic of Korea. Mosquitoes were collected using Mosquito MagnetsTM, sorted to species, and assayed for the presence of arboviruses. From the 3,149 mosquitoes that were sorted into126 pools, one Aedes vexan snipponii pool (out of 73 pools) tested positive for flavivirus RNA by reverse transcription-PCR. After isolation from C6/36 cell culture supernatant, the viral genome was sequenced and found to be 98.9% related to Chaoyang virus, a potential arthropod-specific flavivirus. This report details the first identification of Chaoyang virus in the Republic of Korea and highlights its relationship to other flaviviruses

Genomic epidemiology reveals transmission patterns and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in Aotearoa New Zealand

New Zealand, a geographically remote Pacific island with easily sealable borders, implemented a nationwide 'lockdown' of all non-essential services to curb the spread of COVID-19. Here, we generate 649 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences from infected patients in New Zealand with samples collected during the 'first wave', representing 56% of all confirmed cases in this time period. Despite its remoteness, the viruses imported into New Zealand represented nearly all of the genomic diversity sequenced from the global virus population. These data helped to quantify the effectiveness of public health interventions. For example, the effective reproductive number, Re of New Zealand's largest cluster decreased from 7 to 0.2 within the first week of lockdown. Similarly, only 19% of virus introductions into New Zealand resulted in ongoing transmission of more than one additional case. Overall, these results demonstrate the utility of genomic pathogen surveillance to inform public health and disease mitigation

Nasal Host Response-Based Screening for Undiagnosed Respiratory Viruses: A Pathogen Surveillance and Detection Study

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic patients who test negative for common viruses are an important possible source of unrecognised or emerging pathogens, but metagenomic sequencing of all samples is inefficient because of the low likelihood of finding a pathogen in any given sample. We aimed to determine whether nasopharyngeal CXCL10 screening could be used as a strategy to enrich for samples containing undiagnosed viruses. METHODS: In this pathogen surveillance and detection study, we measured CXCL10 concentrations from nasopharyngeal swabs from patients in the Yale New Haven health-care system, which had been tested at the Yale New Haven Hospital Clinical Virology Laboratory (New Haven, CT, USA). Patients who tested negative for a panel of respiratory viruses using multiplex PCR during Jan 23-29, 2017, or March 3-14, 2020, were included. We performed host and pathogen RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and analysis for viral reads on samples with CXCL10 higher than 1 ng/mL or CXCL10 testing and quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) for SARS-CoV-2. We used RNA-Seq and cytokine profiling to compare the host response to infection in samples that were virus positive (rhinovirus, seasonal coronavirus CoV-NL63, or SARS-CoV-2) and virus negative (controls). FINDINGS: During Jan 23-29, 2017, 359 samples were tested for ten viruses on the multiplex PCR respiratory virus panel (RVP). 251 (70%) were RVP negative. 60 (24%) of 251 samples had CXCL10 higher than 150 pg/mL and were identified for further analysis. 28 (47%) of 60 CXCL10-high samples were positive for seasonal coronaviruses. 223 (89%) of 251 samples were PCR negative for 15 viruses and, of these, CXCL10-based screening identified 32 (13%) samples for further analysis. Of these 32 samples, eight (25%) with CXCL10 concentrations higher than 1 ng/mL and sufficient RNA were selected for RNA-Seq. Microbial RNA analysis showed the presence of influenza C virus in one sample and revealed RNA reads from bacterial pathobionts in four (50%) of eight samples. Between March 3 and March 14, 2020, 375 (59%) of 641 samples tested negative for 15 viruses on the RVP. 32 (9%) of 375 samples had CXCL10 concentrations ranging from 100 pg/mL to 1000 pg/mL and four of those were positive for SARS-CoV-2. CXCL10 elevation was statistically significant, and a distinguishing feature was found in 28 (8%) of 375 SARS-CoV-2-negative samples versus all four SARS-CoV-2-positive samples (p=4·4 × 10 INTERPRETATION: These results confirm CXCL10 as a robust nasopharyngeal biomarker of viral respiratory infection and support host response-based screening followed by metagenomic sequencing of CXCL10-high samples as a practical approach to incorporate clinical samples into pathogen discovery and surveillance efforts. FUNDING: National Institutes of Health, the Hartwell Foundation, the Gruber Foundation, Fast Grants for COVID-19 research from the Mercatus Center, and the Huffman Family Donor Advised Fund

A need for “good eyes”: Experiences told by patients diagnosed with psychosis

This study highlights experiences of psychiatric care described by patients diagnosed with psychosis. The aim was to investigate how patients, based on earlier experiences, described their wishes and needs regarding the psychiatric care system. Data comprised material from four focus groups; analysis used an inductive thematic approach. Relationships with staff emerged as a recurring theme. During periods of psychosis, patients needed staff to act as “parental figures,” providing care, safety, and help in dealing with overwhelming stimulation from the outside word. In the ensuing struggle to devise a livable life, the need for relationships recurred. In this phase, staff needed to give their time, provide support through information, and mirror the patient's capacity and hope. The patient's trials were described as threatened by a lack of continuity and non-listening professionals. It was important for staff to listen and understand, and to see and respect the patients' viewpoints

An introduction to the Philosophy of Information

This book serves as the main reference for an undergraduate course on Philosophy of Information. The book is written to be accessible to the typical undergraduate student of Philosophy and does not require propaedeutic courses in Logic, Epistemology or Ethics. Each chapter includes a rich collection of references for the student interested in furthering her understanding of the topics reviewed in the book. The book covers all the main topics of the Philosophy of Information and it should be considered an overview and not a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of a philosophical area. As a consequence, 'The Philosophy of Information: a Simple Introduction' does not contain research material as it is not aimed at graduate students or researchers

Lineage Abundance Estimation for SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Using Transcriptome Quantification Techniques

Effectively monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 mutants is essential to efforts to counter the ongoing pandemic. Predicting lineage abundance from wastewater, however, is technically challenging. We show that by sequencing SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and applying algorithms initially used for transcriptome quantification, we can estimate lineage abundance in wastewater samples. We find high variability in signal among individual samples, but the overall trends match those observed from sequencing clinical samples. Thus, while clinical sequencing remains a more sensitive technique for population surveillance, wastewater sequencing can be used to monitor trends in mutant prevalence in situations where clinical sequencing is unavailable

Factors contributing to posttraumatic growth and its buffering effect in adult chidren of cancer patients undergoing treatment

This study examined relationships among demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables in adult children of cancer patients. Two hundred and fourteen participants completed measures of posttraumatic growth (PTG), distress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, social support, and family functioning. Significant gender differences in all PTG dimensions were found, as well as associations among PTG, gender, parental dependency, distress, PTSD, and family functioning. Social support was not a mediator in the relationship between gender and PTG. Gender, education, disease duration, dependency, distress, and family flexibility predicted PTG. Finally, PTG had amoderating effect in the relationship between distress and PTSD/social support. These results may guide psychosocial interventions in this population.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT