Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe

Temporary pacing

Artificial cardiac pacing, the use of electrical stimuli to cause contraction of heart muscle, is a sophisticated therapeutic and diagnostic tool. Its rapid technologic improvement since first developed in the late 1930’s by Hyman, has made it possible not only to avoid certain cases of death due to heart block, but also to extend and improve the quality of life. Pacemaker therapy is generally used to treat heart rate or rhythm disturbances, being either tachy- or bradyarrhythmias that produce a detrimental drop in cardiac output. Of the many different types of pacemakers and electrodes currently available, ventricular demand pacing is the most commonly used

Parasite-related IgE Antibodies, Including IgE to Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, in Sera from Virginia and Ecuador

Rationale IgE antibodies to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) have become increasingly prevalent in the southeastern United States. These antibodies have recently been linked to bites from the tick Amblyomma americanum, but the possibility of a role for other parasites remains. Methods Assays for IgE were performed on patients with delayed urticaria or anaphylaxis to meat and controls in Virginia (n=125), as well as a cohort from Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador (n=295) where Echinococcus is not endemic. Results The significant association between IgE antibodies to alpha-gal and IgE to Echinococcus was strongest in Virginia (r=0.74 vs r=0.62 for Ecuador, both p<0.001). Further, only 3/37 Echinococcus IgE-positive subjects in Virginia were not positive for IgE to alpha-gal. In Ecuador, 118/223 Ascaris-positive sera were negative for IgE to alpha-gal; by contrast, in Virginia 52/79 alpha-gal positive sera were negative for Ascaris and only one sera was Ascaris-positive and alpha-gal negative. Virginia sera with IgE to Echinococcus (class 2 and 3) were absorbed with alpha-gal linked to Sepharose beads, which removed all detectable IgE to Echinococcus. Conclusions We think that the limited number of positive assays for Echinococcus and Ascaris in Virginia can be explained by cross-reactivity with alpha-gal, which may also be relevant for Echinococcus in Esmeraldas. By contrast, many sera in Ecuador had high titer IgE to Ascaris with negative responses to alpha-gal. None of these IgE antibodies were significantly associated with asthma in the United States, while IgE to Ascaris was significantly associated with asthma in Ecuador

Radiation hydrodynamics with backscatter and beam spray in gas filled hohlraum experiments at the National Ignition Facility

Several experiments using either CO$_{2}$ or propane gas filled halfraums [i.e. hohlraums with a single laser entry hole (LEH)] have been shot at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in a joint Los Alamos/Livermore collaboration. The experiments have been modeled by the Lasnex code. The possibility of beam spray due to filamentation of the incident laser beam is assessed through simulations which parametrically decrease the f-number of the beam at times of high intensity. The uncertainty in heat transport is evaluated through parametric variations in the electron thermal flux limit (fe). Each calculation in the resulting two parameter set is post-processed to simulate outputs which can be compared with Dante detector results for the soft X-ray flux through the LEH, and gated, framed images of hard X-rays (FXI) through the hohlraum side walls. Simulations which well match the data for both gases indicate that the laser energy is penetrating the gas filled hohlraum even towards the end of the pulse. This suggests that the gas fill is useful in keeping the hohlraum open to laser energy throughout the pulse

On-site variety discrimination of tomato plant using visible-near infrared reflectance spectroscopy*

The use of visible-near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was explored as a tool to discriminate two new tomato plant varieties in China (Zheza205 and Zheza207). In this study, 82 top-canopy leaves of Zheza205 and 86 top-canopy leaves of Zheza207 were measured in visible-NIR reflectance mode. Discriminant models were developed using principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant analysis (DA), and discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) regression methods. After outliers detection, the samples were randomly split into two sets, one used as a calibration set (n=82) and the remaining samples as a validation set (n=82). When predicting the variety of the samples in validation set, the classification correctness of the DPLS model after optimizing spectral pretreatment was up to 93%. The DPLS model with raw spectra after multiplicative scatter correction and Savitzky-Golay filter smoothing pretreatments had the best satisfactory calibration and prediction abilities (correlation coefficient of calibration (R c)=0.920, root mean square errors of calibration=0.196, and root mean square errors of prediction=0.216). The results show that visible-NIR spectroscopy might be a suitable alternative tool to discriminate tomato plant varieties on-site

Effects of CCR5-Δ 32, CCR2-64I, and SDF-1 3′A Alleles on HIV-1 Disease Progression: An International Meta-Analysis of Individual-Patient Data

The burgeoning information on the human genome creates opportunities and challenges for studies of disease associations. Because genetic differences often produce modest effects, many patients must be studied to reach definitive conclusions. In the absence of a single large study, meta-analysis of individual-patient data (1 - 3) from smaller studies offers a way to assemble an adequate sample size. This approach is based on a unifying protocol that has standardized analytic definitions. When the protocol is applied to data contributed by most investigators working in a field, this method can provide more convincing results than a simple pooling of data or a meta-analysis of published reports (3). A meta-analysis of individual-patient data is also superior to a meta-analysis of published reports for examining differences in reported results