COVID-19 infection can cause psychological distress and profoundly impact patients’ lives, but it can also lead to positive changes and post-traumatic growth (PTG), or positive psychological change in response to challenging life circumstances. Current research on the influence of COVID-19 infection has mainly focused on its negative effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether patients with COVID-19 in China experienced PTG and, if so, what changed for them during the process of PTG. We used a qualitative descriptive approach to conduct this study. Using the purposive sampling recruitment method, patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis were recruited from a COVID-19 designated hospital in Shanghai, China, from April to July 2020. Data were collected using semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted via cell phone or in person while social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Forty confirmed COVID-19 patients (19–68 years old) were recruited. Several prominent themes and subthemes were extracted from the interview responses regarding participants’ experiences of PTG. The following are among the positive changesthat occurred for these participants after their diagnosis of COVID-19: (1) Reevaluation of their life priorities, which included a greater appreciation of being alive and re-evaluating their values and goals, (2) Improved relationships within their social circles, which included establishing or maintaining closer relationships with family and friends and a greater willingness to help others, and (3) Perceived changes regarding themselves, which included personal growth and increased awareness of the importance of their health. The study identified potential positive impacts of COVID-19 on patients, which could be helpful in the implementation of interventions to facilitate PTG among COVID-19 survivors.

The aim of this study was to describe the resilience of nurses who cared for patients with a confirmed COVID‐19 diagnosis, as well as factors that potentially contributed to that resilience. A total of 23 frontline nurses who cared for patients with COVID‐19 were recruited from a COVID‐19–designated facility in Shanghai, China, using purposive sampling strategies. In‐depth interviews were conducted from March to May 2020. Qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and content analysis was used. Nurses exhibited psychological resilience while caring for patients with COVID‐19. They displayed an ability to bounce back from negative mental experiences and transform to a positive mindset to cope with the stress they faced. Factors that enhanced the nurses' resilience during the pandemic were their becoming familiar with infectious disease protocols, having a sense of professional achievement, receiving social support, having trust in the infection‐control response team in the hospital, and using self‐regulation strategies. This study could guide the design of future resilience‐enhancing interventions that provide positive coping strategies for nurses caring for individuals with infectious diseases during a pandemic.

Aim To understand COVID patients’ experiences of and perspectives on disclosure of their illness and to explore and describe the factors affecting disclosure decisions among COVID patients in China. Background Disease disclosure is a critical component of prevention and control of a virus outbreak, and this is especially true during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Understanding COVID patients’ experiences and perspectives on disclosure could play a vital role in COVID management. Design A qualitative study. Methods A semi‐structured interview guide was used to conduct qualitative in‐depth interviews from April to June 2020. All the interviews were audio‐recorded and transcribed, and then, a thematic analysis was conducted. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) were applied to this study. Results A total of 26 COVID‐confirmed patients were recruited for the in‐depth interviews. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis on disclosure: persons disclosed to, reasons for disclosure, reasons for nondisclosure and impact of disclosure. The participants disclosed their COVID diagnosis to different groups, including family, close friends, community members and workplace contacts. The main reasons for disclosure included the following: government policy, social responsibility, gaining support and fear of being blamed for nondisclosure. However, some participants decided not to disclose to some groups for fear of facing stigma and discrimination or to protect family members from discrimination. Despite the potential benefits of obtaining support after disclosure, many participants did experience stigma and discrimination, privacy exposure, psychological distress and social isolation. Conclusions An individual's decision as to whether to disclose their COVID‐positive status is affected by many factors. To prevent the spread of COVID‐19 and reduce the potential risks of disclosure, such as discrimination and privacy exposure, a balanced intervention should be designed to protect COVID patients and to secure any contact tracing. Therefore, the chances of discrimination could be decreased and patients’ confidentiality could be protected. Relevance to Clinical Practice As the number of COVID patients increases, disclosure of an individual's infectious status is encouraged by health departments. Despite the potential benefits of disclosure, discrimination and privacy exposure should not be ignored. A disclosure protocol is necessary to ensure patients’ privacy regarding their COVID status.

Diaporthe species have often been reported as plant pathogens, endophytes and saprophytes, commonly isolated from a wide range of infected plant hosts. In the present study, twenty strains obtained from leaf spots of twelve host plants in Yunnan Province of China were isolated. Based on a combination of morphology, culture characteristics and multilocus sequence analysis of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF), β-tubulin (TUB), calmodulin (CAL), and histone (HIS) genes, these strains were identified as eight new species: Diaporthe camelliae-sinensis, D. grandiflori, D. heliconiae, D. heterostemmatis, D. litchii, D. lutescens, D. melastomatis, D. pungensis and two previously described species, D. subclavata and D. tectonendophytica. This study showed high species diversity of Diaporthe in tropical rain forests and its hosts in south-western China.

Asian swamp eel is a highly commercial fish, primarily for China and other Asian countries. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the genetic diversity of wild and cultured samples of Asian swamp eel Monopterus albus using ISSR markers. A total of 129 individuals belonging to three wild samples, Xiantao (XT), Huanggang (HG), Xinyang (XY) and three cultured samples, Wuhan (WH), Jingzhou (JZ) and Nanjing (NJ) were randomly selected for genetic analysis. Twelve ISSR primers were used for screening the six populations and 110 loci were obtained. The polymorphic loci were estimated to be 54%, 56.3%, 58.2%, 60.6%, 69.5% and 71% in NJ, WH, JZ, XT, HG and XY samples, respectively. Average heterozygosity value varied from 0.1956 to 0.2449. The three wild samples showed higher genetic diversity than the cultured samples (P < 0.05), including polymorphic bands (PPB), observed number of alleles per locus (No), effective number of alleles per locus (Ne), Nei's gene diversity index (H ) and Shannon's information index (I ).

Species of Diaporthe have often been reported as plant pathogens, endophytes or saprobes, commonly isolated from a wide range of plant hosts. Sixteen strains isolated from species of ten host genera in Yunnan Province, China, represented three new species of Diaporthe, D. chrysalidocarpi, D. machili and D. pometiae as well as five known species D. arecae, D. hongkongensis, D. middletonii, D. osmanthi and D. pandanicola. Morphological comparisons with known species and DNA-based phylogenies based on the analysis of a multigene (ITS, TUB, TEF, CAL and HIS) dataset support the establishment of the new species. This study reveals that a high species diversity of Diaporthe with wide host ranges occur in tropical rainforest in Yunnan Province, China.

Mango is an economically important fruit crop in southern China. However, leaf spots restrict the development of mango trees, reducing the yield and production. Pestalotioid fungi are one of the major agents causing leaf spots on mango. During 2016 and 2017, 21 isolates of pestalotioid fungi associated with leaf spots on mango leaves were collected from five provinces in southern China: Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, Guangdong, and Fujian. All 21 isolates were subjected to morphological characterization and DNA sequence analysis. The morphological data were combined with analyses of concatenated sequences of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer), TEF 1-α (translation elongation factor), and TUB2 (β-tubulin) for higher resolution of the species identity of these isolates. The results showed that these isolates belong to Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, Pestalotiopsis adusta, P. anacardiacearum, P. asiatica, P. photinicola, P. saprophyta, P. trachicarpicola, and Pseudopestalotiopsis ampullacea. Pathogenicity test results showed that all these species could cause symptoms. On detached mango leaves (cv. Tainong), early foliar symptoms on leaves were small yellow-to-brown lesions. Later, these spots expanded with uneven borders, turned white to gray, and coalesced to form larger gray patches. To our knowledge, this is the first description of N. clavispora, P. adusta, P. asiatica, P. photinicola, P. saprophyta, P. trachicarpicola, or Ps. ampullacea as causal agents for leaf spots on mango worldwide.

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