Summary H7N9 low pathogenic influenza viruses emerged in China in 2013 and mutated to highly pathogenic strains in 2017, resulting in human infections and disease in chickens. To control spread, a bivalent H5/H7 inactivated vaccine was introduced in poultry in September 2017. To monitor virus evolution and vaccine efficacy, we collected 53,884 poultry samples across China from February 2017 to January 2018. We isolated 252 H7N9 low pathogenic viruses, 69 H7N9 highly pathogenic viruses, and one H7N2 highly pathogenic virus, of which two low pathogenic and 16 highly pathogenic strains were collected after vaccine introduction. Genetic analysis of highly pathogenic strains revealed nine genotypes, one of which is predominant and widespread and contains strains exhibiting high virulence in mice. Additionally, some H7N9 and H7N2 viruses carrying duck virus genes are lethal in ducks. Thus, although vaccination reduced H7N9 infections, the increased virulence and expanded host range to ducks pose new challenges.

Multi-modal neuroimaging projects such as the Human Connectome Project (HCP) and UK Biobank are advancing our understanding of human brain architecture, function, connectivity, and their variability across individuals using high-quality non-invasive data from many subjects. Such efforts depend upon the accuracy of non-invasive brain imaging measures. However, ‘ground truth’ validation of connectivity using invasive tracers is not feasible in humans. Studies using nonhuman primates (NHPs) enable comparisons between invasive and non-invasive measures, including exploration of how “functional connectivity” from fMRI and “tractographic connectivity” from diffusion MRI compare with long-distance connections measured using tract tracing. Our NonHuman Primate Neuroimaging & Neuroanatomy Project (NHP_NNP) is an international effort (6 laboratories in 5 countries) to: (i) acquire and analyze high-quality multi-modal brain imaging data of macaque and marmoset monkeys using protocols and methods adapted from the HCP; (ii) acquire quantitative invasive tract-tracing data for cortical and subcortical projections to cortical areas; and (iii) map the distributions of different brain cell types with immunocytochemical stains to better define brain areal boundaries. We are acquiring high-resolution structural, functional, and diffusion MRI data together with behavioral measures from over 100 individual macaques and marmosets in order to generate non-invasive measures of brain architecture such as myelin and cortical thickness maps, as well as functional and diffusion tractography-based connectomes. We are using classical and next-generation anatomical tracers to generate quantitative connectivity maps based on brain-wide counting of labeled cortical and subcortical neurons, providing ground truth measures of connectivity. Advanced statistical modeling techniques address the consistency of both kinds of data across individuals, allowing comparison of tracer-based and non-invasive MRI-based connectivity measures. We aim to develop improved cortical and subcortical areal atlases by combining histological and imaging methods. Finally, we are collecting genetic and sociality-associated behavioral data in all animals in an effort to understand how genetic variation shapes the connectome and behavior.

The H7N9 avian influenza virus (AIV) that emerged in China have caused five waves of human infection. Further human cases have been successfully prevented since September 2017 through the use of an H7N9 vaccine in poultry. However, the H7N9 AIV has not been eradicated from poultry in China, and its evolution remains largely unexplored. In this study, we isolated 19 H7N9 AIVs during surveillance and diagnosis from February 2018 to December 2019, and genetic analysis showed that these viruses have formed two different genotypes. Animal studies indicated that the H7N9 viruses are highly lethal to chicken, cause mild infection in ducks, but have distinct pathotypes in mice. The viruses bound to avian-type receptors with high affinity, but gradually lost their ability to bind to human-type receptors. Importantly, we found that H7N9 AIVs isolated in 2019 were antigenically different from the H7N9 vaccine strain that was used for H7N9 influenza control in poultry, and that replication of these viruses cannot, therefore, be completely prevented in vaccinated chickens. We further revealed that two amino acid mutations at positions 135 and 160 in the HA protein added two glycosylation sites and facilitated the escape of the H7N9 viruses from the vaccine-induced immunity. Our study provides important insights into H7N9 virus evolution and control.

An anti-infective TA/hydrogel with non-swelling and adhesion properties could close wounds in a non-invasive way.

Purpose. To evaluate the safety and feasibility of transanal endoscopic surgery for diffuse cavernous hemangioma of the rectum (DCHR). Methods. All DCHR patients who underwent transanal endoscopic surgery in our hospital between January 2014 and June 2018 were reviewed. Results. A total of 7 patients with a diagnosis of DCHR underwent transanal endoscopic surgery during the study period. Four patients (57.1%) were male, with a mean age at surgery of 34.5±7.7 years, and three patients (42.9%) were female, with a mean age at surgery of 29.9±3.8 years. Recurrent painless rectal bleeding was the main symptom in all patients. The mean age was 32 years old (range 21-54 years). The median duration of symptoms was 10 years (range 1 month-50 years). The level of hemoglobin at admission ranged from 59.0 to 148.0 g/l (mean 106.6 g/l), and the level of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) ranged from 75.1 fl to 93.5 fl (mean 83.7 fl). Colonoscopy, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were important in the diagnosis of DCHR because of their high positive rates and accurate features. All of the lesions are between the anal canal and the descending colon. Two patients could be found with some enlarged serpentine vessels in the cervix, vagina, or corpus cavernosum by MRI. After admission, all the patients underwent transanal endoscopic surgery and four patients had simultaneous loop ileostomy. The mean operative time was 278 min (range 168-400 min). The median amount of intraoperative blood loss was 50 ml (range 10-300 ml). The mean distance from anal verge to anastomosis was 2.2±0.2 cm. The anastomosis was fashioned with a stapler in two patients (28.6%). There were no intraoperative and postoperative complications. All the patients continued to recover well from the surgery, and nobody needed postoperative blood transfusions. Conclusions. The specific diagnosis rate of DCHR is low. Preoperative MRI and CT examination can make a definitive diagnosis and determine the extent of the lesions. DCHR is mostly restricted to the rectum, sigmoid colon, anal wall, and mesorectum. The best treatment for DCHR is complete lesion resection. It is safe and feasible to treat DCHR using transanal endoscopic surgery. Moreover, transanal endoscopic surgery might have a huge potential when used to treat other rectal diseases.

Deltamethrin is an important pesticide widely used against ectoparasites. Deltamethrin contamination has resulted in a threat to the healthy breeding of the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. In this study, we investigated transcriptional responses in the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis exposed to deltamethrin. We obtained 99,087,448, 89,086,478, and 100,117,958 raw sequence reads from control 1, control 2, and control 3 groups, and 92,094,972, 92,883,894, and 92,500,828 raw sequence reads from test 1, test 2, and test 3 groups, respectively. After filtering and quality checking of the raw sequence reads, our analysis yielded 79,228,354, 72,336,470, 81,859,826, 77,649,400, 77,194,276, and 75,697,016 clean reads with a mean length of 150 bp from the control and test groups. After deltamethrin treatment, a total of 160 and 167 genes were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Gene ontology terms “biological process,” “cellular component,” and “molecular function” were enriched with respect to cell killing, cellular process, other organism part, cell part, binding, and catalytic. Pathway analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes showed that the metabolic pathways were significantly enriched. We found that the CYP450 enzyme system, carboxylesterase, glutathione-S-transferase, and material (including carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and other substances) metabolism played important roles in the metabolism of deltamethrin in the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis. This study revealed differentially expressed genes related to insecticide metabolism and detoxification in E. sinensis for the first time and will help in understanding the toxicity and molecular metabolic mechanisms of deltamethrin in E. sinensis.

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