MyMedR

BACKGROUND: Wolbachia is gram-negative and common intracellular bacteria, which is maternally inherited endosymbionts and could expand their propagation in host populations by means of various manipulations. Recent reports reveal the natural infection of Wolbachia in Aedes Aegypti in Malaysia, India, Philippines, Thailand and the United States. At present, none of Wolbachia natural infection in Ae. aegypti has been reported in China.

METHODS: A total of 480 Ae. aegypti adult mosquitoes were collected from October and November 2018 based on the results of previous investigations and the distribution of Ae. aegypti in Yunnan. Each individual sample was processed and screened for the presence of Wolbachia by PCR with wsp primers. Phylogenetic trees for the wsp gene was constructed using the neighbour-joining method with 1,000 bootstrap replicates, and the p-distance distribution model of molecular evolution was applied.

RESULTS: 24 individual adult mosquito samples and 10 sample sites were positive for Wolbachia infection. The Wolbachia infection rate (IR) of each population ranged from 0 - 41.7%. The infection rate of group A alone was 0%-10%, the infection rate of group B alone was 0%-7.7%, and the infection rate of co-infection with A and B was 0-33.3%.

CONCLUSIONS: Wolbachia infection in wild Ae. aegypti in China is the first report based on PCR amplification of the Wolbachia wsp gene. The Wolbachia infection is 5%, and the wAlbA and wAlbB strains were found to be prevalent in the natural population of Ae. aegypti in Yunnan Province.

Matched MeSH terms: China/epidemiology

Fulltext Exposure-lag response of air temperature on COVID-19 incidence in twelve Italian cities: A meta-analysis

Fong FC, Smith DR

Environ Res, 2022 Sep;212(Pt A):113099.

PMID: 35305982 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113099

The exposure-lag response of air temperature on daily COVID-19 incidence is unclear and there have been concerns regarding the robustness of previous studies. Here we present an analysis of high spatial and temporal resolution using the distributed lag non-linear modelling (DLNM) framework. Utilising nearly two years' worth of data, we fit statistical models to twelve Italian cities to quantify the delayed effect of air temperature on daily COVID-19 incidence, accounting for several categories of potential confounders (meteorological, air quality and non-pharmaceutical interventions). Coefficients and covariance matrices for the temperature term were then synthesised using random effects meta-analysis to yield pooled estimates of the exposure-lag response with effects presented as the relative risk (RR) and cumulative RR (RRcum). The cumulative exposure response curve was non-linear, with peak risk at 15.1 °C and declining risk at progressively lower and higher temperatures. The lowest RRcum at 0.2 °C is 0.72 [0.56,0.91] times that of the highest risk. Due to this non-linearity, the shape of the lag response curve necessarily varied by temperature. This work suggests that on a given day, air temperature approximately 15 °C maximises the incidence of COVID-19, with the effects distributed in the subsequent ten days or more.

Matched MeSH terms: China/epidemiology

Fulltext Mediating Role of Intra-Team Conflict between Paternalistic Leadership and Decision-Making Quality among China University's CMT during COVID-19

Cheah KSL, Abdullah Z, Xiao M

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Sep 16;19(18).

PMID: 36141967 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191811697

Universities across China have set up crisis management teams (CMTS) to deal with the crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focuses on how the paternalistic leadership practices of a Chinese university CMT influence crisis strategic decisions by managing conflict. These relationships were verified using hierarchical regression analysis on 312 samples from the surveyed university during the pandemic and found the following: benevolent leadership and moral leadership have positive effects on decision quality. However, unlike most studies on paternalistic leadership, in crisis situations, the negative effects of authoritarian leadership disappear under the mediating effect of affective conflict. This means that affective conflict within CMT fully mediates the relationship between authoritarian leadership and decision quality, and partially mediates the relationship between moral leadership and decision quality, while cognitive conflict partially mediates the relationship between benevolent leadership and crisis decision quality. It indicates that a CMT must stimulate and maintain a certain level of cognitive conflict while suppressing affective conflict to achieve high-quality crisis decision-making. This state can be achieved by practicing lower levels of authoritarian leadership and maintaining high levels of moral and benevolent leadership practices.

Matched MeSH terms: China/epidemiology

First molecular report of Babesia gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China

Tan SG, Xu PY

Trop Biomed, 2022 Dec 01;39(4):524-530.

PMID: 36602211 DOI: 10.47665/tb.39.4.007

Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia spp. is a noteworthy tick-borne zoonotic disease of domestic dogs and wild canids. In present study, a total of 556 blood samples were randomly collected from pet dogs in eight cities of Hunan province, subtropical China. Genomic DNA was extracted and Babesia DNA was detected by amplification of partial 18S rRNA gene sequences. A total of 56 (10.1%) blood samples were tested positive for Babesia species. Sequence analysis showed that 29 dogs (5.2%) were positive for B. gibsoni, and other 27 dogs for B. vogeli (4.9%). The age and health status were considered as important risk factors for B. gibsoni and B. vogeli infections in pet dogs in this study (P<0.05). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the examined positive samples were highly clustered in the same branch with B. gibsoni and B. vogeli, respectively. This is the first molecular report of B. gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China. Our finding has provided a guide for the control of dog babesiosis in China and elsewhere.

Matched MeSH terms: China/epidemiology

Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 2310 in total