Genomic characterization of an Omono River virus isolated from Culex tritaeniorhynchus in eastern China.

Omono River virus (OMRV) is a newly reported, unclassified RNA virus in the family Totiviridae, which infects mosquitoes and bats. In this study, we report the isolation of an OMRV strain SD76 from Culex tritaeniorhynchus captured in Jinan city, China. The cytopathic effect was characterized by cell fusion on C6/36 cell line. Its complete genome was 7611 nucleotides in length, with 71.4-90.4% similarities with other OMRV strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete genomes showed all OMRV-like strains can be divided into 3 groups with between-group distances ranging from 0.254 to 0.293. These results revealed that the OMRV isolate had high genetic diversity with those identified previously, and enriched the genetic information of family Totiviridae.

A New Universal Domain Adaptive Method for Diagnosing Unknown Bearing Faults.

The domain adaptation problem in transfer learning has received extensive attention in recent years. The existing transfer model for solving domain alignment always assumes that the label space is completely shared between domains. However, this assumption is untrue in the actual industry and limits the application scope of the transfer model. Therefore, a universal domain method is proposed, which not only effectively reduces the problem of network failure caused by unknown fault types in the target domain but also breaks the premise of sharing the label space. The proposed framework takes into account the discrepancy of the fault features shown by different fault types and forms the feature center for fault diagnosis by extracting the features of samples of each fault type. Three optimization functions are added to solve the negative transfer problem when the model solves samples of unknown fault types. This study verifies the performance advantages of the framework for variable speed through experiments of multiple datasets. It can be seen from the experimental results that the proposed method has better fault diagnosis performance than related transfer methods for solving unknown mechanical faults.

Environmental Surveillance Complements Case-Based Surveillance of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023.

The Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023 has been developed. However, more effective and efficient surveillance activities should be conducted with the preparedness of emergence for vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) or wild poliovirus (WPV). We reviewed the impact of the case-based acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance (1991 to 2018) and environmental surveillance (2011 to 2018) in polio eradication in Shandong province of China. Clinical characteristics of AFP cases and enterovirus (EV) investigation of research samples were assessed. During the period, 10,224 AFP cases were investigated, and 352 sewage samples were collected. The nonpolio AFP rate sustained at over 2.0/100,000 since 1997. Of 10,224 cases, males and young children experienced a higher risk of severe diseases, and 68.5% suffered lower limb paralysis. We collected 1,707 EVs from AFP cases, including 763 polioviruses and 944 nonpolio enteroviruses (NPEVs). No WPV was isolated since 1992. The AFP surveillance showed high sensitivity in detecting 143 vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) cases and 6 VDPVs. For environmental surveillance, 217 (61.6%) samples were positive for poliovirus, and altogether, 838 polioviruses and 2,988 NPEVs were isolated. No WPV was isolated in environmental surveillance, although one VDPV2 was identified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed environmental surveillance had the capacity to detect a large scope of NPEVs. The case-based AFP surveillance will be indispensable for detecting VAPP cases and VDPV circulation in countries using oral polio vaccine. Environmental surveillance is advantageous in identifying EV circulation and responding to ongoing circulating VDPV outbreaks and should be expanded to complement the AFP surveillance.IMPORTANCE Interrupting wild poliovirus transmission and stopping circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) outbreaks have been proposed as two global goals by the World Health Organization in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). This analysis, based on the 28-year acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance and 8-year environmental surveillance, provides continued high-quality surveillance performance in achieving the GPEI and detecting the circulation of enterovirus. Given the ongoing cVDPV outbreaks in the world, we present the surveillance capacity of environmental surveillance in capturing enterovirus circulation. The final poliovirus (especially VDPV) elimination has become increasingly complex, and the case-based AFP surveillance alone will lead to difficulties in early detecting dynamics of poliovirus transmission and monitoring the extent of environmental circulation. This study goes beyond previous work to provide a detailed comprehensive evaluation of the enterovirus surveillance and can be used to formulate a set of implementation plan and performance indicators for environmental surveillance.

Using big data to predict pertussis infections in Jinan city, China: a time series analysis.

This study aims to use big data (climate data, internet query data and school calendar patterns (SCP)) to improve pertussis surveillance and prediction, and develop an early warning model for pertussis epidemics. We collected weekly pertussis notifications, SCP, climate and internet search query data (Baidu index (BI)) in Jinan, China between 2013 and 2017. Time series decomposition and temporal risk assessment were used for examining the epidemic features in pertussis infections. A seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model and regression tree model were developed to predict pertussis occurrence using identified predictors. Our study demonstrates clear seasonal patterns in pertussis epidemics, and pertussis activity was most significantly associated with BI at 2-week lag (rBI = 0.73, p < 0.05), temperature at 1-week lag (rtemp = 0.19, p < 0.05) and rainfall at 2-week lag (rrainfall = 0.27, p < 0.05). No obvious relationship between pertussis peaks and school attendance was found in the study. Pertussis cases were more likely to be temporally concentrated throughout the epidemics during the study period. SARIMA models with 2-week-lagged BI and 1-week-lagged temperature had better predictive performance (ßsearch query = 0.06, p = 0.02; ßtemp = 0.16, p = 0.03) with large correlation coefficients (r = 0.67, p < 0.01) and low root mean squared error (RMSE) value (r = 3.59). The regression tree model identified threshold values of potential predictors (search query, climate and SCP) for pertussis epidemics. Our results showed that internet query in conjunction with social and climatic data can predict pertussis epidemics, which is a foundation of using such data to develop early warning systems.

Association of sociodemographic factors and internet query data with pertussis infections in Shandong, China.

This study explored how internet queries vary in facilitating monitoring of pertussis, and the effects of sociodemographic characteristics on such variation by city in Shandong province, China. We collected weekly pertussis notifications, Baidu Index (BI) data and yearly sociodemographic data at the city level between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2017. Spearman's correlation was performed for temporal risk indices, generalised linear models and regression tree models were developed to identify the hierarchical effects and the threshold between sociodemographic factors and internet query data with pertussis surveillance. The BI was correlated with pertussis notifications, with a strongly spatial variation among cities in temporal risk indices (composite temporal risk metric (CTRM) range: 0.59-1.24). The percentage of urban population (relative risk (RR): 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.07), the proportion of highly educated population (RR: 1.27, 95% CI 1.16-1.39) and the internet access rate (RR: 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.05) were correlated with CTRM. Higher RRs in the three identified sociodemographic factors were associated with higher stratified CTRM. The percentage of highly educated population was the most important determinant in the BI with pertussis surveillance. The findings may lead to spatially-specific criteria to inform development of an early warning system of pertussis infections using internet query data.

Identification and genetic analysis of Kadipiro virus isolated in Shandong province, China.

BACKGROUND: Kadipiro virus (KDV) belongs to the Reoviridae family, which consists of segmented, non-enveloped, double-stranded RNA viruses. It has previously been isolated from Culex, Anopheles, Armigeres and Aedes mosquitoes in Indonesia and China. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of SDKL1625 from Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes in Shandong province, China. METHODS: In this study, we isolated Kadipiro virus in Aedes albopictus C6/36 cell culture and the complete genome sequencing was made by next generation sequencing. RESULTS: We isolated and characterized a Kadipiro virus from Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes in 2016 in Shandong province, China. Nucleotide and amino acid homology analysis of SDKL1625 showed higher levels of sequence identity with QTM27331 (Odonata, China, 2016) than with JKT-7075 (Culex fuscocephalus, Indonesia, 1981). The SDKL1625 has 86-97% amino acid identity with the JKT-7075, 88-99% amino acid identity with the QTM27331. Among the 12 fragments, VP1, VP2, VP4, VP6, VP7, VP9 and VP12 showed high amino acid identity (> 90%) and VP5 showed the lowest identity (86% and 88%). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first identification of KDV from mosquito in China. Virus morphology and genome organization were also determined, which will further enrich our understanding of the molecular biological characteristics of KDV and seadornaviruses.

Distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Culex flavivirus in mosquitoes in China.

Culex flavivirus (CxFV) is an insect-specific virus of the genus Flavivirus. CxFV strains have been isolated from Cx. pipiens, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and other Cx. species in Asia, Africa, North America, Central America and South America. CxFV was isolated for the first time in China in 2006. As this is a novel flavivirus, we explored the distribution and genetic characteristics of Culex flavivirus in China. A total of 46,649 mosquitoes were collected in seven provinces between 2004 and 2012 and were analysed in 871 pools. 29 CxFV RNAs from Cx. pipiens, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Anopheles Sinensis, and Culex spp. tested positive for CxFV in real-time RT-PCR. 6 CxFV strains were isolated from Cx. species collected in Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces, while no virus or viral RNA was detected in samples from Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, and Fujian. Phylogenetic analysis of the envelope gene indicated that Chinese strains formed a robust subgroup of genotype 1, together with viruses from the United States and Japan. This study demonstrates that the geographic distribution of CxFV in China is widespread, but geographical boundaries to spread are apparent. Our findings suggest that CxFV can infect various mosquito species in nature.

Exercise habits and health behaviors on adolescent obesity.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Obesity among children and adolescents continues to increase globally, and it is important to determine the factors associated with obesity among adolescents for the prevention and reduction of obesity. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors associated with the increase in the obesity rate among adolescents, providing a reference basis for the development of projects aimed at promoting adolescent health. METHODS: Using the raw data of 2021 adolescent health behavior online survey, this study analyzed demographic sociological factors, mental health, exercise habits, health behaviors and other categorical variables, and conducted the frequency, χ2 test for the difference in the proportion of obese and non-obese. According to the hierarchy model of obesity-related variables, binary logistics regression is used for multivariate analysis. This study used the original data of the 2021 Youth Health Behavior Online Survey, and performed frequency, χ2 tests on the differences in the proportion of obese and non-obese for categorical variables such as demographic sociological factors, mental health, exercise habits, and health behaviors. Multivariate analysis was performed using binary logistic regression based on hierarchical models of obesity-related variables. RESULTS: The obesity rate among Korean adolescents was 18.25 %. The obesity risk for females was reduced by 0.344 times compared to males (95 % CI = 0.327-0.361, p < 0.001); high school students had a 1.4 times higher obesity risk than middle school students (95 % CI = 1.379-1.511, p < 0.001); students with "Subjective household economic status" rated as "Medium" and 'Low' had their obesity risk increased by 1.07 times (95 % CI = 1.020-1.124, p < 0.01) and 1.254 times (95 % CI = 1.165-1.350, p < 0.001), respectively, compared to students with 'Subjective household economic status' rated as 'High'; students with 'Moderate' and 'Low' levels of 'Perceived stress' had their obesity risk reduced by 0.78 times (95 % CI = 0.74-0.823, P < 0.001) and 0.75 times (95 % CI = 0.70-0.803, P < 0.001), respectively, compared to students with 'High' levels of 'Perceived stress'; students engaging in 'Muscle strengthening exercise' '1-2 times/week' and "≥ 3 times/week" had their obesity risk reduced by 0.844 times (95% CI = 0.797-0.895, P < 0.001) and 0.575 times (95% CI = 0.537-0.616, P < 0.001), respectively, compared to students not participating in "Muscle strengthening exercise". CONCLUSION: The obesity rate of boys is higher than that of girls and high school students is higher than that of middle school students, and obesity is inversely proportional to family economic status. Mental health factors, exercise habits and eating habits are all important factors affecting adolescent obesity. It is suggested that gender differences, psychological factors, health habits, obesity education and healthy eating habits suitable for different age groups should be considered in the formulation of adolescent obesity policy.

A review of chemotherapeutic drugs-induced arrhythmia and potential intervention with traditional Chinese medicines.

Significant advances in chemotherapy drugs have reduced mortality in patients with malignant tumors. However, chemotherapy-related cardiotoxicity increases the morbidity and mortality of patients, and has become the second leading cause of death after tumor recurrence, which has received more and more attention in recent years. Arrhythmia is one of the common types of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity, and has become a new risk related to chemotherapy treatment, which seriously affects the therapeutic outcome in patients. Traditional Chinese medicine has experienced thousands of years of clinical practice in China, and has accumulated a wealth of medical theories and treatment formulas, which has unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of malignant diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine may reduce the arrhythmic toxicity caused by chemotherapy without affecting the anti-cancer effect. This paper mainly discussed the types and pathogenesis of secondary chemotherapeutic drug-induced arrhythmia (CDIA), and summarized the studies on Chinese medicine compounds, Chinese medicine Combination Formula and Chinese medicine injection that may be beneficial in intervention with secondary CDIA including atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmia and sinus bradycardia, in order to provide reference for clinical prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced arrhythmias.

Metagenomic sequencing reveals viral diversity of mosquitoes from Shandong Province, China.

Mosquitoes carry a large number of known and unknown viruses, some of which could cause serious diseases in humans or animals. Metagenomic sequencing for mosquito viromes is crucial for understanding the evolutionary history of viruses and preventing emerging mosquito-borne diseases. We collected 1,598 mosquitoes belonging to four species from five counties in Shandong Province, China in 2021. They were grouped by species and sampling locations and subjected to metagenomic next-generation sequencing for the analysis of the viromes. A total of 233,317,352 sequencing reads were classified into 30 viral families and an unclassified group. Comparative analysis showed that mosquitoes in Shandong Province generally possessed host-specific virome. We detected mosquito-borne viruses including Japanese encephalitis virus, Getah virus, and Kadipiro virus in Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Anopheles sinensis samples. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these pathogenic viruses may have existed in mosquitoes in Shandong Province for a long time. Meanwhile, we identified 22 novel viruses belonging to seven families and the genus Negevirus. Our study comprehensively described the viromes of several common mosquito species in Shandong Province, China, and demonstrated the major role of host species in shaping mosquito viromes. Furthermore, the metagenomic data provided valuable epidemiological information on multiple mosquito-borne viruses, highlighting the potential risk of infection transmission. IMPORTANCE: Mosquitoes are known as the source of various pathogens for humans and animals. Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Armigeres subalbatus, and Anopheles sinensis have been found to transmit the Getah virus, which has recently caused increasing infections in China. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Culex pipiens are the main vectors of Japanese encephalitis virus and have caused epidemics of Japanese encephalitis in China in past decades. These mosquitoes are widely present in Shandong Province, China, leading to a great threat to public health and the breeding industry. This study provided a comprehensive insight into the viromes of several common mosquito species in Shandong Province, China. The metagenomic sequencing data revealed the risks of multiple pathogenic mosquito-borne viruses, including Japanese encephalitis virus, Getah virus, and Kadipiro virus, which are of great importance for preventing emerging viral epidemics.

Complete genome sequence of an enterovirus 80 strain isolated in China.

Enterovirus 80 (EV80) is a newly identified serotype of the species Human enterovirus B. An EV80 strain designated HZ01/SD/CHN/2004 was isolated from an acute flaccid paralysis case in Shandong, China, in 2004. Complete genome comparison revealed 79.5% similarity with the prototype strain and an insertion of 36 nucleotides in the 3' end of the VP1 coding region. Intertypic recombination with other serotypes was observed. This is the first report of the complete genome of EV80 in China.

A coxsackievirus B5-associated aseptic meningitis outbreak in Shandong Province, China in 2009.

In 2009, a major outbreak of aseptic meningitis was noted in Linyi city, Shandong province, China. From June to September 2009, a total of 2,104 cases were involved in this outbreak, and 98.6% of patients were <16 years of age. To determine the pathogen of the outbreak, 42 cerebrospinal fluid specimens collected from aseptic meningitis cases were tested for cell culture, and 17 (40.5%) enteroviruses were isolated and identified as Coxsackievirus B5 (CVB5). Homologous comparison indicated that these isolates had 0-7.7% nucleotide divergence with each other. Phylogenetic reconstruction showed global CVB5 could be separated into four genogroups, and all Linyi CVB5 isolates belonged to the genogroup C which had been circulating for recent 27 years in Asia and Europe. Interestingly, two distinct lineages were observed for the 17 isolates in the phylogenetic tree, indicating that at least two different transmission chains of CVB5 were responsible for this outbreak. This study showed that CVB5-associated aseptic meningitis is an emerging concern in China.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by Co-Mg-Fe layered doubled hydroxide for efficient degradation of Rhodamine B.

Reactive species serve as a key to remediate the contamination of refractory organic contaminants in advanced oxidation processes. In this study, a novel heterogeneous catalyst, CoMgFe-LDH layered doubled hydroxide (CoMgFe-LDH), was prepared for an efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to oxidize Rhodamine B (RhB). The characterization results showed that CoMgFe-LDH had a good crystallographic structure. Correspondingly, the CoMgFe-LDH/PMS process exhibited good capacity to remove RhB, which was equivalent to degradation performance as homogeneous Co(II)/PMS process. The RhB oxidation in the CoMgFe-LDH/PMS process was well described with pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Additionally, the oxidation process presented an excellent stability, and only 0.9% leaching rate was detected after six sequential reaction cycles at pH 5.0. The effects of initial pH, CoMgFe-LDH dosage, PMS concentration, RhB concentration, and inorganic anions on the RhB degradation were discussed in detail. Quenching experiments showed that sulfate radicals (SO4•-) acted as the dominant reactive species. Further, the removal of RhB from simulated wastewater was explored. The removal efficiency of RhB (90 µM) could reach 94.3% with 0.8 g/L of catalyst and 1.2 mM of PMS addition at pH 5.0, which indicated the CoMgFe-LDH/PMS process was also effective in degrading RhB in wastewater.

Weight cycling and risk of clinical adverse events in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a post-hoc analysis of TOPCAT.

Background: Previous studies hardly evaluated the association of variability of body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference with clinical adverse events and investigated whether weight cycling had an effect on the prognosis of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Methods: This study was a post-hoc analysis of TOPCAT. Three outcomes were evaluated: the primary endpoint, cardiovascular disease (CVD) death, and heart failure hospitalization. Among them, CVD death and hospitalization were outcomes of heart failure. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to describe the cumulative risk of outcome and were tested using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95%CIs for outcomes. We also performed a subgroup analysis, and several subgroups were compared. Results: A total of 3,146 patients were included. In the Kaplan-Meier curves, the coefficients of variation of both BMI and waist circumference were grouped according to quartiles, with the Q4 group having the highest cumulative risk (log-rank P < 0.001). In the coefficient of BMI variation and the outcomes, the HRs for group Q4 of coefficient of variation of BMI were 2.35 (95%CI: 1.82, 3.03) for the primary endpoint, 2.40 (95%CI: 1.69, 3.40) for death, and 2.33 (95%CI: 1.68, 3.22) for HF hospitalization in model 3 (fully adjusted model) compared with group Q1. In the coefficient of waist circumference variation and the outcomes, group Q4 had increased hazard of the primary endpoint [HR: 2.39 (95%CI: 1.84, 3.12)], CVD death [HR: 3.29 (95%CI: 2.28, 4.77)], and HF hospitalization [HR: 1.98 (95%CI 1.43, 2.75)] in model 3 (fully adjusted model) compared with group Q1. In the subgroup analysis, there was a significant interaction in the diabetes mellitus subgroup (P for interaction = 0.0234). Conclusion: Weight cycling had a negative effect on the prognosis of patients with HFpEF. The presence of comorbid diabetes weakened the relationship between waist circumference variability and clinical adverse events.

Application of CRISPR/Cas12a in the rapid detection of pathogens.

The combination of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and its associated Cas protein is an effective gene-editing instrument. Among them, the CRISPR-Cas12a system forms a DNA-cleavage-capable complex with crRNA and exerts its trans-cleavage activity by recognising the PAM site on the target pathogen's gene. After amplifying the pathogenic gene, display materials such as fluorescent probes are added to the detection system, along with the advantages of rapid detection and high sensitivity of the CRISPR system, so that pathogenic bacteria can be diagnosed with greater speed and precision. This article reviews the mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12a in rapid detection, as well as its progress in the rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria in conjunction with various molecular biology techniques, in order to provide a foundation for the future development of a more effective detection platform.

Naked-eye on-site detection platform for Pasteurella multocida based on the CRISPR-Cas12a system coupled with recombinase polymerase amplification.

Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is an important pathogenic bacterium that poses a serious threat to the development of the livestock economy and human health. Currently, the existing methods for P. multocida detection are time-consuming and require complex professional operations, limiting the application of field detection. In the study, we presented a single-pot naked-eye CRISPR-Cas12a platform (Cas12a-NEye) for the detection of P. multocida. The round tube cover allowed more Cas12a detection solution to be temporarily stored than the flat cap, enabling single-pot assays and avoiding aerosol contamination. The positive samples generated obvious red using naked eye using no excitation light and the negative samples generated blue. The limit of detection (LOD) was a single copy, without cross-reactivity with other closely related bacteria. Furthermore, we validated this platform using 16 P. multocida clinical lung samples and obtained consistent results with the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. The entire experimental process included rapid DNA extraction (<1 h) and Cas12a-NEye assay (25 min), which was accomplished within 1.5 h. Thus, this "sample-to-answer" platform has significant potential for P. multocida detection.

Efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate via Cu2+/Cu+ cycle enhanced by hydroxylamine for the degradation of Rhodamine B.

The application of Cu2+/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) process for the elimination of refractory pollutants in industrial wastewater is limited by the slow transformation from Cu2+ to Cu+. In this research, hydroxylamine (HA) was employed to improve the degradation capacity of the Cu2+/PMS process. Rhodamine B (RhB) was selected as the target compound to indicate the performance of HA/Cu2+/PMS process. Compared with the Cu2+/PMS process, the reduction of Cu2+ to Cu+ was effectively promoted by HA in the HA/Cu2+/PMS process, which increased the decomposition rate of PMS by 29.2%, correspondingly, promoted the removal rate of RhB by 77.6%. The degradation of RhB followed pseudo-second-order kinetics in the proposed process. The active species analysis subsequently indicated hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and sulfate radicals (SO4·-) played important roles for degrading RhB with ·OH as the dominant active radical. The effects including initial pH, RhB concentration, PMS concentration, and Cu2+ concentration on the degradation of RhB were further investigated and discussed in detail. Additionally, the HA/Cu2+/PMS process exhibited effective RhB removal in simulated wastewater. From the perspective of waste utilization (Cu2+) and the remediation of organic contamination, the work would provide a valuable and promising process.

Electrically active smart adhesive for a perching-and-takeoff robot.

Perching-and-takeoff robot can effectively economize onboard power and achieve long endurance. However, dynamic perching on moving targets for a perching-and-takeoff robot is still challenging due to less autonomy to dynamically land, tremendous impact during landing, and weak contact adaptability to perching surfaces. Here, a self-sensing, impact-resistant, and contact-adaptable perching-and-takeoff robot based on all-in-one electrically active smart adhesives is proposed to reversibly perch on moving/static dry/wet surfaces and economize onboard energy. Thereinto, attachment structures with discrete pillars have contact adaptability on different dry/wet surfaces, stable adhesion, and anti-rebound; sandwich-like artificial muscles lower weight, enhance damping, simplify control, and achieve fast adhesion switching (on-off ratio approaching ∞ in several seconds); and the flexible pressure (0.204% per kilopascal)-and-deformation (force resolution, <2.5 millinewton) sensor enables the robot's autonomy. Thus, the perching-and-takeoff robot equipped with electrically active smart adhesives exhibits tremendous advantages of soft materials over their rigid counterparts and promising application prospect of dynamic perching on moving targets.

Coxsackievirus B3, Shandong Province, China, 1990-2010.

To determine the cause of a 2008 outbreak of aseptic meningitis in Shandong Province, China, we analyzed samples from outbreak patients and coxsackievirus B3 samples collected during 1990-2010 surveillance. The cause of the outbreak was coxsackievirus B3, genogroup D. Frequent travel might increase importation of other coxsackievirus B3 genogroups.

Efficient reductive dechlorination of monochloroacetic acid by sulfite/UV process.

Most halogenated organic compounds (HOCs) are toxic and persistent, and their efficient destruction is currently a challenge. Here, we proposed a sulfite/UV (253.7 nm) process to eliminate HOCs. Monochloroacetic acid (MCAA) was selected as the target compound and was degraded rapidly in the sulfite/UV process. The degradation kinetics were accelerated proportionally to the increased sulfite concentration, while the significant enhancement by increasing pH only occurred in a pH range of 6.0-8.7. The degradation proceeded via a reductive dechlorination mechanism induced by hydrated electron (e(aq)(-)), and complete dechlorination was readily achieved with almost all the chlorine atoms in MCAA released as chloride ions. Mass balance (C and Cl) studies showed that acetate, succinate, sulfoacetate, and chloride ions were the major products, and a degradation pathway was proposed. The dual roles of pH were not only to regulate the S(IV) species distribution but also to control the interconversion between e(aq)(-) and H(•). Effective quantum efficiency (Φ) for the formation of e(aq)(-) in the process was determined to be 0.116 ± 0.002 mol/einstein. The present study may provide a promising alternative for complete dehalogenation of most HOCs and reductive detoxification of numerous toxicants.