Role of noscomial infection informatics surveillance system in the prevention and control of multidrug-resistant organisms infections

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of nosocomial infection informatics surveillance system in the prevention and control of multidrug-resistant organisms(MDROs) infections. METHODS: The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University was selected as the study subjects, which had adopted the nosocomial infection informatics surveillance system since Jan.2020. The period of Jan.to Dec.2020 were regarded as the study period, and Jan.to Dec.2019 were regarded as the control period. The situation of nosocomial infection and MDROs infections in the two periods were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of nosocomial infections and underreporting of nosocomial infection cases in this hospital during the study period were 2.52%(1 325/52 624) and 1.74%(23/1 325), respectively, and the incidences of ventilator associated pneumonia(VAP), catheter related bloodstream infection(CRBSI), catheter related urinary tract infection(CAUTI)were 4.10(31/7 568), 2.11(14/6 634), and 2.50(25/9 993) respectively, which were lower than those during the control period(P< 0.05). The positive rate of pathogenic examination in the hospital during the study period was 77.95%(1 269/1 628), which was higher than that during the control period(P<0.05), the overall detection rate of MDROs was 15.77%(206/1 306), the detection rates of MDROs in Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were lower than those during the control period(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The development and application of the informatics technology-based surveillance system of nosocomial infection could effectively reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections and device related infections, decrease the under-reporting of infection cases, and also reduce the detection rate of MDROs as well as the proportion of MDROs detected in common pathogenic species.

Progress in understanding the health promoting effect of egg yolk immunoglobulin

As an important immuneoactive component in eggs, yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) shows great competitiveness in research and production due to its good stability, high safety, low cost, easy availability, strong immune activity, and no drug resistance. This article highlights the significant advantages of IgY as a good antibiotic substitute in the prevention and treatment of viral and bacterial diseases. Also, IgY has great potential in the regulation of nutrient metabolism balance, intestinal microflora and immune homeostasis by affecting key rate-limiting enzymes, and relevant receptors and inflammatory factors specifically. Proper diet and targeted delivery of foodborne IgY may be a new perspective on inflammation regulation, disease control, nutritional balance or homeostasis, and oral microencapsulated IgY is expected to be a new approach against increasing public health emergencies (such as COVID-19 pandemic).

Economy and diversity of aquaculture production in Bulgaria: status and trends

Aquaculture production in Bulgaria has increased over the last decade, reaching 16 442 tonnes in 2019. Fish production has doubled in comparison with 2007, while that of mussels has increased tenfold. The Bulgarian contribution to EU aquaculture production has been increasing significantly in both volume and value over the years, making up 1.15% of the volume and 1.0% of the value of EU production in 2019. Freshwater aquaculture accounts for 78% of total production. Common carp dominates with about 29.4% (4836 t), followed by rainbow trout with 29.2% (4820 t) in 2019. The cultivation of sturgeon species and caviar production are among the most dynamically developing aquaculture segments. Mariculture in the Black Sea has increased in recent years, with the production of Mediterranean mussel reaching 2932 tonnes in 2019. An average of 405 farms operated during the period 2010-2019. Four regions (Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Burgas and Montana) account for 50% of the total fish production. Pond aquaculture is the dominant technology used in Bulgaria, and it serves as the basis for numerous other activities, including management of fish stocks in various water bodies mainly for recreational fishing. Approximately 35 net-cage farms currently operate in bigger dams. Recirculating fish farms output made up only 0.15% of the total amount of aquaculture for the period 2010-2019. The aquaculture sector exhibited difficulties in recovering from the financial crisis of 2007-2008, manifested by a slow growth for the period 2010-2014. From 2015 to 2019 there has been a significant growth, manifested in a sharp increase of total revenue and profitability, especially among the larger enterprises in the sector, as well as an increase in the number of employees, and the labour productivity. As a result, in 2019 the registered total revenue per enterprise and total revenue per employee were more than double the respective figures for 2010. The profits of larger enterprises increased more than three times on average, but smaller entities, micro-enterprises with less than 5 employees, operated at the border line between profit and loss. The COVID-19 crisis could have lasting consequences. Despite EUR 1.2 million direct payments in the sector in 2020, there has been a significant drop in the export of aquaculture products. Consumption of fish and other aquaculture products remains low compared to those in the other EU countries.

COVID-19 impacts on United States crawfish. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

This research determines the impacts of COVID-19 US on crawfish production and consumption for 2020 and 2021 using an Equilibrium Displacement Model. In the US, crawfish is one of the seafood commodities where most production is consumed by domestic consumers (7% of domestic consumption is from imports). Crawfish and rice are complementary. Therefore, the impacts of COVID-19 on crawfish consumption simultaneously influence rice production and crawfish producers and consumers. In the first year of COVID-19 (2020), the reduction in crawfish retail demand caused negative effects on final consumers and producers. However, crawfish consumption recovered significantly in the second year (2021), which could compensate for the loss in 2020. Overall, consumer and producer gains ranged from $549 to $626 million if the COVID-19 pandemic only impacted retail consumption. However, in 2021, the increase in production costs due to higher oil/diesel prices and other input prices caused the farm supply to decrease. As a result, total welfare gains ranged from $200 to $228 million. If the demand in 2021 did not increase, but the crawfish farm supply decreased, consumer and producer losses ranged from $929 to $1045 million. Overall, the total effects of COVID-19 on consumers and producers for 2020 and 2021 depend on its effects in 2021. If the demand in 2021 increased following the decrease in farm supply, consumers and producers would benefit from the shocks of COVID-19 due to higher post-COVID-19 demand.

Natural Evolution of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Viruses Isolated from Maternally Immunized Piglets

Simple SummaryDuring the long-term co-evolution of the virus and the host, even closely related vaccines may emerge with incomplete protective immunity due to the mutations or deletions of amino acids at specific antigenic sites. The mutation of PEDV was accelerated by the recombination of different strains and the mutation of the strains adapting to the environment. These mutations either cause immune escape from conventional vaccines or affect the virulence of the virus. Therefore, researching and developing new vaccines with cross-protection through continuous monitoring, isolation and sequencing are important to determine whether their genetic characteristics are changed and to evaluate the protective efficacy of current vaccines. The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) can cause severe piglet diarrhea or death in some herds. Genetic recombination and mutation facilitate the continuous evolution of the virus (PEDV), posing a great challenge for the prevention and control of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Disease materials of piglets with PEDV vaccination failure in some areas of Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces of China were collected and examined to understand the prevalence and evolutionary characteristics of PEDV in these areas. Forty-seven suspicious disease materials from different litters on different farms were tested by multiplex PCR and screened by hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry. PEDV showed a positivity rate of 42.6%, infecting the small and large intestine and mesenteric lymph node tissues. The isolated strains infected Vero, PK-15 and Marc-145 multihost cells and exhibited low viral titers in all three cell types, as indicated by their growth kinetic curves. Possible putative recombination events in the isolates were identified by RDP4.0 software. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that compared with the classical vaccine strain, PEDV SX6 contains new insertion and mutations in the S region and belongs to genotype GIIa. Meanwhile, ORF3 has the complete amino acid sequence with aa80 mutated wild strains, compared to vaccine strains CV777, AJ1102, AJ1102-R and LW/L. These results will contribute to the development of new PEDV vaccines based on prevalent wild strains for the prevention and control of PED in China.

Consumer attitudes and sociodemographic profiles in purchasing organic food products: evidence from a Greek and Swedish survey

PurposeThis study explores Greek and Swedish consumers' attitude towards organic food consumption in order to demonstrate possible differences that can be identified based on health and ecological consciousness beliefs rather than demographic factors. The examination of an emerging and a more mature market allow the authors to provide more targeted marketing strategies that possibly increase organic food consumption in both countries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt an econometric approach to the analysis of consumer behavior in relation to organic food consumption in Sweden and Greece. More specifically, the authors examine the motivations and postexperiences of organic food consumers of different socioeconomic profiles in these two countries, one in northern and one in southern Europe. The authors apply an ordered logistic regression analysis model to map out the interaction between consumer attitudes and sociodemographic variables.FindingsThe authors results show that consumers in Sweden more frequently purchase organic foods than consumers in Greece. Environmental protection and ethical values increase the odds for Swedish organic food consumers to buy organic food products. Health consciousness and family well-being are perceived as factors that increase the odds for Greek organic food consumers to buy organic foods. Sociodemographic factors do not play a pivotal role for consumer behavior in relation to organic food in both countries.Originality/valueThis study distinguishes between organic food consumers in two countries with different levels of organic food production and export activity, size of organic market, national organic labeling system and legal definition and standards of organic food. Within these differences, the organic food industry could align its marketing efforts better rather focus on simplistic demographics. The current view unfolds the fact that there are limited studies comparing two European markets at different stages of development and the factors that influence organic food consumer behavior.

Insights into the Epidemiology, Phylodynamics, and Evolutionary Changes of Lineage GI-7 Infectious Bronchitis Virus

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is distributed worldwide and causes significant losses in the poultry industry. In recent decades, lineages GI-19 and GI-7 have become the most prevalent IBV strains in China. However, the molecular evolution and phylodynamics of the lineage GI-7 IBV strains remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified 19 IBV strains from clinical samples from January 2021 to June 2022 in China, including 12 strains of GI-19, 3 strains of GI-7, and 1 strain each of GI-1, GI-9, GI-13, and GI-28. These results indicated that lineages GI-19 and GI-7 IBVs are still the most prevalent IBVs in China. Here, we investigated the evolution and transmission dynamics of lineage GI-7 IBVs. Our results revealed that the Taiwan province might be the origin of lineage GI-7 IBVs and that South China plays an important role in the spread of IBV. Furthermore, we found low codon usage bias of the S1 gene in lineage GI-7 IBVs. This allowed IBV to replicate in the host during evolution as a result of reduced competition, mainly driven by natural selection and mutational pressure, where the role of natural selection is more prominent. Collectively, our results reveal the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of lineage GI-7 IBVs, which could assist in the prevention and control of viral infection.

Impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. seafood availability. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

Seafood is the food group with the highest share traded, and the U.S. is the world's largest seafood importer, importing 79% of the seafood consumed. Hence, a study examining the impacts of the measures to contain COVID-19 on U.S. seafood imports will not only show how U.S. seafood availability has been affected, but will also give strong indications of how resiliently the global seafood markets have worked through the pandemic. We find that U.S. imports of seafood actually increased in 2020 and 2021, suggesting supply chains were able to adapt to potential disruptions. Moreover, for the 14 largest product forms imported to the U.S., there are no strong price movements. Given that there is a global market for most species groups, this adaption also suggests that the markets have worked quite well beyond the U.S. Hence, while there have undoubtedly been market shocks associated with the COVID-19 measures such as the reduction in demand from the restaurant sector and the increased sales in the retail sector, opportunities seem to balance out challenges, and the supply chains for seafood to the U.S. have been highly resilient.

Marginalizing Misinformation - The Fast-and-Frugal Way

What is the evidence for a consensus among the relevant scientific community? [...]if the source proves credible, ask yourself, "Do they exhibit relevant expertise?" Namely, does the person have the depth of knowledge to vouch for this claim? [...]if you have a credible and expert source, is there evidence that the majority of scientists concur? (Time will vary depending on the depth and complexity of the issue.) Possible scientific claims for students to evaluate include * Do cell phones or 5G communication towers cause cancer? * Can ivermectin prevent COVID-19? * Can earthquakes be precisely predicted? * Are GMO foods safe to eat? * Are recent extreme weather events (hurricanes, droughts, floods) related to climate change? *

Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

This special issue consists of seven articles examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the markets of selected commodities, including: seafood, lumber, crawfish, cattle/beef, fruits and vegetables in the USA, cotton and garments in Bangladesh, and fuel oil globally.

Fermented Beverage Benefits: A Comprehensive Review and Comparison of Kombucha and Kefir Microbiome.

Beverage fermentation is an ancient ritual that has been practised for millennia. It was slowly disappearing from households and communities due to the advancement of manufacturing technology and the marketing of soft drinks until the recent revival of the beverage fermentation culture due to an increase in the demand for health drinks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kombucha and kefir are two well-known fermented beverages that are renowned for their myriad of health benefits. The starter materials for making these beverages contain micro-organisms that act like microscopic factories producing beneficial nutrients that have antimicrobial and anticancer effects. The materials modulate the gut microbiota and promote positive effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Due to wide variations in the substrates and types of micro-organisms involved in the production of both kombucha and kefir, this paper compiles a compendium of the micro-organisms present and highlights their nutritional roles.

Understudied Hyperphosphatemia (Chronic Kidney Disease) Treatment Targets and New Biological Approaches.

Hyperphosphatemia is a secondary disorder of chronic kidney disease that causes vascular calcifications and bone-mineral disorders. As per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, renal damage requires first-priority medical attention for patients with COVID-19; according to a Johns Hopkins Medicine report, SARS-CoV-2 can cause renal damage. Therefore, addressing the research inputs required to manage hyperphosphatemia is currently in great demand. This review highlights research inputs, such as defects in the diagnosis of hyperphosphatemia, flaws in understanding the mechanisms associated with understudied tertiary toxicities, less cited adverse effects of phosphate binders that question their use in the market, socioeconomic challenges of renal treatment and public awareness regarding the management of a phosphate-controlled diet, novel biological approaches (synbiotics) to prevent hyperphosphatemia as safer strategies with potential additional health benefits, and future functional food formulations to enhance the quality of life. We have not only introduced our contributions to emphasise the hidden aspects and research gaps in comprehending hyperphosphatemia but also suggested new research areas to strengthen approaches to prevent hyperphosphatemia in the near future.

Newly Characterized Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus GII Subtype Strain

Diarrhea outbreaks in piglets on pig farms are commonly attributed to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infection. This research analyzed the S gene prevalence variation and recombination patterns in PEDV GII strains. Throughout the previous two years, 172 clinical samples of piglet diarrhea have been collected, from which 24 PEDV isolates have been isolated. Analysis of the evolutionary relationships among all 24 S genes revealed that 21 were most closely related to strains within the GII-a subgroup. The 2 isolates grouped into one clade with the GII-b subgroup. According to the mutation analysis of the amino acids (aa) that encode the S protein, 43 of the common aa in strains of the GII subtype were found to have undergone a change in polarity or charge, and 36 of these aa had a mutation frequency of more than 90%. Three different aa mutation sites were identified as exclusive to GII-a subtype strains. The genomes of three PEDV isolates were sequenced, and the resulting range in genome length was 28,035−28,041 nt. The results of recombination analysis showed that the SD1 isolate is a novel strain recombinant from the foreign S-INDEL strain and a domestic GII subtype strain. Based on the findings, the PEDV GII-a strain has been the most circulating strain in several parts of China during the previous two years. Our study reveals for the first time the unique change of aa mutations in the S protein of the GII-a subtype strain and the new characteristics of the recombination of foreign strains and domestic GII subtype strains, indicating that it is crucial to monitor the epidemic dynamics of PEDV promptly to prevent and control the occurrence of PED effectively.

Disinfection byproducts of iopamidol, iohexol, diatrizoate and their distinct acute toxicity on Scenedesmus sp., Daphnia magna and Danio rerio.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increasing the usage of iodinated contrast media (ICM), and thus an increase in the prevalence of ICM-contaminated wastewater. While ICM is generally safe, this has the potential to be problematic because as medical wastewater is treated and disinfected, various ICM-derived disinfection byproducts (DBPs) may be generated and released into the environment. However, little information was available about whether ICM-derived DBPs are toxic to aquatic organisms. In this study, the degradation of three typical ICM (iopamidol, iohexol, diatrizoate) at initial concentration of 10 µM and 100 µM in chlorination and peracetic acid without or with NH4+ was investigated, and the potential acute toxicity of treated disinfected water containing potential ICM-derived DBPs on Daphnia magna, Scenedesmus sp. and Danio rerio was tested. The degradation results suggested that only iopamidol was significantly degraded (level of degradation >98%) by chlorination, and the degradation rate of iohexol and diatrizoate were significantly increased in chlorination with NH4+. All three ICM were not degraded in peracetic acid. The toxicity analysis results indicate that only the disinfected water of iopamidol and iohexol by chlorination with NH4+ were toxic to at least one aquatic organism. These results highlighted that the potential ecological risk of ICM-contained medical wastewater by chlorination with NH4+ should not be neglected, and peracetic acid may be an environment-friendly alternative for the disinfection of wastewater containing ICM.

Isolation and Characterization of Porcine Sapelovirus from the PDCoV-Positive Sample and Its Molecular Epidemiology in Henan Province, China

Porcine sapelovirus (PSV) is an emerging swine enteric virus that can cause various disorders including acute diarrhea, respiratory distress, reproductive failure, and polioencephalomyelitis in pigs. In this study, we isolated a PSV strain HNHB-01 from a clinical porcine deltacoronavirus- (PDCoV-) positive intestinal content of a diarrheic piglet. PSV was first identified using the small RNA deep sequencing and assembly, and further identified by the electron microscopic observation and the immunofluorescence assay. Subsequently, this virus was serially passaged in swine testis (ST) cells, and the complete genomics of PSV HNHB-01 passage 5 (P5), P30, P60, and P100 were sequenced and analyzed. 9 nucleotide mutations and 7 amino acid changes occurred in the PSV HNHB-01 P100 strain when compared with the PSV HNHB-01 P5. Pathogenicity investigation showed that orally inoculation of PSV HNHB-01 P30 could cause obvious clinical symptoms and had broad tissue tropism in 5-day-old piglets. Epidemiological investigation revealed that PSV infections and the coinfections of diarrhea coronaviruses were highly prevalent in swine herds. The complete genomes of 8 representative PSV epidemic strains were sequenced and analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the PSV epidemic strains were closely related to other PSV reference strains that located in the Chinese clade. Furthermore, recombination analysis revealed that the recombination events were occurred in downstream of the 2C region in our sequenced PSV HNNY-02/CHN/2018 strain. Our results provided theoretical basis for future research studies of the pathogenic mechanism, evolutionary characteristics, and the development of vaccines against PSV.

National fruit fly surveillance programme

This annual report summarizes the results of the 2021-2022 National Fruit Fly Surveillance Programme (NFFSP) in New Zealand. The report shows that despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the programme was successful in meeting its objectives. A total of 139 individual trap runs were used to service the 7878 Lynfield traps in use, with no new traps established but several relocated to improve coverage. From the 2587 trap-run submissions, a total of 8183 vials were submitted, and no exotic fruit flies were detected. Thirteen samples collected in fruit-fly traps were categorized as "specimens of interest," while 9 specimens were submitted by trappers as passive surveillance samples. All lure batches tested during the season met the required standard, and field checks were made to ensure that all lures sent to trappers had been calibrated within the last 12 months. The report concludes that the trapping network was effective in supporting New Zealand's claims of area freedom.

Etiological identification and genetic source tracking of a cluster of cases with fever during the period of regular prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic

Objective To identify the pathogen and track the genetic source of a cluster of cases with fever in a kindergarten in Fengtai district during the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in Beijing.Methods A descriptive analysis method was used to investigate this cluster of cases with fever in April 2021.Pharyngeal swabs were collected and viral nucleic acid was extracted, real-time PCR was performed to identify SARS-CoV-2 and other common respiratory virus. G gene of human metapneumovirus（hMPV） was amplified by RT-PCR and was then sequenced. BioEdit was used for G gene sequence analysis and the Neighbor-Joining model in MEGA 5. 0 software was used to construct the phylogenic tree of G gene. Results A total of 16 cases were reported in one class with the incidence of 53. 3%（16/30） during 8 days of a cluster outbreak. All pharyngeal swabs collected from 12 cases were tested SARS-CoV-2 negative, six were found to be hMPV positive by multiplex-PCR, and one was positive for both human adenovirus and hMPV. Full-length sequences of G genes were obtained from 2 strains of hMPV. Sequence analysis showed that both strains were hMPV B2 and the nucleic acid homology of G gene was 96. 73%-98. 01% with strains from Japan（LC337940, LC337935, LC1922349） in 2016 and over 98. 40%with strains from Shandong（OL625642, OL625644） in 2019, Henan MN944096 in 2019.Compared with the amino acid sequence of hMPV-B2 reference strain（AY297748）, six amino acid insertions containing EKEKEK were identified between 161-166 amino acid location and N-glycosylation of G protein analysis showed that the two strains had four N-glycosylation sites. Conclusions The leading pathogen for this cluster outbreak is found to be hMPV-B2, which are highly homologous with strains from Japan, Shandong and Henan. Therefore, a non-stop surveillance of hMPV is necessary during the normalization control and prevention period for COVID-19.

Epidemiology of multidrug-resistant organisms before and during COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has influenced antimicrobial consumption and incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). We aimed to study the epidemiology of MDROs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. Methods: With the maintenance of infection control measures, we described the trend of MDRO infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter species (CRA), and extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-(ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales, in a healthcare region with 3100-bed before (1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019, period 1) and during COVID-19 (1 January 2020 to 30 September 2022, period 2), together with the antimicrobial consumption using piecewise Poisson regression. The epidemiological characteristics of newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients with or without MDRO infections were analyzed. Results: Between period 1 and 2, we observed a significant increase in the trend of CRA infections (P<0.001), while there was no significant increase in the trend of MRSA (P=0.742) and ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (P=0.061) infections. Meanwhile, a significant increase in the trend of carbapenems (P<0.001), extended-spectrum beta-lactam-beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations (BLBI) (P=0.045), and fluoroquinolones (P=0.009) consumption was observed. The observed opportunity (23,540 ± 3703 vs 26,145 ± 2838, p=0.359) and compliance (81.6% ± 0.5% vs 80.1% ± 0.8%, P=0.209) of hand hygiene per year was maintained. In a multivariable model, older age, male sex, referral from residential care home for the elderly, presence of indwelling device, presence of endotracheal tube, and use of carbapenems, use of BLBI, use of proton pump inhibitors and history of hospitalization in the past 3 months were associated with higher risks of infections by MDROs among COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: Infection control measures may control the surge of MDROs despite an increasing trend of antimicrobial consumption.

Oropharyngeal microbiome profiled at admission is predictive of the need for respiratory support among COVID-19 patients.

The oropharyngeal microbiome, the collective genomes of the community of microorganisms that colonizes the upper respiratory tract, is thought to influence the clinical course of infection by respiratory viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we examined the oropharyngeal microbiome of suspected COVID-19 patients presenting to the Emergency Department and an inpatient COVID-19 unit with symptoms of acute COVID-19. Of 115 initially enrolled patients, 50 had positive molecular testing for COVID-19+ and had symptom duration of 14 days or less. These patients were analyzed further as progression of disease could most likely be attributed to acute COVID-19 and less likely a secondary process. Of these, 38 (76%) went on to require some form of supplemental oxygen support. To identify functional patterns associated with respiratory illness requiring respiratory support, we applied an interpretable random forest classification machine learning pipeline to shotgun metagenomic sequencing data and select clinical covariates. When combined with clinical factors, both species and metabolic pathways abundance-based models were found to be highly predictive of the need for respiratory support (F1-score 0.857 for microbes and 0.821 for functional pathways). To determine biologically meaningful and highly predictive signals in the microbiome, we applied the Stable and Interpretable RUle Set to the output of the models. This analysis revealed that low abundance of two commensal organisms, Prevotella salivae or Veillonella infantium (< 4.2 and 1.7% respectively), and a low abundance of a pathway associated with LPS biosynthesis (< 0.1%) were highly predictive of developing the need for acute respiratory support (82 and 91.4% respectively). These findings suggest that the composition of the oropharyngeal microbiome in COVID-19 patients may play a role in determining who will suffer from severe disease manifestations.

COVID-19 Waste as Source of Microplastics in the Environment: Implication for Aquatic Species, Human, and Remediation Measures- A Review

Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ushered in a new era that led to the adjustments of diverse ecosystems. The pandemic restructured the global socio-economic events which prompted several adaptation measures as a response mechanism to cushion the negative impact of the disease pandemic. Critical health safety actions were impera-tive to curtail the spread of the disease such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPEs), masks, goggles, and using sanitizers for disinfection purposes. The daily de-mands for the products by individuals and medical personnel heightened their pro-duction and consumption, leading to a corresponding increase of COVID-19 wastes in the environment following indiscriminate waste disposal and poor waste management. The persistent occurrence of COVID-19 wastes aggravated microplastics (MPs) con-tamination in the aquatic ecosystem following the breakdown of PPEs-based plastics via oxidation, fragmentation, and photo-degradation actions. These MPs are transport-ed in the aquatic environment via surface runoff and wind action, apart from discrete sources. MPs' presence in the aquatic systems is not without repercussions. Ingestion of MPs by aquatic organisms can cause several diseases (e.g., poor growth, oxidative distress, neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, and organ toxicity). Humans are at high risk of MPs uptake. Apart from aerial and soil contamination sources, consumption of aquatic food products is a critical pathway of MPs into the human body. MP toxicities in humans include liver disorder, respiratory failure, infertility, hormonal imbalance, diarrhea, developmental disorder, and mortal-ity. Measures to alleviate the effect of COVID-19 waste litters include effective waste management plans and the adoption of technologies to extract cum degrade MPs from the aquatic and terrestrial environment.