Size Dependent Phase Transformation of Liquid Gallium.

As the most popular liquid metal (LM), gallium (Ga) and its alloys are emerging as functional materials due to their unique combination of fluidic and metallic properties near room temperature. As an important branch of utilizing LMs, micro- and submicron-particles of Ga-based LM are widely employed in wearable electronics, catalysis, energy, and biomedicine. Meanwhile, the phase transition is crucial not only for the applications based on this reversible transformation process, but also for the solidification temperature at which fluid properties are lost. While Ga has several solid phases and exhibits unusual size-dependent phase behavior. This complex process makes the phase transition and undercooling of Ga uncontrollable, which considerably affects the application performance. In this work, extensive (nano-)calorimetry experiments are performed to investigate the polymorph selection mechanism during liquid Ga crystallization. It is surprisingly found that the crystallization temperature and crystallization pathway to either α -Ga or ß -Ga can be effectively engineered by thermal treatment and droplet size. The polymorph selection process is suggested to be highly relevant to the capability of forming covalent bonds in the equilibrium supercooled liquid. The observation of two different crystallization pathways depending on the annealing temperature may indicate that there exist two different liquid phases in Ga.

Sequenced-based Rwanda population provides insights into demographic history.

Rwanda is known as the heart of Africa, reflecting the history of the world. Colonization and genocide have led to Rwanda's existing genetic structure. Herein, we used massively parallel sequencing to analyze 296 loci in 185 Rwandans and constructed a database for Rwandan forensic data for the first time. We found the following results: First, forensic parameters demonstrated that all loci were highly informative and could be used for forensic identification and paternity tests in Rwandans. Second, we found that the differences in genetic background between Rwandans and other African populations were similar but slight, as indicated by the massively parallel sequencing panel. Rwandans belonged to the African population and were inseparable from populations from neighboring countries. Also, Rwandans were closer to the European and American populations because of colonization, war, and other reasons. There was no scientific basis for racial classification established by colonization. Further research still needs to be carried out on more loci and larger Rwandan samples.

Genetic Polymorphism of 24 Autosomal STR in the Population of Rwanda.

Rwanda is one of the smallest countries of Africa, where forensic genetic studies are rarely being conducted and very few DNA databases have been developed. Short tandem repeats (STRs) polymorphisms were investigated in 505 unrelated Rwandese by using the HUMDNA TYPING (Yanhuang) Kit. The following STRs were targeted: D3S1358, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, SE33, D10S1248, D5S818, D21S11, TPOX, D1S1656, D6S1043, D19S433, D22S1045, D8S1179, Penta E, D2S441, D12S391, D2S1338, vWA, Penta D, TH01, D18S51, CSF1PO and FGA. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the genetic diversity and explore the potential of applying these 24 STR in 505 Rwandan population in forensics. A total of 360 alleles, with corresponding allele frequencies in the range from 0.001 to 0.442, were found in the Rwandan population. SE33 presented the highest polymorphism (PIC=0.921) among these 24 loci, whereas D13S317 presented the lowest one (PIC=0.671). No deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed for any of the 24 loci. The forensic parameters, including the combined power of discrimination (PD and the combined exclusion power, have demonstrated that this panel of 24 STRs is highly informative and useful for forensic applications such as individuals' identification and paternity tests. Additionally, the genetic distances between Rwanda population and other 24 published populations were calculated based on 8 overlapping loci with the polygenetic tree revealing significant clusters in the populations associated with their geographic locations and their historical relationship.

Low levels of SIV-specific CD8+ T cells in germinal centers characterizes acute SIV infection.

CD8+ T cells play an important role in controlling of HIV and SIV infections. However, these cells are largely excluded from B cell follicles where HIV and SIV producing cells concentrate during chronic infection. It is not known, however, if antigen-specific CD8+ T cells are excluded gradually as pathogenesis progresses from early to chronic phase, or this phenomenon occurs from the beginning infection. In this study we determined that SIV-specific CD8+ T cells were largely excluded from follicles during early infection, we also found that within follicles, they were entirely absent in 60% of the germinal centers (GCs) examined. Furthermore, levels of SIV-specific CD8+ T cells in follicular but not extrafollicular areas significantly correlated inversely with levels of viral RNA+ cells. In addition, subsets of follicular SIV-specific CD8+ T cells were activated and proliferating and expressed the cytolytic protein perforin. These studies suggest that a paucity of SIV-specific CD8+ T cells in follicles and complete absence within GCs during early infection may set the stage for the establishment of persistent chronic infection.

A novel forensic panel of 186-plex SNPs and 123-plex STR loci based on massively parallel sequencing.

The MiSeq® FGX Forensic system and the HID-Ion AmpliSeq Panel were previously developed for massively parallel sequencing (MPS) for forensic casework. Among the three major sequencing platforms, BGISEQ-500TM, which is based on multiple PCRs, is still lacking in forensics. Here, a novel forensic panel was constructed to detect 186 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 123 short tandem repeats (STRs) with MPS technology on the BGISEQ-500™ platform. First, the library preparation, sequencing process, and data analysis were performed, focusing on the average depth of coverage and heterozygote balance. We calculated the allelic frequencies and forensic parameters of STR and SNP loci in 73 unrelated Chinese Han individuals. In addition, performance was evaluated with accuracy, uniformity, sensitivity, PCR inhibitor, repeatability and reproducibility, mixtures, degraded samples, case-type samples, and pedigree analyses. The results showed that 100% accurate and concordant genotypes can be obtained, and the loci with an abundance in the interquartile range accounted for 92.90% of the total, suggesting reliable uniformity in this panel. We obtained a locus detection rate that was higher than 98.78% from 78 pg of input DNA, and the optimal amount was 1.25-10 ng. The maximum concentrations of hematin and humic acid were 200 and 100 µM, respectively (the ratios of detected loci were 96.52% and 92.41%), in this panel. As a mixture, compared with those of SNPs, minor-contributor alleles of STRs could be detected at higher levels. For the degraded sample, the ratio of detected loci was 98.41%, and most profiles from case-type samples were not significantly different in abundance in our studies. As a whole, this panel showed high-performance, reliable, robust, repeatable, and reproducible results, which are sufficient for paternity testing, individual identification, and use for potentially degraded samples in forensic science.

An Adaptive Unsupervised Feature Selection Algorithm Based on MDS for Tumor Gene Data Classification.

Identifying the key genes related to tumors from gene expression data with a large number of features is important for the accurate classification of tumors and to make special treatment decisions. In recent years, unsupervised feature selection algorithms have attracted considerable attention in the field of gene selection as they can find the most discriminating subsets of genes, namely the potential information in biological data. Recent research also shows that maintaining the important structure of data is necessary for gene selection. However, most current feature selection methods merely capture the local structure of the original data while ignoring the importance of the global structure of the original data. We believe that the global structure and local structure of the original data are equally important, and so the selected genes should maintain the essential structure of the original data as far as possible. In this paper, we propose a new, adaptive, unsupervised feature selection scheme which not only reconstructs high-dimensional data into a low-dimensional space with the constraint of feature distance invariance but also employs ℓ2,1-norm to enable a matrix with the ability to perform gene selection embedding into the local manifold structure-learning framework. Moreover, an effective algorithm is developed to solve the optimization problem based on the proposed scheme. Comparative experiments with some classical schemes on real tumor datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Suppression of neuroinflammation by astrocytic dopamine D2 receptors via αB-crystallin.

Chronic neuroinflammation is a common feature of the ageing brain and some neurodegenerative disorders. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the regulation of innate immunity in the central nervous system remain elusive. Here we show that the astrocytic dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) modulates innate immunity through αB-crystallin (CRYAB), which is known to suppress neuroinflammation. We demonstrate that knockout mice lacking Drd2 showed remarkable inflammatory response in multiple central nervous system regions and increased the vulnerability of nigral dopaminergic neurons to neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurotoxicity. Astrocytes null for Drd2 became hyper-responsive to immune stimuli with a marked reduction in the level of CRYAB. Preferential ablation of Drd2 in astrocytes robustly activated astrocytes in the substantia nigra. Gain- or loss-of-function studies showed that CRYAB is critical for DRD2-mediated modulation of innate immune response in astrocytes. Furthermore, treatment of wild-type mice with the selective DRD2 agonist quinpirole increased resistance of the nigral dopaminergic neurons to MPTP through partial suppression of inflammation. Our study indicates that astrocytic DRD2 activation normally suppresses neuroinflammation in the central nervous system through a CRYAB-dependent mechanism, and provides a new strategy for targeting the astrocyte-mediated innate immune response in the central nervous system during ageing and disease.

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Producing Cells in Follicles Are Partially Suppressed by CD8+ Cells In Vivo.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-specific CD8+ T cells are typically largely excluded from lymphoid B cell follicles, where HIV- and SIV-producing cells are most highly concentrated, indicating that B cell follicles are somewhat of an immunoprivileged site. To gain insights into virus-specific follicular CD8+ T cells, we determined the location and phenotype of follicular SIV-specific CD8+ T cells in situ, the local relationship of these cells to Foxp3+ cells, and the effects of CD8 depletion on levels of follicular SIV-producing cells in chronically SIV-infected rhesus macaques. We found that follicular SIV-specific CD8+ T cells were able to migrate throughout follicular areas, including germinal centers. Many expressed PD-1, indicating that they may have been exhausted. A small subset was in direct contact with and likely inhibited by Foxp3+ cells, and a few were themselves Foxp3+ In addition, subsets of follicular SIV-specific CD8+ T cells expressed low to medium levels of perforin, and subsets were activated and proliferating. Importantly, after CD8 depletion, the number of SIV-producing cells increased in B cell follicles and extrafollicular areas, suggesting that follicular and extrafollicular CD8+ T cells have a suppressive effect on SIV replication. Taken together, these results suggest that during chronic SIV infection, despite high levels of exhaustion and likely inhibition by Foxp3+ cells, a subset of follicular SIV-specific CD8+ T cells are functional and suppress viral replication in vivo These findings support HIV cure strategies that augment functional follicular virus-specific CD8+ T cells to enhance viral control. IMPORTANCE: HIV- and SIV-specific CD8+ T cells are typically largely excluded from lymphoid B cell follicles, where virus-producing cells are most highly concentrated, suggesting that B cell follicles are somewhat of an immunoprivileged site where virus-specific CD8+ T cells are not able to clear all follicular HIV- and SIV-producing cells. To gain insights into follicular CD8+ T cell function, we characterized follicular virus-specific CD8+ T cells in situ by using an SIV-infected rhesus macaque model of HIV. We found that subsets of follicular SIV-specific CD8+ T cells are able to migrate throughout the follicle, are likely inhibited by Foxp3+ cells, and are likely exhausted but that, nonetheless, subsets are likely functional, as they express markers consistent with effector function and show signs of suppressing viral replication in vivo These findings support HIV cure strategies that increase the frequency of functional follicular virus-specific CD8+ T cells.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-phenylalanine and N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-aspartic acid-ß-benzyl ester derivatives as potent topoisomerase IIα inhibitors.

A new series of thirteen N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-phenylalanine and N-(carbobenzyloxy)-l-aspartic acid-ß-benzyl ester compounds were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity against four different human cancer cell lines: cervical cancer (HeLa), lung cancer (A549), gastric cancer (MGC-803) and breast cancer (MCF-7) as well as topoisomerase I and IIα inhibitory activity. Compounds (5a, 5b, 5e, 8a, 8b) showed significant antiproliferative activity with low IC50 values against the four cancer cell lines. Equally, compounds 5a, 5b, 5e, 5f, 8a, 8d, 8e and 8f showed topoisomerase IIα inhibitory activity at 100µM with 5b, 5e, 8f exhibiting potential topoisomerase IIα inhibitory activity compared to positive control at 100µM and 20µM, respectively. Conversely compounds 5e, 5f, 5g and 8a showed weaker topoisomerase I inhibitory activity compared to positive control at 100µM. Compound 5b exhibited the most potent topoisomerase IIα inhibitory activity at low concentration and better antiproliferative activity against the four human cancer cell lines. The molecular interactions between compounds 5a-5g, 8a-8f and the topoisomerase IIα (PDB ID: 1ZXM) were further investigated through molecular docking. The results indicated that these compounds could serve as promising leads for further optimization as novel antitumor agents.

Design, Synthesis, Antifungal Activity and Molecular Docking of Thiochroman-4-one Derivatives.

N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) has been validated pre-clinically as a target for treatment of fungal infections. Various substituted thiochroman-4-one derivatives have been synthesized by an efficient method. The synthesized compounds 7a-y and 8a-t were evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activity against the Canidia albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Epidermophyton floccosum, Mucor racemosus, Microsporum gypseum and Aspergillus nigerstrain. A series of compounds exhibited significant activity (minimal inhibitory concentrotion (MIC)=0.5-16 µg/mL) against Canidia albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The antifungal activity of compound 7b was reached to that of fluconazole, which can serve as a good starting point for further studies of structural diversity of the NMT inhibitors. The molecular docking studies revealed an interesting binding profile with very high receptor affinity for NMT of Canidia albicans.

[Synthesis and antifungal activities of N-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl-4-oxo-thiochroman-2-yl-formamide derivatives].

Thiochromanones and 1,3,4-thiadiazoles as heterocyclic compounds have broad biological activities. In order to find novel compounds with antifungal bioactivity, substituted thiophenol and maleic anhydride were used to synthesize the intermediate 4-oxothiochromane-2-carboxylic acid. It was reacted with 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole to get fourteen target compounds containing 1,3,4-thiadiazole moiety. The structures of the obtained compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HR-MS. All compounds were investigated for antifungal activity via microdilution broth method. The results showed that the target compounds 3a and 3c to Epidermophyton floccosum and Mucor racemosus exhibited better antifungal activity than the positive control fluconazole, in which the minimum inhibition concentration can reach 8 µg·mL−1 and 16 µg·mL−1. Compound 3e showed significant inhibitory activity to Helminthosporium maydis, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea compared with that of the positive control carbendazim. Compound 3b exhibited inhibitory activity to Helminthosporium maydis better than the positive control carbendazim.

Compartmentalization of simian immunodeficiency virus replication within secondary lymphoid tissues of rhesus macaques is linked to disease stage and inversely related to localization of virus-specific CTL.

We previously demonstrated that HIV replication is concentrated in lymph node B cell follicles during chronic infection and that HIV-specific CTL fail to accumulate in large numbers at those sites. It is unknown whether these observations can be generalized to other secondary lymphoid tissues or whether virus compartmentalization occurs in the absence of CTL. We evaluated these questions in SIVmac239-infected rhesus macaques by quantifying SIV RNA(+) cells and SIV-specific CTL in situ in spleen, lymph nodes, and intestinal tissues obtained at several stages of infection. During chronic asymptomatic infection prior to simian AIDS, SIV-producing cells were more concentrated in follicular (F) compared with extrafollicular (EF) regions of secondary lymphoid tissues. At day 14 of infection, when CTL have minimal impact on virus replication, there was no compartmentalization of SIV-producing cells. Virus compartmentalization was diminished in animals with simian AIDS, which often have low-frequency CTL responses. SIV-specific CTL were consistently more concentrated within EF regions of lymph node and spleen in chronically infected animals regardless of epitope specificity. Frequencies of SIV-specific CTL within F and EF compartments predicted SIV RNA(+) cells within these compartments in a mixed model. Few SIV-specific CTL expressed the F homing molecule CXCR5 in the absence of the EF retention molecule CCR7, possibly accounting for the paucity of F CTL. These findings bolster the hypothesis that B cell follicles are immune privileged sites and suggest that strategies to augment CTL in B cell follicles could lead to improved viral control and possibly a functional cure for HIV infection.

Synthesis, Characterization and Antifungal Evaluation of Novel Thiochromanone Derivatives Containing Indole Skeleton.

Invasive fungal disease constitutes a growing health problem and development of novel antifungal drugs with high potency and selectivity against new fungal molecular targets are urgently needed. In order to develop potent antifungal agents, a novel series of 6-alkyl-indolo[3,2-c]-2H-thiochroman derivatives were synthesized. Microdilution broth method was used to investigate antifungal activity of these compounds. Most of them showed good antifungal activity in vitro. Compound 4o showed the best antifungal activity, which (inhibition of Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans) can be achieved at the concentration of 4 µg/mL. Compounds 4b (inhibition of Cryptococcus neoformans), 4j (inhibition of Cryptococcus neoformans), 4d (inhibition of Candida albicans) and 4h (inhibition of Candida albicans) also showed the best antifungal activity at the concentrations of 4 µg/mL. The molecular interactions between 4o and the N-myristoyltransferase of Candida albicans (PDB ID: 1IYL) were finally investigated through molecular docking. The results indicated that these thiochromanone derivatives containing indole skeleton could serve as promising leads for further optimization as novel antifungal agents.

Association between CCDC132, FDX1 and TNFSF13 gene polymorphisms and the risk of IgA nephropathy.

AIM: Previous genome-wide association studies have identified multiple susceptibility loci for IgA nephropathy (IgAN); however, validation of these findings is still needed. METHODS: We performed a case-control study among 347 Chinese Han IgAN patients and 310 ethnicity-matched controls. Twenty-two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped and association analysis was performed. RESULTS: We found three alleles for IgAN in patients: the allele "C" of rs2188404 in the CCDC132 gene by recessive model (odds ratio (OR), 1.65; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-2.48; P = 0.014) and additive model (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03-1.61; P = 0.024) analysis, respectively, the allele "A" of rs10488764 in FDX1 gene by additive model (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.00-1.61; P = 0.048) analysis, the allele "A" of rs3803800 in TNFSF13 gene by recessive model (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.16-3.62; P = 0.010) and additive model (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.06-1.72; P = 0.013) analysis, respectively. However, the associations between these SNPs and the risk of IgAN were not significant when adjusted for age and sex. Additionally, we found polymorphisms of rs2188404, rs10488764 and rs3803800 were correlated with urine protein (UPRO), human serum albumin (HSA), total cholesterol (TC) and Lee's pathological grades. CONCLUSION: We did not find any positive association between these SNPs and the risk of IgAN after adjustment by age and sex, but did find a significant and strong correlation with relevant clinical pathological parameters. Our study may provide a new perspective to understanding the aetiology of IgAN.

A functional polymorphism in IL-1A gene is associated with a reduced risk of gastric cancer.

Accumulating evidence has identified that polymorphism residing in the microRNA (miRNA) binding site of target genes can affect the strength of miRNA binding and influence individual susceptibility to cancer. Recently, an insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs3783553 ttca/-) at miRNA-122 binding site in the interleukin-1A 3' untranslated region has been demonstrated to be functional. We aimed to investigate the association between the rs3783553 polymorphism and the risk of gastric cancer (GC). We genotyped the rs3783553 polymorphism in 207 GC patients and 381 healthy controls by using a polymerase chain reaction method. We found that the ins/ins (ttca/ttca) genotype of the rs3783553 polymorphism was associated with a significantly decreased risk of GC (P = 0.02, odds ratio = 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.26-0.90). This finding suggests that the rs3783553 polymorphism may be a protective factor for the development of GC.

Association study identifying a new susceptibility gene (AUTS2) for schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe and debilitating mental disorder, and the specific genetic factors that underlie the risk for SCZ remain elusive. The autism susceptibility candidate 2 (AUTS2) gene has been reported to be associated with autism, suicide, alcohol consumption, and heroin dependence. We hypothesized that AUTS2 might be associated with SCZ. In the present study, three polymorphisms (rs6943555, rs7459368, and rs9886351) in the AUTS2 gene were genotyped in 410 patients with SCZ and 435 controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and forced PCR-RFLP methods. We detected an association between SCZ and the rs6943555 genotype distribution (odds ratio (OR)=1.363, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.848-2.191, p=0.001). The association remained significant after adjusting for gender, and a significant effect (p=0.001) was observed among the females. In the present study, rs6943555 was determined to be associated with female SCZ. Our results confirm previous reports which have suggested that rs6943555 might elucidate the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and play an important role in its etiology.

Touch DNA of shed skin cells from the deployed airbag to address drunken driving crimes.

In the criminal cases of driving under the influence (DUI), DNA evidence can be collected from the deployed airbag of the motor vehicle and submitted to the crime lab for touch DNA analysis. The evidence can be acquired when the skin cells are observed on the surface of the airbag in a traffic accident. However, the low quantity or quality of the evidence collected from a crime scene prevents further identification analysis in many cases. In the current study, we reported a case of identifying touch DNA extraction from the shed skin cells from the deployed airbag of a motor vehicle. We managed to collect DNA evidence from the shed skin cells in an airbag using a proper approach of collection and extraction. The 5.87 ng of extracted DNA was sufficient for genotyping and forensic identification, which helped to identify the driver of the car in collision with a pier in the street. In DUI cases and other traffic accidents, therefore, the amount of touch DNA extracted from the deployed airbag can be sufficient for DNA marker genotyping and further analysis.

Advances in Flexible Magnetosensitive Materials and Devices for Wearable Electronics.

Emerging fields, such as wearable electronics, digital healthcare, the Internet of Things, and humanoid robots, highlight the need for flexible devices capable of recording signals on curved surfaces and soft objects. In particular, flexible magnetosensitive devices garner significant attention owing to their ability to combine the advantages of flexible electronics and magnetoelectronic devices, such as reshaping capability, conformability, contactless sensing, and navigation capability. Several key challenges must be addressed to develop well-functional flexible magnetic devices. These include determining how to make magnetic materials flexible and even elastic, understanding how the physical properties of magnetic films change under external strain and stress, and designing and constructing flexible magnetosensitive devices. In recent years, significant progress is made in addressing these challenges. This study aims to provide a timely and comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in flexible magnetosensitive devices. This includes discussions on the fabrications and mechanical regulations of flexible magnetic materials, the principles and performances of flexible magnetic sensors, and their applications for wearable electronics. In addition, future development trends and challenges in this field are discussed.

Quasi-1D Conductive Network Composites for Ultra-Sensitive Strain Sensing.

Highly performance flexible strain sensor is a crucial component for wearable devices, human-machine interfaces, and e-skins. However, the sensitivity of the strain sensor is highly limited by the strain range for large destruction of the conductive network. Here the quasi-1D conductive network (QCN) is proposed for the design of an ultra-sensitive strain sensor. The orientation of the conductive particles can effectively reduce the number of redundant percolative pathways in the conductive composites. The maximum sensitivity will reach the upper limit when the whole composite remains only "one" percolation pathway. Besides, the QCN structure can also confine the tunnel electron spread through the rigid inclusions which significantly enlarges the strain-resistance effect along the tensile direction. The strain sensor exhibits state-of-art performance including large gauge factor (862227), fast response time (24 ms), good durability (cycled 1000 times), and multi-mechanical sensing ability (compression, bending, shearing, air flow vibration, etc.). Finally, the QCN sensor can be exploited to realize the human-machine interface (HMI) application of acoustic signal recognition (instrument calibration) and spectrum restoration (voice parsing).

Prevalence of porcine hokovirus and its co-infection with porcine circovirus 2 in China.

Here, we report the frequency of porcine hokovirus (PHoV) infection and its co-infection with porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) in China. A total of 485 domestic pig samples were tested for both PHoV and PCV2, and NS1 gene sequences from 11 PHoV strains were used for phylogenetic analysis. The prevalence of PHoV and PCV2 was 51.3 % and 36.3 %, respectively, and co-infection occurred in 20.2 %. PHoVs from the Chinese mainland showed a close relationship to those isolated in Hong Kong. Co-infection with both viruses was prevalent, and PHoV may contribute to the induction of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS).