Search

ABSTRACT Candida auris is an emerging, multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen that poses a significant public health threat in healthcare settings. Despite yearly clinical cases rapidly increasing from 77 to 8,131 in the last decade, surveillance data on its distribution and prevalence remain limited. We implemented a novel assay for C. auris detection on a nationwide scale prospectively from September 2023 to March 2024, analyzing a total of 13,842 samples from 190 wastewater treatment plants across 41 U.S. states. Assays were extensively validated through comparison to other known assays and internal controls. Of these 190 wastewater treatment plants, C. auris was detected in the wastewater solids of 65 of them (34.2%) with 1.45% of all samples having detectable levels of C. auris nucleic-acids. Detections varied seasonally, with 2.00% of samples positive in autumn vs 1.01% in winter (P < 0.0001). The frequency of detection in wastewater was significantly associated with states having older populations (P < 0.001), sewersheds containing more hospitals (P < 0.0001), and sewersheds containing more nursing homes (P < 0.001). These associations are in agreement with known C. auris epidemiology. This nationwide study demonstrates the viability of wastewater surveillance for C. auris surveillance and further highlights the value of wastewater surveillance when clinical testing is constrained.IMPORTANCEThis study highlights the viability of wastewater surveillance when dealing with emerging pathogens. By leveraging an existing framework of wastewater surveillance, we reveal the widespread presence of C. auris in the United States. We further demonstrate that these wastewater detections are consistent with demographic factors relevant to C. auris epidemiology like age and number of hospitals or nursing homes. As C. auris and other pathogens continue to emerge, the low-cost and rapid nature of wastewater surveillance will provide public health officials with the information necessary to enact targeted prevention and control strategies.

Gene-drives use CRISPR-Cas9 to be transmitted in a super-Mendelian fashion. Here the authors develop an allelic-drive for selective inheritance of a desired allele.

The phylum Acanthocephala is an important group of parasites with more than 1,300 species parasitizing intestine of all major vertebrate groups. However, our present knowledge of the mitochondrial genomes of Acanthocephala remains very limited. In the present study, we sequenced and annotated the complete mitochondrial genome of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) bilaspurensis (Gyracanthocephala: Quadrigyridae) for the first time based on the specimens recovered from the intestine of common carp Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus (Cyprinidae) in Pakistan. The mitochondrial genome of A. bilaspurensis is 13,360 bp in size and contains 36 genes, representing the smallest mitogenome of acanthocephalans reported so far. The mitogenome of A. bilaspurensis also has the lowest level of overall A+T contents (59.3%) in the mitogenomes of Eoacanthocephala, and the non-coding region 3 (NCR3) lies between trn S2 and trn I, which is different from all of the other acanthocephalan species. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenating the amino acid sequences of 12 protein-coding genes using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods revealed that the family Pseudoacanthocephalidae is a sister to the Arhythmacanthidae rather than the Cavisomatidae, and the families Rhadinorhynchidae and Cavisomatidae showed sister relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper., Author(s): Hannah A. Grunwald [sup.1] , Valentino M. Gantz [sup.1] , Gunnar Poplawski [sup.2] [sup.4] , Xiang-Ru S. Xu [sup.1] , Ethan Bier [sup.1] [sup.3] , Kimberly L. Cooper [sup.1] [...]

The service life of mud pump pistons may be extended by imitating the body surface morphology of earthworms. To achieve this solution, bionic strip structures of various sizes are processed on the working surface of a BW-160 mud pump piston. The service lives of standard and bionic pistons are compared under experimental conditions. Results show that the bionic strip structure clearly improves the service life of mud pump pistons. The influence of the width of a bionic piston strip is greater than that of strip spacing. The bionic strip should not be too small or large because size could have negligible or deleterious effects on service life, respectively. The optimal structure parameters of a bionic strip piston when the optimal contact area between the piston and the cylinder liner is 73.5% are a strip width of 3 mm, strip spacing of 3 mm, and strip number of 3. These parameters improve piston service life by 81.5%. Finite element analysis simulations of wear demonstrate that the bionic strip can change the stress state on the working surface of the piston, increase lubricant storage space, improve the wear resistance of the piston, reduce extrusion injuries on the root, and prolong piston service life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much characterization of the heart as a pump by means of models based on elastance and compliance. The present paper puts forward the new concept of time-varying passive and active elastance. The biomechanical basis of cyclic elastances of the left ventricle (LV) is presented. Elastance is defined in terms of the relationship between ventricular pressure and volume as dP = EdV+ VdE, where E includes passive elastance, Ep, and active elastance, Ea. By incorporating this concept in LV models to simulate diastolic (filling) and systolic phases, a time-varying expression has been obtained for Ea, and an LV volume dependent expression has been obtained for Ep. It is proposed to use these two elastances Ea and Ep to represent the intrinsic LV properties. The active elastance, Ea, can be used to characterize the LV contractile state and represents LV pressure variation due to LV volume variation (such as during the filling and ejection phases). The passive elastance, Ep, can serve as a measure of LV resistance to filling. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated how the LV pressure dynamics (and LV pressure response to LV volume) can be explained in terms of Ea and Ep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much characterization of the heart as a pump by means of models based on elastance and compliance. The present paper puts forward the new concept of time-varying passive and active elastance. The biomechanical basis of cyclic elastances of the left ventricle (LV) is presented. Elastance is defined in terms of the relationship between ventricular pressure and volume as d P = E d V + V d E , where E includes passive elastance, E p , and active elastance, E a . By incorporating this concept in LV models to simulate diastolic (filling) and systolic phases, a time-varying expression has been obtained for E a , and an LV volume dependent expression has been obtained for E p . It is proposed to use these two elastances E a and E p to represent the intrinsic LV properties. The active elastance, E a , can be used to characterize the LV contractile state and represents LV pressure variation due to LV volume variation (such as during the filling and ejection phases). The passive elastance, E p , can serve as a measure of LV resistance to filling. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated how the LV pressure dynamics (and LV pressure response to LV volume) can be explained in terms of E a and E p . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]