To date, more than 20 species in the genus Cyclospora have been reported. Among them, Cyclospora cayetanensis has been recognized as the causative agent of human cyclosporiasis, which is characterized by severe intestinal injury and prolonged diarrhea in patients with immune dysfunction. The presence of C. cayetanensis in cattle has been confirmed. To date, however, no surveillance data are available on the occurrence and prevalence of Cyclospora spp. in cattle in Shanxi Province, North China. In the present study, a total of 761 fecal samples collected from cattle in three representative counties (Qi, Jishan, and Shanyin) in this Province were examined for Cyclospora spp. by using a polymerase-chain-reaction-restriction-fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) test based on the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. The prevalence of Cyclospora spp. in cattle was 2.1%, and region, age, sex, and breed were not identified to be risk factors. Molecular evolutionary analysis based on the SSU rRNA sequences revealed that all 12 of the isolates were relatively distant from the human pathogen C. cayetanensis; seven isolates were grouped with Cyclospora colobi, whereas the others were grouped with cattle Cyclospora spp. reported previously. Though C. cayetanensis was not detected in cattle in the present study, more investigations should be performed in human populations, other animal species, or cattle from other regions of Shanxi Province and other environmental sources from the One Health perspective.

BACKGROUND: Research on heterogeneous pathways in school-to-work transitions (SWT), particularly longitudinal research, has been limited, as have empirical studies examining effective interventions for facilitating multiple SWT pathways among non-engaged youth (NEY), who are generally at risk of being not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
METHODS: To develop a typology of SWT pathways, we conducted sequence analysis with longitudinal data from a sample of 630 NEY aged 14-29 (M = 19.78; 63.65% males) in Hong Kong during a 22-month period beginning in September 2020. We also performed multinomial logistic regressions to assess the impact of career and life development (CLD) interventions on SWT outcomes.
RESULTS: Our analysis yielded a fivefold typology of SWT pathways: the Employment/Entrepreneurship cluster (31.27%), the Vocational Education and Training cluster (13.49%), the Generic Education cluster (16.83%), the Serious Leisure Development cluster (15.24%), and the long-term NEET cluster (23.17%). NEY in the intervention group receiving CLD services, inspired by the expanded notion of work (ENOW) and youth development and intervention framework (YDIF), demonstrated significantly higher likelihoods of being in the Employment/Entrepreneurship (OR = 34.5, 95% CI [10.53, 105.08]), Generic Education (OR = 3.74, 95% CI [1.81, 7.74]), Vocational Education and Training (OR = 1.55, 95% CI [1.05, 6.26]), and Serious Leisure Development (OR = 1.77, 95% CI [1.04, 4.46]) clusters than the long-term NEET cluster.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the dynamic, heterogeneous nature of NEY\'s CLD journeys, including that CLD interventions based on ENOW-YDIF have had a beneficial effect on NEY\'s multiple SWT pathways.

Bufavirus (BuV) was first identified in feces from children with acute diarrhea, and a genetically related Canine bufavirus (CBuV) was first reported in Italy in 2018. In this study, through the investigation of CBuV in 622 anal swabs from dogs with diarrhea symptoms collected from various provinces in northern, central and eastern China during 2018-2022, 14 samples were detected to be positive. And 5 samples were from dogs co-infected with other canine diarrhea related viruses, which consist of CPV-2, CDV and CCoV. The complete genome sequences (4219 nt) of the fourteen strains were amplified and sequenced. Through comparative analysis with 51 reference BuV strains, six strains might recombinate from the CBuV strains (HUN/2012/22, CaBuV/9AS/2005/ITA and CaBuV/35/2016/ITA) in Hungary and Italy as the parents, and two genetic recombination events from various parents were predicted to occur on the BUV-422 strain. Combined analyzing the phylogenetic tree and sequence alignment, it was found that these CBuVs are highly conserved in the nonstructural protein NS1, but indeed various amino acid mutation sites in the capsid protein VP2, and even some amino acid sites coincide with putative protein plastic regions and potential epitopes. The BUV-422 and BUV-512 strains show sequential mutation sites identical to the divergent strains of CaBuV/9AS/2005/ITA and CaBuV/35/2016/ITA. This study would enrich the molecular data of CBuV in China and provide essential reference for the epidemiological research and vaccine development of CBuV in the future.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a prevalent pathogen responsible for acute viral hepatitis, HEV genotypes 3 and 4 infections causing zoonotic infections. Currently, the nucleotide similarity analysis between humans and pigs for HEV genotype 4 is limited. In this study, stool samples from an HEV-infected patient who is a pig farmer and from pigs were collected to obtain the near full-length genome of HEV, phylogenetic trees were constructed for genotyping, and similarity of HEV sequences was analyzed. The results showed that HEV-RNA was detected in the stool samples from the patient and six pigs (6/30, 20.0%). Both HEV subtype in the patient and pigs was 4b. Additionally, similarity analysis showed that the range was 99.875%-99.944% between the patient and pigs at the nucleotide level. Four isolates of amino acid sequences (ORFs 1-3) from pigs were 100% identical to the patient. Phylogenetic tree and similarity analysis of an additional nine HEV sequences isolated from other patients in this region showed that the HEV sequence from the pig farmer had the closest relationship with the pigs from his farm rather than other sources of infection in this region. This study provides indirect evidences for HEV subtype 4b can be transmitted from pigs to humans at the nucleotide level. Further research is needed to explore the characteristics of different HEV subtypes.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is caused by avian coronavirus and poses a global economic threat to the poultry industry. In 2023, a highly pathogenic IBV strain, IBV/CN/GD20230501, was isolated and identified from chickens vaccinated with IBV-M41 in Guangdong, China. This study comprehensively investigated the biological characteristics of the isolated IBV strain, including its genotype, whole genome sequence analysis of its S1 gene, pathogenicity, host immune response, and serum non-targeted metabolomics. Through the analysis of the S1 gene sequence, serum neutralization tests, and comparative genomics, it was proven that IBV/CN/GD20230501 belongs to the GI-I type of strain and is serotype II. One alanine residue in the S1 subunit of the isolated strain was mutated into serine, and some mutations were observed in the ORF1ab gene and the terminal region of the genome. Animal challenge experiments using the EID50 and TCID50 calculations showed that IBV/CN/GD20230501 possesses strong respiratory pathogenicity, with early and long-term shedding of viruses and rapid viral spread. Antibody detection indicated that chickens infected with IBV/CN/GD20230501 exhibited delayed expression of early innate immune genes, while those infected with M41 showed rapid gene induction and effective viral control. Metabolomics analysis demonstrated that this virus infection led to differential expression of 291 ions in chicken serum, mainly affecting the citric acid cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle).IMPORTANCEThis study identified an infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain isolated from vaccinated chickens in an immunized population that had certain sequence differences compared to IBV-M41, resulting in significantly enhanced pathogenicity and host defense. This strain has the potential to replace M41 as a more suitable challenge model for drug research. The non-targeted metabolomics analysis highlighting the citric acid cycle provides a new avenue for studying this highly virulent strain.

We report a novel HLA-DRB3*03 allele, now named DRB3*03:65, identified by next-generation sequencing.

In order to study the integration of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) in pigeonpox virus (PPV), we collected suspected pigeonpox disease material, amplified the 4b core protein gene of PPV, the gp90 gene of REV, and the integrated sequence fragments from the end of the ORF201 segment of PPV to the beginning of the LTR of REV, and sequenced these genes. The results showed that a 4b core protein fragment of 332 bp was amplified and identified as pigeonpox virus, which was named SX/TY/LTR 01/2023. Sequence analysis showed that the pigeonpox virus isolate belonged to genotype A2, which was the closest to the domestic CVL strain, with a identity of 99.4%. A band of 1191 bp was amplified from the gp90 gene of REV, named SX/TY/PPV-REV01/2023, and sequence analysis indicated that REV belonged to genotype III. The sequence analysis showed that REV belonged to genotype III, and belonged to the same large branch as the domestic isolates JSRD0701 and LNR0801, with 99.3% identity. The integrated sequence fragment was amplified to a band of 637 bp, which determined that the REV sequence was integrated in the PPV rather than a mixed infection of the two viruses. This indicates that REV was integrated in this isolation of PPV, suggesting that pigeon farms need to prevent reticuloendotheliosis at the same time when preventing pigeonpox.

Several trichomonad species have already been identified in pigs, and their pathogenic potential may not be ruled out. To date, however, no information is available regarding the prevalence of trichomonads in pigs in Shanxi Province, North China. In the present study, a total of 362 fecal samples collected from pigs in three representative counties (Qi, Jishan, and Shanyin) in this province were examined for Tetratrichomonas buttreyi, Tritrichomonas foetus, and Pentatrichomonas hominis using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. The overall prevalence of T. buttreyi was 49.72%, and region and age were found to be significantly associated with T. buttreyi infection, respectively. Only one pig fecal sample from Qi County was found to be positive for T. foetus, and all samples were negative for P. hominis. Molecular evolutionary analysis revealed that some T. buttreyi isolates showed complete genetic identity with those reported previously, and some T. buttreyi isolates and one T. foetus isolate showed minor allelic variations compared with those reported previously. This is the report of the molecular epidemiology of T. foetus and T. buttreyi in pigs in Shanxi Province, North China. These findings not only enrich the knowledge on the distribution of these trichomonad species in pigs in China but also provide baseline information for planning future research and control strategies.

This study examines the health consequences and underlying pathways of education-occupation mismatch. Using a longitudinal sample of college graduates from the Panel Studies of Income Dynamics (1984-2019) and employing longitudinal hybrid models, we found that contemporary vertical mismatch (between education level and educational requirements of occupation) was associated with poorer psychological well-being and bio-behaviors (obesity and smoking), but not physical health. In contrast, horizontal mismatch (between field of study and field required for occupation) did not show clear health consequences. Sequence analysis was employed to uncover the mismatch trajectories and revealed that persistent vertical mismatch over one\'s career had a greater impact on psychological distress and smoking than episodic mismatch experiences. Furthermore, the linkage between vertical mismatch and health outcomes was likely shaped by psychosocial processes rather than reduced material well-being. These findings imply that education-occupation vertical (mis)match produces health disparities between occupationally matched and mismatched college graduates.

Thermophilic proteins are important for academic research and industrial processes, and various computational methods have been developed to identify and screen them. However, their performance has been limited due to the lack of high-quality labeled data and efficient models for representing protein. Here, we proposed a novel sequence-based thermophilic proteins prediction framework, called ThermoFinder. The results demonstrated that ThermoFinder outperforms previous state-of-the-art tools on two benchmark datasets, and feature ablation experiments confirmed the effectiveness of our approach. Additionally, ThermoFinder exhibited exceptional performance and consistency across two newly constructed datasets, one of these was specifically constructed for the regression-based prediction of temperature optimum values directly derived from protein sequences. The feature importance analysis, using shapley additive explanations, further validated the advantages of ThermoFinder. We believe that ThermoFinder will be a valuable and comprehensive framework for predicting thermophilic proteins, and we have made our model open source and available on Github at https://github.com/Luo-SynBioLab/ThermoFinder.