Surveillance of coronaviruses in wild aquatic birds in Hong Kong: expanded genetic diversity and discovery of novel subgenus in the .

Migratory birds may carry emerging viruses over long distances. Regular surveillance and metagenomic analysis were employed to explore the diversity of avian coronaviruses at Hong Kong's Mai Po Wetland. We tested a total of 3239 samples collected from 2018 to 2024, among which the prevalence rate of viruses of the genus (64.

Viral characterization of the reassortants between canine influenza H3N2 and human pandemic (2009) H1N1 and avian H9N2 viruses in canine ex vivo tracheal explants.

Background: In 2007, the canine influenza H3N2 virus (H3N2-CIV) first emerged in the canine population in South Korea. The virus had since spread internationally and continues to circulate in the canines. While there is currently no report of H3N2-CIV spilling over to the human population, the virus had shown a tendency to reassort with other influenza subtypes.

A Phase Separation-Assisted Pre-Enrichment Method for Ultrasensitive Respiratory Virus Detection.

Enriching trace biomarkers (e.g., proteins, nucleic acids) is critical for biomedical applications; yet conventional methods often lack versatility, limiting their effectiveness to specific biomarker types.

Extracting Coupling-Mode Spectral Densities with Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy.

Methods for reconstructing the spectral density of a vibrational environment from experimental data can yield key insights into the impact of the environment on molecular function. Although such experimental methods exist, they generally only access vibrational modes that couple diagonally to the electronic system. Here we present a method for extracting the spectral density of modes that couple to the transition between electronic states, using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy.

Impact and Interplay of Quantum Coherence and Dissipative Dynamics for Isotope Effects in Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer.

The quantum dynamics of excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) is studied using a non-Markovian open quantum system perspective. Models of 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl) benzothiazole (HBT) and 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline (HBQ) are adapted from Zhang et al., , 2023, 3, 107-118 and simulated via the numerically exact TEDOPA matrix product-state formalism, using a newly developed framework for continuous degrees of freedom subject to dissipation.

A numerically exact description of ultrafast vibrational decoherence in vibration-coupled electron transfer.

Broadband pump-probe spectroscopy has been widely used to measure vibrational decoherence associated with the reaction coordinate in photoinduced ultrafast vibration-coupled electron transfer (VCET) reactions. These experiments provide insight into the interplay of intramolecular coordinates along the reaction coordinate. However, a general theoretical foundation for analyzing, and even for explaining rigorously, these data is lacking.

Predictors of Atrial Fibrillation After Thoracic Radiotherapy.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with thoracic radiotherapy, but the specific risk with irradiating different cardiac substructures remains unknown.

Objectives: This study sought to examine the relationship between irradiation of cardiac substructures and the risk of clinically significant (grade ≥3) AF.

Methods: We analyzed data from patients who underwent definitive radiotherapy for localized cancers (non-small cell lung, breast, Hodgkin lymphoma, or esophageal) at our institution between 2004 and 2022.

An interferon-stimulated long non-coding RNA USP30-AS1 as an immune modulator in influenza A virus infection.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are essential components of innate immunity, maintaining the functionality of immune systems that control virus infection. However, how lncRNAs engage immune responses during influenza A virus (IAV) infection remains unclear. Here, we show that lncRNA USP30-AS1 is up-regulated by infection of multiple different IAV subtypes and is required for tuning inflammatory and antiviral response in IAV infection.

Extending Non-Perturbative Simulation Techniques for Open-Quantum Systems to Excited-State Proton Transfer and Ultrafast Non-Adiabatic Dynamics.

Excited state proton transfer is an ubiquitous phenomenon in biology and chemistry, spanning from the ultrafast reactions of photobases and acids to light-driven, enzymatic catalysis and photosynthesis. However, the simulation of such dynamics involves multiple challenges, since high-dimensional, out-of-equilibrium vibronic states play a crucial role, while a fully quantum description of the proton's dissipative, real-space dynamics is also required. In this work, we extend the powerful matrix product state approach to open quantum systems (TEDOPA) to study these demanding dynamics, and also more general nonadiabatic processes that can appear in complex photochemistry subject to strong laser driving.

Concurrent oxygen evolution reaction pathways revealed by high-speed compressive Raman imaging.

Transition metal oxides are state-of-the-art materials for catalysing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), whose slow kinetics currently limit the efficiency of water electrolysis. However, microscale physicochemical heterogeneity between particles, dynamic reactions both in the bulk and at the surface, and an interplay between particle reactivity and electrolyte makes probing the OER challenging. Here, we overcome these limitations by applying state-of-the-art compressive Raman imaging to uncover concurrent bias-dependent pathways for the OER in a dense, crystalline electrocatalyst, α-LiIrO.

MPSDynamics.jl: Tensor network simulations for finite-temperature (non-Markovian) open quantum system dynamics.

The MPSDynamics.jl package provides an easy-to-use interface for performing open quantum systems simulations at zero and finite temperatures. The package has been developed with the aim of studying non-Markovian open system dynamics using the state-of-the-art numerically exact Thermalized-Time Evolving Density operator with Orthonormal Polynomials Algorithm based on environment chain mapping.

Managing temperature in open quantum systems strongly coupled with structured environments.

In non-perturbative non-Markovian open quantum systems, reaching either low temperatures with the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) or high temperatures with the Thermalized Time Evolving Density Operator with Orthogonal Polynomials Algorithm (T-TEDOPA) formalism in Hilbert space remains challenging. We compare different ways of modeling the environment. Sampling the Fourier transform of the bath correlation function, also called temperature dependent spectral density, proves to be very effective.

Environmentally Driven Symmetry Breaking Quenches Dual Fluorescence in Proflavine.

Nonadiabatic couplings between several electronic excited states are ubiquitous in many organic chromophores and can significantly influence optical properties. A recent experimental study demonstrated that the proflavine molecule exhibits surprising dual fluorescence in the gas phase, which is suppressed in polar solvent environments. Here, we uncover the origin of this phenomenon by parametrizing a linear-vibronic coupling Hamiltonian from spectral densities of system-bath coupling constructed along molecular dynamics trajectories, fully accounting for interactions with the condensed-phase environment.

Patient Selection and Outcomes for Hypofractionated Accelerated Radiation and Concurrent Chemotherapy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose/objectives: Adoption of hypofractionated accelerated radiation therapy (HART) with concurrent chemotherapy has been limited by toxicity concerns. We aimed to describe outcomes of patients treated with HART and concurrent chemotherapy and to evaluate dosimetry to organs at risk to guide patient selection.

Materials/methods: We evaluated a retrospective cohort of NSCLC patients treated with concurrent chemotherapy with HART (>2.

Personalized Accelerated ChEmoRadiation (PACER) for Lung Cancer: Protocol for a Bayesian Optimal Phase I/II Trial.

Introduction: Prior attempts to escalate radiation dose for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not improved survival. Given the high risk for cardiopulmonary toxicity with treatment and heterogenous presentation of locally advanced NSCLC, it is unlikely that a single dose regimen is optimal for all patients. This phase I/II trial aims to evaluate a novel treatment approach where the level of accelerated hypofractionation is determined by the predicted toxicity from dose to organs at risk (OARs).

Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on Commercial Aircraft Interior Surfaces with Implications for Effective Control Measures.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2022 devastated many aspects of life and the economy, with the commercial aviation industry being no exception. One of the major concerns during the pandemic was the degree to which the internal aircraft environment contributed to virus transmission between humans and, in particular, the stability of SARS-CoV-2 on contact surfaces in the aircraft cabin interior.

Method: In this study, the stability of various major strains of SARS-CoV-2 on interior aircraft surfaces was evaluated using the TCID assessment.

Identification of urgent gaps in public and policymaker knowledge of heart failure: Results of a global survey.

Background: Despite advances in the treatment of heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction, people with HF continue to have a high risk of mortality and hospitalisation. Patients also suffer from poor quality of life, with reduced societal and economic participation. The burden of HF on patients and healthcare systems is extraordinary, yet awareness remains low.

Isolated Nodal Recurrence After Definitive Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR) results in high rates of primary tumor control for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). For patients with isolated hilar or mediastinal nodal recurrence (INR) after SABR, the optimal salvage treatment strategy is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of INR after SABR for early-stage NSCLC and to describe patterns of care and treatment outcomes after salvage therapy.

Effect of Surface Porosity on SARS-CoV-2 Fomite Infectivity.

Previous reports indicated the low stability of severe actute respiratory syndrome coronovirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on various porous surfaces, but the role of porosity was unclear because there was no direct comparison between porous and nonporous solids of the same chemistry. Through comparing pairs of solids with very similar chemistry, we find that porosity is important: porous glass has a much lower infectivity than nonporous glass. However, porosity is not sufficient to lower infectivity; permeability, which is the ability of a liquid to move through a material, is the important parameter.

Comment on Montagnani et al. Optimization of RAASi Therapy with New Potassium Binders for Patients with Heart Failure and Hyperkalemia: Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis. 2021, , 5483.

The recent rapid review and meta-analysis by Montagnani et al. [..

Evaluation of RT-qPCR Primer-Probe Sets to Inform Public Health Interventions Based on COVID-19 Sewage Tests.

Sewage surveillance is increasingly employed as a supplementary tool for COVID-19 control. Experiences learnt from large-scale trials could guide better interpretation of the sewage data for public health interventions. Here, we compared the performance of seven commonly used primer-probe sets in RT-qPCR and evaluated the usefulness in the sewage surveillance program in Hong Kong.

IMRT and SBRT Treatment Planning Study for the First Clinical Biology-Guided Radiotherapy System.

The first clinical biology-guided radiation therapy (BgRT) system-RefleXion X1-was installed and commissioned for clinical use at our institution. This study aimed at evaluating the treatment plan quality and delivery efficiency for IMRT/SBRT cases without PET guidance. A total of 42 patient plans across 6 cancer sites (conventionally fractionated lung, head, and neck, anus, prostate, brain, and lung SBRT) planned with the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) and treated with either a TrueBeam or Trilogy were selected for this retrospective study.