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Background: Scrub typhus, an acute febrile disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is transmitted to humans through infected chigger mites. We present a case of scrub typhus in a previously healthy man from Shandong Province diagnosed using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and PCR and review recent literature on NGS for scrub typhus diagnosis. Methods: NGS was utilized for testing whole blood collected on admission. Confirmatory testing was done by detecting IgM and IgG antibodies to Orientia in acute and convalescent sera by ELISA. Orientia 47-kDa protein gene TaqMan and standard PCR of the 56-kDa protein gene and Sanger sequencing were performed on eschar scab DNA. Results: The NGS diagnosis was confirmed by 47-kDa protein gene TaqMan and sequencing of a fragment of the O. tsutsugamushi 56-kDa protein gene from the eschar scab. Analysis of this sequence and the NGS data indicated O. tsutsugamushi strain Cheeloo2020 is a novel genotype. Mapping of the NGS data against the O. tsutsugamushi Gilliam strain genome sequence identified 304 reads with high similarity. Conclusions: NGS is not only useful for multiplex diagnosis of scrub typhus, but also provides insight into the genetic diversity of O. tsutsugamushi. The common failure to submit sequences to databases makes it difficult to determine the minimal quantity and quality of NGS data being used for the positive identification of Orientia DNA in clinical specimens.

In this study, the regeneration of waste activated carbon by the synergic combination of ultrasonication and persulfate treatment was explored. The regeneration efficiencies achieved with sonication and persulfate, both in combination and separately, were assessed from a sample’s ability to adsorb ofloxacin before and after regeneration. The introduction of persulfate increased the regeneration rate by 4–5% over that of ultrasound alone, and the regeneration rate increased from 40.95 % to 45.71 % upon increasing the persulfate dosage from 1 to 10 mmol/L. Furthermore, the regeneration rate was found to be largely unaffected by pH. The specific surface area of the activated carbon regenerated by the combined technology was 527 m2/g, which was 37 m2/g higher than that for ultrasonic regeneration alone, further demonstrating the utility of the combined approach. In summary, combined ultrasonication/persulfate regeneration provides a practical and cost-effective method for the reuse of waste activated carbon.

China is not considered as an endemic area of Rickettsia conorii, so there is no routine clinical way to diagnose this infection. This study aims to determine whether 2 febrile patients who had a tick bite in East China were indeed infected with R. conorii. The citrate synthase gene (gltA) was amplified with universal rickettsial primers by real-time fluorescent PCR from the patients’ blood samples. Nested PCR was used to amplify the outer membrane protein A gene (ompA) for positive specimens. PCR products were further identified and analyzed through nucleic acid sequencing. Positive amplification of the gltA and ompA genes was found in both patients. The nucleotide sequences (303 bp) of the ompA gene of the 2 patients had high homology (99%) with the R. conorii Indian tick typhus strain in GenBank. A more than 4-fold increase in IgG against R. conorii provided supportive evidence of SFG Rickettsia infection. And the rapid recovery after doxycycline treatment also supported a rickettsial cause for the disease. Physicians in East China should be aware of human infections with R. conorii. PCR-based diagnostic methods offer a rapid and precise way to diagnose rickettsiosis, improving patient identification and management.

The contradiction between charging stations (CSs) and electric vehicles (EVs) is a “chicken-and-egg” problem. Multiple factors and stakeholders, including the goals of the government's industry planning, CS operators' profits, and EV consumers' charging demand, influence the CS layout. Using multisource open data, this study proposes a time series optimization layout model based on the supply-demand balance by constructing EV customers' urban travel dynamics index and CS adaptability index. The results show that: the supply-demand imbalance is widespread in Shenzhen, a Chinese city. The “mismatch”, “unmatch” and “overmatch” of CSs are prevalent. Addressing this supply-demand imbalance will help reduce consumer concerns regarding “range anxiety”. Facing potential future power supply constraints, the government needs to expand the existing CS development strategy to include battery swap stations (BSs) and mobile charging stations (MCSs).

Electrospinning as a versatile, simple, and cost-effective method to engineer a variety of micro or nanofibrous materials, has contributed to significant developments in the biomedical field. However, the traditional electrospinning of single material only can produce homogeneous fibrous assemblies with limited functional properties, which oftentimes fails to meet the ever-increasing requirements of biomedical applications. Thus, multi-material electrospinning referring to engineering two or more kinds of materials, has been recently developed to enable the fabrication of diversified complex fibrous structures with advanced performance for greatly promoting biomedical development. This review firstly gives an overview of multi-material electrospinning modalities, with a highlight on their features and accessibility for constructing different complex fibrous structures. A perspective of how multi-material electrospinning opens up new opportunities for specific biomedical applications, i.e., tissue engineering and drug delivery, is also offered.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease with high mortality. A 73-year-old woman presented to the hospital with fever after being bitten by ticks and was diagnosed with SFTS. Three days after treatment with high-flow oxygen and supportive therapy, her condition deteriorated to septic shock and multiple organ failure. Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2 inhibitor, was used for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome, and the patient finally recovered. Ruxolitinib and other host-based immunomodulatory drugs may be potential treatments for fatal SFTS.

We report a rare case of culture negative L4-L5 discitis and epidural abscess in an immunocompetent child who had dry cupping therapy performed to treat low back strain. The causative pathogen was identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia by shotgun metagenomic sequencing of spinal cord aspirate after more than one month of unsuccessful empirical treatment with 6 different antibiotics. The patient was successfully treated with Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and minocycline. Cupping therapy is a very popular medical procedure widely used in China, but the potential risk for severe infections such as discitis and epidural abscess described in this case should be recognized. Keywords: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Discitis, Epidural abscess, Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, Dry cupping therapy