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Mosquito-borne illnesses present a public health threat. This analysis quantifies general online mosquito media, and the Zika virus [ZIKV) specifically, from 7–20-2016 to 10–20-2018 in five U.S. geographies. The ZIKV sub-search comprised a shrinking share of online media about mosquitoes over time. Net sentiment, numerical scoring of search result positivity/negativity bounded between −100 and +100, was assessed. Mean net sentiment for the general mosquitoes search was −51; -55 for ZIKV. The ZIKV search revealed more variation in weekly net sentiment with a standard deviation of 14, compared to 10 for mosquitoes. Seventy-seven percent of the weeks had a net sentiment for the mosquito search that was more positive than the ZIKV search. For the 23% of the time the ZIKV search net sentiment was more positive than the general mosquito search, there were mentions of scientific advances, such as the potential for vaccine development associated with the post. Greater emphasis on public health threats from mosquitoes may be necessary to stimulate public action on mosquito-borne illness control. This analysis serves as an illustration of the potential for online/social media analysis to inform health officials of public interest/focus, and perhaps inform effective communication campaigns to combat public health threats.

Cotton is an agriculturally important crop. Because of its importance, a genome sequence of a diploid cotton species (Gossypium raimondii, D-genome) was first assembled using Sanger sequencing data in 2012. Improvements to DNA sequencing technology have improved accuracy and correctness of assembled genome sequences. Here we report a new de novo genome assembly of G. raimondii and its close relative G. turneri. The two genomes were assembled to a chromosome level using PacBio long-read technology, HiC, and Bionano optical mapping. This report corrects some minor assembly errors found in the Sanger assembly of G. raimondii. We also compare the genome sequences of these two species for gene composition, repetitive element composition, and collinearity. Most of the identified structural rearrangements between these two species are due to intra-chromosomal inversions. More inversions were found in the G. turneri genome sequence than the G. raimondii genome sequence. These findings and updates to the D-genome sequence will improve accuracy and translation of genomics to cotton breeding and genetics.

Chromosomal structural variations (SV) including insertions, deletions, inversions, and translocations occur within the genome and can have a significant effect on organismal phenotype. Some of these effects are caused by structural variations containing genes. Large structural variations represent a significant amount of the genetic diversity within a population. We used a global sampling of Drosophila melanogaster (Ithaca, Zimbabwe, Beijing, Tasmania, and Netherlands) to represent diverse populations within the species. We used long-read sequencing and optical mapping technologies to identify SVs in these genomes. Among the five lines examined, we found an average of 2,928 structural variants within these genomes. These structural variations varied greatly in size and location, included many exonic regions, and could impact adaptation and genomic evolution.

One of the extraordinary aspects of plant genome evolution is variation in chromosome number, particularly that among closely related species. This is exemplified by the cotton genus (Gossypium) and its relatives, where most species and genera have a base chromosome number of 13. The two exceptions are sister genera that have n = 12 (the Hawaiian Kokia and the East African and Madagascan Gossypioides). We generated a high-quality genome sequence of Gossypioides kirkii (n = 12) using PacBio, Bionano, and Hi-C technologies, and compared this assembly to genome sequences of Kokia (n = 12) and Gossypium diploids (n = 13). Previous analysis demonstrated that the directionality of their reduced chromosome number was through large structural rearrangements. A series of structural rearrangements were identified comparing the de novo G. kirkii genome sequence to genome sequences of Gossypium, including chromosome fusions and inversions. Genome comparison between G. kirkii and Gossypium suggests that multiple steps are required to generate the extant structural differences.

Background Hypoxemia and hypotension are common complications during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults. Verbal performance of a written, preintubation checklist may prevent these complications. We compared a written, verbally performed, preintubation checklist with usual care regarding lowest arterial oxygen saturation or lowest systolic BP experienced by critically ill adults undergoing endotracheal intubation. Methods A multicenter trial in which 262 adults undergoing endotracheal intubation were randomized to a written, verbally performed, preintubation checklist (checklist) or no preintubation checklist (usual care). The coprimary outcomes were lowest arterial oxygen saturation and lowest systolic BP between the time of procedural medication administration and 2 min after endotracheal intubation. Results The median lowest arterial oxygen saturation was 92% (interquartile range [IQR], 79-98) in the checklist group vs 93% (IQR, 84-100) with usual care ( P = .34). The median lowest systolic BP was 112 mm Hg (IQR, 94-133) in the checklist group vs 108 mm Hg (IQR, 90-132) in the usual care group ( P = .61). There was no difference between the checklist and usual care in procedure duration (120 vs 118 s; P = .49), number of laryngoscopy attempts (one vs one attempt; P = .42), or severe life-threatening procedural complications (40.8% vs 32.6%; P = .20). Conclusions The verbal performance of a written, preprocedure checklist does not increase the lowest arterial oxygen saturation or lowest systolic BP during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults compared with usual care. Trial Registry ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT02497729; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.