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Poultry production in China has been experiencing a high incidence of broiler arthritis /tenosynovitis caused by avian orthoreovirus (ARV) since 2013. In the spring of 2020 severe arthritis cases from broiler flocks were identified in a large-scale commercial poultry company in Anhui Province, China. Diseased organs from dead birds were sent for diagnosis to our laboratory. ARVs, including seven broiler-isolates and two breeder-isolates, were successfully harvested and sequenced. Interestingly, the genotypes of ARVs isolated from infected chickens were inconsistent between different flocks, or even between different houses on the same flocks. Pathogenicity testing in chicks confirmed that the seven broiler-isolates were pathogenic strains, which could cause arthritis in infected chickens. Subsequently, a total of 89.66% serum samples collected from apparently healthy adult broiler flocks not vaccinated against ARV tested positive for ARV antibodies, suggesting that low and high virulence reovirus strains may be co-circulating in the farm. To this end, we collected dead embryos of unhatched chicken eggs for pathogen tracing, and the two ARV breeder-isolates isolated indicated that vertical transmission from breeders to progeny should not be underestimated for the prevalence of ARV within broiler flocks. The findings have implications for the evidenced-based formulation of prevention and control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2010, several duck Tembusu viruses (DTMUVs) have been isolated from infected ducks in China, and these virus strains have undergone extensive variation over the years. Although the infection rate is high, the mortality rate is usually relatively low—~5%–30%; however, since fall 2019, an infectious disease similar to DTMUV infection but with a high mortality rate of ~50% in goslings has been prevalent in Anhui Province, China. The present study identified a new Tembusu virus, designated DTMUV/Goose/China/2019/AQ‐19 (AQ‐19), that is believed to be responsible for the noticeably high mortality in goslings. To investigate the genetic variation of this strain, its entire genome was sequenced and analysed for specific variations, and goslings and mice were challenged with the isolated virus to investigate its pathogenicity. The AQ‐19 genome shared only 94.3%–96.9% and 90.9% nucleotide identity with other Chinese and Malaysian DTMUVs, respectively; however, AQ‐19 has high homology with Thailand DTMUVs (97.2%–98.1% nucleotide identity). Phylogenetic analysis of the E gene revealed that AQ‐19 and most of Thailand DTMUVs form a branch separate from any of the previously reported DTMUV strains in China. After the challenge, some goslings and mice showed typical clinical signs of DTMUV, particularly severe neurological dysfunction. AQ‐19 has high virulence in goslings and mice, resulting in 60% and 70% mortality through intramuscular and intracerebral routes, respectively. Pathological examination revealed severe histological lesions in the brain and liver of the infected goslings and mice. Taken together, these results demonstrated the emergence of a novel Tembusu virus with high virulence circulating in goslings in China for the first time, and our findings highlight the high genetic diversity of DTMUVs in China. Further study of the pathogenicity and host range of this novel Tembusu virus is particularly important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ground-source airborne time-domain electromagnetic (GATEM) method is an effective electromagnetic exploration technology. The actual geological medium has rough characteristics; however, the current inversion methods for GATEM data are mostly based on homogeneous medium and extract only resistivity information. In this article, a neural network (NN) is served as extracting the two parameters of resistivity and roughness for rough medium. The structural parameter selection of NN has no fixed formula and is often related to experience. The NN has difficulty converging to the target accuracy if the structural parameters are not selected properly. To realize high-precision inversion of GATEM data, this article introduces Rademacher complexity to limit the generalization error and improve the generalization ability of the NN. Above all, a sample set of the GATEM response, resistivity, and roughness of the rough medium is established. In the next place, a fully connected NN structure is constructed, and a highly generalized NN is obtained by using Rademacher complexity. Then the mapping relationships are established through training, and the NN method is served as inverting the resistivity and roughness. The initial NN and the highly generalized NN are used to invert the GATEM response of rough medium for typical geological models. The results of the highly generalized NN based on Rademacher complexity are closer to the real models. The method is applied to the GATEM field data in Zhuxianzhuang, Anhui Province, China, and the results are consistent with the geological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichomonas gallinae , a protozoan parasite causing avian trichomonosis, exhibits a widespread global prevalence. It primarily affects the upper digestive tract of birds and has resulted in significant ecological problems worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and genotypes of T. gallinae in Anhui Province, China. A total of 1612 oropharyngeal swab samples were collected from pigeon farms in Anhui Province to determine the prevalence of T. gallinae infection. The results revealed 565 (35.1%) positive samples of T. gallinae. Significant differences in infection rates were observed among different regions and age groups. Furthermore, the ITS1/5.8 S/ITS2 region was amplified, sequenced, and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Genotypes A and B of T. gallinae were identified, and genotype B was the dominant genotype in Anhui Province. This is the first report on the prevalence and molecular characterization of T. gallinae in Anhui Province, China. Additionally, we integrated reports on the prevalence and genotype of T. gallinae in relevant provinces in China. • This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and genotypes of T. gallinae in Anhui Province, China. • We integrated reports on the prevalence and genotype of T. gallinae in relevant provinces in China. • This study serves as a pioneering summary of domestic studies related to T. gallinae. • We employed the methodology of knowledge graph to visualize certain data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]