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Many insect pests, including the brown planthopper (BPH), undergo windborne migration that is challenging to observe and track. It remains controversial about their migration patterns and largely unknown regarding the underlying genetic basis. By analyzing 360 whole genomes from around the globe, we clarify the genetic sources of worldwide BPHs and illuminate a landscape of BPH migration showing that East Asian populations perform closed-circuit journeys between Indochina and the Far East, while populations of Malay Archipelago and South Asia undergo one-way migration to Indochina. We further find round-trip migration accelerates population differentiation, with highly diverged regions enriching in a gene desert chromosome that is simultaneously the speciation hotspot between BPH and related species. This study not only shows the power of applying genomic approaches to demystify the migration in windborne migrants but also enhances our understanding of how seasonal movements affect speciation and evolution in insects.

During the initial phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there was a critical need to create a valid and reliable screening and surveillance for university staff and students. Consequently, 11 medical experts participated in this cross-sectional study to judge three risk categories of either low, medium, or high, for all 1536 possible combinations of 11 key COVID-19 predictors. The independent experts' judgement on each combination was recorded via a novel dashboard-based rating method which presented combinations of these predictors in a dynamic display within Microsoft Excel. The validated instrument also incorporated an innovative algorithm-derived deduction for efficient rating tasks. The results of the study revealed an ordinal-weighted agreement coefficient of 0.81 (0.79 to 0.82, p -value < 0.001) that reached a substantial class of inferential benchmarking. Meanwhile, on average, the novel algorithm eliminated 76.0% of rating tasks by deducing risk categories based on experts' ratings for prior combinations. As a result, this study reported a valid, complete, practical, and efficient method for COVID-19 health screening via a reliable combinatorial-based experts' judgement. The new method to risk assessment may also prove applicable for wider fields of practice whenever a high-stakes decision-making relies on experts' agreement on combinations of important criteria.

Background: Self-report measurement instruments are commonly used to screen for mental health disorders in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). The Western origins of most depression instruments may constitute a bias when used globally. Western measures based on the DSM, do not fully capture the expression of depression globally. We developed a self-report scale design to address this limitation, the International Depression Symptom Scale-General version (IDSS-G), based on empirical evidence of the signs and symptoms of depression reported across cultures. This paper describes the rationale and process of its development and the results of an initial test among a non-Western population., Methods: We evaluated internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability of the IDSS-G in a sample N  = 147 male and female attendees of primary health clinics in Yangon, Myanmar. For criterion validity, IDSS-G scores were compared with diagnosis by local psychiatrists using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID). Construct validity was evaluated by investigating associations between the IDSS-G and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), impaired function, and suicidal ideation., Results: The IDSS-G showed high internal consistency reliability ( α  = 0.92), test-retest reliability ( r  = 0.87), and inter-rater reliability ( ICC  = 0.90). Strong correlations between the IDSS-G and PHQ-9, functioning, and suicidal ideation supported construct validity. Criterion validity was supported for use of the IDSS-G to identify people with a SCID diagnosed depressive disorder (major depression/dysthymia). The IDSS-G also demonstrated incremental validity by predicting functional impairment beyond that predicted by the PHQ-9. Results suggest that the IDSS-G accurately assesses depression in this population. Future testing in other populations will follow.

A total of 280 apparently healthy volunteers were screened for hepatitis B (HB) markers out of which 49 subjects (17.5%) were positive for HB surface antigen (HBsAg) and 82 (29.3%) were positive for antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs). Three doses of DMR-HB vaccine, 0.15 ml per dose were administered to 95 subjects, who were serologically negative for both HB markers. The vaccination was given by the intradermal route on the flexor surface of the left forearm, at 1 month intervals according to the 0, 1 and 2 months schedule. The subjects were carefully monitored to record any adverse reaction of the vaccine. Blood specimen was collected from each subject, 1 month after the second and third vaccinations, to determine the anti-HBs antibody response to the vaccine. The study results showed that local pain was the only side effect noted and protective antibodies (anti-HBs) were detected in 69 (72.6%) of the vaccinees after the second dose of the vaccine and 89 (93.6%) after the third dose of the vaccine. Thus the intradermal route, which would require approximately one-seventh of the standard dose, would be suitable for use in certain groups such as high risk adults, when the cost of the vaccine is the inhibiting factor for routine or mass vaccination.

We carried out a molecular characteristic-based epidemiological survey of various hepatitis viruses, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV), in Myanmar. The study population of 403 subjects consisted of 213 healthy individuals residing in the city of Yangon, Myanmar, and the surrounding suburbs and 190 liver disease patients (155 virus-related liver disease patients and 35 nonviral disease patients). The infection rates of the viruses among the 213 healthy subjects were as follows: 8% for HBV (16 patients), 2% for HCV (4 patients), and 8% for GBV-C/HGV (17 patients). In contrast, for 155 patients with acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma, the infection rates were 30% for HBV (46 patients), 27% for HCV (41 patients), and 11% for GBV-C/HGV (17 patients). In the nonviral liver disease group of 35 patients with alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver, liver abscess, and biliary disease, the infection rates were 6% for HBV (2 patients), 20% for HCV (7 patients), and 26% for GBV-C/HGV (9 patients). The most common viral genotypes were type C of HBV (77%), type 3b of HCV (67%), and type 2 of GBV-C/HGV (67%). Moreover, testing for HEV among 371 subjects resulted in the detection of anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) in 117 patients (32%). The age prevalence of anti-HEV IgG was 3% for patients younger than 20 years and 30% or more for patients 20 years of age or older. Furthermore, a high prevalence of anti-HEV IgG (24%) was also found in swine living together with humans in Yangon. These results suggest that these hepatitis virus infections are widespread in Myanmar and have led to a high incidence of acute and chronic liver disease patients in the region.

Viral hepatitis E is endemic, frequently provoking epidemic outbreaks in many developing countries. We have attempted to clone the viral genome and to develop an antibody assay system. A lambda gt11 cDNA library was constructed from the bile juice containing putative causative viruses and was immunoscreened by the antisera obtained from patients and monkeys infected with hepatitis E. Three virus-specific clones were isolated and were revealed to overlap one another in sequence, with 1,459 nucleotides in total length. These clones direct the synthesis of polypeptides probably having common immunological epitope(s). Immunoplaque assay revealed the occurrence of antibodies against this epitope in the sera from experimental monkeys with the convalescent phase and from patients of Myanmar, Nepal and India. The data indicate that the cDNA fragments are useful for immunodiagnosis of hepatitis E.