The historical experience in China of constructing healthy buildings over many centuries merits even more attention today. Using the quadrangle as a basic style, buildings have been constructed in this way from ancient China to the present time. It is a style found in all areas of the country. The buildings in which people lived in ancient China were designed according to the doctrine of wind and water (which in Chinese is called feng shui). Today we would describe this as a philosophy for designing the indoor environment for healthy living. The common properties of such buildings are that of having good indoor air quality and easy maintenance of the indoor climate. This paper describes the optimal performance of quadrangle buildings from the perspective of their thermal environment, illumination by natural lighting, infrared absorption and radiation, noise and indoor air quality, insulation properties and gives a mathematical analysis of these features. While this building style is not unique to China it could be developed more in other countries. It is a healthy style of building which can serve mankind worldwide because of its natural energy saving and adopting more widely it would improve standards in building.

Background The 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic poses a huge threat internationally; however, the role of the host immune system in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is not well understood. Methods Cytokine and chemokine levels and characterisation of immune cell subsets from 20 COVID-19 cases after hospital admission (17 critically ill and 3 severe patients) and 16 convalescent patients were determined using a multiplex immunoassay and flow cytometry, respectively. Results IP-10, MCP-1, MIG, IL-6, and IL-10 levels were significantly higher in acute severe/critically ill patients with COVID-19, whereas were normal in patients who had reached convalescence. CD8+ T cells in severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients expressed high levels of cytotoxic granules (granzyme B and perforin)and was hyperactivated as evidenced by the high proportions of CD38. Furthermore, the cytotoxic potential of natural killer (NK) cells, and the frequencies of myeloid dendritic cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells was reduced in patients with severe and critical COVID-19; however, these dysregulations were found to be restored in convalescent phases. Conclusion Thus, elicitation of the hyperactive cytokine-mediated inflammatory response, dysregulation of CD8+ T and NK cells, and deficiency of host myeloid and plasmacytoid DCs, may contribute to COVID-19 pathogenesis and provide insights into potential therapeutic targets and strategies.

Background Epidemiologic reports suggest that the most severe/fatal adenoviral disease in children might be associated with human adenovirus type 7 (HAdV-7). However, the pathogenesis of HAdV-7-induced severe disease remains poorly understood. Methods HAdV-3 and HAdV-7 replication kinetics and the host response to infection were compared using ex vivo human lung tissue cultures. Furthermore, the cytokine/chemokine levels and the presence of adenovirus DNA in the serum of hospitalized children infected with HAdV-7 (n=65) and HAdV-3 (n=48) were measured (using a multiplex immunoassay, and qPCR, respectively). Results Among 471 human adenovirus positive specimens, HAdV-3 or HAdV-7 was the most prevalent genotype during 2014-2016 or in 2018, respectively. The incidence of severe pneumonia was higher in HAdV-7 (30.1%) versus HAdV-3 (4.5%) infected individuals. HAdV-7 replicated more efficiently than HAdV-3 ex vivo. IP-10, IL-6 and MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in children infected with HAdV-7 versus HAdV-3. Adenovirus DNA was detected in the serum of 40% and 4.2% of HAdV-7and HAdV-3 infected children, respectively. Further, viremia was strongly associated with severe clinical presentations. Conclusions The pathogenesis of HAdV-7-induced severe disease was probably associated with high replication competence and hyper-inflammatory responses. The detection of adenovirus DNA in blood may be useful for severe disease risk-assessment.

The historical experience in China of constructing healthy buildings over many centuries merits even more attention today. Using the quadrangle as a basic style, buildings have been constructed in this way from ancient China to the present time. It is a style found in all areas of the country. The buildings in which people lived in ancient China were designed according to the doctrine of wind and water (which in Chinese is called feng shui). Today we would describe this as a philosophy for designing the indoor environment for healthy living. The common properties of such buildings are that of having good indoor air quality and easy maintenance of the indoor climate. This paper describes the optimal performance of quadrangle buildings from the perspec tive of their thermal environment, illumination by natural lighting, infrared absorption and radiation, noise and indoor air quality, insulation properties and gives a mathematical analysis of these features. While this building style is not unique to China it could be developed more in other countries. It is a healthy style of building which can serve mankind worldwide because of its natural energy saving and adopting more widely it would improve standards in building.

The influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus emerged in 2009 and has been continuously circulating in humans for over ten years. Here, we analyzed a clinical influenza A (H1N1) pdm09-infected patient case hospitalized for two months in Guangdong (from December 14, 2019 to February 15, 2020). This isolate, named A/Guangdong/LCF/2019 (LCF/19), was genetically sequenced, rescued by reverse genetics, and phylogenetically analyzed in the context of other relevant pdm09 isolates. Compared with earlier isolates, this pdm09 virus's genetic sequence contains four substitutions, S186P, T188I, D190A, and Q192E, of the hemagglutinin (HA) segment at position 186–192 (H3 numbering) in the epitope Sb, and two of which are located at the 190-helix. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the epitope Sb started undergoing a rapid antigenic change in 2018. To characterize the pathogenicity of this novel substitution motif, a panel of reassortant viruses containing the LCF/2019 HA segment or the chimeric HA segment with the four substitutions were rescued. Kinetic growth data revealed that the reassortant viruses, including the LCF/2019 with the PTIAAQE substitution, propagated faster than those rescued ones having the STTADQQ motif in the epitope Sb in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. The HI test showed that the binding activity of escape mutant to 2018 pdm09 sera was weaker than GLW/2018, suggesting that old vaccines might not effectively protect people from infection. Due to the difference in the selection of vaccine strains, people vaccinated in the southern hemisphere could still suffer a severe infection if infected with this antigenic drift pdm09 virus.