Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is already well known globally 1 . The Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2 infection) causes a spectrum of severe clinical manifestations, which leads to a high rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and mortality. We report a first case of COVID‐19 with reactivation of human herpesvirus (HHV) alpha subfamily (herpes simplex virus I [HSV Ⅰ] and varicella‐zoster virus [VZV]). Due to the immunosuppressive state associated with COVID‐19, infection of the HHV alpha subfamily (HSV Ⅰ and VZV) could be potentially life threatening.

Rice-duck farming is one of the traditional, but current and gradually popularized, ecological farming techniques for paddy rice production in China. In comparison to rice monoculture farming, we investigated a weed community and weed infestation in a transplanted rice-duck farming system and examined the effects of duck activities on the weeds. Three treatments were imposed in the experiment: a rice-duck coculture with duck grazing and disturbance effects, a rice-duck coculture with duck disturbance effects only, and a control (rice monoculture, no duck effects). Rice seedlings were nursed and transplanted in this experiment.The total number of weed species was significantly lower in the treatment with both duck grazing and disturbance and in the treatment with duck disturbance only than in the monoculture rice treatment (control). The Shannon-Wiener Biodiversity Index of the weed species decreased but the Pielou Evenness Index increased in both treatments with ducks compared to the monoculture control. Sorensen's coefficient of similarity of the weed communities was low between the treatments with ducks and the monoculture control, implying that the weed communities diverged. The total density and biomass of the weed community in both the treatments with ducks were significantly lower compared to the monoculture control. However, compared to the rice monoculture control, the weed biomass was reduced by 98% in the treatment with duck grazing and disturbance and by 84% in the treatment with duck disturbance only, implying that only 14% of the weeds were controlled by duck grazing and that 84% of the weed biomass was inhibited by duck activities in the rice field with ducks.The rice grain yield increased in the treatments with ducks compared to the control. The results suggested that duck activities, like grazing weeds and disturbance of the soil and water, had a significant effect on the weed community structure and that weeds could be well controlled without herbicide application under a rice-duck farming system.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) mainly infects the monocyte/macrophage lineage of pigs and regulates the production of cytokines that influence host immune responses. Several studies have reported changes in cytokine production after infection with ASFV, but the regulatory mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the immune response mechanism of ASFV using transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. Through multi-omics joint analysis, it was found that ASFV infection regulates the expression of the host NF-B signal pathway and related cytokines. Additionally, changes in the NF-κB signaling pathway and IL-1β and IL-8 expression in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) infected with ASFV were examined. Results show that ASFV infection activates the NF-κB signaling pathway and up-regulates the expression of IL-1β and IL-8. The NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 inhibited the expression profiles of phospho-NF-κB p65, p-IκB, and MyD88 proteins, and inhibited ASFV-induced NF-κB signaling pathway activation. Additionally, the results show that the NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 can inhibit the replication of ASFV and can inhibit IL-1β and, IL-8 expression. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that ASFV infection activates the NF-κB signaling pathway and up-regulates the expression of IL-1β and IL-8, and inhibits the replication of ASFV by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway and interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-8 production. These findings not only provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of the association between the NF-κB signaling pathway and ASFV infection, but also indicate that the NF-κB signaling pathway is a potential immunomodulatory pathway that controls ASF.

African swine fever (ASF) is the number one killer of swine on pig farms and has caused significant harm to pig farming in China since its spread. In this study, we designed a variety of physicochemical factors to explore the biological characteristics of ASF, so as to guide farms to develop disinfection measures.