Longitudinal fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2, pepper mild mottle virus, and human mitochondrial DNA in COVID-19 patients.

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been widely applied in many countries and regions for monitoring COVID-19 transmission in the population through testing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater. However, the amount of virus shed by individuals over time based on the stage of infection and accurate number of infections in the community creates challenges in predicting COVID-19 prevalence in the population and interpreting WBE results. In this study, we measured SARS-CoV-2, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), and human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in longitudinal fecal samples collected from 42 COVID-19 patients for up to 42 days after diagnosis.

Respiratory virus detection and sequencing from negative SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests.

Genomic epidemiology offers important insight into the transmission and evolution of respiratory viruses. We used metagenomic sequencing from negative SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests to identify a wide range of respiratory viruses and generate full genome sequences, offering a streamlined mechanism for broad respiratory virus genomic surveillance.

Tracheostomy in high-risk patients on ECMO: A bedside hybrid dilational technique utilizing a Rummel tourniquet.

Objective: Traditionally, critically ill patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation benefit from a long-term airway, thus necessitating tracheostomy. The widespread application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has exponentially increased in recent years, creating a new subset of patients necessitating tracheostomy with significantly increased bleeding risk. We present a hybrid dilational tracheostomy technique utilizing a Rummel tourniquet developed at our institution to mitigate bleeding risk in patients on ECMO necessitating long-term airway.

Fecal microbiota transplantation promotes reduction of antimicrobial resistance by strain replacement.

Multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) colonization is a fundamental challenge in antimicrobial resistance. Limited studies have shown that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can reduce MDRO colonization, but its mechanisms are poorly understood. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of FMT for MDRO decolonization in renal transplant recipients called PREMIX (NCT02922816).

Thermophilic Fungi as the Microbial Agents of Choice for the Industrial Co-Fermentation of Wood Wastes and Nitrogen-Rich Organic Wastes to Bio-Methane.

The novel industrial approach of co-fermenting wood wastes with agricultural wastes that are rich in nitrogen such as animal manures to produce bio-methane (renewable natural gas) fuel via thermophilic anaerobic digestion mimics an analogous process occurring in lower termites, but it relies instead on thermophilic fungi along with other thermophilic microorganisms comprising suitable bacteria and archaea. Wood microbial hydrolysis under thermophilic temperatures (range of 55 °C to 70 °C) and aerobic or micro-aerobic conditions constitutes the first step of the two-step (hydrolysis and fermentation) dry thermophilic anaerobic digestion industrial process, designated as "W2M3+2", that relies on thermophilic fungi species, most of which grow naturally in wood piles. Eleven thermophilic fungi have been identified as likely agents of the industrial process, and their known growth habitats and conditions have been reviewed.