Characteristics and potential analysis of Madagascar hydrocarbon-bearing basins

Madagascar becomes a large isolated island after its dislocation from East Africa at its western part during the opening of the Mozambique Channel and its separation from India at its eastern part during the opening of the basin of the Mascarene. From a stratigraphic point of view, Karroo of Madagascar shares substantial similarities with the stratigraphic strata of East Africa.While oil companies have taken a liking to the basins of East Africa, they also turn to the basins in the western part of Madagascar especially after the discovery of large oil fields at Tsimiroro and Bemolanga. According to the study of their geological history, the basins of Madagascar contain huge hydrocarbon potential. The western basins, which is more developed than the east coast of the island, have been the subject of many in-depth studies by numerous researchers. The cross-referencing of bibliographic data with geological studies, and knowledge of hydrocarbon formation and maturation stages, carried out in this study served to determine the nature of source rocks, reservoir rocks, bedrock and eventual trapping system of hydrocarbons in Madagascar. This study identified the properties of Madagascar source rocks, reservoir rocks, bedrock and the final oil and gas trap system by cross-referencing the literature and geological research, oil and gas formation and maturity stages, and shows that Madagascar has considerable hydrocarbon potential.

Diagnosis,treatment and prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in children:experts'consensus statement updatedforthe Omicron variant

It has been more than 3 years since the novel coronavirus(SARS-CoV-2)pandemic raged globally.The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has greatly influenced human society.According to data from the World Health Organization(WHO),there were over 656 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world as of January 1,2023,including over 6.6 million deaths[1].

Diagnosis,treatment,and prevention of monkeypox in children:an experts'consensus statement

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease.Since the first human monkeypox case was detected in 1970,it has been prevalent in some countries in central and western Africa.Since May 2022,monkeypox cases have been reported in more than 96 non-endemic countries and regions worldwide.As of September 14,2022,there have been more than 58,200 human monkeypox cases,and there is community transmission.The cessation of smallpox vaccination in 1980,which had some cross-protection with monkeypox,resulted in a general lack of immunity to monkeypox,which caused global concern and vigilance.As of Sep-tember 14,2022,there are four monkeypox cases in China,including three in Taiwan province and one in Hong Kong city.Previous foreign studies have shown that children are vulnerable to monkeypox and are also at high risk for severe disease or complications.In order to improve pediatricians'understanding of monkeypox and achieve early detection,early diagno-sis,early treatment,and early disposal,we have organized national authoritative experts in pediatric infection,respiratory,dermatology,critical care medicine,infectious diseases,and public health and others to formulate this expert consensus,on the basis of the latest"Clinical management and infection prevention and control for monkeypox"released by The World Health Organization,the"guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of monkeypox(version 2022)"issued by National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China and other relevant documents.During the development of this consensus,multidisciplinary experts have repeatedly demonstrated the etiology,epidemiology,transmission,clinical manifestations,laboratory examinations,diagnosis,differential diagnosis,treatment,discharge criteria,prevention,disposal process,and key points of prevention and control of suspected and confirmed cases.

Updated diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in children: experts' consensus statement (condensed version of the second edition)

In the early February,2020,we called up an experts' committee with more than 30 Chinese experts from 11 national medical academic organizations to formulate the first edition of consensus statement on diagnosis,treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children,which has been published in this journal.With accumulated experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in children,we have updated the consensus statement and released the second edition recently.The current version in English is a condensed version of the second edition of consensus statement on diagnosis,treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in children.In the current version,diagnosis and treatement criteria have been optimized,and early identification of severe and critical cases is highlighted.The early warning indicators for severe pediatric cases have been summarized which is utmost important for clinical practice.This version of experts consensus will be valuable for better prevention,diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in children worldwide.

Vestibular function of pediatric patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss:based on vertigo symptom and vestibular function testing

Background This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between vestibular and auditory functions in pediatric patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSHL).Methods A total of 30 pediatric patients experiencing unilateral SSHL between 5.9 and 13.0 years of age were enrolled in this study.Pure tone audiometry was evaluated prior to treatment initiation and again after one month of treatment.Prior to treatment initiation,vertigo symptoms were noted;then several vestibular function tests were conducted including caloric testing,ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials(o-VEMPs)and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials(c-VEMPs).Associations between pre and post-treatment vestibular function and hearing threshold levels were analyzed.Results Initial hearing thresholds of children with vertigo were higher than thresholds of children without vertigo(92 dB vs 79 dB,F=0.033),while initial hearing thresholds of children with abnormal caloric test findings were higher than thresholds of children with normal caloric test findings(93 dB vs 67 dB.P=0.014).Cutoff values of hearing thresholds for those with vertigo symptoms and abnormal vestibular test results were 86.000-and 89.583-dB HL.respectively.Regarding prognosis,children with vertigo exhibited lower recovery rates than children without vertigo(33%vs 75%,P=0.025);recovery rates of children with abnormal caloric test results were lower than the overall recovery rate(25%vs 73%,respectively,P=0.039).Conclusion Assessments of vertigo symptoms and vestibular function are useful tools in predicting pediatric SwSHL patient disease severity and prognosis.

Short-term developmental outcomes in neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 from Wuhan, China

Background Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)is an emerging disease.The consequences of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in infants remain unknown.Therefore,this study aims to investigate whether neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 have adverse brain development.Methods This multicenter observational study was conducted at two designated maternal and children's hospitals in Hubei Province,China's Mainland from February 1,2020 to May 15,2020.Neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 were enrolled.Brain magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)findings,and volumes of grey and white matters,and physical growth parameters were observed at 44 weeks corrected gestational age.Results Of 72 neonates born to mothers with COVID-19,8(11%)were diagnosed with COVID-19,8(11%)were critically ill,and no deaths were reported.Among the eight neonates that underwent brain MRI at corrected gestational age of 44 weeks,five neonates were diagnosed with COVID-19.Among these five neonates,three presented abnormal MRI findings including abnormal signal in white matter and delayed myelination in newborn 2,delayed myelination and brain dysplasia in newborn 3,and abnormal signal in the bilateral periventricular in newborn 5.The other three neonates without COVID-19 presented no significantly changes of brain MRI findings and the volumes of grey matter and white matter compared to those of healthy newborns at the equivalent age(P>0.05).Physical growth parameters for weight,length,and head circumference at gestational age of 44 weeks were all above the 3rd percentile for all neonates.Conclusions Some of the neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 had abnormal brain MRI findings but these neonates did not appear to have poor physical growth.These findings may provide the information on the follow-up schedule on the neonates exposed to SARS-CoV-2,but further study is required to evaluate the association between the abnormal MRI findings and the exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on neuroimaging and neurobehavior in neonates

Background We collected neonatal neurological,clinical,and imaging data to study the neurological manifestations and imaging characteristics of neonates with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Methods This case-control study included newborns diagnosed with COVID-19 in Wuhan,China from January 2020 to July 2020.All included newborns had complete neurological evaluations and head magnetic resonance imaging.We normalized the extracted T2-weighted imaging data to a standard neonate template space,and segmented them into gray matter,white matter,and cerebrospinal fluid.The comparison of gray matter volume was conducted between the two groups.Results A total of five neonates with COVID-19 were included in this study.The median reflex scores were 2 points lower in the infected group than in the control group(P=0.0094),and the median orientation and behavior scores were 2.5 points lower in the infected group than in the control group(P=0.0008).There were also significant differences between the two groups in the total scale score(P=0.0426).The caudate nucleus,parahippocampal gyrus,and thalamus had the strongest correlations with the Hammersmith neonatal neurologic examination(HNNE)score,and the absolute correlation coefficients between the gray matter volumes and each part of the HNNE score were all almost greater than 0.5.Conclusions We first compared the neurological performance of neonates with and without COVID-19 by quantitative neuroimaging and neurological examination methods.Considering the limited numbers of patients,more studies focusing on the structural or functional aspects of the virus in the central nervous system in different age groups will be carried out in the future.

Expert consensus on COVID-19 vaccination in children

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is a public health disaster that has not been encountered for a hundred years.On January 12,2020,the World Health Organization(WHO)confirmed and named the coronavirus which caused unexplained pneumonia as 2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV).Since then,the disease caused by this virus had been named as coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).On February 11,2020,the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses announced that the English name of the novel coronavirus was severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)[1].At present,SARS-CoV-2 infection is still rampant worldwide.As of September 10,2021,there were about 222 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 4.5 million deaths worldwide[2].According to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,by July 29,2021,4.19 million pediatric COVID-19 cases had been reported in the United States。