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Real-time monitoring of microbial dynamics during fermentation is essential for wine quality control. This study developed a method that combines the fluorescent dye propidium monoazide (PMA) with CELL-qPCR, which can distinguish between dead and live microbes for Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. This method could detect the quantity of microbes efficiently and rapidly without DNA extraction during wine fermentation. The results showed that (1) the PMACELL-qPCR enumeration method developed for L. plantarum was optimized for PMA treatment concentration, PMA detection sensitivity and multiple conditions of sample pretreatment in wine environment, and the optimized method can accurately quantify 104-108 CFU/mL of the target strain (L. plantarum) in multiple matrices; (2) when the concentration of dead bacteria in the system is 104 times higher than the concentration of live bacteria, there is an error of 0.5-1 lg CFU/mL in the detection results. The optimized sample pretreatment method in wine can effectively reduce the inhibitory components in the qPCR reaction system; (3) the optimized PMA-CELL-qPCR method was used to monitor the dynamic changes of L. plantarum during the fermentation of Cabernet Sauvignon wine, and the results were consistent with the plate counting method. In conclusion, the live bacteria quantification method developed in this study for PMA-CELLqPCR in L. plantarum wines is accurate in quantification and simple in operation, and can be used as a means to accurately monitor microbial dynamics in wine and other fruit wines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose It is essential to provide the necessary facilities in a building for human living. However, most unit owners of high-rise buildings do not realise the importance of good property management until their buildings and common facilities have deteriorated. It is thus important to ensure adequate maintenance is provided to create and sustain a healthy living environment for high-rise households. The purpose of this study is to measure and compare the perceptions and satisfactions of residents with the facilities and maintenance services provided in two different condominiums located next to each other.Design/methodology/approach Survey questionnaires were used, and the data were collected from 120 residents of each condominium which was developed by the same developer but completed at different times. Using the IBM SPSS Statistics software, cross tabulations, χ2 tests of independence and independent-samples t-tests were carried out for descriptive and inferential statistics. A simple post questionnaire survey was conducted to confirm the findings obtained from χ2 tests and t-tests.Findings The results show that residents’ perceptions of facilities and maintenance services provided are significantly higher for the newer condominium compared to the older one. Residents’ satisfactions with facilities are also higher for the newer condominium. However, poorer lift services and their maintenance have resulted in lower overall mean satisfaction with maintenance services for the newer condominium. Nevertheless, results from data collected in post questionnaire survey reveal that the respondents still prefer to live in the newer condominium despite higher rental rates.Research limitations/implications This paper reports only the data collected from samples of two condominiums in Kuala Lumpur.Practical implications There is a dearth of literature on residents’ perceptions and satisfactions towards facilities and maintenance services provided for high-rise residential living, particularly in Malaysia, where high-rise buildings are either managed by joint management body or management corporation depending on whether the strata titles have been issued. The findings can be used as benchmarks for property management purposes of condominiums.Originality/value This paper could be considered as the first in reporting residents’ perceptions and satisfactions with the facilities and maintenance services provided in residential high-rise buildings since the implementation of the Strata Management Act 2013, which was implemented to provide for proper maintenance and management of high-rise buildings and the common properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The goal of the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NCMS) is to decrease the financial burden and improve the health of rural areas. The purpose of the present study is to determine how government subsidies vary between poorer and wealthier groups, especially in low-income regions in rural China.Methods: The distribution, amount, and equity of government subsidies delivered via NCMS to rural residents at different economic levels were assessed using benefit-incidence analysis, concentration index, Kakwani index, Gini index, Lorenz curve, and concentration curve. Household and health institution surveys were conducted in 2010, covering 9701 residents. Household socio-economic status, healthcare costs, out-of-pocket payments, and utilization information were collected in household interviews, and reimbursement policy was provided by institutional survey.Results: The government subsidy concentration index was -0.055 for outpatients and 0.505 for inpatients; and the outpatient and inpatient subsidy Kakwani indexes were -0.376 and 0.184, respectively. The poorest 20 % of populations received 3.4 % of the total subsidy output; while the wealthiest 20 % received 54.3 %. The results showed that the distribution of outpatient subsidies was equitable, but the hospital subsidies disproportionally benefited wealthier people.Conclusions: Wealthier people benefited more than poorer people from the NCMS in terms of inpatient and total subsidies. For outpatients, the subsidies were unrelated to ability to pay. This contradicts the common belief that the NCMS does not exacerbate benefit inequity. Long-term policy is required to tackle this problem, specifically of redesign the NCMS reimbursement system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to develop representative gender- and age-specific percentile reference data for serum lipids for Chinese adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age. Blood samples were obtained from 2998 boys and 3225 girls in nine provinces from the mainland of China, including rural and urban areas. The data for serum lipid levels, including TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C, were calculated and measured between March and June 2008. Gender- and age-specific percentiles of serum lipid levels were calculated. Gender- and age-specific percentile-based reference data for serum lipids is presented for Chinese adolescents for the first time. The 95th percentile for the TC, TG and LDL-C levels was 5.07, 1.90 and 3.32 mmol/l, and the 5th percentile for the HDL-C level was 0.92 mmol/l among all the students. These reference values can be used to plan and implement preventive policies, and to study temporal trends. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To evaluate the impact of nutrition education in kindergartens and to promote healthy dietary habits in children. Design: Prospective cohort study. Four kindergartens with 1252 children were randomized to the intervention group and three with 850 children to the control group. The personal nutritional knowledge, attitudes and dietary behaviours of the parents were also investigated. Each month, children and parents in the intervention group participated in nutrition education activities. The main outcome measures were anthropometrics and diet-related behaviours of the children and the nutritional knowledge and attitudes of the parents at baseline, 6 months (mid-term) and 1 year (post-test). Baseline demographic and socio-economic characteristics were also collected. Setting: Seven kindergartens from Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, eastern China. Subjects: Two thousand one hundred and two 4- to 6-year-old pre-schoolers from seven kindergartens participated. Results: The prevalence of children's unhealthy diet-related behaviours decreased significantly and good lifestyle behaviours increased in the group receiving nutrition education compared with controls. Parental eating habits and attitudes to planning their children's diets also changed appreciably in the intervention group compared with the control group (P<0·05). However, there were no statistically significant differences in children's height, weight, height-for-age Z-score or weight-for-age Z-score between the two groups. Conclusions: Kindergarten-based nutrition education improves pre-schoolers' lifestyle behaviours and brings about beneficial changes in parents' attitudes to planning their children's diets and their own personal eating habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of FcγRIIB gene in susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using family-based association methods. In total, 119 patients with SLE from 95 nuclear families, aged from 14 to 78 years, who met the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997 criteria, were recruited, as were 316 family members of these patients. A family-based association analysis was used to explore the relationship between gene polymorphism and SLE. We studied three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, rs10917661, rs5017567, and rs1050499) encoding non-synonymous substitution in the FcγRIIB gene with respect to genetic susceptibility to SLE in collection of 435 subjects from 95 nuclear families. We performed the genotyping using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Among 119 SLE patients, the frequencies of FcγRIIB Gln/Gln,Gln/Ter and Ter/Ter genotypes were 12.7, 60.7 and 26.6%. Univariate (single-marker) family-based association tests (FBATs) demonstrated that variant alleles at a SNP, rs10917661, in exon 2 of FcγRIIB gene were significantly associated with genetic susceptibility to SLE in additive model (exon 2, Z = 3.444, P = 0.00057). transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) and sibship disequilibuium test (SDT) analysis showed an excess of the alleles of 50Ter from heterozygous parents to affected offspring (χ2 = 10.88, P = 0.0013). However, the rs5017567 and rs1050499 SNPs were not found in Chinese population. Our findings provide strong evidence suggesting that a FcγRIIB–Gln50Ter loci might be the susceptible factor of SLE in Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of FcγRIIB gene in susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using family-based association study and to examine possible interaction between the Ile225Thr (rs1050501, exon 5) polymorphism of Fcγ receptor IIB gene and hypersensitivity. Objectives: A total of 119 patients with SLE from 95 nuclear families, aged 14 to 78 years, according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997 criteria were recruited. In addition, 316 family members of these patients were also genotyped. Seventy patients and their 70 normal siblings from 95 nuclear families were selected by the case-combined-control design. Materials and Methods: A family-based association study was used to explore the relationship between gene polymorphism and SLE. We studied a single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) encoding non-synonymous substitution in the FcγRIIB gene with respect to genetic susceptibility to SLE, the FcγRIIB gene were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. The interaction of gene-environment was assessed by conditional logistic regression model. Results: Among 119 SLE patients, The frequencies of FcγRIIB Ile225Ile, Ile225Thr and Thr225Thr genotypes were 8.1%, 61.3% and 30.6%. Univariate (single-marker) family-based association tests (FBATs) demonstrated that variant allele at SNP rs1050501, in exon 5 of FcγRIIB gene was significantly associated with genetic susceptibility to SLE in additive model (exon 5, Z=3.707, P=0.00020). Transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) and sibship disequilibuium test (SDT) analysis showed an excess of the allele of 225Thr (Ile225Thr loci) from heterozygous parents to affected offspring (χ²=7.14, P=0.0105); Moreover, conditional logistic regression results showed that there was statistically significant multiplicative interaction of FcγRa!B gene and the Hypersensitiveness [χ²=5.013, P=0.024; OR=2.444, CI (1.126-5.309)]. Conclusions: Our findings provide strong evidence suggesting a Ile225Thr polymorphism might be the susceptibility factor of SLE; a possible gene-environment interaction between hypersensitiveness and Ile225Thr mutation in Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the information on sexually transmitted disease (STD)/AIDS in the population working in congregating trading markets in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted among three big congregating trading markets in Hefei City. Seven hundred fifty-two market vendors completed a questionnaire, 333 of two markets provided specimen for STD/HIV testing. The majority of market vendors in China are sexually active youths and adults, and have little education. The market vendors had poor knowledge of STD/AIDS. The rates of correct answers to questions about STD/AIDS varied between 21.1%–81.9%. More than 50% of the market vendors had a negative attitude toward HIV-infected individuals. Among the subjects, 27.6% had had premarital or extramarital sex; 15.9% reported using condoms in the past 12 months. Among those who provided specimens, 3.9% were identified with STD, approximately 9 times higher than that in the general population of Hefei (0.4%). Our study suggests China should implement STD/HIV prevention interventions for market vendors to prevent STD/HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with unknown etiology, characterized by the presence of auto-antibodies to various cellular components and chronic inflammation of different organ systems. A number of susceptibility loci for SLE have been suggested in different populations, but the nature of the susceptibility genes and mutations is yet to be identified. The programmed cell death 1 gene (PDCD1) was considered to be one of the strongest candidate genes associated with SLE. Here, we analyzed 265 individuals for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PDCD1, including 122 unrelated individuals affected with SLE and 143 random healthy volunteer individuals in Han Chinese. Genomic DNA was prepared from peripheral blood leukocytes and the SNPs were further confirmed by DNA sequencing. We found there were statistically significant differences in the distribution of genotypes at 7872 locus (OR = 0.59, 95%CI = 0.41–0.85) and 8162 locus (OR = 0.54, 95%CI = 0.37–0.78) between SLE and control. Genotype TT in 7872 locus (OR = 0.58, 95%CI = 0.34–1.00) and GG genotype in 8162 locus (OR = 0.46, 95%CI = 0.26–0.80) might be protective for SLE prevention. The associated SNPs might regulate the binding of some transcription factors, such as AML-1a, USF and MZF-1, suggesting a mechanism through which it can contribute to the predisposition of SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]