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Litchi (Litchi chinensis) pepper spot disease results in black spotting symptoms on litchi fruits. This disease was first observed on litchi cultivar Guiwei, in Guangzhou, China, in 2009, and then found widespread in other litchi‐growing regions of China. Colletotrichum isolates were consistently recovered from typical black spot lesions of diseased fruits with frequency ranging from 83% to 100%. Three representative Colletotrichum isolates from Maoming, Guangzhou and Shenzhen were selected for identification and pathogenicity testing in the field. Based on morphology and phylogenetic analysis using the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), calmodulin (CAL), actin (ACT), β‐tubulin (TUB2) and glutamine synthetase (GS) gene sequences, the three isolates were identified as C. siamense. In the pathogenicity experiments, typical symptoms appeared on the inoculated litchi fruits, including black spots and green patches around these black spots. These symptoms were consistent with the symptoms originally observed in the field. Colletotrichum siamense was successfully reisolated from the typical black spot lesions of the inoculated litchi fruits. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on characterization of C. siamense as the causal agent of litchi pepper spot disease in mainland China by successful inoculation on fruits under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Faecal microbiota transplantation ( FMT) has become routine in managing recurrent C. difficile infection ( CDI) refractory to antibiotics. Aim To compare clinical response and improvements in colonic microbiota diversity in subjects with recurrent CDI using different donor product. Methods Seventy-two subjects with ≥3 bouts of CDI were randomised in a double-blind study to receive fresh, frozen or lyophilised FMT product via colonoscopy from 50 g of stool per treatment from eight healthy donors. Recipients provided stools pre- and 7, 14 and 30 days post- FMT for C. difficile toxin and, in a subset, microbiome composition by 16S rRNA gene profiling. Results Overall resolution of CDI was 87% during 2 months of follow-up after FMT. Stool samples before FMT had significantly decreased bacterial diversity with a high proportion of Proteobacteria compared to donors. Cure rates were highest for the group receiving fresh product seen in 25/25 (100%), lowest for the lyophilised product 16/23 (78%; P = 0.022 vs. fresh and 0.255 vs. frozen) and intermediate for frozen product 20/24 ( P = 0.233 vs. fresh). Microbial diversity was reconstituted by day 7 in the subjects receiving fresh or frozen product. Improvement in diversity was seen by day 7 in those randomised to lyophilised material with reconstitution by 30 days. Conclusions Comparative efficacy in faecal microbiota transplantation was observed in subjects receiving fresh or frozen faecal product from the same donors. The lyophilised product had a slightly lowered efficacy compared with fresh product, but it resembled other treatments in microbial restoration 1 month after faecal microbiota transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly compact (25 × 25 × 0.8 mm³) dual-band folded square-loop antenna is proposed for reading near-field RF identification (RFID) tags. The antenna has a strong and uniform magnetic field in the nearfield zone of the square loop. The side length of the square loop (~λ/16) generates resonant frequencies in two conventional modes (0.5λ and 1.0λ). Experimental interrogation of a small RFID button tag attached to a blood sample collection tube showed that the antenna has a small interrogation zone (15 × 15 mm²), which avoids unnecessary interrogation. Experiments also showed that with an input power of 25 dBm, the antenna can tag at a distance of up to 40 mm, which confirmed its suitability for reading button-type RFID tags attached to blood sample collection tubes and other specimen containers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to determine whether a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) toxins after chaotropic extraction of DNA from stool would increase the detection of ETEC over that of conventional oligonucleotide probe hybridization of 5 E. coli colonies per stool sample (a standard method). By DNA hybridization, 29 (21%) of 140 patients were positive for ETEC, and 59 (42%) of 140 were positive for ETEC when PCR was used. Sensitivity of the PCR assay was confirmed through spiked stool experiments to be approximately 100-1000 ETEC colonies per sample. Specificity of the assay was determined by showing an absence of ETEC by the PCR technique in a subgroup of 48 subjects and by confirming the presence of ETEC DNA of positive samples by dot blot procedure. PCR technique detected significantly more ETEC infections in these subjects than did the hybridization method (P<.0001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we know, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is a peripheral vestibular disorder,while vestibular migraine is a central vestibular disease. Although they are two different independent diseases, patients often choose to consult otolaryngology and neurology. The clinical manifestations of some patients with these two diseases are similar and the diagnosis is easy to be confused, but the treatment methods are completely different, and incorrect treatment methods will inevitably affect the curative effect and prognosis. Vestibular migraine is characterized by a diversity of clinical manifestations and signs, and the migraine symptoms of some patients do not match with the vestibular symptoms. There are 30% of vestibular migraine patients who showed isolated paroxysmal vertigo/dizziness and nystagmus, which is easily confused with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and needs to be identified. Under the framework of the international classification of vestibular diseases, according to the new guideline of nystagmus examination and classification issued by Barany Association and new diagnostic criteria of two diseases, differential diagnosisof benign paroxysmal positional vertigo from vestibular migrainecan make up for one-sided understanding caused by the specialization of disciplines, improve thediagnosis and treatment of vestibular diseases, and thus reduce the misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

Objective: To explore the spectrum of causes for patients with vertigo or dizziness in the Department of Neurology, and provide a reference for diagnosis and treatment of patients with vertigo or dizziness. Methods: Clinical data of patients in the Department of Neurology, Baotou Central Hospital between January 2016 and September 2017 was retrospectively analyzed. The target group under study was diagnosed based on the uniform diagnostic criteria. Results: A total of 9 200 patients with a chief complaint of vertigo or dizziness were included. The ratio of male to female was 1∶1.8, with an age range of 19 to 85 years. The different etiology was as follows: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) (3 148 cases, 34.22%), persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) (2 006 cases, 21.80%), vertigo caused by cerebrovascular diseases (1 463 cases, 15.90%), vestibular neuritis (741 cases, 8.05%), vestibular migraine (536 cases, 5.83%), vestibular paroxysmia (336 cases, 3.65%), Ménière disease (187 cases, 2.03%), drug-induced vertigo (96 cases, 1.04%), neurological degenerative diseases (74 cases, 0.80%), sudden sensorineural hearing loss (51 cases, 0.55%), multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica (21 cases, 0.23%), other reasons (22 cases, 0.24%), unknown reasons (519 cases, 5.64%). Conclusions: Dizziness is resulted from various causes, and BPPV is the most common reason. Vertigo caused by cerebrovascular diseases appears to gradually increase along with age. PPPD is very common in clinical practice, so clinicians needs to be highly aware of BPPV and PPPD. Although those dizziness diseases have a low incidence, they should not be ignored. There are still certain proportion of vertigo patients whose diagnosis are undetermined.

Rifaximin is a poorly absorbed rifamycin derivative under investigation for treatment of infectious diarrhea. Adult students from the United States in Mexico and international tourists in Jamaica were randomized to receive either rifaximin (400 mg twice per day) or ciprofloxacin (500 mg twice per day) for 3 days, following a double-blinded model, from June 1997 to September 1998. A total of 187 subjects with diarrhea were studied. Time from initiation of therapy to passage of last unformed stool was comparable for those receiving rifaximin or ciprofloxacin (median, 25.7 hours versus 25.0 hours, respectively). There was no significant difference in the proportion of subjects in the 2 groups with respect to clinical improvement during the first 24 hours (P=.199), failure to respond to treatment (P=.411), or microbiological cure (P=.222). The incidence of adverse events was low and similar in each group. Rifaximin is a safe and effective alternative to ciprofloxacin in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea.

Objective: The Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) has a centralized process for notifying and setting up follow-up appointments for women with abnormal Pap smears who are clients of HDHHS health centers. Faculty and a student from the University of Texas School of Public Health and HDHHS personnel jointly conducted a study to evaluate the process and performance of the system., Methods: The study examined two subpopulations: women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (ASCUS/LGSIL) and women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (HGSIL/AGCUS). A retrospective study was conducted of data on women attending eight HDHHS clinics during the period from February 1996 through August 2000. Records of 1,216 women referred for evaluation of abnormal Pap smears were reviewed. Process effectiveness was measured by the number of successful contacts made and the number of appointments set up. Performance was measured by compliance with referral appointments. Predictors included race/ethnicity, age, co-existence of a sexually transmitted disease, number of prior referrals, type of patient visit, and health center attended., Results: HDHHS staff successfully notified 95.6% of women with ASCUS/LGSIL and 97.9% of women with HGSIL/AGCUS. Using performance criteria as outcome measures, high-risk women requiring targeted interventions were identified. Overall, 84.2% of women scheduled appointments. Among those with ASCUS/LGSIL, women identified as African American were 53% less likely to accept an appointment and 45% less likely to show up for the appointment than those identified as Hispanic or "other." Age and type of patient visit appeared to be significantly associated with patient compliance behavior., Conclusion: The study describes the effectiveness of a centralized patient follow-up process for women at risk for cervical cancer.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) has been reported to cause traveler's diarrhea and persistent diarrhea in children in developing countries and in immunocompromised patients. To clarify the prevalence of EAEC in traveler's diarrhea, we studied 636 US, Canadian, or European travelers with diarrhea: 218 in Guadalajara, Mexico (June--August 1997 and 1998), 125 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica (September 1997--May 1998), and 293 in Goa, India (January 1997--April 1997 and October 1997--February 1998). Stool samples were tested for conventional enteropathogens. EAEC strains were identified by use of the HEp-2 assay. EAEC was isolated in 26% of cases of traveler's diarrhea (ranging from 19% in Goa to 33% in Guadalajara) and was second only to enterotoxigenic E. coli as the most common enteropathogen in all areas. Identification of EAEC reduced the number of cases for which the pathogen was unknown from 327 (51%) to 237 (37%) and explained 28% of cases with unknown etiology. EAEC was a major cause of traveler's diarrhea in 3 geographically distinct study areas.

The emergence of resistant enteropathogens has been reported worldwide. Few data are available on the contemporary in vitro activities of commonly used antimicrobial agents against enteropathogens causing traveler's diarrhea (TD). The susceptibility patterns of antimicrobial agents currently available or under evaluation against pathogens causing TD in four different areas of the world were evaluated. Pathogens were identified in stool samples from U.S., Canadian, or European adults (18 years of age or older) with TD during 1997, visiting India, Mexico, Jamaica, or Kenya. MICs of 11different antimicrobials were determined against 284 bacterial enteropathogens by the agar dilution method. Ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and azithromycin were highly active in vitro against the enteropathogens, while traditional antimicrobials such as ampicillin, trimethoprim, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole showed high levels and high frequencies of resistance. Rifaximin, a promising and poorly absorbable drug, had an MIC at which 90% of the strains tested were inhibited of 32 microg/ml, 250 times lower than the concentration of this drug in the stools. Amdinocillin, nalidixic acid, and doxycycline showed moderate activity. Fluoroquinolones are still the drugs of choice for TD in most regions of the world, although our study has a limitation due to the lack of Escherichia coli samples from Kenya and possible bias in selection of the patients for evaluation. Azithromycin and rifaximin should be considered as promising new agents. The widespread in vitro resistance of the traditional antimicrobial agents reported since the 1980s and the new finding of resistance to fluoroquinolones in Southeast Asia are the main reasons for monitoring carefully the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns worldwide and for developing and evaluating new antimicrobial agents for the treatment of TD.

Maximum length sequence brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) was studied within the first week after birth in 28 term neonates who had perinatal hypoxia-ischemia, or asphyxia. In the BAER recorded using conventional averaging techniques (click rate 21/s), the only abnormality was a slight increase in III-V interval, in addition to an increase in wave latencies when including those who had an elevated threshold (t test, all p<0.05). In the maximum length sequence BAER, however, both the III-V and I-V intervals in the asphyxiated infants were significantly increased at all the 91/s, 227/s, 455/s, and particularly 910/s click rates (p<0.05-0.001). The I-III interval was also increased significantly at 455/s and 910/s click rates (both p< 0.05). Wave V amplitude was significantly reduced at all the click rates used (ANOVA, p<0.05-0.001), particularly at 910/s, which sometimes was the only abnormality indicative of brain damage. Both the amplitude ratios V/I and V/III were significantly decreased at 455/s and 910/s click rates (p<0.01 or 0.001). A general trend was that BAER abnormalities after hypoxia-ischemia became more prominent as click rate was increased. Significant abnormalities occurred mainly at very high click rates (455/s and 910/s), which can be achieved using the maximum length sequence technique but not by using conventional averaging techniques. Thus, this technique, which can be used at the cribside, appears to be a better method for the early detection of brain damage after hypoxia-ischemia than using conventional averaging techniques, enhancing the diagnostic value of the BAER.