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Abstract Aim: To study the sputum microbiology of patients admitted to a teaching hospital with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) with concomitant pneumonia. Methods: This was a retrospective study in a tertiary university hospital in Hong Kong. All episodes of AECOPD with pneumonia, patient demographics, length of stay, sputum culture and radiological results admitted in the first half of the year 2000 were retrieved from hospital records. Results: There were 118 patients (91 male) with 150 episodes of AECOPD with concomitant pneumonia. The age of the patients was 74.8 ± 10.0 years. Positive routine sputum culture was detected in 45.6% of the patients. Among these hospital admissions, 8.7, 4.0 and 12.0%, respectively, required intensive care unit admissions, mechanical ventilation and non-invasive positive pressure ventilation. Haemophilus influenzae was the commonest organism found in sputum (26.0%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.5%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (3.4%), and Moraxella catarrhalis (3.4%). Mycobacterium tuberculosis was found in 1.5% of the admissions. The presence of P. aeruginosa in sputum was associated with a longer hospital length of stay (9.1 ± 3.1 vs. 7.1 ± 4.2 days, P = 0.03). Conclusion: In contrast to most other studies reporting S. pneumoniae as the most likely bacterial pathogen, H. influenzae was the commonest bacterium isolated in sputum in our patients with AECOPD and concomitant pneumonia. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 661–667) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses China's development of a renewable energy industry in 2010. It discusses how it has become the leader in greenhouse gas emissions, its concern with global warming, and its rank in addressing environmental concerns. Topics include factors driving China to promote clean energy and its manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines.

Tea Camellia sinensis (L.), a perennial shrub, is cultivated in acidic soils. It has been noted that the occurrence of fluorosis in some inhabitants of pastoral and semiagricultural, semipastoral areas of Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China, is due to drinking a large quantity of tea liquor made from brick tea. Brick tea is made fromfallen leaves and old leaves, and is not a considered a quality tea.The fluoride (F) contents of tea bushes and soil samples collected from five plantations from Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China, were tested. Fluorine accumulated mainly in leaves, especially in fallen leaves. The F concentration in fallen leaves (0.6--2.8 mg/g)were higher than that in young leaves (0.3--1.0 mg/g). Their concentrations were related to the total F and extractable F contents in thetop soil (0--20 cm). In addition, soil pH and extractable Al concentration also affected the F contents in soils and plant tissues. Two methods (repeated and continuous) of infusing tea were employed to brew 17 brands of tea leaves in six categories: green tea, black tea, oolong tea, pureh tea, brick tea and black tea from England and Sri Lanka. In general, F contents in the infusions accounted for 24 to 83% of the total F contents of the original tea leaf samples. The cumulative F contents detected in the tea liquor prepared by repeated infusion were slightly higher than those prepared by continuous infusion. Brick tea released an extremely high F content (7.34 mg/litre), when compared with release from, black tea (1.89 mg/litre) or green tea (1.60 mg/litre). In order to prevent development of fluorosis, the maximum consumption of fu-brick tea and black brick tea should be 1.7 litres and 4.8 litres/day respectively. (c) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the differences in craniofacial morphology in Chinese patients with and without obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)., Method: We performed lateral cephalometric radiographs on 94 consecutive patients (77 males) referred with snoring or other symptoms suggestive of OSA for polysomnography (PSG). Significant OSA was defined as an apneoa-hypopnoea index (AHI) > or = 10/h of sleep on overnight PSG. The cephalometric data were compared between those with and without significant OSA., Results: (mean +/- SD) There were 69 (56 males) with significant OSA with mean age 53 +/- 12 years, body mass index (BMI) 28.6 +/- 5.0 kg/m2, AHI 36.5 +/- 20.6/h, and minimum SaO2 76 +/- 14%. There were 25 controls (21 males) without significant OSA with similar age and BMI. The mandibular plane to hyoid bone distance (MPH) and the perpendicular distance from hyoid bone to the line connecting C3 vertebra and retrognathion (HHI) were significantly longer in the OSA patients. The angle measurement from sella to nasion to point A (SNA) was smaller in the OSA group. MPH distance was the only independent variable for significant OSA with an odds ratio of 3.47 (95% CI 1.39-8.66). Abnormalities of the MPH and SNA were more marked in the OSA patients with BMI > or = 30 kg/m2., Conclusions: Significant differences in craniofacial morphology are noted between OSA patients and non-apnoeic controls. An inferiorly positioned hyoid bone and a retropositioned maxilla may predispose obese patients to more severe OSA.