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Edible bird nests (EBNs) are highly demanded globally. The industry was recently affected by an import ban to China due to high nitrite levels. Subsequently, many concerns have been raised. In this study, the microbial composition of both raw and commercial EBNs was investigated. The raw EBNs were purchased from swiftlet farms: Kuala Sanglang (Perlis), Pantai Remis (Perak), Kluang (Johor), Kajang (Selangor) and Kota Bharu (Kelantan). The commercial nests were purchased from five different Chinese traditional medicinal shops (Companies A-E) in Malaysia and one from Indonesia (Medan). A total of 123 and 34 isolates were successfully identified from unboiled raw and commercial EBNs respectively. The highest average CFU (1.77 x 104) was associated with raw EBNs obtained from Kluang, while for the commercial EBNs, those obtained from Company M1 had the highest CFU (5.50 x 104). Bacillus sp. accounted for the highest isolated species from both unboiled raw and commercial EBNs. Bacillus sp. and Brevibacillus sp. were mainly isolated from the boiled EBNs. Bacillus spp. were the dominant bacterial groups in all the raw EBNs except for those obtained from Kajang. The average number of bacteria isolated from the raw EBNs (average = 7) was higher compared with those isolated from the commercial EBNs (average = 4). The highest average number of bacterial isolates was reported in the raw EBNs obtained from Kota Bharu. Among the commercial EBNs, one EBN sample each from Companies A and M1 showed the highest number of isolates (n = 10). In general, there was a significant reduction in the number of bacteria isolated after boiling the EBNs. Raw EBNs obtained from Kajang had a distinct pool of bacterial species where the majority of the isolated species belonged to Staphylococcus species. The associated health impacts of these microorganisms to the consumers and public need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new cyanide-bridged neutral centrosymmetric cluster [Cu(En)2][(PzTp)Fe(CN)3]2 (I), where En = ethylenediamine, PzTp = tetra(pyrazol-1-yl)borate) was synthesized by a programmed self-assembly of preformed building blocks. Characterization with single crystal X-ray diffraction (CIF file CCDC no. 1555334) showed that the Cu2+ center was located in a large distorted octahedral environment due to the obvious Jahn-Teller effect, which was demonstrated by continuous shape measures with the SHAPE program. Furthermore, no coordinated or free solvent molecules existed in the clusters, showing good roomtemperature stability. In addition, in vitro anticancer activity of compound I on three human cancer cells (SKOV3, A2780, and OVCAR) was further determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the results of total ionizing dose radiation tests on germanium-substrate MOS capacitors with HfO2/Dy2 O3 gate dielectrics with effective oxide thicknesses of ~1.9 and 1.1 nm. There are significant densities of border traps before irradiation, and no measurable changes in device response after 10 Mrad(SiO2) exposure. We attribute the lack of net oxide charge trapping to equal electron and hole trapping and/or charge neutralization via gate leakage current. The introduction of Dy2 O3 evidently leads to reduced charge trapping in these HfO2/Dy2 O3 dielectrics relative to devices with only HfO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant evidence has been gathered to suggest that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sustains many more mutations and greater oxidative damage than does nuclear DNA in human tissues. Uremic patients are subject to a state of enhanced oxidative stress due to excess production of oxidants and a defective antioxidant defense system. This study was conducted to investigate mtDNA mutations and oxidative damage in skeletal muscle of patients with chronic uremia. Results showed that large-scale deletions between nucleotide position (np) 7,900 and 16,300 of mtDNA occurred at a high frequency in muscle of uremic patients. Among them, the 4,977-bp deletion (mtDNA[sup 4977] ) was the most frequent and most abundant large-scale mtDNA deletion in uremic skeletal muscle. The proportion of mtDNA[sup 4977] was found to correlate positively with the level of 8-hydroxy 2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in the total DNA of skeletal muscle (r = 0.62, p < 0.05). Using long-range PCR and DNA sequencing, we identified and characterized multiple deletions of mtDNA in skeletal muscle of 16 of 19 uremic patients examined. The 8,041-bp deletion, which occurred between np 8035 and 16,075, was flanked by a 5-bp direct repeat of 5′-CCCAT-3′. Some of the deletions were found in more than 1 patient. On the other hand, we found that the mean 8-OHdG/10[sup 5 ] dG ratio in the total cellular DNA of muscle of uremic patients was significantly higher than that of the controls (182.7 ± 63.6 vs. 50.9 ± 21.5, p = 0.05). In addition, the mean 8-OHdG/10[sup 5 ] dG ratio in muscle mtDNA of uremic patients was significantly higher than that in nuclear DNA (344.0 ± 56.9 vs. 146.3 ± 95.8, p = 0.001). Moreover, we found that the average content of lipid peroxides in mitochondrial membranes of skeletal muscle of uremic patients was significantly higher than that of age-matched healthy subjects (23.76 ± 6.06 vs. 7.67 ± 0.95 nmol/mg protein; p < 0.05). The average content of protein carbonyls in the mitochondrial membranes prepared from uremic skeletal muscles was significantly higher than that in normal controls (24.90 ± 4.00 vs. 14.48 ± 1.13 nmol/mg protein; p < 0.05). Taken together, these findings suggest that chronic uremia leads to mtDNA mutations together with enhanced oxidative damage to DNA, lipids, and proteins of mitochondria in skeletal muscle, which may contribute to the impairment of mitochondrial bioenergetic function and to skeletal myopathy commonly seen in uremic patients.Copyright © 2002 National Science Council, ROC and S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A virulent infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), designated as CK/CH/GD/QY16 (referred as QY16), was isolated from a diseased chicken farm in Guangdong province, China, in 2016. The complete genome of the strain was sequenced and analyzed. The results show that the genome of QY16 consists of 27,670 nucleotides, excluding poly (A) tail, and that its genome organization is 5' UTR-1a-1b-S-3a-3b-E-M-4b-4c-5a-5b-N-6b-3' UTR-poly (A) tail. Sequence comparison among QY16 and other IBV strains was conducted and its results demonstrate that the S1 gene of QY16 has the highest nucleotide sequence identity with that of 4/91, and the other part of its genome is highly similar to that of YX10. The results of the phylogenic analysis show that the entire genome of QY16 and most of the QY16 genes are located in the same cluster as those of YX10, except for the S1 gene which is located in the same cluster with that of 4/91. It has been further confirmed by the RDP and SimPlot analysis that QY16 is a recombinant strain deriving from YX10 (as the major parental sequence) and 4/91 (as the minor parental sequence), and that the recombination occurs in a region which includes the 3'-terminal 1b sequence (85 nt) and the 5'-terminal S1 protein gene sequence (1,466 nt). The results of the vaccination-challenge test suggest that QY16 is a nephropathogenic strain of IBV and that the vaccine strains–H120 and 4/91—cannot provide effective protection against it. These results indicate that the continuing evolution of IBV strains by genetic drift and genetic recombination may lead to IBV outbreaks even among the vaccinated chickens in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the genomic epidemiological subtyping of carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) isolated from a Third-class A hospital in Zhengzhou. Methods: From December 4, 2019 to January 10, 2020, 67 strains of CRKP were isolated from the samples submitted by the clinical departments of a Third-class A teaching hospital in Zhengzhou for microbiological testing. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and carbapenem resistance genes were identified by whole genome sequencing and sequence analysis. Based on the whole genome SNP, the phylogenetic tree was constructed, and 67 CRKP strains were divided into clonal groups. The isolation ward and date of each clone group were analyzed. Results: Sixty-seven CRKP strains were classified into four MLST types (STs), of which 64 were ST11. There were 62 ST11 strains carrying bla KPC-2 gene. Based on genome-wide SNP phylogenetic tree, 64 ST11 strains were divided into four clone groups, two of which were dominant clone groups, including 33 and 27 strains respectively; the other two clone groups only contained 2 strains respectively. There was no aggregation of the dominant clones in the isolation department and date. Conclusion: Multiple clonal groups of ST11 strain carrying bla KPC-2 gene are differentiated during spreading, and they can spread in parallel and independently in the same hospital.

Objective: To reveal the molecular epidemiological characteristics of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) isolated from a three level teaching hospital in Beijing. Methods: Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was carried out to subtyping 375 CRKP isolated in that hospital between May 2010 and October 2015. Fifteen strains were chose based on the PFGE patterns to be analyzed by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and detection of carbapenem-resistance genes. One strain (A1502) was selected for whole genome sequencing and analyzing. Results: The 375 CRKP were divided into 140 PFGE types, among which five types contained more than five strains. The dominant types were distributed in different time periods and wards. Among the 15 strains tested by MLST and carbapenem-resistance genes detection, 13 were ST11 strains carrying KPC-2 gene. By genome-based typing, A1502 was clustered together with strains from other hospitals of Beijing but far from the strains from Shanghai and Hangzhou. Conclusion: The CRKP epidemic clone (ST11 clone carrying KPC-2) has been spreading within single hospital and across different hospitals in Beijing.

With the great progress of the economy, the level of industrialization has been increasing year by year, which leads to an increase in accidental trauma accidents. Chinese annual death of trauma is already more than 400 000, which makes trauma the fifth most common cause of death, following malignant tumor, heart, brain and respiratory diseases. Trauma is the leading cause of the death of young adults. At the same time, trauma has become a serious social problem in peace time. Trauma throws great treats on human health and life. As an important part in the medical and social security system, the emergency of trauma system occupies a very important position in the emergency medical service system. In European countries as well as the United States and also many other developed countries, trauma service system had a long history, and progressed to an advanced stage. However, Chinese trauma service system started late and is still developing. It has not turned into a complete and standardized system yet. This review summarizes the histories and current situations of the development of traumatic first aid system separately in European countries, the United States and our country. Special attentions are paid to the effects of the pre- and in-hospital emergency care. We also further try to explore the Chinese trauma emergency model that adapts to the situations of China and characteristics of different regions of China. Our review also introduces the trauma service system that suits the situations of China proposed by Professor Jiang Baoguo's team in details, taking Chinese conditions into account, they conducted a thematic study and made an expert consensus on pre-hospital emergency treatment of severe trauma, providing a basic routine and guidance of severe trauma treatment for those pre-hospital emergency physicians. They also advised to establish independent trauma disciplines and trauma specialist training systems, and to build the regional trauma care system as well as the standards for graded treatment, thus establishing a multiple disciplinary team (MDT) of severe trauma. In this way, we can reduce the mortality and disability risks of severe trauma, improve the quality of patients' life, and save more lives.

The goal of this paper is to develop a multifunctional measurement system for neuron-microelectrode interface study by LabVIEW. The system uses a commercial 60-channel microelectrode array (MEA) as an interface platform. These online functions of neuronal stimulation, extracellular potential recording, impedance monitoring, and data storage have been integrated into this system. Two offline analysis functions of wavelet de-noising and artifact removing are also included. The former two online functions are executed respectively by a NI-DAQ card and by a self-made analog frond-end amplifier, and Agilent 4284A LCR meter makes the impedance measurement. We have completed the basic functional verifications on a cultured MEA with PC-12.

Background: Vitamin A is involved in normal immune function and the maintenance of mucosal integrity through complex effects on cellular differentiation., Objective: We sought to determine whether serum vitamin A levels were associated with altered susceptibility to primary infection with HIV-1 in men with high-risk sexual behaviour and genital ulcers who presented for treatment at an STD clinic in Nairobi, Kenya., Methods: HIV-1 seronegative men were prospectively followed. Vitamin A levels at study entry were compared among 38 men who HIV-1 seroconverted versus 94 controls who remained HIV seronegative., Results: Vitamin A deficiency (retinol less than 20 microg/dl) was very common and was present in 50% of HIV-1 seroconverters versus 76% of persistent seronegatives. Seroconversion was independently associated with a retinol level greater than 20 microg/dl (HR 2.43, 95% CI 1.25-4.70, P = 0.009), and a genital ulcer aetiology caused by Haemophilus ducreyi (HR 3.49, 95% CI 1.03-11.67, P = 0.04). Circumcision was independently associated with protection (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.93, P = 0.03)., Conclusion: Vitamin A deficiency was not associated with an increased risk of HIV-1 infection among men with concurrent STD. A decreased risk of HIV-1 seroconversion was independently associated with lower retinol levels. The effects of vitamin A on macrophage and lymphoid cell differentiation may paradoxically increase mucosal susceptibility to HIV-1 in some vulnerable individuals, such as men with genital ulcers. Lack of circumcision and chancroid are confirmed as important co-factors for heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. The role of vitamin A in heterosexual HIV-1 transmission requires further study.

Background: Fluoroquinolones are now recommended for the treatment of respiratory tract infections due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, particularly when the isolates are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics. Although pneumococci with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones have been identified, their prevalence has not been determined in a defined population., Methods: We performed susceptibility testing on 7551 isolates of S. pneumoniae obtained from surveillance in Canada in 1988 and from 1993 to 1998. Pneumococci with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (defined as a minimal inhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin of at least 4 microg per milliliter) were further characterized. We also examined antibiotic prescriptions dispensed in Canadian retail pharmacies., Results: Between 1988 and 1997, fluoroquinolone prescriptions increased from 0.8 to 5.5 per 100 persons per year. The prevalence of pneumococci with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones increased from 0 percent in 1993 to 1.7 percent in 1997 and 1998 (P=0.01). Among adults, the prevalence increased from 1.5 percent in 1993 and 1994 combined to 2.9 percent in 1997 and 1998 combined. The prevalence was higher in isolates from older patients (2.6 percent among those 65 years of age or older vs. 1.0 percent among those 15 to 64 years of age, P<0.001) and among those from Ontario (1.5 percent, vs. 0.4 percent among those from the rest of Canada; P< 0.001). Fluoroquinolone use was greatest among the elderly and in Ontario. The 75 isolates (17 serotypes) of pneumococci with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones were submitted by 40 laboratories in eight provinces. Reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones was associated with resistance to penicillin., Conclusions: The prevalence of pneumococci with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones is increasing in Canada, probably as a result of selective pressure from the increased use of fluoroquinolones.

Ticlopidine hydrochloride is an antiplatelet agent used for an increasing number of indications, including cerebrovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary artery stenting, and peripheral vascular bypass grafting. It has uncommon but severe hematologic effects, including thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. We report 3 new cases of ticlopidine-associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and review the English-language literature. Of the 13 patients described (10 from published articles), an equal number were women and men. The median age of the women was 50 years, and that of the men was 72 years. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura occurred within 2 to 8 weeks of starting ticlopidine therapy. Survivors received plasma therapy, but of the 4 who died, 3 had received platelet transfusions. With discontinuation of the drug and prompt plasma exchange therapy, mortality was comparable to that seen with idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and relapse was uncommon. Physicians and patients should be aware of this potentially fatal but treatable complication of ticlopidine therapy.