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Background: Pneumonia is the most common reason for pediatric hospitalizations. The impact of penicillin allergy labels among children with pneumonia has not been well studied. Objective: This study assessed the prevalence and impact of penicillin allergy labels among children admitted with pneumonia over a 3-year period at a large academic children's center. Methods: Inpatient charts of pneumonia admissions with a documented allergy to a type of penicillin from January to March in 2017, 2018, and 2019 were reviewed and compared with pneumonia admissions without the label over the same time with regard to days of antimicrobial treatment, route of antimicrobial therapy, and days of hospitalization. Results: There were 470 admissions for pneumonia during this time period, of which 48 patients (10.2%) carried a penicillin allergy label. Hives and/or swelling comprised 20.8% of the allergy labels. Other labels included nonpruritic rashes, gastrointestinal GI symptoms, unknown/undocumented reactions, or other reasons. There were no significant differences between those with a penicillin allergy label to those without regarding days of antimicrobial treatment (inpatient and outpatient), route of antimicrobial therapy, and days of hospitalization. Those with a penicillin allergy label were less likely to be prescribed a penicillin product (p < 0.002). Of the 48 patients who were allergy labeled, 23% (11/48) were given a penicillin medication without adverse reaction. Conclusion: Ten percent of pediatric admissions for pneumonia had a label of penicillin allergy, similar to the overall population. The hospital course and clinical outcome were not significantly affected by the penicillin allergy label. The majority of documented reactions were of low risk for immediate allergic reactions.

Currently, the methods to identify leather materials have limitations, and identifying natural leather types is also relatively complex. In this research, the microstructures of four types of mammalian leathers (cattle leather, pig leather, sheep leather, and deer leather), three kinds of reptilian leathers (crocodile leather, lizard leather, and snake leather) and regenerated leather were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The spectral curves (from 900 to 1700 nm) of these leather samples were extracted using a hyperspectral imaging system, and their spectral characteristics were analyzed. A method of leather identification by the hyperspectral imaging system combined with chemometrics was established. The results showed that the spectral curves of natural and regenerated leather differed in the number, position, and depth of the characteristic peaks, enabling the classification of regenerated leather by comparative analysis with the naked eye. The first-order derivative processing–principal component analysis–discriminant analysis model achieved a 98% correct classification rate, confirming the hyperspectral imaging system’s feasibility in the leather material identification field. We believe that his research is beneficial for the leather industry to understand the classifications scientifically, in order to protect consumer rights and further develop the leather testing industry.

In this paper, glass fiber fabric reinforced polyphenylene sulfide composites were prepared by hot pressing. The effects of glass fibre modification and hot pressing temperature on the properties of the composites were investigated using a scanning electron microscope, infrared spectrometer, universal testing machine, and DIGEYE digital imaging colour measurement system. The results show that after the treatment with a silane coupling agent, the silane coupling agent was more uniformly distributed on the surface of the glass fibres, and the bonding effect between the glass fibre fabric and polyphenylene sulphide was significantly improved. The strength of the composites increased and then decreased with the increase of hot pressing temperature, and the surface colour of the composites became darker and darker. When the hot-pressing temperature is 310 °C, the mechanical properties of glass fabric-reinforced polyphenylene sulfide composites are at their best, the tensile strength reaches 51.9 MPa, and the bending strength reaches 78 MPa.

Background While studies of hospital dermatology have demonstrated diagnostic discordance between primary teams and dermatology consultants, little is known about the impact of biopsy and clinical-pathologic correlation (CPC) in consultation. This study compares biopsy performance based on diagnostic discordance and evaluates the impact of CPC on the diagnosis. Methods This was a retrospective review of 376 dermatologic consultations at a single academic medical center between July 1, 2017, and June 27, 2018. Results Biopsy was significantly less likely to be performed when the diagnosis by the referring primary team was unspecified (p0.001). In 24 percent of cases, the diagnosis based on histopathology alone differed from the diagnosis reached by formal CPC consensus review with either potential or significant impact on management. Conclusion Dermatologists who perform inpatient consultations and rely on hospital-based pathology services may consider a consensus review for CPC. Requests to perform a biopsy may be interpreted as a request for diagnostic assistance rather than pressure to perform a procedure.

In women who conceived with or without assisted reproduction, we evaluated endothelial function by EndoPAT [reactive hyperemia index (RHI)], circulating numbers of endothelial cells (CEC) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), and their function before during and after pregnancy. In vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancies were stratified by method of conception and corpus luteum (CL) number—controlled ovarian stimulation (>1 CL) or programmed (0 CL) cycles and spontaneous singleton pregnancies (1 CL). We observed 1) comparable gestational decline of RHI in the three participant groups secondary to gestational rise of baseline preocclusion pulse-wave amplitude (PWA) incorporated into the RHI calculation by EndoPAT software; 2) progressive rise in “normalized” RHI throughout pregnancy (calculated by substituting prepregnancy baseline preocclusion PWA into the RHI equation), greater in spontaneous conception vs. IVF cohorts; 3) similar gestational increase of maximum PWA and time to maximum PWA after the ischemia stimulus among the three participant groups; 4) modest gestational increase of ischemia response (reactive hyperemia) in the spontaneous conception group and no change or significant decline, respectively, in women who conceived using programmed or controlled ovarian stimulation cycles; 5) enhanced basal nitric oxide production by early (primitive) outgrowth EPC during pregnancy in women who conceived spontaneously, but not through IVF; and 6) gestational increase in CEC in all three participant cohorts, more pronounced in women who conceived by IVF using programmed cycles. On balance, the evidence supported enhanced endothelial function during pregnancy in spontaneous conceptions but less so in IVF pregnancies using either controlled ovarian stimulation or programmed cycles.

Golden pomfret (Trachinotus ovatus) is an important farmed fish in Asia, often consumed following salting and natural microbial fermentation. Flavor development in fermented foods depends on the metabolism of fermenting microbes, especially amino acid metabolism. However, the microbes involved in golden pomfret fermentation and the mechanism by which they regulate flavor development are largely unknown. Accordingly, in this study, we investigated the microbial community and volatile and non-volatile compounds during the traditional fermentation of golden pomfret, focusing on amino acid metabolism. Thirty-five volatile compounds were detected. Glutamate, alanine, and leucine were the main amino acids responsible for the development of the characteristic taste of fermented golden pomfret. Metagenomic analyses were performed, and microbial genes for amino acid metabolism were functionally annotated, revealing the underlying mechanisms of flavor development during fish fermentation. Halobacterium, Clostridium, Natrinema, Alkalibacillus, Natrialba, and Vibrio were the dominant microbial genera with a major contribution to amino acid metabolism during fermentation and were strongly correlated with the majority of volatile compounds. The study provides a theoretical reference for the mechanism of flavor formation and important information on the microbial sources of volatile compounds derived from amino acids.

An important rationale for legally-farmed and synthetic wildlife products are that they reduce illegal wild-sourced trade by supplying markets with sustainable alternatives. For this to work, more established illegal-product consumers must switch to legal alternatives than new legal-product consumers drawn to illegal wild products. Despite widespread debate on the magnitude and direction of switching, studies among actual consumers are lacking. We used an anonymous online survey of 1421 Traditional Chinese Medicine consumers in China to investigate switching between legal farmed, synthetic, and illegal wild bear bile. We examined past consumption behaviour, and applied a discrete choice experiment framed within worsening hypothetical disease scenarios, using latent class models to investigate groups with shared preferences. Bear bile consumers (86% respondents) were wealthier, more likely to have family who consumed bile, and less knowledgeable about bile treatments than non-consumers. Consumer preferences were heterogenous but most consumers preferred switching between bile types as disease worsened. We identified five distinct latent classes within our sample: 'law-abiding consumers' (34% respondents), who prefer legal products and were unlikely to switch; two 'all-natural consumer' groups (53%), who dislike synthetics but may switch between farmed and wild products; and two 'non-consumer' groups (12%) who prefer not to buy bile. People with past experience of bile consumption had different preferences than those without. Willingness to switch to wild products was related to believing they were legal, although the likelihood of switching was mediated by preferences for cheaper products sold in legal, familiar places. We show that consumers of wild bile may switch, given the availability of a range of legal alternatives, while legal-product consumers may switch to illegal products if the barriers to doing so are small. Understanding preferences that promote or impede switching should be a key consideration when attempting to predict consumer behaviour in complex wildlife markets. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Wildlife consumer characteristics and preferences determine their likelihood and direction of switching between legal and illegal products.

We evaluated maternal pregnancy adaptations and their relationships with circulating hormones in women who conceived with or without in vitro fertilization (IVF). Pregnancies were grouped by corpus luteum (CL) number: 1 CL with physiological plasma relaxin concentration (PRLN; spontaneous pregnancies); 0 CL without circulating RLN (programmed cycles); >1 CL with elevated PRLN (ovarian stimulation). Major findings were that declines in plasma osmolality (Posm) and plasma sodium concentration ([Formula: see text]) were comparable in the 1 CL and 0 CL cohorts, correlated with plasma estradiol and progesterone concentrations but not PRLN; gestational declines in plasma uric acid (UA) concentration (PUA) were attenuated after IVF, especially programmed cycles, partly because of subdued increases of renal UA clearance; and PRLN and cardiac output (CO) were inversely correlated when plasma estradiol concentration was below ∼2.5 ng/mL but positively correlated above ∼2.5 ng/mL. Unexpectedly, PRLN and plasma sFLT1 (PsFLT1) were directly correlated. Although PsFLT1 and CO were not significantly associated, CO was positively correlated with plasma placental growth factor (PLGF) concentration after the first trimester, particularly in women who conceived with 0 CL. Major conclusions are that 1) circulating RLN was unnecessary for gestational falls in Posm and [Formula: see text]; 2) PRLN and CO were inversely correlated during early gestation, suggesting that PRLN in the lower range may have contributed to systemic vasodilation, whereas at higher PRLN RLN influence became self-limiting; 3) evidence for cooperativity between RLN and estradiol on gestational changes in CO was observed; and 4) after the first trimester in women who conceived without a CL, plasma PLGF concentration was associated with recovery of CO, which was impaired during the first trimester in this cohort.

Objectives: In this study, we explored the potential impact of disasters on individuals' fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: Individual-level data (N = 351,229) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2011 survey were merged with county-level disaster declaration data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based on disaster duration, interview month and residential county. Multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear models were conducted to examine the impact of different types of disasters on self-reported daily fruit, 100% pure fruit juice, beans, green vegetables, orange vegetables, other vegetables and overall vegetables consumption frequencies, adjusting for individual covariates. Results: No associations between disasters and daily fruit and overall vegetable consumption frequency were identified at either national or state levels. Only floods were consistently associated with reduced consumption of orange vegetables. Conclusions: This study did not identify an association between natural disasters and daily overall fruit/vegetable consumption frequency at national or state levels, whereas disasters were found to alter the consumption of certain vegetable subgroup (orange vegetables) slightly. Longitudinal studies with validated and detailed measures on diet and disaster are warranted to advance research in this field.

Objectives: Hurricane Katrina was an intense tropical cyclone that made landfall in the United States (US) in August 2005, causing catastrophic damage in several states. This study examined the impact of Hurricane Katrina on mental health status among US adults. Methods: Multilevel regressions based on the difference-in-differences study design were performed on individual-level data (N = 70,267) retrieved from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2004-2006 surveys. Results: Hurricane Katrina was found to be associated with an increase of 0.68 poor mental health days among residents of Katrina-affected states. The negative impact of Hurricane Katrina on mental health status tended to be larger among Louisiana residents, women, young and middle-aged adults, lower income respondents, and those with poor/fair self-rated physical health than among Mississippi residents, men, older adults, higher income respondents, and those with good/excellent self-rated physical health. Conclusion: Hurricane Katrina adversely impacted mental health of residents in Katrina-affected states, and the impact differed across population subgroups. Future studies should investigate other potential risk and protective factors for the mental health consequences of disasters. They should examine long-term impacts on mental health following disasters to better inform population-based mental health interventions for disaster survivors.

Life satisfaction is a key component of people&rsquo, s subjective well-being. This study assessed the relationship between relative income and life satisfaction among Chinese adults, using data from a cross-sectional survey. Individual-level data (N = 1369) came from the 2016 China Genuine Progress indicator Survey (CGPiS) conducted in Beijing and Chengdu, China. Ordered logistic regressions were performed to examine the relationship between relative income and life satisfaction among CGPiS adult respondents. Respondents&rsquo, life satisfaction was positively associated with relative income in comparison to their relatives and friends but not associated with relative income in comparison to their residing community and city. Subgroup analyses replicated the findings among male respondents and respondents with good or excellent self-rated health. In contrast, female respondents&rsquo, life satisfaction was positively associated with relative income in comparison to their city of residence, but not associated with relative income in comparison to their relatives, friends, and residing community. Life satisfaction among those with poor or fair self-rated health was not associated with any of the four dimensions of relative income. Relative income in comparison to relatives and friends was positively associated with life satisfaction in Chinese adults. Future studies adopting a longitudinal or experimental design are warranted to replicate the findings.