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To reveal the hydrochemical characteristics of karst wetland located in a subtropical area and at lower elevations in China, 27 surface water samples were collected during three periods (wet, normal, and dry) in the Huixian karst wetland to investigate the distributions, pollution, and irrigation application of 12 inorganic ions and 10 heavy metals. Based on their concentrations, the Nemerow index and the four evaluation systems of the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium concentration (SC), permeability index (PI), and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were applied to evaluate the pollution characteristics and irrigation application. It was found that the water type in this area was Ca 2+ -HCO 3 - and weakly alkaline. Regarding the 12 inorganic ions and 10 heavy metals, NH 4 + exceeded the Chinese standards for drinking water with an exceedance rate of 25.93%, and the exceedance rates of Al, Mn, and Hg were 11.11%, 44.44%, and 37.04%, respectively. The spatiotemporal scaling effect on inorganic ions was lower than that of heavy metals, and the distributions of the inorganic ions and heavy metals were in the order of wet period > normal period > dry period. However, the surface water quality in the Huixian karst wetland was generally well-protected based on the pollution assessment. The Nemerow index ranged from 0.75 to 2.69, which recognized the main pollution contributors as NH 4 + , Mn, Al, and Hg with the contamination grade from slight pollution to moderate pollution, especially in the core area during the wet period. According to the limits of standards for irrigation water quality and environmental quality for surface water, as well as the evaluation results of the SAR, SC, PI, and RSC, the surface water in the Huixian karst wetland was generally suitable for irrigation, and the water quality in the dry period was better than that in the wet and normal periods. The surface water from site PH1 during the normal period with 19.1 μg·L -1 of Hg and site FH8 during the wet period with 13.7 mg·L -1 of NH 4 + were not suitable for agricultural irrigation.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are still a major health threats worldwide. Traditional surveillance methods involving manual surveillance by infection control practitioners (ICPs) for data collection processes are laborious, inefficient, and generate data of variable quality. In this study, we sought to evaluate the impact of surveillance and interaction platform system (SIPS) for HAIs surveillance compared to manual survey in tertiary general hospitals., Methods: A large multi-center study including 21 tertiary general hospitals and 63 wards were performed to evaluate the impact of electronic SIPS for HAIs., Results: We collected 4,098 consecutive patients and found that the hospitals installed with SIPS significantly increased work efficiency of ICPs achieving satisfactory diagnostic performance of HAIs with 0.73 for sensitivity, 0.81 for specificity and 0.81 area under the curve (AUC). However, there were significant heterogeneity own to regions, time of SIPS installation, departments and sample size., Conclusions: SIPS significantly improved ICPs efficiency and HAIs monitoring effectiveness, but there were shortcomings such as untimely maintenance and high cost., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2019 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Memantine hydrochloride is an uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist for treatment of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. Several studies have shown that memantine can significantly correct the binge-like eating behavior in human and animal models. People with overeating behavior are more likely to be obese. Therefore, we suppose that memantine would be a good candidate for the treatment of obesity. In this study, memantine was shown to increase weight loss in obese mice induced by high fat diet. Memantine was shown to decrease food intake without inducing abdominal discomfort and anxiety, suggesting that this compound would be a good candidate drug for obesity control.

Low molecular weight seleno-aminopolysaccharide (LSA) is an organic selenium compound comprising selenium and low molecular weight aminopolysaccharide (LA), a low molecular weight natural linear polysaccharide derived from chitosan. LSA has been found to exert strong pharmacological activity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of LSA on intestinal mucosal oxidative stress in a weaning piglet model by detecting the growth performance, intestinal mucosal structure, antioxidant indices, and expression level of intracellular transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its related factors. Our results indicated that LSA significantly increased the average daily gain and feed/gain ( p < 0.05), suggesting that LSA can effectively promote the growth of weaning piglets. The results of scanning electron microscope (SEM) microscopy showed that LSA effectively reduced intestinal damage, indicating that LSA improved the intestinal stress response and protected the intestinal structure integrity. In addition, diamine oxidase (DAO) and d-lactic acid (d-LA) levels remarkably decreased in LSA group compared with control group ( p < 0.05), suggesting that LSA alleviated the damage and permeability of weaning piglets. LSA significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels, but decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level, indicating that LSA significantly enhanced the antioxidant capacity and reduced oxidative stress in weaning piglets. RT-PCR results showed that LSA significantly increased GSH-Px1, GSH-Px2, SOD-1, SOD-2, CAT, Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 gene expression ( p < 0.05). Western blot analysis revealed that LSA activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway by downregulating the expression of Keap1 and upregulating the expression of Nrf2 to protect intestinal mucosa against oxidative stress. Collectively, LSA reduced intestinal mucosal damage induced by oxidative stress via Nrf2-Keap1 pathway in weaning stress of infants.

Objective: To investigate the effects of the Traditional Chinese Medicine berberine on blood lipid and antioxidation ability in hyperlipoidemic model rats., Methods: Ten rats were randomly chosen as control group, and other rats were used to establish hyperllipemia rat models. Successfully molding rats were randomly divided into model group, berberine low dose group(100 mg/kg), medium dose group(200 mg/kg), high dose group(300 mg/kg), and xuezhikang group(200 mg/kg), 10 rats in each group. Each rat received gavage per day continually for 30 days. Diacylgycerol acyltransferase (DGAT), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA), hepatic triglycerides lipase (HTGL), cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (CYP7A), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathion peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were monitored., Results: The Traditional Chinese Medicine berberine could obviously decrease the liver coefficient and the contents of TC, TG, LDL-C and increase the serum content of HDL-C in hyperlipoidemia rats. The Traditional Chinese Medicine berberine decrease the levels of MDA, DGAT, HMG-CoA and increase the activities of HTGL, CYP7A, SOD and GSH-Px in liver tissue., Conclusions: The Traditional Chinese Medicine berberine could decrease the blood lipid level and prevent the lipid peroxidation damage in hyperlidemia rats.

Background: The integration of human papilloma virus (HPV) into host genome is one of the critical steps that lead to the progression of precancerous lesion into cancer. However, the mechanisms and consequences of such integration events are poorly understood. This study aims to explore those questions by studying high risk HPV16 integration in women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)., Methods: Specifically, HPV integration status of 13 HPV16-infected patients were investigated by ligation-mediated PCR (DIPS-PCR) followed by DNA sequencing., Results: In total, 8 HPV16 integration sites were identified inside or around genes associated with cancer development. In particular, the well-studied tumor suppressor genes SCAI was found to be integrated by HPV16, which would likely disrupt its expression and therefore facilitate the migration of tumor. On top of that, we observed several cases of chromosome translocation events coincide with HPV integration, which suggests the existence of chromosome instability. Additionally, short overlapping sequences were observed between viral derived and host derived fragments in viral-cellular junctions, indicating that integration was mediated by micro homology-mediated DNA repair pathway., Conclusions: Overall, our study suggests a model in which HPV16 might contribute to oncogenesis not only by disrupting tumor suppressor genes, but also by inducing chromosome instability.

Objective: To discuss the modulating effects of shenmai (Traditional Chinese Medicine) injection on blood lipid in hyperlipidemia rats through observing the serum lipid level and a series of related biochemical indexes in hyperlipidemia rat model., Methods: A total of 30 male SD rats of SPF grade were purchased and fed with basic feed for 1 week to adapt the environment. Then the rats were randomly divided into the following groups( n =10):control group, model control group, shenmai injection group. Control group was fed basal diet; the latter two groups were fed high fat diet,the body weight of all the animals was measured each week. For shenmai injection group, the rats were fed with shenmai injection (10 ml/kg) twice a day for 45 consecutive days through oral administration. The effects of shenmai injection on body weight, serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), super oxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px), malondialdehyde (MDA), the activities of lipoprotein lipase(LPL) and hepatic lipase (HL) in hyperlipidemia rats were detected., Results: Body weight, serum of TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and MDA levels in model control group were significantly higher( P <0.01), while serum of HDL-C, SOD, GSH-Px, LPL, and HL levels were significantly lower than those of control group( P <0.01). Body weight, serum of TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and MDA levels in shenmai injection group were significantly lower( P <0.01), while serum of HDL-C, SOD, GSH-Px, LPL, and HL levels were significantly higher than those of model group( P <0.05, P <0.01)., Conclusions: Shenmai injection has a significant effect of modulating blood lipid and antioxidant function on hyperlipidemia rats.

With an objective to provide an experimental basis for scientific officinal of Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus, this research uses UPLC-TQ/MS method to analyze 7 different kinds of lignan in 70 batches of Schisandra sphenantherae Fructus samples from 9 regions. The results showed that in the area south of Qinling mountains, Schisandrae sphenantherae Fructus from Zhashui county and Shanyang county of Shangluo mainly contained schisantherin A and deoxyschizandrin. However, Schisandrae sphenantherae Fructus from Mei county of Baoji, Shiquan county and Ningshan county of Ankang, and Lueyang county of Hanzhong, mainly contained anwuligan. Samples from Ningshan county also consists relatively high level of deoxyschizandrin. In the central area of Qinling mountains and the Daba mountains, Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus from Nanzheng county of Hanzhong mainly contained schisanhenol and deoxyschizandrin. In conclusion, the kinds and level of lignan differ significantly in Schisandrae sphenantherae Fructus produced in different regions. In practical application, Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus produced in different regions should be distinguished and differently applied based on their main effective components corresponding to different diseases, which can lead to the best clinical use.

NOx and SO2 formation in the sintering process and the influence of coke powder content, moisture content and adding additives on NO emissions were investigated by the sintering pot experimental method. The results showed that the combustion zone moved downward along the sintering pot after the sintering started. The NOx concentrations of all monitoring points below the combustion zone were basically the same. SO2 generated in the combustion zone was adsorbed and accumulated in the sintering materials below the zone. Then, SO2 was released by pyrolysis, and finally discharged from the outlet of sintering pot. So the significant SO2 couldn't be detected before the burning through point, and the relationship between the SO2 concentration and the sintering time displayed an inverted "V" curve. NOx produced from the sintering process was mainly thermal-NOx, and most of it was NO, the NO2 concentration was very low. Reducing the coke powder and moisture contents, or adding sintering additives could effectively reduce NOx emissions.

The effects of NO(x) oxidation ratio, O2 and SO2 concentrations in simulated flue gas as well as addition of S(IV) oxidation inhibitor NaS2O3 on the simultaneous removal of SO2 and NO(x) by ammonia absorption were investigated under the conditions of pH 5.9-6.1 and aqueous S(IV) concentration > or = 1.0 mol x L(-1). The research results showed that NO2 could be effectively absorbed by ammonium sulfite, but the NO absorption was negligible. Therefore, NO oxidation is the premise of NO(x) removal. Aqueous S(IV) concentration is a key factor affecting NO2 absorption removal, the higher the O2 concentration or the lower the SO2 concentration, the faster the aaqueous S(IV) concentration decreased, which resulted in a faster decrease of NO2 removal efficiency. S(IV) oxidation was inhibited to some extent by the addition of oxidation inhibitor S2O3(2-) into the absorption solution. As a result, the decrease of NO2 removal efficiency became slower.

In the title compound, C(29)H(28)ClNO(7), the tetra-hydro-furan ring and the six-membered ring fused to it both display envelope conformations. The dihedral angles between the plane of the benzene ring of the benzo[d][1,3]dioxole system and the planes of the other two benzene rings are 80.59 (3) and 63.60 (2)°.

In the title compound, C(16)H(20)N(2)O(3), the crystal packing is stabilized by weak π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid distances = 3.577 (9) and 3.693 (9) Å] and inter-molecular C-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter-actions. The C atoms of the N-isopropyl group are disordered over two sets of sites with occupancies of 0.61(3) and 0.39(3).

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) induced by positive corona discharge was utilized to oxidize NO and Hg0 to more water-soluble NO2 and Hg2+ under the conditions of simulated flue gas. The effects of discharge voltage and inlet SO2 and NO concentrations on NO and Hg0 oxidation and their removals by alkaline absorption were investigated. The results show that the oxidation and removal of NO and Hg0 are enhanced with the increase of discharge voltage. The concentrations of NO and NO2 at the outlet of absorption tower are 0 and 69 mg/m3 with an inlet NO concentration of 134 mg/m3 and a discharge voltage of 12. 8 kV while the outlet concentrations of Hg0 and Hg2+ are 22 microg/m3 and 11 microg/m3 with an inlet Hg0 concentration of 110 microg/m3 and a discharge voltage of 13.1 kV. The presence of SO2 slightly improves the oxidation and removal of Hg0 while it has almost no effect on NO oxidation and its removal. The oxidation and removal of Hg0 are significantly inhibited with the increase of inlet NO concentration. In the coexistence of 800 mg/m3 SO2, 134 mg/m3 NO and 110 microg/m3 Hg0, the removal efficiencies are 57% for NO and 31% for Hg0 with an energy input of 77 J/L.

The behavior of non-thermal plasma (NTP) and combined plasma catalysis (CPC) was investigated for removal of low-concentration benzene, toluene and p-xylene (BTX mixture) in air using a link tooth wheel-cylinder plasma reactor. Combining NTP with MnO(x)/Al(2)O(3) catalyst after the discharge zone (CPC) significantly promoted BTX conversion and improved the energy efficiency. For a specific input energy (SIE) of 10 JL(-1), the conversion of benzene, toluene and p-xylene reached 94%, 97% and 95%, respectively. The introduction of MnO(x)/Al(2)O(3) catalyst also moved the BTX conversion towards total oxidation and reduced the emission of O(3) and NO(2) as compared to NTP alone. For an SIE of 10 JL(-1), the O(3) outlet concentration decreased from 46.7 for NTP alone to 1.9 ppm for CPC, while the NO(2) emission correspondingly decreased from 1380 to 40 ppb.

The effects of flue gas compositions such as NO, SO2, CO, H2O on elementary mercury oxidation by non-thermal plasma induced by positive streamer discharge were experimentally investigated by using a link tooth wheel-cylinder reactor. The results showed that the oxidation of elementary mercury decreased in the presence of CO2 and NO, which was attributed to the reduction of number of the active radicals reacted with elementary mercury. Adding 670 mg/m3 NO, only 37% elementary mercury was oxidized when the voltage was 9.5 kV. And CO was produced because of the reaction between CO2 and active radicals. The presence of SO2 resulted in an increase of elementary mercury oxidation, and white HgSO4 and Hg2SO4 were formed, little elementary mercury was detected at the outlet of the reactor when the voltage was 10 kV. Similarly, H2O and HCI promoted the oxidation of elementary mercury, which may be due to the formation of oxidative *OH and the presence of Cl- ions. The total mercury concentration dramatically decreased after the discharge reactor because the charging mercury was collected.

Two methods of mixture modified and corona discharge were used to modify hydrophilic performance of the surface of the carriers. By mixture modified, the contact angle reduced from 108 degrees to 88 degrees, which showed carriers were hydrophilic; corona discharge could strengthen the effect and contact angle could reduce to 72 degrees further, although the effect lasted short time. To compare two carriers modified by corona discharge or not, evaluation system for biological quality of carries were established from two aspects: monitor indexes and monitor methods. Experiment lasted for 20 days. The results showed that the reactor filled with the former started up more quickly. On the 2nd day, removal rate of COD and NH4(+) -N was 80% and 97%, respectively; while removal rate of the reactor filled with the latter only reached 61% and 63%, respectively. But soon, the removal rate of the both pollutants was nearly the same. It confirmed that the modified effect by corona discharge lasted short time, and indicated this evaluation system was fast, feasible and reliable.

Based on the life-cycle theory, a quantitative evaluation of the environment load caused by cement manufacturing in China was carried out with the application of the CML. environmental impact assessment method. The results show that global warming potential, energy depletion potential and abiotic depletion potential make the main contribution to the environment impact, their environmental loads corresponding to identical environmental impact sorts being 2.76%, 2.34% and 1.39% of the overall load of the whole world, respectively. In 2004, the environment load from cement manufacturing in China is roughly 1.28% of the overall load of the whole world, in which the environmental loads from the shaft kiln processing, wet rotary processing and new-type dry processing being 0.84%, 0.12% and 0.32%, respectively. And it can be reduced to about 1% by replacing backward production processes with the dry method production process.

On the basis of the analysis of chemical components of the natural limestones from different deposits in China, the pore structures of the typical limestones, with the different CaCO3 content, were examined. The reactivity of the limestones was investigated by sulfuric acid titration and gas-liquid absorption methods. The research results showed that the specific surface area of the natural limestones studied in this work was about 1.8 m2/g. It was seen that the pH of the limestone slurry rapidly decreased and then back up when the sulfuric acid was added. The higher the CaCO3 content was, or the smaller the particle size was, the larger the pH back-up rate was, and similarly the faster the SO2 concentration of the reactor outlet increased. The Reactivity of the limestone obtained by the sulfuric acid titration had the same features as that obtained by the gas liquid absorption. Compared with the specific surface area, the CaCO3 content had more effect on the reactivity of the limestones. The particle size of the limestones had a significant effect on the reactivity when the particle size was relatively large, that is less than 300-360 mesh, vice versa.

The catalytic activities of alumina-supported Ag, Co and Cu for selective reduction of NO with propene as reductant in the presence of excess oxygen were investigated. The catalytic performances of single-component catalysts with different metal loadings and of samples prepared by various methods such as mechanical mixing, one-step impregnation, two-step impregnation, etc. were studied. The experimental results showed that the Ag exhibited the highest conversion of NO to N2 (approximately 89% with 2% loading, wt.) among single-component catalysts, the lower was Co, and the lowest was Cu. The sequence of the temperature for the maximum conversion was on the order of Cu < Co < Ag. For Ag catalysts, the activities between samples of identical loadings prepared by one-step and two-step impregnation were almost the same. The activities of mixed samples were not the simple sum of the single-component catalysts. The mixed Ag-Co sample possessed the highest activity (80% above). The activities of the combinatorial samples declined comparatively to some extent. The activities of one-step impregnation samples descended more markedly and the highest conversion was only over 30%.

Catalytic properties of Ag/Al2O3, In/Al2O3, Sn/Al2O3, Co/Al2O3, Pt/Al2O3 and a two-stage catalyst composed of Ag/Al2O3 and Pt/Al2O3 were investigated for the selective reduction of NO by C3H6 or C2H5OH in excess oxygen. The Ag/Al2O3 showed the highest NO reduction activity among the catalysts studied. A substantial amount of CO was formed over alumina-based transient metal oxides. HC and CO oxidations over Pt/Al2O3 occurred in relatively low temperatures, compared with the other catalysts. The sequential use of Ag/Al2O3 and Pt/Al2O3 was effective to broaden the temperature window for the reduction of NO, to improve oxidation of HC and CO and to inhibit the formation of N2O and CH3CHO.

Objective: To investigate the hemodynamic changes in the early stages of gunshot wound of dogs in seawater for exploring early treatment protocol., Method: Fourteen conventional Beagles models undergoing gunshot wound in seawater were used along with another 2 dogs receiving the wound on land to serve as control. After the dogs were rescued from the seawater, the respiration (R), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP), and cardiac output (CO) were measured continuously in the early stages of the wound (53.62+/-12.19 min following injury), followed by statistical analysis of the results., Results: Compared with the control group, the hemodynamic disturbance of the dogs receiving the wound in seawater was relatively severe during the first 15 min of the wound. The mortality tended to descend relevant to the position of the wounds, in the order of the head, chest, abdomen and limbs., Conclusions: Gunshot wound in seawater may cause severe hemodynamic changes, resulting in progressive dysfunction of circulation and high mortality rate. Early treatment should be targeted at hemodynamic stabilization in accordance to the characteristic changes during the early stages of the wound.

Purpose: We studied the relation of breast cancer to common deletion mutations in GSTM1 and GSTT1 and the functional Ile(105)Val polymorphism in GSTP1 in a large, population-based case-control study conducted in China and performed a meta-analysis to summarize the literature., Experimental Design: In the case-control study, a total of 1144 breast cancer cases and 1221 community controls were genotyped for GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1 using PCR-based methods. Associations of genotypes and breast cancer were evaluated in logistic regression models. Meta-analysis odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using a fixed effects model., Results: In the case-control study, associations were null for GSTM1 [age-adjusted OR 0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.82-1.14] and GSTT1 (OR 0.97, 95% CI: 0.83-1.15). A significant increase in risk was observed among homozygotes for the variant Ile(105)Val polymorphism (OR 1.92, 95% CI: 1.21-3.04). No combined effects of GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1 genotypes or interactions with potential effect modifiers were detected. All results were similar in pre- and postmenopausal women and for early versus advanced stage breast cancer. The meta-analysis, based predominantly on Caucasian women, supported null results for the homozygous deletion variant in GSTM1 (summary OR 1.05; combining 19 studies) and GSTT1 (summary OR 1.11; 15 studies). Meta-analysis results for the homozygous GSTP1 variant indicated no overall association (summary OR 1.04; 10 studies), although results varied significantly across studies (P = 0.009)., Conclusions: This large case-control study provides strong support for earlier studies showing no overall association of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletion polymorphisms with breast cancer risk. The GSTP1 variant may be relevant to breast cancer risk in Asian populations.

China's coal-dominated energy pattern has resulted in large amount of SO2 emissions. Estimate of the sulfur-related health damage cost is necessary to help perform systematic cost-benefit analysis and set national energy and emissions control priorities. Current researches were confined to gaseous SO2 in urban areas; however, secondary sulfate (SO4(2-)) particles can exert serious impact in a wider region. Based on the concept of "intake fraction", CALPUFF long-range dispersion model and 180 sample emission sources, multiple regression equation was obtained with good correlation( r = 0.85), which illustrates that populations were key parameters to determine intake fraction but source characteristics were insignificant. Based on the formula and the population distribution data, county-level intake fractions were mapped for Hunan Province(range: 1.1 x 10(-6) - 3.2 x 10(-6)) of China. A combination of county-level SO2 emissions with the intake fractions yields a total 1.98 tons of sulfate(SO4(2-)) inhalation, and resulting total health damage cost to be 0.76(willingness to pay approach, WTP) or 0.16 (human capital approach, HC) billion USD in 1997, about 2.1% or 0.45% of GDP in Hunan in 1997. Average health damage cost per ton of SO2 emission is 930(WTP) or 200 USD(HC). The results demonstrated that more stringent regulation should be forced.

Objective: To investigate the changes in bacterial proliferation and the time of infection occurrence in dogs wounded by gunshot in seawater., Method: Fourteen canine models of gunshot wound in seawater were established, with another 2 dogs receiving the wound without seawater immersion serving as control. Gross observation and quantitative bacterial analysis were performed at 0, 6, 12 and 24 h after the injury respectively, and two dynamic models for the bacterial growth were set up on the basis of statistical analysis of the results., Results: Bacterial quantity in both of the two groups tended to increase with time, but at each time point after the injury, the seawater group had higher bacterial count than the other group. Within 6 h after the injury, the bacterial count reached the critical point for clinical infection in seawater group. The two bacterial growth dynamics models were (1) Y=9.12 x 10(3+0.247X) and (2) Y=1.35 x 10(3+0.227X) for the seawater group and land group respectively, with the variant X representing time after gunshot injury, and Y the bacterial count per gram tissue. Using the dynamic models, we found that to reach the same bacteria count, the land group needed 4 h more than the seawater group(4.2 h)., Conclusions: Bacterial proliferation is accelerated in the wounds in seawater to result in earlier infection onset with more severity, suggesting that early debridement within 4 h after the injury, complete washing of the wound and early administration of the antibiotics are necessary for the wound management.

Purpose: To study the differences in disease caused by two wild-type strains of Candida albicans in a model of contact lens-facilitated keratitis in rabbits., Methods: Two strains, SC5314 and VE175, were examined. Standardized inocula were placed on the debrided corneal surface of one eye in Dutch belted rabbits and covered with a contact lens. A temporary tarsorrhaphy was opened after 24 hours with removal of the contact lens. Six days later, corneas were photographed and animals killed. Corneas were bisected with one half for quantitative isolate recovery and the other for stromal penetration by hyphae., Results: Strain SC5314 was significantly more virulent. The mean hyphal penetration into the cornea was 24.4% +/- 8.5% of the corneal thickness, and in three of six corneas hyphae penetrated through the entire cornea. In contrast, for VE175, the mean hyphal penetration was 2.6% +/- 1.2%. The difference between these two strains was statistically significant (P = 0.0297). Hyphae did not penetrate into the deep layers of the cornea in any of the six rabbits infected with VE175. The grading of clinical disease was consistent with histology, in that strain SC5314 caused more severe infection than VE175 and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.0048). There was no difference in isolate recovery., Conclusions: Wild-type strains of C. albicans can differ significantly in virulence as measured by depth of fungal invasion into corneas and clinical evaluation of infection. Further characterization of the intrinsic genetic differences between such strains may help identify factors responsible for fungal virulence.