Magnet bioreporter device for ecological toxicity assessment on heavy metal contamination of coal cinder sites

A novel magnet bioreporter device was developed in this research for soil toxicity assessment, via magnetic nanoparticles functionalized whole-cell bioreporters. The whole-cell bioreporter ADPWH-recA kept response capability to DNA damage after magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) functionalization, and could be harvested from soil samples by permanent magnet to reduce the soil particle disturbance. Compared to conventional treatments applying bioreporter directly in soil-water mixture (SW-M treatment) or supernatant (SW-S treatment), MNPs functionalized bioreporter via the magnet device (MFB) treatment achieved high sensitivity to evaluate the toxicity and bioavailability of chromium contamination in soils from 10 mg/kg to 5000 mg/kg soil dry weight. The MNPs functionalized bioreporter also achieved high reproducibility with pH value from 5.0 to 9.0, salinity from 0% to 3% and temperature from 20 °C to 37 °C. A case study was carried out on the ecological toxicity assessment of heavy metal contamination at the coal cinder site via the magnet bioreporter device. The heavy metal toxicity declined with the increasing distance to the coal cinder point, and a significant accumulation of heavy metal toxicity was observed along the vertical distribution. No direct link was found between the pollution load index (PLI) and heavy metal toxicity, and the results suggested the bioreporter test monitored the toxicity of heavy metals in soils and was an important approach for ecological risk assessment. Magnet bioreporter device also offered the high throughput biological measurement and was feasible for in situ monitoring

Analysis of the Prevalence and Influencing Factors of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Elderly Hospitalized Patients：a Study Based on a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment System in Yunnan Province

BackgroundCurrent studies on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (hereinafter referred to as COPD) mostly focus on the lung itself, while studies on the extrapulmonary manifestations of COPD are still lacking. Many studies in China and at abroad have shown that COPD is closely related to geriatric syndrome, but it has not been further confirmed.ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of COPD in senile inpatients in several hospitals in Yunnan Province in the past three years, and to explore the influencing factors of elderly COPD from the aspect of geriatric syndrome.MethodsA total of 2 182 newly admitted elderly patients (≥60 years old) in several hospitals of Yunnan Province from September 2018 to June 2021 were selected as the research objects and divided into COPD group and non-COPD group according to whether the patients had COPD. The software platform of "Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment System" independently developed by the Geriatrics Department of the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province was used to collect general data from the patients. At the same time, the scales in the system were used to conduct a comprehensive geriatric evaluation of the patients, including the assessment of anxiety and depression by 15-item geriatric depression scale (GDS-15) , the assessment of insomnia situation by athens insomnia scale (AIS) , the assessment of family support by PAGAR scale, the assessment of fall risk by Morse fall scale, the assessment of cognitive function by mini-mental state examination (MMSE) , the assessment of nutrition status by mini nutritional assessment scale, the assessment of the patients' daily living ability by the basic activities of daily living (BADL) scale, the assessment of frailty state by the Fried Scale, the assessment of swallowing (choking) by swallowing function assessment scale, the assessment of urinary incontinence by incontinence questionnaire simple form (ICI-Q-SF) , the assessment of constipation by Roma Ⅲ scale, the assessment of pain by visual analogue scale (VAS) . The influencing factors of COPD in the elderly hospitalized patients were analyzed by binary Logistic regression.ResultsThere were 1 558 cases (71.4%) in the non-COPD group and 624 cases (28.6%) in the COPD group. The results of binary Logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥75 and <85 years, age≥85 years old, male, anxiety and depression, potential malnutrition, malnutrition, pre-frailty, frailty were independent influencing factors of COPD (P<0.05) .ConclusionElderly hospitalized patients aged ≥60 years have a higher prevalence of COPD and are closely associated with geriatric syndrome

Correlation of Malnutrition，25-hydroxy Vitamin D and Interleukin-1β with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Elderly Inpatients

BackgroundThe specific pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is still not very clear so far, clinical interventions mainly focus on the control of pulmonary symptoms with drugs, however, the influence of extrapulmonary related factors of COPD has not caused enough attention.ObjectiveTo explore the correlation of malnutrition, 25-hydroxy vitamin D and interleukin-1β with COPD in elderly inpatients.MethodsA total of 305 inpatients (≥60 years old) were recruited from Department of Geriatrics, the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province from November 2020 to August 2021, and divided into COPD group (n=89) and non-COPD group (n=216) according to the incidence of COPD. General information and comprehensive geriatric assessment results were compared between the two groups; binary Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of COPD in elderly inpatients, and Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation of malnutrition, 25-hydroxy vitamin D and interleukin-1β with COPD.ResultsThere were significant differences in age, gender, current smoking rate, nutritional status, cognitive function, incidence of anxiety and depression, incidence of disability, sleeping status, frailty status, proportion of multiple drugs, kinds of drugs used, platelet count, C-reactive protein, total protein, albumin, thyroxine, 25-hydroxy vitamin D, estradiol, testosterone, prothrombin time, D-dimer, interleukin-6 and interleukin-1β between the two groups (P<0.05) . The results of binary Logistic regression analysis showed that, current smoking〔OR=2.351, 95%CI (1.053, 5.249) 〕, underlying malnutrition〔OR=2.429, 95%CI (1.118, 5.276) 〕, malnutrition〔OR=3.936, 95%CI (1.355, 11.439) 〕, sleeplessness〔OR=2.584, 95%CI (1.094, 6.102) 〕, C-reactive protein〔OR=0.988, 95%CI (0.978, 0.999) 〕, 25-hydroxy vitamin D〔OR=0.929, 95%CI (0.880, 0.981) 〕and interleukin-1β〔OR=1.025, 95%CI (1.003, 1.047) 〕were independent influencing factors of COPD in elderly inpatients (P<0.05) . The results of Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that, malnutrition (rs=0.280, P<0.001) and interleukin-1β (rs=0.145, P=0.011) were positively correlated with the incidence of COPD in elderly inpatients, while 25-hydroxy vitamin D was negatively correlated with the incidence of COPD (rs=-0.264, P<0.001) .ConclusionMalnutrition, 25-hydroxy vitamin D and interleukin-1β are independent influencing factors of COPD in elderly inpatients. Among them, malnutrition and interleukin-1β are positively correlated with the incidence of COPD, while 25-hydroxy vitamin D is negatively correlated with the incidence of COPD

Comparative Study on Properties of Polylactic Acid Nanocomposites with Cellulose and Chitin Nanofibers Extracted from Different Raw Materials

Polylactic acid (PLA) was reinforced with ultralong cellulose and chitin nanofibers extracted from four raw materials by extrusion. The mechanical, rheological, thermal, and viscoelastic performances of four nanocomposites were comparatively studied in detail. The results showed that fibrillation of poplar was much easier than that of cotton, and fibrillation of crab shell was relatively hard as compared to prawn shell. The poplar CNFs/PLA composite exhibited the best mechanical properties among four nanocomposites due to the highest aspect ratio of nanofibers, while both the cotton CNFs/PLA composite and the crab shell CHNFs/PLA composite had low mechanical strength due to the relatively low aspect ratio. FE-SEM images showed that the ultralong nanofibers were uniformly dispersed in PLA matrix for all four samples with the water preblending method. The CTE values of the nanocomposites with 40 wt% nanofibers extracted from poplar, cotton, crab shell, and prawn shell were 69.5 × 10−6 K−1, 79.6 × 10−6 K−1, 77.2 × 10−6 K−1, and 75.3 × 10−6 K−1, respectively. All the results indicated that the aspect ratio of the nanofibers has a great influence on the performance of the composites, irrespective of the composites prepared by cellulose or chitin

Association Between Social Integration and Health Among Internal Migrants in ZhongShan, China

Internal migrants are the individuals who migrate between regions in one country. The number of internal migrants were estimated at 245 million in China in 2013. Results were inconsistent in the literature about the relationship between their health statuses and social integration. The main difference exists on how to measure the social integration and whether health statuses of internal migrants improve with years of residence. To complement the existing literature, this study measured social integration more comprehensively and estimated the internal migrants\u27 health statuses with varying years of residence, and explored the associations between the migrants\u27 social integration and health. We used the data from 2014 Internal Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey of Health and Family Planning in ZhongShan, China. Health status was measured from four aspects: self-reported health, subjective well-being, perception of stress, mental health. We measured social integration through four dimensions: economy, social communication, acculturation, and self-identity. The analyses used multiple linear regressions to examine the associations between selfreported health, subjective well-being, and perception of stress, mental health and social integration. The analytical sample included 1,999 households of the internal migrants and 1,997 local registered households, who were permanent residents in ZhongShan. Among the internal migrants, Adults in the labor force, who were aged 25 to 44 years old, accounted for 91.2% of the internal migrant population, while 74.6% of the registered population were in that age group. Median residential time among migrants was 2.8 (1.3-6.2) years, and 20.2% of them were migrating in the same Guangdong province. Except for mental health, other health statuses among migrants had significant differences compared with local registered population, e. g. self-reported health was better, but subjective well-being was worse. However, these health measurements were improved with more years of residence. Moreover, our results show that two aspects of social integration, economic integration and selfidentity, were significantly associated with health status. Subjective feeling of relative social status levels were more associated with health, which prompted the attention to social fairness and the creation of a fair and respectful culture. More interventions could be experimented, such as encouraging internal migrants to participate in community activities more actively, educating local registered residents to treat internal migrants more equally, and developing self-identity among internal migrants. Better social, economic, and cultural environment can benefit internal migrants\u27 health statuses

Detection of New Quorum Sensing N-Acyl Homoserine Lactones From Aeromonas veronii

Sturgeon is an important fresh water-culture fish in China. A problem with sturgeon is its high susceptibility to spoilage. Food spoilage is reported to be regulated by quorum sensing (QS). To identify the QS signals acetylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) in sturgeon and test whether QS plays a role in the spoilage of sturgeon, we investigated the specific spoilage organisms (SSOs) in vacuum packaged sturgeon stored at 4°C and the production of AHLs by sturgeon SSOs. 16S rDNA sequencing and spoilage capabilities analysis revealed that Aeromonas veronii LP-11, Citrobacter freundii LPJ-2, and Raoultella ornithinolytica LPC-3 were the SSOs in sturgeon. Among the three SSOs, only A. veronii LP-11 induced the QS biosensors Agrobacterium tumefaciens KYC55 and Chromobacterium violaceum CV026, suggesting that it produced AHLs. Analysis by thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/qTOF-MS) identified that the AHLs produced by A. veronii were C6-SHL, C8-HSL, 3-oxo-C8-HSL, and 3-OH-C8-HSL. Our study revealed that QS system was probably involved in the regulation of sturgeon spoilage and for the first time reported the production of C8-HSL and 3-OH-C8-HSL by genus Aeromonas. As only HPLC/qTOF-MS effectively and accurately identified all the four AHLs produced by A. veronii LP-11, this study also showed that HPLC/qTOF-MS was the most efficient method for rapid analysis of AHLs in complex microbial sample. The study provides new insight into the microbiology of sturgeon spoilage which may be helpful for better sturgeon preservation

Development and evaluation of a new luciferase immunosorbent assay to detect GII.6 norovirus-specific IgG in different domestic and wild animals

Noroviruses (NoVs) are the leading viral pathogens globally causing acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in humans, posing a significant global health threat and economic burden. Recent investigations revealed that human NoVs had been detected in different animals, which raises concerns about whether NoVs are potential zoonotic diseases. This study developed a novel luciferase immunosorbent assay (LISA) to detect GII.6 NoV IgG based on P protein of VP1. The LISA showed high specificity (99.20%) and sensitivity (92.00%) with 4–16 times more sensitivity compared with an ELISA. NoV-LISA was reproducible with human serum regarding the inter- and intra-assay coefficient of variance values. Potential cross-reactivity was also evaluated using mice serum immunized by other antigens, which showed that NoV-LISA could differentiate GII.6 NoV from rotavirus and various genotypes of NoV. Specific GII.6 NoV IgG was widely detected in different domestic and wild animals, including dogs, pigs, bats, rats, and home shrews, with various IgG-positive rates ranging from 2.5 to 74.4%. In conclusion, our newly developed NoV-LISA assay is suitable for NoV-specific IgG detection in humans and animals. The wide distribution of IgG antibodies against human NoV indicates potential zoonotic transmission between humans and animals

SARS-CoV Infection in a Restaurant from Palm Civet

Contact with food animals was associated with SARS-CoV infection in the People’s Republic of China

The p.V37I Exclusive Genotype Of GJB2: A Genetic Risk-Indicator of Postnatal Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment

Postnatal permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) is frequent (0.25%–0.99%) and difficult to detect in the early stage, which may impede the speech, language and cognitive development of affected children. Genetic tests of common variants associated with postnatal PCHI in newborns may provide an efficient way to identify those at risk. In this study, we detected a strong association of the p.V37I exclusive genotype of GJB2 with postnatal PCHI in Chinese Hans (P = 1.4×10−10; OR 62.92, 95% CI 21.27–186.12). This common genotype in Eastern Asians was present in a substantial percentage (20%) of postnatal PCHI subjects, and its prevalence was significantly increased in normal-hearing newborns who failed at least one newborn hearing screen. Our results indicated that the p.V37I exclusive genotype of GJB2 may cause subclinical hearing impairment at birth and increases risk for postnatal PCHI. Genetic testing of GJB2 in East Asian newborns will facilitate prompt detection and intervention of postnatal PCHI