Knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding environmental friendly disinfectants for household use among residents of China in the post-pandemic period

BackgroundA sharp rise in household consumption of disinfectants triggered by COVID-19 pandemic has generated tremendous environmental burden and risks of disinfectant emissions in the post-pandemic period. To address this emerging challenge, replacing highly hazardous disinfectants with more environmental friendly alternatives has been accepted as an inherently effective solution to environment issues posed by disinfectant emerging contaminants. However, no study has yet been done to explore the potential customers' attitudes and the market prospect of environmental friendly disinfectants until now.MethodsThis cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted from January to March, 2022, among resident volunteers in China, to explore the practices, knowledge and attitudes of the public regarding environmental friendly disinfectants for household use.ResultsAmong a total of 1,861 Chinese residents finally included in the analyses, 18% agreed or strongly agreed that they paid special attention to the environmental certification label on the product, and only bought the environmental certified disinfectant products; 16% and 10% were using environmental friendly disinfectants for hand sanitization and environmental disinfection, respectively. The mean self-assessed and actual knowledge scores were 2.42 ± 1.74 and 2.12 ± 1.97, respectively, out of a total of 5. Participants having good practices of consuming environmental friendly disinfectants achieved higher knowledge scores. Residents' overall attitudes toward the development, consumption and application of environmental friendly disinfectants were very positive. “Possible conflict between disinfection effectiveness and environmental factor of disinfectants in a context of severe COVID-19 pandemic” was considered as the most important barrier jeopardizing the participants' usage intention for environmental friendly disinfectants.ConclusionsThese data suggested most residents of China had a positive attitude, poor knowledge and practices toward environmental friendly disinfectants. More should be done to enhance the residents' environmental knowledge levels about disinfectants, and to further develop and promote disinfectant products with both excellent disinfection activity and environmentally friendly attributes

Evaluation of the biocontrol potential of the fungus Botrytis euroamericana strain HZ-011 for herbicidal activity

Abstract Background Weeds in farmland seriously threaten crop yield and cause huge economic losses. Due to the extensive use of chemical herbicides, a series of problems have been arisen, such as environmental pollution, soil degradation and pesticide residues. To assess the herbicidal activity, crop safety, taxonomic identity and infection process of strain HZ-011, the methods of inoculation on detached leaves in vitro and pot plants in vivo, as well as scanning electron microscopy, were used in this study. Results The results indicated that strain HZ-011 had pathogenic effects on detached leaves of four weeds, including Amaranthus retroflexus Linn., Elsholtzia densa Benth., Malva crispa Linn. and Chenopodium album Linn. in vitro. Strain HZ-011 also showed high pathogenicity to C. album and A. retroflexus in vivo, in which the pathogenicity rates were 100%, meaning all plants died after 7 days in the pot test, while the pathogenicity rates for E. splendens and M. crispa were 60.00 and 29.60%, respectively. This strain was safe for local crops, including Vicia faba Linn., Pisum sativum Linn., Brassica napus Linn., Hordeum vulgare Linn. and Triticum aestivum Linn. Strain HZ-011 was identified as the fungus Botrytis euroamericana based on its morphology, molecular biology and a constructed phylogenetic tree. The infection process of B. euroamericana HZ-011 in C. album was studied by plant histopathological observations after pathogen infection. This procedure showed that the mycelium of strain HZ-011 invaded C. album tissues from the stomata, infected and propagated within the tissues, and the spores produced further damage in the C. album tissues and lesions occurred on the surfaces of C. album leaves. Conclusion These tests provide a basis for fungus B. euroamericana HZ-011 as a potential microbial herbicide

Analysis on the risks of severe adverse events in rabies post-exposure prophylaxis and appropriate decision-making procedure

Severe adverse events (AEs) following post-exposure rabies vaccination had been occasionally described in previous studies. Once AEs occurred, immediate medical treatment and appropriate change of vaccine and vaccination schedule were of significance. It was also important and challengeable to determine the relationship among adverse reactions, vaccines residues and laboratory tests for patients, to choose a proper vaccine in resumed vaccination, to avoid the reoccurrence of AEs and to ensure adequate immune response. Here, we present steps about how to cope with AEs by giving an example with a two-year-old girl who was identified as category II exposure to rabies, suffered from anaphylaxis after first dose administration with human diploid rabies vaccine (HDCV) so vaccination was temporarily suspended. Dexamethasone was prescribed to her in anti-allergy therapy. Allergy tests indicated that the patient was not sensitive to allergens and heterologous proteins. Vaccine test report showed that residual kanamycin existed in that batch of vaccines. This reminded us to provide her antibiotic skin sensitivity test which found she was allergic to kanamycin. Thus, we could conclude it was the cause of AEs. Then, 0.5 mL lyophilized Purified Vero Cell Rabies Vaccine (PVRV) without any residues was enrolled in the resumed vaccination. To ensure successful immunization, immunogenicity test was also provided which showed adequate immune response (RVNA ≥ 0.5 IU/mL) starting from day14. Besides, no further AEs occurred afterward. This study emphasized the importance of in-depth survey, analysis and implied the necessity to scientifically and properly choose the optimal vaccine for patients and appropriately provide treatments if AEs occurred

Simulation and calculation of maximum transmission power for offshore wind plants accounting for the Electro-Magnetic transient process

The offshore wind power industry is witnessing a shift towards larger scale and longer offshore distances, pushing the transmission capacity and transmission distance of submarine cables to their maximum limits. Consequently, it is essential to evaluate the maximum transmission limit of offshore wind power. At the same time, the larger scale of the wind farm will make the Electro-Magnetic transient (EMT) processes have a greater impact on the system stability. To address these issues, this paper firstly established a wind generator (WG) model through a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) model with averaging parameters, as well as a cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) submarine cable model to construct an offshore wind power system via AC transmission. Subsequently, a continuous EMT simulation method is proposed to calculate the maximum transmission capacity and transmission distance limit. Real-time transient simulations were conducted to check the transient stability constraints during the calculation process. Finally, through several case studies on different types of cables, the simulation and calculation results are presented to provide useful references for engineering applications

Safety, immunogenicity of lyophilized purified vero cell cultured rabies vaccine administered in Zagreb and Essen regimen in post-exposure subjects: A post-marketing, parallel control clinical trial

To compare the safety and immunogenicity of lyophilized PVRV under Zagreb and Essen regimen. A post-marketing parallel control clinical trial was conducted. Totally 240 subjects were assigned to two groups randomly, immunized with lyophilized PVRV under Zagreb and Essen schedule. Solicited adverse events were observed after each dose and unsolicited adverse events were collected. Serum samples were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 42, 180 and 365 to be used to determine immunogenicity level. No severe adverse events (SAE) were observed. The incidence of adverse events under Zagreb and Essen were similar and there was no significant difference between the two groups and within all age groups. Fever and pain were the most frequently reported systemic and local adverse events (AEs) respectively. There were no differences in the GMT and the positive seroconversion rate between these two groups. All participants in the Zagreb group obtained protective effect on day 14, while 99.16% of the subjects obtained in the Essen group. Both groups showed similar enduring immunity. Immunizations under Zagreb and Essen regimens showed similar safety and immunogenicity. For lyophilized PVRV, Zagreb was non-inferior to Essen to patients of all age groups

Recurrence of Japanese Encephalitis Epidemic in Wuhan, China, 2009–2010

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Japanese encephalitis (JE) was once epidemic in most areas of China, including Wuhan, a city located in the central part of China. The incidence of JE dramatically decreased due to nationwide immunization with the live attenuated JE virus (JEV) vaccine, and no JE cases were reported during 2005–2008 in Wuhan. In 2009 and 2010, 31 JE cases reoccurred in this area. In this study, we investigated the causes of JE recurrence.</p> <h3>Methods and Findings</h3><p>All JE cases were laboratory-confirmed by detecting the JEV-specific IgM antibody with an IgM-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All patients were children between 2 months and 9 years of age with a median age of 2 years. Of the 31 cases, 9 had received one or two doses of the JEV vaccine, 11 had not been immunized previously with the JEV vaccine, and 11 had an unclear immunization history. Through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis, two new strains of JEV were isolated from <em>Culex tritaeniorhynchus</em> and identified as genotype 1 JEV, rather than genotype 3, which circulated in this area previously.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Vaccine failure or missed vaccination may have caused JE recurrence. Local centers for disease control and prevention need to improve immunization coverage, and the efficacy of the JE vaccine needs to be reevaluated in a population at risk for disease.</p> </div

Gut ghrelin regulates hepatic glucose production and insulin signaling via a gut-brain-liver pathway

Abstract Background Ghrelin modulates many physiological processes. However, the effects of intestinal ghrelin on hepatic glucose production (HGP) are still unclear. The current study was to explore the roles of intestinal ghrelin on glucose homeostasis and insulin signaling in the liver. Methods The system of intraduodenal infusion and intracerebral microinfusion into the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in the normal chow-diet rats and pancreatic-euglycemic clamp procedure (PEC) combined with [3-3H] glucose as a tracer were used to analyze the effect of intestinal ghrelin. Intraduodenal co-infusion of ghrelin, tetracaine and Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) activator (AICAR), or pharmacologic and molecular inhibitor of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors within the dorsal vagal complex, or hepatic vagotomy in rats were used to explore the possible mechanism of the effect of intestinal ghrelin on HGP. Results Our results demonstrated that gut infusion of ghrelin inhibited duodenal AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) signal pathways, increased HGP and expression of gluconeogenic enzymes, and decreased insulin signaling in the liver of the rat. Intraduodenal co-infusion of ghrelin receptor antagonist [D-Lys3]-GHRP-6 and AMPK agonist with ghrelin diminished gut ghrelin-induced increase in HGP and decrease in glucose infusion rate (GIR) and hepatic insulin signaling. The effects of gut ghrelin were also negated by co-infusion with tetracaine, or MK801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor inhibitor, and adenovirus expressing the shRNA of NR1 subunit of NMDA receptors (Ad-shNR1) within the dorsal vagal complex, and hepatic vagotomy in rats. When ghrelin and lipids were co-infused into the duodenum, the roles of gut lipids in increasing the rate of glucose infusion (GIR) and lowering HGP were reversed. Conclusions The current study provided evidence that intestinal ghrelin has an effect on HGP and identified a neural glucoregulatory function of gut ghrelin signaling

Incidence rate of Japanese encephalitis (JE) in Wuhan, China (1992–2004).

<p>From 1992 to 2004, the incidence rate of JE decreased in Wuhan, China.</p

Comparison of the SA14-14-2 strain with two newly isolated JEV strains, WHJX09-09 and WHJX09-10, at the amino acid level of E protein.

<p>Comparison of the SA14-14-2 strain with two newly isolated JEV strains, WHJX09-09 and WHJX09-10, at the amino acid level of E protein.</p