Microbial Air Contamination in an Intensive Care Unit

Unit layout affects every aspect of intensive care services, including patient safety. A previous study has shown that patients admitted to beds adjacent to the sink and to the door of a large bayroom had the highest number of positive blood cultures and the highest blood culture incidence density, respectively. The present study measures microbial air contamination in a medical intensive care unit of a medical center in central Taiwan. Of the 17 rooms, 8 rooms with distinct physical environmental characteristics were selected. Sampling tests were conducted between December 2013 and February 2014 with a microbial air sampler (MAS-100NT). TSA was used for bacteria collection and DG18 for fungi collection. The overall average bacterial and fungal concentrations were 83CFU/m3 and 69CFU/m3, respectively. The ranges were between 8-354 CFU/m3 and 0-1468 CFU/m3, respectively. A significant difference was found in the bacterial concentration (p=.005) between different room locations. The highest concentration was found in the rooms located at the front end of the circulation (99 CFU/m3), while the lowest was found in the rooms located at the rear end of the circulation (55CFU/m3). Differences in fungal concentrations for different room locations did not reach statistical significance. In addition, differences in bacterial and fungal concentrations for rooms with different sink locations did not reach statistical significance. Even though the microbial concentrations generally complied with standards, the results may help designers and hospital administrators develop a healthier environment for patients

Non-Fermi-liquid to Fermi-liquid transports in iron-pnictide Ba(Fe₁₋ₓCoₓ)₂As₂ and the electronic correlation strength in superconductors newly probed by the normal-state Hall angle

Electrical transports in iron-pnictide Ba(Fe1−x Co x )2As2 (BFCA) single crystals are heavily debated in terms of the hidden Fermi-liquid (HFL) and holographic theories. Both HFL and holographic theories provide consistent physic pictures and propose a universal expression of resistivity to describe the crossover of transports from the non-Fermi-liquid (FL) to FL behavior in these so-called \u27strange metal\u27 systems. The deduced spin exchange energy J and model-dependent energy scale W in BFCA are almost the same, or are of the same order of several hundred Kelvin for over-doped BFCA, which is in agreement with the HFL theory. Moreover, a drawn line of W/3.5 for BFCA in the higher-doping region up to the right demonstrates the crossover from non-FL-like behavior to FL-like behavior at high doping, and shows a new phase diagram of BFCA. The electronic correlation strength in superconductors has been newly probed by the normal-state Hall angle, which found that, for the first time, correlation strength can be characterized by the ratios of T c to the Fermi temperature T F, J/T F, and the transverse mass to longitudinal mass

Purification and Characterization of Neutral Sphingomyelinase from Helicobacter pylori †

ABSTRACT: Phospholipase activities of human gastric bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, are regarded as the pathogenic factors owing to their actions on epithelial cell membranes. In this study, we purified and characterized neutral sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) from the superficial components of H. pylori strains for the first time. N-SMase was purified 2083-fold with an overall recovery of 37%. The purification steps included acid glycine extraction, ammonium sulfate precipitation, CM-Sepharose, Mono-Q, and Sephadex G-75 column chromatography. Approximate molecular mass for the native N-SMase was around 32 kDa. When N-ω-trinitrophenylaminolauryl sphingomyelin (TNPAL-SM) was used as a substrate, the purified enzyme exhibited a K m of 6.7 µM and a V max of 15.6 nmol of TNPAL-sphingosine/h/mg of protein at 37°C in 50 mM phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.4. N-SMase reaches optimal activity at pH 7.4 and has a pI of 7.15. The enzyme activity is magnesium dependent and specifically hydrolyzed sphingomyelin and phosphatidylethanolamine. The enzyme also exhibits hemolytic activity on human erythrocytes. According to Western blot analysis, a rabbit antiserum against purified N-SMase from H. pylori cross-reacted with SMase from Bacillus cereus. Sera from individuals with H. pylori infection but not uninfected ones recognizing the purified N-SMase indicated that it was produced in vivo. In enzymelinked immunosorbent assays, the purified N-SMase used as an antigen was as effective as crude protein antigens in detecting human antibodies to H. pylori

Prime Focus Instrument of Prime Focus Spectrograph for Subaru Telescope

The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is a new optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph design for the prime focus of the 8.2m Subaru telescope. PFS will cover 1.3 degree diameter field with 2394 fibers to complement the imaging capability of Hyper SuprimeCam (HSC). The prime focus unit of PFS called Prime Focus Instrument (PFI) provides the interface with the top structure of Subaru telescope and also accommodates the optical bench in which Cobra fiber positioners are located. In addition, the acquisition and guiding (A&G) cameras, the optical fiber positioner system, the cable wrapper, the fiducial fibers, illuminator, and viewer, the field element, and the telemetry system are located inside the PFI. The mechanical structure of the PFI was designed with special care such that its deflections sufficiently match those of the HSC Wide Field Corrector (WFC) so the fibers will stay on targets over the course of the observations within the required accuracy.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 201

Effect of Qigong on quality of life: a cross-sectional population-based comparison study in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Qigong, similar to Tai Chi Chuan, is beneficial to health. In Taiwan, Waitankung, a type of Qigong, is as popular as Tai Chi Chuan. This population-based comparison study compares the health-related quality of life between people practicing Waitankung and their comparable community residents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 165 individuals practicing Waitankung were matched by age and sex with 660 general individuals for comparison. Information about health-related quality of life, measured by the SF-36, and other basic and health conditions was obtained from the questionnaires. This study used the linear mixed-effect regression model to examine the association between health-related quality of life and the practice of Waitankung.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with either sedentary individuals or individuals practicing other types of exercise, the Waitankung group scored higher for eight and five out of ten SF-36 components, respectively. The Waitankung group scored better in general health, vitality, and physical component summary compared to individuals participating in other types of exercise, even when considering the energy expended by exercise.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest that Waitankung exercising is significantly associated with health-related quality of life. Waitankung may serve as an exercise choice for middle-aged and older people to improve overall quality of life.</p

The regional differences in prevalence, medical expenditures and risk factors for injury in Taiwanese teenagers

BACKGROUND: Injury is the leading cause of death in teenagers worldwide. In Taiwan, people in mountainous areas have a 4 to 8 years shorter life span than the general population. Injury among teenagers is likely a major cause. The objective of this study was to investigate the regional differences in the prevalence, the risk factors, and the medical expenditures for injury among Taiwanese teenagers. METHOD: An equal probability national sample was used. In addition, representative samples from mountainous areas and offshore islands were used. Only those who aged between 12 and 21 years, and signed the consent form permitting us to link their National Health Insurance (NHI) claim data were included in the analysis. Injury-related visits and expenditures in outpatient services were extracted from the NHI data. Logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with injury. For those who had injury related outpatient visits, mixed model was used to examine the factors associated with medical expenditures accounting for multiple visits by the same individual. RESULTS: The prevalence of nonfatal injury was around 30% of teenagers in Taiwan. It was 10% higher in mountainous areas. Factors associated with injury were those who lived in mountainous areas (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.7; 95%; confidence interval [CI]: 1.3–2.3), males (OR: 1.3; 95%; CI: 1.1–1.6), older teens (18–21 years old), and those with risk behavior were positively associated with injury. These factors were also associated with the number of injury-related outpatient visits. However, teenagers in mountainous areas did not spend more on medical care than those who lived in metropolitan Taiwan. CONCLUSION: Around 30% of the teenagers were injured in a year, not including the dead. Each of the injured spent at least 851.4NTD (~27USD) for outpatient visits. The scope of the problem was not trivial. Hazardous environments and high-risk behaviors were the universal causes. In remote areas, lack of medical resources was another possibility. Empowering local people to design prevention programs according to their needs is recommended

The Greenland Telescope: Antenna Retrofit Status and Future Plans

Since the ALMA North America Prototype Antenna was awarded to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), SAO and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) are working jointly to relocate the antenna to Greenland. This paper shows the status of the antenna retrofit and the work carried out after the recommissioning and subsequent disassembly of the antenna at the VLA has taken place. The next coming months will see the start of the antenna reassembly at Thule Air Base. These activities are expected to last until the fall of 2017 when commissioning should take place. In parallel, design, fabrication and testing of the last components are taking place in Taiwan

A microfluidic-FCS platform for investigation on the dissociation of Sp1-DNA complex by doxorubicin

The transcription factor (TF) Sp1 is a well-known RNA polymerase II transcription activator that binds to GC-rich recognition sites in a number of essential cellular and viral promoters. In addition, direct interference of Sp1 binding to DNA cognate sites using DNA-interacting compounds may provide promising therapies for suppression of cancer progression and viral replication. In this study, we present a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective evaluation of a GC intercalative drug, doxorubicin (DOX), in dissociating the Sp1–DNA complex using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) in a microfluidic system. FCS allows assay miniaturization without compromising sensitivity, making it an ideal analytical method for integration of binding assays into high-throughput, microfluidic platforms. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidic chip with a mixing network is used to achieve specific drug concentrations for drug titration experiments. Using FCS measurements, the IC(50) of DOX on the dissociation of Sp1–DNA complex is estimated to be 0.55 μM, which is comparable to that measured by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). However, completion of one drug titration experiment on the proposed microfluidic-FCS platform is accomplished using only picograms of protein and DNA samples and less than 1 h total assay time, demonstrating vast improvements over traditional ensemble techniques

MUC2 polymorphisms are associated with endometriosis development and infertility: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mucins are highly glycosylated proteins protecting and lubricating epithelial surface of respiratory, gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts. Members of the mucin protein family have been suggested to play an important role in development of endometriosis and infertility. This study investigates genetic association of mucin2 (<it>MUC2</it>) with the risk of endometriosis and endometriosis-related infertility.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This case-control study was conducted at China Medical University Hospital, with 195 endometriosis patients and 196 healthy controls enrolled. Genotyping of six SNPs (rs2856111, rs11245936, rs10794288, rs10902088, rs7103978 and rs11245954) within <it>MUC2 </it>gene were performed by using <it>Taqman </it>genotyping assay; individual SNP and haplotype associations with endometriosis and endometriosis-related infertility were assessed by <it>χ</it>²test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Endometriosis patients exhibit significantly lower frequency of the rs10794288 C allele, the rs10902088 T allele and the rs7103978 G allele (<it>P </it>= 0.030, 0.013 and 0.040, respectively). In addition, the rs10794288 C allele and the rs10902088 T allele were also less abundant in patients with infertility versus fertile ones (<it>P </it>= 0.015 and 0.024, respectively). Haplotype analysis of the endometriosis associated SNPs in <it>MUC2 </it>also showed significantly association between the most common haplotypes and endometriosis or endometriosis-related infertility.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>MUC2 </it>polymorphisms, especially rs10794288 and rs10902088, are associated with endometriosis as well as endometriosis-related infertility. Our data present MUC2 as a new candidate involved in development of endometriosis and related infertility in Taiwanese Han women.</p