Postharvest loss in the supply chain for vegetables - The case of tomato, yardlong bean, cucumber and chili in Lao PDR

AVRDC Publication 06-684Christian Genova II, Katinka Weinberger, Thongsavath Chanthasombath, Bouthsakone Inthalungdsee, Kham Sanatem, Kethongsa Somsa

Postharvest loss in the supply chain for vegetables - The case of tomato, yardlong bean, cucumber and chili in Lao PDR

AVRDC Publication 06-684Christian Genova II, Katinka Weinberger, Thongsavath Chanthasombath, Bouthsakone Inthalungdsee, Kham Sanatem, Kethongsa Somsa

Conductive Microbead Array Detection Based on Eddy-Current Testing Using SV-GMR Sensor and Helmholtz Coil Exciter

This paper describes the detection of both single and array conductive microbead (PbSn) by using a spin-valve giant magnetoresistance (SV-GMR) as a sensor and the Helmholtz coil as an exciter based on eddy-current testing (ECT). Experiments were performed to detect a single and array conductive microbead, with three models. Each model consists of 4 x 4 microbeads but the microbead diameter and pitch were slightly different for each array. The microbead radius was 125 μm and the pitch was 500 μm. The ECT method was used to estimate the position of the centers of the microbeads and the error in the measurement was plotted on a plane. A good level of position resolution has been achieved and the signals were quite clear

Conductive microbead array detection based on eddy-current testing using SV-GMR sensor and helmhlotz coil exciter

金沢大学環日本海域環境研究センター生体機能計測研究部

CometChip: A High-throughput 96-Well Platform for Measuring DNA Damage in Microarrayed Human Cells

DNA damaging agents can promote aging, disease and cancer and they are ubiquitous in the environment and produced within human cells as normal cellular metabolites. Ironically, at high doses DNA damaging agents are also used to treat cancer. The ability to quantify DNA damage responses is thus critical in the public health, pharmaceutical and clinical domains. Here, we describe a novel platform that exploits microfabrication techniques to pattern cells in a fixed microarray The ‘CometChip’ is based upon the well-established single cell gel electrophoresis assay (a.k.a. the comet assay), which estimates the level of DNA damage by evaluating the extent of DNA migration through a matrix in an electrical field. The type of damage measured by this assay includes abasic sites, crosslinks, and strand breaks. Instead of being randomly dispersed in agarose in the traditional assay, cells are captured into an agarose microwell array by gravity. The platform also expands from the size of a standard microscope slide to a 96-well format, enabling parallel processing. Here we describe the protocols of using the chip to evaluate DNA damage caused by known genotoxic agents and the cellular repair response followed after exposure. Through the integration of biological and engineering principles, this method potentiates robust and sensitive measurements of DNA damage in human cells and provides the necessary throughput for genotoxicity testing, drug development, epidemiological studies and clinical assays.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Training Grant in Environmental Toxicology T32-ES007020)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Environmental Health Sciences (P30-ES002109)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (5-UO1-ES016045)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (1-R21-ES019498)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R44-ES021116

HIV-associated extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Thailand: epidemiology and risk factors for death

SummaryBackgroundWe conducted a prospective, multicenter observational cohort study in Thailand to characterize the epidemiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected persons and to identify risk factors for death.MethodsFrom May 2005 to September 2006, we enrolled, interviewed, examined, and performed laboratory tests on HIV-infected adult TB patients and followed them from TB treatment initiation until the end of TB treatment. We conducted multivariate proportional hazards analysis to identify factors associated with death.ResultsOf the 769 patients, pulmonary TB only was diagnosed in 461 (60%), both pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB in 78 (10%), extrapulmonary TB at one site in 223 (29%), and extrapulmonary TB at more than one site in seven (1%) patients. Death during TB treatment occurred in 59 of 308 patients (19%) with any extrapulmonary involvement. In a proportional hazards model, patients with extrapulmonary TB had an increased risk of death if they had meningitis, and a CD4+ T-lymphocyte count <200 cells/μl. Patients who received co-trimoxazole, fluconazole, and antiretroviral therapy during TB treatment had a lower risk of death.ConclusionsAmong HIV-infected patients with TB, extrapulmonary disease occurred in 40% of the patients, particularly in those with advanced immune suppression. Death during TB treatment was common, but the risk of death was reduced in patients who took co-trimoxazole, fluconazole, and antiretroviral therapy

Association of chronic kidney disease with outcomes in acute stroke

Previous studies have found an association between chronic kidney disease and poor outcomes in stroke patients. However, there is a paucity of literature evaluating this association by stroke type. We therefore aimed to explore the association between CKD and stroke outcomes according to type of stroke. The data consisting of 594,681 stroke patients were acquired from Universal Coverage Health Security Insurance Scheme Database in Thailand. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the relationship of CKD and outcomes, which were as follows; in-hospital mortality, long length of stay (>3 days), pneumonia, sepsis, respiratory failure and myocardial infarction. Results: after fully adjusting for covariates, CKD was associated with increased odds of in-hospital mortality in patients with ischemic (OR 1.32; 95% CI = 1.27–1.38), haemorrhagic (OR 1.31; 95% CI = 1.24–1.39), and other undetermined stroke type (OR 1.44; 95% CI = 1.21–1.73). CKD was found to be associated with increased odds of pneumonia, sepsis, respiratory failure and myocardial infarction in ischaemic stroke. While CKD was found to be associated with increase odds of sepsis, respiratory failure, and myocardial infarction, decrease odds of pneumonia was observed in patients with haemorrhagic stroke. In other undetermined stroke type, CKD was found to only be associated with increase odds of sepsis and respiratory failure, while there is no significant association of CKD and increase or decrease odds with pneumonia and myocardial infarction. CKD was associated with poor outcomes in all stroke types. CKD should be considered as part of stroke prognosis as well as identifying at risk patient population for in-hospital complications

Impact of diabetes on complications, long term mortality and recurrence in 608,890 hospitalised patients with stroke

Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have been found to be at an increased risk of suffering a stroke. However, research on the impact of DM on stroke outcomes is limited. Objectives: We aimed to examine the influence of DM on outcomes in ischaemic (IS) and haemorrhagic stroke (HS) patients. Methods: We included 608,890 consecutive stroke patients from the Thailand national insurance registry. In-hospital mortality, sepsis, pneumonia, acute kidney injury (AKI), urinary tract infection (UTI) and cardiovascular events were evaluated using logistic regressions. Long-term analysis was performed on first-stroke patients with a determined pathology (n = 398,663) using Royston-Parmar models. Median follow-ups were 4.21 and 4.78 years for IS and HS, respectively. All analyses were stratified by stroke sub-type. Results: Mean age (SD) was 64.3 (13.7) years, 44.9% were female with 61% IS, 28% HS and 11% undetermined strokes. DM was associated with in-hospital death, pneumonia, sepsis, AKI and cardiovascular events (odds ratios ranging from 1.13-1.78, p < 0.01) in both stroke types. In IS, DM was associated with long-term mortality and recurrence throughout the follow-up: HRmax (99% CI) at t = 4108 days: 1.54 (1.27, 1.86) and HR (99% CI) = 1.27(1.23,1.32), respectively. In HS, HRmax (t = 4108 days) for long-term mortality was 2.10 (1.87, 2.37), significant after day 14 post-discharge. HRmax (t = 455) for long-term recurrence of HS was 1.29 (1.09, 1.53), significant after day 116 post-discharge. Conclusions: Regardless of stroke type, DM was associated with in-hospital death and complications, long-term mortality and stroke recurrence

Infective endocarditis is associated with worse outcomes in stroke : A Thailand National Database Study

Acknowledgements We thank the administrative staff of Insurance Schemes who prepared the anonymized dataset Funding No project specific funding was obtained for this study. KAR received the Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship funded by the NHS Grampian Department of Medicine for the Elderly Endowment Funds.Peer reviewedPublisher PD