With the aim of gathering temporal trends on bacterial epidemiology and resistance from multiple laboratories in China, the CHINET surveillance system was organized in 2005. Antimicrobial ...susceptibility testing was carried out according to a unified protocol using the Kirby-Bauer method or automated systems. Results were analyzed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2014 definitions. Between 2005 and 2014, the number of bacterial isolates ranged between 22 774 and 84 572 annually. Rates of extended-spectrum β-lactamase production among Escherichia coli isolates were stable, between 51.7 and 55.8%. Resistance of E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to amikacin, ciprofloxacin, piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam decreased with time. Carbapenem resistance among K. pneumoniae isolates increased from 2.4 to 13.4%. Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains against all of antimicrobial agents tested including imipenem and meropenem decreased with time. On the contrary, resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii strains to carbapenems increased from 31 to 66.7%. A marked decrease of methicillin resistance from 69% in 2005 to 44.6% in 2014 was observed for Staphylococcus aureus. Carbapenem resistance rates in K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii in China are high. Our results indicate the importance of bacterial surveillance studies.
Summary
Background
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a common autoimmune bleeding disorder, in which platelet glycoprotein (GP)IIb–IIIa and GPIb–IX are the two most frequently targeted autoantigens. ...Our previous studies in animal models of ITP demonstrated that intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) could protect against anti‐GPIIb–IIIa autoantibody‐mediated thrombocytopenia but failed to ameliorate ITP induced by most anti‐GPIb–IX autoantibodies.
Objectives
The objective of this human study was to evaluate the association between the specificity of antiplatelet autoantibodies and response to IVIG treatment.
Patients/Methods
In this retrospective study, a cohort of 156 previously untreated adults with severe ITP who underwent IVIG therapy (0.4 g kg−1 day−1 for 5 days) was analyzed. The primary outcome was response defined as platelet counts of ≥ 30 × 109 L−1 and a doubling of baseline counts within 7 days of dosing, and an absence of bleeding.
Results and Conclusions
Among the 66 patients with anti‐GPIb–IX autoantibodies, only 24 (36.4%) achieved a response, as compared with 72 of 90 patients (80.0%) who were negative for anti‐GPIb–IX autoantibodies (relative risk 2.2; 95% confidence interval 1.6–3.1). This study found no difference in response between patients with anti‐GPIIb–IIIa autoantibodies (61.7%) and those without anti‐GPIIb–IIIa autoantibodies (61.3%). Logistic regressions, including main effects and the interaction between these two autoantibodies, showed no influence of anti‐GPIIb–IIIa autoantibodies on the effects of anti‐GPIb–IX autoantibodies with regard to their association with IVIG response. Thus, in adults with ITP, the presence of anti‐GPIb–IX autoantibodies is a predictive factor for poor response to IVIG treatment. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01666795.
In order to address the present difficulty in experimentally generating the relativistic Laguerre-Gaussian laser, primarily due to damage caused to optical modulators, a high-reflectivity phase ...mirror is applied in the femtosecond petawatt laser system to generate a relativistic hollow laser at the highest intensity of 6.3 × 1019 W / cm2 for the first time. A simple optical model is used to verify that the vortex laser may be generated in this new scheme; using such a relativistic vortex laser, the hollow plasma drill and acceleration are achieved experimentally and proven by particle-in-cell simulations. With the development of the petawatt laser, this scheme opens up possibilities for the convenient production of the relativistic hollow laser at high repetition and possible hollow plasma acceleration, which is important for a wide range of applications such as the generation of radiation sources with orbital angular momentum, fast ignition for inertial confinement fusion, and jet research in the astrophysical environment.
Electric vehicle cooling modes are divided into air cooling, liquid cooling and phase change material cooling, the air cooling is divided into natural air cooling and forced air cooling. This paper ...selects the forced air cooling as the study object, and researches the heat dissipation performance of different airflow duct modes, the results indicated that: as considering that changing the longitudinal battery pack into horizontal battery pack, it could improve the heat dissipation performance by shorting airflow path; it increases the contact area for thermal conduction by adding bottom duct, and the area of battery pack top exists natural convection, so the heat dissipation performance of bottom duct mode is more superior; for battery pack with bottom duct mode, it uses the double “U” type duct instead of double “1” type duct in order to improve the heat dissipation performance; when the heat dissipation condition is poor, it could reduce the SOC state or charge & discharge rate to satisfy the heat dissipation performance requirements; as considering the practical operation condition of battery pack with double “U” type duct, it has a large margin of high charge and discharge rate to meet the needs of electric vehicle acceleration or deceleration operation.
•Changing longitudinal battery pack into horizontal battery pack, it could improve the heat dissipation performance by shorting airflow path.•The heat dissipation performance of battery pack with double "U" type duct basically met the design requirements at different temperatures.•When the heat dissipation condition was poor, it could reduce the SOC state to satisfy the heat dissipation performance requirements.•It could reduce the charge and discharge rate to satisfy the heat dissipation performance requirements.•Comparing with the practical operation condition of battery pack, it met the heat dissipation performance requirements.
Effective use of biological control agents (BCAs) is a potentially important component of sustainable agriculture. Recently, there has been an increasing interest among researchers in using ...combinations of BCAs to exploit potential synergistic effects among them. The methodology for investigating such synergistic effects was reviewed first and published results were then assessed for available evidence for synergy. Correct formulation of hypotheses based on the theoretical definition of independence (Bliss independence or Loewe additivity) and the subsequent and statistical testing for the independence-synergistic-antagonistic interactions have rarely been carried out thus far in studies on biocontrol of plant diseases. Thus, caution must be taken when interpreting reported "synergistic" effects without assessing the original publications. Recent theoretical modeling work suggested that disease suppression from combined use of two BCAs was, in general, very similar to that achieved by the more efficacious one, indicating no synergistic but more likely antagonistic interactions. Only in 2% of the total 465 published treatments was there evidence for synergistic effects among BCAs. In the majority of the cases, antagonistic interactions among BCAs were indicated. Thus, both theoretical and experimental studies suggest that, in combined use of BCAs, antagonistic interactions among BCAs are more likely to occur than synergistic interactions. Several research strategies, including formulation of synergy hypotheses in relation to biocontrol mechanisms, are outlined to exploit microbial mixtures for uses in biocontrol of plant diseases.
We study the process e^{+}e^{-}→Λ_{c}^{+}Λover ¯_{c}^{-} at twelve center-of-mass energies from 4.6119 to 4.9509 GeV using data samples collected by the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The ...Born cross sections and effective form factors (|G_{eff}|) are determined with unprecedented precision after combining the single and double-tag methods based on the decay process Λ_{c}^{+}→pK^{-}π^{+}. Flat cross sections around 4.63 GeV are obtained and no indication of the resonant structure Y(4630), as reported by Belle, is found. In addition, no oscillatory behavior is discerned in the |G_{eff}| energy dependence of Λ_{c}^{+}, in contrast to what is seen for the proton and neutron cases. Analyzing the cross section together with the polar-angle distribution of the Λ_{c}^{+} baryon at each energy point, the moduli of electric and magnetic form factors (|G_{E}| and |G_{M}|) are extracted and separated. For the first time, the energy dependence of the form factor ratio |G_{E}/G_{M}| is observed, which can be well described by an oscillatory function.
The process e^{+}e^{-}→D_{s}^{*+}D_{s}^{*-} is studied with a semi-inclusive method using data samples at center-of-mass energies from threshold to 4.95 GeV collected with the BESIII detector ...operating at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider. The Born cross sections of the process are measured for the first time with high precision in this energy region. Two resonance structures are observed in the energy-dependent cross sections around 4.2 and 4.4 GeV. By fitting the cross sections with a coherent sum of three Breit-Wigner amplitudes and one phase-space amplitude, the two significant structures are assigned masses of (4186.8±8.7±30) and (4414.6±3.4±6.1) MeV/c^{2}, widths of (55±15±53) and (122.5±7.5±8.1) MeV, where the first errors are statistical and the second ones are systematic. The inclusion of a third Breit-Wigner amplitude is necessary to describe a structure around 4.79 GeV.
This randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study evaluated whether lamivudine given during late pregnancy can reduce hepatitis B virus (HBV) perinatal transmission in highly viraemic mothers. ...Mothers were randomized to either lamivudine 100 mg or placebo from week 32 of gestation to week 4 postpartum. At birth, infants received recombinant HBV vaccine with or without HBIg and were followed until week 52. One hundred and fifty mothers, with a gestational age of 26–30 weeks and serum HBV DNA >1000 MEq/mL (bDNA assay), were treated. A total of 141 infants received immunoprophylaxis at birth. In lamivudine‐treated mothers, 56 infants received vaccine + HBIg (lamivudine + vaccine + HBIg) and 26 infants received vaccine (lamivudine + vaccine). In placebo‐treated mothers, 59 infants received vaccine + HBIg (placebo + vaccine + HBIg). At week 52, in the primary analyses where missing data was counted as failures, infants in the lamivudine + vaccine + HBIg group had a significant decrease in incidence of HBsAg seropositivity (10/56, 18%vs 23/59, 39%; P = 0.014) and in detectable HBV DNA (11/56, 20%vs 27/59, 46%; P = 0.003) compared to infants in the placebo + vaccine + HBIg group. Sensitivity analyses to evaluate the impact of missing data at week 52 resulting from a high dropout rate (13% in the lamivudine + vaccine + HBIg group and 31% in the placebo + vaccine + HBIg group) remained consistent with the primary analysis in that lower transmission rates were still observed in the infants of lamivudine‐treated mothers, but the differences were not statistically significant. No safety concerns were noted in the lamivudine‐treated mothers or their infants. Results of this study suggest that lamivudine reduced HBV transmission from highly viraemic mothers to their infants who received passive/active immunization.
Based upon eight field surveys conducted between May 2011 and May 2012, we investigated seasonal variations in pH, carbonate saturation state of aragonite (Ωarag), and ancillary data on the Chinese ...side of the North Yellow Sea, a western North Pacific continental margin of major economic importance. Subsurface waters were CO2-undersaturated in May and nearly in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2 in June. From July to October, the fugacity of CO2 (fCO2) of bottom water gradually increased from 438 ± 44 μatm to 630 ± 84 μatm, and pHT decreased from 8.02 ± 0.04 to 7.88 ± 0.06 due to local aerobic remineralization of primary-production-induced biogenic particles. The subsurface community respiration rates in summer and autumn were estimated to be from 0.80 to 1.08 μmol-O2 kg−1 d−1 within a relatively high salinity range of 31.63 to 32.25. From November to May in the next year, however, subsurface fCO2 gradually decreased and pH increased due to cooling and water column ventilation. The corresponding bottom water Ωarag was 1.85 ± 0.21 (May), 1.79 ± 0.24 (June), 1.75 ± 0.27 (July), 1.76 ± 0.29 (August), 1.45 ± 0.31 (October), 1.52 ± 0.25 (November), and 1.41 ± 0.12 (January). Extremely low Ωarag values (from 1.13 to 1.40) were observed mainly in subsurface waters within the high salinity range of 31.63 to 32.25, which covered a major fraction of the study area in October and November. Of the China seas, the North Yellow Sea represents one of the systems most vulnerable to the potential negative effects of ocean acidification.
Aims
To purify and characterize the biosurfactants produced by Achromobacter sp. HZ01.
Methods and Results
After fermentation, one biosurfactant was successfully purified from the fermentation broth ...of strain HZ01 by centrifugation, extraction using ethyl acetate, silica gel chromatography and reversed phase–high performance liquid chromatography. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the biosurfactant and the effects of temperatures, pH and salinities on its stability were determined. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, analysis of fatty acids and amino acids and mass spectrometry were used to characterize the biosurfactant. The maximum production yield of the crude biosurfactant reached to 6·84 g l−1 after incubation for 96 h. Except the favourable adaptability to a wide range of temperatures, pH and salinities, the biosurfactant with a CMC value of 48 mg l−1 could efficiently emulsify diverse hydrophobic compounds. The chemical formula of this biosurfactant was confirmed to be CH3‐(CH2)17‐CHO‐CH2‐CO‐Gly‐Gly‐Leu‐Met‐Leu‐Leu, in which the oxygen atom of group CHO linked to the last amino acid (Leu), a structure had never been reported before.
Conclusions
The purified biosurfactant is a novel cyclic lipopeptide.
Significance and Impact of the Study
One novel lipopeptide was purified and characterized. The novel biosurfactant exhibited good potential applications, such as bioremediation.
PDF
