Investigating the Distribution and Antibiotic Resistance of Bacterial Pathogens in Clinical Specimens from a Chinese Maternal and Child Hospital: The Role of Environmental Factors.

Objective: To analyze bacterial distribution and antibiotic resistance in clinical specimens from a Chinese hospital for evaluating environmental factors' impact on pathogen prevalence. Methods: From January 2017 to December 2021, we collected 42,854 clinical specimens from hospitalized children and women. The specimens were cultured on various agar plates and incubated at 35°C for 18-48 h. Their identification was performed using standard biochemical methods and Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF), whereas antibiotic susceptibilities were determined using the VITEK 2 system. Concurrent environmental data from Wuhan were analyzed for correlations with pathogen prevalence using multiple linear stepwise regression. Results: Of the 24,555 bacterial strains isolated, the majority were gram-positive, and sputum was the most common specimen type. Haemophilus influenzae and Escherichia coli were the most prevalent pathogens in sputum and urine samples, respectively. Notably, H. influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae affected children under 6 years of age the most. Furthermore, H. influenzae showed high ampicillin resistance but low cefotaxime resistance; S. pneumoniae was sensitive to penicillin G, and E. coli was resistant to ampicillin but sensitive to cefotetan. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms was below national averages. In terms of seasonality, H. influenzae peaked during late winter and early spring, and environmental analysis indicated positive correlations between PM2.5 and PM10, and H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae prevalence. In addition, NO2 levels were positively correlated with increased S. aureus and M. catarrhalis prevalence; E coli prevalence was negatively correlated with ozone levels. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the distribution and antibiotic resistance patterns of bacterial pathogens in maternal and child healthcare facilities in Wuhan, China. Environmental factors significantly influence the epidemiology of certain bacterial pathogens. Implementing integrated health strategies that combine microbial surveillance with environmental monitoring is needed to effectively manage and prevent bacterial infections.

Genetic relatedness, antibiotic resistance, and virulence of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from health care and food sources in Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: To investigate genetic relatedness and antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae from retail meat samples, clinical source samples, and hospital environmental samples in Wuhan, China. METHODS: Hypermucoviscosity and biofilm formation of K. pneumoniae were assessed by string test and crystal violet staining. MICs of 18 antimicrobials were determined by broth microdilution. PCR detected 14 antibiotic resistance genes. Genetic relatedness and clonal dissemination were analyzed by PFGE. RESULTS: Among 5,730 samples, 46 were tested positive for K pneumoniae, with higher rates observed in meat (23.4%) than in clinical samples (0.6%) and hospital environmental samples (8.0%). Meat-derived isolates showed high resistance to tetracycline (36.4%, 4/11), sulfonamide (27.3%, 3/11), and gentamicin (27.3%, 3/11), whereas clinical isolates exhibited significant resistance to ampicillin-sulbactam (32.3%, 10/31). Multidrug resistance was observed in 17.4% (8/46) of the isolates, particularly in hospital environmental samples (3/4). Biofilm production was observed in 88.1% (37/42) of K pneumoniae. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed patient-to-patient K pneumoniae transmission, transmission between patients and hospital environment, as well as cross-contamination between markets. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the importance of comprehensive surveillance, infection control, and judicious antibiotic use in mitigating the impact of K pneumoniae on public health, especially in the food chain and health care settings.

Antibiotic-Resistance Profiles and Genetic Diversity of Shigella Isolates in China: Implications for Control Strategies.

The urgent need for comprehensive and systematic analyses of Shigella as the key pathogen led us to meticulously explore the epidemiology and molecular attributes of Shigella isolates. Accordingly, we procured 24 isolates (10 from Xinjiang and 14 from Wuhan, China) and performed serotype identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Resistance gene detection and homology analysis by polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), respectively, were performed for genetic diversity analysis. All isolates were identified as Shigella flexneri, with 70% (35.4-91.9%) and 30% (8.1-64.6%) of the Xinjiang isolates and 85.7% (56.2-97.5%) and 14.3% (2/14, 2.5-43.9%) of the Wuhan isolates belonging to serotype 2a and serotype 2b, respectively. All isolates displayed resistance to at least two antibiotics and complete resistance to ampicillin. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was recorded in 70.8% (48.8-86.6%) of isolates, with Xinjiang isolates exhibiting relatively higher resistance to ampicillin-sulbactam, piperacillin, ceftriaxone, and aztreonam. Conversely, Wuhan isolates displayed higher MDR and resistance to tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and cefepime relative to Xinjiang isolates. Molecular scrutiny of antibiotic-resistance determinants revealed that blaTEM was the main mechanism of ampicillin resistance, blaCTX-M was the main gene for resistance to third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, and tetB was the predominant gene associated with tetracycline resistance. Four Xinjiang and seven Wuhan isolates shared T1-clone types (>85%), and two Xinjiang and one Wuhan isolates were derived from the T6 clone with a high similarity of 87%. Six PFGE patterns (T1, T2, T5, T6-3, T8, and T10) of S. flexneri were associated with MDR. Thus, there is a critical need for robust surveillance and control strategies in managing Shigella infections, along with the development of targeted interventions and antimicrobial stewardship programs tailored to the distinct characteristics of Shigella isolates in different regions of China.

t/k-Diagnosability of Regular Networks under the Comparison Model.

As multiprocessor systems continue to grow in processor scale, the incidence of faults also increases. As a result, fault diagnosis is becoming a key mechanism for maintaining the normal operation of multiprocessor systems. To explore more effective diagnostic methods, Somani et al. introduced a generalized pessimistic diagnostic strategy, named t/k-diagnosis, in which all faulty nodes are isolated in a set of nodes and at most k fault-free nodes are misdiagnosed, provided that the quantity of faults is limited by t. By imposing certain conditions or restrictions, the t/k-diagnosability of some regular networks under the Preparata, Metze, and Chien (PMC) model has been determined. However, the t/k-diagnosability of many networks under the comparison model remains unidentified. In this paper, we provide new insights into the study of t/k-diagnosability under the comparison model. After introducing some new notions, such as the 0-test unit, 0-test set and 0-test subgraph, under the comparison model, we study the relationship in a system G between the 0-test subgraphs and the components of G-F, where F is the set of faulty nodes, and we obtain some important correlation properties. Based on these results, we study t/k-diagnosability under the comparison model. As a result, the t/k-diagnosability of some regular interconnection networks can be efficiently determined.

Spatial distribution and influencing factors of China's household biogas: evidence from provincial-level data.

To address the adjustment of the Chinese agricultural industry and to better promote the development of Chinese household biogas, this article summarizes and analyzes the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of the type and number of biogas digesters, biogas production, biogas fermentation materials, and methods of fermentation residue utilization and ecological agriculture with household biogas by compiling a dataset covering 31 provincial administrative regions in China. The results show that hydraulic biogas digesters are distributed mainly in northwestern and northeastern China; in addition, continuously stirred biogas digesters and bottom-discharging biogas digesters are distributed mainly in southern and northern China, respectively. Because of temperature and population, the Sichuan and Henan Provinces have the highest number of biogas digesters and biogas production. The type of biogas fermentation materials depends on the local raw materials. Biogas slurry and residue are widely used as fertilizers; furthermore, biogas slurry is used for seed soaking in northeastern and southern China, and biogas residue is used as feed in central southern and northern China. The "Three-in-one" and "Four-in-one" biogas ecological models are used mostly in southern and northern China, respectively, and both are mainly affected by temperature. Finally, we propose various problems and countermeasures to enhance the development of the household biogas industry in China. Our findings are critical for China's policymakers to adopt effective measures for promoting the development of cleaner energy and the layout of the agricultural industry.

Non-stationary time-varying vehicular channel characteristics for different roadside scattering environments.

With the deep integration of wireless communication technology and automobile industry, vehicular communication has become one of the key technologies supporting the development of Internet-of-vehicle. Due to the high-speed mobility of vehicles and the rapid change of the propagation environments, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) wireless communication channels are generally non-stationary. Meanwhile, the variability of V2V channel characteristics is obvious in different scattering environments. Focusing on these research points, this paper presents the analysis and comparison of V2V channel characteristics for different scattering scenarios based on a series of 5.9 GHz channel measurements. The measurement data are collected from the iron bridge, the soundproof wall, and the road lamp scenarios. The stationary time and frequency are investigated on the basis of method of local scattering functions. The classical channel characteristics, including power delay profile, Ricean K-factor, root means square (RMS) delay spread and RMS Doppler spread are extracted following the propagation principle. Furthermore, considering the source and birth-death process of multi-path components (MPCs) in different scattering propagation environments, cluster identification and statistical results are presented and compared. The different values of the channel parameters and the different performance of the channel under different scattering environments can help us understand the V2V channel deeply. The research results can be used for the design and optimization of vehicular communication systems in different scattering environments.

Banana, pineapple, cassava and sugarcane residue biochars cannot mitigate ammonia volatilization from latosols in tropical farmland.

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization is a major pathway of soil nitrogen loss in tropical farmland, causing many environmental issues. Biochar can improve soil quality and affect soil NH3 volatilization. However, little is known about the effects of tropical crop residue biochar on soil NH3 volatilization in tropical farmland. Therefore, a laboratory incubation study was conducted using four kinds of tropical crop residue biochar (pineapple straw (stem and leaves), banana straw, cassava straw and sugarcane bagasse pyrolyzed at 500 °C) with five addition rates (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%, and 6%) to evaluate their impact on NH3 volatilization from tropical latosols. The results showed that NH3 volatilization peaked twice under biochar application, once at 1-5 days and again at 12-16 days. The cumulative NH3 volatilization (0.14-0.47 mg kg-1) of the 20 biochar treatments was higher than that of the control (0.12 mg kg-1). With the increase in the biochar addition rate, the soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), urease activity, nitrate nitrogen content (NO3--N), nitrification rate and cumulative NH3 volatilization increased gradually, and the 6% biochar treatment resulted in the highest NH3 volatilization loss (0.19-0.47 mg kg-1). The type of biochar is also a main factor affecting soil NH3 volatilization. The cumulative NH3 volatilization was the highest under pineapple straw biochar, as it was 19-43% higher than when the other three biochars were applied. However, sugarcane bagasse biochar had the lowest cumulative NH3 volatilization due to its low quartz, sylvite and calcite contents, lack of -OH hydroxyl groups and high adsorbability. NH3 volatilization was positively correlated with the soil pH, SOM, urease activity, NO3--N and nitrification rate. In conclusion, four tropical crop residue biochars can increase NH3 volatilization in tropical latosols, so reducing NH3 volatilization needs to be further considered in tropical crop residue biochar applications.

Electroacupuncture Improves Synaptic Function in SAMP8 Mice Probably via Inhibition of the AMPK/eEF2K/eEF2 Signaling Pathway.

Synaptic loss and dysfunction is associated with cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent evidence indicates that the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase (eEF2K)/eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF2) pathway was implicated in synaptic plasticity in AD. Therapeutic strategies for AD treatment are currently limited. Here, we investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on synaptic function and the AMPK/eEF2K/eEF2 signaling pathway in male senescence-accelerated mouse-prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. Male 7-month-old SAMP8 and SAMR1 mice (senescence-accelerated mouse resistant 1) were randomly divided into 3 groups: SAMR1 control group (Rc), SAMP8 control group (Pc), and SAMP8 electroacupuncture group (Pe). The Pe group was treated with EA for 30 days. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the structure of synapse. The protein and mRNA expression of synaptophysin (SYN) and postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95) was examined by immunohistochemistry, western blot, and real-time RT-PCR. The activity of AMPK and eEF2K was studied by western blot. Our results showed that EA ameliorated synaptic loss, increased the expression of SYN and PSD95, and inhibited AMPK activation and eEF2K activity. Collectively, these findings suggested that the mechanisms of EA improving synaptic function in AD may be associated with the inhibition of the AMPK/eEF2K/eEF2 signaling pathway.

Greenhouse gas mitigation potential of balanced fertilization cropland under double-cropping systems: a case study in Shaanxi province, China.

Reducing agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is attracting increasing attention. Balanced fertilization (BF) of cropland has been widely promoted and applied and has great potential to reduce GHG emissions. This study assesses GHG mitigation of BF cropland systems including winter wheat and summer maize double-cropping system (wheat-maize) and winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and rice double-cropping system (rape-rice) in Shaanxi province, China. We determined the boundaries, scenarios, leakage, and sources of GHG mitigation and developed a measurement system for GHG mitigation under these cropping systems for BF farmland. In the measurement system, except for the changes in nitrogen fertilizer rates, soil carbon storage, mechanical fuel consumption, and fertilizer management mode (paddy), change in crop yield was recommended as a primary source of GHG mitigation. The BF cropland areas of wheat-maize and rape-rice were 2818.89 ha and 1671.73 ha, respectively. The use of BF reduced the GHG emissions of wheat-maize by 1.15 tCO2 equivalent (CO2e) ha-1 per year and the emissions of rape-rice by 1.05 tCO2e ha-1 per year. The BF cropland produced 5007.6 tCO2e per year. Our results do not only provide a reference for the assessment of GHG mitigation on BF cropland under double-cropping systems, but also will be helpful for improving the methodology of GHG mitigation on BF cropland.

Inferring Chinese surnames with Y-STR profiles.

Co-ancestry of human surnames and Y-chromosomes in most human populations and social groups suggests the possibility of inferring one from the other. However, such an intuitive perspective remains to be formally explored. In the present study, we develop two computational methods, based on cosine distance (dcos) and coalescence distance (dcoal) respectively, to infer surnames from Y-STR profiles. We also survey Y-STR variations at 15 loci for 19,009 individuals of Shandong Province in China. For a total of 266 surnames included in the data set, our methods can pinpoint to a single surname with an average accuracy of 65%, and with an average accuracy higher than 80% when providing >4 candidate surnames. We also demonstrate that increasing the sample size of surnames and the number of STR loci improves the accuracy of surname inference. Our results indicate that the 15 non-duplicated Y-STR loci contain information from which surname can be reliably inferred for Chinese populations, showing a promising application in forensics.

Deep Soil C, N, and P Stocks and Stoichiometry in Response to Land Use Patterns in the Loess Hilly Region of China.

In the Loess Hilly Region of China, the widespread conversion of cropland to forestland and grassland has resulted in great increased in organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stocks in the shallow soil layers. However, knowledge regarding changes in C, N, and P in deep soil is still limited. To elucidate the responses of deep soil C, N, and P stocks and stoichiometry in response to changes in land use, the soil from a 0-200 cm soil profile was collected from the following three typical land use patterns in the heartland of the region: forestland, grassland, and cropland. Compared with cropland, forestland and grassland had improved soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents and stocks at most soil depths but decreased total phosphorus (TP) contents and stocks. At soil depths of 0-200 cm in the forestland and grassland, the cumulative SOC stocks were improved by 34.97% and 7.61%, respectively, and the TN stocks were improved by 54.54% and 12.47%, respectively. The forestland had higher SOC, TN and TP contents and stocks compared to the grassland in almost all soil layers. The soil depths of 100-200 cm contained the highest percentages of SOC, TN and TP stocks (47.80%-49.93%, 46.08%-50.05% and 49.09%-52.98%, respectively). Additionally, the forestland and grassland showed enhanced soil C:P, N:P and C:N:P ratios, and the forestland had higher C:P, N:P and C:N:P ratios compared to the grassland. Furthermore, the SOC and TN stocks had significant impacts on the soil C:N, C:P and N:P ratios. It was concluded that afforestation was the best choice for soil nutrient restoration of degraded land, and deep soil provided an extremely important resource for evaluating soil C, N and P pools and cycling.

[Analysis of non-bacterial respiratory pathogen infection in children with asthmatic diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of non-bacterial respiratory pathogens with asthmatic diseases in children, and the clinical significance of total serum IgE levels and peripheral eosinophil count in infection with non-bacterial respiratory pathogens. METHODS: Indirect immunofluorescence assay was used to detect IgM antibodies against nine types of non-bacterial respiratory pathogens in the sera of 490 children with asthmatic diseases between September 2010 and September 2011. Pathogens were analyzed and total serum IgE levels and peripheral eosinophil count were measured in IgM-positive cases. RESULTS: Of the 490 children with asthmatic diseases, 47.6% (233 cases) were positive with IgM antibodies against non-bacterial respiratory pathogens, the most common being Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) (25.3%), followed by adenovirus (ADV) (8.9%) and influenza B virus (Flu B) (8.8%). Thirty-six cases suffered from co-infection of two or more non-bacterial pathogens, mainly comprising MP and other pathogens (94%). There were significant differences in the total detection rate of IgM antibodies among all age groups (0-30 days: 50.0%; 1-6 months: 67.3%; 0.5-1 year: 33.1%; 1-3 years: 57.3%; 3-8.9 years: 61.7%). The positive rate of IgM antibodies against respiratory pathogens was highest in children with bronchial asthma, followed by children with asthmatic bronchitis, and it was lowest in children with bronchiolitis. IgM-positive children had significantly decreased blood eosinophils and significantly increased total serum IgE levels. CONCLUSIONS: The main non-bacterial respiratory pathogens include MP, ADV and Flu B in children with asthmatic diseases, and co-infection of MP and other non-bacterial pathogens is common. Infants aged 1 to 6 months have a higher infection rate than other age groups. Monitoring the changes in total serum IgE levels and peripheral eosinophil count has great significance for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of asthmatic diseases in children.