Lentibacillus saliphilus. sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from a saltern in Korea.

A novel moderately halophilic bacterial strain, designated YIM 93176T, was isolated from a saltern in Korea and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. This isolate YIM 93176T was observed to grow in the presence of 0-22% (w/v) NaCl and at pH 6.0-10.0 and 10-45 °C; optimum growth was observed with 5-10% (w/v) NaCl and at pH 7.0-9.0 and 28-37 °C. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis, the nearest relatives were Lentibacillus alimentarius M2024T (96.5% similarity), followed by Virgibacillus carmonensis LMG 20964T (96.0%) and the other type strains of the family Bacillaceae, but phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain YIM 93176T belonged to the cluster comprising type species of the genus Lentibacillus. Genome sequencing of strain YIM 93176T revealed a genome size of 3.2 Mb and a DNA G + C content of 40.5 mol%. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0 (40.7%) and iso-C15:0 (26.4%), while the predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. These genotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics supported affiliation of strain YIM 93176T to the genus Lentibacillus. In addition, phenotypic characteristics could distinguish strain YIM 93176T from its closely related species in genus Lentibacillus. Based on the cumulative evidences from the polyphasic taxonomic study, strain YIM 93176T represents a novel species of the genus Lentibacillus, for which name Lentibacillus saliphilus sp. nov. (type strain YIM 93176T = CCTCC AB 208139T = DSM 21375T) is proposed.

Occupational stress and coping strategies among emergency department nurses of China.

Emergency department(ED) nurses work in a rapidly changing environment with patients that have wide variety of conditions. Occupational stress in emergency department nurses is a common problem. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between coping strategies and occupational stress among ED nurses in China. A correlational, cross-sectional design was adopted. Two questionnaires were given to a random sample of 127 ED nurses registered at the Heilongjiang Nurses' Association. Data were collected from the nurses that worked in the ED of five general hospitals in Harbin China. Occupational stress and coping strategies were measured by two questionnaires. A multiple regression model was applied to analyze the relationship between stress and coping strategies. The stressors of ED nurses mainly come from the ED specialty of nursing (2.97±0.55), workload and time distribution (2.97±0.58). The mean score of positive coping strategies was 2.19±0.35, higher than the norm (1.78±0.52). The mean score of negative coping strategies was 1.20±0.61, lower than the norm (1.59±0.66), both had significant statistical difference (P<0.001). Too much documents work, criticism, instrument equipment shortage, night shift, rank of professional were the influence factors about occupational stress to positive coping styles. Too much documents work, and medical insurance for ED nurses were the influential factors on occupational stress to negative coping styles. This study identified several factors associated with occupational stress in ED nurses. These results could be used to guide nurse managers of ED nurses to reduce work stress. The managers could pay more attention to the ED nurse's coping strategies which can further influence their health state and quality of nursing care. Reducing occupational stress and enhancing coping strategies are vital not only for encouraging nurses but also for the future of nursing development.

Recent development in aerosol devices for pulmonary vaccine delivery.

This review will discuss aerosol device technologies available for pulmonary vaccine deliveries. The possibilities of adopting aerosol-generation for the purpose of pulmonary immunization are described. Aerosol-generation systems might offer advantages in respect to vaccine stability and antigenicity. The noninvasive, relatively safe and low-cost net of pulmonary delivery may provide great benefits to the public health vaccination campaign.

[Studies on HPLC-fingerprint of Rhizoma Fagopyri Dibotoryis].

OBJECTIVE: To establish an HPLC fingerprint of Rhizoma fagopyri dibotoryis. METHOD: The HPLC-electrochemical detection assay was used to establish the fingerprint of Rhizoma fagopyri dibotoryis. The sample was performed on a column of Diamonsil C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) which was eluted with methanol- 0.1 mol x L(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 2.5), the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1), the column temperature was 35 degrees C, the reference electrode was ISAAC (in-situ silver/silver chloride), the work electrode was glassy carbon, the counter electrode was Pt platmun. RESULT: The HPLC fingerprint profiles of 6 Rhizoma fagopyri dibotoryis contains 6 common chromatographic peaks, and gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde and ( - ) -epicatechin were tested the samples. The contents of protocatechuic acid and protocatechuic aldehyde were from 0.004% to 0.05% and from 0.003% to 0.015%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The method can be used to control the quality of Rhizoma fagopyri dibotoryis.

[Key influencing factors on essential oil components of Atractylodes lancea and study on its division of climate adaptability].

OBJECTIVE: To find the key factors that influence the content of the essential oil components of Atractylodes lancea and classify the habitat of A. lancea based the essential oil components, as well as explore a new method to conduct division of Chinese natural medicin through geographic information system (GIS) ultimately. METHOD: The key factors were obtained by canonical correlation and stepwise regressive analysis. Then the interpolation of climatic data for 30 years (1971-2000) was done by Sufer 7.0, and the habitat division was done by ARCGIS 9. 0. RESULT: There were 6 correlation models between climate factors and 6 main essential oil componets were obtained, and a division map about essential oil components content of A. lancea base on clamate adaptability were drawn. It was found that the climate condition in Octobers played a key role on forming the essential oil components and the interaction of tempreture and precipitation was the most important factor on forming the essential oil components of A. lancea. CONCLUSION: The adaptive habitat for forming the essential oil components of A. lancea was different from growing A. lancea ones. And GIS can be used perspective for division of Chinese natural medicine.

[Microwave sintering of nanometer powder of alumina and zirconia-based dental ceramics].

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to investigate the feasibility and reliability of sintering alumina and zirconia-based all-ceramic materials through a recently introduced microwave heating technique. The variation of crystal phases, the growth of grain sizes and microstructural features of these materials were evaluated after sintering. METHODS: Four different groups of powder (l00%Al2O3, 60%Al2O3+40%ZrO2, 40% Al2O3+60%ZrO2, 100% ZrO2) were respectively press-compacted to fabricate green disk samples, 5 specimen of each group were prepared. All the samples were surrounded by refractory materials for heat containment and processed at 1 600 degrees C in a domestic microwave oven (850 W, 2 450 MHz), 1 600 degrees C/5 min for heating rate, 10 min for holding time. After sintering, the phase composition and average grain size of these ceramics were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Their microstructure characteristics were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). RESULTS: All the specimens were successfully sintered with the application of microwave heating system in combination with a suitable thermal insulator. No phase change was found in alumina while monoclinic-zirconia was found to be transformed to tetragonal-zirconia. A little grain size growth of Al2O3 and ZrO2 has been observed with Al2O3 24.1 nm/before and 51.8 nm/after; ZrO2 25.3 nm/before and 29.7 nm/after. The SEM photos indicated that the microwave-sintered Al2O3-ZrO2 ceramics had a uniform crystal distribution and their crystal sizes could be maintained within the range of nanometers. CONCLUSION: It is expected that in the near future microwave heating system could be a promising substitute for conventional processing methods due to its unparalled advantages, including more rapid heating rate, shortened sintering time, superfine grain size, improved microstructure and much less expensive equipment.

[Studies on GC fingerprint of volatile oil of Houttuynia cordata].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a GC fingerprint of the volatile oil of Houttuynia cordata. METHOD: The volatile oil was extracted from H. cordata by water stream distillation method, and analyzed by GC coupled with FID. RESULT: 12 bathes of samples collected from different regions were analyzed; the GC fingerprint of the volatile oil of H. cordata was subsequently established. CONCLUSION: The established GC fingerprint can be used for the identification of H. cordata.

[Fracture resistance of the all-ceramic posts in post-and-core system].

OBJECTIVE: To make a comparative study on the fracture resistance of the all-ceramic posts in post-and-core system where the ceramic core was combined with the post by direct sintering and by two other methods. METHODS: A total of 15 all-ceramic posts fabricated by alumina-zirconia nano-composite infiltrated ceramics were randomly divided into three groups. They were given the following treatments: Group A: forming and combining the ceramic core with the post by direct sintering; group B: combining the ceramic core with the post by use of 3M RelyX for adhesion; group C: forming composite resin core onto the post. Each specimen was placed into a special jig and subjected to a load perpendicular to the post axis on INSTRON 4302 universal testing instrument until failure. ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the strength of the post remains uninfluenced during the combination of the core with the post by direct sintering.