Large scale application of pulse oximeter and auscultation in screening of neonatal congenital heart disease.

PURPOSE: To conduct a retrospective evaluation of a large clinical implementation of combined pulse oximeter (POX) and cardiac auscultation as a fast-screening device for congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Every newborn in a large maternity healthcare center received auscultation and POX screening within 24 hours after delivery. When an abnormal heart murmur or SpO2 level was detected, an echocardiogram was ordered to confirm the diagnosis of CHD. RESULTS: From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019, there were 44,147 livebirths at the studied hospital where 498 suspected CHD were identified: 27 newborns by POX screening and 471 by cardiac auscultation. The diagnosis was further confirmed in 458 neonates through echocardiogram. This result put forth an overall diagnosis rate of 92.0%. Cardiac auscultation detected the majority of CHD cases 438 (95.6%) while POX only screened 20 (4.4%) cases. Interestingly, no CHD case was detected by both auscultation examination and POX screening. Auscultation detected most of the common types of CHD, but POX excelled in identifying rare and critical cases. POX screening alone had a very low accuracy of 74.07% in positive predict value (PPV). On the other hand, auscultation functioned well in terms of PPV and negative predict value (NPV) (92.99 and 99.95%, respectively), but the addition of POX improved the overall screening performance resulting in 100% NPV. We also validate the finding with the data 6 months after the study period. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that addition of pulse oximetry to routine cardiac auscultation could be used as an accurate and feasible screening for early screening of CHD in newborns in large-scale clinical practice.

Bioremediation of oily sludge by solid complex bacterial agent with a combined two-step process.

In the present research, a bioremediation process was developed using solid complex bacterial agents (SCBA) through a combined two-step biodegradation process. Four isolated strains showed high efficiency for the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and the reduction of COD of the oily sludge, at 96.6% and 92.6%, respectively. The mixed strains together with bran prepared in form of SCBA exhibited improved performance compared to individual strains, all of which had an optimal temperature of around 35 °C. The use of SCBA provided advantages over commonly used liquid media for storage and transportation. The two-step process, consisting of firstly biosurfactant-assisted oil recovery and secondly biodegradation of the remaining TPH with SCBA, demonstrated the capability for treating oily sludge with high TPH content (>10 wt%) and short process period (60 days). The large-scale (5 tons oily sludge) field test, achieving a TPH removal efficiency of 93.8% and COD reduction of 91.5%, respectively, confirmed the feasibility and superiority of the technology for industrial applications.

Characterisation, physicochemical and functional properties of protein isolates from Amygdalus pedunculata Pall seeds.

Amygdalus pedunculata Pall is a kind of desert woody oil plant, and its seeds are high in protein. The protein of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall (API) was identified by SDS-PAGE, 2-DE and MS. More than 300 proteins were identified. The improved solubility, emulsifying properties and foaming properties of API were observed in a pH range of 2.0-12.0 and a sodium chloride concentration of 0-1.0 M. The results showed that API had a good solubility (94.2%), bulk density (0.107 g/mL), oil absorption capacity (3.54 g/g), thermal stability (91.58 °C), emulsifying property (70 m2/g) and foaming property (83.7%). The conformation changes of API were studied by fluorescence and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The degree of denaturation of denaturants for API was guanidine hydrochloride > urea > SDS. These results showed that API has good processing performance and can be used as a new type of plant protein resource.

Phenolic composition, antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and in vitro anti-HepG2 cell activities of wild apricot (Armeniaca Sibirica L. Lam) kernel skins.

The polyphenols profiles of the methanol extracts of bitter apricot [Armeniaca Sibirica (L.)] kernel skins (AKS) were analysed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The antioxidan, anticancer effect on HepG2 cell and antibacterial properties of the AKS polyphenol extracts were further characterized in vitro. Polyphenol compounds (35), including nine phenolic acids, thirteen anthocyanins and thirteen flavonoids, were identified in AKS for the first time. The content of apigenin 7-O-glucoside, (cyanidin 3-(4″-acetylrutinoside), 3- (6″-acetylglucoside)-5-glucoside and salicylic acid was relatively high than the others. The AKS polyphenols strongly reduced Fe3+ and exhibited good scavenging activity towards 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) free radicals, 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radicals, hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide. The AKS polyphenols could regulate oxidant stress in HepG2 cells by downregulating reduced glutathione, upregulating oxidative glutathione, malondialdehyde and advanced oxidation protein products, and reduced cell viability to induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells in vitro. The AKS polyphenols showed strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Acetobacter aceti and Bacillus cereus. Therefore, the antioxidant, inhibitory effect on HepG2 cells and antimicrobial activity of the AKS polyphenols were distinct and worthy of further consideration for medical industry applications.

Adsorption of chlortetracycline onto biochar derived from corn cob and sugarcane bagasse.

Biochar was prepared from two different types of biological waste materials, corn cob (CC) and sugarcane bagasse (SB). The adsorption capacity of each class of adsorbent was determined by chlortetracycline (CTC) adsorption tests. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of chlortetracycline onto sugarcane bagasse biochar (SBB) and corn cob biochar (CCB) were studied. Experimental results indicated that pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetics of CTC onto SBB and CCB were more reasonable than pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the adsorption kinetic model of CTC onto SBB was slightly better than that onto CCB. The maximum adsorption capacity of CTC onto SBB was 16.96 mg/g at pH 4, while the highest adsorption efficiency of CTC onto CCB was achieved at pH 5 with a maximum adsorption of 12.39 mg/g. The Freundlich isotherm model was better than the Langmuir model at illustrating the adsorption process of CTC onto SBB and CCB. These results provide a way to understand the value of specific biochars, which can be used as efficient and effective adsorbents for CTC removal from waste-water. Compared with raw pinewood, SBB and CBB were considered as alternative materials to remove antibiotics from aqueous environments.