Focus: Preventive Medicine: Pre-Participation Screening of Athletes: Primary Health Care Physicians’ Knowledge,Experience, and Approach in Turkey

Pre-participation screening (PPS) is crucial for assessing the competitive athletes since their risk of sudden death is higher than non-athletes. In Turkey, PPS is performed at the primary health care setting by primary care physicians (PCPs) who are family medicine specialists (FMSs) or general practitioners (GPs). Although there are national guidelines, there is no legal regulation for this process. This study aims to evaluate PCPs’ knowledge, experience, and approach about PPS. We prepared an online survey for PCPs and used non-probabilistic sampling. PPS attitudes and practices were analyzed and compared according to factors such as experience, education, and being GP or FMS. Of the 214 PCPs included in the study, 39.3% were female. The mean age was 44.9 years (SD:8.88). The average work experience was 7.9 years. Most participants were aware of their authorization to perform PPS (89.7%) and had previously prepared it (90.2%). However, 6.5% of them felt confident in performing PPS. Only 13.1% were aware of the guidelines. Almost 25% of the participants stated being informed about the subject at some part of their career, but this did not affect the confidence or referral decisions. In addition to medical history and physical examination, further testing was considered necessary by 96.3% of the participants. Significantly more tests were ordered by GPs than FMSs (p=0.026 and p=0.011, respectively). The accurate referral decision ratio was 59.3%, without difference between FMSs and GPs (p=0.216). We found that awareness of the guidelines was low among PCPs who lack confidence in PPS. These factors collectively increased the tendency for unnecessary further testing and referral. Therefore, the PPS implementation into medical school and residency curriculums and national legal regulation for the process is a necessity in Turkey.     

梨火疫病拮抗菌筛选及温室防效测定

【背景】梨火疫病是由梨火疫病菌(Erwinia amylovora)引起的细菌性病害,对苹果、梨、山楂等40余属220多种植物危害极大。近年来,与中国毗邻的中亚多国相继暴发梨火疫病。梨火疫病菌成为国内特别是对新疆地区的特高风险有害生物,梨火疫病已被中国农业农村部列入《一类农作物病虫害名录》。【目的】从新疆本土材料以及实验室现有菌株中进行梨火疫病菌拮抗菌株的筛选,为梨火疫病的防控奠定基础。【方法】采用平板对峙法从新疆香梨种植区土壤及实验室现有菌株中分离、筛选具有显著拮抗效果的菌株,通过生理生化特性分析和16SrRNA基因测序等方法对菌株进行初步鉴定,并采用牛津杯扩散法对抑菌效果进行复筛。利用两年生盆栽杜梨苗对拮抗菌进行温室内保护型和治疗型防效测定。【结果】筛选获得11株具有显著拮抗作用的菌株,均为革兰氏阳性菌。其中9株为芽胞杆菌属(Bacillus)、2株为乳杆菌属(Lactobacillus)。平板对峙实验结果表明贝莱斯芽胞杆菌(Bacillus velezensis) JE7、植物乳杆菌(Lactobacillus plantarum) LP1和植物乳杆菌LP2拮抗作用较强,其次为贝莱斯芽胞杆菌JE4。生理特性实验结果表明:JE4、JE7可在NaCl浓度为1%-7%时生长,JE4、JE7在pH 4.0-9.0时生长,LP1可在NaCl浓度为1%-9%时生长,在pH 5.0-9.0时生长良好。温室防效测定结果显示,贝莱斯芽胞杆菌JE4防效最佳,可达到73%以上。【结论】筛选获得一批梨火疫病拮抗菌,其中部分菌株在温室内防效显著并具有较强的盐碱耐受能力。     

梁王山大花香水月季居群表型多样性分析

以云南省澄江市梁王山一带3个大花香水月季居群240个个体为研究对象,采用巢式方差分析、表型变异系数分析、Pearson相关性分析等方法,对大花香水月季的花、叶等16个表型性状进行分析。结果表明:大花香水月季居群内和居群间均存在丰富的表型多样性,表型分化系数在-1.51%～26.18%之间,在较近的距离内,居群内多样性远高于居群间多样性。表型性状在居群内的平均变异系数为13.62%,离散程度相对较低,其中,变异系数最大的是花梗长,最小的是花瓣长宽比。相关性分析发现,大多数花部性状间、叶部性状间相关性较强,但花部性状与叶部性状之间相关性较低甚至不相关。     

大豆(Glycine max(L.)Merr.)致敏蛋白Gly m Bd 30K检测方法及低致敏优异种质鉴定

Gly m Bd 30K蛋白是大豆中主要的免疫显性过敏原之一,会引起人和牲畜腹泻和肠道炎症等过敏反应。因此,发掘低Gly m Bd 30K蛋白含量优异种质对于培育优质大豆品种具有重要意义。为了获得致敏蛋白Gly m Bd 30K低含量的优异种质,根据Gly m Bd 30K蛋白的190-379aa多肽序列制备多克隆抗体;对来源于山西省的29份种质,利用Western blot技术对其Gly m Bd 30K蛋白含量进行检测;并扩增和分析Gly m Bd 30K基因序列;利用荧光定量PCR技术对筛选出的低Gly m Bd 30K含量种质进行表达分析。结果表明:从参试种质中鉴定出2份Gly m Bd 30K蛋白含量低的种质,Gly m Bd 30K蛋白低含量种质的鉴定效率为6.9%,分别是来自太原市的大豆种质134(ZDD02046)和大青豆(ZDD02174),其Gly m Bd 30K基因序列与Willams82相比,在启动子上都有TA重复序列变异,134(ZDD02046)有8次TA重复,大青豆(ZDD02174)有42次TA重复,表达分析结果显示,134(ZDD02046)的转录水平显著低于大青豆(ZDD02174),推测启动子上TA多态性可能影响了其转录水平。本研究建立Gly m Bd 30K蛋白含量测定的方法,鉴定出2份低蛋白含量的优异种质,为今后选育优质蛋白组合的大豆新品种提供了技术和材料支撑。     

沙生植物沙鞭不同居群形态变异研究

以沙鞭(Psammochloa villosa Bor.)20个自然居群为研究对象,对其株高、花序长度、旗叶长度、旗叶宽度和小穗长度等12个表型性状进行形态变异研究。结果显示,12个性状群体间F值为1.832~8.958,达到显著或极显著水平,表明沙鞭不同居群表型性状存在广泛变异,且变异程度各不相同;主成分分析结果显示,前4个主成分代表了沙鞭形态多样性的82.277%,其中旗叶长度、旗叶宽度、颖片长度、小穗长度等是造成不同居群表型性状差异的主要因素;依据欧式距离对参试居群进行的UPGMA聚类分析结果表明,当遗传距离为20.5时,可以将20个沙鞭野生居群划分为两类,且各表型性状并没有依居群地理分布而聚类。     

Population-based carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis of fragile X syndrome in East Asian populations

Identification of carriers of fragile X syndrome (FXS) with the subsequent prenatal diagnosis and knowledge of FXS-associated genetic profiles are essential for intervention in specific populations. We report the results of carrier screening of 39,458 East Asian adult women and prenatal diagnosis from 87 FXS carriers. The prevalence of FXS carriers and full mutation fetuses was estimated to be 1/581 and 1/3124 in East Asian populations, respectively. We confirmed the validity of the current threshold of CGG trinucleotide repeats for FMR1 categorization; the integral risks of full mutation expansion were approximately 6.0%, 43.8%, and 100% for premutation alleles with 55–74, 75–89, and ≥ 90 CGG repeats, respectively. The protective effect of AGG (adenine-guanine-guanine nucleotides) interruption in East Asian populations was validated, which is important in protecting premutation alleles with 75–89 CGG repeats from full mutation expansion. Finally, family history was shown not an effective indicator for FXS carrier screening in East Asian populations, and population-based screening was more cost-effective. This study provides an insight into the largest carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis for FXS in East Asian populations to date. The FXS-associated genetic profiles of East Asian populations are delineated, and population-based carrier screening is shown to be promising for FXS intervention.     

A Novel Wick-Like Paper-Based Microfluidic Device for 3D Cell Culture and Anti-Cancer Drugs Screening

Paper is increasingly recognized as a portable substrate for cell culture, due to its low-cost, flexible, and special porous property, which provides a native cellular 3D microenvironment. Therefore, paper-based microfluidics has been developed for cell culture and biomedical analysis. However, the inability of continuous medium supply limits the wide application of paper devices for cell culture. Herein, a paper-based microfluidic device is developed with novel folded paper strips as wick-like structure, which is used for medium self-driven perfusion. The paper with patterns of hydrophilic channel, culture areas, and hydrophobic barrier could be easily fabricated through wax-printing. After printing, the hydrophilic paper strip at the periphery of the lower layer is then folded at 90° and extended into the medium container for continuous automatic supply of medium to the cell culture area. Tumor cells cultured in the paper device are tested for anti-cancer drug screening. Visualized cell viability and chemical sensitivity testing can be achieved by colorimetry combined with simple smartphone imaging, effectively reducing precision instrument dependence. The wick paper-based microfluidic device for cell culture endows the method the advantages of lower cost, ease-of-operation, miniaturization, and shows a great potential for large-scale cell culture, antibody drug production, and efficient screening.