Serotypes and Clonal Diversity of Streptococcus pneumoniae Causing Invasive Disease in the Era of PCV13 in Catalonia,Spain

The aim of this study was to study the serotypes and clonal diversity of pneumococci causing invasive pneumococcal disease in Catalonia, Spain, in the era of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). In our region, this vaccine is only available in the private market and it is estimated a PCV13 vaccine coverage around 55% in children. A total of 1551 pneumococcal invasive isolates received between 2010 and 2013 in the Molecular Microbiology Department at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, were included. Fifty-two serotypes and 249 clonal types—defined by MLST—were identified. The most common serotypes were serotype 1 (n = 182; 11.7%), 3 (n = 145; 9.3%), 19A (n = 137; 8.8%) and 7F (n = 122; 7.9%). Serotype 14 was the third most frequent serotype in children < 2 years (15 of 159 isolates). PCV7 serotypes maintained their proportion along the period of study, 16.6% in 2010 to 13.4% in 2013, whereas there was a significant proportional decrease in PCV13 serotypes, 65.3% in 2010 to 48.9% in 2013 (p<0.01). This decrease was mainly attributable to serotypes 19A and 7F. Serotype 12F achieved the third position in 2013 (n = 22, 6.4%). The most frequent clonal types found were ST306 (n = 154, 9.9%), ST191 (n = 111, 7.2%), ST989 (n = 85, 5.5%) and ST180 (n = 80, 5.2%). Despite their decrease, PCV13 serotypes continue to be a major cause of disease in Spain. These results emphasize the need for complete PCV13 vaccination.     

Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Dry Eye Syndrome: Differential Effects of Vitamin D on Ocular Diseases

Purpose

To investigate associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and dry eye syndrome (DES), and to evaluate the differential effect of vitamin D on ocular diseases including age-related macular disease (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), cataract, and DES.

Methods

A total of 16,396 participants aged >19 years were randomly selected from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. All participants participated in standardized interviews, blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D level evaluations, and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations. DES was defined by a history of clinical diagnosis of dry eyes by a physician. The association between vitamin D and DES was compared to the associations between vitamin D and AMD, DR, cataract, and DES from our previous studies.

Results

The odds of DES non-significantly decreased as the quintiles of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increased (quintile 5 versus 1, OR = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.55–1.30, P for trend = 0.076) after adjusting for potential confounders including age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, smoking status, and sunlight exposure times. The relative odds of DES (OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.30–1.64) and cataract (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59–0.99) were relatively high, while those of DR (OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18–0.76) and late AMD (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.12–0.81) were lower in men.

Conclusions

The present study does not support an association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and DES. The preventive effect of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D may be more effective for DR and late AMD than it is for cataract and DES.     

Sensitive detection of GFP utilizing tyramide signal amplification to overcome gene silencing

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is among the most commonly used expression markers in biology. GFP-tagged cells have played a particularly important role in studies of cell lineage. Sensitive detection of GFP is crucially important for such studies to be successful, and problems with detection may account for discrepancies in the literature regarding the possible fate choices of stem cells. Here we describe a very sensitive technique for visualization of GFP. Using it we can detect about 90% of cells of donor origin while we could only see about 50% of these cells when we employ the methods that are in general use in other laboratories. In addition, we provide evidence that some cells permanently silence GFP expression. In the case of the progeny of bone marrow stem cells, it appears that the more distantly related they are to their precursors, the more likely it is that they will turn off the lineage marker.     

Critical issues in preparing for a mass casualty event: highlights from a new community planning guide

To assist community planners in allocating scarce resources in a mass casualty event, the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response collaborated with leading experts on a series of issue papers on preparedness and response. These papers were presented at an expert meeting in Washington, DC, in June 2006. The papers, revised based on meeting discussions, have been published by AHRQ as Mass Medical Care with Scarce Resources: A Community Planning Guide.     

我国高校人力资源开发的问题及其对策

分析了当前我国高校人力资源开发的重要性和存在的主要问题,并运用现代管理理论,提出了树立以人为本的管理理念、建立有利于人才成长的机制、运用柔性化管理模式的措施来促进我国高校人力资源的进一步开发利用。     

ICAM在着床期小鼠PBLC及EC/DC中表达的研究(英文)

细胞粘附分子（ＣＡＭ）可介导细胞间及细胞与间质之间的相互作用并传导信息,参与机体胚胎发育、免疫调节、炎症反应、组织修复及肿瘤转移等生理和病理过程。细胞间粘附分子１（ＩＣＡＭ１）是主要的ＣＡＭ分子之一,可表达于活化的细胞,内皮细胞等。人膜是母体与胚胎滋养层直接接触的特殊组织、已发现蜕膜细胞在着床过程中参与了局部免疫耐受的形成,但对着床期ＩＣＡＭ１在蜕膜细胞表达的动态研究鲜见报道。本研究采用免疫荧光、多参数流式细胞术,分别从整体和局部角度、着床过程中外周血淋巴细胞（ＰＢＬＣ）及子宫内膜／蜕膜（ＥＣ／ＤＣ）细胞ＩＣＡＭ１的不同表达特点进行了动态观察和对比性分析。结果发现,ＩＣＡＭ１在着床期ＰＢＬＣ及ＥＣ／ＤＣ中的表达均存在明显的动态变化（Ｔａｂ．１;Ｆｉｇｓ．１＆２）。ＩＣＡＭ１在ＰＢＬＣ中的表达于妊娠第一天（Ｄ１）即开始降低,Ｄ２降至最低;与此不同,ＩＣＡＭ１在ＥＣ／ＤＣ中的表达于Ｄ２开始降低,Ｄ４降至最低,Ｄ５开始恢复,但尚未恢复到对照水平。结果表明,ＩＣＡＭ１在蜕膜局部的表达调节方式不同于外周血;ＩＣＡＭ１表达阳性的外周血,淋巴细胞和蜕膜细胞均代表着活化的功能性细胞,这些细胞表面ＩＣＡＭ     

应用离子注入技术对家蚕形态学及遗传学进行的初步研究(英文)

离子注入技术是将某种元素的原子进行电离,并使其在电场中加速,在获得较高的速度后射入固体材料表面。在离子注入过程中,被电离的离子在电场作用下加速运动,离子靠着本身获得的动能进入基体表面,在表层中运动的离子与基体原子作用损失能量后在一定的位置停留下来。该技术自６０年代问世以来,主要用于材料改性等方面。８０年代中期,我国学者开始将其用于农作物育种方面的研究,大大拓宽了离子注入技术的应用领域。所用实验材料的基因及表现型见Ｔａｂ３,我们将氢离子（Ｅ＝３５ＭｅＶ）注入处于胚胎发育后期的家蚕卵内（Ｔａｂ１）,观察其对家蚕形态及遗传方面的影响,结果表明：（１）在家蚕胚胎发育的已４期注入氢离子,其半致死剂量ＬＤ５０为１ｘ１０１０～１ｘ１０１１ｃｍ２这一区间之内;当剂量达到１ｘ１０１２ｃｍ２时,已全部致死（Ｆｉｇ．１＆Ｔａｂ．２）;（２）注入氢离子能够使家蚕在第１腹节上产生褐斑（Ｆｉｇ．２）的频率增高。并首次观察到因注入氢离子而导致家蚕出现非成对的褐斑（Ｆｉｇ．３＆Ｔａｂ．４）。（３）在氢离子注入剂量为１ｘ１０１０ｃｍ２时,能够诱变产生大量的嵌合体家蚕,并且诱变频率高达３８．５％（Ｆｉｇ．４＆Ｔａｂ．５）,这样高的     

组织型纤溶酶原激活剂的纯化制备

简述了用于大规模生产组织型纤溶酶原激活剂(tPA)的重组动物细胞及其培养工艺。从重组tPA的大规模、快速纯化的角度考虑,对tPA的纯化制备方法进行了简要评述。     

沱沱河细蠓新种描述(双翅目,蠓科)

报道青藏公路沿线唐古拉山区沱沱河采获的细蠓属全蠓亚属1新种,即沱沱河细蠓Leptoconops(Holo—Conops)tuotuohea sp．nov,对其进行了形态描述,新种的模式标本分别保存在军事医学科学院医学昆虫标本馆和兰州军区军事医学研究所。     

长白山地区蚱属一新种(直翅目,蚱总科)

报道采自长白山地区蚱属昆虫一新种,长白山蚱Tetrix changbaishanensis sp．nov．。模式标本保存在东北师范大学生命科学学院动物标本室。