Lam Qua and Peter Parker: Portraiture of Head and Neck Surgery in 19th-Century China.

In 1835, Peter Parker, an American surgeon and Presbyterian minister, established a hospital in Guangzhou and became the first Western head and neck surgeon in China. While Parker documented his most interesting cases in his journals, he also commissioned oil paintings of these patients from Lam Qua (), a prominent Chinese artist trained in British academic painting. Lam Qua produced 86 portraits of Dr Parker's patients, providing insight into not only the treatment of head and neck tumors but also the introduction of Western artistic techniques to 19th-century China. Parker's pioneering surgical accomplishments and Lam Qua's portraits document the role of art and medicine in America's cultural influence in Asia.

Screening of herbal extracts against multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Antibiotic resistance is increasing resulting in a decreasing number of fully active antimicrobial agents available to treat infections with multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. Herbal medicines may offer alternative treatment options. A direct inoculation method simulating the standard disc diffusion assay was developed to determine in vitro antimicrobial activity of sixty herbal extracts against MDR-Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii). Eighteen herbal extracts inhibited MDR-A. baumannii on agar plates, although the magnitude and quality of bacterial inhibition differed considerably among the antibacterial herbal extracts. Next, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of these antibacterial herbal extracts was calculated using a broth microdilution assay. For most herbal extracts, the larger the zone of inhibition on agar plates, the lower the MIC. In general, hetero-resistance on agar plates correlated with higher MIC. The skip well phenomenon was seen with two herbal extracts. In conclusion, 30% of the screened herbal extracts demonstrated in vitro antibacterial activity against MDR-A. baumannii using similar rigorous testing methods as those commonly employed for assessing antimicrobial activity of synthetic antibacterial agents. Characterization of a specific compound conferring this antibacterial activity of the herbal extracts may help to identify novel antimicrobial agents active against highly resistant bacteria.