Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing bacteria and their resistance determinants in different wastewaters and rivers in Nepal.

Wastewaters serve as significant reservoirs of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Despite the evidence of antimicrobial resistance in wastewaters and river water in Kathmandu, direct linkage between them is not discussed yet. This study investigated the prevalence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria and associated resistance genes in wastewaters and river water. Out of 246 bacteria from wastewaters, 57.72% were ESBL producers and 77.64% of them were multidrug resistant (MDR). ESBL producing E. coli was dominant in municipal and hospital wastewaters (HWW) as well as in river water while K. pneumoniae was common in pharmaceutical wastewater. The blaSHV and blaTEM genes were prevalent and commonly co-occurred with aac(6')-Ib-cr in K. pneumoniae isolated pharmaceutical wastewater. blaCTX-M carrying E. coli from hospital co-harbored aac(6')-Ib-cr while that from municipal influent and river water co-harbored qnrS. Whole genome sequencing data revealed the presence of diverse ARGs in bacterial isolates against multiple antibiotics. In average, an E. coli and a K. pneumoniae isolate contained 55.75 ± 0.96 and 40.2 ± 5.36 ARGs, respectively. Multi-locus sequence typing showed the presence of globally high-risk clones with wider host range such as E. coli ST10, and K. pneumoniae ST15 and ST307 in HWW and river indicating frequent dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater of Kathmandu. Whole genome sequence data aligned with phenotypic antibiograms and resistance genes detected by PCR in selected isolates. The presence of significant plasmid replicons (IncF, IncY) and mobile genetic elements (IS903, IS26) indicate high frequency of spreading antibiotic resistance. These findings indicate burden and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in the environment and highlight the need for effective strategies to mitigate the antibiotic resistance.

Adulthood status and its associations with stress and well-being among Chinese emerging adults: A person-centred approach.

With the implementation of China's one-child policy and the increasing living costs, a large number of young people are expected to postpone reaching adulthood. However, little research has explored the patterns of Chinese young people's transition to adulthood. Using a person-centred approach, the current study examined the commonly accepted markers of adulthood status endorsed and attained by 1203 Chinese emerging adults aged 18-29 years. We further compared the distinct adulthood statuses with regard to perceptions of stress and well-being. Latent profile analysis identified four adulthood status profiles: diffused (16.0%), moratorium (45.3%), transitional (23.3%) and achieved (15.4%). Females, those who had no job or came from low family socioeconomics, were more likely to be in the moratorium status. Compared to the other two profiles, participants in diffused and moratorium profiles reported higher levels of perceived stress and lower well-being. These results suggest that there are distinct profiles of Chinese emerging adults on the transition path to adulthood, with a large proportion of them not yet reaching adulthood, and that different statuses of adulthood may be associated with different psychological outcomes.

Evaluating the individual, situational, and technological drivers for creative ideas generation in virtual communities: A systematic literature review.

The setting in which people generate ideas and work collaboratively to solve problems is gradually shifting from traditional face-to-face communities to virtual communities. Virtual communities are, therefore, becoming a new source of creative ideas. Nevertheless, online creativity is not without challenges. The main obstacle seems to be a lack of active engagement from participants within these virtual communities, resulting in a low quality and quantity of creative content when compared to traditional methods of creation. Research suggests that successfully generating creative ideas online involves sustained, active engagement among collaborators. A number of studies have investigated various factors related to the generation of creative ideas within virtual communities. However, a comprehensive understanding of contributing factors remains elusive. This study examines past research on the factors that drive creative ideas generation in online creative communities through a systematic literature review. The study seeks to analyze research findings over the past decade and provide an overview of the main driving factors, research areas, research trends, and implications for future research. Web of Science and Scopus were used to identify relevant articles, while Google Scholar was used to minimize the risk of missing any valuable data related to the aim of this study. The results provide an overview of the studies examining creative ideas generation within virtual communities. By approaching the subject matter from three primary perspectives (individual, situational, and technological), this paper identifies influencing factors associated with the successful generation of creative ideas online. The results of the paper also provide an overview of the research methods and guiding theories adopted by current researchers. The paper concludes with research trends and recommendations for future research.

Closed-Loop Electrochemical Recycling of Spent Copper(II) from Etchant Wastewater Using a Carbon Nanotube Modified Graphite Felt Anode.

Developing effective technologies for treatment of spent etchant in printed circuit boards industries is of paramount for sustainable copper reuse and reducing copper discharge. We developed a novel closed-loop electrochemical cell for on-site regeneration of spent acidic cupric chloride etchant. It does not have any emissions and recycles all the copper using a three-dimensional graphite felt anode decorated with carbon nanotube (CNT/GF). The CNT/GF anode oxidizes Cu(I) to Cu(II) so that the spent cuprous chloride can be converted to cupric chloride and reused. The decorated CNT layer with abundant oxygen-containing functional groups significantly enhanced the electrocatalytic activity for Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox. The CuCl32- is oxidized to CuCl+ at the anode and the CuCl+ is reduced to Cu(0) at the cathode. The closed-loop cycle system converts the catholyte into the anolyte. On average, the energy consumption of Cu(I) oxidation by CNT/GF is decreased by 12%, comparing to that by untreated graphite felt. The oxidation rate of Cu(I) is determined by the current density, and there is no delay for the mass transport of Cu(I). This study highlights the outstanding electrocatalytic performance, the rapid mass-transfer kinetics, and the excellent stability of the CNT/GF electrode, and provides an energy-efficient and zero-emission strategy for the regeneration of etchant waste.

The role of liquid-liquid transition in glass formation of CuZr alloys.

Some glass-forming liquids have different liquid phases that have the same composition but different structure, density and entropy. Based on experimental and molecular dynamics simulation, we here report thermodynamic, dynamic, and structural evidence of the liquid-liquid transition (LLT) in ten Cu-Zr glass-forming liquids well above the liquidus temperature. We find that for Cu-Zr alloys, the LLT is beneficial to glass formation, and there is a close relationship between the relative transition strength (RTS) of the LLT and the critical thickness representing the glass forming ability (GFA): the bigger the value of the RTS parameters, the stronger the GFA of Cu-Zr alloys. This work not only uncovers the role of the LLT of melts in the glass formation of solids, but also sheds light on the inheritance of properties of glassy solids from the aspect of the detectable dynamics of high-temperature melts.

Tailoring the morphology of Pt3Cu1 nanocrystals supported on graphene nanoplates for ethanol oxidation.

In the search for alternatives to conventional Pt electrocatalysts, we synthesized a series of graphene nanoplate (GNP)-supported Pt3Cu1 nanocrystals (NCs), possessing almost the same composition but different morphologies to probe their electrochemical properties as a function of morphology for the ethanol oxidation reaction. The morphology of the Pt3Cu1 catalysts could be systematically evolved from dendritic (D-Pt3Cu1/GNPs) to wire-like (W-Pt3Cu1/GNPs) and spherical (Pt3Cu1/GNPs) by only varying pH of the reaction solution. The as-prepared Pt3Cu1 catalysts were subsequently characterized using a suite of techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to verify not only their morphologies and chemical compositions but also the incorporation of Cu into the Pt lattice, as well as physical structure and integrity. Gratifyingly, the three Pt3Cu1 catalysts exhibited superior electrocatalytic properties for the ethanol oxidation compared to the monometallic Pt/GNPs and Pt/C-JM (Johnson Matthey), with the activities, durabilities and anti-poisonous abilities following the order Pt3Cu1/GNPs < W-Pt3Cu1/GNPs < D-Pt3Cu1/GNPs.

[Anatomic investigation of the pedicle fat grafts with the third lumbar segmental artery and its application in reoperation for lumbar disc herniation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the blood supply of the pedicle fat grafts with the third lumbar segmental artery and its clinical effects on reoperation for lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: Twelve sides of 6 adult cadaver examples were contributed to investigate the courser of lumbar segmental vessels and the distribution of hypodermic capillary net of the dorsal branch of the third lumbar segmental artery. From January 2000 to January 2007,49 patients needed reoperation to treat lumbar disc herniation,including 26 males and 23 females with an average age of 55.6 years (ranged from 39 to 70 years). Duration between two operations ranged from 8 months to 15 years with an average of 6.9 years. Reoperative reasons included recurrent lumbar disc protrusion(30 cases)postoperative epidural scar formation (17 cases), postoperative epidural cyst formation (2 cases). Of them,9 patients underwent posterior lumbar interbody fusion at the second operation. The pedicle fat grafts with the third lumbar segmental artery were covered on the sites of the laminectomy in these patients. After negative pressure drainage tube were pulled out, 2 ml Chitsan were injected to the sites of the laminectomy and around epidural nerve root through epidural catheter. VAS score and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were used to assess clinical outcomes before and after operation. RESULTS: The courser of third lumbar segmental vessels were invariant at the lateral face of the lumbar vertebral body. The dorsal branch of the third lumbar segmental artery penetrated thoracolumbar fascia and formed rich hypodermic capillary net in the region. All patients were followed up from 5 to 8 years with an average of 5.6 years. VAS score of low back pain and leg pain decreased respectively from preoperative 7.6 +/- 1.2, 8.9 +/- 0.9 to 3.6 +/- 0.5, 3.0 +/- 0.4 at final follow-up (P < 0.01); and ODI score decreased from preoperative 44.1 +/- 6.2 to 13.9 +/- 3.6 at final follow-up (P < 0.01). According to ODI score to evaluate the clinical outcomes, 29 cases got excellent results, 11 good, 7 fair, 2 poor. CONCLUSION: The pedicle fat grafts with the third lumbar segmental artery and Chitsan can reduce epidural scar formation and prevent peridural fibrosis and adhesion and improve clinical effects of reoperation for lumbar disc herniation.

Anomalous crystallization as a signature of the fragile-to-strong transition in metallic glass-forming liquids.

We study the fragile-to-strong (F-S) transition of metallic glass-forming liquids (MGFLs) by measuring the thermal response during annealing and dynamic heating of La55Al25Ni5Cu15 glass ribbons fabricated at different cooling rates. We find that the glasses fabricated in the intermediate regime of cooling rates (15-25 m/s) exhibit an anomalous crystallization behavior upon reheating as compared to the glasses formed at other cooling rates. This anomalous crystallization behavior implies the existence of a thermodynamic F-S transition, could be used as an alternative method for detecting the F-S transition in MGFLs, and sheds light on the structure origin of the F-S transition. This work also contributes to obtaining a general thermodynamic picture of the F-S transition in supercooled liquids.

[Case-control study on clavicular hook plate combined with acromiocoracoid ligament transfer in the treatment of acromioclavicular joint dislocation of type Tossy III in young patients].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical effects of acromiocoracoid ligament transfer to repair coracoclavicular ligament and acromioclavicular ligament in the treatment of acromioclavicular joint dislocation of type Tossy III in young patients. METHODS: From January 2005 to January 2007, 52 patients with acromioclavicular joint dislocation of type Tossy III were divided into therapeutic group I (32 cases) and therapeutic group II (22 cases). There were 17 males and 13 females with an average age of 31.0 years (ranged, 19 to 40 years) in group I; as well as 12 males and 10 females with an average age of 33.6 years (ranged, 20 to 42 years) in group II. All the patients were fresh injury and the acromioclavicular joint dislocations were type Tossy III according to X-ray findings. The duration from damage to the operation time ranged from 2 to 17 days (averaged, 7.6 days). All the patients had normal shoulder function before injury and were treated with clavicular hook plate implantation. The patients in group II were treated with normal desmorrhaphy method, and the patients in group I were treated with acromiocoracoid ligament transfer to repair coracoclavicular ligament and acromioclavicular ligament. Steel plate was taken out at about 4 to 6 months after clavicular hook plate implantation. The results were evaluated according to Karlsson's standards. RESULTS: All the incisions healed without infection. The therapeutic effects of 52 patients were evaluated at the 6th month after internal fixation was taken out. Twenty-four patients in group I got an excellent results and 6 good; 17 patients in group II got an excellent results and 5 good. There was no significant difference between the two groups. Twenty-six patients in group I and 19 patients in group II had long-term follow-up, and the duration ranged from 3 to 5 years (averaged, 4.5 years ). Twenty patients in group I got an excellent results and 6 good; 9 patients in group II got an excellent results, 7 good and 3 bad. Three patients in group II had recurrence of acromioclavicular joint dislocation. The long-term therapeutic effects of group I was better than that of group II. CONCLUSION: After clavicular hook plate implantation in treating type Tossy III dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint in young patients, it was necessary to use acromiocoracoid ligament transfer to repair coracoclavicular ligament and acromioclavicular ligament, which can improve the stability of acromioclavicular joint to prevent dislocation recurrence.