Measure post-bloodmeal dispersal of mosquitoes and duration of radioactivity by using the isotope ³²P.

The radioactive isotope (32)P-labeled disodium phosphate (Na2H(32)PO4) was injected via the jugular vein into a cow kept in a shed in Maozhuang Village, Cao Township of Shanxian County, China. Over the following 5 d, mosquitoes feeding on the cow were captured at distances up to 400 m to determine dispersal distance. The duration of radioactivity in the cow and marked mosquitoes was 10 d. The results showed that after blood feeding, Anopheles sinensis and Culex tritaeniorhynchus temporarily rested in the cattle shed and then flew outdoors. In contrast, Culex pipiens pallens remained in the cattle shed after feeding. These findings confirmed that local An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus were partially endophilic and tended to rest out of doors, whereas Cx. pipiens pallens was endophilic. For marked An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, there was a significant tendency for dispersal to be in a northeast and east direction, probably because of the presence of heavy shading by an agricultural field, a small river for mosquito oviposition sites, and locations downwind from the blood source. The furthest flight distances for An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus were 210 and 240 m; therefore, control of these mosquitoes should include resting places indoors and outdoors within a radius of 250 m from confirmed cases.

Exposure to fine particulate matter induces self-recovery and susceptibility of oxidative stress and inflammation in rat lungs.

PM2.5 induces pulmonary inflammation via oxidative stress, and this role in the lungs is widely accepted, but studies on whether oxidative stress and inflammation can self-recover and be fully restored are limited. In this study, the oxidative stress and inflammation in the lungs of rats, which were first exposed to different PM2.5 dosages (0, 0.5, 3.0, and 15.0 mg/kg body weight) and different recovery days (0, 15, and 30 days) and then were exposed to the same PM2.5 dosages (30 mg/kg b.w.) after 30 days of recovery, were investigated. Results showed that the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly inhibited, and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) significantly increased. These changes were accompanied with damage to the pathological structure of the rat lungs. After stopping PM2.5 exposure, the difference between the PM2.5 group and the control group gradually decreased with the extension of recovery time. However, when the rats were again exposed to the same dose of PM2.5, the levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, TNF-α, MDA, and iNOS were significantly increased, and the activities of SOD and GSH-Px were significantly inhibited in the high-dose group. And the high-dose group was accompanied by more severe lung pathological structural damage. Results showed that PM2.5 could induce oxidative stress and inflammatory damage in the lungs of rats, and these damages gradually recovered as exposure ceased, but increased lung susceptibility in rats.

A novel honeycomb matrix for cell immobilization to enhance lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae.

A new support matrix inspired by honeycomb was developed for cell immobilization to control fungal morphology and enhance mass transfer in bioreactor for lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae. The immobilization matrix composed of asterisk-shaped fibrous matrices in a honeycomb configuration provided high surface areas for cell attachment and biofilm growth. More than 90% of inoculated spores were adsorbed onto the matrices within 6-8h and after 10h there was no suspended cell in the fermentation broth, indicating a 100% immobilization efficiency. Compared to free-cell fermentation, lactic acid production increased approximately 70% (49.5 g/L vs. 29.3g/L) and fermentation time reduced 33% (48 h vs. 72 h) in shake-flasks with 80 g/L initial glucose. The immobilized-cell fermentation was evaluated for its long-term performance in a bubble-column bioreactor operated in a repeated batch mode for nine cycles in 36 days. The highest lactic acid production was 68.8 g/L, corresponding to a volumetric productivity of 0.72 g/Lh and 93.4% (w/w) lactic acid yield from consumed glucose. The overall yield and productivity were 77.6% and 0.57 g/Lh, respectively. The fermentation can be improved by increasing aeration and mixing in the bubble-column bioreactor.

[Analyze the antibody level of enterovirus 71 about children cases of hand-foot-mouse disease outbreak].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the Enterovirus 71 infectious status about probably cases of hand-foot-mouse disease (HFMD). METHODS: Collect the blood samples of HFDM children probably cases and test the IgG, IgM antibody by ELISA, analyzed the age and gender distribution. RESULTS: We collected 159 blood samples of children probably cases who are 1 to 5 years old. The average EV71 IgG positive rate is 63.5%, which of IgM is 12.0%. The positive rate of EV71 IgG is decrease by aged. Male's EV71 IgM positive rate is higher than female's significantly. CONCLUSION: The pathogen of this case of HFMD outbreak is EV71. Male's EV7l infectious and incidence are higher than female's. The result of this investigation could provide information to HFMD disease control.