OBJECTIVETo explore the characteristics of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), auditory brainstem response (ABR) and mismatch negativity (MMN) in guinea pigs with hyperbilirubinemia and assess the impact of hyperbilirubinemia on their hearing functions.

METHODNormal neonatal guinea pigs were randomly divided into normal control, low- and high-dose bilirubin groups. DPOAE, ABR and MMN were tested and compared between the 3 groups of guinea pigs.

RESULTSThe DPOAE was comparable between the 3 groups (P>0.05). The guinea pigs with peritoneal injection of low-dose bilirubin exhibited significantly prolonged wave III and V latencies and I-III interwave intervals during the ABR test in comparison with the control group (P<0.05). All the ABR parameters were significantly different between the high-dose bilirubin group and the control group (P<0.05). The detection rates of MMN were significantly different between the 3 groups (Chi(2)=7.438, P=0.024), and the average MMN latency was significantly shorter in the control group than in the high-dose group (P<0.05), but the amplitudes of MMN remained similar between the 3 groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSHyperbilirubinemia results impairment primarily of retrocochlear auditory pathway with relative mild damage of the cochlear. Apart from sensorineural auditory impairment, hyperbilirubinemia may also cause central auditory processing abnormalities.

Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Bilirubin ; blood ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Female ; Guinea Pigs ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; blood ; physiopathology ; Male ; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous

Objective To explore the effect of multi-disciplinary team (MDT) combined with bundle management on prevention and control of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection in the intensive care unit(ICU).Methods Patients who were admitted to the ICU in a tertiary first-class hospital from January 2013 to December 2015 were studied,MDT combined with bundle management has been applied in the prevention and control of MDRO infection in ICU since January 2014,continuous quality improvement program was performed one year later,isolation of MDROs from specimens of ICU patients before implementation(in the year of 2013),after implementation(in the year of 2014),and after continuous quality improvement(in the year of 2015) was compared.Results The infection rates of MDROs in ICU patients before implementation,after implementation,and after continuous quality improvement were 26.55％ (154/580),17.13％ (117/683),and 12.01％ (77/641) respectively,showing a downward trend,with a significant difference (x2 =44.030,P＜0.001);the total isolation rates of MDROs in ICU patients were 64.44％(154/239),63.59％(117/184),and 43.26％ (77/178) respectively,showing a downward trend,with a significant difference (x2 =22.284,P＜0.001).The main MDROs in ICU were multidrug-resistant (MDR) and pandrug resistant(PDR) Acinetobacterbaumannii (44.54％).Conclusion MDT combined with bundle management can decrease MDRO infection rate and isolation rate in ICU.

This study aimed to establish a novel method to screen out the combined components of multi-fractions traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), so that the internal relationship between multi-ingredients could be objectively assessed and the proportioning ratio could be optimized. Taking antiviral effect on neuraminidase activity of influenza virus as the evaluating indicator and using Box-Behnken response surface methodology, the main effective ingredients of Shuanghuanglian injection (SHL) were screened. Meanwhile, the relationship between active ingredients was discussed. Taking SHL as a comparison, the optimum proportioning ratio was predicted. The results indicated that chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and baicalin have comparatively strong antiviral activity against influenza virus. Moreover, antagonistic action existed between chlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid, whereas synergistic action between caffeic acid and other components. The optimum proportioning ratio resulted from fitted model is: chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and baicalin (107 microg x mL(-1) : 279 microg x mL(-1) : 7.99 microg x mL(-1) : 92 microg x mL(-1)). The antiviral activity of the recombined components is stronger than that of SHL, which was consistent with the experiment results (P < 0.05). Box-Behnken response surface methodology has the advantages of general-screening, high-performance and accurate-prediction etc, which is appropriate for screening the combined components of multi-fractions TCM and the optimization of the proportioning ratio. The proposed method can serve as a technological support for the development of modern multi-fractions TCM.
Antiviral Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Caffeic Acids ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Chlorogenic Acid ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Flavonoids ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Injections ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neuraminidase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Orthomyxoviridae ; drug effects ; enzymology

Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Tachycardia, Sinus/diagnosis*

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) towards coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its related preventive measures in Singaporeans aged ≥60 years. METHODS: This was a population-based, cross-sectional, mixed-methods study (13 May 2020-9 June 2020) of participants aged ≥ 60 years. Self-reported KAP about ten symptoms and six government-endorsed preventive measures related to COVID-19 were evaluated. Multivariable regression models were used to identify sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with KAP in our sample. Associations between knowledge/attitude scores and practice categories were determined using logistic regression. Seventy-eight participants were interviewed qualitatively about the practice of additional preventive measures and data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Mean awareness score of COVID-19 symptoms was 7.2/10. The most known symptom was fever (93.0%) and the least known was diarrhoea (33.5%). Most participants knew all six preventive measures (90.4%), perceived them as effective (78.7%) and practised 'wear a mask' (97.2%). Indians, Malays and participants living in smaller housing had poorer mean scores for knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms. Older participants had poorer attitudes towards preventive measures. Compared to Chinese, Indians had lower odds of practising three out of six recommendations. A one-point increase in score for knowledge and attitudes regarding preventive measures resulted in higher odds of always practising three of six and two of six measures, respectively. Qualitative interviews revealed use of other preventive measures, for example, maintaining a healthy lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS Elderly Singaporeans displayed high levels of KAP about COVID-19 and its related preventive measures, with a positive association between levels of knowledge/attitude and practice. However, important ethnic and socioeconomic disparities were evident, indicating that key vulnerabilities remain, which require immediate attention.
Humans ; Aged ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires