Search

Shanghai is one of the largest cities in China and has the highest proportion of inbound travelers in the world. The HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection status of this population can reflect the global HIV epidemic trend to a certain extent. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective epidemic survey to clarify the prevalence and characteristics of HIV-1 infection among inbound travelers applying for Shanghai residency. The retrospective cohort analysis included a total of 50,830 inbound tourists/travelers who applied for Shanghai residency from 2005 to 2016. HIV-1 infection rates were determined based on HIV-1 antibody testing. Among all the recruited inbound travelers, 245 were HIV-1 positive, with an infection rate of 0.48%. The detection rate of HIV in males was significantly higher than in females (χ2 = 62.584, P < 0.0001). Those aged 18–30 years, 31–40 years, and >40 years accounted for 34.3%, 39.6%, and 26.1% of the infected population, respectively. Although the annual detection rates were different, the trend analysis results showed no increase in HIV-1 prevalence rates among the sampling years (Cochran-Armitage Z = 2.543, P = 0.111). Proportions of individuals infected through homosexual transmission increased over the study period (Cochran-Armitage Z = 5.41, P < 0.001), while the proportion infected through heterosexual declined over time (Cochran-Armitage Z = 3.38, P = 0.001). The rate and characteristics of HIV-1 infection among foreign applicants for residency in Shanghai were identified in the study. The results provide the necessary epidemiological data for monitoring the HIV-1 epidemic among international entry travelers and contribute to establishing relevant policies and regulations for HIV control and prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Natural monomer flavors can modify the taste of cigarettes. However, no report was published to establish the quality control method for their chemical compositions., Methods: In this study, licorice, a traditional natural monomer flavor used in tobacco aroma processing, was selected, and the fingerprint was developed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Next, the chemical markers of samples from different places of origin were discovered by multivariate statistical analysis. Then, its chemical constituents were identified by combination of HPLC-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), direct infusion FT-ICR-MS (DI-FT-ICR-MS), and the technology of isotopic fine structures (IFSs). Moreover, its characteristic constituents were quantitatively analyzed using HPLC., Results: The 14 common peaks were assigned in the fingerprint, and 8 of them were considered as qualitative markers by multivariate statistical analysis. A total of 42 chemical constituents were detected using HPLC-FT-ICR-MS, and 13 of them were unambiguously identified by references. Meanwhile, the elemental compositions of other eight unknown chemical components were decisively determined using IFSs. Subsequently, the contents of five characteristic constituents in 11 batches of samples were determined., Conclusions: The integration strategy established here can discover and quantify the chemical markers for improving the quality control standard of natural monomer flavor of licorice. It is expected that the strategy will be valuable for further quality control of other natural monomer flavors in Chinese tobacco industry., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Cronobacter species are associated with severe foodborne infections in neonates and infants, with particular pathovars associated with specific clinical presentations. However, before 2008 the genus was regarded as a single species named Enterobacter sakazakii which was subdivided into 8 phenotypes. This study re-analyzed, using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and whole genome sequence with single nucleotide polymorphism analysis (WGS-SNP), 52 strains which had been identified as Enterobacter sakazakii as according to the convention at the time of isolation. These strains had been isolated from dairy product imports into China from 9 countries between 2005 and 6. Bioinformatic analysis was then used to analyze the relatedness and global dissemination of these strains., Result: FusA allele sequencing revealed that 49/52 strains were Cronobacter sakazakii, while the remaining 3 strains were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Franconibacter helveticus. The C. sakazakii strains comprised of 8 sequence types (STs) which included the neonatal pathovars ST1, ST4 and ST12. The predominant sequence type was ST13 (65.3%, 32/49) which had been isolated from dairy products imported from 6 countries. WGS-SNP analysis of the 32 C. sakazakii ST13 strains revealed 5 clusters and 5 unique strains which did not correlate with the country of product origin., Conclusion: The mis-identification of E. coli, E. cloacae and F. helveticus as Cronobacter spp. reinforces the need to apply reliable methods to reduce the incidence of false positive and false negative results which may be of clinical significance. The WGS-SNP analysis demonstrated that indistinguishable Cronobacter strains within a sequence type can be unrelated, and may originate from multiple sources. The use of WGS-SNP analysis to distinguishing of strains within a sequence type has important relevance for tracing the source of outbreaks due to Cronobacter spp.