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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred in Hong Kong for more than two years. This article conducted a cross-sectional study for participants to investigate the behavioral prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of using Western medicines or herbal products for COVID-19 in Hong Kong. A questionnaire was designed and performed over 2 weeks from 1 May to 15 May 2022. It consisted of five parts with around 20 questions conducted including sociodemographic information, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation of COVID-19, and also the sources of information. The pattern usage of Chinese or Western medicines for COVID-19 was studied after data collection. 318 people participated in this survey, and only 311 were qualified. The sociodemographic information, e.g., personal educational level, and behavior for the prevention of COVID-19, which included wearing masks (98.7%), using alcohol hand sanitizer (83.0%), washing hands frequently (82.4%), avoiding crowds (53.1%), and staying home more often (50.6%). Western medicines, such as antipyretic drugs, antitussive drugs, and pain reliever drugs, whilst Chinese medicines, such as Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang, Huoxiang Zhengqi San or Wan, and Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, were most commonly used in the treatment and rehabilitation periods of COVID-19. Herbal products, including lemon, honey, ginger, and herbal tea, were used as a daily diet to fight against COVID-19. Based on the result findings, Chinese medicines or herbal products were used during the COVID-19 pandemic, but most of the participants used an unknown Chinese medicine practitioner's prescription and self-administered Chinese medicine. The pattern of Chinese medicines and Western medicines' usage in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of COVID-19 was also investigated; this showed a statistically significant association between the variables according to gender, age, and Chinese or Western medicines for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in many aspects of canine health, such as metabolism, immune function, and even behavior. The canine gut microbiome is an important and emerging field of veterinary research, with promising potential in facilitating disease diagnosis and management. This first-of-its-kind study aims to characterize the gut microbiome of dogs with diabetes mellitus in Hong Kong (compared to that of healthy controls) to shed light on its association with diabetes mellitus and its implications for disease control. With a close pathogenetic resemblance to human diabetes, canine Diabetes Mellitus, a chronic metabolic disease featuring abnormally high blood sugar levels, is increasing in prevalence worldwide. Unlike humans, canine glycemic control requires life-long insulin injections and dietary control in most cases, thereby jeopardizing diabetic dogs' quality of life and increasing the difficulty of disease control. While many research studies have focused on elucidating the relationship between the canine gut microbiome and diseases, there is currently no research on the subject of diabetes mellitus in dogs. We hypothesized that the gut microbiome of canines with diabetes mellitus is different from that of healthy controls. Thus, we performed targeted 16S rRNA sequencing and comprehensive bioinformatic analysis to compare the gut microbiome profiles of 16 diabetic dogs with those of 32 healthy dogs. Clostridioides difficile, Phocaeicola plebeius, Lacrimispora indolis, and Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum were found to be enriched in diabetic dogs. A distinct shift towards carbohydrate degradation metabolic pathways was found to be differentially abundant in the diabetic subjects. Alteration of the co-occurrence network was also evident in the diabetic group. In conclusion, our study suggests that the gut microbial landscape differs in diabetic canines at the genera, species, functional, and network levels. These findings have significant implications for disease management, and thus warrant further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The king of herbs, Panax ginseng, has been used widely as a therapeutic agent vis-à-vis its active pharmacological and physiological effects. Based on Chinese pharmacopeia Ben Cao Gang Mu and various pieces of literature, Panax ginseng was believed to exert active vascular protective effects through its antiobesity and anti-inflammation properties. We investigated the vascular protective effects of ginseng by administrating ginseng extracts to rats after the induction of diabetes. We found that Panax ginseng can restore diabetes-induced impaired vasorelaxation and can reduce serum triglyceride but not cholesterol level in the diabetic rats. The ginseng extracts also suppressed the expression of atherosclerosis-related genes and altered the expression of lipid-related genes. The results provide evidence that Panax ginseng improves vascular dysfunction induced by diabetes and the protective effects may possibly be due to the downregulation of atherosclerosis-related genes and altered lipid metabolism, which help to restore normal endothelium functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of ready-to-eat foods is an important issue. Improper storage and handling of ready-to-eat items may lead to foodborne disease outbreaks. In this study, raw salmon finger sushi (nigiri) was selected as a target ready-to-eat food for microbiological surveillance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of take-away sushi sold in the licensed sushi shops in Hong Kong. Sushi samples were collected from 120 randomly selected licensed sushi shops in the 19 districts in Hong Kong from 1 st June to 30 th July 2014. They were tested for aerobic colony count (ACC), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus counts as well as the presence of Salmonella spp. to evaluate their overall hygienic quality. None of the samples was found to contain Salmonella spp. and 1.7% of the collected samples were classified as unsatisfactory for containing more than 100 CFU/g of E. coli indicating the overall hygienic quality of take-away sushi in Hong Kong was good. There was no significant difference between samples purchased from chain stores and those from self-hosted business, suggesting that microbiological quality of take-away sushi was not affected by these two types of business models. Based on the current findings, it was suggested that the government should have more frequent routine inspections and provide food hygiene education to the workers in the sushi shops in Hong Kong so as to minimize the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The safety of ready-to-eat food is an important issue. Improper handling of ready-to-eat food items may result in foodborne outbreaks. In this study, Chinese barbecued pork (Char Siu in Chinese) was selected as the target ready-to-eat food item for a microbial survey. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of Chinese barbecued pork sold in licensed Siu Mei and Lo Mei shops in Hong Kong. A total of 115 samples were collected from supermarkets or wet markets in the 18 districts. They were tested for aerobic plate counts (APC), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus counts, and the presence of Salmonella spp. for assessing their safety level. Results showed APC ranging from 1.97 to 6.84 log CFU/g, with a mean of 5.05 log CFU/g; E. coli counts ranging from none detected to 3.10 log CFU/g, with a mean of 1.78 log CFU/g; and S. aureus counts ranging from none detected to 1.42 log CFU/g, with a mean of 0.15 log CFU/g. The mean APC and E. coli counts of samples from supermarkets were found to be significantly lower than those from wet markets (p < 0.05) indicating that supermarkets had better microbiological quality than wet markets. Salmonella spp. were isolated from 39% of the samples analyzed, indicating that cross-contamination was quite a serious problem in Siu Mei and Lo Mei shops in Hong Kong. Based on these results, recommendations such as routine inspections and training of vendors were suggested to improve the microbiological quality of products sold in licensed Siu Mei and Lo Mei shops in Hong Kong so as to minimize risks of foodborne outbreaks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]