Disease-bearing insects brought in by international aircraft into Singapore

Fifty-seven (17.3%) of 330 incoming aircraft landing at Changi International Airport were found to harbour mosquitoes and other insects on board. The frequency of insects detected in aircraft from the Southeast Asian countries varied from 7.1% to 32.2%. Live insects were found in 5 (6.1%) of 82 aircraft disinsectized by the "block away" method. The species of mosquitoes brought in were: Culex quinquefasciatus (96), Culex tritaeniorhynchus (1), Aedes albopictus (2) and Aedes aegypti (1). None of the 51 female Culex quinquefasciatus dissected was found to be infected with microfilariae. They key to the prevention of introduction of exotic vectors and transmission of vector- borne diseases is to continue with the existing system of vector surveillance and control at the international airport, rather than routine disinsecting of aircraft landing in Singapore.     

Risks of AKI and Major Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or Coronavirus Disease 2019

BackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are closely related. The effect of AKI on the clinical outcomes of these two conditions is unclear.MethodsThis retrospective, territory-wide cohort study used an electronic public healthcare database in Hong Kong to identify patients with SARS or COVID-19 by diagnosis codes, virologic results, or both. The primary endpoint was a composite of intensive care unit admission, use of invasive mechanical ventilation, and/or death.ResultsWe identified 1670 patients with SARS and 1040 patients with COVID-19 (median ages, 41 versus 35 years, respectively). Among patients with SARS, 26% met the primary endpoint versus 5.3% of those with COVID-19. Diabetes mellitus, abnormal liver function, and AKI were factors significantly associated with the primary endpoint among patients with either SARS or COVID-19. Among patients with SARS, 7.9%, 2.1%, and 3.7% developed stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 AKI, respectively; among those with COVID-19, 6.6%, 0.4%, and 1.1% developed stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 AKI, respectively. In both groups, factors significantly associated with AKI included diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Among patients with AKI, those with COVID-19 had a lower rate of major adverse clinical outcomes versus patients with SARS. Renal function recovery usually occurred within 30 days after an initial AKI event.ConclusionsAKI rates were higher among patients with SARS than those with COVID-19. AKI was associated with major adverse clinical outcomes for both diseases. Patients with diabetes mellitus and abnormal liver function were also at risk of developing severe consequences after SARS and COVID-19 infection.     

Effects of pineal indoles on ovarian response to gonadotropin-induced ovulation in mice

Summary Ovulation was induced in immature mice by injections of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) spaced 48 hours apart. The mice were divided into six groups: one group received intraperitoneal injections of normal saline, another group received alcoholic saline which was used as the vehicle of pineal indoles, and the remaining groups received respectively hydroxyindoleacetic acid (HIAA), melatonin (MEL), methoxytryptamine (MTA) and methoxytryptophol (MTP). The pineal indoles were administered 24 hours before, on the same day as, 24 hours after and 48 hours after the PMSG injection. The mice were sacrificed 24 hours after the HCG injection. The numbers of growing primary follicles, multilaminar primary follicles, Graafian follicles, preovulatory follicles and corpora lutea in the ovary were not altered by treatment with pineal indoles. However, there was an increased incidence of follicular atresia in the groups treated with MEL, MTA and MTP. The pineal indoles did not affect the number of ovulated oocytes, but there was a large number of degenerated and fragmented ovulated oocytes in the MTA- and MTP-treated groups. Treatment with MEL, MTA and MTP also resulted in lower plasma levels of estradiol-17 and progesterone.     

Cultured chinese-hamster ovary cells lack a transferable x-radiation resistance factor

We determined if we could transfer X-radiation resistance from CHO AA8 cells to their radiosensitive, mutant V3 cells by several methods. These methods include co-incubating the two cell lines for three days before irradiation, adding heavily-irradiated AA8 to V3 cells following irradiation of the latter and then co-incubating these cells for at least eight days during the colony-forming assay and lastly, adding conditioned medium from unirradiated, subconfluent AA8 cells to V3 cultures and incubating for two days before irradiation. None of these procedures enhanced the clonogenic survival of the V3 cells to a single dose of 4 Gy X-radiation. Adding heavily-irradiated V3, instead of AA8, cells did not increase the clonogenic survival of the 4 Gy-irradiated V3 cells either, indicating that there was no autocrine mode of action. Moreover, adding conditioned medium from a related CHO cell line, K1, to its own radiosensitive, mutant 5-11 and incubating for two days before irradiation did not enhance clonogenic survival of the latter to a single dose of 3 Gy X-radiation. We therefore conclude that it is unlikely that CHO cells have the X-radiation resistance factor that has been reported in some mouse melanoma cell lines by other investigators.     

Cognitive and behavioral outcome following mild traumatic head injury in children.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate outcome in children with mild traumatic head injury (THI) at 1 week and 3 months postinjury and to identify factors associated with persisting problems. DESIGN: Postconcussional symptomatology, behavior ratings, and neuropsychological test performance were examined at 1 week and 3 months postinjury. SETTING: Participants were recruited from successive presentations to emergency departments of two major hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: 130 Children with mild THI were compared with 96 children having other minor injuries as controls. RESULTS: Children with mild THI experienced headaches, dizziness, and fatigue but exhibited no cognitive impairments, relative to controls, at 1 week postinjury. By 3 months, symptoms had resolved. However, 17% of children showed significant ongoing problems. They were more likely to have a history of previous head injury, learning difficulties, neurological or psychiatric problems, or family stressors. CONCLUSIONS: Persisting problems following mild head injury in children are more common in those with previous head injury, preexisting learning difficulties, or neurological, psychiatric, or family problems. These "at-risk" children should be identified in the emergency department and monitored.