Rapid diagnosis of typhoid fever through identification of Salmonella typhi within 18 hours of specimen acquisition by culture of the mononuclear cell-platelet fraction of blood.

Detection of Salmonella typhi in blood by culture of the mononuclear cell-platelet layer was compared with other methods currently used for the diagnosis of typhoid fever. Colonies of S. typhi were present in all mononuclear cell-platelet layer-positive cultures within 18 h of plating and were identified within an additional 10 min by a coagglutination technique. In contrast, identification of all positive cultures by conventional blood culture required 3 days.     

Microencapsulation of Citrus aurantifolia essential oil with the optimized CaCl2 crosslinker and its antibacterial study for cosmetic textiles

A functional fabric immobilized by the microcapsules of C. aurantifolia lime essential oil (LO) was prepared and characterized. A varied amount of CaCl₂ crosslinker was optimized to coacervate LO using alginate–gelatin biopolymers and Tween 80 emulsifier. A further evaluation of the immobilized LO microcapsules for the antibacterial effect against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was conducted. The optimized alginate/gelatin-based microcapsules were effectively crosslinked by 15% CaCl₂ with an yield, oil content (OC), and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 39.91 ± 3.10%, 78.33 ± 7.53%, and 90.27 ± 5.84%, respectively. A spherical shape of LO microcapsules was homogeneously found with an average particle size of 1.394 μm. A first-order kinetics mechanism for the release of LO out of the microcapsules was modeled by Avrami''s kinetic equation (k = 1.60 ± 3.68 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹). The LO microcapsules demonstrated good thermal stability up to 100 °C and maintained 51.07% OC and 43.56% EE at ambient temperature for three weeks. Using a pad dry method and citric acid binder, LO microcapsules were successfully immobilized on a cloth with a % add on 30.60 ± 1.80%. The LO microcapsules and the immobilized one exhibited a moderate ZoI of bacterial growth for Gram-positive S. aureus and S. epidermidis as well as Gram-negative E. coli and K. pneumonia. Further washing test toward the functional fabric showed that the LO microcapsules incorporated into the fabric were resistant to five cycles of normal washing with a mass reduction of 22.01 ± 1.69%.

A functional fabric immobilized by the microcapsules of C. aurantifolia lime essential oil (LO) was prepared and characterized.     

Effectiveness of Psychological Adaptation Model of Mental Health Nursing for nurse survivors experiencing post-earthquake disaster post-traumatic stress syndrome

Objective

The study to assess the effectiveness of psychological adaptation model of mental health nursing for nurse survivors experiencing post-earthquake post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS).

Diarrhoea episodes and treatment-seeking behaviour in a slum area of North Jakarta, Indonesia

Visits to household during a census in an impoverished area of north Jakarta were used for exploring the four-week prevalence of diarrhoea, factors associated with episodes of diarrhoea, and the patterns of healthcare use. For 160,261 urban slum-dwellers, information was collected on the socioeconomic status of the household and on diarrhoea episodes of individual household residents in the preceding four weeks. In households with a reported case of diarrhoea, the household head was asked which form of healthcare was used first. In total, 8,074 individuals (5%)--13% of children aged less than five years and 4% of adults--had a diarrhoea episode in the preceding four weeks. The two strongest factors associated with a history of diarrhoea were a diarrhoea episode in another household member in the four weeks preceding the interview (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 11.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.4-11.8) and age less than five years (adjusted OR 3.4; 95% CI 3.2-3.5). Of the 8,074 diarrhoea cases, 1,969 (25%) treated themselves, 1,822 (23%) visited a public-health centre (PHC), 1,462 (18%) visited a private practitioner or a private clinic, 1,318 (16%) presented at a hospital, 753 (9%) bought drugs from a drug vendor, and 750 (9%) used other healthcare providers, such as belian (traditional healers). Children with diarrhoea were most often brought to a PHC, a private clinic, or a hospital for treatment. Compared to children, adults with diarrhoea were more likely to treat themselves. Individuals from households in the lowest-income group were significantly more likely to attend a PHC for treatment of diarrhoea compared to individuals from households in the middle- and higher-income groups.     

Effect of Different Functional Food Supplements on the Gut Microbiota of Prediabetic Indonesian Individuals during Weight Loss

The gut microbiota has been shown in recent years to be involved in the development and severity of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of the present study was to test the effect of a 2-week functional food intervention on the gut microbiota composition in prediabetic individuals. A randomized double-blind, cross-over trial was conducted on prediabetic subjects. Fifteen volunteers were provided products made of: (i) 50% taro flour + 50% wheat flour; (ii) these products and the probiotic L. plantarum IS-10506; or (iii) these products with beetroot adsorbed for a period of 2 weeks with 2 weeks wash-out in between. Stool and blood samples were taken at each baseline and after each of the interventions. The gut microbiota composition was evaluated by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene and anthropometric measures were recorded. The total weight loss over the entire period ranged from 0.5 to 11 kg. The next-generation sequencing showed a highly personalized microbiota composition. In the principal coordinate analyses, the samples of each individual clustered closer together than the samples of each treatment. For six individuals, the samples clustered closely together, indicating a stable microbiota. For nine individuals, the microbiota was less resilient and, depending on the intervention, the beta-diversity transiently differed greatly only to return to the composition close to the baseline during the wash-out. The statistical analyses showed that 202 of the total 304 taxa were significantly different between the participants. Only Butyricimonas could be correlated with taro ingestion. The results of the study show that the highly variable interindividual variation observed in the gut microbiota of the participants clouded any gut microbiota modulation that might be present due to the functional food interventions.     

Correction: The burden of diarrhoea, shigellosis, and cholera in North Jakarta, Indonesia: findings from 24 months surveillance

This is a correction of an earlier published article.     

Use of a DNA probe to detect Salmonella typhi in the blood of patients with typhoid fever.

A DNA probe was used to detect Salmonella typhi from blood samples from 14 of 33 patients with culture-confirmed typhoid fever, using the equivalent of 2.5 ml of blood. In contrast, S. typhi was detected in 17 of the same 33 patients by culture of 8 ml of blood. The probe hybridized to blood samples of 4 of 47 patients from whom S. typhi was not isolated.     

Quantitative analysis of polymorphic mixtures of ranitidine hydrochloride by Raman spectroscopy and principal components analysis.

Ranitidine hydrochloride exists as two polymorphs, forms I and II, both of which are used to manufacture commercial tablets. Raman spectroscopy can be used to differentiate the two forms but univariate methods of quantitative analysis of one polymorph as an impurity in the other lack sensitivity. We have applied principal components analysis (PCA) of Raman spectra to binary mixtures of the two polymorphs and to binary mixtures prepared by adding one polymorph to powdered tablets of the other. Based on absorption measurements of seven spectral regions, it was found that >97% of the spectral variation was accounted for by three principal components. Quantitative calibration models generated by multiple linear regression predicted a detection limit and quantitation limit for either forms I or II in mixtures of the two of 0.6 and 1.8%, respectively. This study demonstrates that PCA of Raman spectroscopic data provides a sensitive method for the quantitative analysis of polymorphic impurities of drugs in commercial tablets with a quantitation limit of less than 2%.