The role of microorganisms in soy sauce production.

Soy sauce is a salty condiment commonly used in Eastern Asia that is made from soy beans with varying amounts of wheat or no wheat at all. It is known as shoyu in Japan, chiang-yu (or -yi) in China, kecup in Indonesia, kunjang in Korea, toyo in The Philippines, and see-ieu in Thailand (Beuchat, 1985; Djien, 1982; Fukushima, 1989). It provides flavor in an otherwise bland diet, and nutritionally it provides salt (NaCl) and predigested proteins in a diet that is traditionally protein poor.

Financial impact of accurate discharge coding in a liaison psychiatry service.

Objective: Previous research has shown that patients seen by liaison psychiatry services are a complex and expensive patient group and that the psychiatric co-morbidities of hospital inpatients are poorly attested at discharge for assignment to diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of discharge coding in a neuropsychiatry liaison population. We also aimed to establish whether or not, had the correct diagnosis been assigned, additional funding would have been allocated to the hospital.

A risk assessment system for alien plant bio-invasion in Xiamen, China.

Bio-invasion has caused serious ecosystem damage and enormous economic losses in China, and it has been the greatest factor to island bio-diversity reduction. Xiamen, as an important seaport with a relatively high conservation value, is particularly vulnerable to bio-invasion for its typical island ecosystem as well as frequent human-made disturbance. As a result of field surveys, literature review, and consultation with experts, a list of 67 alien plants identified as major invaders (12 species) and emerging invaders (55 species) in Xiamen has been compiled.

Identification of a DNA methyltransferase gene carried on a pathogenicity island-like element (VPAI) in Vibrio parahaemolyticus and its prevalence among clinical and environmental isolates.

In this study we identified a putative virulence-associated DNA methyltransferase (MTase) gene carried on a novel 22.79-kb pathogenicity island-like element (VPAI) in V. parahaemolyticus.

Determinations of dioxinlike activity in selected mollusks from the coast of the Bohai Sea, China, using the H4IIE-luc bioassay.

Extracts of mollusks collected from eight cities along the coast of the Bohai Sea, China, were used to determine dioxinlike activity using an in vitro bioassay approach. Dioxinlike activity of total extracts was detected by measuring luciferase activity in a stable transfected rat hepatoma cell line, H4IIE, containing an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-responsive element linked to a luciferase reporter gene. Luciferase activity was expressed as a percentage of the maximum response observed for 2,3,7,8-TCDD (% TCDD(max)).

Measurement of estrogenic activity in sediments from Haihe and Dagu River, China.

Sediments from two rivers in China, the Haihe and Dagu Rivers, were examined for estrogenic activity using an estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated in vitro bioassay system. ER-active compounds were isolated from sediments by Soxhlet extraction, and the crude extracts were fractionated using a florisil column into three fractions. The estrogenic activity of each extract was detected by measuring luciferase activity in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 transfected with a luciferase receptor gene.

Dioxiranes generated in situ from pyruvates and oxone as environmentally friendly oxidizing agents for disinfection.

Dioxiranes generated in situ from pyruvates (alpha-keto esters) and Oxone have been found to be environmentally friendly oxidizing agents for disinfection. These oxidizing agents were highly effective for destruction of various strains of bacteria, fungi, and bacterial endospores in a wide temperature range with exceptional stability. Notably, by using an aqueous solution of methyl pyruvate (1a) and Oxone/NaHCO3, complete destruction of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and fungus Penicillium corylophilum was achieved within 5 min at 20 degrees C at neutral pH.

Exposure of spermatozoa to duroquinone may impair reproduction of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) through oxidative stress.

Toxicity of many waterborne organic contaminants to aquatic organisms is mediated through oxidative damages resulting from the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using duroquinone as a model ROS inducer, we carried out in vitro and in vivo experiments to test the hypothesis that reproduction in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) can be impaired through oxidative damage of their spermatozoa. In vitro exposure of fish spermatozoa to 0, 12.

AhR-active compounds in sediments of the Haihe and Dagu Rivers, China.

Total concentrations of compounds that can cause activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in extracts of river sediments from various locations in the Haihe and Dagu Rivers, Tianjin, China were determined by use of the in vitro H4IIE-luc cell line. AhR-active compounds were isolated from sediments by Soxhlet extraction, and the crude extracts were fractionated using a Florisil column into three Fractions. The response of samples was compared to the TCDD standard and expressed as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalents (TCDD-EQs).

An assessment of the risks associated with polychlorinated biphenyls found in the stomach contents of stranded Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and Finless Porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) from Hong Kong waters.

The risks to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins and Finless Porpoises associated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were assessed. Stomach contents from twelve stranded Humpback Dolphins and sixteen stranded Finless Porpoises were collected. Concentrations of total and isomer-specific PCBs in the stomach contents were determined using dual-column gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detectors (GC-ECD).