Safety management of nasopharyngeal specimen collection from suspected cases of coronavirus disease 2019

This article introduces safety management strategies of nasopharyngeal specimen collection from suspected cases of coronavirus disease 2019 in a tertiary designated hospital.The key points include establishing a special sampling room,strict sterilization of the entire environment,training of professional nurses,enhancement of personal protection,standardization of methods and processes for swab collection,and a timely and safety sample submission.More than 11,000 nasopharyngeal specimens were collected by eight nurses,with an average of 1,375 specimen swab collections each nurse,and no one was infected.

The impact of prehospital blood sampling on the emergency department process of patients with chest pain:a pragmatic non-randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND:In patients with chest pain who arrive at the emergency department(ED)by ambulance,venous access is frequently established prehospital,and could be utilized to sample blood.Prehospital blood sampling may save time in the diagnostic process.In this study,the association of prehospital blood draw with blood sample arrival times,troponin turnaround times,and ED length of stay(LOS),number of blood sample mix-ups and blood sample quality were assessed.METHODS:The study was conducted from October 1,2019 to February 29,2020.In patients who were transported to the ED with acute chest pain with low suspicion for acute coronary syndrome(ACS),outcomes were compared between cases,in whom prehospital blood draw was performed,and controls,in whom blood was drawn at the ED.Regression analyses were used to assess the association of prehospital blood draw with the time intervals.RESULTS:Prehospital blood draw was performed in 100 patients.In 406 patients,blood draw was performed at the ED.Prehospital blood draw was independently associated with shorter blood sample arrival times,shorter troponin turnaround times and decreased LOS(P<0.001).No differences in the number of blood sample mix-ups and quality were observed(P>0.05).CONCLUSION:For patients with acute chest pain with low suspicion for ACS,prehospital blood sampling is associated with shorter time intervals,while there were no significant differences between the two groups in the validity of the blood samples.

Survey Techniques of Grassland Plant Resources

Based on years of practice and survey methods of grassland resources at home and abroad, the technical problems that may occur in the survey process are analyzed, the preparatory work before survey, specific content of field survey and sample processing and analysis and specimen preparation are elaborated. Moreover, the announcements of major technical methods are also described in details.

Taxonomic bias in occurrence information of angiosperm species in China

Taxonomic bias is a well-known shortcoming of species occurrence databases.Understanding the causes of taxonomic bias facilitates future biological surveys and addresses current knowledge gaps.Here,we investigate the main drivers of taxonomic bias in occurrence data of angiosperm species in China.We used a database including 5,936,768 records for 28,968 angiosperm species derived from herbarium specimens and literature sources.Generalized additive models(GAMs)were applied to investigate explanatory powers of 17 variables on the variation in record numbers of species.Five explanatory variables were selected for a multi-predictor GAM that explained 69%of the variation in record numbers:plant height,range size,elevational range,numbers of scientific publications and web pages.Range size was the most important predictor in the model and positively correlated with number of records.Morphological and phenological traits and social-economic factors including economic values and conservation status had weak explanatory powers on record numbers of plant species,which differs from the findings in animals,suggesting that causes of taxonomic bias in occurrence databases may vary between taxonomic groups.Our results suggest that future floristic surveys in China should more focus on range-restricted and socially or scientifically less"interesting"species.

Evaluation of the Quick Wee method of inducing faster clean catch urine collection in pre‑continent infants: a randomized controlled trial

Introduction The acquisition of non-contaminated urine samples in pre-continent infants remains a challenge.The Quick Wee method uses bladder stimulation to induce voiding.A previous randomized trial showed a higher rate of voiding within 5 minutes using this method.We evaluated this method in an Irish hospital providing secondary care.Methods A non-blinded,randomized,controlled trial was carried out.Eligible infants were between 1 and 12 months of age,who required urine sampling as part of clinical care.Participants were randomly allocated to receive the intervention(Quick Wee Method—supra-pubic stimulation with cold saline)or the control(usual care—clean catch with no bladder stimulation)for 5 min.Primary outcome was voiding of urine within 5 min.Results A total of 140 infants were included in this study(73 in intervention group;67 in control group).Baseline characteristics were similar.25%in the intervention group passed urine in the 5-min trial period compared with 18%in the control group[P=0.4,absolute diference 7%(95%confdence interval:−7%to+20%)].Conclusion The Quick Wee method is a simple and inexpensive intervention that did not show a statistically signifcant increase in urine samples obtained in pre-continent infants.